We All Want Something

My sister was acting in a play the day the flood came. A man and a woman had come to our small wooded town months before and encouraged the young people of our little village to take up acting. I didn’t bother with that, though. I was busy doing other things—namely school. I was only sixteen when it happened. My sister was a lot older than me—twenty years old—and my brother was younger at the age of ten. We were all pretty close, even though our ages weren’t.
My older sister, Christine, was beautiful and the star of her play. She had dark brown hair that curled in large curls. It wasn’t like the really curly hair that most girls had but they were large and perfect circles that cascaded onto one another. My hair was not like that, unfortunately. It was the same color that turned lighter in the sun but it was straight for the most part and at the ends, it curled like it tried to be my sister’s hair but just couldn’t. My brother, Danny, was the most fortunate. He had straight brown hair that fell nicely over his handsome little face.
The day the flood came, every person in town was sitting in our little town hall, anxiously awaiting the start of the play. The large black curtain was hanging and the quiet chatter filled the room. I looked at Danny, who was pulling on my sleeve to see Christine. I told my parents, who were hanging up our coats, that we would be right back. They smiled and nodded and left to find seats. We ran to the back, our shoes making loud bangs as we did. My dress was longer than I had hoped and made it difficult to run but my legs were longer than Danny’s so I knew I would win. I found Christine first and ran to her. She smiled at us and shook her head with her hands on her hips. She wore a bright yellow dress that shimmered under the stage lights. Her hair was around her bare shoulders and her hands were covered in matching yellow gloves. She had a smile on her glossed pink lips and her dark brown eyes were covered in makeup.

“You know you’re not supposed to run,” she said as we came to a stop.

“But it was a race,” Danny huffed.

“Yeah,” I added as I tried to regain my breath. I sucked down gulps, the air stinging my lungs as it did.

“You know you shouldn’t be doing that, Juliet. You have trouble breathing.” I shook my head and stood with my hands on my head.

“I’ll be alright,” I said through pants. “It’ll only take me a few minutes,” I added as Danny and Christine gave me that look like they knew I was lying.

“Are you excited?” asked Danny.

“Very,” Christine said. “I can’t wait to start.” I smiled and as I was about to say good luck, a small bell chimed and Christine shooed us away. “I’ll see you after the show. I promise. Hurry, go find your seats.” Danny and I nodded and quickly left the stage to find my parents. They were in the middle row with our grandmother and aunts and uncles. They were all here to see Christine. The chattering started to fade and while Danny and I made our way down the side aisle, I heard something. I looked at the door but I couldn’t see anything because a few men stood in the doorway. I took Danny’s hand in mine and he looked at me.

“What?” he asked softly.

“I hear something.” He turned his head and followed me toward the door. We moved through the men and as we stood on the steps of the town hall, I noticed water coming through the streets. Not a lot of water, but like someone had left the hose on in their yard and it got out to the street. I turned to one of the men and asked them why there was water in the streets. He stared at the pavement and frowned. More water began to trickle in, like someone had moved the hose directly to the street. He looked down and gave Danny and me a worried smile.

“Don’t worry about it. We grown-ups will take care of it.” Danny and I nodded but I looked at him and walked over to our coats. I grabbed his and helped him get it on while I put on mine as well. I quickly buttoned his and we returned to our spot on the stairs. The adults were all chattering while the play proceeded and my parents stood to join us.

“What are you doing over here?” asked my father.

“There’s water in the streets, Papa.” He looked at the streets and nodded slowly.

“So there is,” he said softly. “Danny, hurry and get your mother. I think it’s time we go home.” I looked at my father and nodded.

