My eyes flew open as I bolted upright, sweat dripping down my back and mind racing. It had been the third time this week I had that dream, of someone dragging me through the streets, fear gripping my body. I didn’t even know who the person was or why I was out in the streets. My entire life I had lived within the city walls, living as an Elite. I would have no reason to be out there, unless it was just a very vivid dream my mind had made up.
But the problem was that if felt so real.
I sighed, running a hand over my face. Well, I wasn’t going to sleep tonight so it made sense to keep my mind occupied with something else. Moving from my bed, I surveyed the room around me. Oddly enough there was a lot that could keep my attention, my book, the multiple instruments I had grown up learning. Hell, we even had an indoor pool on the lower floor. And yet my thoughts still wandered back, forcing me back into that nightmare.
Is that what the poor- the ‘Inferiors’ experienced? Such fear that in a moment you would be killed and that would be it, just another number in the governments war against the Rebels…
Get a grip Melanie, you don’t want to be called a sympathiser, warned my inner thoughts.
They were right after all. Anyone suspected of being a sympathiser of the cause could be arrested and if public enough, they could be executed. I could not bare to do that to my parents. I knew the government were right, the Rebels threatened everything we had worked so hard to achieve in the last ten years. After all it had felt like the issue of overpopulation exploded overnight, the sudden fear that there were truly not enough resources for society.
Chaos and fear ruled the streets. But the government had a plan, the rich would bring about a new perfect society, while the poor would be killed.
It became the new normal and in reality, they had saved us.
A glance at the clock told me it was six in the morning; I would be up for school in an hour anyway. So, I might as well make sure I was presentable for society while I mulled over my mess of thoughts and feelings.
The expectations of a perfect society had grown over the years, and it felt like everything needed to be perfect. Starting with my hair, pulled into a neat plait, keeping out of my face and apparently to make us look smart. Then came the makeup, subtle and not over the top, unless it was needed to hide imperfections. I often used it to dull the freckles that dotted my nose and cheek, they would say that it made me too different.
Which was ridiculous, but I didn’t dare say it.
Finally came clothing, modest and nothing scandalous. Today, it came down to jeans, a top, jacket, and low-heeled boots. The government would love it. I did not know why there was such need for perfection, maybe it was because society before had been like this and in a way, they could keep everyone in check.
Perfect in manners and looks.
Downstairs, I could hear my mother making breakfast though I was sure it was only for me and herself. Grabbing my school bag, I made my way down the winding staircase and walked into the open plan kitchen, where my mother had finished setting the table. She was surprised to see my so early and as expected father was not here. He worked in the government, focused mainly on the Rebel movement, and keeping track. I knew it tired him and hoped one day he would no longer need to do so.
“You’re up early sweetie,"
I nodded, giving her a brief smile as I kissed her cheek in welcoming. “I couldn’t sleep. How are you?”
We took our seats and she smiled widely at me as she poured herself a tea. “I am well, today I will be a tutoring a boy in the violin,"
My mother had a lot of spare time, so she often spent many hours of her day teaching instruments to other kids. She was the one that had taught me all I knew, and it was nice to see her share that knowledge. After all, it was important to prosper those with a love of the arts.
We lapsed into silence as we ate out breakfast and tuned into the morning reports, today seemed to be a quiet day in relation to the Rebel movement. It was almost ironic because we feared when there were attacks and revolts, but we feared even more when days passed without a whisper. It had been five days since the last movement, which meant that they had to be planning something.
“Darling, you should get to school,” Observed my mother, sipping on her iced tea.
Well, that had been quick. I smiled, I did enjoy school and hopefully one day I would get to work in the government myself. Aid in the resource effort and to try and further develop our society. And follow in my father’s footsteps. “Of course,"
Leaving my house, I walked over the street to my best friend’s house. I knocked on her door and an instant later the door swung open to reveal a smiling Nora.
“Good morning, Mel, let’s go,”
She linked her arm with mine as we walked towards the centre, where Elite high school was located. Not very imaginative and a bit boring of a school name I must be honest, but it was good enough.
“I have news to tell you,"
“Indulge me,”
She grinned; eyes wicked. “Me and Thomas kissed last night,"
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, I loved Nora but her situation when it came to men was incredibly confusing and weird. But she was always the best at distracting me from the darker things in life, it was as if none of that phased her. Nora was here to live her best life and that was what she was doing.
