Two

     "What are you boys doing here?" My grandma's face was disappointed standing on the staircase.

     "Why are you outside, grandma?" 

     "I had a feeling you boys would come back," she said grinning.

     "Now come on, I gotta make sure you're both taken care of." She walked inside and we followed her.

     "All right. You boys... you aren't sick but I don't know how to explain it..." She placed her hand on her chin and leaned on the counter after checking us.

     "It seems like withdrawals due to the medication but I'm not sure how it works... It's like the medication makes you physically sick if you don't take the medicine."

     "Do you get them too? The headaches?" I asked. She turned to me still in deep thought.

     "Why yes. I used to. But it's been 24 years since I've last taken them?" She position herself on the floor and used her nail to tap the boards, revealing a hidden compartment. There all her journals and books were stacked against each other. She meticulously examined each notebook, flipping through the pages, her gaze skimming over the lines of text full of personal recollection

     "Yeah... 24 years..." She looked up surprised and placed the journal back into the compartment closing it completely.

     "You might be feeling that for a few days but if you totally stop you might experience fatigue and have trouble sleeping." She turned back to us but her eyes didn't meet ours. She was still in deep thought, her eyes focusing on mine. She wants to tell us something I can feel it.

     "You boys are gonna stop using the pills?" She smirked and took off the goggles on her head.

     "Yeah. I don't know I just don't feel like it's necessary anymore," I said thinking about the drawer with my discarded bottles of HPS. Olsen fell on the couch.

     "I don't want to take them anymore." Grandma smiled.

     "That's good. Your mind will open up to things you've been blind to." We talked until the doorbell rang. Grandma took off her equipment and shoved it into the compartment with her journals and slid a carpet over. The doorbell rang again and she pushed the table on top.

     "You boys behave," she said turning to us and walking to the door. I could hear my grandma talk with other voices but I couldn't decipher any words.

     "Move!" A loud voice shouted followed by a loud crash. I stood up and rushed to the entrance. Men pushed their way in, shoving through. I rushed to grandma on the ground.

     "Are you okay?" She looked up at me and nodded and we met eyes. I've never seen her stare so empty and blank. Then her eyes shone in the light bringing the brightness back.

     "Get up," one of the men said. I looked back and helped grandma up. Her gaze shallow and dark, it made me shiver.

     The men searched our house and grandma sat on the couch with her hands folded in her lap. She's never acted this way before and it made me curious. Olsen and I sat across from her waiting. They climbed up the stairs and my grandma mouthed the words 'look serious'. The men climbed back down and stared at the three of us. Grandma slowly looked up at them with a cold stare. One man knelt down and leveled with her.

     "Are you happy?" He asked her, my mind started to pound but grandma didn't even blink before answering.

     "No," she said. The men stood up unsatisfied at her response, but what did they expect? It's illegal to show happiness.

     The man threw the table and her eyes flickered.

     "You're lying!" He exclaimed. 

     "There's been reports of laughing from a woman in this house," he said looking at her and walking onto the carpet. One wrong step and he'll walk into the compartment.

     "I'm not the only woman living here," she said in a deep stern voice.

     "And even if there have been reports how can you be so sure I was the one laughing?" The vein from his forehead began to pop from grandma's reply.

     "Do these look like women to you?!" He pointed at Olsen and I.

     "They're boys," my grandma said.

     "Listen here grandma," the man had enough and pulled grandmas collar lifting her off the ground.

     "Hey! What the fuck?! You can't do this!" I stood up and lunged at the man. But before I could do any damage the others held me down on the couch while Olsen was held at gun point.

     "You're on the hit list, woman. Anything you do now is heavily monitored. The supreme leader is at a breaking point for you, don't you know that? If you have anything to hide we'll find out." 

     "I'm not hiding anything," she said. 

     "Don't lie!" The man lifted her higher but she didn't flinch. In this moment I saw the determination and passion inside her heart. No one has ever stood up to the regime and here I was witnessing it with my own two eyes.

     "You searched the house right? You found nothing. I have nothing. There's nothing I can possibly hide." Even in his grasp she moved closer to the man bringing her face extremely close to his. 

     "Unless you're looking for a reason to arrest me you have to find one." The man kissed his teeth and threw her on the couch. The intimidation in the air was so high it was suffocating.

     "We will," the man finally said leaving with the rest of the men. The weight from my chest was lifted and I was dumbfounded. Grandma sat on the couch until she heard the door close. Then she stood up and walked to the door to lock it. She sighed and grinned. She was back to her old self.

