Chapter 16: The Beginning

September 3, 2053

9:23 PM

Dear Diary,

Haine, Axel, Lexa, Leon, Braun, the two rebels Braun and I were traveling with, and me. We're all currently staying in a damp little cabin hidden away in the Black Forest. The cabin itself is growing moss and other things on the outside, plus the trees and bushes surrounding it; it's almost impossible to find if you don't know the location of it in the first place. There's a fireplace, but we can't risk lighting a fire and getting caught. But the cold is the last thing on my mind.

Lucy has been captured. Lucy, one of the kindest and most helpful people I know. I...I don't even know how to react. Axel and Lexa keep saying, "I wonder what they're doing to her...". Everytime they say that, I can't help but sneek a peek over at Braun. And always, he has that calm and calculated expression on his face, like he's in another world. I feel sick to the stomach when I think about Lucy being at one of those camps...all I can do is hope she's safe...

Leon has been working on some weird, ancient transmitter. Even though it's old, it's pretty similar to a walkie talkie I had once, so I've been helping him. Axel and Lexa have been helping too. They say I'm pretty good with mechanics, which makes me happy coming from them (though I don't think it's true). Leon and Braun have been working all day, sending out some secret messages with the transmitter. It's interesting to listen to Braun constantly switch languages; English, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, and a few others I wasn't able to place. I don't know what Leon is planning, but I know it's something big.

Then there's Haine...he's been so quiet lately. Which isn't something new, but...this is a different sort of silence. I can't really explain it. It's like...he's acting as if he doesn't care, but I know it's the total opposite. Because of this, Axel and Lexa have been pretty cold towards him. They think he doesn't care about Lucy, but that's a lie. I want to comfort him somehow, but...at the same time I don't want to bring his hopes up too high...

Is that cruel?

~~

I stare at what I've just written and sigh. "Of course it is." I scribble down then shut my diary.

"Is that a diary?" Leon asks, sneaking up behind me. I jump then turn to face him. Axel, Lexa and Braun are keeping watch outside and Haine went for a walk. I'm alone in the cabin with Leon and the two other rebels that don't speak any English. 

"Um...yeah." I say, placing it back in my traveling bag. I think about Braun and how he told me Leon doesn't like secrets being kept from him. Is he angry about the diary? Is he going to demand I let him read it?

"What do you write about?" Leon asks, taking a seat beside me. 

"Anything, I guess." I begin. "Things that are going on, how I feel...a lot of things." Leon nods then suddenly blushes.

"Er..." He begins, scratching his cheek. "Have you...written anything about me...?" I blink in confusion and tilt my head to the side. 

"What do you mea--" I begin.

"N-no, nothing!" Leon stutters, becoming flustered. "I didn't mean anything! Forget it!" The two rebels look at us from a cross the room then grin at each other. They whisper to each other in German and I blush when I pick out the word "liebe" - love. Leon becomes a dark shade of red and begins yelling at them. The front door creaks from across the room and Haine pops his head inside. Our eyes lock and he beckons me over with a wave of his hand. Hesitantly, I pick myself up and make my way over to him, feeling Leon's stare locked onto us the whole time.

"...Want to go for a walk?" Haine asks and for a moment, I'm so surprised by his words I just stand there letting them sink in.

"Oh!" I blush, snapping myself out of shock. "Yeah, sure." He turns and I follow him out and into the quiet forest.

I promised a shorter chapter this time around, so here ya go! ^^- Thanks a bunch for reading! The next chapter will actually have progression in the story, haha. ^^;;