The Last Reporter (story 4)

As my watery eyes stared at the bloody hard wood floor of the underground cellar in West Freshlin, a town not to far from where I lived in the big city, I began to realize how useless my efforts were to bring the truth to the public. Not the truth about the latest celebrity or about how someone had baked the largest cake in the world, but about real news which was there was plenty of. But there is  none brave enough or able to tell the truth. Hundreds were dead, laying in the grass and on the roads of this small little town. They weren’t slaughtered by some group of rebels as we’d been told on the news, but by our own men. This town wasn’t harboring a rebel...it was keeping the children of the rebels...trying to protect them...TRY TO PROTECT SOME GOD DAMN CHILDREN  My eyes were filled with tears as I cried in the underground cellar that held all of the wine. My blouse and skirt were covered in the wine of the people that used to live here. I picked myself up while wiping off some make up and left the wine cellar with my one broken high heels. I walked outside and noticed all of the dead bodies around and wondered who would tell the truth about this incident. I looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath. I thought to myself, since when has the media and government become so corrupt? Am I such a foolish dreamer for thinking they weren’t corrupt. Yes I am...I’ve always been so naive...they’ve been corrupt ever since their birth. Well...this all began in Eternus with the Daily Eternus, the largest newspaper in the whole country...1

I stood there in front of my rotund boss who I use to think of as an upstanding citizen, not to mention a man that I use to admire, but that all changed when he gave me my new assignment, which was to go and try to interview Taylor Adams, the musical queen of the modern times who song all types of music. She seemed like a sweet 19 year old girl, but early that week I had found out about my big break as a news reporter. The one thing that would prove I’m better than that stupid bitch Karen Smith. A secret source of mine told me that some rebel’s children were suppose to be killed in a small town named West Freshlin.            Of course that was after they were handed over to the police, but my boss didn’t want me going, he said to leave it up to the authorities, but I know its wrong to just let these kids die because of their parents faults. I was promised that the little kids would be saved and that everything would be okay. So I left his office which was on the 70th floor and decided to take the elevator down to the 10th floor to ask my friend Charlie about what had been going on. He helped me with my camera and was in charge of printing tomorrow’s newspaper. I looked out the clear glass of the elevator and saw tanks going through the town, which told me that I didn’t have much time til the fireworks started. I got off the elevator and saw that the newspaper was printing for tomorrow’s edition. I felt a bit of sadness since I wouldn’t have the main story and that stupid Karen Smith would have it, but then I saw the headlines that read “Rebels Siege Small Town” and the cover picture is of a bunch of men holding onto a children as if they were shields while using guns which were forbidden is in this age, ever since they made those gun laws about a century ago. Then it came to me...it must of already happened, but I saw the tanks going out of the city which means that it hadn’t happened yet. Was everyone in on this except me? I had to see it for myself, but as I put the paper down I saw Karen Smith’s name on it and I felt a little vomiting.2

Driving as fast as I could, everything seemed blurry. Was everything that I knew...a lie? Had they lied to me? I had to know the truth and nothing was going to stop me. I mean nothing. I had almost made it to the site when I saw a road block. Usually at more social events there would be tons of reporters or even when an important person was murdered, but not now. Why? I was about to decide to stop, but it felt as if something that was beyond me told me to break the law and go against everything that I knew. I increased my speed more as some soldiers began to point their guns at me, but I went off road and drove around the rest of the way and without any pursuit by the army which surprised me. As I neared the camp my tire popped and my car went out of control, at that moment I thought my life was over as I saw a giant tree right in front of me. The tree seemed to rush at me as everything faded into darkness.3

