Chapter One
Bandit
I ran.
It was all I could do and I hated it.
We were at the table. Mom came over, carrying a plain white bowl containing the soup she had spent all afternoon preparing. Dad was putting away his newspaper, getting ready to eat. I made a joke, something stupid about Mom's cooking probably. We all laughed, and Mom put down the bowl, grabbed the newspaper Dad had just put down and swatted me on the head playfully, telling me I shouldn't say such things.
Then they came.
I ran.
I forced the memory away, I couldn't afford to get emotional at a time like this. I needed to get away, if I wanted to survive I needed to hide.
A knock at the door. We all look at it. Nobody calls around at this time of day, what if they got seen? Or worse, what if They were on patrol? Anyone on the streets would be vaporised, without a doubt. They were ruthless, heartless, and just downright cruel...
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to fly right through my ribcage. I slowed, looking for a place to hide in this God-forsaken desert.
Wait… desert?
I froze. Desert meant only one thing.
Danger Zone.
If I was found out here, there would be no hope for me at all. I would be vaporised on the spot - no chance of explanation.
Mom walked slowly to the door. Her eyes were wider than I thought was possible. Her voice trembled as she spoke, trying and failing to sound normal.
"Who is it?" she called out.
Silence.
Silence.
I looked around me quickly, and to my relief, there was nobody within eyesight. I took another good look, and saw a pile of rocks on my right. They weren't exactly close, but I was sure I could hide out behind those for a while.
I started to walk over, and after a few steps I stopped. Was that a cloud of dust that just floated out from the rocks? Was that a whisper I heard, or merely the light breeze in my ears?
My voice trembled as I spoke, not even trying to sound normal.
"Who's there? Who's hiding?" I called out.
Mom reached the door and stood in front of it. She called out again, but there came no reply. She reached towards the handle.
"Mom, no don't!" I cried out, scared They were going to be behind the door.
Dad scolded me. "Bandit, hush! Don't worry your mother any more. Whoever is there needs help." He leaned forward, and whispered to me "If it is Them, run as far as you can. Save yourself, and I'll hold them back." He spoke in Spanish, so Mom didn't understand what he was saying. I nodded and murmured a quick "Si" of understanding, blinking back tears.
The tears were back, and this time I couldn't stop them. They came suddenly, and furiously. Before I knew it I was on my hands and knees, sobbing. I was losing control of my body. I fought, trying to stop my tears, but I had gone too far to stop. I gave in, and allowed my body to curl up and collapse , and my screams to become feral howls full of pain and hate.
Mom's hand reached out to the door handle again, and Dad and I stood up at the table, he ready to protect, I ready to run.
Mom grasped the handle, and looked at Dad. The look in her eyes was one of love, fear and pain. She then looked at me, trying to look reassuring.
She opened the door.
They were there, guns held at shoulder level, aiming to kill. The anonymous murderers. Death had found us at last.
Mom screamed, somewhere between a scream of anger and hate, and one of fear and sadness.
Dad ran behind her, only to yell himself and curse at them.
Before they had chance to see me, I ran. We had a backdoor, so I ran to it, threw it open and ran out of the house as fast as I could. Just as I made it to the door, there were flashes of white light, and Mom's screams were silenced, shortly followed by Dad's.
I sprinted out of the house before they could find me.
Before the effects of what had just happened could hit me.
I came back to reality, and found my face covered with wet grime and sand, I was writing on the ground and I had sand in all my clothes.
I was a mess.
I just lay there for a while, wondering how much longer I would last in the Danger Zone. I closed my eyes.
And before I could open them again, they were covered with a blindfold, I was lifted up so it could be tied tightly behind my head. It dug into my eyes, hurting them. My hands were forced behind my back and tied. Whoever was stealing me lifted me to my feet, and made me walk, holding on to one of my arms and gently pushing me in the right direction.
I didn't know where they were taking me. They may have been leading me to freedom, or to my early grave.
But I really didn't care.