Little Dawn

Chapter 10

Casey still wasn't sure what she was getting herself into. There were hundreds of questions in her mind but before she could ask Evan about them, he had to run towards the north part of the tents or "Land of rebels", which they called. 

After the meeting, they had earlier that day Evan introduced Dyron and Casey to Shira, a tall broad man, with amazingly long dreadlocks that ran down his back. He had gentle brown eyes and a tender smile that made Casey feel welcomed. After informing both of them about his great abilities and his allegiance with the rebels, Evan took off after some other man whispered something in his ear. He nodded and announced his need to go to the Northern part of the land.

As they stepped out of the canvas, a green scenery lay in front of them. Casey couldn't help but cherish in awe at what lay in front of her. She recalled her mother telling stories about the place she used to live in, with its green grass, trees around, and the sun's rays hitting its leaves. She couldn't help but notice how happy people seemed to be below, even though they were arduously working. 

They owned cows, chickens, and even goats. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen a goat, and her feet started moving towards it. As she walked down the hill a sweet smell hit her nostrils so she decided to take a deep breath. Shira glanced at Casey's actions and his loud chortle filled her surroundings. 

"We've been in this location for three years now," he explained with his undertone voice. 

"Where exactly are we?" Casey asked.

"In a magic place Ms. Casey", he once again smiled at her. 

She was bewildered when she got to caress the goats. She turned to look at Dyron who was also smiling back at her. Casey couldn't help but admire his features. When she had seen him for the first time his face was dull, no emotions were expressed but now, she could almost see through him. 

Shira explained about their food and water sources. Each word that came out of his mouth made Casey smile even more. She was feeling part of a dream, one her mother had told about years ago.

"How do you manage to stay hidden?" Dyron's question made Shira stop walking through the narrow rocky trail. He turned around and with a grin started speaking.

"We have a highly strict lookout schedule. We are far away from the towns of Prosperity and we've learned how to be cautious. For example, we don't use any tech device, so there's no risk of signals giving out our location". He raised his hand with a lifted finger, "but what keeps us the safest is an artifact Evan found, left behind by the Great War. Come, take a look." He motioned with his hand for them to follow.

Shira explained that they were walking towards the center of the Land of Rebels, which was a forest with dense vegetation and full of annoying mosquitos.

They walked for long minutes and eventually found themselves stepping into a forest. When they came across a hut with four men guarding it Shira greeted them with a grin. Its roof was covered by the tree's branches and leaves.  Shira turned the knob of its door and invited Casey and Dyron inside.

"This is it" Shira extended his arms and pointed towards a black box situated in the middle of the hut.

Dyron walked closer to it. The box was over a metal hard table and at its top, a long antenna reached the hut's roof. Red, green, and blue lights blinking on the right side indicated that it was on and working right.

"How does this thing protect us?" Dyron asked before Casey was able to.

"This thing right here makes us invisible to human eyes AND surrounds our perimeter with a shield." Shira nodded and stared at it with proud eyes.