The Rebellion

Steam rose from the white porcelain teacup as her eyes scanned the horizon; the sweet herbal tea slid down her throat soothing her frayed nerves. The wind blew the dust in little delicate swirls, Fenn couldn’t remember the last time she had seen grass growing on her farm; ‘What I wouldn’t give to see grass again…’ mused eighteen year old Fenn, ‘I wonder if the rest of the world looks like this desert I call home?’. Her father took her from the city when she was four years old, telling her that the world had become dangerous and that if they wanted to survive the new government they had to leave. Everyday he told her that the world grew more and more wild as humans were either turned into soldiers or killed.

           ‘” It won’t be long until you and I are the only people on earth. We cannot trust anyone else; do you understand?” explained her father

           “What if we do see another person?”

           “Until you’re old enough to handle one of the guns, you hide and I will take care of everything…Fenn you are the most important thing in my life and I will protect you at any cost. These other people are hardly human anymore and once they’ve served their purpose, they are killed. You must promise me that you will never leave our farm!”

           “I promise papa!”’

           For years, Fenn worked alongside her father, scraping out a living in the harsh environment they lived in; a few years before she turned fifteen, they finally perfected their system. Fenn smiled as she remembered the look on her fathers face when she told him that she had finished building the pump system from the river to the house; ‘He was so excited to finally have a larger garden.’ smiled Fenn sipping her tea. Tragedy struck them five months later when her father tripped on his way down the steep hill for his morning swim in the river; he succumbed to his wounds a few hours after Fenn found him.

           Fenn mourned the loss of her father for months before coming to terms with the fact that she would have to face life entirely on her own from that moment forward. She wanted to be prepared, just like her father taught her, for the day she discovered that she was not alone. Fenn taught herself not only how to shoot, but to make other weapons that would come in handy; in time, she had a large collection of guns, swords, crossbows and bows and arrows. Fenn trained herself the way she imagined soldiers were trained, she refused to be caught off guard.

           “I should probably get to work.” sighed Fenn standing up, “The garden won’t harvest itself.”

           As her eyes scanned the horizon once more, her eyes suddenly locked onto an object in the distance. It was moving slowly and in a zigzag pattern, Fen ran inside her house and grabbed a pair of binoculars, a bow and quiver of arrows. Looking through the binoculars, she found the object; Fenn blinked rapidly, “It can’t be…”

           Despite what her eyes told her was true, her mind told her that it was impossible; placing the binoculars down on the porch and slowly walked towards the human stumbling towards her as she aimed an arrow at his chest. The closer Fenn got to him, she realized his stumbling gait was due to injury; his shirt was stained red across his abdomen, he dragged his left foot as though it was broken. He looked up at her, his face filled with agony; they both stopped moving. They stared at each other, Fen’s heart beat faster and faster as she watched him stare back; ‘He doesn’t look very dangerous…’ thought Fenn

           Without warning, the man collapsed in the dirt with a painful grunt; Fenn waited a few minutes until she could be sure he wasn’t going to trick her. ‘He might be dangerous…but I can’t just leave him here.’ rationalized Fenn tapping his shoulder with her boot. When she was sure he wasn’t going to leap up and attack her, she slung the bow across her shoulders and slipped one of his arms around her shoulders and lifted; she stumbled forward as his weight threw her off balance.

           Carefully, she flipped him onto his back and slipped her arms underneath his; on the count of three she started to drag him back to her house. The moment Fenn reached the stairs to the porch, she sat down, breathing heavily. She wiped the sweat from her face as she propped the door open. ‘Alright, lets get you inside.’ A few minutes later, Fenn had the stranger settled on the couch, she tied his hands the arm of the couch. ‘At least when he wakes up, he won’t be able to attack me.’  

           With a bowl of water, clothes and her medical kit beside her, Fenn lifted his shirt to expose the wound on his abdomen; she grimaced as she inspected the deep slash that opened his skin. Wringing water from a cloth, she gingerly began to wipe the blood away; he moaned a few times as she worked at sewing up his wound before turning her attention to his foot. Leaving the room, she went in search of wood that she could use for a makeshift splint; as she searched the stranger’s moans became increasingly louder.

           “Hey! Untie me!” he angrily shouted before hissing in pain

           Fenn cautiously walked back into the room, observing him in silence; he was so focused on getting his hands untied that he didn’t see the woman watching him from a few feet away. When he heard someone clearing their throat, his eyes quickly found the source of the sound; “Impossible…” muttered Liam his eyes growing wide

           “Who are you?” snapped Fenn glaring at him, “Why are you here?”

