Three Years Later
Location: Harvard University Campus
"I feel bad for them" Angela spoke between bites of her sandwich as we watch the freshman move into the dorms that we had once shared "They have no idea what is in store for them"
We both chuckle at that.
They really didn't.
Never having a decent hot running shower, sharing a kitchen with dirty and disgusting boys who's idea of having a quick wash before class was to use a wet-wipe as they walked.
Oh and worse of all, never having a full, uninterrupted nights sleep.
"That was us three years ago" I remind her.
How naive we had been back then.
In fact it was exactly three years ago to the day that I had met Angela.
The both of us had been assigned to share the same dorm room, and thank god.
We were incredibly lucky actually.
Not only did we have similar personalities we also had the same major.
Literature.
Angela had also been a social outcast in High school due to her fathers career.
He was a Minister.
Our room-mate status quickly moved up to best friends.
In our second year we rented a small two bedroom apartment close to campus, which we still live in now.
Until the end of this academic year at least.
We are just about to start our fourth and final year.
It was not only exciting but also daunting to think that this time next year we will be proper grown ups.
"What do you think Charlie is going to say?" Angela returns to our conversation before we had gotten sidetracked by the freshmen.
The upcoming semester abroad.
"He knows that it is part of my major, we have to do it to graduate" I pre-pared him about it the summer before I started here.
"He is going to have a bitch fit Bella" she giggles as she speaks "Plus with all this flu business or whatever it is that has been going on over there"
"Which is exactly why you are going to say your going with me" It's not a technical lie, per-say "Plus its not for a while, I'm sure all of that will be over by then"
"He will lock us up when he finds out we lied, I hope your aware" her eyes are as wide as she can make them "I will be know ones prison bitch, Bella Swan"
I know that look.
If we are not careful she is going to have a full on laughing fit, in public.
Angela loves trying to wind me up with what my Dad is going to do if he finds out things he wouldn't like to know about.
"If he finds out" Which I am hoping he never does.
I begin shredding the uneaten half of my bagel as we sit in the window of the coffee shop.
"I have the whole semester to tell him, I don't leave till January fourth" It is not enough time though.
Charlie Swan can be rather over protective over me.
I get brand new cans of pepper spray in the mail every month, without fail. I have more than you can count hidden in shoe boxes In my closet.
"For three months in Paris" she reminds me will a slight dreamy smile.
Paris.
It had always been a dream of mine to travel there and when the opportunity rose I just had to take it.
Who wouldn't?
"And your off to London" I remind her with a matching smile.
"But Paris, is Paris" she has a dream like look upon her face.
"And London is London" I flutter my lashes, making her giggle once again.
"The plus side is that it only takes a couple of hours to travel between the two, so we can have long weekends" snatching a broken piece of my bagel she pops it into her mouth.
"Which also means I am not technically lying to Charlie" I smile and pop a piece into my own mouth.
"You and your technicalities" she mumbles through the food still in her mouth.
"It gets me by" I wink causing another burst of laughter from my best friend.
She carries on laughing as she signals the waitress for a re-fill of coffee.
As she did so I could feel eyes on me, making the small hairs on the small hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
I hate that uneasy feeling and had a quick scan of the coffee shop to see if anyone was actually looking at me or not.
My eyes landed on a couple of guys sat in suits facing Angela and I.
They looked older than anyone else in the coffee shop, especially in their obviously designer, black suits that probably cost more than all of my clothes combined.
When they saw that I was looking at them they both looked away and began whispering back and forth as though it would not make them look out of place here. Which of course made them look even more so.
Taking the opportunity to look at them while they where no longer looking my way. Thy looked as though they could be twins, both deathly pale, cropped brown hair and a black pair of ray-bans covering their eyes.
They really did look very out of place, sitting in a college campus coffee house.
I quickly tore my gaze away as they stopped talking and looked my way once again.
Something just did not feel right about the two of them, I just couldn't put my finger on it though.
Angela who had either noticed me staring at them or who had also felt their eyes on her spoke "Oh, I hate it when pre-law students waltz around in suits"
"They look kind of old to be pre-law" plus I knew I had never seen either of them here before and if they were freshmen they were way overdressed for their first day.
"Mature students?" she shrugs her shoulders and we quickly go back to talking about Europe as we drain our coffee cups watching more freshmen arrive on campus.
I caught the two guys in suits watching not only us but it seemed like everyone else here.
It was starting to make me feel uneasy.
"Is it just me or are there clones of those creepy coffee house guys everywhere?" Angela whispered as we made our way across Harvard square from our apartment to meet up with some friends at the bar to celebrate starting our final year.
