Don't Move

Trapped

I make my way home with a heavy heart, my sorrows are weighing me down. I can't be happy knowing my parents are dead now. I worry that my best friend Tyler is dead or Heidi.

I'm worried I'm going to be all alone because now I'm going into the system, the system for orphans. Hopefully we'll be the first out of this country because we're orphans. I decide to take a detour, I walk faster as I see smoke coming out of the house. I see Tyler's whole family outside and in tears but they're fine including Tyler.

I run to Tyler and hug him tight. "I'm an orphan now. All I have left is you and Heidi,"I conclude my short speech in tears but continue, "please don't leave me." "I won't leave you on purpose,"he says kindly but with uncertainty clear in his voice. He's never been uncertain before, it's difficult to see him like this.

"Look Athena, you must stay with Heidi we'll find each other in the refugee camps,"he said seriously. He's never been this straightforward with me, ever. I decide to argue and say, "You want me to stay with her when she doesn't care about me. I care about you and you care about me. I can't just...,"I say and completely fail cause I'm in tears and sobs.

"Look A, you have to be strong for me. Orphans have a higher chance of survival. Take care of yourself and Heidi. I have to take care of my brothers and make sure they get out of here too. My sister's already missing,"he says with devastation and loss clear. His youngest sister is always getting lost, but during a war your first conclusion is death.

It's the truth. You ask anyone. You hope but you just know deep down that they're gone and it's not a dream. If this were a dream it sure changed into a nightmare real fast. "I'll walk you to your house Athena,"he says and starts walking while pulling me along. I hear gunshots and firing of other ammunition. I feel like I'm in a war movie or on the news but it's someone else and I'm imagining myself in their place. I know though that people are watching me.

This scene changed real fast from a normal city to a place of horrors. Dead bodies can be smelt and seen for miles. The houses are mostly destroyed and crumbling. You can hear screams and children crying. There's nonstop noise around us and we have to be as quiet as possible so we aren't killed or mistaken for something that needs to be killed.

We walk quietly through the desolate streets and we just make it to the doorstep when I hear gunshots. The next thing Tyler collapses on the floor. I want to run to him and scream but I run inside to the safety of my home. I see Heidi crying and I think, war is strange. That was one of our own men out there and he killed one of his own people. War can result in the death of your own people by the hands of your own people. I wonder if the pollution is going to have an affect on them and their brains. Or us for that matter.

"Heidi,"I say calmly. She stopped sobbing and turns, when she sees me she runs and hugs me so tightly that I literally can't breath. I start to go blue. She finally lets go and I'm on the floor gasping for breath. She's looking at me like I'm mad and I am mad but at her. "You're crazy Heidi, you could've killed me. Imagine when they tell stories. They'll be like, 'Making headlines for during the war. A young girl was suffocated to death by her sister because she was so happy to see her. Shame she could've lived. She's the only report of death but not from war.' You're insane,"I say seriously but then we realize how funny that would be and burst out laughing.

She then looks at me and says, "Shhh if they hear us then they'll think we're happy about the war." "We lost mum, dad, Tyler and Jaxon all in one day. One day of warfare and they're gone,"I say with hopelessness laced into every word. "We don't know if Jaxon's gone but you're right. From what I saw out there everyone here is gonna be dead by the hands of our people,"she says rather seriously. "What if that's the plan? It's like a game of hide-and-seek. They're just playing with us but in a life and death kinda way,"I say seriously considering it. "In the UK, are you serious?"she asks me with disbelief clear in her face.

"You can't tell me you don't think it's a possibility,"I indirectly ask her. "I don't know Athena but if I did there's nothing we can do. We're playing hide-and-seek with our brother and that doesn't sound fun anymore,"she says seriously with sadness evident in her eyes. They would've told them the plan, all the soldiers would know that they'd planned to kill everyone so I doubt my brother would've went if he knew this.

I stare for a few minutes, then I hear voices coming to the door. Me and Heidi look at each other in panic, we hide as quickly as possible. I'm under the one couch and she's under the other. Both men decide to sit on my couch and I see Heidi laughing, but she's in the most danger cause they can spot her. They start speaking to each other in French. I ask Heidi to look at their faces by mouthing to her what I want. She does so carefully.

I understand French so I know what they're saying but Heidi doesn't. Eventually they leave so I quickly get up and sit by her and ask, "What'd they look like?" "They had bushy eyebrows it was brown even their hair and eyes. Um...they weren't that appealing. They were perspiring and they looked disheveled,"she said finally and then asked, "so what did they say?" "Something about an alien and alliances. They seem to be trying to kill it but they don't know what it looks like. They're fighting with the UK but it's a front so they can find this monster and kill it so UK has no defense,"I conclude with a serious face.

She stares at me dumbfounded. "So this is all a show. Our own people are killing us and they have an alien but they aren't really fighting with France. WTH,"she shouts so loud that I think the men will come back and they do. So I shove both of us under the same couch so they won't find us hopefully. Cause even if it's a front they won't want to be uncovered by not killing us. We need to find a safer place and this alien thing.