“I’ll get Christine,” I told him. He nodded and headed down the steps to help the other men who were standing around talking about what to do. The water level had risen and it was up to my father’s ankles by the time he got to the men. I ran inside and a lot of the people were already trying to get out. They were leaving in a panic when there was very little to actually panic about. If they had been calm, it wouldn’t have been that bad. Christine was getting her things in the back and my mother and family were heading out the door. I looked at Danny and we shared the same thought; the dike. A dike was a passageway made to keep water in a specific area if it were in fact to flood. We had one that surrounded our town, just like a dike should be and it led everywhere. What better thing to use than the thing that was made to protect us. Even if it wasn’t a full out flood, we could at least stay dry. Danny came over to me and took my hand in his. We walked out the side door and up toward the dike. We watched as all the adults and kids walked down the streets towards their homes. Danny looked at me and asked if we would be okay. “Of course we will,” I told him with a smile. “It’s nothing.” He nodded a little and we continued on our way.

The dike was a long dirt path that was high above the rest of the town. Danny and I knew a lot about plants from the books we read and so we quizzed each other as we walked up the dirt road. We spotted different wild flowers. Some were a bright pink, others were a deep purple. We walked on and as we did, we didn’t notice that the water level was so high people had to swim to get to places. We were busy having fun, Danny and I, and we didn’t realize we were the only people who were really safe from the water. Danny got tired of walking and my lungs grew too tired to bring air to me so we sat down on a large rock. The trees were getting thicker as we walked and we were almost completely surrounded by trees. Even if we wanted to, the trees were too thick to see the town.

“Are we almost home?” asked Danny.

“Yup,” I said gasping. “As soon as we get past this batch of trees, we’ll be home.” He smiled a little and yawned. “Want me to give you a piggy back ride?” I asked. He nodded with excitement and I bent down to have him climb on my back. I yawned as well, feeling the evening set in. I always got tired when eight o’clock rolled around. It never failed. The minute the clock struck eight, I’d start to yawn. I looked at the sky and saw the sun was indeed gone and the only light we had was from the moon. I had a flashlight in my pocket, just because I needed something to tinker with when I got bored. “Danny, do you mind holding the flashlight for me?” He held out his hand for the flashlight and I placed it gently while starting to walk. The night seeped through the trees and both Danny and I were on the verge of falling asleep. I hadn’t noticed that while I was walking, I was getting closer to the town and water was already climbing up my legs. I yawned and looked back at Danny, who had fallen asleep. I took the flashlight from him and placed it back in the pocket of my dress. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and yawned once more. Time didn’t occur to me and after what felt like an hour, I stopped walking and rubbed my eyes once again. When I opened them, I was up to my waist in water. I looked around, suddenly confused and shook Danny awake.

“What?” he asked groggily.

“I think we might have a problem, Danny.” He yawned and rubbed away the boogies from his eyes and looked around. The moonlight was bright on that water and I took a deep breath. I told him he should get down and when he did, the water was up to his chest. I sighed and muttered about how his clothes were soaked. He looked around and up ahead, he said he saw something floating.

“Maybe it’s a boat or something we can use,” he said as he looked at me. I nodded and held his hand above the water and headed toward the floating thing. I sighed as the floatation device came into focus. It was a small yellow raft that would fit Danny. I picked him up and placed him on the raft. The water was rising and I felt the fear also rise. If the water was that high on the dike, what about the town? What about our family? Danny was too tired to worry about that at the moment but I couldn’t help but think about it. It kept me awake, which I suppose is a good thing. I walked for a long time and eventually, I found another floating thing. Well, there were a lot of floating things. The water was already up to my neck and I had to shake Danny awake to tell him we were stopping. The moon was already beginning to set, which meant it was somewhere around three or four in the morning. I was tired, I could barely breathe, and I was certain my feet were all prune-like.

