Unity Commanded ( #JustWriteIt #Wattys2015 )

Chapter Three

The cool metal of the gun felt like ice against his skin.

"She's a bit old, but has a few years of work left in her." A rough voice said. "These two are able bodied, but this one...he's of no use."

Link opened his eyes at the last of the man's words. Another guard had his pistol raised at Davey. Link's mother screamed in horror. Every second that passed felt like hours and he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. The man was pointing his gun at Davey and his sweet and innocent brother had never done anything to warrant such an action. If anything, Davey had lightened the world around him. His mother had told him once that they used to call it autism, before the war. There were not any terminally sick, disabled or elderly people in Unity anymore. As a burden to society, guards eliminated them upon detection.

The reality of what was happening dawned on him. Link tried to stand, but the guard pushed down hard on his shoulder and kneed him in the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. Black spots clouded his vision and his entire head exploded in pain. Coughing up the blood he accidently inhaled, the gag prevented him from spitting it out. Having no choice he swallowed the blood, leaned over to his side, and tried to protest. Not only was he sure that his nose was broken, but the guard split his lip as well. Struggling against the knots in his rope, he managed to prop himself up on his elbow.

His mother's screams echoed around their bare walls, he watched Davey struggle against the man holding him. The guard shoved his brother to the floor after he bit down on his arm suddenly. Link looked around, trying to gage how the other guards would react. His eyes paused on Annabelle. Tears fell down her face and her shoulders shook as she watched what was happening. He tried to push himself onto his knees, but fell over once more when the room spun violently. Resting his forehead to the floor, he forcefully swallowed another mouthful of blood. As he turned his head to the side, he pleaded.

"-pease -on't -urt -im." His voice muffled by the gag.

He hadn't even uttered the last word when the sound of the gun firing shattered his existence. His brother collapsed on the floor, his body slumped awkwardly and lifeless.

He screamed at the guard, wide eyed and in shock.

His mother sat back against the wall and sobbed in anguish. Annabelle's tear streaked face paled and she looked as though she may vomit. Link shut his eyes and shook his head, wishing he could erase what had just happened. He barely had time to register the loss of his brother, before the guard jerked him to his feet. They did the same to his mother and sister and forced them out of the cabin. The wet fabric of his gag chilled as soon as it hit the cold night air. Several other families were marched out of their homes, some in worse shape than he was. Something odd struck him. There should have been more people.

More than a hundred armed guards escorted them to the path that would eventually hit the main trail down the mountain. About a dozen more carried lanterns to light the way. They pushed and shoved people into a straight line and motioned for them to follow. There was something wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Fighting against his captor, he dug his heels into the earth. The guard responded by palming his aching face.

"You'll listen, boy! Or I'll send you on to meet your brother." The guard snapped.

Link's face throbbed painfully. He bumped into the girl in front of him as the man shoved him in line. Recognizing her, he shot her an apologetic look. Zoe made fishing trips with him and some of the other boys in the village a few times a year. His father and Zoe's would take them. They would hike down the mountain and spend the night camping. She was good and always caught more fish than him. Actually, she caught more than any of the boys did. That was it. There were no men. Stepping out of line, he looked ahead of his spot and realized that only women and children stood in front of him, older children at that. There were not any kids younger than seven or eight.

Smacking the back of his head, the guard yelled at him to resume his march. He obeyed and the guard moved forward, checking on someone else. Zoe looked back, her hazel eyes still piercing in the low light of the lanterns. Furrowing his brows, Link questioned her glance. Her eyes darted towards the woods. He shook his head. Running would get them shot for sure. She huffed and turned around, stretching her bound arms out briefly. Her shirt raised slightly. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the hilt of a knife tucked into the back of her pants.

Allowing her arms to rest back down, she glanced back at him again. It was a knife. A plan started to form in his mind. They would only have one shot and would have to leave most everyone behind, but if it worked, he could make it to Sugarloaf and warn the others. His dad would know what to do. Waiting nervously for the right time, Link's thoughts wandered to Davey. If he got away, he wouldn't be able to go back for him. His eyes watered and he blinked away the tears. Trying to block out the awful last moments of Davey's life from his mind, he remembered happier times. Flashes of his brothers arm flapping and excited laughter consumed him.

Instead of making him feel better, it angered him more. Only monsters murdered innocent children and ripped families apart. He eyed the path ahead of him. The sharp bend he had been waiting for was only about a hundred feet away. Pretending to trip into Zoe, they both fell to the ground. Their backs to each other, his hand closed around the hilt of the knife. He understood why the guards had not seen it. It was a short, not even three inches and rested in a sheath attached to the inside of her pants. She pulled her hands apart as far as she could and Link sliced the rope as he pulled it out. Careful not to let on, she kept her wrists pressed tightly together.

He dropped the knife to the ground and acted as though he were trying to get up. The guard started yelling at them and marched their way. Kneeling he nodded to the guard, hoping he would see him attempting to stand and get back in line. Zoe sat up and planted her feet on the ground bringing her knees close to her chest. Link managed to get to his feet and stepped between her and the guard. He pulled as hard as he could on the rope, hoping to give her enough space to cut. Standing, she slashed through his binding quickly, placed the knife in his hand, and ran into the tree line.

The guard lifted his lantern and yelled for her to stop. An armed guard took off after her and while the man in front of him was distracted, Link plunged the knife into his side. He had never stabbed someone before. It was a surprise to him when the knife slid into the man's body with ease. For a brief moment, he felt as though he might retch. The guard was obviously just as surprised because he stared down at the object inside him in confusion. Link didn't wait for him to react. He took off in the woods in the opposite direction of Zoe. She had farther to run, but his course was a steeper incline. Hearing a couple gunshots, he couldn't tell if they were aiming at him.

Pulling the gag from his mouth, he didn't stop. If he could make it, he would lose them for sure. A bullet zipped past his ear and punctured a tree as he passed it. Someone was close. Pushing himself harder, he ran faster. Tree branches whipped his arms and already pained faced. Tripping over a large root protruding from the ground, he pushed himself back up and felt a stinging sensation in his right arm. Glancing down quickly, he noticed blood had soaked through his shirt. He thought that he must have scratched it on a broken tree branch and put it out of his mind. Veering to the left, he felt that he must have been near it. A guard yelled close behind him. Breaking free of the tree line he saw Zoe reach the clearing a few seconds after him. She waved at him from across the way as she was running.

Knowing She had made it motivated him to move faster. The guards were closing in on them but he sprinted the last few feet and jumped as hard as he could. In the second,it took him to drop from the cliff into the icy water, he wondered if the guards would have the nerve to follow.

Authors Notes

If you like what you have read so far, please vote or comment. I'd love to know what you think :)

I will update this story every week, so keep an eye out for the next chapter!

#JustWriteIt