Turncoat

Chapter One:

I cautiously walked up to the fence and ran my hand along its wire frame, searching for an opening. The metal felt cool to the touch despite the heat of the morning. The azure sky was flawless, without a single cloud disrupting its brilliance. I scanned the horizon, admiring the sea of grass that lay before it. My eyes caught sight of a figure in the distance beyond the fence. 

“Hey,” I yelled, “Hey you!”

“Charlotte?” I turned to see my 18 year old brother Robert standing behind me. “Who are you talking to?”

Rob towered over me. I had to crane my neck to see his face. He had chiseled features that gave him a cold, fierce appearance that completely juxtaposed his personality. Despite being only two years older than me, he was the closest thing I had to a father. I'd never met my real father. He died when I was very young, a victim of the Final War.

“No one,” I said, looking back over my shoulder to see that the person had vanished.

“Tyler’s back. He’s asking for you.”

I felt my heart start to race. A wide grin spread across my face and I started jogging.

I turned back to face Rob, “You coming?”

“I’ll leave you two alone to catch up for a while,” He yelled back at me. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and meandered in the opposite direction to where I was going.

I jogged all the way across my sector until I reached my front door.  The compound was divided into sectors like the old cities were divided into suburbs. Each sector was equally non-descript as the rest. The houses too, looked more or less the same as everyone else’s. Bare and blockish, with two storeys. Once I was inside I immediately headed upstairs.

“Tyler?”

He emerged from my bedroom, still wearing his patrol uniform. He looked run down and tired, but his face still lit up when he saw me. He strode forwards and wrapped his arms around me.

“I missed you,” He murmured.

I leaned my head against his chest, he smelled like wood smoke and fresh cut grass. We stood there frozen for a few minutes. We hadn’t seen each other in 6 months, although it seemed like an eternity. He had been on the outside of the compound taking part in the regular patrols. Once you reached the age of 18, regardless of your gender, you were given a role within the compound. Most ended up receiving training in order to join the patrol teams that secured the compound.

He pulled out of our embrace and pushed a stray hair away from my face. Looking me up and down he stated, “You’ve grown up.” He smiled. “You’re even more beautiful that I remembered.”

I blushed and smiled.

My attention snapped to the all too familiar creak of the front door opening. 

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