“I thought you was angry at him, for talking to those other girls,"
She shrugged, “He had a very good apology, he seems to mean it,”
Hmm, I’m sure he did. And I was sure that likely by tomorrow he will have acted like an idiot again and Nora would be mad at him again. It was an awful cycle that I didn’t understand, but she was happy enough so that was all that mattered.
“I certainly hope so,"
As we walked the streets, we saw a group of soldiers pass us, half running and guns at the ready. It appeared as though they were heading towards the Western gates, maybe some trouble was occurring there. Some of the soldiers, they made me nervous. They tended to enjoy their role a bit too much and it worried me that such men had access to weapons that could kill so many people.
It spelt danger.
Eventually, we came to the school, where students milled and headed inside to their lessons. Nora spotted Thomas in the crowd and threw me an apologetic smile. “I’ll see you at break.”
I smiled, “I know,"
We parted ways and soon enough lessons began, and the day was passing in a blink of an eye. Lately, the days had felt like that, like I was just watching the world go by, but I wasn’t really involved in it. I hoped that university would clear some of that up, and when I began working, I would perfectly fit in society’s expectations. Eventually, it was time to leave and when I walked out of school, arm linked with Nora, I was surprised to see my father stood waiting.
What was he doing here?
I exchanged a glance with my best friend, who looked just as confused as I was. We both knew that he had never come to school to see me, and normally he would be working now.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I muttered to Nora, eyes still on my father.
She nodded. “Yeah, let me know what happens,”
We said goodbye and so I approached him, he still wore his suit and it seemed like he had come straight from work. But why? “Dad?”
He smiled, though it didn’t seem to reach his eyes. “Hey sweetie,”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He seemed to straighten, his face becoming sombre. Fear gripped me as I breathed, “Is it mom?”
My father blinked and then his face seemed to panic. “Oh no- she’s fine. Completely fine,”
Well, that was a relief, with that look I really thought something had happened to her. He cleared his throat. “Remember how I told you I wanted to teach you some self-defence?”
I nodded, of course I did. In fact, I had asked him to teach more some basic skills to survive. It was after a group of Rebels had been close to breaching the gates and I knew that if something happened, I would be completely vulnerable. But he had refused, said I didn’t need it and would be fine. So why was he suggesting it now?
“You’re going to teach me?”
He nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets. “I am,"
“Why? You said no the last time, what’s changed?”
My father shifted on his feet, glancing around us. Most of the students had already left, it was just the last of them. “We think the Rebels are planning something, and if they were to get in, then I need you to know that you are protected. And you are eighteen now, I feel more comfortable you using a gun,"
A gun? He gestured for me to follow, and I did so. We walked into the centre of the city, where the main government building was situated. We were at the centre of it all, there were other smaller cities situated across the country, that had been created over the years, but this was the most important. It was where it had all started. It sounded weird but the government building almost creeped me out. It was all black and dark colours, no colours, no light. It sprawled across many blocks, and it was tough to think about what went down in there.
I couldn’t imagine what they did to any Rebels.
But my father led me to a smaller, sperate building where he used his fingerprint and then said what must have been a code to unlock the door. I presumed it was different for each person, to ensure no one would get in. The door opened and he let me step in first, darkness surrounded me, and I couldn’t see but then a light was switched and…
Holy shit.
In front of me sprawled a large mat, that covered the whole floor, to be used for training. But my eyes snagged on the weapons case, I couldn’t even name half of the guns and other weapons displayed there. Now I was here, I felt extremely uncomfortable. My mind almost seemed to be begging me to get out.
This wasn’t a good idea.
“I can see the panic but don’t worry. I’m only going to teach you how to use a basic handgun but most importantly if someone gets too close. Okay?”
I nodded, and then looked down at my clothing. I couldn’t possibly train in this. He smiled, “Don’t worry, I got you your gym clothes from your room. Well, your mother did,”
I thanked him and changed in one of the changing rooms within the building, I had to admit that a part of me was nervous. The idea of violence never sat well with me, but now more than ever I’d have to use it.
Once I came out, I found him in the centre of the room and so I walked up to him. “First, I will teach you how to get out of a hold if someone has got you from behind. And they are much stronger. Turn around,"
I did as he said and then an arm was around his neck, not too tight but enough so that I couldn’t move as he disabled my body.
“Okay, your best shot here is to go for a headbutt. It should loosen your grip and then you can get free. Now do it,"
My mind seemed to pause at his words, surely, he didn’t want me to actually do it on him? “What?”
