In For a Shock

Everything was quiet except for the crunch of snow under my boots. The snow sparkles on the ground in the sunlight and icicles hang on branches like bats. A small mouse scampers across the fresh snow leaving tiny tracks behind it, while an owl hoots from high above us in the tree.

“It’s beautiful, Cael.” I whisper into the wind. “How did you know when the guards wouldn’t be at the hole?” There’s one spot in the wall near our houses that has a hole just big enough for Cael to squeeze through. He’s 6 foot tall, so it was no easy feat.

Cael shrugs before leaning against a tree. “You learn things when your father is chief. Also I just snuck into his office when he had gone to the restroom.”

I chuckle at his confession. I can only imagine the things that are in Mr. Alton’s office. He’s been Chief of Security in the Kilead District, where we live, for almost 30 years. He knows every nook and cranny in the district and every scuff mark on the wall that surrounds our city.

“I wish I could stay here forever.” I spin around with my arms spread wide, feeling the cool air whirling around me. I sigh as I come to a stop and notice Cael watching me with a small smile playing on his lips. “What? Do I have a bug on me? You better get it-”

He grabs my hands and I fall silent. His eyes are darker than I remember, looking almost black as the sun has fallen just below the horizon. “Let’s run away, Luna.” He doesn’t wait for my answer before he starts his next sentence. “I know a place, only a week’s walk away from here. We could sneak out at this time and never return. I could grab a map from my Dad and-”

“Cael, stop.” I pull out of his grip and back away from him. His smile falls when he notices that I don’t share the same excitement. “You know I can’t do that.”

“What? Why not? Don’t be crazy.” Cael grabs my arm and forcefully begins pulling me further away from the wall. “We’re going.”

“Hey,” I shout as his fingers dig deep into my arm. “Stop it! You’re hurting me!”

I run into him hard and fall to the ground, then he turns to me. Sharp pain flashes in my hand and I notice I had landed on a stick. His eyes are now a dark red and his skin has gone completely white as he stares harshly into my soul. “Don’t fight it, Luna.” Cael’s voice sounds gurgled, like he’s stuck underwater. He starts dragging me away…away…away…

“Luna!” I feel hands on my shoulders shaking me awake. “Luna, wake up! Come on, don’t do this right now.” His voice pulls me from my nightmare. My eyes shoot open and I see his face in front of mine, I squint and hold my hand up to block the sun.

Cael sighs a sigh of relief when I finally sit up. My head aches like someone is jackhammering my skull. “What? What happened?” I look around and notice we’re in the ER and the bright light was what was blinding me before. A needle is poked into the pit of my elbow and is hooked up to a machine.

“You don’t remember?” He asks surprised as he takes a seat next to me. “We were going to leave…for good.” Cael whispers the last two words so softly I almost didn’t hear it. “It was stupid. They fixed the electricity to the fence before we could make it out. I should’ve gone first, it’s my fault. You could be hours away by now if it wasn’t for me.”

I look down at my hands, now noticing the bandage on the right one. I didn’t feel any pain, but maybe they had me on some kind of pain medicine. “We were leaving?” There’s no way. I wanted to see outside of the wall, but I didn’t want to leave my family. I was all that Mom and Grandma have, I wouldn’t want to leave.

We could sneak out and never return.

Don’t fight it, Luna.

My nightmare starts coming back to me. Cael was forcing me to leave. It wasn’t a nightmare, it was real and he was taking me away from my family. My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. Cael notices my heartrate on the monitor and stands. “Hey, you’re okay.” He coos softly and lays a hand on my arm.

I flinch and jerk away from his touch. A look of hurt flashes on his face before being replaced by confusion. “You,” I bite out, trying to scoot as far away from him as I could. “You were trying to make me leave. I didn’t want to, but you grabbed my arm so hard. You were pulling me away and I couldn’t stop you. You were making me run away even though I didn’t want to.”

Cael’s eyebrows furrow further at my words. “What? Luna, what are you-” He reaches for my arm again, but my scream stops him.

“HELP!” I scream as loud as I can. I have to get away from him. He can’t take me away. “SOMEONE, HELP!”

“Luna, what are you doing?” Cael backs away, stumbling over the chair next to the bed. He doesn’t stop until his back is against the wall. His eyes dart to the door as 2 nurses burst into the room.

“What's going on in here?” The large male nurse’s voice booms. He looks between me and Cael as he walks between us.

“He’s trying to take me away. He’s trying to make me go through the wall and leave.” I point shakily at Cael, who is still pressed against the wall. “I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE. YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!” My voice pierces the tension in the air and hits Cael.

The other male nurse walks over to Cael and grabs his arm. “I didn’t do anything! I-I, Luna? Why are you doing this?”

His eyes are now a dark red and his skin has gone completely white as he stares harshly into my soul. “Don’t fight it, Luna.” Cael’s voice sounds gurgled, like he’s stuck underwater. He starts dragging me away…away…away…

“Don’t let him take me, please.” Tears flow freely from my eyes, blurring the room around me. “Get him away.”

The nurse closest to me presses a button on the bed. Less than 5 seconds later, a woman comes in and looks at the scene in front of her. “She needs more sedatives, doctor. In the meantime, we need to bring Chief Alton in for a chat with his boy.”

The woman walks over to my side as Cael is fighting against the 2 male nurses. “Luna, what the hell?” He shouts as he’s dragged out of the door. A small sense of calm and peace wash over me as the doctor presses a button on the machine.

“This will help you feel better, sweetie. He won’t take you anywhere.”

“Thank you.” I whisper as darkness consumes my vision.