Broken Glass

Broken Glass Part II

Part II

I wake up from a frightening dream, where President Mary Chandler takes my mother's place in the back of the church, objecting to Sean's and my marriage. She's a severe woman, with reddish-brown hair that falls in waves down her shoulders, dark eyes hidden behind glasses, and very professional dark skirt suits. She's always scared me because of her power, but I was sure that she was just doing the right thing. Brendan knocked that idea out of me right quick last night.

I don't know how far we've gotten or what time it is when I wake up. However, there is some sunlight streaming into the back of the truck. Brendan is awake, slurping some kind of food out of a tin can. His face brightens when he sees that I'm awake.

“Good. You're alive,” he says, with a small grin on his face. He holds out the can to me. “You might as well eat it. It's not that terrible,” he says.

I'm hesitant to take it, but I know I'd be better off if I do. It doesn't sound like there will be too many great feasts to go to anytime soon. Brendan's right, the chicken and noodles aren't that bad.

He lets me finish off the can before he slurps the last little bits out of the bottom. I don't protest. He's been through much worse than I have.

Once we finish, he asks me to tell him about my life. I tell him about my father and my mother and Sean and our ruined wedding and how much we love each other. I show him my ring, and he's mesmerized. I also tell him about my city, and the description of all the sparking shards of glass on the road makes his eyes light up.

He then proceeds to tell me his story, the setting being the City of Steel. About his veteran father who works in the steel mills to support him and his seven siblings, about his dead mother. He tells me about the green mountains and the river that runs right through the city and the great bridge that spans over the river. It sounds like a beautiful place, and he says that it really was, at one point.

I really like him. And I trust him. He's a good kid, the kind that will grow up into a fine young man, like Sean. His smile always reaches his eyes, even when he's recalling something sad and turning it into something happy.

About midday, when we are both laughing over a story about a dog that came to his house every night just to have its belly rubbed, the truck screeches to a stop, almost throwing us from the benches. My heart is in my throat. Are we picking up another child, or are we going to be separated?

The blond haired soldier comes to the back through the sliding panel. Brendan and I are both staring at him.

“Harmony Hale? This is your stop,” he says. He doesn't add anything about the city, or lack thereof. He knows everything that I know. I stand up and kiss Brendan on the forehead.

“Bye, Brendan,” I whisper.

I walk with my shoulders back and my chin up towards the soldier. “Bye, Harmony. Thank you,” I hear Brendan say.

The soldier, whose name I still don't know, leads me to the door that I got into the truck through last night. He opens it, and the sunlight that pours in blinds me for a moment. I step down onto the ground, and everything comes into focus.

The first thing I recognize is that its so green here. There are so many tall evergreen trees here, and trees are a rarity at home. The second thing I see is the huge blue lake, that stretches for miles, surrounded by mountains.

We are on a hill, and down at the shore of the lake is a huge camp with all kinds of soldiers meandering around. Coming up the hill, right towards us, is a tall, dark-skinned girl around my age with short hair that spikes out in a million directions. She wears black cargo pants, a dirty white t-shirt, combat boots, and a heavy looking black vest with pouches all over it. She puts her hand up in greeting, and the blond soldier pats me on the shoulder and jogs down the hill towards some waiting pickup trucks. The big truck I came here in drives away, and I think a quick prayer for Brendan.