That morning Archer was gone. He had left without waking me. The morning bell rang with several little dings.
*
*
Time seemed to go by quicker here amongst the trees and the strange cement houses. Maybe it was because I was able to speak my mind to Archer most of the time or maybe it was the fact that I could show who I intended to be. Meals passed with conversation and laughter verses the silent orderly meals that took place in the city. School did not feel like school here. While I was learning more than the average person here, I could learn at my own pace and free will.
But then there were times when things seemed to move slower than a crawl specifically in my meetings, with Marie, who did not seem to care that I was only thirteen.
My legs shook as I sat in a comfy chair. Marie was pacing the room, as she usually did, as she gave me one of her many lectures of the day. While I learned many things about the city from it's history to it's layout I also learned the same of our little place here in the woods. Which, turns out, is not as little as I am sure everyone had been lead to believe. Escape tunnels were hidden in buildings behind secret doors. These tunnels lead to several underground bunkers that could house the population and keep everything sustained for several weeks.
"Just in case the city attacks," Marie said.
"So, everyone goes in there?"
"No," Marie shook her head. "We can not just hide and leave ourselves unprotected. Those who have been trained to protect us are put to use. The boy who came with you that sits with you at meals has been selected for combat."
Archer had told me that he was training to fight. It had not crossed my mind that he would, possibly one day, put his life on the line. My stomach flipped around.
"I see that thought upsets you."
I shook my head softly. "I just didn't think about it like that until now."
"You are aware," she sat down across from me. The dark wooden desk sat between us. "That it is your duty as someone in leadership to treat everyone here equally. I know he might be your friend but there is more at stake here than just one individual. While they can worry about each other you have to worry about them all and their safety."
"I know. I understand."
"I picked you to lead over my own son. You showed promise and I intend for it to stay that way."
"Yes, Marie." I nodded.
"I think maybe it is time we kept you separate from the rest for a while. It will give you a chance to see them as a whole group and nothing more." She rose from her seat. "I will have Macallister go over the details with you later. For now you can go upstairs to the farthest room on the left."
Marie left without another word. I heard the from door open, she walked across the old creaking porch, and down the stairs. I had not seen the upper part of the white house before. I had not been allowed up there.
And now I was supposed to head to a room and wait patently for Macallister.
I followed Marie's instructions to the very last room on the left. It was smaller than the little house I currently resided in but to my surprise the bed was larger. It was like when Archer and I pushed the two together to be closer.
I thought about Archer. I did not know how separate Marie intended on me being. Archer would no longer be able to visit me at night. I was saddened at the thought of no more late night fruit or silent hand holding. He was the only friend I ever had and the thought of being pulled away made me want to cry. My inky hope was that I would still be allowed to see him at meals and during our work time in the fields.
I sat on the bed. The blankets were rough to the touch. The windows has been cracked open despite the sprinkling of rain outside. It made the room feel cool but not too cold. I listened to the little tap, tap, tap on the roof. Rain was usually had a calming effect on me, but not today. I wanted to scream. Why did Marie pick me to follow in her footsteps? How had I gone from being oppressed to blend in my whole life, only to escape to find myself oppressed by heavy responsibility instead? It was unfair. But, then again, why did Archer escape only to find that he might have to give his life for something he had no choice but to be apart of?
It seemed as if we had no choice either way in the end. Now I just had to pick which kind of prison I preferred more.
At least here I was able to be free as far as knowledge.
*
*
"Remi," Macallister knocked on te door with two quick hits. "May I come in?"
"I guess," I sighed. I had given up sitting on the bed desciding, instead, to lay down.
The door pushed open then close. "Are you enjoying your new space?"
"I guess."
"You do not seem too excited about your isolation." I stayed silent. I knew I could trust Macallister but I did not want to risk Marie hearing me say that I hated her and her plans. "That's okay. We'll find ways to make it better. What else would I be good for if I didn't?"
"I am not going to be allowed to see Archer anymore, am I?"
Macasllister sat on the edge of my new bed. He shook his head. "I'm afriad not."
"But why?" I practically whinned. "I thought the whole point of coming here was to be ourselves and be with who we wanted to be with."
"It is. For everyone else at the moment," he smiled. His dark hair was slightly disheveled. "You, on the other hand, where chosen for more than just freedom."
"I was chosen to remain in a prison like state for the rest of my lfe."
"Oh, Remi. I know you're a teenager but you don't have to be so dramatic," he laughed.
"I don't even know what that means," I said into the pillow. "I'm only thirteen."
"It's a saying that every teenage girl takes things a little over the top."
"I do not!" This time I did whine. Macallister held up his hand in defeat.
"Okay, okay. Whatever you say."
"And what if I don't want to be chosen for anything special? What if I want to do other things? I don't even know what I have been chosen for other than that I am to help lead."
"I know," Macallister said. Suddenly he seemed far away, almost as if he was looking at me but not really at me.
"But you know," I accused. "Don't you?"
"I do. But I am not allowed to share too much. There are things that are better left unsaid."
"I don't want to accept that answer but I have a feeling you are not going to change your mind."
We sat silently for a while until Macallister began to sing softly to himself, his fingers drummed a beat lightly on the covers. I listened; afraid if I moved even slightly he would remember that I was there and stop. I don't know how long I sat there for before he looked at me and smiled.
"The song is called The Worker. I used to sing it all the time when I was little. It's about a man who has to work and he never stops. Obviously, the title says it all. But the point is that, while he never really did anything he wanted, he did everything he needed to do. It's about how he played his part in the grand scheme of life."
Food on the table,
Hope in our hearts,
I can't say I've done much,
But I have done my part.
"Why wouldn't he want more than that?"
"Because he was simple, I suppose." He laughed. "You do not settle for less though. That's why we need you. You're going to change everything. Unlike the man in the song, you will be able to say you've done a lot in the end."
"Starting a fire doesn't seem like doing much," I said, recalling the words he had said to me what felt like a long time ago.
"It is if the fire is in the heart." He smiled. "Now, let's go over the new rules, shall we?"
"If we have to," I huffed.
"We do." He read the list he had created in his head.
I would no longer sit with the rest at meals; instead, I would sit with Marie, her husband, and their son at the front. I would no longer work in the feilds, instead I would learn to oversee the work being done. I would sleep in the white house and I was not to leave during the night. No one was allowed in and I was not allowed out. Everything that I supervised and recorded was not to be shared with anyone except Marie and Macallister. The things I learned I was instructed not to tell to others. By the end of the list of rules I wanted to know what I was allowed to do.
The only response I received to the question? "Your job."
*
*
I wanted to scream as I sat in the tiny room of the house. The groaning of the wood was very different from the silent hut I had been in. I waited for Archer to climb up the tree next to my window and crawl in, I even left it open just in case despite the wind, but he never came. Macallister had promised me he would tell him what he could so that Archer did not think I was doing this to him on purpose. I fell asleep shivering in my bed.
(Let me know what you think Numbers! Sorry for any errors. I have been working on several chapters lately.)
xoxo
~imaginationNationX