other shacks around us. Moss has taken root and grows in tight
green bunches down near the foundation. Three swirling knots, to the left of
the where the door used to be, form what looks like two eyes and a gaping
mouth. Rain runs off the metal roof, splashing into rivulets along the sides.
I can feel my eyes beginning to
water with the realization that this is no longer my home. By tomorrow, it’ll
be an empty shell, void of the lives that were lived there. If the DAV army can
get their torches hot enough to burn the soaking wet wood, and it’s doubtful
they will, all that will be left is a pile of black, smoldering timbers.
I can’t allow the loss of my past to
consume me. My future is the only thing that remains, and I have to get this
over with so I can move on. Rushing inside, I find Grandfather where I left him
when Finn killed the DAV infantryman, who’s lying beside him. This man, this
invader, broke into my home, and his presence there sends me into an
uncontrollable rage. He violated our home, and I want him gone. I grab his leg
and begin pulling, yanking, trying to drag him. At first, he’s too heavy. I
pull and pull, and nothing happens. I curse at his body, demanding him to move.
A warmness fills my legs and my
arms, this sensation I’ve never had before, and when I yank his leg again, his
body slides across the floor. He’s almost light, like I’m dragging a sack full
of deer hides.
Grandfather’s words echo in my head.
“ Strength…she gave it to you for a reason. ”
CHAPTER ● TWELVE
I’m amazed at how easily I’m able to
drag the soldier out of my home.
What’s happening to me? First I can hear
Finn’s thoughts, and now this. I’m dragging a man that easily weighs a hundred
pounds more than me like he’s a pillow. I don’t know. I simply don’t know
what’s going on.
The beating of the drums grows
louder, and I don’t have time to think about it.
Boom, boom, ba-boom.
I grunt, growl, and heave the
soldier, slinging his body, watching it slide ten feet across the mud. I stare
down at my hands, shake my head, and then dart inside.
There’s no time for a long goodbye. I
kneel over Grandfather and push his white, stringy hair away from his forehead
and then kiss him there. Before, his skin was burning hot. Now it’s cold and
dry. No more tears, I think, and then grab the blanket from his bed. I pause
and take one last look, knowing I’ll never see him again.
My grandfather. The man that fed me
and clothed me, cared for me when those who should’ve had left me behind. I
promise myself that if I ever find my parents, if they’re still alive, that I
won’t scream at them. All I want to know is why.
Grandfather. The man who taught me
how to hunt and fish, how to find the most perfect rocks for my slingshot, and
how to sneak so quietly through the woods that I could slip up behind a
squirrel and grab its tail.
“I’ll make you proud,” I say, and
then drape the blanket over him, covering his body from head to toe.
That’s it. I leave him here,
realizing that when one world ends, another begins.
My past is gone.
Back in The Center, I see that Finn
and the Republicons are at the south end of the encampment, patiently waiting
on me. Slung across their backs, each of them carries his own sack, along with
another they’ve taken from one of the fallen. When I approach, Finn hands me a
bag.
I recognize the family markings on
it. Two connecting circles with a line through the middle, which tells me the
sack belonged to Brandon’s father. I hold it, stare at it for a moment, and
then say, “Trade.”
He does without question, and then
we’re moving.
I don’t look back. I’ll never look
back.
The only things I can hear are our
boots slapping against the sopping earth and Hawkins’s remorseful wail.
***
I’m dreaming. I know I’m dreaming,
but it feels so real, like I’m actually back at the encampment. I’m in my shack
with Grandfather and Grandmother. Mother and
green bunches down near the foundation. Three swirling knots, to the left of
the where the door used to be, form what looks like two eyes and a gaping
mouth. Rain runs off the metal roof, splashing into rivulets along the sides.
I can feel my eyes beginning to
water with the realization that this is no longer my home. By tomorrow, it’ll
be an empty shell, void of the lives that were lived there. If the DAV army can
get their torches hot enough to burn the soaking wet wood, and it’s doubtful
they will, all that will be left is a pile of black, smoldering timbers.
I can’t allow the loss of my past to
consume me. My future is the only thing that remains, and I have to get this
over with so I can move on. Rushing inside, I find Grandfather where I left him
when Finn killed the DAV infantryman, who’s lying beside him. This man, this
invader, broke into my home, and his presence there sends me into an
uncontrollable rage. He violated our home, and I want him gone. I grab his leg
and begin pulling, yanking, trying to drag him. At first, he’s too heavy. I
pull and pull, and nothing happens. I curse at his body, demanding him to move.
A warmness fills my legs and my
arms, this sensation I’ve never had before, and when I yank his leg again, his
body slides across the floor. He’s almost light, like I’m dragging a sack full
of deer hides.
Grandfather’s words echo in my head.
“ Strength…she gave it to you for a reason. ”
CHAPTER ● TWELVE
I’m amazed at how easily I’m able to
drag the soldier out of my home.
What’s happening to me? First I can hear
Finn’s thoughts, and now this. I’m dragging a man that easily weighs a hundred
pounds more than me like he’s a pillow. I don’t know. I simply don’t know
what’s going on.
The beating of the drums grows
louder, and I don’t have time to think about it.
Boom, boom, ba-boom.
I grunt, growl, and heave the
soldier, slinging his body, watching it slide ten feet across the mud. I stare
down at my hands, shake my head, and then dart inside.
There’s no time for a long goodbye. I
kneel over Grandfather and push his white, stringy hair away from his forehead
and then kiss him there. Before, his skin was burning hot. Now it’s cold and
dry. No more tears, I think, and then grab the blanket from his bed. I pause
and take one last look, knowing I’ll never see him again.
My grandfather. The man that fed me
and clothed me, cared for me when those who should’ve had left me behind. I
promise myself that if I ever find my parents, if they’re still alive, that I
won’t scream at them. All I want to know is why.
Grandfather. The man who taught me
how to hunt and fish, how to find the most perfect rocks for my slingshot, and
how to sneak so quietly through the woods that I could slip up behind a
squirrel and grab its tail.
“I’ll make you proud,” I say, and
then drape the blanket over him, covering his body from head to toe.
That’s it. I leave him here,
realizing that when one world ends, another begins.
My past is gone.
Back in The Center, I see that Finn
and the Republicons are at the south end of the encampment, patiently waiting
on me. Slung across their backs, each of them carries his own sack, along with
another they’ve taken from one of the fallen. When I approach, Finn hands me a
bag.
I recognize the family markings on
it. Two connecting circles with a line through the middle, which tells me the
sack belonged to Brandon’s father. I hold it, stare at it for a moment, and
then say, “Trade.”
He does without question, and then
we’re moving.
I don’t look back. I’ll never look
back.
The only things I can hear are our
boots slapping against the sopping earth and Hawkins’s remorseful wail.
***
I’m dreaming. I know I’m dreaming,
but it feels so real, like I’m actually back at the encampment. I’m in my shack
with Grandfather and Grandmother. Mother and
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