A Window To A Soul

Chapter 39: Henry

After Kai and Chloe had left the dorms, I was left there all alone, and I hadn't gotten another roommate since. After Oden started attacking, which was news for all of us, we all got into the school bunker. All of the schools have bunkers, but they are mostly small and cramped, usually meant for only the best students.

But all of the trainee bodyguards were in this one. There was already no space to begin with, but now that all of the people were in here, you couldn't even see the ground. No one was able to sit down, and it was hard to breathe.

I tried to think positive but it was hard with all of the commotion outside. We were able to hear screams and buildings collapsing, hoping that we would make it through to see the outside again. We hoped that the ground wouldn't cave in.

You could practically feel the fear radiating off of everyone. They all seemed like they knew what was going to happen to us. I hate to admit it, but I knew as well. None of us were going to make it out of here. None of us were going to live past this.

I tried to imagine possible outcomes where we would survive, but then I realized that I barely knew anything about the gods. I didn't know how we could survive at all! I tried to keep myself from crying. It was looked down upon for a bodyguard or soldier to cry. That's why none of us ever cried in front of anyone.

I knew that Kai wanted to cry when Chloe left, but I didn't say anything because I knew that it would make him even more sad.

The bunker was really dark, only a few lights illuminating the crowded room. I wanted to eat something, but the few food that there had been was already eaten by the adults. They didn't bother to feed any of us. I know for sure that they wish that they could just throw us out. That is what they were doing to a few kids. I hoped that I wasn't next.

I tried to close my eyes and imagine something else. I thought about when I was younger, about 6 years old. I was running down the hall to my caretaker's room. I had a bad dream. When I cried to them about it, they consoled me and told me a story to help me go to sleep. They brought me back to my room and tucked me in bed. When they told me the story, everyone else in the room listened closely.

The story was about a little boy who was born a farmer except he had a marking. When he was born, the doctor hid the fact that he had a marking and raised him as his own. The story ended with the doctor being taken away and the boy becoming a rebel and changing this world to become a new one. A world where people were able to live even if they turned out to be abnormal.

That caretaker was executed. She was having thoughts of rebelling and she wanted us to be free, that's why she told us the story. The execution was public and our attendance was mandatory. It was my first time seeing someone killed. I always tried to not think about it, so I don't know why it's the first thing I thought about just now. I wished it wasn't. It was a horrible memory.

But I couldn't help but think that maybe she was right. And I always wondered why people were executed for having an opinion. The first test that I ever got, and the only one, was just a few weeks ago. I wondered what the test would be about since I haven't learned anything.

It turned out that it was just about my mental state. The questions were basically just to see if I had thoughts of a rebel. I lied on a lot of the questions, but I bet a lot of people did.

As another building crashed to the ground, I felt the bunker rumble more than the first time. It made me shiver in fear. I kept wondering how much longer I had to live.

I thought about all the stuff that was already lost. All of the stuff that has been ruined and we will never get back. I thought about all the debris and destruction. All the people that were killed. I thought of what we would all be able to have if we survived. Then I thought about what it would be like if I was the only survivor. It was a horrible thought. I would be alone forever. I would never have a purpose. At least with my eye color, I would have a purpose in my life.

The bunker shook again as another building crashed down. How many more buildings were there? How many times would I feel them crashing down until all we feel is nothing. How many days will we be here? How many more times are we going to jump in fear? And how many more buildings have to crash down before the ground caves in and kills us all?

I was thinking that as another building crashed down. This time it was right above us. I could hear the glass shattering, I could feel the ground and walls shake much more violently than before. I could hear the wood cracking. And I could see the ground caving in, sending many kids and teachers to their doom.