Imagine (11 page)

S
ometime during Mrs. Klark’s lecture Eddie and Porsche had made their way into the room, both of them are now leaning against the wall next to the door. Eddie with both his arms and legs crossed, while Porsche is leaning into him her long blond hair brushing against his arm. She is whispering to him. But the entire time that she is talking it seems as though Eddie is ignoring her and stares directly at me, never looking away.

Mrs. Klark goes on and talks about some of the rules and
expectations, the things that Helen has already explained to me, so I really don’t pay attention. Instead I watch Porsche and Eddie. They seem to be ignoring each other but their body language would say otherwise, interesting.

Mrs. Klark
’s class comes to a close “Your escorts are ready to head out now, we will continue class tomorrow. Off you go!” Says Mrs. Klark with a wave of her hand, as if to shoo us off.

I
turn to Chelsey “Is Eddie your Guardian?”

“No, he’s more like my roommate. I can’t stand him, all the things I used to think that were cute about him are now anno
ying the crap out of me. I cannot believe that he and I almost dated”

“Don’t worry we’re
going to come up with a plan to get out of here!” I tell her in a whisper.

She give
s me a look that says that she’s very much doubtful. “I really hope so Trish, I want to go home, so bad. I better get going; Eddie is staring at me and looks really impatient.”

We both get up and make our way over to the two of them, at the same time Sam and Kia are forced to get up by their Guardians. Our paths cross and Sam gives me a slow smile and
a cheeky wink, I do like them with some spirit, which he has is spades. So I return his smile and get a sharp elbow in my side from Chelsey in return, her eyebrows are raised and she has a smirk on her face, she mouths the word “Hottie” and I crack up laughing. 

Eddie pushes off the wall and grabs a hold of
Chelsey’s arm “Time to go Chelsey, you have a lot to do this afternoon!” And with that he drags her out the door.

I start to follow them but Porsche steps in my way “Not so fast
there monkey-breath, you need to wait over there with the others for a minute while I talk to Jack really quick.” With this Porsche saunters over to the tall, fierce looking Guardian that took a head-butt from Sam earlier.

I join Sam and Kia in the far corner of the room “Hi there, I’m Trish. Are you guys doing alright? I noticed you in the street on my first day here.”

“Hi Trish! I‘m Sam and this is my Sister, Kia. We’re okay I guess but let’s just say it’s not been fun, but we will survive. We always do.” Sam replies. I notice the warm tone of his voice.  It makes me think of dark chocolate, so rich and full bodied.

Sam glances
nervously over towards The Guardians, noticing that they are deep in conversation and not paying attention to us, so he continues to speak.

“We definitely have learned a lot about this place since our arrival, what Mrs. Klark was saying, about this being an i
sland, it may well be true. Kia and I ran at the first chance we got, as you can tell that didn’t end very well for either of us. We wound up on a beach; we walked along it for over a day before the trackers caught up to us. To teach us a lesson they decided to put us in the stocks. I’d make sure not to put yourself in a position where you find yourself in those stocks if I were you; they are the worst thing I have ever experienced. Every part of your body hurts after the first hour, your skin dries out and it feels like part of you slips away. We spent five hours in them and it felt like days, it just saps all of your energy. It’ll take both of us a while to gain our strength back, that’s for sure. When we try again we’ll need a boat for sure, but first of all we need to scheme up a plan, Kia won’t survive going through all of that again... What about you and your blonde friend? What are your plans?”

I stare into Sam’s trustwo
rthy, sky blue eyes as I speak. “Chelsey and I were just talking about it. If this place is an island, which it sounds like it is, then we really have no clue. But we can’t stay here either, it’s hell!”

Porsche is watching us. “I’m sorry, I better get going. We will have to continue this conversation during class tomo
rrow.” I make my way back to Porsche

“Found yourself a little boyfriend did you? I have to tell Keagan all about this!” She sneers as she ushers me out the door and back out into the white corridor. The white carpet now covered in muddy foo
tprints. 

H
aving Sam and Kia with us here puts a different spin on everything. I’m just not sure if it makes things better or worse at the moment. We have to come up with a plan together somehow, get away from this place. My powers may come in use; I could conjure up a boat. But that’s going to take practice, all of the times I have used them so far have been beyond my control.

