Chapter VII - Part I

If you're new to the story, start from Chapter I.

Andy was up every few hours checking if Grandpa had woken. She felt the book under her mattress and every time she thought about finally learning to read, she couldn't help but smile. Could it be that things were finally falling into place? She would learn to read and convince Andrew of the necessity of an uprising. Life could be perfect.

The sun was already starting to shine. She sat up on her bed and took the book out. The cover was quite dull. There were no pictures or illustrations, just text. Hundreds of pages of it. She wondered how long would it take for her to finish it. It all depended on how fast she could start learning. Margaret was already tossing in her bed but Grandpa laid still.

Andy stroked the cover with her fingers feeling the rough fabric. She lifted the book closer to her face and took a deep breath. Her nose was filled with a new scent. She loved it.

"Morning," said Margaret while yawning. Andy pulled her blanket over the book and tried to act innocent.

"Morning!" she answered.

Margaret didn't pay much attention to her. She was five years older than Andy and about twenty centimeters taller. She had long legs and a very feminine body, she had curves where Andy was flat. Her face was always kind, even when she sat by the fire looking like all the life had been sucked out of her. Margaret was very similar to Andrew like most of the prisoners in Sencor.

Sometimes Andy had started to wonder if she even was part of this family because everyone else looked different. Everyone other than Grandpa of course. His blue hair had turned white some time ago but there was still a hint of it left in his beard. If he and Andy were Cirren, maybe her father was too.

"I'm heading out. Meeting with some friends, if anyone asks," said Margaret. Andy nodded and she stepped out.

Andy was already getting restless. She pushed the blanket off her feet and stepped quietly closer to where Grandpa was sleeping. She squatted next to him and whispered: "Are you awake?"

She waited for a moment expecting Grandpa to open his eyes and say something but he didn't. Andy went back to her bed and hid the book under the mattress again. If she wasn't able to start learning right away, she would go for a walk instead.

During daytime, it was safer to walk alone. There were already quite a lot of people on the streets. She turned straight towards the main road ignoring others enjoying their day off. She wondered how close to the guards' quarter she could get during the day. She didn't really need another book but the thrill of stealing one was still fresh in her bones. She walked closer to the other side of the road but already saw some guards coming from between the buildings so she turned to face the central square. She sat under one of the trees that grew next to it and rested her head on the rough bark. The city truly looked different on a day off and the clear sky only helped to leave that impression.

Margaret was there in the central square, too. She wasn't alone though. She was accompanied by a young man who seemed a bit dazzled by her womanly charms. He couldn't take his eyes off her chest which was a bit more exposed than the normal prisoner uniform would've allowed. She must have made some changes to her clothes.

They disappeared into one of the narrower streets. Andy pushed her hair behind her ear and closed her eyes. The warm breeze felt nice on her face. Her mind wandered off to the talk she had had with Andrew the day before. There must have been someone who had tried to organize a revolution before. Obviously, they hadn't succeeded but Andy would have wanted to know the story. Maybe Grandpa knew something. She had to ask. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of guards walking towards the same alley Margaret had gone to. If they discovered her with the boy, it didn't mean anything good. She stood up as fast as she could and started crossing the square. She tried to not worry but she could already feel her pulse rising. She got to the beginning of the street but it was empty. Empty streets during the daytime were never a good sign. She quickened her pace looking right and left to get a glimpse of Margaret or the guards.

And there they were - Margaret and the guard. She was lying on the ground, her face already swollen from where the guard must have hit her. There was no sign of the boy she had been with but the guard was staring lustily at her half-naked body. She saw the guard unzipping his pants. Andy couldn't allow it. She ran as fast as she could jumping at the man from behind. He growled and threw her on the ground next to Margaret who seemed unconscious. There was a loose piece of board near the wall. Andy grabbed it quickly and got back on her feet. She slammed the board to the guard's face and saw blood dripping.

"Margaret, get up!" she shook her relative as hard as she could and it seemed to work as Margaret opened her eyes looking terrified.

The guard wasn't done with Andy and grabbed the beating stick from his belt. His eyes were filled with the kind of hate Andy had gotten used to seeing but now it was more personal.

"Hey there! What's going on?" There were three big men standing at the end of the street. They were all holding knives.

The guard lowered his stick and wiped away the blood from the side of his face where Andy's board had struck him. He didn't answer anything. He took one more look at Andy and then walked away.

Andy wasn't sure if she should be thankful to the men with knives or afraid of them. But they probably had saved her and Margaret's lives.