“Danny, I’ll be right back, okay? I’m going to get a bigger boat.” He nodded and began to fall back asleep. “No Danny, you need to stay awake for a little bit, okay? I need you to make sure the boat doesn’t float away.” He nodded and yawned, opening his dark brown eyes that looked black in the darkness. I sighed and kicked off the ground to swim towards the trees. There were a few things stuck to the trees and I hoped one was a boat. There were a few large chairs that floated by, which I assumed were from the town, and a large kitchen table. It was the best thing I could find but I knew it wouldn’t hold both Danny and me. I turned around to swim back and as I did, I saw a boat coming toward me. I smiled and swam to it, grabbing it by the side to haul myself up. I sighed in relief when I found it was perfectly intact and there were even ores. I paddled over to Danny and helped him over to the boat. I took off his shoes and his wet socks, pants, shirt and jacket. He lay down in the boat and curled up to sleep. It was a warm night, thankfully, and he would be fine sleeping like that. I took off the heavy layer of my dress that I knew was soaked as well as my stockings and boots. I hated being wet. As we floated along because of the small currant, I rung out my hair and tied it up with the ribbon that was around my large dress. I watched as the trees moved by slowly and I could have sworn we were getting closer to the leaves with each passing tree. I didn’t mind though. I just lay back in the boat next to Danny and looked up at the sky.

That was until I heard someone talking. I sat up and looked around. I looked down at Danny and bit my lip. I crouched down when I heard the voices get closer. I frowned and shook Danny’s arm. He silently opened his eyes and I put my finger on my lips. He nodded a little and rubbed his eyes again. I looked over the edge of the boat and saw another boat with a bright light on the end moving through the trees about 10 feet away from us. I slipped over the edge of the boat and tried to slip into the water as quietly as I could. I couldn’t touch the ground anymore and I bit my lip hard. I kicked my feet quietly and pulled Danny and the boat back a few more feet. I couldn’t move too fast since they’d hear the water rippling but they heard me despite that.

“Who’s there?” a boy asked. I froze and hid under the side of the boat.

“Get down Danny,” I whispered to him as the boat turned the light towards us. I let go of the boat and dunked under the water. I could see the light above me and it didn’t fade. I looked around me and swam to the other side of the boat where the light wasn’t shining. I came up for air and pushed the loose strands of my hair out of my face. I could hear the boys talking, saying they should get the boat. I bit my lip again and tried to think of something to do. How was I going to get Danny out of the boat? “Danny,” I whispered. “Slowly take my dress and cover yourself with it. They’ll think it was abandoned and maybe they’ll leave.” Danny gave a small ‘okay’. I heard the dress rustle softly and I swam to the bow of the boat where I peered around to see the boat getting closer. I chewed on my lip and moved back just a little so they wouldn’t see me. I took a deep gulp of air and dunked under the water to grab the bottom of the boat I slowly pulled the boat along, hoping it would thwart the boys. The currant would have gotten the boat if Danny wasn’t in it so I figured I’d help it out. The currant picked up a little of the slack but the boat was suddenly jerked back and I winced. I looked up at the bottom of the boat and swam to the side. I was quickly running out of air but I knew I couldn’t go up. I could feel the tightness in my chest growing and the urge to let go of the air became too much and I came up for air, gasping for air. The boys turned in my direction and started shouting.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?” they shouted. One boy had Danny and I swam over to the edge of the boat to try and get up.

“Let go of him!” I shouted as I climbed over the side. My white underdress was soaked and I was already losing the ribbon in my hair. The boys stared at me and then at Danny.

“Take her too,” said one boy. “We’ll bring them and the boat back.” I swallowed a little and when a boy grabbed my arm I tried to get away. I tried with all my might to pull away from him but he grabbed my other arm and dragged me to the other boat. I threw and thrashed and kicked and shouted. No one would hear me though and no one would come to get me. I was all alone and I was unable to help myself or Danny. They brought me somewhere. I wasn’t sure where they were taking me but I knew they tied Danny and me up. I was sitting in their boat, Danny sitting next to me, and I was watching the trees go by. The boys were talking about something and I could barely keep my eyes open. I was so exhausted and my lungs were trying their hardest to regain the air I had kept from them.

“Stop breathing so heavily,” snapped a boy.

