Bright Side

Chapter 8

     A gasp escapes the crowd and I hear a few of my friends scream my name. I still can't register what is happening. All I know is that there is someone who has grabbed me from behind and blindfolded me. Currently, I am being lifted off my feet, utterly confused.
    
What is going on? Does this normally happen? Why do they have to blindfold me if we are just going to the train station?

"Don't resist me. You won't like what they will do to you." The person who has a hold of me says. The voice is male and smells like garlic making me gag. "Sorry in advance, I guess." The man sighs and jerks me harder.

I realize that I never said goodbye to my friends. I had a heartfelt goodbye with my siblings that satisfies me, but I didn't even get to wave to my friends. They are the solid reason I am still here today. Without them, I would have starved to death years ago. And if I was still alive I would only wake up in the morning to gather and keep my siblings alive. Of course, I love my siblings more than anything, but my friends taught me how to live.

This thought brings tears to my eyes that I will not to spill because by the amount of commotion and screaming of my name I can tell that we are still in the Culling Garden. A single tear falls down my face. If the cameras catch it then they will think this man is hurting me and maybe punish him.

I am shoved brutally into a car, I think. I've never been in a car before, but when the driver starts up the engine, it's not as smooth as it is when they start the train. I can also feel the bouncing indicating that we are on the ground in contrast to the air as we are in when we ride the train.

There is someone sitting uncomfortably close, but I don't dare cause a scene. I don't know what they can do to me in a car, but I already know that I will be in a lot of pain these next few weeks and don't want to give them a reason to cause me any extra.

Suddenly my blindfold is removed and I have to blink, letting my eyes adjust. As I examine my surroundings, I see that I am sitting next to the man I saw this morning by the military truck. That means that I am probably in the truck I saw earlier too. The man, after taking off my blindfold, puts it in a bag and walks to the front of the truck next to the driver. My head whips around looking for any sign of weapons. I see lots of guns and a few boxes of ammunition. In the corner on a self is a rope coiled inside a glass box. It has a handle that looks extremely flexible. There seem to be bolts of electricity that run up and down the long string, but stop as they hit the handle. I can't help wondering what it would be like to handle a whip like that. My family used to own one that was a family heirloom, that I would use and practice with for fun. I was actually pretty good and could do some cool tricks, but we lost it a long time ago.

I look down at the bracelet my mother gave to me and realize that I was subconsciously fiddling with it. That used to be my nervous habit, but my siblings and friends caught on and I forced myself to break it. I guess it never left, though. It is just a simple piece of black rope tied into a circle with a knot at the top. The extra string that hangs off the knot has gotten a lot shorter than it was six years ago, but it is still about as long as my index finger. When it gets too small, I just undo the knot and redo it to the size I wish. I've always been pretty good with tying knots and can handle anything rope-like. I bet this would help me if I wanted to use the rope.

NO! Snap out of it Stella! You are not a violent person. You don't even have the stomach to go hunting with Zath. There is no way you could use that whip anyways. What are you thinking? That the rats will hand it to you and say, "here you go, come and get your revenge on us." Get over yourself.

I didn't realize that I had said that out loud until the man walked right up to me and sent a slap across my face, trying to knock me out. It made a noise like that of a whip, which just manages to confuse me for a moment because of my thoughts a moment ago. I have enough experience outside the wall, though, to know when to play dead, or in this case unconscious, so I just lay still on the seat and listen to what the people up front are saying.

"What do we do? Tell Crimson?" That must be the driver because I don't recognize the voice. He also must be pretty dumb because why would the president who is apparently better than everyone want to deal with a girl who just wants revenge on the rats.

"Nah, they will get more than enough meetings." This time I think it is Big Bulk, as I've decided to call the man who was by the truck this morning. I can't figure out what he means by his comment, though.

Everyone starts laughing at his comment, and by the sounds of it, there are at least three other people with me.

"How many times do you wanna bet she ends up in his office?" This man has a really deep and raspy voice that makes me cringe.

"Ha! Combine her attitude with what her mother did, and probably twice a day." This is definitely the announcer from the Culling. Uggg, I despise her right now. But my mother? What did my mother do? She was so perfect, what could she have possibly done? How do these people know of my mother in the first place?

"Shhhh!" The driver says. "She could be listening!"

"Ha! Not with the force I used to slap her." Big Bulk says. This gets another chorus of laughter.

"Wouldn't hurt to go and make sure," The announcer says.

I start to panic wondering what they will do when they find me. Would they actually hurt me? I get my answer when the man slaps me again without even checking if I am awake. This time I have to hold in a whimper before I fall unconscious.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️༼ つ ◕◡◕ ༽つ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sorry for not posting for a few days. I've been really busy with back to school stuff and sports that are finally getting into full swing. Thanks for reading.

1149 words

Remember God loves you!!

Happy_hoosier