The Sphere

 The Sphere

By. Catherine Gaines

    "Is she there?", Alana whispered, her voice scratchy from unuse. "I don't know, I can't see anything", Michael, her brother replied. Stumbling through the dark they placed their hands out in front of them hoping to use the trees to catch themselves on the steep decline. "Ouch, stop shoving" Michael grumbled. Alana scoffed in response, "Well I wouldn't have to if you picked up the pace a little". 

    Quieting down they continued to make their way down the mountain towards the clearing. The moonless night helped to keep them hidden amongst the trees but did nothing in terms of visibility on the rocky mountainside. 

    The clearing, they were headed towards was rumored to be haunted. It was said that every Friday the Thirteenth, at midnight she would appear. Who she was? Nobody knew. Hushed voices rumored her to be the restless soul of a young woman, caught when trying to escape The Commission. Others thought she was a dead widow, calling out to her husband, who was viciously killed by the Rangers. Whether these rumors were true or not no one knew. But Alana and Michael were there to find out. 

    The bitter winds nipped through their uniformed jackets, causing them to shiver in discomfort. "Are we almost there?" Alana quietly whined." SHhhhh... you're going to get us caught." Michael reprimanded. Ever since the incident the year before The Commission had instilled the Rangers to monitor the mountain, especially on Friday the Thirteenth. The whole area was crawling with them. If caught they would be sent back to the heart of The Sphere, where unfathomable punishments would be cooked up by the Children's Committee.

     Alana and Michael were orphans, with no parents, they were placed under the direct authority of the Commission and the Children's Committee. The world as they knew it stretched one hundred miles in every direction, resulting in the name The Sphere. The Sphere was run by a government organization dubbed the Commission. The Commission was composed of groups of committees tasked with overlooking different functions of the modern world. The laws the Commission put in place were enforced by the Rangers, the Commission's own militia. No one fought against the Rangers and won. But even if they did, the full wrath of the commission would be laid upon them and their life would cease to exist. 

    The branches of the trees hung over them, like ghouls, threatening them to turn back. " Why are we here anyway" Alana whispered harshly. The winds taunted them screeching bitterly in the night air. "Because..." Michael said, "Darren, dared me to and I'm not a chicken." With that, they continued on. The threat of monsters and demons lurked dangerously in the back of their minds but all of that was overshadowed with the thought of being caught. Someone stepped on a leaf. "SSHHhhhh...Alana," Michael sighed, turning around but froze. All the blood had drained from her face. " What's wrong," he said, fear creeping up his throat. Shakily she opened her mouth, " That wasn't me." 

    A siren reverberated across the mountain top startling the two. Footsteps echoed around them, the hasty march of the rangers advancing on their location." RUN" Michael shouted. On shaky legs, they sprinted towards the clearing. No longer bother to silence their movement, twigs, and leaves crunched under their feet in the underbrush of the woods. The sound of synched footsteps grew closer and closer. In a sudden burst of strength, they made it to the clearing, searching frantically for a place to hide. The woods surrounding them was unsafe. Not even the dark would conceal them well enough from the Rangers night vision goggles. And any other location would be uncovered in the light of the next morning. There was no way out. They were trapped. Latching on to each other they tried to drag out their last few moments, but then a flash of white. Blinding brightness. Then nothing. 

    Gasping Alana woke up clutching her chest. The familiar yet distant sounds of the ranger's military vehicles rumbling in the distance. "It was just a dream" she mused. "I'm safe". Lying back down again she closed her eyes. The marching of rangers and sirens in the distance comforted her. This was her home. And with that, she drifted back off to sleep.