“I have a problem,” I muttered. “I don’t breathe very well.”

“Well stop it.” I looked at him and though there is some moonlight, his face is covered in shadows. I sighed a little and looked at Danny. He had a brave face on. I smiled a little and nudged his shoulder with my head. He looked up at me and I smiled a little. He gave one back and I placed my head on his. He nuzzled his head as best as he could and a few more shouts made us jump.

“We’re here,” said a boy to the others who were shouting. I took a deep breath, wondering what would happen to us. Danny moved closer to me. I knew he was scared and I was too but there wasn’t much I could do.

“Welcome back!” shouted a few girls. They were waving as the sun began to taint the sky orange. I looked at the boys who pulled me to my feet.

“Let me go!” I snapped as I tried to pull away once more. They pushed me onto the wooden plank that was used as a dock to their tree house. I looked at the boys and girls that hung out of windows and doors and off of odd sort of jungle gyms. I was shoved to the ground and I could feel the wind rush out of my lungs.

“Juliet!” shouted Danny. I looked back at him and smiled a little. My cheek stung and my lungs burned. I breathed in dirt and I coughed roughly. I could feel the stinging in my lungs, the cough growing in my throat. I coughed hard and long. I tried my hardest not to breathe in deeply. I tried my hardest to keep my face away from the dirt.

“Don’t worry,” I said, choking on the dust. “It’s nothing.”

“Get her up.” I looked at the boy who walked over to me out of the one eye that was not covered by my hair.

“What do you want from us?” I asked him.

“Don’t worry about it for now.” He said as I was pulled to my feet. I stared at him and I honestly wasn’t impressed. His hair was a dark black color that blended into the night. His eyes were a sharp brown and they looked angrier than I thought a person’s eyes could be. He nodded to the boys who had me and told them to bring me to the classroom. I looked at Danny, who was being untied and handed off to another tall boy.

“Let him go!” I shouted. “You can’t hurt him! He’s only a child! Don’t hurt him please!” I shouted until they threw me into a classroom. I sat in front of a large classroom full of boys. They were about my age and older and they looked like they hadn’t known civilization their whole lives. They watched me and I stood. I felt their eyes on me. They were staring at me, inspecting me. “I want to see my brother,” I demanded.

“We just want to talk, girly.”

“I don’t know anything. Give me back my brother.” They laughed a little and one of them stood to walk over to me. I don’t know what got over me but I felt the anger rising in my chest. It gripped my lungs and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Instead of gasping for air, though, I jumped on the boy. He stepped aside and in that moment, something inside me snapped. I didn’t know what it was but there was something. I felt different somehow. I slid to a stop and as I did, I ran at his back. He was smirking and chuckling like a hot shot but I took him down and started to hit him. I was ripped off, however, by more boys. They grabbed my arms and I threw them downward to flip the boys over. I charged at all of them, somehow managing to beat them all up. I somehow got through all the boys to the very end where a long desk sat near a window. I looked at the boy who sat behind the desk. He looked at me, his deep, dark brown eyes eyes smiling the way his lips wouldn’t. The sun already broke through the windows and his dark black hair was shiny in the light. He looked passed me at the number of boys that I had beaten up (who were all at that moment standing to beat me up) and smiled.

“Boys,” said the boy in front of me. I stared him in the eyes and he looked me over. “Don’t be rude to our lovely guest.”

“I want to leave,” I snapped. “My brother and I did nothing to your men. I don’t know why they brought us here.” I wondered why I wasn’t breathing hard. I had a hard time doing everything.

“We’re simply keeping our eyes on things,” said the boy. “My name is Cullen. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m…I’m Juliet,” I said softly as I held out my hand.

“But soft,” he said. “What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun.” I shook my head and looked around. “I’ll let you leave. Why don’t you rest for now? Take a nap. You’ve been up quite a while, haven’t you? I’ll see if some of the girls can give you clothes. Girls!” Three young girls walked into the room and once they got a good look at me, they frowned.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Who is she?”

