The Cleansing

She is running out of time. The world as she knew it was changing, and there was nothing she could do, so they ran. To where, she didn’t know, but she had to get out of the city.

Soren knew when she woke up this morning that something had changed. She could feel it in the way her magic felt under her skin. The usually calm waves of energy now roiled like the waves of Barien Sea. The storm that she kept under control inside was fighting to get out, as if telling her to run. She ran to the small living room of her studio apartment and turned on the tv, and what she saw sent lightning skittering up her spine. The cleansing had begun.

For years the government spoke of conducting a “cleanse” of the country’s magic users, claiming that they were too unpredictable, too volatile, and were a danger to the world. They spoke of an uprising amongst the magical community that was never happening, but their fear mongering caused those who didn’t have magic to shun the ones who did. AN magic users started hiding out of fear. There was an unspoken rule amongst magic wielders, to never use their abilities to harm others. Most magics were elemental based and used to help promote growth and prosperity for their homes. But once the rhetoric around them changed, so did society.

Overnight the government mobilized units of specially trained soldiers to apprehend and dispose of the magic users. They started small, with the rural areas as to not be noticed right away, but now word has spread, and people were reporting the whereabouts of magic users everywhere. Friends, neighbors, even families were giving up their own to avoid trouble.

She had to go. She ran to her room and grabbed a pack and got her supplies, an extra change of clothes, nonperishable foods, a small pocketknife, and other items she remembered reading about on an online post that was circulating a few months ago called “The Cleansing and How to Prepare.”. She skimmed the article but remembered a few key items. She knew she would have to stop along the way to restock food and supplies but she should be able to last a few days at least if she was careful. She washed up quickly, put on a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt, and her hiking boots. She bought them a few years ago when she went on a girl’s trip to the mountains with her 2 best friends, Kyra and Grace. She wondered if they have seen the news and were safe or if they had been taken. She couldn’t dwell on that now; she would find a way to contact them. She knew her phone wasn’t an option; everyone knew they would be tracked down that way. So, she left her phone on her nightstand, wrapped a jacket around her waist, grabbed her keys, and left her apartment for the last time.

She walked out of her building like it was any other day as to not bring attention to herself. Nobody in her building knew she had magic, she kept to herself mostly, but she knew there were a couple of residents who0 were open about their abilities. Sandra from apartment 3B had what was called the “Green Thumb” and was able to promote quick growth to plants of various kinds. She tended a garden on her balcony often and would share the fruits and vegetables she grew with others. Titus and his partner Robin from 4A were both Aquamancers and held the ability to call upon and control water. Then there was Trinity, she lived in 5C and controlled fire, she would volunteer at the cities fire stations to help calm and control fires that broke out and were on the verge of becoming uncontrollable. Should she warn them? Did they already know? She didn’t have time, if she was going to go it had to be now.

Out on the street people were moving about their days, but Soren could tell that they were anxious. People walked faster and avoided eye contact with others. Mothers held their children closer, and the usual sounds of the morning rush were eerily quiet, as if everyone was waiting for the chaos to start.

The city or Cordain wasn’t the largest in the region, but it was decently populated with just over 15,000 people. The news reported the last known location of the The Cleansing at Forglenn, a small town just to the west of the Cordain suburbs and was moving quick. Soren thought about taking her car but knew there would probably be roadblocks at every entrance and exit to the city, so she started walking down Pine Ave. toward the east. If she kept her head down like everyone else and followed the streets, she could be out of the city in 20 minutes.

As the winds her way through the city she hears a man talking frantically on the phone asking questions like “Where are you?” and “How long ago?”. A woman on her phone is talking about Seas Crest, a restaurant on the western side of the city. Another man says into his phone “They’re already here?”, a slight wobble to his voice as if he is on the verge of tears. Soren stops him and asks, “Is everything okay?”, he replies “The Cleansing has come to Cordain. They have entered the city and made it to Cross Square.” Soren takes a small breath and thanks him and without saying anything else, continues down the street and veers left towards the street where Grace’s apartment is. Cross Square is 20 minutes away on foot from where she is, maybe she can check in on Grace and they can leave together.

She makes her way to the apartment building and presses the call button for unit 3C: Dresmond. No answer, so she tries again with still no answer. She can’t give up, and after the 5th ring she hears a voice over the speaker whisper “Hello?”. It’s Grace. “Grace, it’s Soren, can I come up?” and without an answer the door to the building unlocks and Soren pushes it open and climbs the stairs to Grace’s apartment. She knocks and is hurried in by Grace who pulls her into a hug once the door is shut.

