SO SO SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER! I have had a long few months…
Disclaimer: I saw newsies (twice!) but I didn't buy it.
Darkness fell over the school quickly, wrapping us all up in a blanket of stars. Even the most insane of us had let their shrieks give way to yawns, much to the relief of the nearly-deaf staff. Smalls and I walked silently across the green, drawn to the brightly lit dorm like moths to a flame. We were each lost in our own thoughts, too tired to make conversation. My mind wandered to the boys who Smalls seemed to know everything about. They were there own little family.
" Night Katherine." Smalls whispered, her back to me as she climbed into bed. The lights flickered off, and we soon were wrapped in the blanket of darkness. The window was bolted shut, moonlight streaming in and casting shadows on the floor. The doors lock clicked, and I heard the telltale clanking of Meddas high heels. The sound echoed down the hall, until it was nothing but a muted click, like the sound of the washing machine down the hall. I listen to her footsteps till my eyes fluttered shut, and then her footsteps were replaced with pounding sound gunshots.
I stood stoically on a worn wooden porch, gazing at the war torn sky. The sky lit up as a cannonball ripped across the great blue abyss. In that moment, it was beautiful, but I knew as soon as it landed it would destroy a human being. Gunshots rang in my ears. I glanced around for the boy I knew would die tonight, but he was no where to be found. In fact, the battlefield itself was only a sea of blue and grey uniforms in the distance. I wondered briefly if the boy had already been shot, and was dieing a long and painful death in the house behind me.
" Kate, do come inside. You dress is getting all dirty and I don't like you watching the battle. It's not lady like." A women said while emerging from the house. I stared at her for a few moments taking in everything from the laugh lines in the corners of her eyes, the her pursed lips and greying hair. She stepped towards me and brushed dirt off my dress. I recoiled.
" You can see me?" I stuttered, wondering what made this time different from the rest. I had a theory, and I didn't like it.
" Of course I can see you, I am your mother. Honestly, honey are you okay?" She said, her eyes conveying her concern.
" Fine." I whispered, as I let her drag me inside her house, the house she said was my house. I marveled at the fact that I could feel her skin, warm against mine. She locked the door behind us, muttering about this war going to be the death of us all. I barely had time to glance around the cozy hall of the house when a little boy plowed into me. He wrapped his arms around me, heaving dry sobs.
" Kate" He said between sobs. I awkwardly patted his back, feeling sorry for this boy who seemed to have been through so much. " What if David is fighting right now? I need to be there to help him, what if he gets hurt?" I knew that I had to help this boy, so i knelt down to his level, and cupped his face with my hand.
" He will be fine." I said, wishing I knew that for sure. " Besides, he would never forgive himself if you were there and got hurt. Plus, you need to be here to be the man of the house." I looked over to my.. mother, wondering if I had said the right thing, but she seemed to have not noticed the exchange between me and the boy. She was staring out the window with a worried expression. " Mother, is something wrong?" I asked.
" Take your brother to the cellar." She said solemnly. " The war is coming to us."
I took my brothers hand with one hand, and took the gun my mother was holding out for me with the other. I stared at it with confusion.
" Your father's." She said, noting my expression. " Now go!" She said, her words gaining a new sense of urgency.
" But you.." I started.
" I will be fine. I need to protect my home." She said, her face returning to it's defiant state. She kissed my brother's forehead, and shoved us out into a war zone.
We ran, pressed against the house, ducking low, hiding behind the line of soldiers in blue. I stood frozen as one fell, shot clean through the chest. My brother dragged me along, towards what I assumed to be the cellar. We reached a place where we couldn't hide behind the lines of soldiers anymore, but instead of running faster, the dark haired little boy froze as a bullet ripped through the air towards us. I acted without thinking. I jumped in front of my frozen brother.
There was a flash of pain.
And then…
Nothing.
I didn't die tonight. This was odd, as dieing has become part of my nightly routine. For normal people, dreams are a way to escape reality, but not for me. The sad thing is, my dreams don't hurt as much as living. Maybe that's why I am lock up in a mental institution
Instead of my normal dreams, today I watched a girl, who resembled the new girl I had watched from through my eyelashes at dinner tonight, give her life for her younger brother in the midst of the Civil War. I pondered this as I snuck out of my dorm room, like I do every night to escape the confining walls. I made my way to the roof, so I could watch the stars and draw the scenes from my dream. The sketch book I kept up here was open, and staring at the page, was the new girl.
Who had just died in my dream, and seemed to recognize me.
" You're the one." She whispered, and the world cracked open.
Thanks for reading! Please take the time to Review!
-Ink