Lock and key

Chapter 3

I'm woken up by the sound of a siren. The sound blaring in my ears, making it hard to focus on anything. I crouch down trying to drown out the sound but nothing is working. Then I remember Richie's word, grabbing my pack I begin to run. I run away from the siren, away from the smoke that is beginning to appear from my far right. The dirt underneath my feet is hard, and it's barely any light out, I haven't slept that long. I run towards the tall trees ahead, to avoid being seen by anyone. Running as fast as my legs can take me, I hear the snapping of twigs beneath my feet; this isn't the smartest thing to do, they could hear me before I can see them. Then a voice breaks me away from my thoughts, "she's over here!"
Fuck! I run to a fallen hallowed out tree not like I have a better choice I crawl in making the little family of centipedes run away. I hear the footsteps grow louder, I'm fucked then the footsteps stop the breathing of the person is almost louder than the beating of my heart. I peek through the little hole to only see an eye staring back at me. The scream gets stuck in my throat as I begin to roll. I attempt to leave the tree but I start moving too fast, my surroundings go by me in a blur. My insides begin to twist and turn with the tree, I feel like I'm going to be sick holding my mouth to prevent any vomit from coming out my mouth. I come to an abrupt halt, my head still spinning as I try to gain conciseness. "What the fuck?!" I yell coming from the inside of the tree, only to come face to face with a person covered in black from head to toe. The person just stares for a moment taking me in. Then finally whispers "it isn't safe to speak out here" the individual motioning me to follow as he bends to go behind vines that hang over an open cave. I follow cautiously, keeping Richies words in the back of my mind. But also thinking any place is better than outside right now, due to the man hunt and all. The cave is dark and damp, I feel like it's a trap, backing up slowly eyeing the way I came in. The man lights a torch so we're no longer in the dark, it turns out we aren't alone either. Two other individuals both covered in black like the first person, crouch over the now lit fire. The person who led me into the cave motions for me to join them around the fire. But I shake my head stubbornly "tell me what's going on first" but the person only shakes his head refusing to speak. I roll my eyes as I drag my feet towards the fire. The cave grows warmer as I approach the strange people sitting around the fire. Their eyes wide with caution, one person is tightly grasping a knife, as if I'm the dangerous one in this situation. I kneel down next to the one who doesn't have a weapon in their hand, and the person greets me with a slight smile. Easing the awkwardness between us four. The one who led me in here stands drawing all of our attention to him. "We all know why the sirens sounded," he says looking down at me. I feel my cheeks get hot and I just stare at the ground. "She is the one will save us from damnation it's self, as the government begins to close in on all parts of Minnesota, more of us begin to disappear," he looks at me to see if I'm following. I give a slight nod to tell him go on, sighing he continues, "Skyler here is the key to a new beginning, she with the help from us can put an end to the government control, she'll led us into a revolution." There that term is again what does that mean, I'm the key to everything. The good or the bad, why can't I just crawl somewhere and never be bothered. Why do people always need to rely on me. Jackson relied on me, and look where he ended up, six feet under the ground. All because he put his faith in little ol me. I guess he seen the expression on my face because he looked me in my eyes and said, "it's alright to feel scared, it's natural when so much pressure is on you. But you have us and many more behind you to help you lead this revolution" he motions to the other two beside me.
"Why exactly is there a revolution taking place?" I ask confused.
The person who was holding the knife turns to me, "because the government started killing those who wouldn't comply with their rules. They forced us to do unbearable things. But now their going too far, burning down buildings and blaming it on the common people. They want to kill off the population, saying we're the cause of global warming and everything above" I just stare blankly at her. It's too much to take in, my brain is flooded with too much information. I don't know if I should believe this, but then again this man did just save me from being taken again.
"W—why me?" my voice feels little.
"You're what we've all been waiting for" the boy next to me says. "You're the key to end it all"
There's that word again, "what does that mean!?" I blurt out before I realize it.
They all exchange looks, then the one standing sighs "long story even longer we've heard that you hold a key somewhere inside you that contains both good and bad. But with a push in the right direction can knock the balance off. There is one side effect though" he says without meeting my eyes. "This power has to be extracted from you, and there's a chance you might not survive. But with the right—" I cut him off I don't want to hear anymore "stop! I'm done listening to this! How do I even know you're telling the truth. I don't even know who you are, and you damn sure don't know me!" I throw my arms up, "I refuse to listen to you tell me how my life is supposed to go. And how I'm supposed to die for this world?! When this world didn't give a damn about me when it took the love of my life away.." I feel the tears pooling in my eyes, daring me to go on so they could embarrass me, but I've said too much to stop now, "the world took Jackson away from me, it took both of my parents away!" My chest tightening as I speak, "why should I give a damn about what happens to this fucking world?!" I'm standing up now, arms wrapped tightly around my chest, eyes glaring down at all of them. I wish they would say the wrong thing, I'll turn and leave this cave right now, I rather take my chances out there then sitting here and listening to this bull shit. Nobody says anything they all just stare at me in pity. Which only makes me angrier, and that's all I need. I spin on my heels and head for the opening which light now comes through the cracks. Just as I reach the vines "wait!" The one who was holding the knife stands, dropping the knife in her hand. "I know you've lost a lot but think all of this chaos can come to an end, think about how much you lost then times that by twenty. That's how much this world would lose."
I just look at her "what if I don't care about what happens here, I can just run away and let you all die" this only makes them laugh "sweetie what happened here is going to spread all over the world, we're just the first to experience it. Soon the world will feel what we feel." She spits out.
"I think I'll take my chances out here then with you guys." I say turning and heading out into the brisk dew of the morning.
I take in my surroundings because I can actually see what's two steps ahead of me. Not knowing what lies beyond these woods as I walk through them makes every step I take harder than the last.