UNRAVELING TRUTHS

Samantha's POV The cave's silence felt stifling. The fire had dropped to a flutter, creating lengthy shadows dancing over the jagged walls. The sense of time running out and of being on the brink of something permanent persisted in me. Alex sat across from me, his body stiff and constantly ready but his eyes closed. The weight of his previously still words hung between us. He had declared, "I'm not letting you go." One could have hoped for something under any other situation. But here it felt like an anchor dragging me into a tempest I wasn't sure I was ready for. I could see what was ahead. The last run-through with The Order. Bled for, all we had battled for—all led here. Still, there was a part of me unable to deny the mounting terror in my chest. About what would happen when it was all over, not about the battle. Left of us would be what? Of course, of course, I looked at Lena, who at last nodded off with a consistent breathing pattern. From our initial meeting, she had come so far—just a terrified child fleeing an environment she did not know. She was now robust, tenacious, a member of our makeshift family. But how much more could she possibly swallow? How much more, each of us could? Alex stirred, his eyes widening gradually as though he sensed I was watching him. Our eyes locked, and for a little while the walls I had so painstakingly erected around me felt as like they would fall. "Can't get asleep?" His voice low, he asked gently. I shook my head then focused on the cave's entrance. Though the night seemed silent, I knew better than to believe it. " Too much on my mind." Rising and crossing the little area separating us, he sat down next to me. Though it grounded me, his presence also made it more difficult to control my ideas. "We're close now," he replied, his voice a mumble. "We start tomorrow." Knowing is great. Even to me, my voice seemed distant. We had faced worse, hence I was not terrified of the battle. But I carried great weight on what followed, on what this fight would cost us. Alex moved near, his arm brushing across mine. "Samantha... Speak with me. Whose is doing this? I wanted to tell him to release all I had been holding since this dream started. Yet how could I? How could I bother him with the anxiety that I doubted I would ever be the same even if we would win? Not someone I knew the person I had grown to be over these past months. I flashed him a half-hearted smile instead. "I just find myself considering tomorrow." He chose not to purchase it. I could see it in the way his eyes fixed me and his jaw closed. Alex knew me too well, and I hated it occasionally—how readily he could see through the walls I attempted to maintain. His voice solid, he said, "We're going to win." Everything will be changed after this as well. distinct. That is the thing that is most frightening to me. Because difference did not always translate into better. I could not, however, tell him that. Not now. I nodded, driven to believe it for his benefit. Actually. Variations. Monday arrived sooner than I had anticipated. As we got ready to migrate, the sun hardly emerged from the foliage. Lena was silent; the knowledge of what lay ahead muted her typical interest and vitality. As always, Alex was concentrated; his mind already mapped twelve separate approaches. The strain between us felt almost tangible as we began our path across the woodland. Every stride forward led us closer to the core of The Order, to the last fight determining our destinies. Alex broke the quiet, "We should reach the compound by nightfall." With a sobering gaze at Lena and me, he said "We follow the strategy once we are inside. Not improvising. Lena nodded, but her eyes flew to mine in want of comfort. I tried to conceal the knot of fear in my gut by forcing a grin. And what should happen should the scheme fall apart? My voice was calm even though my heart wasn't, I asked. Alex cast a glance at me. " It won't." I have eyebrows. "Alex, we have never developed a strategy that failed. A little smile pulled at the edge of his mouth. " This one will be unique." Once more there was that word. Variations. I didn't dispute, though. For what reason was this important? Everybody was aware of the dangers. The Order was not going to let us leave without struggle. The sun had sunk below the horizon by the time we arrived at the compound, casting shadows over everything. Tension permeated the air, the kind that caused every hair on the rear of my neck to stand on edge. The facility itself was nothing unique—a collection of dilapidated, decrepit structures tucked far into the forest. But it was what lurked under the surface that made things perilous. Here the Order possessed power, a power we yet did not really grasp. Alex said, "We go in through the north entrance," his eyes darting about. "We separate once we are within. Lena, you will find yourself in the control room. I will manage the main chamber with Samantha. Lena nodded, but from her eyes I could feel the nerves. Though she was courageous, she was hardly superhuman. None of us were like that. Quietly, I urged, "Be careful," squeezing her shoulder. She produced a strained smile for me. "I will," says I could feel everything weighing down on me as we approached the door—the stakes, the hazards, the innumerable lives depending on our halting The Order. More than that, though, I could sense the weight of the unsaid words separating Alex from me. The words once stated would transform everything. THIS was it. You stop running now. Hide no more. We had come too far to reverse right now. The compound' inside was very still. Too silent. The walls were frigid, clean, like the kind of place where secrets were buried behind layers of falsehoods. Moving fast, our footsteps were hardly audible as we negotiated the little halls. Alex's hand clutching his weapon, his body stiff with expectation, led ahead of mine. I could see the will in his eyes, the will that had always propelled him on. For the first time, though, I wasn't sure if it would be sufficient. The temperature dropped when we got to the main chamber. Short, quick bursts of my breath poured out, each one loaded with the awareness that we were approaching a trap. The Order had not been dumb. They knew we were on our way. "Are you all set for this?" Alex questioned, his voice low, his gaze fixed just on me. Though the fact was I didn't know if I was, I nodded. That would not stop me, though. Not at this moment. Everything happened at once as we pushed open the main chamber door. Shadows engulfed the room as people moved over the gloom. We were encircled before I could respond as the sound of weapons being pulled reverberated around us. From the far side of the room, a voice remarked, "Welcome," calm, nearly amused. Clutching black, a figure moved forward with a hood covering their face. He did it. The Order's leader. "I have been expecting you," he said with a smooth and under control voice. "Did you honestly believe you could stop this?" Alex moved forward, his gun lifted. "We're here to call this off." The head laughed, a hollow, frigid sound. "End it?" No, Alex. This is only starting. A stinging ache rushed through my side before I could respond. I gasped, staggered back, then realized one of The Order's soldiers had hit me. The room started to swirl as blood spilled from the cut. Samantha, please! Alex spoke in a far-off panic-filled voice. I dropped to the ground; the cold stone under me stood in strong contrast to the heat of the agony in my side. Though my vision darkened, I could still see the leader looming over me. "You cannot fight fate," he said suddenly, his voice barely audible. You were never supposed to be successful. Alex racing toward him, a roar of wrath resounding in my ears, was the last thing I saw before the gloom descended. Everything immediately went dark.