We kNOw the FUTURE

ch. 12

12 - We kNOw the FUTURE

            In the night the majority of the children of the island had gathered in the mess hall. Outside the building Oran stood listening, he hadn't spoken to anyone since the night Loa revealed his past to him. Inside one boy stood up, "Enough is enough! It's obvious James and Loa are too scared to handle this problem." He looked around the room, "This is our only chance."

            "Are you sure we can chase them away?" A little girl piped up.

            The boy gave her a hard look, "We'll do more than that. We...we can't let them leave alive." At the sound of this Oran's head snapped up, he peered inside.

            "What do you mean? You want us to kill them?" Another little boy piped up.

            "Even if we chase them away they'll just tell the Dreadnaughts where we are! Do you wanna get taken?" The older boy nearly screamed back. He looked around at the other children in the room; they had their heads hung, all uncertain. "Do you wanna see Loa and James die? That's what'll happen if they come here!" He stopped a moment, "...It's the only way...So here's what--"

            Oran didn't stick around to listen to anymore he ran down the pathways back to he and his sister's home. He closed the door quietly before letting his eyes drift over to the disfigure broken frame of what was a young girl. "Allie...oh, you're asleep." He slid down to the floor. The talk in the mess hall kept repeating in his ears. He covered his face, "It has nothing to do with me." He rolled over, "It's better if they die anyway--"

            So are you going to kill me to?

            Oran gasped, eyes wide, "What?" He tried to bury the image of Loa, but failed.

            If you kill them, you'll have to kill me to.

            "No!" He covered his ears and tried to think of other things.

            I'm a Dreadnaught to, can you still do it?

            "Stop." He rolled trying to remember the monsters who'd maimed his sister.

            Are you going to kill me?

            "I said stop!" Again Oran finds himself shaking, then he hears the moans of his decrepit sister. "Ah...I'm...I'm sorry...Allie go back to sleep, it's nothing." He waits until her broken form settles down. "It's better this way, they're monsters."

            Am I a monster to?

            "Leave me alone!"

            I want you to see the real me, the real them.

            "There's nothing to see! You're just saying that cause you're so nice...cause you don't want me to hate them. You're lying..."

            Do you hate me?

            "No...I just...you can't be. None of this would be happening if you'd made them leave." Oran curled up, "Why are you saying all this now. It's not...they're..." The sound of a crowd passing by called him to the window. Out he looked and he can saw the children with torches headed down the path to Rion's place. He watched them a while until they were out of sight.

            So...you do hate me.

            "No!" He couldn't explain why, why his feet suddenly started moving, why they took towards Rion. Perhaps he wanted to see what the monster would do when the crowd came. Perhaps he was simply trying to outrun the ghostly apparition of his idol behind him. "They're monsters, Loa!"

            Monsters? I wonder who...who do you mean are monsters? The ghost followed him growing ever closer. Who are the real monster's I wonder... Me or...

            Far ahead on the path in the darkness of night a warm glow could be seen. They thought they knew the future, but Oran really knew. He knew if Loa were to ever see that wicked light, there would be no future.