When I Awakened

Epilogue

   I incline from a bed. It's not my room, and surely not my house. I scream, and some stranger walks into my room.

   "She's awake! Repeat: she's awake," a military man announces, coming toward me.

   I try to run for it, but an IV prevents me from getting up fast enough. The military man catches me and handcuffs me. He rips the IV from me and lifts me. I squirm and try to escape, but it's no use; this man is much stronger than me.

   He takes me all the way downstairs, and I struggle all the way. Finally, we reach a room labeled Interrogation and enter it. He sits me down in a chair and quickly moves a cuff onto the chair so I can't escape. I try to, anyway. Annoyed, he slaps me in the face.

   "This will go a lot faster if you don't move so much," he warns me. I face him angrily.

   "Who do you think you are? Where am I?" I question.

   He stays silent and looks at the door as if he's waiting for someone. To get his attention, I shake the chain of my cuffs.

   "Hey! I asked you a question!" I shouted.

   Quickly, he snaps around and slaps me again. I stop moving while he kneels and gives me the coldest stare I've ever seen.

   "You listen to me, kid. You keep your mouth shut unless you're asked something, and for both our sakes...stay. Still," he orders sternly.

   I feel a lump form in my throat and I want to cry. He turns away and looks at the door again. I wait for whoever he's waiting to enter the room. After a few minutes, a buff, tall man enters. He takes a moment to look at me. I notice him tilt his head to his right, probably to inspect my cheek. He then turns to the guard.

   "She's one of those, huh?" he asks.

   The guard nods. The man clicks his tongue and slowly makes his way over to me. He then kneels in front of me and we make eye contact.

   "We don't like troublemakers. Do you think you could do us a favor and...cooperate?" he asks.

   Trembling, I nod. He smirks.

   "Good. We have some questions."

   I don't say anything. He waits for a moment, but I force myself to wait, too. He looks at me and nods as though impressed.

   "She learns fast," he tells the guard.

   I watch him turn to me.

   "What happened?" he asks.

   "Wh-what? What do you mean?" I reply, not understanding.

   "In your dream. What happened?"

   "I-I beat you. I beat all of you! How are you still here? I-I beat you!" I panic.

   He and the guard laugh, freaking me out more. I suddenly don't know what happened or what's happening.

   "Wh-where's Mom? Where's Austin? Elijah? Casey?" I ask.

   "Oh, you naive little child. You should've known it was a dream," the man sighs. "Realistically, we wouldn't be defeated, certainly not by a child."

   "I'm tougher than I look!" I shout.

   "If that were true, it would take more than a couple of slaps to tame you. You bowed down like a dog to food," the guard laughs, and the man joins.

   "No, he's right," the man contributes. "You couldn't stop us."

   "What about the president?!" I ask, panicked. "Where is he during all this?"

   "The president? The one we killed all that time ago?" laughs the guard. Sweat drips down my face and I'm hyperventilating. The man turns to face me again. He brushes the hair out of my face.

   "You've defeated nothing," he explains. "There's no president, family, or anyone else to help you."

   He stays silent for a moment, letting it sink in. Once I realize I can't argue anymore, I let my head drop. This is my reality. The man leans in, grabs my chin, and turns my head so I'm facing him.

   "Now," he orders, "tell me everything."