     "You boys weren't supposed to see that."

     "How often do they come?" Grandma squinted at Olsen's question.

     "Maybe once every month? I don't know. They're really nosy though." She moved back to the table and flipped it back onto the carpet adjusting its placement.

     "You boys are usually at school when it happens so you don't usually experience it." She fixed her disheveled collar and straightened her wrinkled shirt.

     "You're on the hit list?" I asked. Many people on the hit list would've already been dead by now. Grandma shifted her weight on her legs and nodded.

     "Yes, I'm not sure why they haven't taken me out yet."

     "Wait, you're seriously on the hit list?" Olsen stood up with his jaw dropped.

     "Well, yes. That's why they come here so often. To check up on me."

     "Why? You didn't do anything though." Olsen questioned. I kept my gaze outside the window.

     "She does research. She's the one of the leaders of the resistance but they don't have any evidence to confirm her actions so they're looking for reasons to arrest her." Grandma lightly chucked.

     "That's right. I clean up my tracks extremely well. But then again they can't arrest me anyways."

     "Why not?" She leaned in with mischievous grin.

     "I'm a biologist. I have many jobs in the medical chain too but they keep tight inventory and keen eyes. I can't go about taking medication or making my own so I just do research with whatever I can get my hands on." I threw my head back and smacked my forehead. It all makes sense. Why she wears the equipment. How she's always in her room with the pills. She's studying it. I knew she was doing research but I never knew how educated she actually was about it.

      "You boys should go do your work. Just because you're here doesn't mean you can skip your work." We nodded and began to walk up the stairs.

     "One more thing..." She glanced at the window without looking at us.

     "From now on, now that they've seen you here. You have to be careful."

     "Where were you yesterday?" All three of us sat in the cafeteria before class staring at Xin. She was acting too suspiciously and we were starting to get impatient with her answers.

     "My parents had to deal with something so I stayed home." Her hands slightly trembled but only for a few seconds. I kept my composure and nodded at her but I could tell Olsen sensed something was wrong with her too.

     Once we got into class I stared at the red flag that hung at the front with the supreme leader beside it. How did this happen? Why won't grandma tell me anything about it? Why can't she tell me more about the resistance? My mind wasn't pleased at where I stood with my only family member. I'm supposed to know everything about her, but I've only scratched the surface of what I've been chipping at this whole time. The anthem ended but one person was still sitting down. I don't think I've noticed her before but she wasn't standing up for the anthem today.

     "Luika!" Mr. Amil shot daggers at the person sitting whose name must be Luika. He was warning her.

"Luika, up, now." He turned to her. But she acted as if she couldn't hear him.

"Luika. Stand up." The anthem kept playing, but she didn't move. Not even at Mr. Amil's blatant warning.

All of a sudden, he kicked his chair to the side and stomped over to her desk. He pulled her ear up until she was standing.

"Ow! That hurts!" She held his wrist that was keeping her ahold.

"You're going to stand and respect this country." His icy glare keeping contact with hers.

"I don't respect this country." She said gritting her teeth.

"I don't believe in this country. It's bullshit!" She yelled and struggled and Amil just slowly shook his head in anger.

"Let go of me!" She attempted pushing Amil away but he didn't back down.

Once the anthem ended he released his grasp on her ear and she fell onto the ground crashing on the legs of my desk.

"Hey, are you okay?" I tried helping her up and crouched down beside her.

"Leon, if you help her up you'll be disrespecting this country, back off now." Amil said in a loud voice from across the room. I hesitated to help Luika.

"Anyone who disrespects this country is not welcome in this classroom and I will personally call the police to arrest you for your crimes. Do I make myself clear?" Amil stood up leering at everyone.

"Yes." The entire class replied.

"Are you happy?" Amil said looking directly towards myself and Luika, expecting a different answer.

"No." We replied. But my stomach felt churned and it was hard to keep my balance. I looked at Luika and found that her hands were shaking.

"Good. Luika, consider this a warning. And Leon, I've already caught you without HPS. Make sure this is the last time." He raised his brow and we both nodded.

Class ended and I saw Luika heading out the room. I headed towards her trying to catch up but she was too fast.

"Leon!" I heard someone calling me but I needed to speak to Luika, I ignored their voice and pushed other students to the side to try and reach her.

"Leon! What the hell are you doing?" I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and watched as her back blended in with the crowd of students. Defeated I looked behind myself to see Olsen.

