Free SAFE by Dawn Husted

her.
    “Before
you go, can you tell me this? Did those children have any special abilities
like the rest of us?”
    Sidnee
turned around. “I guess it depends on what you define as special.” Then she
walked out of the room.
    I
sat alone, not wanting to put the pieces together. I knew I wasn’t as strong or
fast as the others were. I didn’t hear as well but I was extremely smart. That
had to be something along ability lines, right? I looked down at my arms, at the
vines still there. I forced my thoughts away from the frightening possibility,
feeling like I didn’t know anything anymore.
    My
dad. He was deceiving President Falcon. How did Falcon find
out? If my father started this thirteen years ago, then he would’ve been
careful. Careful enough not to be discovered. I was eighteen now. This just
didn’t add up. Still thinking, I walked into my room. The white dog laid on
the ground, front paws clawing, playing tug-a-war with a bone. Slobber gathered
around the bloody sections she was done chewing with. I chose not to walk near her,
not while she was eating something; if she didn’t want me touching her before,
I doubted she would at this moment either.
    I
sat on the bed.
    I
wished I could simply lie down, close my eyes, and wake up in my own bed—at
home. Yesterday, my life began like any other and I was doing fairly well at
work, happy categorizing tedious petri-dishes and helping with Doctor Benton’s
research. I wasn’t running from anyone and my relationship with James was easy—not
that it still wasn’t. But I felt like there was a part of him I didn’t know.
The fighting. The skills. Was there anything else?
    The
storm outside clamored louder. Thunderous clapping and rain pounded against the
walls.
     Another
hour passed, James wasn’t back yet. The image of him caught by a group of nasty
guards wanting to kill him paused at the forefront of my mind. He might be
strong, but to go against more than two others guards, just as big as him,
would be tough.
     
     
    A couple more hours passed and I walked around the house,
counting vases, now knowing exactly how many there were. Two hundred and
thirty-two vases, plus ten already cracked, placed towards the back of the
stack.
    Suddenly,
James appeared through the curtain. Drenched. Water soaked the ground all around,
dripping from his clothes. His boots sloshed as his feet moved within. However,
his face looked fine, no cuts or bruises, every limb still attached, no blood. He
shook his head, flinging water about the walls. I ran and grabbed a towel from
the kitchen.
    “What
took you so long?” I asked.
    He
took the towel from me and wiped his neck and arms. The towel was soaked
quickly so I went and grabbed a few more.
    “I
needed to make sure your ID was far away from here as possible. It took me a
while, but I finally found a boulder to hide it under.”
    “Why
didn’t we just tear it or burn it in a fire?”
    James
shook his head trying to dry his hair. “I’m not exactly sure how to break the
ID, or what the tracker looks like. Even if we did manage to destroy it, throw
it in the fire or whatever, it wouldn’t lead the guards away from here. When
they start looking for us, we’ll need all the advantage we can get.”
    I
hadn’t thought about that. “Good point,” I agreed. “Well, I’m glad you’re back.
For a minute, I thought you had been caught. Next time don’t take so long,” I said,
backhanding him across the chest
    “Stop
worrying; they won’t look for us in this storm. They’ll wait until it’s clear
and the sun’s bright in the sky so they can make a spectacle as they bring us
in. They’ll want everyone to see; display us as warnings for what will happen
if you challenge their power or violate any laws or rules.” He said the words laws
and rules sarcastically. It was the first time I had ever seen him have any indication
of animosity towards the Academy—ever.
    “Well,
I think your assumption is going a little overboard.