The Messiah [1]

4: Athena

Athena stood in the meadow, her expression ponderous. She was barefoot, dressed in the standard clothing they each received upon joining the movement. Navy pants, tight at the waist, but looser around the thigh and leg, granting ease of movement when fighting. A white button up, loosely tucked into the waist band. Athena's dark hair was pulled into a bun at base of her neck, but a few curls had managed to escape, coiling softly around her face.

In her small room she couldn't think straight; she had spent an hour pacing, her choices bouncing off the inside of her head until it had started pounding. Eventually the walls had begun closing in around her, tipping her anxiety to an all-time high. Breathing labored, she had run from her room and into the lush meadow just outside the camp limits. It was here she began to feel herself calm down. Soon her breathing was even, and her hands stopped shaking. Now she could think.

"But what do I do?" She murmured aloud to no one.

It was a hard thing, choosing between her family and her life. Athena held no fantasies about her own selfishness. She wasn't gallant, and didn't pretend to be. She wanted to live. To continue feeling the grass beneath her feet; she loved the faint breeze that blew against her face, tickling her cheeks and cooling her skin.

But she loved her family just as dearly, and the thought of their killers continuing to thrive made her sick. It rolled through her stomach and threatened to spill out of her mouth in a violent scream.

Yet, did she really have a choice?

The question popped into her head without warning, halting all other thoughts and bringing her breathing to a standstill. Was she allowed to say no? Or was all of this just a pretense set up to give her a sense of independence? Athena had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter. Taking a deep breath, she stretched her arms above her head, letting it out in one fast exhale. It seemed she no longer had a choice, but for some inexplicable reason, that didn't bother her. Now that she knew what path to travel down, a sense of calm washed over her. Now that Athena knew, she just had to start the journey.

Φ

Starting the journey turned out to be harder than she thought. Athena crossed her arms, leaning against the door frame of Fiona's workroom. Each mentor had a small, sparsely furnished room they could work in. Athena was half-sure they were for show, as if a small cube could reassure the others that the rebel movement wasn't training teens to be warriors.

Athena had been waiting for an hour, and was ready to jump out of her skin. All of her previous tranquility had been chipped away as the minutes passed. It was now replaced by a sense of dread she couldn't seem to shake. Her head was still pounding and her mouth had long since gone dry. Athena couldn't help but hope, deep down, that the board would change their mind. She was so inexperienced; they couldn't possibly send her out, even if it was a simple supply run. It had been a mistake, a bad judgment call. They were going to file in here and laugh at the mere possibility of her going into the field. Athena cringed at the thought, knowing that no such thing would happen. Hope was dangerous; she didn't watch to latch onto impossibility and be knocked back to reality.

"Athena Z? Is that you?" A portly gentleman, dressed in the standard outfit walked through the doorway opposite her. His girth was larger than she would have thought capable considering the war raging around them, and his graying hair receded back, giving him an older look than his young face implied. Athena hadn't even noticed him until he was a few feet in front of her. The thought of that happening in the field had her shaking her head, then stopping hastily to nod.

"Yes, I'm her. Who are you?"

"I'm Hubert." He responded in a dry voice, pulling a pad of paper and a pen from his pocket. He promptly scribbled some notes, then looked back up at her and said, "I'm here to lead you into the greeting room. You'll be meeting with some of the movement's leaders, who want to speak to you before you leave. Please follow me."