I'm completely stunned. Tom is Van's dad; the crumpled dollar bill; Matthew Davis, the guy with the piercing blue eyes; all this new information, what am I supposed to do with it?
"Leah, we need to go to the Announcements. Wouldn't want to be late huh?" My mom says, in a fake voice, batting her eyelashes at Tom.
"I'll walk you there, milady?" Tom says to my mom.
Realizing I'm completely forgotten, I get my leather jacket and pocket the dollar bill.
"Mom, we need to go." I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door.
"Leah! That is rude!" She screeches as I shut and lock the main door. "Humph... Stupid child." She mumbles as we walk to President Nixon's house.
Every day at 3 pm, we have to go there for Announcements. Nixon never speaks in person, it's always a different representative, all of them are highly wealthy, mean, and snobbish. After the Announcements, we gather in different Public Squares to watch the beatings. It's the worst part of the day for me; a random person is chosen, and are beat until the guards are satisfied. It makes my blood boil just thinking of them.
"Hello Yvonne!" A voice calls from behind us. I grin as I see Liam's parents coming.
"Ah Rita! How are you." My mother answers, flashing them a smile. "Oh, there you are Liam! Still as handsome as ever."
"Uh... Thanks?" Liam says, crossing behind them to come walk by me.
"Still handsome, eh?" I ask laughing.
"Your mom is... different." He answers, shoving me to the side lightly.
"That she is." I answer laughing, and shove him back.
For a couple minutes I'm able to forget about everything messed up in my life. For a couple minutes I'm able to laugh and joke with my best friend; I'm able to be a normal teenager, not having to worry about Van's secrets, Jeremy's doubts, or my mother's fake smiles and laughs.
I'm brought back to my dull reality, when a loud bell goes off, signaling the Announcements are about to start.
"Hello people of The Former United States," Nixon's representative says. "As always, I want to remind you that President Nixon will protect you at all costs,"
At this, I scoff. Yeah right. Protect us?
The representative continues, talking about not wasting water and food, and curfew laws again. The Announcements are boring, most of them being repetitive from the day before.
"All right everyone. Time to go to the beatings, and the people selected are: Eleanor Swessily, Area 1. Jennifer Swan, Area 2. Henry Blanchard, Area 3. Reyna Mills, Area 4."
I let out a breath as I start to walk towards Area 2. As we crowd around the circular opening, I let people push past me. I don't get why they want to be in the front. To watch other people get hurt?
As the guard comes nearer, I watch as they drag Jennifer Swan with them. My jaw drops as I notice she's pregnant. "No please don't do this!" She cries, "What about my baby?"
I grit my teeth as they pass me. How can they do this to her? She's pregnant! What will happen to the baby? They force her to her knees and raise her arms, locking her hands in the cuffs positioned in the metal pole above her head. Her crying becomes louder when the main guard grabs the whip. It feels like a stone is dropped in my stomach when I realize the guard is Tom.
Van... Where are you? Can't you stop this?
Tom raises the whip and brings it down on to her back with a loud crack. Her blood curling screams continue as he brings the whip down one, two, three more times. After the 4th whip, her screams suddenly stop and she goes limp.
"Ha! Finally, her screams were getting annoying." Tom says with a laugh. The crowd is silent as he bring the whip up again, preparing to strike.
"Stop!" I hear myself yell, pushing my way to the front. "She's unconscious, pregnant, and hurt. Isn't that enough?"
"Ah... Leah was it? Why don't you move your pretty face back into the crowd? 'Cuz I would hate to ruin it." He spits, twirling the whip around.
Nice Tom is gone, and cruel Tom is back.
"No. I'm staying here. Let her go." I spit back. "You proved your point enough."
"Well then," he answers, dropping the whip. "Let her go."
I stand in shock, he just let her go? No final whip? No, he's not like that. Someone has to replace her, I realize with dread.
"You." Tom growls, pointing at me, "Get in her spot."
The crowd is silent as I walk over to Jennifer Swan and carefully take the cuffs off her hands.
"It's ok, Jennifer. You're safe." I whisper to her and I sling her arm over my shoulder. "Hey!" I call. "Someone help me get her!" 2 men run forward and grab her as she collapses in their arms.
"Come on Hendricks. We don't have forever." Tom growls.
I look him straight in the eyes as I walk over to the metal pole.
"Actually no, Hendricks. I want you standing here please." He says pointing to a spot in front of him.
I walk over to the spot and plant my feet on the ground while glaring at him.
"Scared yet?" He sneers.
"No." I answer.
Hell yes.
"Fine then." He says, grabbing the whip and twirling it in between his fingers. "You will be."
He raises the whip and strikes it on my shoulder. Pain spikes through my shoulder onto my back and back up when he hits my back. I sink to the ground, gritting my teeth. Black clouds my vision as the whip repeatedly comes down on me. My back stings and I can barely comprehend what's happening when Tom walks in front of me. Tears run down my cheeks as he crouches down and whispers, "You shouldn't have done that." He raises his elbow and brings it back into my mouth. I scream as blood, dirt, sweat, and tears mix into my mouth.
"Tom. Enough." Another guard says.
Tears flow down my face as he roughly grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet. I cry out in pain as he lets me go, dropping me to the ground.
"Someone get her off of the ground. Now." Tom yells into the crowd.
Through my tears I can see Liam running forward.
"Leah, what did you do to yourself?" Liam mumbles as he gently drapes his jacket on my shoulders. I wince as the soft fabric touches my open wounds.
The last thing I remember seeing is Liam's face, as he picks me up.
