Chapter 7

Instructions

Chapter 7 “Carter?” I turn around a see the silver hair of my younger brother shining in the moonlight. He nodded. “Carter?” I say, oblivious that he just confirmed that. He nodded and stretched out his arms. I run into him, squeezing him as hard as I dare, “I thought you were dead,” I whisper in his ear. “I thought you were,” He whispers in mine. For about 5 minutes, we just stand there, hugging. Finally, he pulls away. “I brought someone,” He says and takes a few steps backward. A tall boy, probably about 15 comes out of the foliage and looks at me. He extends a hand and says, “Drew Qing.” I take his hand, still clutching my dagger, remembering there are threats in these woods. He looks at Carter, confused, “Who’s… this?” “My bigger sister, Deja,” He replies. “Oh,” He says. Drew has thick, dark brown, silky hair that ever so slightly reflects the moon. He’s very skinny and his grey-blue eyes show confusion. At what, I have no idea, but it’s there. I see a golden katana in one of the pockets inside his coat. I look at Carter, unsure of what to say and he says, “Drew said there’s some type of… a witch that can bring our families back.” I shake my head, “I was with a group trying to do that- what?” I say as I see fear register on Carter and Drew faces. “Run!” Carter screams, and I don’t because I have no idea what’s going on. A hand grabs my mouth and I bite it before whiteness overcomes my vision. I wake up to screaming, hoarse screaming. It’s Violet. I can’t see anything until I realize I had my eyes closed. I’m on a chair, to paralyzed in fear to move. “Violet?” I call out. The screaming stops as Violet calls out a mumbled and hoarse, “Yes?” “Where are we?” I whisper. Oliver’s voice enters, “I have no idea.” Shadow is here now, “Some person grabbed me from behind when I met my mother, she’s alive somewhere,” He seems so sad, and I remember how he betrayed us. “My mother came to me as well!” Nevada calls out. “My… my little brother came to me, with a friend. Drew… Drew Qing,” I say. Violet’s crying now as she says, “My… dog… my dog came!” Jeremy says, “Guys… I know what happened.” Every ear listens as he explains, “I’m not sure about any of this, but it’s likely. With the advanced technology of this day, we’re able to replicate humans. I bet, whoever did this to us, replicated everyone we love… that’s… dead. Deja, you said a boy named Drew was with your brother? Well, these replications of people must have been made in the city and somehow, your brother, Deja, got Drew to join him on whatever mission the people controlling us are on.” There is complete and total silence as this soaks in. Violet starts screaming again, and everyone else just sits there. A door opens and a woman comes out. She’s on the older and larger scale of life and she’s very short, about the height of me. She presses a button on the wall and all of our chairs lock us in and a table appears in front of us. Violet stops screaming, and I begin. There are too many things going on right now. I can’t think straight, my brother’s dead. I trapped with traitors. When I’ve run out of breath, food appears in front of me, it looks like a type of stew, broth with odd vegetation floating in it, but I have no will to eat. Everything seems fake. Whiteness overcomes me again, and I collapse. The last thought I have is I have to get out of here.