“So
Porsche, I am still having somewhat of a hard time grasping all of this.” I say

“Are you seriously that dense?” She stops and takes a hold of my shoulders with both
hands. “Your kind, for as long as history goes back, has bought nothing but destruction and pain to those around you. You may start off normal, but somewhere along the line you will end up twisted and straight-up evil. If that happens to you I’ll get the pleasure of hunting you down and sticking a knife deep into your black heart. It will be a particular pleasure for me because while you will be somewhere in an unmarked grave and no one even remembers your name, Keagan and I will have kids and a wonderful life together. That’s the story, get it now?”

Her hands still on my shoulders, I can’t help myself, I push away from her and punch her
, as hard as I possibly can, right in her perfect little button nose, it explodes with a ‘POP’, spilling blood everywhere. 

That felt good! As I look at her with a s
elf-satisfied smirk on my face I hear a gasp and I notice Sam and Kia, Kia has her hands covering her face clearly in shock, Sam slightly shaking his head as if saying that that was not a good idea. Their Guardians are there too. One of them rushes towards us, while the other remains with Sam and his Sister.

“Are you alright Porsche?” he asks her as he grabs a hold of my arm. 

“Do I look alright dumbass? Did you not just see what happened?” She is shaking as she speaks, telling me that I got a good punch in.

“No
pe, those two are a handful. I just heard Kia gasp and when I looked your way I could tell that something was wrong. What happened?”

Pointing to me Porsche says “
She
used her evil dark powers to crush my nose and make it bleed; it felt like a sledge hammer hit my face.” With that she begins to cry.

“What!” I gasp in
shock; I cannot believe she just said that, the evil bitch.

That hood-rat has b
een playing me from the start, she wanted this to happen. I should have seen it coming. Who knows if any of the stuff about her and Keagan is actually true? Whilst checking to see that Sam’s Guardian can’t see her she has the audacity to wink at me.

I know it’s useless but I try to defend myself “I don’t even know how to use this Creator stuff, she had her hands tightly on my shoulders and I just punched her in the nose.”

The Guardian shakes his head, looks at me and says “Well, I guess you’re about to find out just what happens to those that attack their mentors.”

“But I thought I get a two week integration period.  I wasn’t thinking, I made a mistake.” I cannot af
ford to be placed in the stocks, they sound horrible.

Porsche continues fake crying and through her
sobs says. “She broke rule number one, she has to be punished. We can’t let her get away with this, what will it say to all the others?” She gives the Guardian a sad pitiful look and with that he pulls his colossal arm back, punches me in the face and I hit the floor.

XIV

imagine being forced to your knees

I
come around and find myself unable to move any part of my body. I ache from head to toe. I feel something cold and hard against my knees, so I must be kneeling. My hands are tied tightly together behind my back. I have never felt such pain in my life - even running didn’t cause me anywhere near this much agony. My skin feels like leather, so dry, any movement at all could crack it.

I open my
eyes; they feel as though they are held closed with superglue. I discover, to my horror, that I am not just kneeling with my hands tied behind my back as I first thought, but I am kneeling over a tree stump, tied face down to it. I am wearing only my underwear, white boy shorts and a sports bra. I can feel the rough texture of the wood on my bare stomach as I lay across the hard surface. The sun is scalding my back; I don’t want to even
Imagine
the sunburn that I must have.

I lift my head to
look around, it hurts even more. How long have I been here? It’s hard to explain how I feel right now, just one more item to add to the list of terrible things that have happened to me in the last few days. At least I think it’s been a few days, I really have no idea how long I’ve actually been here. I have only spent one night in a bed but I must have missed whole days, the drugs in the cereal, the journey here. I also have no idea how long I’ve been out here either. 

I slowly turn my
head; the movement sends sharp pains down my spine. It looks like I’m in the center of a bunch of houses; my eyes come to rest on a pair of brown boots.

“Please!” I cry out.
 My throat is so dry that the word barely leaves my lips, what does come out sounds more like a dry croak, nothing like my voice at all.  