Suddenly from within the darkness I heard an angry man’s voice with my head face down on top of the steering wheel. My head ached as I tried to figure out where I was...wait I was in my car and the children...I slowly opened eyes as his mumbled words became clear with the gun that was next to my head. As my body started to ache all over, the man cocked the gun loudly in my ear and tears streamed down my face past my bleeding forehead as I realize a bullet was about to go right through my ears. Bang! With that I except my life to end, but instead I turn to my left only to end up seeing the angry man bleeding from the side of his head with a sigh of a relief, I looked around for my knight in shining armor, but instead I aw a man with a sword in his hand...I can’t see his face clearly, because my vision is still blurry, but he takes me by the arm as I stumble in the direction which he pulls me in. Yet he’s so gentle. Too gentle to be a man who could even kill another person. He can’t possibly have killed anyone and if he did...he was never meant to lead this life and then everything fades to black once again.4

I found myself in a cabin room with a few kids and adults, I looked around for my swordsman who was no longer around to help me. Was it all a dream? That’s right... the children...I have to save the children...I’ve only lived for 25 years, but I’m willing to die for these little ones. Wait...Where’s my samurai? A little kid comes up to me and asks, “Are you here to help us?” The older kid sarcastically says, “No dummy, if she was here to help us, she wouldn’t look like she’s about to die.” An old man walked up to me and asked me how I got here, so I told him the story and he smiled at me while telling me, “Its okay...we were surprised when the army came. They didn’t give us a warning and we were forced to fight back. We had no choice! Only a few of us survived the first battle and all of the kids except for those two are alive.” I looked at these weary people  who had been through so much and lost everything. Most likely we’d all die soon enough. I couldn’t believe all of the lies that had been told to the people. He looked at me and asked if I could tell their story to the world. Tell how they fought to protect a bunch of children who never asked to be involved in this war. I wanted to, but...I’d be considered crazy and lose my job. Wait...my job...I don’t give a DAMN about my job, I need to find a way to bring the truth about what happened today. But I couldn’t they’d think I’m crazy and then I’d mysteriously die just like all of my friends who told me about how they had a big story about the corrupt government of Eternus. But I looked him in the eyes and said, “I’ll tell everyone.” He thanked me greatly and showed me down to the basement and told me that I had to survive. They put a bunch of boxes of wine on top of me and went back up stairs. I asked them to come with me, but they refused to go with me and told me it was their sacrifice for the kids. As he walked up, I asked him about the swordsman and the old man simply told me that he knew about the swordsman and that he had died protecting the children here, but made sure that the secret army retreated. Then the old man left and I wondered what he meant by the secret army...5

A few minutes later I heard guns shots and horrifying screams that came from upper floor. It seemed as if all hell had broken loose up above me, I tried to hold on to both of them for we knew that they would come for us soon enough. As the door opened, neither of the kids cried which showed how tough these young kids had become after all of their ordeals. I thought to myself, “Little kids shouldn’t live like this or even have to become this tough just to survive. The man took out a machine gun and pointed it at all of the wine boxes next to us. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth hoping that the young kids could get out of this alive and suddenly it felt as if the ice cold creepy hand of death had laid its hand upon my shoulder. Then suddenly the bullets stop and I waited for what felt like an eternity before I even dared to move. I felt a little new blood on me, but only from the broken glasses. It was a miracle that I survived, so the kids had to be alive. I looked towards the two kids who were as cold as ice. My eyes began to water as I asked myself why did these kids have to die. Why God why?! Why...why them and not me? Is there some divine purpose?6

So that’s where I am now...As I look at the carnage that had laid waste to the city. I turned around and remembered something that the old man had told me. I quickly ran inside the cold death filled cabin and walked down to the wine cellar and looked all over the floor for a trapdoor. Until I finally saw it and heard something crying from within it. I tried to pull the handle but it wouldn’t move, so I screamed for the kids to move back and took off my high heeled shoe and smashed the door open while breaking my shoe. I moved the small door out of the small hiding spot and saw tons of little kids. Those two kids must of been trying to protect the kids in here who looked much younger than both of them. I took each kid out as they quickly moved with dried blood and tears on their little faces and clothes. As I took each kid out of that dank dark basement,  I felt as if life was worth living and that their was hope for the world. I couldn’t tell their story today, but one day I would and the whole world would know their story.7