2050: A Time of Courage

Chapter 29: Rosalie

The snow seemed to be the only thing I could see as, at just five years old, I stumbled along down a side street.

I was scared, though not as afraid as when the Russians had tortured me. That fear was different. Then, I'd been confused, wondering why that was happening to me and what else they were going to do. As I made my way down the street, I only felt lost. I was too afraid of not knowing where I had ended up to worry if somebody was out to hurt me.

I was getting better at English, but any words of English on the street signs were too long and confusing for me to figure out. Most of the signs were also written in a different language, one I couldn't understand at all.

The only sign I could really remember was at the entrance of the train station, and I still wasn't sure I had understood what it said.

It used to get cold in the winters in Sweden, so I was sort of used to the weather. At home, though, I would have had a much heavier coat which, before my parents died, I would complain about wearing. Now, I was walking around in a much thinner jacket than I was used to, and the chill was going straight through to my bones.

I couldn't stop shivering, and I was really hungry. I didn't have any money, though, so the only way I could get food was to steal it, and that seemed even scarier to me. Everyone on the streets was taller or looked meaner than I was, and I had no idea what I was going to do.

I wondered if this city had Inhumanes.

They were always on the news, and I had seen them in Stockholm once or twice before one of my parents carried me away from them.

I knew that if one found me, it would hurt me, because that was what Inhumanes did. I couldn't really fight, and I doubted I could use my talent to keep one away from me for long.

I was lucky for a while.

I ran through as many streets as I could, looking for something I could read well enough to find out where I was or what to do next. Eventually I wound up in a small alleyway where the snow hadn't been cleared away from the pavement yet. I couldn't stop shivering, and it was beginning to get dark, so I decided to give up. I would look around more in the morning, when I wasn't so cold or so tired and maybe I would be less afraid.

I had only been sitting down for a few minutes, but I was beginning to fall asleep when I heard the noise. Someone was crunching through the snow behind me, getting a little closer with each second.

Turning around, I stared up at three Inhumanes, suddenly even more lost and afraid than before.

All of them were watching me, like if I started to run they wouldn't stop to think before following me. It took all my concentration to try and throw them against the alley wall, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, I allowed myself to go back to that day almost three months before when that Russian was about to shoot me, let myself remember how he was holding the gun to my head in one second and laying in the grass the next.

Get away from me. I don't want to die.

The closest Inhumane was almost near enough to touch me when my talent finally did its job, slamming all three of them against the wall. I stood up, imagining that the Russians were behind me instead of those Inhumanes.

If they caught me, they would torture me, kill me.

My feet slipped in the snow as I ran for my life, forgetting to pay attention to the turns as I ended up going down several alleys that all looked the same. I had just turned another corner when I tripped, finally noticing the tears on my cheeks as I looked up to see the Inhumanes standing over me.

I was going to die, just like my parents.

Would I see them again?

I could hear more crunching in the snow, then someone shouting. The word was one I couldn't understand, spoken in a language that was over my head. A second girl answered the first, and someone's footsteps got closer.