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The Oppression
By E.B. Keane-Farrell
Calm, autumn leaves were falling, their piercing green changed to the brittle colors of autumn. I exited the fading, moss-green, metal doors of my school and began walking down the chipped stone steps. A whorl of wind picked up, peppering me with sand and leaves. I drew my coat tightly, feeling involuntary shivers pierce me. I looked to the left, where various students were waiting anxiously for the bus to come; to the right, where others were languidly strolling along, laughing and shoving each other playfully. I turned back to scan the high school’s facade; a constant stream of students filed out of the doors. From the relieved looks on their faces, I could tell that the weekend couldn’t have come fast enough.
But now it was here, and it was time to revel in the glory of completing a week. In two days, the same disappointment would be dredged up, and the multitude would drag their feet to the school, waiting for Monday to turn into Tuesday, which would slip into Wednesday, and eventually Friday would arrive, come to a close, and bring this same joy to everyone’s being.
For now, all I could do was walk briskly home, free of all the pain and worry of school, and not care until Sunday evening when I realize that I forgot my algebra book in my locker. Those thoughts wouldn’t faze me now, though.
“Luella!” called a bright, chipper voice, and I felt myself tense up. I ordered my feet to keep walking; I knew that voice, and I knew who it belonged to: Sally Squire. I did not want to talk to her now.
Sally Squire is a nice girl. Very naïve and socially awkward, but nice all the same. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to be with her, because when you want to be alone – like I did now – she always jabbers away, and she can turn a molehill into a mountain by just snapping her fingers. She’s in my grade and very intelligent, but doesn’t know how to handle herself when with other people. I try to be nice to her, and would never publicly snub her, but in a crowded area, it’s surprisingly easy not to hear someone call your name, even when you’re the only one in the school who has it.
“Luella! Luella! Luella Blank!” she yelled as I picked up my pace, feeling guilty at leaving her behind. All the same, I cursed my ancestors and her for using such an atrocious surname. I won’t deny that it has caused one too many teasing comments; I have sometimes lost control of my temper and verbally lashed out. That’s why I like keeping to myself, so I won’t get angry at anyone.
“Luella Luella Lu-el-laaa!” she shouted, ending the last call like a groan. I took a sharp right and entered the woods. Some mind find this an odd way to get home – woods and forests have always represented mistrust and the unknown – but it was a quick detour. I avoided all traffic and streets, following a path, beaten down by my own feet, to my backyard.
This pathway was fifteen minutes long, so I reached into my schoolbag and pulled out my iPod. I began untangling the earplug wires, automatically walking along. I was taken totally by surprise when a figure leaped in front of me and shouted gleefully, “Hi, Luella!”
I fumbled with my iPod, my heart pounding with shock. I looked up to see a short girl with chestnut colored hair smiling up at me, her honey-colored eyes boring into mine. I can image that I probably looked very startled; people have reported that my eyes grow very wide and round when I’m caught off guard.
“Hello, Sally,” I greeted stiffly, wrapping the wires around my iPod and stowing it back in my messenger bag. “Ah…what are you doing here?”
“I want to show you something,” she told me happily, bouncing up and down. “Come with me!” She grabbed my wrist and began dragging me east, the total opposite way of my home.
“Um, really, Sally, can’t this wait?” I asked pleadingly. “I’ve got to get home…”
“It won’t take long,” she replied, and there was a touch of impatience in her voice. By nature and necessity, I’m an observer; she really wanted to show me something, and it would be best to comply and ask questions later. Even though I hated being left in the dark about things, I knew that she would never tell me.
“Okay. I’ll go with you.”
Sally grinned, and I began to walk willingly next to her. She relinquished her grip on my wrist and she strode ahead of me, eyes darting at the trees, as though she was looking for a specific one. For the first time since I’ve known her, Sally was completely silent. Even her footsteps seemed to make no noise.
“Come here.” She beckoned towards a tree, stepping forward. For some reason, she was whispering.
“What are we doing?” I asked in an equally quiet voice. She approached the tree and laid her head against her, fixating her body as though she was hugging it. She motioned for me to join her; I did so tentatively. She grabbed my hand and closed her eyes. After a moment, I did too. “What are we doing?” I repeated.
“Just let yourself sink in,” she murmured from my left. This instruction did not make much sense to me, but I accept it, trying to figure out a way of how to allow myself to “sink in” to a tree. After a few moments, a strange sensation swept over me, like I was slowly falling sideways into a cold pool, but I was not getting wet. I tried to open my eyes, but I was unsure whether I did or not: it was too dark to tell. Without warning, I slammed into something, which forced my eyes shut through pain.
