The Rebellious

Chapter 6

"Damn it Emma! Wake up!" was the first thing I heard when I woke up. I sat up in alarm.

"What's wrong?" I asked, seeing Mrs. with a worried look.

"The guards are after you. They'll be here in an hour, searching for you. So, hurry up and get dressed, then help me pack your things."

In a flash, I'd getting dressed, had a quick breakfast, where everyone looked at me like I was an alien, and in no time was standing on the doorstep of the house, with my single suitcase.

"Follow me." Said Mr., walking towards the meadow. I followed, and watched him lift a trap door from the ground. "Get in." I did, as he held my suitcase. Then, he threw my suitcase down and a small brown paper bag. "In case you get hungry," he smiled. Then shut the door above.

I was in a decent sized underground room, a little smaller than my bedroom, that had a basic table and chair, a bookshelf with three books, a puzzle, and an already lit lantern.

I sat down; glad they hadn't sent me back in the tunnel. By the time the rumbling started, I'd finished the puzzle, had my lunch, read two of the books, and was halfway through the third, War Tactics and Strategies. First, I barely heard anything, then it grew louder and louder, the footsteps of a hundred or so men, stomping to every home, searching for me.

When I first heard the stomping, I stopped reading, and then I turned my head in the direction it was coming. As the sound grew louder and louder, my muscles started freezing up in fear, and I stopped thinking. Just one thought stayed in my mind, repeating itself over and over.

They're going to find me.

They're going to kill me.

When the stomping was directly over my head, I didn't move a muscle; I didn't make a sound. Wisps of dirt fell through cracks in the ceiling, but I didn't take much notice of them. The stomping stopped, and I thought: This is it; they're going to find me and take me away. For about half an hour, I stayed frozen. Occasionally, I would hear individual footsteps going this way or that way. After what seemed an eternity, the footsteps marched away.

Even after they left, I still didn't move, still paralyzed in fear that a guard would pop out of nowhere and take me away. So, naturally, when Boom opened the trapdoor, I jumped in surprise, cut my hand on the table in the process. It stung, for suck a little sucker.

Boom grinned, "I'm to take the princess's luggage and escort her back to her bedroom."

"Don't call me that." I scolded, grabbing my stuff and the last book (to be fully read yet) on my way out. I threw my stuff up, and then Boom lend me his hand. I took it and he hoisted me up.

I was slightly dizzy when the warm breeze hit my face and the bright suns shone around me. Quite blinded, more like it.

I followed Boom inside and helped unpack my stuff. Mrs. helped too.

Later that afternoon, bout three hours after my exit from the underground room, Mrs. sent all of us outside to catch a butterfly for her. "Preferably a fast one please." She said.

Evelyn handed each of us a net and we raced towards the meadow. While the others swung wildly hoping to catch a fast butterfly, I selected a target. A dark purple butterfly I spotted would do.

As I jumped and jumped farther away from the others, everything became blurrier. When I couldn't jump anymore, fogginess swept over me. I knew this wasn't right, something was wrong with me. Weakly, sapping the last of my strength, I called, "Evelyn, Ev, I don't feel right."

Then, I collapsed into a world of darkness.