The Blacksmith

I never expected our country to turn out like this. It was once a peaceful place with birds singing, children laughing and parents enjoying their cup of coffee during a rainy day. That all changed when General Blacksmith took charge. General Blacksmith was cruel and evil. He let the power get to his head and it blinded him from seeing the truth. It blinded him from seeing he could truly make a change in the world we lived in. He changed our once peaceful country into a dystopia. Filled with chaos and dangerous things at night. Rules changed. Guards roamed the streets at night. Parents separated from their children. Everything was changing. All because of the blacksmith.

"Bailey" Said my mother, "Are you prepared to go to school?"

I nodded, dressed up in my school uniform, black and blue from head to toe. "Yes, mother." I replied.

Mother handed me a jacket and my backpack, filled with school supplies and the items needed for class that day. I gave her a hug and she hugged back. Never knowing if we would see each other again.

In a place like New Slandsca, you never know if you're going to see your parents again. My father, David was taken from us on my 15th birthday last year, leaving my mom to watch myself and my younger brother Philip. My mother is the strongest woman I know and I was determined to grow up and be as strong and brave as her.

"Off to school then." My mother said I was about to leave, when she stopped me. "Bailey, hold on a moment." I waited in place, my heart pounding. Mother came back, holding a heart-shaped locket. "This was your grandfather's." She said, "He told me to give this to you when you were born, before General Blacksmith took over and turned New Slandsca into a place it was never meant to be."

"Thank you, mother." I said.

"The tale of that locket is that it's supposed to protect you from all things unknown or dangerous." Mother told me, "I don't know if we'll see each other after today, but if we do not. wear that locket and run. Take your brother with you. Do not look back and be aware of the Blacksmith's guards. They lurk around every corner and if they catch you, they will kill you."

"I understand, mother." I replied.

She kissed me on the head, "Good girl." She said, "Now go off to school." she told me.

I nodded and walked out of the door and walked to my school which was nearby. I was walking when I ran into one of the blacksmith's guards.

"Halt." He said, "Who goes there?"

"Bailey 9622, sir." I said..

When the blacksmith took over, he made us get rid of our last names and made us replace them with numbers. Numbers he specifically chose. Nobody knew why he decided to give us numbers and replace our last names with numbers, but all we knew was to shut up and not ask questions when stopped by one of the blacksmith's guards.

"I see." The guard said, "And where are you off to, Miss Bailey 9622?"

"I'm heading to school, sir." I replied, "Location 7753."

"Location 7753 is under construction." The guard said, "Please return to your home."

I was about to speak again, but then I remembered my father's words.

When worse comes to worse, simply nod your head and say yes sir.

"Yes sir." I said, I turned back around and went back to my house.

As I was walking back, I heard the screams of my mother. I hid behind the lamp post and watched as the guards took my mother away from us. I looked around and made sure there was nobody else there before running into the house.

"Philip." I said. "We need to leave, now."

"But what about mommy?" My 12 year old brother asked.

"Mother said if she gets taken from us, we must run, we need to get out of New Slandsca, If we can make it past the country stateline, the guards won't be able to do anything to us." I said as I ran around the house, collecting whatever little things I could find.

"Okay." Philip said, not willing to argue, knowing very well that this situation would have possibly happened again.

I finished gathering our items, which mainly consisted of food and water. I shoved them all into a backpack and grabbed Philip's hand. We left the house, not willing to look back.

"Okay, Philip, I need you to listen to me very carefully." I said, "If we were to be separated, I need you to run, okay? I need you to run as far away from here as you can. You'll know when you're out of New Slandsca. You will be safe once you cross the country's state line. Find a safe space and I promise I will find you. Okay?"

"But Bailey-" He said. I cut him off, taking his hand into mine.

"I need you to run." I said, "Is that clear?"

Philip nodded his head. Then we began our journey to escape the country we once loved. Now taken over by a man with too much power in his head.

We kept walking, avoiding every guard we saw. We had to stop a couple of times, hiding in abandoned gas stations and buildings. Hiding in an abandoned school house to take breaks. I had stolen some cash from my father's safe to spare us a little bit of money.

We had left one night but we were stopped by a guard.

"Halt." The guard said, flashing his flashlight right in our faces, "Who goes there?"

"Bailey 9622 and Philip 9622." I said, "Of Location 7753."

"And where are you off to, Bailey and Philip 9622?" The guard asked.

"We're just wandering." I lied.

"Wandering?" The guard said, "You children realize it's 21:00, meaning it's way past curfew." He said, "And you children are violating the blacksmith's law."

"Run Philip!" I said.

Philip and I ran off, ignoring the guards calling us. The guards chased us but Philip and I hid in an abandoned old school house. We ended up staying there overnight and the following morning, we continued to roam the streets, running and hiding from every single guard in sight.

As we were walking, my locket started to glow.

"Bailey." Philip said, "Your locket, it's glowing."

"We need to hide." I said, pulling my brother into an old abandoned shop.

"What's going on?" My brother asked.

"Okay, so we have a secret and mother made me promise not to tell you until you are much older, but we're on the run now and we need to be more careful." I said.

"Tell me what?" Philip asked.

"Our great grandfather was a wizard." I said, "He passed down his genetics down to us. The sons and daughters of our great grandfather inherited his abilities and it was passed down for generations."

"So we're wizards?" Philip asked.

I nodded, "Yes." I said, "And this locket?" I said, showing him the heart shaped locket I wore, "This locket is meant to protect us. Mother believes it carries grandfather's spirit."

"I understand now." Philip said.

"Now we need to get going, it's going to be sunrise soon and it will be much harder to avoid the guards."

Philip and I snuck out of the absconded store and began walking. We grabbed a couple more water bottles and food from the store and continued walking. Once we saw the country state line, we knew we were close to safety.

"Halt." Said a guard, "Who goes there?"

Philip and I turned around and my jaw dropped.

"Dad?"