“Open your eyes,” ordered Sally, letting go of my hand and standing up. I obeyed her, scrambling to my feet also, trying to drink in the odd sight.
Sally and I, who had been tree-hugging just a moment ago, were now in a large, cathedral-sized cave. The top extended very far up; there was a spot of light what seemed to be miles above us. Forward and to the right was a yawning, dark tunnel; I made to head to it, but Sally grabbed my shoulder. “Don’t, Luella,” she told me, urgency in her eyes. I stayed my movements; she held up a finger, indicating that I should wait, and scampered off into a darkened corner. I turned a full circle, looking for some rational explanation as to how I had gotten into here; there was none. There were no exits, except through the tunnel Sally had stopped me from going through. My head was spinning; ‘This can’t be possible,’ I thought desperately. ‘No, not with Sally Squire…she simply…’ But what she simply was, I couldn’t conjure. My brain was too full to think of anything logical.
“Luella? You okay?”
I whipped around, my heart pumping, but it was only Sally. She was holding two oblong objects in either hand. She gave one to me, and, upon closer inspection, I let out a gasp.
“Sally! This is – my God!” I had to bite my tongue to stem a heavy flow of colorful words. “What are you doing with a—a sword?”
Sally took her own sword, sliding it casually between her belt and her jeans. “You never know what’s out there, Luella.”
I tried pushing the weapon back into her arms. “Sally, I can’t…whatever you’re doing, I can’t do it. I want out.”
Sally refused to take the sword back. “It’s too late, Luella. You’re already in.”
She took off at a brisk pace, walking towards the sheer stone wall. I gingerly tucked the sword into my own belt, feeling very self-conscious and wary. The only thing close to a weapon I had ever used was a knife, and that was for cooking. I followed Sally, feeling very edgy.
“What are we doing here?” I asked her in a low voice.
“Your world’s in danger,” she replied enigmatically.
“Great. Real original,” I muttered sarcastically. “Can you give me a simple, not cliché answer?”
Sally stopped walking and turned around to face me. In the past few minutes, she had changed from the bubbly, obnoxious girl to a solemn, mature young woman. “I’m telling you the truth, Luella. This world’s already been oppressed; yours is next. Come with me, and we can make sure that doesn’t happen.”
We had reached the other side of the cave, staring at the sheer rock face. Sally ran her fingers along the wall and, gripping into it, coltishly swung herself up, pulling hand over hand and ascending the rock. I stared, mouth open, unashamedly gaping; she looked down at me impatiently. “Come on, Luella. We haven’t all day.”
Feeling my stomach contract in fear, my put my shaking hands into the same ruts that she had and began following her ascension. As we went up, I could feel my breath getting shallower, and it was harder to breathe. I paused, taking deep, gasping breaths; Sally noticed this and called, “Don’t stop, Luella, and definitely don’t look down. Look up; see?” She pointed to the speck of light, which had grown larger as we had gone higher. “That’s our destination.” Sally was having a very easy job of climbing. When I asked her how she was able to do this, she smiled mysteriously. “It’s because I’m the Squirrel and you’re the Cougar.”
I decided to ask no more questions. That response was confusing enough, and was obviously not a real answer.
My bones were aching, and my joints weary; sweat was causing my clothes to stick to my skin, and my mouth was dry. Just when I was going to ask Sally how much longer, she had pulled herself onto a ledge that extended around the speck of light. But it was no longer just a speck; it was clearly an entranceway. She grabbed my arm and, with surprising strength, helped me onto the ledge. We paused briefly to catch our breath, and then she strode confidently into the entry. I followed her, and for a moment the light was blinding me. When I regained my sight, I was in a room, much smaller than the previous one, but approximately the size of two classrooms. I was able to register the pressing darkness and the shuffling feet before I was hit on the back on the head…
…and I woke up, my skull throbbing. I reflexively moved to push myself into an upright position, but my hands were tied with rope and my sword was on the ground several feet away.
“She’s awake!” shouted a raspy voice. I was in the same room, but it was now light by ethereal means. I squirmed around enough to get on my back and sit myself up; I was surrounded by four androgynous-looking beings, with tattered clothing and shortly cropped hair. Sally was standing a few yards behind them, her hands also tied, but only guarded by one of the beings.
