Born 01 - Born

next level slowly.
    I hear men's voices above me. "What the hell is this?" They sound like they're right on top of me.
    "She was here."
    I hear the old woman's voice. I feel cheated and betrayed. For trade, she would sell me out. Sell me out to the farms. I know humanity is a disgusting disappointment, but I still have a hard time imagining a woman turning another woman into the farms.
    "She was here, please. Let him just come home for a few days."
    I continue down the stairs, feeling for each step with my toes. It feels like an eternity has passed by the time I reach the bottom. The voices are gone. Replacing them is a dripping sound and dank cold air. The kind that can only be found underground.
    I look into the darkness. "This was your house, wasn’t it?" I whisper.
    "You guessed it, kid. My husband had this installed when we built the house. He worked for the CIA."
    I feel her hand grip mine again and pull me. "The ground is flat. We have to hurry."
    I am stunned that no one knows about her underground bunker. Not as stunned as I am that she is helping me.
    "You could have sold me to them."
    I feel her grip my fingers. Her voice has changed. "They have no right. No right to do what they're doing." I feel her fingers on my shoulders, gripping into them as she shakes me. "You must hurry. Don't come back here. The girls all get taken. The hunters are dressed up as traders but they're not. Run. Feel your fingers along the wall until you feel a ladder. When the sun rises, you'll see light in the ceiling. Climb up there. It’s a latch. I have to get back."
    She is gone before I can even thank her. I am alone in the dark.
    The fear is crippling me. I reach a trembling hand out into the darkness. Cold, hard stone meets me somewhere in the black. I run my fingers along it, running as best as I can.
    I'm scared. I hate being scared. I decide I need a rule about being scared and doing things that make me scared. I run until I reach the ladder. I hold the cold metal, staring up until I see the ring of light up ahead. It casts a dull beam in the shape of a circle on the floor. The morning sun has risen. I've slept later than I thought I would have. I should have been halfway home by the time the sun came up.
    I feel like I'm stepping into a magical light, like in the movies I watched with my Granny. The dark of the bunker is held at bay by the tiny ring of light. Dust sparkles inside of the ring.
    I reach my trembling fingers through it, making the dust dance in the light.
    I look up at the ring of light. I climb until my head is at the wooden hatch. I listen to the silence. Nothing makes a sound. I don’t want to open the hatch. I want to hide in the dark of the bunker and never come out.
    I hear a whisper on the wind. It's a sound I would know anywhere. It isn’t close to my location, but it hurts me just the same. It could be me.
    I take a breath and put my hand on the bottom of the hatch. I try to calm the shakes, but I can't. I push on the hatch. Light floods the small space even though the crack is tiny. My eyes adjust to the bright morning light. The sun hasn’t completely risen, just as the moon hasn’t fully set. It is dawn.
    I see greenery everywhere around the hatch. Moss and brush surround me. I don’t see anything, but the sounds of the screams have filled up the air. The animals make no noises, as the people have taken over the space with their screams again.
    "Puuleeease. Please. Stop, please. I have money. I have riches."
    Her voice scares me. The desperation frightens me. I have never been that desperate but I know I have it in me.
    "Please, sir, please. Don't you have a sister or a wife that you would want kept safe. Please. I'll let you do whatever you want, please just don’t take me. Don't take me back there. I will die in there. Please."
    I want to rock back and forth on the ground. I wish they would just kill her so she will shut up.
    I'm frozen. I don’t leave my bunker, but I don’t close the lid either. I don’t move.
    I know I'm in danger. I take a deep breath. I think about Leo and Jake. I think of poor Anna alone and taking care of Jake. I feel bravery, or stupidity, for the smallest of seconds. I pull myself out of the bunker and slide along the moss and brush. I make very little noise but every movement or rustle feels as loud as a gunshot. I creep along the ground on my hands and feet like Leo does. I move away from the town. I don’t know where I am, but I'm scared.
    I get to a