Freerunner

Chapter 22

I was barely asleep for 10 minutes when Alex came thumping at my door. The echo of each knock rung like a gunshot through my head. I shrivelled beneath my blanket, hoping he'd leave me alone. However, once he'd realised I wasn't getting up out of my own volition, he attempted to enter.
"Rosie, come on! Open the door; it's dawn," he called. I continued to ignore him. I reckoned he'd go away eventually. "Rosie!" He whined, slamming his fist repeatedly against the wood. I dug my fingers into the mattress. Like a shadow creeping up a wall, I rose out of my bed.

"It's too early in the morning to be SLAUGHTERING PEOPLE!" I yelled. I saw Alex's head disappear as he quickly shut the crack in the door. "S-sorry," he stuttered, his voice sounding muffled. "I'm guessing you didn't really sleep?"

I blinked several times then glanced down at the book on my pillow. I rubbed my face, feeling a light mark where I'd slept on the book.

"Yeah, not really," I said croakily. "Give me a minute, I'll be out when I'm ready." There was a moment's silence then the sound of distant footsteps. I kicked off the covers and looked down at my wrinkled uniform. Evidently, I hadn't thought to change out of it 10 minutes earlier. I pulled it down as much as possible, trying to create an ironing effect. My hands brushed against something hard. I could feel a mark on my waist where the gun had pressed against my skin. I tucked in my undershirt, readjusting the weapon so it was on my left hip. Before I left my room, I checked my pockets for Alex's key, picked up the book and then kicked down my door. My brother was waiting for me in the front room.

"Oh, could you just leave that on my desk?" He said. Relieved, I entered his room, placed the book down and put the key just behind his desk clock. I turned to leave when a thought struck me. Checking that my brother wasn't paying attention, I took a few quiet steps towards one of his drawers. I slid it open and found my runner clothes. They looked cleaner than when I last wore them. Keeping them in mind, I shut the drawer and left the room. When he heard my footsteps on the hard floor, he turned and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Ready?" He asked. I reached up and scratched the back of my head.

"I dunno... This is just like how Kari and those other soldiers died," I mumbled. His smile faded. "I'm sorry, but it's for the best," he said grimly. I turned my head away and walked out the door, hearing my brother rushing to follow. Every muscle in my body had tensed. How could he just say that? Clenching my teeth, I tried not to think too hard about it.

The masses of people were making their way to the prison yard. There was a strange disquiet amongst them. Every so often, someone gave me a nervous glance or sped up when they came near me. My skin prickled. With a heavy heart, I realised that they didn't trust me. No one did. I couldn't understand. When I was in the cells, they wanted me to get out. Now that I was out, they viewed me as a traitor. Biting my tongue, I just looked forward. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Glancing to my right, Alex was there with that same reassuring smile. "Don't worry, just give everyone some time. They'll come round eventually." He looked entirely convinced of this. I nodded, managing a feeble grin. In the dim dawn light, I could see faded bags under his eyes. His blonde hair was slightly dishevelled but that might've just been because he'd just woken up. Still, that smile seemed somewhat painful, as if it was the first time he'd smiled in a long time.

By the time we'd made it to the yard, everyone had already overtaken us. I found myself at the very back of the crowd. I couldn't see what was going on. "Alex, can't we get inside?" I asked. He shook his head. "It's soldiers only. Civilians have to stay outside the gates." He looked around and spotted some of the children holding boxes. "I'll be back," he said, running off towards the children. I stood by myself, trying to see inside. I tapped the person in front of me on the shoulder. "Sorry, could I-" I began. They turned around. Their eyes widened at the sight of me. Quickly, they turned away. I retracted my hand. No one was going to move. That person's face said it all: this wasn't for my eyes to see.