Republic of Omisha

Chapter 4: Eliza

   Eliza rose to a beautiful sun rise. She climbs out her window to feel the crisp, cool spring morning. As she walks across the dewy lawn, she hears her cat meow from her window. She turns to see her cat, Sky, standing on her window sill trying to figure out a way to follow her person without getting her dainty little paws wet. "I'll be back soon, Sky." She says to cat with a smile. It's as if Sky could understand Eliza because she sat down contently as she spoke. Eliza continues to walk to the Corey without a grin on her face, instead her face reflects a burden that Eliza is trying to get to the bottom of, and that's why she's going to the one place where she can think clearly.

She reaches her spot in the woods and there isn't a soul in sight, good, thinks Eliza, I was halfway convinced that he would be here and that is the last thing that I want to deal with today. At least I wasn't stupid enough to fall in love with him. Right? I mean, we were just friends and we were so in sink that we could just about have a whole conversation just by reading each others looks. He the only friend that I've ever had, well besides my sister, but that's different. He was smart, sweet and sincere. The perfect gentleman, and he was incredibly loyal, at least I thought he was. All the girls at my school fell in love with his looks, but he just ignored them because he wasn't shallow like them. I guess- I guess I DO LOVE HIM! Now she couldn't hold back the tears.

She shook her head as if the movement wiped away her thoughts and locks away her feelings and she decided to focus on her sister. She ponders why she found her sister so stressed last night. What is she not telling me? Eliza thinks. Why won't she tell me? She must not trust me. No. No, that's not it. She probably thinks that I can't handle it. That I'm emotionally unstable- just like everyone else. Maybe not, she loves me, but that doesn't me that she doesn't think little of me. What am I thinking? Of course not, she must be protecting me from something. Yes, protecting me. Should I confront her about this? Yes, but not today. Today she has to much on her plate. Today all she should be worrying about is getting through the day. I wish that there was some way that I could unburden my sister or at least convince her that I am responsible enough to take care of myself. I know that I have been getting more care because of my PTSD, which is what my sister blames for my emotional instability. It may be the cause, but I can take responsibility for my own actions and someday hope to control it instead of my PTSD controlling me.

By the time Eliza had gathered her thought she heard the aggravated shouting voice of Helena. Crap! She thought as she took of towards home.

"Lisa!" She calls. "Lisa!"

Eliza arrives at to meet Helena at the front door out of breath.

"There you are, Lisa." She says with a fake grin on her voice and an even more fake joy that it makes Eliza want to barf.

"That's not my name." Eliza says in an annoyed tone. She doesn't care about how rude she sounds because she knows that Helena will just ignore it.

"Yes, well, your late for breakfast, Lisa."

Eliza knows that she doesn't care enough about her to get her name right. "But Lisa is such a pretty name," Helena had told her, "and I won't call you Liza, or something childish like El." Helena likes to think of herself as high society, not in an arrogant way, but in a proper speaking, luxurious life sort of way (not that anyone in a town like this can afford anything luxurious. Her father had hoped that Helena would become like a new mother to Eliza, but she just resents her. Helena has been driven crazy by Eliza's lack of respect for authority, and her PTSD. Eliza didn't hate Helena. She is just annoyed by her like an itchy bug bite that just won't go away.

Eliza follows Helena into the house and sits down to yet another cold meal that everyone else in her family had already finished eating. Once she has finished her cold eggs and a buttered slice of bread, she was hurried out the door where the whole town was meeting for the trial.

It was a large building that looked like a prison. Colorless, cold, and secluded with no windows to the outside world. Eliza catches Kalea looking at her with a concerned expression on her face. Eliza can see her shaking in fear. She seems concerned that Eliza isn't doing the same. Eliza doesn't believe in being anxious or nervous for things like just about every other person. This just adds to Eliza's odd personality with her sarcasm, and coldness toward other people because of her insecurities of other people's judgements after she was diagnosed with PTSD. Eliza has become an expert at reading people.

"It's gonna be okay." Eliza comfortingly says as she squeezes her sister's hand. Kalea tightens her grip and does her best to smile back, but Eliza can still detect the fear in her eyes.

They slowly make their way through a long slow moving line to check every family in. Eliza looks around to see how many families are left in the line in front of them. Eliza spots Sebastian and is family is second in line and Mckenzie is leaning against him with her hands linked together resting on her shoulder. Eliza feels a flare of jealousy rising in her to cover it she flushes it out to her hand as she squeezes her sister's hand harder. She forces herself to look elsewhere.

Every passing minute feels like an eternity as they get checked in and placed in their starting position. Each family was placed in a their own room with dark windows that will lighten when the trial begins and the door will automatically unlock. Other than that no one knows what is going on or what will happen. How close are they to the other families? No one knew. Suddenly the lights went out. They could hear gasps and screams from other rooms. They heard a banging on their door. She felt Kalea grip her tightly. Rioters, Eliza suspects. Eliza felt her heartbeat quicken. Gunshots rang out. Soon after the ponding subsided and slowly they were plunged into silence.

The "begin" bell sounded and the lights lifted and the doors and windows were crystal clear. Eliza felt the pump of adrenaline fueling her brain, overloading it with thoughts too quick to comprehend. Eliza saw people trampling each other in a frenzy. Others tuck close to their family clinging on to each other. Eliza wasn't listening to her family discussing their options.She knew that she didn't need to listen and that Kalea would fill her in on everything that she needs to know.

Eliza was right because the only thing that snapped her head back into place was the kind, but firm grip of her sisters hand on Eliza's upper arm. "We need to stay together. Follow me." Kalea was almost shouting to just make herself her from two feet away.