"Dog, spit off." I pushed his hand off my shoulder and looked at him annoyed.

"Man, what's up with that attitude?" He asked with a pissed look on his face.

"I'm sorry, you just stopped me from trying to talk to Luika." I looked behind myself, but she was already gone.

"Luika? You got a chick?" He grinned putting his arm around my shoulder.

I slapped him hard across the face.

"Why did you do that?" He asked yelling and I widened my eyes trying to send him a hint.

"Oh yeah, right I almost forgot." He wiped his red mouth I struck moments before.

"You're going to get us arrested if people see you grin." I said in a hushed voice.

"I know, I know. It just comes so easily and I can't help it." He holds his backpack straps and we head to the lunchroom.

"Where is she?" Olsen looked around the cafeteria.

"Xin said she was going to meet us here during lunch. Where the hell is she?" He dug in his bag complaining and pulled out his lunch.

"Maybe she had to stay back for class or something." I said looking in my bag and rummaging through my tablet for my lunch.

"That's doesn't make sense. Why would she stay back and not tell us?" He opened his box and started eating grilled cheese while rolling his eyes.

I was too distracted and couldn't focus on what Olsen was talking about. All I could think about was Luika.

"Hey, what's gotten into you, you're not usually like this." Olsen had his mouth full and tried to speak at the same time. His words placed between munches.

"I just-" As I was about to finish my sentence I spotted her.

Luika was seated behind Olsen. His curly brown hair blocking my view and his dumb face looking at me with a confused one. I leaned to the right to take a good look at her but Olsen leaned in the same direction.

"What are you looking at?" We made eye contact and I sighed. I shoved him and his grilled cheese over and stared at her.

Her hair was black with her eyes to match. Her lips heart shaped and slightly tinted fuchsia. There was a glint on her neck as well as the tinge of gold wrapped around her neck. The chain dropped to the middle of her collarbone coupled with a jade pendant. The shape was something I couldn't recognize from the distance.

"Hey." Olsen's face popped back to my mind.

"What is it?" I almost stuttered, I realized how long I had been staring at her. Olsen gestured with his head.

"Might as well go talk to her if you're gonna stare at her for that long. Plus, you'll be able to see her better." He strained his smile.

"I don't know, we're only in the same class. is it too weird to just go up to her?" I contemplated and questioned the rationale.

"Isn't that how you talk to people?" Olsen asked.

"Spit on you, Olsen." I mustered up the courage but hesitated to stand up.

My hands were trembling along with my heart. I've never felt it beat with such intensity before and I looked to Olsen for help.

"I don't think I can do it." I couldn't handle the feeling my stomach gave me, is this normal?

"You know what? You can't do this, you don't have the balls." He wiped his hands on a napkin from his lunchbox.

"You're too weak to do anything. Like what happened in your grandmas house. You can't do anything." His words made my blood boil. I stood up in protest to his words and walked in front of Luika.

"Hey," I said confidently.

"Leon, right?" She asked innocently.

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask how you're doing after what happened in class earlier." I sat down in front of her. I could feel Olsen coughing behind me.

"Oh, I'm okay. It's nothing serious really. I just have my own beliefs that clashes with… everything." She said shrugging it off, but I knew she was in the same boat as my grandma, Olsen and I.

"If you need anyone to talk to I'm open to anything." I tried to see if she was willing to talk, but she seemed uncomfortable or uncertain.

"Thanks, I'll see you around." She said dryly before picking up her bag and walking off. I suddenly wanted to punch myself. I forgot to ask for her contacts.

"That was ice." Olsen threw his feet beside me and I turned around burying my head in my head.

"That was definitely ice." I shook my head.

"I shouldn't have done that." I muttered and took a deep breathe looking in the direction she left.

"At least my reverse psychology worked." I scoffed at his words.

"Shut your face."

It was the end of the day, Olsen and I waited at the stairs for Xin just incase she would show up.

"You think she's going to come?" I asked Olsen looking out at the park from the window.

"Maybe. It's not like her to be acting this way and she's not telling us." He scrolled on his tablet while sitting on the staircase.

"Hey!" We heard a voice at the top of the stair.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't meet at lunch. I needed to finish up… an essay." She hesitated and rushed down the stairs breathlessly speaking.

"We thought you got arrested or something." Olsen said with a stoned face.

"Nope! Let's head home."

While we were walking Xin had her tablet in her hand and she anxiously kept checking it every minute.

"You know what was so ice? Leon tried talking to a girl and she left him like right after." Olsen smiled brightly, his eyes changing into a charming shape to match.

