Captive Innocence

Hold on... Say what?

When the bus stopped Leah was half asleep. They had been driving for at least ten hours, but she got up and looked out. It was different from anything back home. The soldiers had covered the windows not letting them see where they were going. It was an isolated area, cut off from society. Fields and meadows were visible on the horizon. There was a lake; it stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance was a mansion. It was big and extravagant, green bushes covering the sides of it, with a large set of stairs leading up to the front door. Leah walked out still holding Joshua who was still asleep. She was joined by her friends.

"Leah, you look worn out; want me to hold him?" asked Izabela. Leah could see the concern written across Izabela’s beautiful face. Izabela never thought of herself as beautiful, but she truly was. Her auburn hair and hazel eyes were a perfect combination for her personality: unique and easy-going.

"Oh," Leah wanted to protest, but couldn't resist her offer since her arm was losing its feeling. She gently placed Joshua in Izabela's hands. "Thanks"

"No problem."

Leah looked around and found little Sarah on the floor, crying softly. She leaned down and picked her up. The little girl wrapped her tiny arms around Leah's neck, holding on for dear life. Leah held her tight and began to rub her back, trying to soothe her. "It’s okay, Sarah. I got you now."

The little girl rested her head on Leah's shoulder and eventually stopped crying. Leah couldn't believe things had gotten so bad. She never thought that this would ever happen to them, not in America.

The girls began to look around. The people on the buses were now coming out. They saw many of their friends and way more children than expected. There were military soldiers everywhere, surrounding them. The scene was hard to look at. It was as if they were in a horror film. They saw the guys come out of the bus with their hands behind their backs, as if they were criminals. Marcus was among the young men there as well as Paul, his younger brother. There were Chris and Dimitru, who were cousins. Many of the young men coming out were men Leah and the rest of the girls knew and cared about. It was hard to see them in that way.

Just as they began to walk towards the guys, Leah heard a scream coming from behind her. She turned and saw the soldiers taking the children away. They were being pulled out of the girls' grasp and taken. A soldier came towards Leah, and she held on tighter to Sarah. "What are you going to do with her?" She asked.

"They will be placed in better hands," the soldier said as he reached for Sarah.

"She's just fine in my arms," Leah responded.

The soldier took a step closer and whispered into her ear. "Don't make this any harder on yourself. The child will not be harmed."

Leah closed her eyes as Sarah was pulled out of her arms. Sarah tried to hold on by tugging onto Leah's shirt. "Leah don't let them take me. Leah!" The little girl screamed as loud as she could. Leah opened her eyes and felt hot tears run down her face.

"It’s okay Sarah. This man isn't going to hurt you." She stared into the man's eyes then back at Sarah. "I promise."

Sarah let her go and slowly eased down. Leah watched as he took Sarah away. She resisted the urge to go after them; she knew it wouldn't help. A hand tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around to see Chris.

"Leah, what are they doing with Sarah?" He asked.

"I don't know, Chris. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let them take her." Leah looked into his green eyes. Sarah looked exactly like her big brother. Her eyes watered at the thought of little Sarah being hurt in any way. She blinked back more tears.

"It’s okay Leah. Don't cry," he said as he leaned in to hug her.

Anna walked towards the group of teenagers from her church. It was hard to tell for sure how many were taken, but there were easily thirty of them. Then thoughts of never seeing her family again filled her mind and she had to stop. Tears began to build in her eyes. She turned away and put her hands to her face. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She looked up and saw Ben. His dark brown eyes were searching hers.

"Anna, it's going to be alright," he said quietly.

"No, it's not," she said as tears spilled down her face. "We're miles away from home and we don't even know why we're here."

He gently rubbed her back. "Anna, dear, it'll all be over soon."

She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her. "I didn't even get to see my family, Ben."

He felt her shaking from her sobs. He pulled her closer as he felt her arms wrap around him. "Shhh, Anna. I promise it'll be okay. It'll all be over soon. You'll get Dorian back and we'll all go home soon. I promise."

Just then, a tall mysterious man in a navy uniform came out of the mansion. His dirty blond hair appeared silver in the rays of the setting sun. Everyone turned to his direction, anxious to hear what he needed to say.

"A lot of you are wondering why you are here, but I'm sorry to inform you that I can't exactly tell you why. All of you are ordered to stay here until further notice from the President. This is not a concentration camp, but we do expect you to fend for yourself." He looked up, his blue eyes glancing around the group in front of him. His gaze was locked on one in particular. Leah. He never thought he'd see her again; yet, here she was right before his eyes, just as beautiful as ever.

He turned his attention to a man next to him. The man was a Lieutenant, second in command. He urged the Lieutenant to speak. "Okay everyone; we will have the girls in the west cabins and the guys in the east. Don't worry about the children. They will be taken care of properly," he added.

Everyone started to rush into the cabins, but Leah had her mind on something else. She recognized the man in charge of this chaos as if in a dream.

He was here in front of her eyes. She could hear everyone around her moving, trying to get to their places. Leah just gazed up at the man she thought she would never see again. She was in a trance and her feet were locked in place.

He looked back down at her. She was the only one standing still; she was the only calm one. He wanted to walk towards her and talk to her, but he would not put her in that kind of danger. He couldn't help but stare at her beautiful face, her captivating eyes, and mocking lips that for the slightest moment moved and whispered, "James." She was saying his name. He wished he could have heard her say it.