Deceptions

I ran, it was pure instinct to run. The yells coming after me deafened my ears. I pushed through the trees and gasped as a branch slapped me across my face, leaving my cheek sore and red. I couldn't stop and nurse my wound, I had to keep moving before they came after me. I slipped through the foliage and leapt over boulders, occasionally tripping and falling to the forest floor. I was desperate to get away from them. Desperate to get away from the people I once called family and desperate to escape from the armored men with guns loaded and ready to to blast every part of my body. Everything felt surreal to me. Just moments before I was giddy and happy, but now, now I was running for my life, scared to death that I would be captured and killed. The very second the Ranks had barged through the door I knew something was wrong, and by looking at the expressions my family wore I knew they had given me up for their own benefit. My own parents and my older brother had sacrificed my life so that theirs may turn for the better. I felt my stomach twist into knots, bile beginning to work its way up my throat. I wanted to hurl. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I was disgusted by my family's actions, they had turned me away. Heck, they wanted to hand me over to the Ranks. My parents, they wanted to hand me over, their own daughter, to the authorities. And as for my brother, my brother who was built strong and tall, the kind of person who you could trust with just about anything had seemed perfectly okay with this whole mess. People say that family sticks together in the thick of things but now, now I don't think that's true. My family told me that they would protect me, they didn't care that I was a rebel against the nation. They knew that what I was doing was good. Right? No, I was wrong. I was dead wrong. They were supposed to be there for me but they lied. They lied to me. They had been filling my head with deceptions. They were sinners.

A gunshot went off and I froze. I looked up into the sky, seeing the tips of the trees that stood above me. Two more shots went off and I watched as a small flock of birds flew out of the forest and up into the heavens. My body shook, and I didn't know why it did. It just, shook. Then a horrific thought crossed my mind, there were three gunshots. Three of them, and they came from behind me. Three shots, I had three family members. The Ranks had shot them, I was convinced. I mulled over this prospect and there was nothing that could deny the idea that they were dead. Those sinners I called family were dead. Dead because of me. I put my hand to my face and felt tear stained cheeks. I hadn't even realized that I had been crying. I plopped down on the forest's mossy floor and cried. Tears, spilt down my cheeks as images of my family's cold bodies lay on the floor of our home. I was my fault. It was all my fault. I don't know how long I sat there, but when another gunshot went off I knew it was time to keep moving. I pushed myself up and started running again. I had to go into the city, it was my only hope. If I stayed in the forest the Ranks would find me. I trudged through the trees, often times stumbling around like an oaf and getting scratched by passing branches. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally reached the outskirts of the city. The sun was at its highest point now; midday.

A breeze had followed me out of the forest and swirled through my raven locks. I brushed my hair out of my face and heaved a heavy sigh. I was entering a new chapter of my life, a hard one I knew. My head would be hunted by bounty hunters, and the Ranks. The government would probably have a reward for my capture. Maybe they already did have a reward, and that's why my family gave me away. But as soon as I fled they paid the price for my escape. Their blood was now in my hands, it was my fault and I knew no one, not even my conscious could tell me other wise. I had begun to trek down to the city line and two hours later I was walking down the sidewalk. I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my jacket and pulled the hood up, keeping my eyes focused on the ground. I'd hear the conversations around me and felt my body go stiff when a man's words filled my ears.

"They said to keep an eye out for this rebel, she's a dangerous one at that. The Ranks were sent to execute her but apparently she escaped. She'd be pretty dumb to find cover here. The Ranks are turning this city upside down looking for her and that stupid organization she belongs with."

I told myself to remain calm, I walked away from the man who had been talking about me. I made my way down the street but soon heard the sound of footsteps closing in.

"You there! Halt!"

I whirled around and my eyes widened as I saw five Ranks making their way towards me. I stood there for a second before my mind told me to run. And I did just that. I ran. I brushed past civilians and dashed through the street, barely evading the cars that came barreling towards me. I jumped onto the other side of the street and turned left. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me but after using them all day, I was slowing down. The window in the shop that I was passing by shattered. They had opened fire at me. Not that my life was in danger before but now, I knew that if I kept at a pace like this, I would have more holes in me than a sponge. Using the little bit of energy left in me I sprinted down the street. My adrenaline was rushing through my veins and my heart pounded in my head. Perspiration dripped down my face. People who I passed gave me strange looks but I had no time to care what they thought of me. A few more shots were fired and I swore I felt one wiz past my back. I turned down an alley and stopped for a second. Gasping for air, my lungs felt as if they were on fire. I began to calm down until I heard a door creak open. The creak caused a shiver to run down my spine. I slowly turned to look for the door but suddenly a large hand grabbed my mouth and dragged me back. I tried to scream, but my voice was muffled by the large calloused hand. I was now in a room, the door had shut and I had no idea where I was. I shut my eyes tight and a few tears spilt down my face.

"Hush now child, you're safe." came a voice.

I slowly opened my eyes and realized that the hand over my mouth was gone. I turned to look behind me to see a burly man dressed in brown tower over me. I turned back around and saw another man who stood in front of a group of people who smiled kindly at me. If I hadn't been so frightened I would have smiled back, but my lips remained a tight thin line.

"Veronica, you're safe now. You can trust us, we're not sinners." the man said.

He held out his hand and showed me a black wristband. A bird in flight was branded on it and I felt my heart lift. He was one of them. He was like me, a rebel. A person who wanted to make things right and hope to fix the mess that our nation had fallen into. I could trust this man. But it wasn't what he showed me that made me fully believe him. His words rang in my head.

"You can trust us, we're not sinners."

'We're not sinners.' They weren't sinners. They weren't liars. They were my hope.