The Chosen Ones

Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11

"Jane, Jane wake up."

Slowly, I blinked my eyes open, my brain trying to make sense of the world around me. But everything was confusing and blurry. An odd gray haze permeated the living quarters, telling me that it wasn't morning yet, but it wasn't night either. Although my blanket was thick, there was a bite to the air. Confused, I scanned the dorm room, taking in the many sleeping forms huddled on their cots. It could have been any normal morning...but something felt off. Not quite real.

"Jane," someone whispered once more. A feminine voice. A familiar voice.

I rolled onto my right side, facing the culprit. I couldn't see her features in the dark, but I knew her tone. "Momma?"

"Shhh, you know you're not supposed to call me that. At least not here." She held out her hand. "Come on."

Trustingly I wrapped my small fingers around hers. She tugged me from the bed, my stocking feet hitting the hard, wooden planks. I was in the children's dorm. A place I'd been a million times before, yet I couldn't deny the sensation that it felt wrong, as if I wasn't supposed to be here.

"Where we going?" I whispered.

"Quiet."

She led me toward the door. Even though I didn't want to go out into the cold, I couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. We weren't allowed outside at night. As she pushed the door wide, I glanced back, fearful someone would hear us. But no one stirred. Everyone slept with no idea that we were breaking the rules.

Suddenly, we were racing from the dorm and into the early morning dawn. Her long, dark hair floated back like a veil tickling my face, but I didn't dare complain for fear she'd change her mind and take me back. She'd never much paid attention to me before, why now? But I kept my mouth shut because I wanted to know what was out here at night, what happened while we slept. The ground hadn't completely defrosted and it chilled my feet through my thick socks, but I spent so little time with her that I craved her attention. Not that I would tell her. No, we'd been taught since birth to not speak of our affection.

We didn't pause until we neared a patch of wild shrubbery by the fence. Being that close to the metal bars made me nervous and excited all at once.

"Here." She shoved me under a patch of vines, heedless to the fact that the thorns were scraping my skin. I fell to my knees and cringed. Most of the time she ignored me, but once in a great, great while, like now, she seemed almost desperate to see me. "I found this."

I curled my legs under me, the cool mist of night coating my exposed skin. She shoved a book into my hands. I stared at it, confused. "A book, Momma?"

She sat beside me, grinning. When she smiled like that I swore she was the most beautiful person in the compound. "Not just any book...something I've never read before. Something I didn't even know could exist. You know the stories that Albert tells in the evening around the fire?"

I nodded, staring at the book, marveling over the smooth leather. Unable to stop myself, I brought it close and breathed deeply the musty scent. It smelled like everything I loved: the thrill of the unknown, knowledge and excitement.

"This book," she tapped the cover, "is like one of Albert's stories. You'll hide it for me, won't you?"

The moon was almost full and shone upon the cover, making the golden lettering glow. Magic. If I got caught with the book, punishment would be swift and severe. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?"