Call of Freedom

Chapter Three

A loud voice wakes up Deanna. Opening her eyes softly, her gaze falls to the wooden roof and the torches with fire, lighting up her house. She turns her face and notices Zion sleeping by her side peacefully, he deserves this sleep. Standing up, a man in his middle thirties opens the door and walks inside.

"Deanna, the leader wants you in the big house for the meeting," he announces and walks away.

She stretches her limbs and walks out, her steps echoing as they touch the floor. The sun is already setted and the first stars can be seen. Some children are there, playing with rocks, probably that's what woke her up. Walking in the big street, that is aglowed by the orange flames, she decides to get inside the house by the second entrance, where fewer people are gathered.

Chattering can be already heard from inside. As she gets inside, ten men are already sitting around an oblong table, five on each side and her dad in his 'throne' in the head of it. She gets inside and sits in a chair across her father, who acknowledges her with a smile.

Some maids are there serving wine and bread to the bystanders. She refuses to get any and clears her throat intensly, making everyone notice her and let them know that the meeting should start. The men get settled in their chair and the maids leave the room.

"Gentlemen, thank you all for coming in this meeting," her father raises his glass and the others follow, except for her. She yawns, the tapping of her feet beginning.

"Deanna, tell us about the kid."

Everyone concetrates on her.

"A nine year old arrived outside our limits earlier this morning. His Area was destroyed by the Army for no reason and I became quite curious about the incident. Why? I want to solve the 'mystery' and help this pure kid."

"How did you even find this kid?" One of them, named Mars, points out and everyone nods.

"With my vision, Mars."

"Really mature, Deanna. What I meant to say is what were you doing near the limits."

Deanna's face becomes pale and her mouth set in a hard line. She can't tell about it, it's illegal after all.

"Well... My horse ran off and I chased it."

Mars raises his left eyebrow, a smirk forming on his lips.

"The same horse that your father used to visit me?" She glances ahead, where her father brushes his beard staring down. "Are you sure this is the honest answer?" Mars' smile becomes wider, slightly leaning forward.

The situation she finds herself into can be compared with her being pinned to wall and the men bombarding her with evil stares. Her anger boils inside her like a silent volcano. This is not the point of the meeting, a child that lost everything by the Master is. Crossing her arms, the volcano inside her errupts.

"You want a honest answer? Here is the honest answer. It is not your business!" She snaps and everyone gasps giving her judgy looks. Her uncle, Steward, gets up and starts shouting at her.

"How dare you, a twenty year old gilr to-"

"I don't care!" She gets up and shouts "The problem here is not how I found a boy but why! Tell me does any of you know why the hell we are not allowed to get further than the bench? What is this thing out there that we cannot see! Why we aren't allowed to have weapons?" Deanna is now frustrated, silence prevailing in the room.

"Yes, I am a 20 year old girl and yes, I got out of the Area, but I can fight and protect us. I can hunt and bring food to your families," she points with her fingers. "The wolrd needs to know, I need to know and I will figure out what is wrong with this Master and I don't care even if you exclude me from the Area for misbehavor!"

"Deanna! Sit down now!" Her father groals from across her, resulting to every single whisper to stop. A few deep breaths and she collapses on the chair. The tapping of her foot is rapid and a way to calm her nerves.

"So, you want us to ruin our friendly relationship with our Master, disobey the rules that keep us safe, all because of an evader?" Steward asks after a couple of uncomfortable seconds.

"That evader is a child. He saw everything he thought were normal being removed from his life inside flames."

Steward's mouth opens and closes with no respond to her words. Thus, she grabs the opportunity and start talking again.

"So if the Master's rules that suppose to keep as safe include me being silent towards these horrible actions, then yes. I'm glad to ruin our 'friendly' relationship with him."

"Dea, you want a war?" Completely ignoring the stupid nickname, she focuses on Mars' thin face and starts thinking.

Deanna does not a war, not at all. There is no change that a bunch of people who don't know how to shoot with an arrow can win a war. What is needed is orientation. What is happening to this world? If they ever learn, then yes, revolution will take place by her side.

"When the time is right, I'm sure it will be needed." Everyone is shaking their head negatively, some of them even laugh, in front of her face.

"This teen mind of yours." This statement makes Deanna want to kill whoever said that and looks around nervously.

"Everyone is happily living their lives here, do the same and stop being so foolish for no reason," Mars critisizes again.

She can't take it any longer. If she stays in this room of fools then she will kill someone with no second thoughts. She stands up and throws the chair down, producing a loud noice making everyone jumb a little. She storms out and runs to a god knows where. Grabbing her bow, which is hidden somewhere only she knows, she jumbs out of the bench, out of the limits she is allowed.

Running on the big valley, the cold breeze is hitting her face and the fullmoon is lighting her way. While running, she shoots some trees, she herself had putted as targets in the past. Shooting releases every bad thought inside her, every feeling that tortured her. Right now, she is free.

Four years ago, when she was 16 she lost her mother and felt devastaded. She wanted to be alone and she built a treehouse inside the woods were she wouldn't be in danger. It stands in 9 feet height, with nothing that draws attention and the dense folliage of the tree making it impossible to see it from land.

Getting closer to that spot she looks up and memories flash back. She hasn't been here for so long. Suppressing her tears, she starts climbing the tree until she reaches the treehouse. She gets in by a hole in the middle of the wooden surface. A black carpet is on the wooden floor and nothing else. Besides, it would be really hard to bring furniture up here.

A square opening is accross her, from where the moonlight gets in and the round moon is visible. She approaches it and sits down on the soft carpet. After sitting comfortably, she relaxes her face in her hand which touches the bottom of the opening and starts thinking.

How can these people have no questions about this world? They only exist to eat and worship their Master, completely ignoring the crimes that are happening outside the bench. Now everything is settled; Area21 is a prison that she needs to escape from.

With all these thoughts her eyes start closing and the trees rustling help her fall asleep and she does, with a new plan already settling inside her mind.