Anthem

Chapter 3 - Reagan

Reagan grinned wickedly as the stranger left the room. Little did he know that death was what she wanted.
The old bed groaned as she stood, groggy from the drugs. She slowly walked towards the door and grasped the knob with a mischievous smile. She was still for a moment, and took in a breath.
She was ready for death.
The door opened out into a series of huts, much like the one she had been transferred to. Large green leaves and dense foliage hung over the camp, surrounding it like a shield from the outside.
She stopped looking.
Enough. But...
Why hadn't the arrows come? Where were the knives that would end her? Where was-
She flinched as he appeared again suddenly, a syringe in his hand. She reached for it—perhaps it was poison. Belladonna, cyanide, whatever. Whatever brought the Reaper.
"You're further gone than I thought" he said, almost sadly. Why did she matter to him? She didn't matter to anyone—not even to herself.
She flung her arm around in another attempt to grab the needle.
"You're not going to die."
Reagan collapsed on the ground, and it wasn't because of the sedatives. He had known from that first moment in the forest that she hadn't wanted to escape the Xori's men. This had been a test, a test to see if she had the will to live. She had failed.

+++

Her days were much the same as that first day. She drifted in and out of consciousness, staying awake only long enough to be fed and relieve herself. The call of senselessness was impossible to resist; she succumbed to its embrace as though it were a drug.
In. Out. In. Out.

+++

"You're getting up," the stranger said. "I've had enough of you feeling sorry for yourself."
Reagan didn't move. Why should she?
"Let's start again, dear," he snarled. "My name is Jesse." He reached out to shake her hand in mock politeness. She recoiled and buried further under the blankets. Reagan cringed as he—Jesse —swore, slamming the door behind him as he left the room.
Angry, much.
Minutes later, she was forced awake as something cold smashed into her body. Again, again, again. Reagan threw the soggy sheets off her, drenched in what appeared to be water. She gazed up into Jesse's determined eyes.
"I said get up."
This time she moved. Slowly, and with great reluctance, but she moved nonetheless.
Jesse smiled triumphantly and she glared at him as she wrung the water out of her hair.
"Let's begin."
He thought he'd won. He couldn't be allowed to think that, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Watching him the whole time, she turned on her heels and slowly walked back to the bed. See what he made of that.
The door slammed and she nestled back under newly soaked covers.

+++

Day after day he came into her room, and day after day she refused to get up. She turned her face away from the door as she heard the approaching footsteps. The door to her cabin opened and someone came in.
He said nothing.
Slowly, she angled her face to the door. Jesse. Ugh. She made to turn back but his face stopped her. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong.
He left her room without so much as a word.
Reagan didn't care what he thought of her. His opinion didn't matter. But his face had struck a chord within her. It was as if the joy had gone from him. Sadness had entered his eyes. She knew that feeling, knew it all too well. She couldn't allow him to feel what she had, to suffer through that pain. She had to help him even if she didn't know how.
She threw off her covers and kicked open the door. The light blinded her. How long had it been since she had stepped outside and felt the wind on her face? Days? Weeks?
"Reagan," she yelled, "My name is Reagan."
That copped a few bewildered looks from the passersby in the other huts, but she didn't care what they thought. She ran through the huts and past the shield of trees that encircled the camp. Where was he?
"Jesse?"
There. A flash of mustard in the bushes. She sprinted through the forest, all too aware of how familiar the feeling was. She finally spotted him by the river.
The water was beautiful. It thrashed against the rocks, slipping into their crevices and threatening to overwhelm the moss and lichen that dotted the granite.
Slowing her gait, she stepped towards him.

+++

They sat like that for hours, in companionable silence, wrinkles forming pathways on their bare feet. Finally she broke the silence.
"I don't know what you expect from me," she murmured, "but I'll do it."
He turned to face her and she noticed a flicker of gratitude. "Thank you."
Reagan dipped her head in acknowledgement and made her way back to the cabin.

+++

She didn't make it back to the cabin. She'd searched for the oak tree Jesse had shoved her into, had known she'd found the right spot when she put her hands up against the blood staining the trunk and it had matched her fingerprints. She keeled over and lay curled inside the tree, pondering her thoughts.
It seemed her words had become an anthem. Sorrow crept up as she beheld the memory of Jesse's face that morning. She hadn't asked what had happened - it wasn't her place.
The hint of his red-rimmed eyes had unnerved her. No, she didn't know him, but the glimpse of devastation in his face matched what she felt.
She closed her eyes and wept.

Hey guys, we hope you're enjoying the story. Please comment to give us feedback or if you like it. 👍/👎 This is so we can see if people like the story or not. Sorry if the updates are slow but we aim to ensure the chapters are high quality and edited. Thanks so much!