           “My name is Liam,” replied Liam his arms straining against the restraints around his wrists, “I’ll tell you why I’m here when you untie me.”

           “That’s not going to happen,” growled Fenn walking closer to Liam, “You could be a murderer for all I know!”

           “I promise I’m not going to hurt you…besides I don’t think I could do much harm with the sorry condition I’m in.” grinned Liam winking at her, “Thank you, by the way for fixing me up.”

           Fenn nodded sharply at him before proceeding to tie the splint to his foot, she didn’t understand why her face suddenly felt warm. She looked up at him, his bright green eyes sparkled with mischief; shaking her head, she forced her focus back on his foot.

           “Why are you here?” asked Fenn sitting beside him, “No, I am not going to untie you until I can determine your not a threat.”

           Liam looked at his surroundings, he was surprised the large supply of weapons organized around the room. He tried to shift into a more comfortable position, he saw mixture of curiosity, fear and anger on her face.

           “Miss…I give you my word, I am not here to hurt you,” explained Liam his eyes filled with pleading, “I’m on my own…I’ve been trying to escape the soldiers for months…”

           “What soldiers?” gasped Fenn surprised, “There are more of you?”

           Liam stared at her, he couldn’t tell if she was being serious or sarcastic, “What do you mean? Of course, there are more people out there…when was the last time you saw another person?”

           Fenn opened her mouth then promptly closed her mouth again, she sensed that he was telling the truth; hesitantly she untied his hands and ankles. Her hand reached the hunting knife beside her, she instantly felt calmer knowing that if did try something she had a weapon ready.

           “I…came here with my father when I was four years old; father said staying here would be safer since human kind would be extinct,” explained Fenn, “He said that people were growing more and more savage, that the new government takeover was getting rid of anyone they deemed un-useful. You’re the first person I’ve seen in fourteen years.”

           “Your father…”

           “He’s dead.” stated Fenn, “Take these, it will help with the pain.”

           Liam did as he was instructed and waited for the pain throbbing from his abdomen and foot to ease up. He tried to digest the information the woman has given him, he struggled to sit up. Fenn quickly offered her assistance.

           “My name is Fenn…you said you were escaping soldiers? From what my father told me, if someone wants you dead, they will find you.” said Fenn a frown touched her lips, “Even if you managed to elude these soldiers, it’s only a matter of time before they find my farm.”

           “It was not my intention to bring trouble to your doorstep…once I am able to walk I will make myself scarce,” promised Liam, “It looks like you’re ready for a fight and if you are itching for a fight…I’m on my way to the rebel headquarters.”

           Fenn stood up and began pacing around the room, for fourteen years, she had no idea that there were other people and now she was talking to a man who was asking her to join rebels fighting the new government. She felt like her whole world was just turned upside down, Fenn looked down and saw her hands were trembling.

           “Fenn, I know this is a lot to take in and it’s a big decision to make…I can tell you’ve got a cache of weapons that will help the rebel army,” said Liam hoping to convince her to join him, “I’m pretty sure you know how to use these like a pro. We could use your skills…plus I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.”

           “This new government…do they have a name?” asked Fenn blushing at Liam’s flirtation

           “They call themselves The Republic. They are dangerous and won’t stop until they have squashed every ounce of freedom and rebellion.”

           Fenn placed her hands over her face and took some deep breaths, “My father has told me over and over to stay away from others and I know he did that to protect me but…there is something inside of me telling me that I need to help fight back. I have questions and I need some answers…I’ll come.”

           “Let’s get ready…”

           “Not until your foot has healed otherwise you won’t be very useful…besides we can use this time to get to know each other better.”

           “I look forward to getting to know you Fenn. Perhaps you can teach me how to use a bow and arrow…”

           “Since we’re going to war, I should probably teach you how to handle a weapon or two.” smirked Fenn

           Liam laughed, wincing as he gingerly touched the bandages on his side; Fenn shook her head and handed him a glass of water.

           “I’ll make us something to eat…food will help you get your strength back.” grinned Fenn moving towards the kitchen

           ‘He doesn’t seem so bad…sorry father, I know I promised to stay here but I have a chance to stop the people who forced us to run fourteen years ago,’ thought Fenn, ‘I have so many unanswered questions and this is my chance to find the answers.’

           For the first time in years, Fenn didn’t fight her need to fight, to escape her life on the farm and do something about the reason they left their home so many years earlier. Fenn smiled as she prepared dinner, she was excited to finally have the opportunity to make a name for herself. Fenn was ready to fight for the freedom that was ripped from her and her father as well as so many others; she was ready face those who had changed her future.

           “I’m doing this for you father,” murmured Fenn smiling, “I am more than ready for this…I will not lose!”