“Are you okay?” she asks. “Fine.” Soren replies, “I was heading out of the city and heard that they are here. They made it to Cross Square. We’ve got to go.”.

“I know,” Grace replies, “I have a friend who can help us out of the city.”.

“Who?” Soren asks.

“Derik, the guy I met a few months ago at the Space Lounge.”

“You want to trust a guy you met at a club to help get us out of the city? Does he have magic? Grace, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Soren says, with a hint of panic in her voice.

“It’s fine, and no, he doesn’t have any magic. But I trust him. He will get us out. He will be here in 5.”

“I don’t know Grace. I think we should go now. We can make it if we leave now.”

“You can go if you want, but I am waiting for Derik.” Grace proclaims.

“Fine, but I don’t like this.” Soren says. “Have you heard from Kyra?”

“No, but I’m sure she made it out. I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer.”

A few minutes pass and there is a knock on the door. Grace answers it and motions for Derik to come in.

“Who’s this?” Derik asks when he sees Soren.

“Soren. No time for introductions, you know a safe way out of the city?”

“Yeah, we are going to head south towards the Spice District and leave out by the bridge.” Derik replies, confused by the sudden questioning.

“They are already in the city, they came in at the west, shouldn’t we head east away from it?” Soren asks, warily.

“Look, I said I could get Grace out. If you don’t want to go the way we are going, then you can leave on your own.” Derik replies, annoyance lacing his words. “Either way, we need to go now.”

Grace gives Soren a look of worry and disbelief. “I said that I trust him, why are you being like this?”

“Because I don’t know him, and I don’t want to get taken because you decided to trust some guy you just met.” Soren replies. “But fine, if you trust him then I will go with you. At least I will know if you are safe or not.”

Grace nods disapprovingly at Soren’s tone but moves to open the door. “Let’s go then.”

They all file out of the apartment and head down the stairs and out of the building. Once they get outside, they see people starting to panic.

“We need to move.” Derik says and leads them down the street, taking a right at the intersection, toward the Spice District.

The farther they get towards the southern end of the city; they start to hear faint screams and the sounds of gunshots from where they came. They start running. They run down streets and through alleyways and Soren is becoming more disoriented. She isn’t as familiar with this part of the city, and she is getting nervous.

Just as they are about to hit an intersection, the sound of tires screeching 2 blocks down catches their attention. “Quick, down here.” Derik says, motioning to a short alleyway to the right. “Get to the end, stick to the shadows and stay low.” They all crouch down in the farthest corner of the alley and press themselves to the wall as hard as they can to stay in the shadows. They wait until the sound of the vehicle passes by, and Derik says, “I am going to go and check if the coast is clear.”

“Oh, no. Not alone you’re not.” Soren replies. “You say you are helping us, but I don’t trust you. I will go up and check with you.”

“Fine.” Derik replies indignantly.

The two of them slowly emerge from their hiding place and approach the entrance to the alley. As they look around the corner, Derik grabs Soren from behind and wraps his arm around her neck. He pulls out his phone and dials a number she can’t see. “I’ve got two.” He says to the other line and no sooner after hanging up, a truck pulls up, skidding to a halt.

“I knew it, I knew you couldn’t’ be trusted.” Soren tries to yell out, but the force of his arm around her neck is cutting off her airflow.

A group of four heavily armed soldiers jump out of the truck and walk up to where Derik holds Soren. “The other one is in the alley.” He says to the group, and two of them peel off and grab Grace who is screaming, tears running down her face “Why?! I trusted you! Why would you do this?!”

“I didn’t have a choice.” Derik says to Grace as she is dragged kicking and screaming to the back of the truck.

The other two grab Soren, and she walks away with them. She knew fighting would get her nowhere. They got her. As they turn her to enter the back of the truck, she makes one final glaring look at Derik and says, “I hope you rot.”

She and Grace are shoved into the truck and chained to one of the seats that span the entire side of the vehicle. Once they are in, Soren looks around at the others who have been captured, and one catches her eye. Tears sting her eyes, and she shudders at the sight of a young woman, bloody and bruised, seated at the far corner of the opposite bench. Grace looks at where Soren is facing and gasps, a cry stuck in her throat as she says “Kyra?”.