“Why do we have to be the ones to help her?”

“Girls,” he said. “Find her some clothing please. Don’t be mean.” I glared at the girls and they glared back. Cullen laughed and stood. He was much taller than me, seemed older too, and he walked over to the girls. “Now girls,” he said slowly, “I am not happy when people treat my guests poorly.” He pulled a knife quickly from his pocket and held it to one of the girls’ throats. “Get me clothing for my guest now.” The girls stared at him with wide eyes and as they left, I fell to the floor, my knees too weak to keep me up. My lungs had stopped working. They were too tired to give me oxygen. I crumpled to the ground like a weak sack of potatoes.

“Cullen,” snapped the boys. “She’s fallen.”

“Get her up,” Cullen ordered angrily. “Get her to a bed. Let her rest.” I looked up at him and he smiled down at me as he reached for my hand.

I woke up in a bed. I didn’t know how I got there but my throat hurt and my chest felt like there was a heavy weight on it. I coughed violently and I couldn’t stop. I fell off the bed, kept my hand to my mouth and coughed until the irony taste of blood filled my mouth. A hand rubbed my back and I felt a cool object enter my hand. I looked up to find the boy from before—Cullen—sitting next to me, the look of worry on his face. I tried to stop coughing, at least long enough to drink some water. I pressed the cup to my quivering lips and swallowed a few gulps of water. I wasn’t sure why that didn’t sooth me but it didn’t. I was lost in my coughing fit. I had often had them and I often coughed up blood. I regularly visited doctors but no one knew the source of my coughing.

“Come on,” he said softly. “Deep breathes. You’ll be alright.” I took a deep breath and nodded a little. I swallowed another gulp of water and my coughing seemed to calm down. I was grateful for that at least. His voice was soft as he rubbed my back gently. “Good girl,” he muttered softly. “All set?” he asked me. I nodded a little and he smiled at me. “You’ve been asleep for a few days now, Juliet. I think it’s time to get you out of bed. I have clothes for you. We dried out your dress if you would like to wear that again but I found you another dress that is more fitting and less bulky.”

“I’d like to see them if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” he said as he helped me stand. “How about I go get them? Sit here and drink a few more sips of water. I’ll be right back.” I nodded a little and looked at him.

“Thank you,” I said softly. He looked at me and I blushed when he smiled. His smile was so handsome.

“You’re welcome, Juliet.” He winked at me before leaving the room. I looked at my hands and felt my chest tighten. I was blushing because a hoodlum winked at me? That was a terrible thought. Feeling flustered over a boy, what a pathetic sight. I looked at the window and saw someone who looked like Danny. I ran out of the room and quickly and ran to the where the boys were. I stared at the boy that was supposed to be Danny but he was different. He was doing something crazy; fighting. My little brother was fighting a taller, older boy. What was he doing that for?

“Danny?” I asked. He looked at me, smiled and waved.

“Hi Juliet!” he said as he walked away from the tall boy. They all looked at me and he ran to me. He hugged me tightly and looked up at me with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“A little tired but other than that, I feel fine.”

“Good!” he said. “These boys taught me how to fight. Isn’t that cool?”

“Sure, Danny, sure it is.” He turned his head.

“You don’t think it’s cool?”

“Sure it is,” I replied as I pet his head. “How long have we been here?”

“A few days,” he replied. “The water stopped rising and they said it was going to stay like that for a while so we needed to stay here. The really tall boy, Cullen, stayed with you. He said no one else would protect you and he promised me he would.” I looked down at him and smiled a little.

“I’ll have to thank him.” I said softly.

“Juliet,” said Cullen. Danny and I turned to him and Danny smiled.

“Hi Cullen!” said Danny. “Look Juliet is awake!”

