Rebel

Chapter 3

Chapter three

Maddy felt movement around her as people started to empty the room and soft sheets were laid on top of her. It was the first time in a long time she could remember sleeping in a comfortable place, but even though reality was pleasant, her dreams took a more frightening turn.

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Maddy was standing on a cliff, overlooking a glimmering ocean, waves peacefully crashing under her. She looked out to the horizon. The sun was setting, warm waves of soft red and orange made their way Across the sky, causing it to turn a beautiful rainbow haze and the clouds to be a light fluorescent pink. It was the best sunset she had ever seen. She heard footsteps behind her, bare feet muffled by the soft grass that surrounded her. She turned to see Sheila running towards her, a terrified expression on her face, and stopping in front of Maddy. Behind her, the wind rippled through the trees that surrounded them, making a ghostly sound and causing Sheila's thick black hair to whip around. The horror on her face replaced the calm air with a more eerie tone. Sheila looked back at Maddy with terror in her eyes, her jaw clenched. Energy rippled through Maddy, and words echoed through her mind, as if Sheila was speaking out loud.

They are coming. They will stop at nothing to slaughter every last one of you and scatter your blood and bones on their soils, your deaths are their triumphs and will be rooted into their hearts and minds. They are coming. Maddy stumbled backward. The shadows and darkness below were pulling her, wrapping themselves around her and bringing her down. Maddy fell off the jagged edge of the cliff, wind rushing past her, the sting of sea salt against her skin. She could hear Sheila scream, and looked up to see her bending over the cliff, her eyes wider than dinner plates. Maddy was plummeting into darkness, the sound of churning waves that weren't so peaceful anymore under her, crashing against rocks that Maddy new would smash and churn her body into a limp bloody pulp. She seemed to be falling in slow motion now. A wave of darkness washed over her, and a voice in her mind boomed a chant that throbbed in her head. Her arms and legs filled with a pain so heavy she could barely move.

Let go of your differences. Band together. We need to win this war, and stop them from destroying everything we love. One image was frozen in Maddy's mind. It was her mother's gift, but the key was gone. Grief filled Maddy's mind as she realized the one thing she held onto was gone. In the distance, Maddy could hear the shriek of Sheila as she screamed for her dying sister, never to hear an answer. Then, as if everything had been swept away... silence.

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Maddy's eyelids flew open, sweat clinging to her brows. Her heart was pounding, fear clutching at her chest. It took her a second to realize where she was. A small, cold room. A soft couch resting beneath her. Without a moment of hesitation, she dug the box from her mother out of her pocket, relieved that it was still there. The key was still around her neck, too. She took a deep breath and then sat up, peeling the blankets off of her sweaty legs and stuffing the box back into her pocket. The moment she took the blankets off she regretted it, because the cold bit at her skin, causing her to shiver. But the cool air calmed her. After all, she had grown up sleeping the New York City night air, with no blankets to shield the bitter cold.

Maddy peered through a nearby window. She could make our the moon's pale figure hanging in the night sky and the milky white color of the stars. The sun was not yet visible, and Maddy knew it was long before it made its appearance. The room was silent and dark, except for the quiet crackling of the fire from the dusty hearth.

"Maddy?" A dazed voice whispered. She turned, her eyes narrowing and her hands flinging up in case she had to defend herself.

"Jeez!" Maddy's eyes adjusted to the dark, and she saw that it was Leo who had spoken, "It's just me." He laughed, sitting up on the couch across from her. She sighed, leaning back into the soft cushions.