𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍 , barnes

ten

chapter ten . . . WHEATON, NJ
❝ nothing special, huh? ❞

A BLUE TRUCK GLIDES ACROSS THE BORDER INTO NEW JERSEY. 

Liana sits in silence in the back seat of the blue truck that Steve stole from a second hand dealership. Natasha and Steve chat quietly in the front, about stuff Liana doesn't really understand. She looks out of the window as everything passes by. Her imagination of the world had been right, the different shades of green for the trees and beautiful blue sky. She loved the beauty of the world, but Liana understood that the world is cruel, the universe is cruel more like. She'd never believed in God, and now doesn't sound like a time to start. 

Anyone in the Red Room had their religion stripped away from them. Everyone had to be equal. No girls were aloud to say their prayers at night or in the morning, it was frowned upon if you openly believed in God or any type of God. Liana had read about God, and how he controlled your fate. She wondered why someone who was supposed to be kind gave her a life like this. 

A soft tune plays from the radio that Natasha turned on when they'd climbed into the car. Liana isn't paying much attention to it, until she is. A song she knows, or did know. Its the song she hums sometimes when she's particularly hysterical. Liana remembered the first time she was put into isolation and the soldiers did horrific things to her. They took advantage of her vulnerable state and used her. Liana never forgets that day, she'd crawled into her corner after it happened and rocked herself back and forth, humming the tune to herself. Natasha seems to know it as well because she begins to hum it. 

The girl wonders where her father is. If he's okay. Is he hurting? She was truly scared for him. She hoped he wasn't being hurt because of her, she'd disobeyed the rules and he might get punished for it. God, she's stupid. Why did she have to escape? Liana could've just followed them all back to the front, been taken back to Siberia and put into Iso for the rest of her life. She'd get used to being in Isolation and maybe if she was a good girl, she'd be let out. Liana's hair acts a curtain between her, Steve and Natasha. 

She hugs her knees close to her chest, arms folded over them and head rested against the bony twig like things. Liana's stomach rumbles and she realises that it's almost been two days since she's eaten anything. The girl has gotten used to the scheduled meals whilst in the Soldier's quarters. That might be the only thing she couldn't get use to. Not being fed a regular basis. After a meal, she'll usually sit on their shared cot, with her knees hugged to her chest to reduce the chances of stomach pains that she'll receive if she eats too much. Liana never told her dad, she didn't want to put anymore weight on his shoulders. It was enough trying to protect her, but worrying about her eating wasn't something that he needed.