“I know,” he said gently. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it? I have a dress for you, Juliet, if you’d like to wear something instead of that.” I looked down at my underdress and blushed deeply. “You can return back to the room to change if you’d like. I will ask a few girls to help you if you want.” I nodded a little and held the dress close to my chest. There were a few whispers and I blushed more. “Boys,” he snapped angrily. “Danny, bring your sister to her room please?”

“Okay!” Danny said happily, tugging on my hand. “Come on Juliet!’ I looked at Cullen, who was smiling at me. I looked away and followed after Danny. “They said you’d feel better after the medicine they gave you.”

“What medicine?” I asked.

“They gave you shots while you were asleep ‘cause they said your lungs were full of gunk. They said it’ll be a while before they can see what you can do.”

“What does that mean?” He shrugged and opened the door for me.

“Here you go!” he said with a wide smile that I had known all my life.

“Danny,” I said as he turned away. He turned back and in those dark eyes that matched mine, I shook my head. “Never mind.” He nodded and left me. I quickly put on the dress, unable to zip it up. I frowned and tried to zip it but I was unable to. “Damn it,” I muttered.

“Would you like help?” asked Cullen. I turned to him and blushed brightly.

“No,” I muttered. “I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?” I nodded a little and he smiled. “Are you sure you’re sure?” I nodded a little and he entered the room. “Juliet,” he said softly. “Don’t be stubborn. Let me help you. I’ve helped you for the past three days. Please let me help you a little more.” I turned my back to him and looked away. His laugh was low and gentle. “Thank you,” he said softly. He zipped up the back of my dress and I let my dark hair fall over my shoulders. He touched it gently, brushing his fingers over the strands. “I’m sorry for the trouble we caused you,” he said. I shrugged and looked back at him.

“It’s uh…It’s alright. Have you been taking care of Danny?” I asked as I looked at him.

“Of course. He’s a great little guy.”

“He is wonderful,” I said nodding as I walked to the window, looking down at Danny.

“He’s taking everything so well. He gets along with the guys and he has a great skill. He’ll be a great addition.” I turned to look at him.

“What do you mean addition?”

“We’re going to have you two become a part of our group. The towns are all washed out and it’s just us for a while.”

“Are you sure they’re all washed out? What about my family? What about my friends? When did you check? Have you checked all around? Have you searched the entire area? How far did you go?”

“Juliet,” Cullen said as he took my arms in his hands. I was so small compared to him. He looked only a few years older than me and he seemed to know so much. He smiled a little more. “You don’t have to worry, Juliet. I’ve sent many of my boys and girls to search all over. The boys were on their way back from searching when they found you. You two were the first civilians since we got the flood that I wasn’t sure what to do with you. When I saw you fight I thought you were going to be as promising as your brother but I’m afraid you have such a hard condition I’ll need to wait to see what your tests come back as to be able to give you training.”

“Cullen, I’m afraid--”

“Come on Juliet,” he said as he took my hand. “Let’s go see Danny.” I nodded a little and followed him out. As I stood watching Danny laugh and play with the other kids, my hand was in Cullen’s. “You will stay with me, won’t you?” I looked up at him and frowned.

“I barely know you.”

“That’s the funny part. I looked at you and somehow, it was like my soul said ‘Oh there you are. I’ve been looking for you’ and I only wanted to be with you. Will you stay with me? Danny is happy and you could be too. I’ll protect you and keep you safe. I may only be eighteen but I can take care of you.” I blushed and nodded.

“But only until the water goes away.”

“By then,” he said. “I’ll make you never want to leave.” I blushed and he kissed my cheek. “I’ll make you say you love me,” he whispered. “Just like I love you.”

“What do you want?” I demanded. “You don’t even know me!”

“We all want something,” I bit my lip and looked away. He was right and I didn’t want to admit it. “So you’re staying,” he said. I nodded a little and looked at my hand in his.

“Alright.” I stayed because I wanted to know what he was up to. Not because he loved me or because I loved him; I wanted to figure this boy out.