She was right of course. It seemed like every ten feet we walked you would come across another pair of men in black suits.
"There is no way that they are pre-law students" I whisper back and link my arm through hers "More like feds or something" Why would they be here though?
Leaning closer to me Angela said "Maybe the president is in town or something"
"Wouldn't we of been old about it?" We had been told before, why would they keep it secret but have, what seemed like the whole town crawling with these guys.
"OH!" she said loudly, gaining the attention of everyone around us.
Including the black suits, which where really starting to freak me out.
"Angela" I scold her for drawing unneeded attention to us.
"Sorry" she replied, back in a lower voice so that only I could hear her "Maybe there is someone Royal or something starting here?"
"Maybe?" The sounded the most likely of anything I could think of to explain it.
Whoever they where, if their intent was to blend in. They where failing miserably.
Students all around seemed to be sending odd looks their way and keeping a safe distance from them.
Our usual group of friends were all sitting around talking amongst ourselves when Angela's boyfriend, Ben, finally showed up. Almost two hours late.
"Something weird is happening!" was all he said when he arrived.
"Dude, about time!" one of the boys shouted and shoved a shot of vodka his way.
"Listen to me guys, something is not right around here!" he had a slightly crazed look on his face.
"You talking about those agents" one of his friends asked.
"Agents?" his girlfriend asked. Had she really not noticed?
"You must of seen them, been around all week" we all fell silent. All week? "More today than ever though"
"We saw them this morning in the coffee house" Angela spoke. I just stayed silent.
"I assumed it was to do with some VIP student or something"
"We thought that too" I agreed, speaking for the first time since the conversation began.
"It's weird" Angela clutched Ben's hand.
"What the hell is going on?" he sounded so confused "The internet is down, all phone networks seem to be down and the only channel on the TV that works just says 'Please stand by'" Ben said, finally taking a seat next to Angela.
"What?" more than one person said.
Sure enough we all pulled out our phones and every single one said 'No Service'. A look at the muted television above the bar also told us he was telling the truth about that too.
"Why?" Angela threw her phone back into her bag "I am so confused"
Before anyone else could speak, or come up with any kind of explanation all of the lights went out and everything went silent.
People began screaming a delayed second later.
Sounds of bottles and glasses smashing on the floor and chairs and stools being knocked over as people scrambled, I assumed to the entrance of the bar.
My heart was beating so fast in my chest that I felt like it was going to burst out of it any second.
Suddenly the brightest, whitest light burst to life outside.
Every single person froze.
The light was so bright I had to shield my eyes with a hand to stop it from burning them.
A deep and commanding male voice came over a loud speaker.
"THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY NOTICE"
This is bad. Really bad.
"PLEASE KEEP CALM AND SLOWLY MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE AWAITING VANS PRESENT OUTSIDE"
"What the hell?" I whisper to Angela who was clutching my hand so hard that I thought it was going to break.
"What's going on?" I could tell by her voice that she was either crying or on the brink of it.
"DO NOT RESIST, FORCE WILL BE USED IT YOU FAIL IT COMPLY"
"Oh my god" we said at the same time.
"THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY"
"Come on" Ben tugged on Angela, pulling her away from me.
"You want to go out there?" she screamed at him "Are you crazy?"
"THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY NOTICE"
"They have guns" guns? "Come on"
Due to the light I could now see the crowds that where looking out of the windows, sure enough as I moved closer I saw the guns he was talking about. Being held by all of the guys we had been seeing all over campus, in their black suits. These people where not messing around, they where machine guns, huge machine guns.
Ben was right, It was too late then to do anything. They already had us surrounded.
"PLEASE KEEP CLAM AND SLOWLY MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE AWAITING VANS PRESENT OUTSIDE"
"Who are these people?" I ask no one in particular.
"The government?" Ben guessed "Who else would do all of this? The question is why?"
The door creaked open as some people began to make their way outside.
"DO NOT RESIST, FORCE WILL BE USED IT YOU FAIL IT COMPLY"
A slow stream of students where moving along the street outside towards rows and rows of large white trucks. They looked just any type of delivery truck you would expect to see on a high way. Apart from for the fact that they where herding people into them like we where some kind of farm animal. As well as the fact that they had hundreds of bright white lights on top of them.
"THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY"
"We have to go" Ben tugged Angela once again, who pulled me along with her.
"There must be something we can do?" I beg and try to tug myself free from her hold.
"Bella, I have a feeling that they will not think twice about using those guns"
I knew in that moment that she was right.
"THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY NOTICE"
No more than twenty seconds later, the first round of shots that night drifted through the air.
A/N
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