Hidden

(I hope posting a picture/a link works out; I don't want to get in trouble but it's uh where the places/cities are in my book and, um... If you mibba editors don't like it, ask me and I'll delete think link/photo 'cause I'm completely reasonable. But I find this necessary because it shows the map and well, before you read Lord of The Ring's(or Graceling) doesn't it show a map of the kingdoms? Lmfao. This is sort-of like that.).

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q562/nikiaavey/blank-map-north-ameraarica.png

I have been living in secret, since the day I have been born. It’s not really bad, it’s just people in Grover aren’t supposed to have more than one kid, because we were over-populating in the past of our country. I was, my parent’s second kid. My mom originally named me “Caterina”, but I’d always get into her sewing kit, so she and my father renamed me “Kit”. Grover is our city, well not city but country. Grover’s history goes back to when people called it “North America”, or so my father has told me. North America and it’s people are now ancient and it’s country is entirely irrelevant to us. In Grover, there are at least 15 cites, they are separated by class. The top 3 cities of Grover are, Libena, Stetson and Aspyn and they are for the wealthy. The next three are, Reeve, Alwyn, Branson and Vencel – they are what you call “middle class”. Kaibry and Draven are out in the country, like where they have farms. Cambreia and Orion are in the ghetto. I live in the poor class, Easton. There’s 3 other cities in this class – Lilita, Xabin and Auden. In Grover, well, Easton I’ve been living in a secret room that’s in my parent’s closet. No one knows it’s there, but the person who built the house and I think they meant for it to be a panic room.

My dad is the only one around for me now, my brother Logan grew up and left home. I think he even got married, but I never never met the girl – or even saw her. My mother passed away when I was only 13 years old. But, I’m fine. It’s a bit sat, though. My dad is nothing like my mom, he’s quiet. While my mom would sit and read me bed-time stories or tell me about her day, he’d be out hunting for food or fire wood. He hardly ever said a word to me, still hardly ever says a word to me. I get happy when he does speak to me, he’s my only human contact and I crave that so much.

In my little hut, well the room I live in. It has a tiny little window at the top, that my dad had installed for emergency’s purposes only. He says I have to crawl up the ladder, squeeze through the window and slide carefully down the roof and then jump down to their balcony and then jump to the ground. I’ve never tried it, but at night I climb the ladder and gaze out the window at the moonlight. In my hut, I also have a sleeping bag, with a pillow, a teddy bear, lot’s of books stacked up in a corner and a mini-TV and fridge that my mom said she found in the trash. My mom made sure I always had everything I needed, because I was bounded by the walls of my hut and can hardly ever leave these walls – let alone leave the house. My dad would only buy me food, and still that is the only thing he ever buy’s me. I need new clothes? Hello, Logan’s hand me-downs. I guess that’s for the best though, when I wear Logan’s hand-me-down’s dad sometimes tells me to fold my long brown hair up into a hat and to wear glasses and then I get to go outside. But, of course, that’s on rare occasions. He tells me when we do go out, that I’m a family friend’s kid and nothing more; one from a separate city just visiting. I always go along, because I am not supposed to be alive and if I was found. I would surely be killed.

“Hey Kit.” My dad barged into my hut. “Here’s a hat, can you go into town and buy some milk?”

My eyes widened in shock of this request and in excitement that I get to leave. “Really? Are you going with me?”

“Afraid not, someone in town is having a duck issue; they need me to take care of it. You remember the story you have to tell people, don’t you? Also don’t talk to anyone, no strangers and don’t make friend’s. You can’t let anyone know who you really are.”

“Yes papa.” I slid my hair into the hat, tucked a pocket knife into my belt. Then debated if I should really go or not.

This would be my first time out of the house without my dad.

I left anyway.

The town’s market was a few blocks away from my house and no one looked twice at me. So I focused on looking at the ground, while I walked. The streets of Easton were lined in dirt and broken pieces of cobblestone. The cobble stone hurt my feet and the dirt made my feet dirty, but only because I was barefoot. I forgot shoes, I hope I won’t stand out. When I reached the town’s market, I asked the woman running it to fetch me some milk and handed her a silver coin my dad gave me. He said it was “money”. She hurried into the back. I looked around the little store, it was nothing but a tent on the cobblestone streets, but it was pretty nice compared to most of the town’s shops. The Sapphire jewelry on a rack near the front desk of the shop caught my eye. I have never seen the Gem before, except for on TV. It’s much brighter and shiny in person.

“You’re looking to buy that for a girl, aren’t you?” I was interrupted by a tall man, messy-shaggy-black hair, with blue eyes. He didn’t look any older than 18, but he was surely tall enough to be at least 19.

“Umm. No.” I backed away, hoping he didn’t notice how skittish I am in my voice.

“Are you a girl?” The boy analyzed my face.

“No, please leave me alone.”

Papa told me to never talk to strangers, or to make friends.

I don’t want to be killed.

“Oh, then you probably haven’t went through puberty yet. You sound like a girl.” He laughed at me.

I glared at him. Is he so ignorant that he does not comprehend what leave me alone means? “Um…” I said as the market shop lady came to give me milk with some little copper coins.

