The Protector

Sarah stood in her little two room unit looking out the window. It was starting to rain and with very few streetlights, the city is black and gloomy. Even though it has been years since the war ended, going out at night could mean the end of your life. The war has left the world in ruins.

The rumors say there are pockets of freedom around the world; but even those are starting to lose to the dictators who control the world now. In this city there are public whippings for small infractions of the law. The police are allowed to shoot you right on the sidewalk with no questions asked. This is how we live now. Food is rationed; the fear of being shot, whipped, or imprisoned for the smallest infraction of their laws.

It is the same thing every day, get up and go to work. If you are lucky, you only work 10 hours a day, six days a week. You don not even get paid! Instead, you get a small unit and on payday you get one week's rations of food, water, and milk; anything else you have to barter for on the black market. Anyone not working is homeless.

All of a sudden there was a knock on her door. Sarah spun around quickly; who can possibly be knocking at 3 a.m.? There was another knock, and she ran to the door and looked through the peep hole but did not see anyone.

She asked, “Who is it?”

A male voice said, “Open the door before someone calls the police.”

Sarah opens the door, and her eyes grew wide she as grabbed the man and pull him inside.

“Oh my God, I thought you were dead!” Sarah said as she gave the chunky old man a hug.

“No, I am alive, and I bring news.” the man said.

“News from who?” Sarah asked.

“From your grandmother” the man replied.

Sarah stumbled backwards and landed on her small couch.

Sarah said, “She's dead! I saw her name on a list three or four years ago and it said she was shot as a traitor!”

“No, she is quite healthy and doing good and I am still her Pastor. There is only about a hundred people where she lives. As for her being dead that's just more propaganda from the government to keep you and everyone else in fear so they can control you.” the man said.

“It works!” Sarah said.

“Yes, it works very well, but the reason I am here is your grandmother needs to see you right away.” The Pastor said.

“Why?” Sarah asked. Sarah looked confused and asked, “what's wrong?”

“It is not her; it is you Sarah” Pastor John said. Sarah just sat there with a puzzled look on her face.

“I was surprised too, but when your grandmother explained I said OKAY” Pastor John said.

“How am I going to get there?” Sarah asked.

“Do not worry my child; I have taken care of everything.” he said. Pastor John then walked to the window and shined a flashlight out the window. Within seconds there was a knock on the door. Pastor John opened the door, and three policemen came in.

Sarah looked as if she just saw a ghost! Two of the policemen looked familiar. They were a couple of years older than her. The third policeman was about the same age as Pastor John.

Sarah stood up and demanded “Is this some kind of a joke? The anger in her voice was almost visible in the room.

“No, it's not!” exclaimed the older officer.

“In order to get you out of the city your tracker has to think you are dead. I will give you a shot that will disable the tracker,” The older officer explained.

“As soon as the tracker turns itself off, I will give you another shot to revive you; so, you will not actually die. Then the three of us will escort you to the edge of the city.” the older officer continued.

“Wait! Who are you three?” Sarah said.

Pastor John replied “The first man is Thomas who was three years ahead of you in Sunday School. Next to him is his friend Peter, and the older gentleman is Joseph who is Thomas's father.”

Joseph said, “Everyday more and more cops are turning against the government.”

When Sarah woke up, she was in a truck with her three new friends and Pastor John. As the truck was slowing down Joseph said, “We are at the edge of the city.”

The truck stopped and Joseph asked, “Do you remembered the way Pastor?”

And the Pastor replied, “Yes I remember.”

Sarah and Pastor John got out of the truck and ran to a car that was waiting for them. It took them until the next morning to get to the town where Sarah's grandmother lived. When they got there, Sarah got out of the car and ran to her grandmother and hugged her! Sarah was amazed at all the beauty outside the city. In the city there was no flowers no trees extraordinarily little grass. The government said that all that stuff causes and spreads disease and sickness and distracted people from their jobs.

Sarah, her grandmother, and Pastor John went in the house. Gram made a pot of coffee and it smelled good!

“I have not smelled coffee like that since I was a little girl.” Sarah said.

In the conversation of getting caught up on all that has happened, Sarah learned that there were several large pockets of free states left. The government controlled all the rest including the Territory between the free states and that the government was slowly taking territory away from the free states themselves.

Sarah also learned that Pastor John was one of several people that could easily smuggle things in and out of the city with the help of the police he has befriended. After dinner Pastor John said he had to leave, and Gram escorted him to the door.

