The Bell of Freedom (King and human romance)✔

Chapter Fifty-Three

"So this is how it works," Holly says as she hands the pieces of paper to us all around the fire. It's one of the many bonding exercises that she or Christian often try after there's tension in the village. "You write down something that you miss from the old world, you say it, and then you burn it. But you can't put anything like parents or family because we've already done that exercise and it was depressing."

She hands me a piece of paper with a small pencil. I miss a lot of things from the old world, I miss never feeling like I was alone. I miss how simple it was. I miss hearing the conflict on the street, I miss seeing people walk the elderly across the road. I miss the busy sounds of outside, the rush of people going to work and the sounds of engines from cars as they skimmed past me when I was walking to school.

"What if we can't remember the old world?" Miles asks.

"Then something from the new world is fine."

"Is this some lame attempt to distract us from the fact that we might have to leave at any moment?" Sarah complains, prompting a few eyerolls. "How about we just write about what we're going to miss the most about freedom?"

Holly continues around the circle, ignoring Sarah's outburst. "It can be a person if you can't think of anything else."

Holly takes her seat beside Christian and they both stare down at the paper in thought. Marina is having one of her private discussions with the wolves and lions again, she hasn't come back from the trees in over an hour. We spent the whole day devising a plan, a real plan, and neither of us are sure that it will work. She finally walks back over to us and sits on the other side of Jackson.

Jackson takes a deep breath from beside me. I glance down to his paper to see him almost write something but then he changes his mind. For the kids his age, it's harder for them to remember the old world. Jackson was only five when the creatures came, when they killed his family. He remembers some things but the trauma blocked most of it out.

"Having trouble?" I say.

"What do you think I'd miss?" he asks me quietly. "I don't remember anything from the old world."

"What do you dream about?"

He twists his lips as he thinks. "I guess I see a man and woman sometimes and this girl but she's always angry about something. And there's this party where we exchange gifts. I think I'm happy but I don't know what it is. I wish I could know."

Marina suddenly extends her hand to him. "May I?"

Jackson stares down at her hand and I shoot her a warning look. "Marina."

"It'll be over in a few seconds," she says. "Would you rather that he spends the rest of his life not knowing?"

I look down at him and he's pleading with his eyes. I nod my head, taking the hand closest to me so I can pull him away from her if I have to. Jackson takes Marina's hand and she looks into his eyes, she's right it does only last seconds but Jackson doesn't even flinch. He remains still until she pulls her hand back.

"I didn't feel anything," he says.

Marina stares down at my hand that is still wrapped around his. "How long have you been able to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make a soul purer," she says in amazement. "You masked his pain."

"I did it to Samson once," I say. "I didn't really think much of it."

"Incredible."

"Did you see my parents?" Jackson asks her desperately.

"I did," she says, smiling down at him. "They loved you a lot. Your older siblings too. Your father was a police officer, you looked up to him like he was a superhero. And your mother would sing you these strange songs until you fell asleep. That really happy memory that you keep seeing, it was Christmas day. Your older brother was a soldier in the US army and you thought he wasn't coming, but he made it that day. He was your best friend."