The Spirit of Silence

Chapter 5

           

"So you're saying that you were kidnapped? Like mom and dad said?" Emmett asks, eyes flickering between me and the road.

I shake my head, zipping my bag of crackers and shoving them in my bag.

This is the part I was worried about. This is what I never wanted to tell him.

I turn around in my seat, reaching for Liam's bag. Opening it, my heart pangs. It smells like him and my heart begins to ache. I push the feeling aside and grab the cardboard box shoved in the bottom.

"What's that?" Emmett says, now looking more at the road more than at me. I know he can tell I am feeling uneasy.

"Emmett, these documents were in the backpacks that Zan gave Liam and I that night we escaped." I carefully take the lid off, placing it back in the bag. I know exactly where the papers I need are. Liam and I have studied these front to back and organized them too. 17 papers in I find what I'm looking for.

"Em," I say, pulling the paper out of its place.

His eyes snap to mine, confusion and a twinge of fear filling them.

"This paper is a release form. It's basically a contract saying that the people who took me had permission to do so and to do whatever they wanted with me."

"Hazel, no." He says. His hands are shaking ever so slightly.

"It was signed by mom and dad, Em. They agreed to this. They signed me away. There's one for Liam's parents in here too."

"There's no way they would do that, Haze. No way. You didn't see them. They spent every day that you were gone heartbroken. Why would they willingly do something that killed them inside? It doesn't make any sense. They were good people-" He stops, choking back what sounds like a sob.

I give him a minute, waiting to see if he has more to say before speaking up. "I know, Em. I know. Reading this hurt me so badly. I've never felt more alone than I did those few days shuffling through these papers. I hated them. For years, I hated them. But I don't anymore."

He raises an eyebrow a touch, chest heaving.

"I asked them about it. A year after I came home I showed them this paper. They told me that the people who took me didn't give them another option. They said they could sign the document and hand me over or that they would" I pause, knowing this will hurt him. I spent the last four years keeping this from him and now I'm putting it all out on the table.

"What. What were they going to do?"

"They were going to kill you, Em. And mom and dad. And then they would have taken me anyways. Mom and Dad didn't have a choice. They did what they thought was right." I say.

Silence echoes throughout the car and my heart races. My thoughts race and I hope he doesn't hate me. Moreover, I hope he doesn't hate them.

"Why didn't they call the police? They should have done something!" He exclaimed, squeezing the steering wheel.

"There were no police. Everyone was dying. It was chaos. They had no where to turn to."

Minutes of silence pass between us and I have to stop my mind from wandering to Liam."

"So what happened, next?" Emmet asks, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"What?"

"The story. Keep going."

"Emmett, are you sure-"

"Just keep going." He cuts me off.

Taking a deep breath, I retrace my steps, figuring out where I left off.

"Umm, I was 15 and Liam was 16 when we escaped. We spent a year hiding out in hotels, speaking to no one but each other. Reading that about mom and dad hurt me but it ruined him. He couldn't go home, and I couldn't leave him. He was all I had known for seven years. So we stayed together, taking everything day by day.

"We didn't know if they were coming after us or if we were safe. But after a little over a year we started checking in on our families. We visited you, mom and dad first. You didn't know I was there, but I was. Seeing you all safe and happy hurt, but also helped. We traveled an hour north to Liam's family and saw the same, but he couldn't bring himself to go back. He was too broken.

"That's when we showed up back home. I was 16, Liam 17." I pause, unsure where to stop the story. "You know everything from there, I think." I say, tucking my legs underneath me and peaking back at Noah.

Emmett takes a few deep breaths and I wonder what he's thinking. The silence is killing me and I am grateful when he finally speaks.

"What'd they do to you all those years, Haze?"

I shrug, not uncomfortable by the question. "They took our blood. It was just Liam and I in a room for the most part. They performed some tests, took our blood, and gave us some schooling here and there. It sucked but it was life."

"Why? Why all the tests? Why you? Why Liam?"

I sigh, remembering how in the dark he has been. Mom and Dad must not have told him as much as I had assumed they did.

"Remember that disease that was killing everyone within days? Maybe you don't – you were so young. Six or seven maybe. Our blood was the cure. They needed it to save the population. For some reason, Liam and I were immune. As for all the other tests, I don't really know. There are some clues in these documents, but most of the information is missing. I think they were trying to see if there was something more they could do with our blood, if that makes sense. I don't know how far they got. There were other kids there – kids who might still be there."

Emmett runs a shaky hand through his hair and nods, gripping the steering wheel. "And why now? Why leave you be for all those years and then start coming after our families?"

I hate this question. It's one I have asked myself countless times. "I'm not entirely sure. These papers said that we would be suitable for reentry at 23 years of age. Liam is almost there – almost 23. But why they're coming after our families? I don't know. I don't know what reentry means. It all started happening so fast. Liam and I wanted to leave with Noah but we were trying to plan for you, his family, and or future one." I rest a hand on my stomach, rubbing it protectively. "We had been left alone for nearly five years. We were on edge, but we stopped being so careful.

"I'm just me, Em. I'm still just a clueless 21 year old who is doing her best, ya know? I don't have all the answers, just a few more than everyone else."

"No, Emmett says," sensing my lie. "What aren't you telling me?"

"What?" I ask, playing dumb.

"I know you, Haze. I know you're holding back. Tell me. I can handle it."

I sigh, knowing it's now or never. "These papers. There's information on some, uh, future plans in here. They are planning to re-release the virus that killed half the world 15 years ago. That's why the concords are still in place, why everything is so controlled. I don't know why and I don't know how to stop it or if we even can. I only know it's coming."

Emmett pauses for a beat and then says, "Alright. For now, it's showtime."

I turn my attention back to the road. We have entered the next checkpoint.