Alpha Paxton

38 |

🖤 V O T E & COMMENT 🖤

The once perfectly manicured streets lay ridden with rubble. Cracks ran across the surface of all the cobblestones; the impact of bodies having left their imprint on the ground. The kick-up of stones and dirt left a haze in the air. I found myself blinking rapidly to prevent a dull sting that came with keeping my eyes open too long.

However, the scene depicted in front of me was not hard to make out. The guards were brutalizing the people in the streets. There was no method to their madness other than to remove as many people as possible.

The guards had weapons. The Guards had shields. They had padded gear. They had silver.

I could see the glinting silver-studded batons that swung from side to side. People tried to jump out of their way, civilians held up their paper signs in a last attempt to avoid getting hit by the wild bats. There seemed to be a never-ending flow of the officers streaming from everywhere, far outnumbering the protestors.

Orion and Iris stepped in front of me, however, I knew that their energy did not need to be spent protecting me but rather, stopping The Guard.

"Both of you stop, and turn and look at me!" I needed their full attention, the only way they would leave my side is if they saw the desperation in my eyes. They were obedient and instantly met my gaze.

"We need to split up. Iris, you are going to head to the back of everything, find a way around and then try to move everyone as quickly as possible back into their homes."

I switched my attention now, holding Orion's shocked gaze.

"Orion, I want you to find out how far into the town The Guards have gotten. Then I need you to hold them there. Don't let them gain any more ground."

I gave them a moment to process what I had just said to them before prompting them to follow their orders. I felt horrible pulling the 'I'm in charge card' but there was only so much time to make efficient action.

"And where are you going to go, Luna?"  I thought for a second before realizing what I had to do.

"I am going to stay here and to stop the incoming guards, I am the only one they will listen to in this moment."

Iris and Orion hesitated, swaying side to side. I could see both of them glance down at my belly. Their fluttering glares made me upset, I could protect my baby better than both of them. So, I was the first one to walk away.

I marched away towards the new group of guards that was preparing to enter from a new section of the streets. When I glanced back, I smirked when I saw both Orion and Iris running towards the positions I assigned them.

I was in the middle of The Guard now, shouting, trying to get them to disperse. They were still attacking the few people that remained here.  While I was spinning around and trying to get their attention, I put my hand on my belly out of habit more than anything else and screamed in frustration. But at the motion, it was almost as if the clocks stopped.

I felt the oncoming eerie silence before I heard it. The members of The Guard stopped and turned. Hands shot out to me as if they were expecting me to fall.

I don't know what came over me next. Maybe I was channelling Destiny.

But in the most dramatic fashion, I fell into the nearest pair of arms, feigning that the pregnancy was making me weak.

It felt like the whole world was watching the next moment as I took a collective breath. I was staring up into the eyes of a Guard who seconds earlier, was swinging silver at innocent pedestrians.