“You just don’t get it do you Trish?” I recognize Keagan’s voice. He sounds like a disappointed parent, not angry, just disappointed and frustrated.
“Do you think I want this for you? For you to have to go through these sort of things? You’re so stubborn; now look at what you’ve got yourself into this time.”  

With those words he turns on his heels and I watch the brown boots walk away. I hear a bell, it chimes three times. A shrill sound that makes me wish I could cover my ears. The bell is a signal for many other noises to start all around me, I hear whispers and footsteps shuffling amongst the leaves but above everything else is a voice coming from very close to me, I reco
gnize it instantly as Brother Lorrus.

“Brothers and Sisters, we are here today to educate one of those that we are trying to save from the path of darkness.” He begins and instantly, as if someone hit a switch, everything is silent once more
. He really is the boss man. “She is a new arrival, and can be a
great
danger to us if she is not taught
our
ways. She has recently broken the first rule of The Creators; she used the power that has been passed down generations to her in order to hurt her Mentor. Keagan here is her Guardian; please step forward as you will administer the first part of her punishment.”

The boots step into my vision again, they walk menacingly t
oward me. I am already anticipating some sort of pain when
whoosh
, a long black bullwhip hits the dirt in front of me, passing just inches from my right cheek. 

No
, this cannot be happening to me. I know that whipping is something that used to happen, but never in a modern society surely? Let alone in front of an audience, I’m certainly not doing too well at being low key here, so much for that genius plan!

Then the first sharp sting hits my lower back, I arch up against the ropes that are binding me to the wooden stump and aut
omatically let out a wail of pain. My entire body curls up as much as it can, trying to make itself as small as possible, even my toes curl in towards my heels. I prepare myself for the next strike of the bullwhip, but it doesn’t come. My whole body is shaking; drops of my blood hit the ground and mix with the dark, dry earth. 

 
              “Blood for Blood” I hear Keagan say as his boots walk away once more. 

“Mentor, now you must cleanse The Young Creator’s blood of the evil within” I hear Brother Lorrus say.
A searing pain shoots across my lower back as something has been thrown on me. It feels like someone has set fire to me.

“Salt, to turn her black blood red once again!”
 I recognize Porsche’s voice; it is the last thing I hear before I fall happily into oblivion.

XV

imagine
a mirror

This time when I wake up I find myself on my stomach, a cool wet cloth is against my lower back. I try to breathe evenly, so that whoever is with me doesn’t know that I have woken up. I can’t take any more punishment. I feel like I have aged significantly in the past few days, I’ve had the last of my innocence forcibly stripped from me. This beautiful village has held nothing but pain and sadness for me, made me realize that the things I’ve been so worried about in the past, like my relationship with Keagan, just don’t matter. I know I have to be strong and survive, I should at least learn something from everything that I am experiencing here.

“I know that you’re aw
ake now dear” it’s Keagan’s Mom, Helen. Boy am I relieved to see a kind face for once. She smiles at me reassuringly as she gently pats my hair. “I tried to warn you about this place, didn’t I? We truly believe that what we are doing here is for the greater good and all of our means, no matter how extreme, are justified. Just look back in history dear, good people will do bad things if they believe that their cause is just. Take War for instance, both sides believe they are right, they each have goals and they both feel that what they believe in has to be accomplished by any means necessary. I’m not trying to justify their cruelty here, but you definitely have the family history to bring true terror to this world. That scares us all, some of us so much that they are cruel to you and very quick to think the worst.”

She pauses to lift and replace the wet cloth with a fresh one before continuing talking to me. “They haven’t told you everything about this place, Trish. How old are you again?”

“I am 17.” I tell her.

“
We are on an island here; the people that live in this area are indeed here to make sure that we Young Creators are managed effectively so that nothing evil befalls this planet. They are protecting you from those that seek to use your gift to make themselves powerful at the same time.”

I sit up slowly and turn to face her, my back is sore but nowhere near as painful as I’d expected. In fact, the burning sensation has gone completely. I am still really stiff but the pain is manageable. It must be late, it is completely dark ou
tside. I am in the cabin that Keagan and I have been sharing, in our bed. Everything is just as I left it when I was here last. No-one else is here, just Helen and I.