Gram said, “I am going to run your bathwater to relax you after your long trip from the city that rations water usage.”

Sarah was shocked because she only got about a five-minute shower every day and that was it.

Gram I said, “There is no water shortage or food shortage now. Before the destruction caused by the great war, there were approximately 8 billion people living on the planet. Now it is estimated to be about 100 million people on the planet. The only shortages are the ones the dictators create.

Grandma showed me to my room my bedroom, its size could hold my entire unit in the city.

After my bath gram told me to get a good night sleep, she had a lot we had to talk about tomorrow and stuff she had to show me.

That night Sarah had dreams of the city. It was dark and gloomy, and the police were dressed in all black with machine guns. They walked around in groups of three and they would randomly pick people to search and check their ID’s.

Then her dreams switched over to beautiful mountains that were bigger than where her grandmother lived. In the morning when she woke up, she smelled something funny. She was not sure if it was burning or not, so she ran out of her room screaming “Gram what's that smell?”

Her Gram just laughed and replied, “It's breakfast cooking. Have a seat and I will give you some. Sarah sat at the table while Gram served her breakfast of eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Sarah looked surprised because the last time she remembered seeing bacon was a when she was a little girl before the war when she was 10 years old. The eggs she only saw once in a blue moon now.

Sarah looks at that plate and smiled “Wow they're not metal like we have in the city.”

Gram laughed and replied, “No Child, this is not the city.”

When Sarah was done eating, she went back to her bedroom and put on some new clothes that her grandmother bought her in bright colors not the gray dingy ones they had in the city. These clothes actually fit her.

When she was done getting dressed her and her gram were sitting at the table there was a loud knock on the door Sarah jumped. Gram told her to relax. Gram walked over and opened the door and said come in. It was Pastor John and another young guy who looked to be just short of six feet tall, dark brown hair, and not skinny like all the other guys in the city. Gram introduced him as Nick.

Gram invited Pastor John and Nick join her and Sarah for some coffee. When they were done, Gram suggested Nick takes Sarah for a walk so she can see what a free world is really like.

Nick said “Sure”, and he walked over to Sarah held out his hand and said, “My lady would you like to take a walk with me?”

Sarah said blushingly, “Sure.”

Gram and Pastor John laughed as Nick and Sarah headed out the door.

Pastor John asked, “Have you said anything to her yet?

Gram responded, No, I will do that after dinner.”

Pastor John replied, “Okay”.

When Sarah returned, she sat down at the table and asked Gram, “Is there anything cold to drink?”

Her Gram replied, “Yes, help yourself; it's in the fridge.”

Sarah walked over to the fridge, opened it and her eyes got huge!

Sarah said, “I can't believe you have all this food and drink! This is twice as much as I get in a month with my rations.”

Then Sarah asked, “What’s for dinner?”

Gram replied, “I am making a small roast beef, mashed potatoes, and vegetables.”

Sarah said, “That sounds great!”

After dinner Gram and Sarah sat in the living room where there was a big black cloth bag.

Gram said, “It is time you learned the truth about the family. Our family is about 3000 years old; it has all been documented in this book.”

Gram pulled a big book out the bag containing the history of the family.

She passed the book over to Sarah.

Gram explained that she is the holder, and that the holder has to write her life story down from birth until she feels the time is right to pass the book on before she dies. The holder passes the family Secret down from Grandmother to oldest granddaughter.

Gram continued with the story of the holder. She then took a necklace from around her neck and held it up so Sarah could see it was a beautiful heart-shaped necklace. Sarah's grandmother then cupped the necklace in her hand; she lowered her forehead to touch the necklace. She then said, “Keeper of light show me the way to safely home”. When she lifted her head, the necklace was glowing a bright ruby red; when she moved her hands from left to the right the light from the necklace got dimmer.

Gram said, “You always follow the direction that is the brightest when it glows, where will it take me; that I do not know. The only thing we know is a little note beginning from the first holder and it says when the time is right following the light will take you safely home. Nobody knows where it is or what you will have to do when you get there but whatever it is will save the planet and the good people on it.”

Pastor John and Nick returned, and Gram explained that every holder has a protector, and Nick is Sarah’s protector. He is to protect her until the day of her natural passing just like Pastor John has been Gram’s protector for the last 60 years.

Sarah and Nick began their journey the next morning.