Run

:2: ƁЄԼԼЄ, ƇAMƖƇ, AƝƊ JЄSS

:2: Belle, Camic, and Jess

It’s still as beautiful and elegant as ever, with its long, flowing, white branches that droop to the floor and it’s short, yet tall structure which holds everything together.

Belle Layton and Camic Sear, my two best friends, helped me build a tree fort high in this willow tree, which I climb up immediately once I come to. I remember exactly when we made this big, white, wooden boxed thing; it was before the attack of course; luckily not destroyed in the war.

Belle, being the stubborn 18 year old she was and still is, always stole the things we needed to complete the fort and I remember Camic;  he was the one who made it all possible; from how smart he always was with building- considering he’s a year younger than both Belle and I.

Once it was finished, we all clambered  up, testing it out and realizing how great it was from the start. This was the only place we could come to be ourselves- to share our secrets and to be free from the world.

Our freedom changed, though, once the army of terrorists that supposedly came from all around the world had taken over the country. Since the Vice President had been shot and killed from the war then, he had left  the rest of the world to struggle on which direction to position our army against the stronger one we fought.

We had no freedom to do anything- we could barely be ourselves without being killed. And even though we still don’t know what they want or why they had fought us in the first place, we do know not to give up on our freedom, even if we did before because the opponents just had a stronger army which killed off way too many men and left the rest of us barely alive at all.

Now we’re ruled by monarchy, and even though they had been kind enough to help rebuild our homes back from being destroyed in the war; they still made many changes.

First, there’s certain state limits in which we cannot cross; afraid that if too many people are together a rebellion will rise and conquer the terrorists once and for all. The state limits though, are represented by huge barbed wire fences which close us in and are physically impossible to get across with all the security around. 

Second, the new Monarch-General Lave-has decided to add in mandatory rules:

Number one-  No escaping the state you previously live in.

Number two-  No weapons may be used or bought by North American citizens.

Number three-­ No disrespecting authority.

Of course, all are punishable by death, so very few actually fight back.

The one thing people seem to hold onto, though, is love. People turn to their loved ones for support and care, since the whole continent has been turned into one big factory and times are much harder than before. In my case though, I don’t allow myself to do such a thing; mostly because of my mom’s death. I don’t want to lose another person I love ever again…I don’t intend on risking my heart like that.

I shake from my thoughts as I reach the door to the fort and open it slowly, making my way inside and sitting down by the small squared window we have on the left wall.

The cold air of the month makes me shiver, but soon enough I forget all that while tracing my fingers against my right cheek where I was hit. It brings back a memory, and with that, the moment starts replaying in my head…

I was exactly 16 and my mother was telling me about how she came up with my name; ‘Just like the flowers that grow around the town; Carnations.’ She had said to me. ‘And Carnations means Pride and Beauty; which you definitely have.’ I thought about it for a second; pride and beauty. I don’t have much beauty; unless of course you consider my long, wavy sandy blonde hair, gray eyes and pale, skinny body beauty?