She lets out a sigh before continuing “You are still so young, you have so much ahead of you, Trish. Did you know
she
was about your age when she left?”

I look at her,
confusion on my face and just as I am about to ask who exactly
she
was, I hear the bells toll once more. First one ring,
ding,
then two,
ding
, and a third
ding
. Just like when I was on the tree stump. But when a fourth toll sounds,
ding
a look of true panic crosses Helen’s face, she swiftly takes my hands in hers and very softly, to the point I can barely make out what she is saying, she says “No! Not now, I have so much more to tell you, quick Trish, they have come for you! I don’t know just how good our defenses are against them. You have to get dressed and run! Trish run, run as fast as you can. Here, I’ve packed a bag for you.” She thrusts a satchel into my hands and continues talking “Inside is food, water and a change of clothes.” With that she jumps out of her seat and runs over to the window, peaking outside. I can tell she is trying not to be seen by anyone outside. I struggle to my feet and pull on my sweatpants and just as I pull the t-shirt over my head the door crashes open.

Keagan rushes inside, when he notices that I
am no longer in bed and I am dressed the look of panic smooth’s from his face and is replaced with one of relief. 

Helen is first to speak as she walks back over to me “Trish I know that you and Keagan haven’t really gotten along since your arrival, but he is your Guardian. When it comes down to it, he will take care of you
, regardless. It’s his job.” she gives me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

She lets me go and turns to her son “Keagan, remem
ber the conversation we had earlier today, you know what to do son. Run and keep on running until you meet Riley” Handing him a satchel exactly the same as the one I hold in my hands. Had they planned to escape now, regardless of what was happening outside?

I can hear people yelling now and a number of screams in the distance. “Trish, we have to go!
They
are getting closer now.” Keagan takes my hand and pulls me, still a little unsteady on my feet, out of the door. 

The darkness of the night is littered with lights ever
ywhere now, electric lights. “I don’t really understand Keagan; this village is protected isn’t it? How have they found us? How will they hurt us?”

Ignoring my questions Keagan simply says. “Let’s go!”

“What about Chelsey? We have to go and get her!”

“She’s going to be
safe; she’s not the one that they want! I don’t know how they knew that you were here, but they are here now and it’s
you
they want. There is somewhat of a prophecy about you, one that you are obviously unaware of and one that I have only recently discovered!”

I dig my heels into the ground, causing us both to stop. I need answers! “Keagan! What are you talking about? What proph
ecy?”

“I will explain later, for now you just have to trust me. Let’s go!” He is now dragging me
along; he overpowers me so I have no other choice but to run with him. Still holding hands.

I don’t like this not one bit, but I do trust Helen
and Chelsey isn’t a Creator after all, she even told me that she hasn’t had to go through any of the crazy mumbo jumbo I have. She shouldn’t get hurt. I really hope that I am making the right decision here.

We start running, really sprinting. I begi
n to think that my Mom was right, someday being able to run
will
save my life. Just as we reach the path I took with Helen to the lake someone crashes into me, it takes me completely by surprise and I gasp in pain. I fall to the ground and start getting up in a hurry. I am picked up by the back of the arm by the figure that ran into me. I turn to see who is manhandling me; it is an older man in dark cargo pants and a polo shirt. Immediately Keagan slams into the man, causing him to release me from his grip. They begin grappling with each other in the dirt. Keagan yells without looking up “Run Trish! Run to the lake!”

 
              I run as fast as I can. I soon come to the fork in the road. Remembering our walk I take the left side, I pray that I’m right. That’s when I see her, and slow down to a walk.

At first, because of the lights, I just see her silhou
ette. As I get closer her figure begins to take shape with every step until I can see her completely. 

There is something vaguely familiar about her curly red hair, her delicate facial features.
 She is wearing exactly the same outfit as the man Keagan is currently battling. Telling me all I need to know, I have to get away from this woman. Fast.

“
Patricia, wait!” she starts walking towards me slowly with her arms wide open, as to give me a hug. I back up, away from her.

“
It’s ok sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you; I could never hurt my daughter!”