Toys are to play

Behind the secret wall

Before leaving the secure spot we were in, I decided to sit and think. Not literally, because no one sat. The thing was that we could feel the war happening around. And as a well minded person, I couldn't just step out through the not-so-solid-wall, face that crowd and say "hello everyone!"

Oliver had a plan and he left me all by myself!

"Am-ham, all by yourself?" William crossed his arms.

      "Ah, go to..." My cursing stopped not because I didn't want to curse, but because, out of the blue, there was light coming into my brain.

       "WILLIAM!!" I yelled, grabbing him by his collar. "THATS IT!"

"THATS IT WHAT?" He asked wide-eyed while I shook him.

"Okay, wait." I started walking in circles, exactly the way I saw Sebastian doing once. It was a good manner of thinking, I've found out. "Remember when Oliver said 'take the kids out of here?' It means, obviously, that there are children. They spend time here, with activities, a schedule and everything. They live here."

William raised both eyebrows "And where are kids..."

"...there are toys." I smiled.

"Bang!"

"You guys are so weird."

"Go bug someone else, Barbie doll."

I cleaned my throat loudly before they started to punch each other's noses. William and Barbie nearly knew each other the last time we talked and now they act like besties. I wonder what happened between them while they spent two days in the lab with the scientists and all.

      Okay, focus, I told myself, we have a whole community of Arians to save.

       "Guys, here's our plan: let's find out where the children's room is. Once that is done, we pick as many to—" The rest of my phrase was cut by a sudden motion at the entrance. We all turned around to see, and, to my own surprise, it wasn't Oliver who appeared there. First, a leg emmerged from the other side of the wall, a leg as build as a gymnast's and smooth as a baby's, followed immediately by one of the most beautiful women I've seen. William gasped.

      Her body seemed to had been modeled and brushed by Roman artists. She was about 20 old, a typical young TV actress. The only diference was that this woman (now standing wide-eyed looking at us) wasn't wearing any makeup nor any acessories. In fact, she was wearing glasses. And that made her somehow prettier and human.

Barbie let out some kind of puff. "Who are you??" She might be thinking "who are you and why are you more beautiful than me?"

      The beautiful woman stopped, her lungs expanded. "Stay still or I will shoot!" She tried to pick the gun that was hung under the blouse, but her movements went too quick and she almost dropped it.

      "Are you a rebel?" William's eyes were glimmering.

      "Stay still." She repeated between clenched teeth, pointing the gun to him, Barbie and me, on sequel. William rapidly raised his hands, showing his palms. Barbie and I did the same. We had nothing to defend ourselves and perhaps that woman wasn't afraid of shooting a bunch of teenagers.

If Zarina was here...

The woman's voice suddenly went out, she was strong and had no crying or stammer in it. "Here is the deal, guys; go out NOW and I won't shoot."

      I tried to contact Barbie but there were no precise thoughts to reach her. That was when I faced the enemy properly, and saw that model-like warrior, and thought why am I scared?

"Wait," I said, "how did you know about the secret passage? you must be from Oxygen?" That was a hint. Was my tongue learning to pass the limits of audacity like Sebastian's?

     She spent some time watching us. And her lips curved to one side of the mouth. William opened a big smile to that reaction. "We are from Oxygen too!" He exclaimed.

But she did not put the gun back. "I am blonde, not dumb. If you were from the building you would've recognized me. Now, get out."

      "No, please!" Barbie implored but this only made her aim the thing to her head. I didn't know what would happen if Barbie got hit. Zarina was still up there, bleeding, maybe an alive blood, maybe not, and I just couldn't lose Barbie too. The hands above me were sweating and hurting, but more than that, they were willing to grab that gun and twist its head so it could never hurt a soul. Especially my friends.

She clicked something, and the sound of a bullet being loaded filled the room.

      "WE WERE JUST LOOKING FOR OLIVER!!!" I cried.

       "OLIVER?" Her arms immediately bent down. We stared at each other and something very strange happened. Her face brightened up. "Has Oliver brought you here?"

"Umm, yes." I said, although the proper word for her phrase was not brought, but gagged or dragged. She, though, appeared to know more than I thought she would. The gun was no longer pointed at us. Stepping forward, the woman stretched a hand with 5 perfect rosy nails, a smile coming to lighten her face even more. "Nice to meet you, Angelina."

      "Ahn?" William groaned. And that was the exact reaction I felt like doing at that moment.

      "And you..." She continued, now looking curiously at my friends. "you must be her toys." (Shaking hands with Will politely). "What's your name?"

"Ãn- I mean- Wi-"

"William." Barbie answered sharply, narrowing her eyes at his goofy expression. If the woman felt Barbie's mortal gaze above her she pretended not to see, and shook hands with her anyways.

"Oliver told us a lot about you, Angelina." She had turned to me again. "It is my pleasure to meet you. My name's Bridgette Clay."