The Lost Ones

The Picnic

He met me at my dorm at 5. I had spent an hour fussing with my hair, more nervous about where we were going than how I looked. At 4:52 I put down my brush and decided to just put it up. When he finally showed up, I took my time heading to the door, trying to delay the inevitable. I forced myself to breathe, fighting with myself internally. After his third knock, I opened the door. I looked at him, probably looking half crazed. He gave me a lopsided smile.

"You ready?" He asked. I wanted to tell him no, but instead forced a smile.

"Yup." He grabbed my hand, pulling me into the hallway.His other hand held a brown wicker picnic basket.

"Ooh getting fancy are we?" I asked. He laughed, squeezing my hand.

"Yeah, you might want to see and taste the food before going there." I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He still had that smile plastered on his face. His easy demeanour calmed some of my nerves, but I could still feel the uncertainties bubbling in the pit of my belly. Feeling my gaze, he turned towards me and paused. I wasn't expecting the sudden stop and was yanked back by our connected hands.

"What?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked. I gave a short laugh.

"Umm.. Honestly no. I don't want to go to Cherry Hill," I told him. His shoulders dropped as all the giddiness was deflated from him. His grip on my hand loosened.

"But, I do want to go out with you. So, I guess that's just a factor I'll have to ignore." I said. He smiled at me, happiness filling him once more.

"Really?" He asked. I nodded and he pulled me close for a quick hug. When he pulled away, he grabbed my hand,  and pulled me quickly out of the dorms. I saw Cherry hill in the distance, shadowed by the fading sun, like an omniscient presence waiting for its revenge.

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"Right here. It's perfect." Jesse said, coming to a stop. We stood on top of Cherry hill, the spot that overlooked the school campus. I couldn't help but wonder if this was one of the last views that my brother saw before he was kidnapped. I closed my eyes and turned away.

"Yeah," I said. "Perfect."  I smiled weakly at Jesse as he spread out the picnic blanket and placed the basket in the middle. He sat down and patted the spot next to him. I took a deep breath and sat next to him, giving a small shiver as the autumn wind chilled my exposed arms.

"Are you cold?" Jesse asked in the middle of pulling out the food from the basket. I gave a small nod and smiled as he pulled his cable knit sweater off and handed it to me. I tried to hand his sweater back, blushing all the while.

"It's okay, I should have remembered-"

"That it's okay if your boyfriend gives you his sweater? It's kind of part of the code." He said smiling. "Besides, I've got a long-sleeved thermal on. I'll be fine."  He pinched the fabric that clung to his lanky frame. I laughed and pulled the sweater over my head, enjoying the warm scent of Jesse.

"Shall we eat?" He asked in a vaguely British accent. He waved his hand at the assortment of things I assume he got from the Café. I laughed at him and nodded.

"We shall."  We smiled at each other, and I found that my anxiety was rapidly decreasing with every smile he gifted me with. We ate and talked, and as we finished our pudding cups I felt happiness bubbling behind my lips, waiting to burst forward into the dark world, and shed some light.

"So." Jesse started. I laughed.

"So." I repeated, scooting closer into his warmth. He enveloped me into a hug, encircling me in his arms. He stared down at me, with a lopsided grin. It was one of those movie moments, where everything stills and the couple looks deep into each others eyes and you know that they will inevitably kiss.

"I love you." He breathed, his lips just inches from mine.

"And I, you." I smiled.

His lips pressed against mine, making me feel as safe as ever, something that seemed to have disappeared lately. The peacefulness of a care free life had ceased to exist about six years ago, when the government crumbled beneath the weight of economic unbalance and civil wars. Our government was now a military dictatorship, but no one would ever admit that. They would claim that democracy lived, but for people like me, that's little more than a fools dream. The populace started crumbling under famine and violence, so they began carting everyone under the age of twenty to boarding schools, with high stone walls and soldiers. None of us had been outside of them in years. None of us  had seen our family in just as long.

Other countries sought this time to attack, recognizing our weakness as an opportunity. We fought back relentlessly, making ourselves weaker. Then the defluo began showing up. They looked like normal humans, talked like them, even looked like our friends who had been taken, but they weren't. They were soulless Satanist, who kidnapped the kids from the boarding schools all over the country. No one knew why, and reports for help had been sent out dozens of times before we realised we were on our own.

  The sirens blared knocking my thoughts away with cold fear. The peaceful blanket that surrounded me cracked and shattered like a thousand pieces, slicing my courage to ribbons. A sickening realization hit me.

We were a mile from the nearest dorm.

We out in the open, save for a small bunch of trees.

We were not safe.

We were next.