Chapter 8: Him

“Cora!” the mysterious voice shouted.
His voice was the first thing that struck me. It was gentle and full of love. Yet it screamed strength and protection. I yearned to see the face behind this angelic voice. I turned ever so slowly to meet his eyes. The first sight of them sent a shiver through my body, as the sun brilliantly shined down on them. They were as blue as the ocean, but showed signs of sadness deep within. My eyes slowly drifted and zoomed out to show his whole face; which was soft and kind. It was sculpted with intricate detail making sure to not be overpowered by the short dark brown hair that was ruffled ever so slightly. He wore long, semi-loose khaki pants that had become darker in a few spots around the knees. This showed me that he worked in the fields. His shirt, royal blue in color, hugged to his chest and arms showing off the well-built body that hid underneath. His voice suddenly flashed me back to reality as he said my name again. The only reply I could come up with a combination of sounds and letters. He started laughing, and I did too.
“I’m Thomas,” he said as we stared at each other with locked eyes.
“Cora,” I replied in a nervous tone, “But obviously you knew that.” I gave him the best smile I could with my nerves on fire.
“You and I,” he said, “We have a lot in common. Both of our families are dead, and now we must run.”
I had been so focused on him that I didn’t even notice the smoke rising out of 5 houses, one of which was mine. I knew we didn’t have much time before the men found us, and by the look on Thomas’ face he was thinking the same thing.
“Quick, follow me. I have a secret underground tunnel built to take us to District 1. There’s no time to explain my plan now. You’ll just have to trust me,” he said in a voice that made me feel like everything in the world was going to be all right.
The strange thing was that I did trust him, and when he started running…so did I. We ran past a burning house hearing six bullets as we rushed by. I made sure not to look, but I could tell by the sound that it was
the same gun used on my family, an M-16. This thought sent a shiver through my body, but also helped lead me on. After a few minutes of running, we arrived at an old tree stump. It had been cut down a few years ago noticing by the mold and decay. The stump was huge though, most likely belonging to what once was a marvelous tree. Thomas pulled up on the stump by its once living roots. Underneath was a hole. It was the entrance to the tunnel Thomas had mentioned. I climbed in, Thomas came after me making
sure to reposition the stump back afterwards.
“Keep moving!” he yelled, and I did just that.
We moved through the tunnel like it was second nature. Soon enough we had reached what was another opening. Thomas opened the hatch and peered outside. He stepped out and gave me the cue to follow. This
was it…District 1. It was an amazing sight, or as amazing as any district could be in these times. The sky was blue, and there were a few small houses with a backdrop of a giant city. It was the Capital. Just the sight of it made me shiver.
I remembered my family, and what had happened to them. Anger ran through me. It was a good feeling that filled me with power and determination. From that moment on, I knew that it would be important to remember everything that I had seen and known because it would fill me with hate. It was a weapon I could use to my advantage. A weapon I could use for revenge, and that, was something no one could take away from me.
“Where are we going to?” I asked in a curious yet scared sounding voice.
“Just over past that house,” he replied pointing to an old shack that looked to be abandoned.
We crept farther until nearing some bushes that we used for cover. Quickly, we rushed into the house
and entered. The inside wasn’t nicely furnished, but it was better than nothing. The house had obviously been abandoned a while ago by the thick layer of dust that covered the house, and filled the air. This was a new home, a new life. I had to change; so I dyed my hair blonde and gave it a small trim. I stared at myself in the mirror and thought about what was to come. Thomas and I agreed changing our last names would be a smart idea. I become Cora Gray, and he became Thomas Hunt. This was who we were now. Tomorrow we would go get new ID's in the black market. For now though, we chose to go upstairs in hopes that it would be harder to spot us from the ground.
I sat on the bed; while Thomas took the floor. I tried sleeping but each time I shut my eyes nightmares came;so I decided sleep wasn’t that important for now. I peeked over at Thomas. He sat bolt upright, with eyes wide open.
“Couldn't sleep either?” I asked in a gentle, caring voice.
All he did was shake his head.
“Each time I shut my eyes nightmares appeared. I saw them all. Heard all their cries for help. Hearing my name over, and over again as they tried to save themselves.” He said to me in a voice almost like a whisper.
“What exactly happened to your family?” I asked in a caring voice much like his that would hopefully make him relax. I knew what power these thoughts could give him, the same power I felt it give me. I had to know
why so I could keep making him remembering; so I could keep him from feeling like there was no purpose anymore. I had a feeling Thomas was going to play an important in my life, but I just wasn't sure how yet.
“Well, that’s a story in its own.” He replied.
I smiled, and then sat upright by the edge of the old bed. “Time is the one thing I happen to have right now,” I said.
“Then I’ll start from the beginning,” he replied gulping in between the two sentences, “When it all happened.”