________
I hear muffled voices talking when I wake up again. Blinking, I see an older man pacing in front of a younger woman, whose head is in her hands.
I try to sit myself up, but as I put weight on my arm, pain shoots up into my shoulder.
"Ughhh" I groan, running my hand up and down the mattress, trying to distract myself from the pain.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty." Van says, looking at me.
Where was she a few hours ago? Couldn't she stop Tom?
My back burns again just thinking of him.
"Hi..." I mumble back, trying to distract myself. "Where am I?"
"At Matthew's house." She answers warily.
"Wait who?" Suddenly, I'm fully aware of my surroundings: a small house with a fire place in the corner and lots of pictures. There's pictures of a girl holding hands with a guy, a family eating lunch, guards, Nixon's representatives and much more. I frown as I notice red lines connecting them.
Who is this guy? Matthew...Davis?
My face drops as I realize who this man might be.
"Can you call him over for me please?" I ask her. She silently gets up talks to Matthew. He nods, grabs the tea kettle off the stove and pours a glass of it.
"Leah," Van says coming next to me. I finally see how she looks and boy, does she look bad. Her usual neat, straight brown hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Her hazel eyes seem darker than before, and she has dark circles under her eyes. She's also wearing a large sweatshirt over a pair of old jeans.
What happened to her?
"Leah, I am so sorry. For everything." Van says pulling something out of her pocket.
Wait, what is she talking about?
"You have to believe this letter," she presses a small paper in my hand. "I'm truly sorry it has to come down to this. But tomorrow, at 3:15, after the Announcements, I'll be at the corner on 8th street. If you want me to go with you, I'll be there. If not, well then this is goodbye."
"Van, the hell are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere and-"
"Yes you are!" She practically yells. "I have to go. Bye Leah." She tells me, sadly looking over her shoulder one last time before shutting the door.
What the hell just happened?
Now that I'm alone with this Matthew, I feel more conscious. He walks over to me and pulls up a chair. When he looks at me, I realize he is the guy with piercing blue eyes. Matthew Davis.
"Davis." I blurt out.
"Yes," he chuckles. "Seems like you've heard of me."
"Who the hell are you? And what the hell did you tell Van to make her leave like that?" I demand. Pushing myself higher up on the bed, ignoring the pain that races up my arm and back.
"First of all, you need to drink this," he says, handing me a cup, "It'll make you feel better."
I warily take a small sip; the liquid is good, warming its way down my throat, and instantly calming me.
"Now, to answer your questions. I am a normal citizen, just like you. And I didn't do anything, just told her what was going to happen." His eyes have a far away look in them as he answers me. "I am a normal citizen, with a very different view of freedom. Nixon not only took our freedom, he took our hope. Our dreams. And there's a small group of people who believe that's wrong. What you did today, that was brave. True bravery. But that also makes you a target for them. You need to be careful, Leah. Stay hidden, don't draw attention to yourself, don't-"
He's interrupted when there's pounding on the door. He jumps out of the chair, mumbling something about "them being there already."
He pulls my covers back, and grabs my arm, yanking me up.
"Listen to me. At the end of the hallway, there's a painting. Push the painting aside and there's a small door. Open it and stay there until it's silent. Do not come out until you are absolutely sure it's safe. Understood?" He hisses at me.
I nod, clumsily getting out of bed and hobbling towards the painting. The knocking on the door gets louder and louder. I rip the painting back, open the small hidden door, and climb in. Shutting the door behind me, I squat down in the cramped space. I ignore my aching back as I press my ear to the door, trying to listen.
"-is she?" A rough voice asks.
"Gone." Matthew says. "She's not here."
"I doubt that, Davis. Where the hell is she?"
The shouting continues, and suddenly there's the unmistakable sound of a gun loading. I freeze in the dark, my heart beating faster and louder. I hope that Matthew is alright.
"Three seconds, Davis. Three seconds or your life ends here." The voice says.
"She is gone. And don't you even think-" Matthew says angrily.
"Three"
"-cuz if you hurt her, I'll make sure-"
"Two"
"-and trust me, she will succeed."
"One"
The sound of the bullet makes me jump. I cover my mouth with my hand to prevent myself from crying out loud. This man, a complete stranger, helps me, nurses me back to health, and now he's dead? Once I hear the footsteps and angry mumbling of Matthew's killer disappear, I open the door. Seeing no one in the hallway, I crawl out, wincing as the cool tile touches my scraped up hand.
"Matthew?" I ask, even though I know it's no use. Guards never miss a shot. I hear wheezing and I slowly stand up, hobbling over to him.
"Matthew, what did they do?" I sob, trying to stop the constant flow of blood from his abdomen. "I need your help. I need you to tell me why I'm so important. I don't want to-"
"Leah..." He whispers, stopping me from finishing, "Help everyone. You have to. Watch yourself." He reaches up and gives me a crumpled, bloody note. As soon as his hand touches the floor, I know he's gone.
"Matthew..." I cry. I lay there for a while, broken down next to him. Pictures of my father the same way flash through my mind, making me cry harder. I clutch Van's letter to my chest but I don't dare open the note, I don't want to be special. I want to be a normal teenager, living a normal life. But I know that impossible. Matthew gave his life for me, and I can't let him die in vain. With trembling hands, I open the note and let it fall to the ground. It's simple, only saying six words. There's blood and dirt on the corners, but I can clearly see what it says: You are the key. Free us.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys! I don't know if I should finish this story, so let me know in the comments of you think I should. Thanks to everyone who has read it!