Behind the Curtain

[kathryn]

Rebecca was crying. Large tears rolled down her face as her voice wailed with the others, calling out for her parents. Was it only a little while ago that they were all walking down the street on their way to the small girl's school? And then when the noises came, her parents got worried and rushed into an alley way, covering their daughter with their bodies, shielding her from harm.

The memory blurs after that, when a feeling of falling took over, and then there was a large crash and Rebecca was thrown out, her parents disappearing under a large boulder, and then...

Her elbow hurt, but she couldn't feel the pain, didn't see the blood drip onto her pants. She wailed louder, scared, alone, and confused.

"Hey. Stop crying, okay?" A figure came out of the dust and Rebecca looked up at the unfamiliar man. His eyes were hard and there was blood drying on his blue and white uniform. A name badge shone out from under the grime saying "Jacob Miller: Guardian of Aqua". The little girl sniffed, surprised, but no longer wailing.

"Mu-My Mommyy an an daddy..." she blubbered, trying to say something, but finding it difficult. The man's face twisted into sympathy.

He could remember a girl like this one, alone and frightened on the street. She wasn't as chunky or as small, but she was crying for someone to help her. He... he remembered shouting as he launched himself out of his Aer-car, rushing forward to save this one child that someone sentenced to death. His arms just wrapped around her when they fell... And next thing he knew, he was lying on top of her bloody form, battered and damaged from the shock of the impact.

He acted without thinking about it, both that time and this time. His arms just reached for this little girl, just like his arms reached for the other girl, and he cradled her sobbing form to his chest.

"Come on, it's alright. Let's get you out of here..." he said calmly, picking her up and walking out from the rubble, leaving behind a large pile. Neither he nor Rebecca could have seen the bloody broken bodies of a man and a woman underneath the concrete and dust just a few feet away.

Many people began to gather away from the rubble, seeing more as the dust settled. The giant shapes of the forest gave them pause as the reality of the moment shook them. Some feared death and fell to their knees in prayer. Some continued to look for loved ones and cried out in sorrow as they realized that their hopes were in vain. But those who decided to live despite the deaths of their family and the destruction of their home, these people gathered together, looking for a leader, someone who would take charge and be able to lead their broken group back to humanity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendra Ryan took off her headset for a moment. Her job was a snazy one, and for the most part she found it very nice. But when a man from the higher ups called her to send the order to the Aquan Guardians to cut away the burning part of the city... She began to doubt if it was the right decision. This wasn't back in her grandparent's day when the people fought hand and foot just to escape a famine, this was a Utopian world founded by the great hero, Commander Supreme Monroe!

The doubt sank into her heart and gave rise to a new thought: What if Monroe was not the hero everyone thought he was? And this thought gave way to fear, as Kendra sat in her chair, looking at her small office. She trembled, her hands catching her head, and she gave out small tears of pain for those who died by the word of her and her commanders.