“Thank you, come again.” The old woman smiled, making me able to see the wrinkles on her face clearly.

“I’m Zeke, I’ve never seen you before. Are you from out of town?” The boy acted persistent, following me out of the market.

“Yes I am, now I have to go.” I turned away and walked the direction of my house.

Oh, what I’d give to be in my little hut. In the shelter and coziness of my complete solitude hut that I have been forced to grow up in. It’s my own little haven, though. I am not fit to talk to normal people, I am not fit to talk to anyone. If I did talk, what should I talk about? How I am not supposed to be alive? There is no answer, to what I should talk about is there? Maybe the weather, but I have never fancyed or cared much about that. So, it all seems pointless to me.

I heard Zeke call out, behind me. “What’s your name?”

Blindly and without thinking, I yell back. “Bat.” I turn to see him, his messy black hair flowing with the wind. Why did I say Bat? I guess I said it, because it was relatively close to “Kit”. And him knowing me as “Bat”, is a lot better then knowing me as “Kit”; the second child of the Jareds family.

At least giving him an answer made Zeke turn away and pay attention to something else other than me. I smiled, then cruised on home, to my wood cabin house. At home, I put the milk in the fridge, then went and hid away in my hut until my dad got home an hour or so later.

My dad cooked a stew; mixed in with mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, etc… I got to set the table; two bowls, two spoons and two glasses. I had to also pour our glasses of milk. After dinner, dad went to bed and I was free to roam the house for one hour, then I have to go to bed as well.

For that hour, I settled on switching throughout the only 6 TV channels we received until I decided on watching a talk-show talking about Grover’s governmental issues and politics… That was, until I heard a knock at the front door.

Who could it be this late? I wondered as I peeked through the curtains, it was that boy; Zeke. I wonder what he could possibly want.

Dad is asleep, everyone in town is in their homes now. Probably sleeping as well, it’s bed time. Doesn’t he realize that?

Papa will get mad, if I answer the door. But, Zeke can hear the sounds from the TV coming through the door; he can see my shadow as I peek out the window. I have to answer. I pull my long brown hair into a hat, then answered the door. Much to a surprise to me, he seemed to be in quite a shock to seeing me again.

“Oh… Hey, Bat. I didn’t know you live here. Do you know where Mr. Jareds is?”

“He’s asleep and I don’t live here, I’m visiting.” I lied.

“All right. Well, will you give Mr. Jareds this? My boss wanted him to read it, he said it’s important.” Zeke handed me a letter.

“Thanks.” After we waved and said goodbye, I slammed the door shut and opened up the letter; even though it’s rude to go through other people’s mail, I wondered how important could it be that it had to be delivered at this time of night?

The letter read:

I know who she is, do what I say and I won’t hurt her.

- Mr. H.

I ran upstairs and woke my dad up, I wanted to know what it meant.

“What is it Kit?” My dad asked, while I took a seat at the bottom of his lumpy mattress.

“A boy dropped off this note.” I handed him the note.

Papa read the note; when he was done reading it, he sat it down on his lap. “Pack your things, everything you want and everything important.”

“Okay.” I went to my hut and packed up two changes of the hand-me-down clothes and an emerald necklace my mom gave me when I was little, she said papa gave her it and demanded her to marry him. She told me how she said no and explained how persistent he was and that she fell in love with that side of him. It was a pretty amazing story, and this is my last memory of my mother. It’s the most important thing to me. Ever.

Papa came into my hut, he told me we had to leave because people were coming. We left the house, went underground in one of the ancient tunnels they used in the war in the past. We walked for what seem liked miles, until we climbed up a ladder. Then we were in the ruins of one of the ancient cities that hasn’t been demolished yet. We set out walking again, not very far, but it was in the woods next to the city. My dad assigned me to a cave, helped me get settled in. Said goodbye, not ever to leave unless he came for me. Then left.

Inside the cave, it reeked a musky mildew smell. You could hear water dropping like rain in the back of the cave, as well. I picked to stay in the middle of the cave, this way I could hear someone or something come in if they did. I realize it’s late and that I haven’t slept and I can finally feel the lack of sleep in me when I lay down on the rocky floor of the cave. I assumed dad wouldn’t be back for a while, so I curled up into a ball and waiting for sleep to take it’s toll on me.

I wake to the sun shining into the back opening of the cave and the front of the cave. I took a step out of it, looking around I could see the ruins of the old town. I wonder around the woods, a dagger in hand – that my dad made sure I had – looking for food. Much to my dismay, I found nothing but a patch of berries. I didn’t recolonize the kind, so I just went back to the cave without food.

In the cave, I make like a bat and sleep the rest of the day away curled up in a ball on the rocky ground.

Days and days go by, or at least that’s how it seems. I think about home, about my dad. I wonder if papa is alright, and if I would ever get to go home again. More and more day’s go by and by now created my own home in the cave. A haystack was my bed, a piece of ripped up clothing was my blanket. I only searched for berries and kept them for a day or so, until they went bad and threw them out. It’s hard to adjust to living like this, but I have been out here so long without anyone… Out here in solitude, to fend for myself… And I have no idea how to get home. I was entirely oblivious to how I got up here, or I’d retrace my steps. But I can’t remember.

I am lost.