“Do it. As hard as you can, it doesn’t matter if it hurts,"
I was still unconvinced, but I put everything into it as I swung my head back and I heard my head connect with my father’s nose. There was a grunt of pain and I made to pull away, but his grip had only loosened slightly, and I couldn’t move enough.
“Okay, the hit was pretty good. Could use more work, more force. Though I suspect you would try harder if you were actually in danger. We’ll work on it later. As you can see, I’ve still got my grip on you but its looser. So, I need you to bend down between your legs and try to grip the back of my calf and pull it towards you with as much force as possible. Let’s try,”
I did as he instructed and once I had just enough reach, I used all the strength within me and pulled. The grip around my neck loosened as he crashed to the floor and then I was free, standing above him. My father smiled up at me, blood drying on his nose.
“Excellent. You know now what to do if someone grabs you from behind.” He got to his feet and smiled. “The same sort of things applies to if they have you pushed up against a wall. Headbutt and if you can use your legs, then you know where to hit,"
That was- easy enough. In the situation, it wouldn’t be, but it might just be enough. For the next couple of hours, he taught me similar moves and I picked it up pretty fast. The hand-to-hand training came to an end and then it was time for the weapons.
My stomach was a knot as he set up some carboard cut-outs, targets on their chests. He then walked to the weapons rack and grabbed a simple handgun.
“This is a semi-automatic pistol. You won’t need anything more than this, and this will only act as a last resort. This differs in the sense that you can deliver faster rates of fire and it will only take a few seconds to reload. You will press a button or a switch to do so and it will give you a new magazine. However, you can only use one round of ammunition, they are not good use in shoot outs, but I pray you are never in that situation. The recoil isn’t the best, but it won’t matter as long as you get your shot in,"
Honestly, some of that sounded like nonsense to me but I think I got the general gist. I nodded in response and then he was pressing the gun into my hand, it was heavier than I thought.
“We’re going to use the target to practice your aim. Took a step forward, brace your feet,"
I did as he said, bracing my feet apart, the target directly in front of me. “You will need to aim using your dominant eyes, usually its linked to your dominant hand. So, for you it will be your right, but check for me,"
I did so, squinting my eyes and he was right. “Good. Hold the gun out. Use both hands,"
Raising the gun, I tried to keep my nerves under check, so my arms didn’t shake. It was surprising how daunting this felt. My father approached me, judging my position. “The post of the front sight needs to be essentially balanced between both eyes and should be equal distance from the back sight,"
Again, I had no idea what he was talking about. But as he adjusted it, I got a good idea of what he meant. This whole terminology thing would take some getting used to.
“You’d probably expect you’d need to focus on the targets, which you do but its hard to concentrate on that and the actual gun you are holding. You focus on the front sight, it will give you a relative position, enough so that you can shoot at the target,"
I tested it out and could see that the target was blurrier than it should have been, but as he said, it was hard to concentrate on everything at once. “Now you know what that is like. Finally, how you hold your gun, I will do it for you, so you get a feel,”
He took my right hand and wrapped my hand around the gun, with my index finger touching the trigger, my thumb higher than the rest of my grip. Lastly, he took my left hand and wrapped it around my hold, giving me more support.
“Remember this, there may be situations where you are forced to use one hard but if you can always hold it like this. Got it?”
I nodded, the fear spiking again. I knew what was coming next. “Focus on where you want the bullet to go, tell me, and then shoot,"
“The centre of the chest,"
I squinted my left eye, took a deep breath, and squeezed. The recoil was there as I almost jumped back, and the deafening sound of the fire rang in my ears, but it was just as abruptly cut off. Me and my father both looked at the target to find it was just right of the centre of the chest. I hadn’t been too far off.
My father nodded, smiling almost grimly. “Good. Better than some of the new soldiers. I think with practice, you’ll become a better shot and then its just to teach you how to deal with moving targets. As you may know, its harder to aim when they are moving,”
Well, it did make the most sense. “I think that’s enough for today, we’ll pick it up tomorrow,”
I smiled, “Okay. Thank you,"
His own smile was restrained. “No worries let’s go home. You did good today kiddo, I'm so proud of you,"
It was dark by the time we left, and that night as I settled for bed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my father knew more than he was letting on. That something had spooked him enough to feel the need to train me, because there has been time before where we’ve gone days without a Rebel word, and it has never led to this before. So, if something had changed, why now? Most importantly, what exactly was changing?
ns 15.158.61.20da2