Xin looked up and started rapidly typing, her hands shakily moving.

"Hey, Xin. Are you alright?" I asked taking a step closer.

"Don't touch me." She instantly spoke. I backed up startled.

"I'm sorry, guys. My family, we need the money." She showed her screen and a picture of Olsen smiling luminous on the device. Tears started streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

"Xin you snake!" I yelled at her. I looked at Olsen and his face was drained of colour, he stood in silence at the screen. My heart pounded and I pulled the string of his bag.

"Come on we have to leave." Olsen and I started running towards my grandma's house.

I could barely think straight, the picture of Olsen on Xin's tablet engraved in my mind. My face felt hot coupled with the sweat of my palms.

"What are we going to do?!" Olsen asked breathlessly.

"We'll figure it out." I honestly didn't know, once you're reported with evidence you're already a criminal. I didn't want to tell Olsen, it's going to definitely freak him out.

"Grandma! Ma!" We burst into the house and locked the door behind us.

"What's going on?" She stood at the entrance with a shocked expression plastered on her rosy face.

"It's Xin! S-she ratted on me! She sent a report about me!" Olsen started to heavily breath and fiddle with his fingers.

"What are we going to do? What- what should we do?" He didn't know where to place his hands. He touched his head, rubbed the back of his neck and scratched his nose. Grandma looked at us.

"Listen, both of you. Go upstairs and pack what you can." She rummaged through the entrance closet and pulled out a black backpack.

"I'll pack too." She opened the bag and shook it in the air.

"What?" I looked at her I could feel the panic in her voice.

"Just pack up, and meet me here in twenty minutes you hear me? Hurry up." She spoke in a serious voice. The same one as when the men came into our house.

I pulled Olsen upstairs and we started packing some clothes into our backpacks. I came across a picture of Olsen, Xin and I. Our faces in a frown for the photo.

"Hey, there's no time for that. Just leave it." Olsen barked at me. I looked at the picture one last time and shoved it back into my drawer.

"Boys!" I heard my grandma yell from downstairs.

We headed down at her call and she both handed us a bag.

"What's this?" I felt around the bag. It was pretty heavy.

"It's food. Put it in your bags." She tightened her backpack and handed us hats.

"Put these on. It's to hide yourselves." Grandma pulled her bun out and her hair coiled into soft curls. Her grey hairs amist her black hair slightly above her shoulders.

"Through the back door." We went through our backyard and grandma looked at the house.

"You okay, ma?" I asked looking at her droopy eyes.

"Should I set the house on fire?" I was taken aback by her words.

"I sent someone to take care of the place while we're gone but, I don't know." She placed her hand on her chin in deep thought.

"What? Let's just go!" Olsen rushed us.

"Oh right, okay. Let's move."

We reached the end of the compound and walked through a small path in the bushes. It brought us to an opening in the fence. On closer inspection it was evident maintenance has tried to seal the abrasion multiple times but others have found and made their way through making a permanent hole. On the other side was a steep but short drop to the train tracks. Grandma slid down first.

"Becareful on the way down." She dusted herself off and watched us go down the small hill. I could tell she had this planned out for a while, I wonder how long exactly.

The tracks were old. It was mostly unused due to the advance development of other transportation methods. There were rarely trains that actually came on these tracks. But walking along them I saw it up close. Wood and metal made the pathways bumpy and I stared at my grandmothers back.

"What's going to happen to me? I just wanted to smile." I heard Olsen's voice crack he was on the verge of tears.

"What about my parents? Will they be alright if I leave? What's going to happen to them?" He tapped his finger on the side of his backpack, clutching his straps. I pulled my collar out to breathe.

"I'll take care of everything, boys. Don't worry and just trust me." She spoke without looking back and we continued walking.

"What are we doing, ma?" I asked her trying to walk in her pace. But I wasn't used to walking at her speed.

"We're escaping." She kept her words short and direct.

"You boys need to stop asking questions and be quiet. For all we know we could be wanted right now." She sighed at our constant questioning.

"All you need to know, is we're leaving and we're staying low. I'll answer everything when we get there." Olsen and I stayed quiet.

"Take this seriously, you both know we could die. That's why we're leaving. We're escaping death right now."

"But where to? Where can we possible go that's free from death?" Olsen asked in panic.

"You know the myth." She grinned.

"Myth… don't tell me." My eyes brightened up in disbelief. My grandma turned to face us and her words made me shiver.

"We're going to Hesteria."