One of the androgynous beings grabbed me roughly at the collar, dragging me to my feet. I was too frightened to resist.
“You’re Luella Blank, aren’t you?” it snarled, glaring me in the eyes.
“Y-yes,” I squeaked, darting a glance at Sally. She looked disgruntled and defeated, but far from afraid.
“I’m taking you to see Her,” it told me, dropping me forcefully to the ground. It grabbed the rope around my wrists, unwinding it a bit and holding it like a leash. It pulled on the leash, jerking me onto my feet. It dragged me to the other side of the room, which was much dimmer than where I had just been. However, through the gloom, I could make out enough to make me gasp.
There was a large, stone chair, seemingly carved from the rock wall, and, sitting in it, was a woman. Her hair was black and wiry, her face the color of a pumpkin, but that was the least odd part: her body was that of a snakes. She had thin arms protruding, but no legs. Around what seemed to be the middle of her body was a sheathed sword, attached by a belt.
She sat in the chair, tail coiled around her body, observing me with wide, eccentric eyes. She nose seemed nonexistent; her lips were wide, with fangs protruding over them. Standing next to her chair was a handsome boy with dirty-blonde hair. He looked worn and starved, as though he had been imprisoned for a very long time. His wrists, too, were bound, just like mine and Sally’s.
“Ees zis ’er?” she rasped, in a throaty and wheezy voice. The androgynous being threw me to my knees in front of the snake woman.
“Yes, Milady, it is.”
She turned to me. “Joo are a foony being. I vill let you get rid of ze rope. Joo!” She pointed at another of my guards. “Get ’er zword, and get zee Squirrel.” She looked back at me, chuckling evilly as the guard obeyed her orders. “Bezides, vhat gud is a predator vithou’ eets prey?”
Soon, the being was back and had cut through my ropes. Sally was with him, with her captor.
“We had a deal,” she snarled at the snake woman. “I was to bring you Luella, and you would not oppress me like you did to my people! This is unjust!”
The snake woman waved a hand irritably. “Arr, joo are theenkin’ I am dumb, or I break promize? Not true. I vill ’elp joo. I vill let joo make new life, wiv hoo-mawns. But I vill not let joo until I know she true Luella Blank, not random girl.”
I was now rubbing my wrists, trying to nurse them of the burn. I didn’t understand what was going on, except that this woman knew my name, and Sally had purposely brought me here. I had no clue as to her true reasoning, but I knew that this was a very dangerous situation.
The boy standing next to the woman looked at me. His eyes were fraught with grief and despair, but when ours met, something happened. He seemed to change completely, as though hope had been imbued into him. And, suddenly, I knew: whatever he expected of me, I couldn’t let him down. That would mean letting the whole world down.
The snake woman turned her yellowing eyes to me, a ferocious look in them. “Joo! Joo must be kilt. Joo haff ze powah to resist me, to stop me! Eet eez spoken in old texts. Joo, Luella Blank, vill have zee powah to resist! Vell, it von’t be done! I vill be keeling you!”
She reared up, fangs bared, grabbing her sword and ready to plunge down.
“Now, Luella!” shouted the boy, looking at me desperately. “Take your sword! You can do it!”
Without thinking, I snatched my blade up from the ground where the guard had left it, next to my cut ropes, and slashed it out, straight through the snake woman’s body. She let out a terrible scream, blood gushing from her wound; I stared at her, too shocked at what I had done to react properly. She continued yelling, thrashing out her limbs, snarling at me, streams of profanity bursting forth. She swung her weapon; I managed to stumble backwards, gasping for breath. It took me a while to realize that I hadn’t been breathing.
She flailed once more before toppling over backwards. The whole event had lasted less than ten seconds; it had seemed like ten lifetimes. Her death throes had frightened me. I was unwilling to believe that she would not rise again.
“You…defeated her,” croaked one of the androgynous beings, looking shocked. “How? You lacked training, knowledge, skills…”
“The texts spoke the truth,” rasped the boy, stepping out of the shadows. He extended his hands, and I cut away his ropes. Turning to me, he explained, “In the old texts, it is stated that a girl – Luella Blank, you – will come before the Empress and defeat her. When the Empress heard of your name, she was insistent upon capturing you and confronting you.” He chuckled wryly, a hacking cough rattling his frail frame. “She did not know that, by kidnapping you, she was sealing her own fate.”
“Where are we?” I asked the boy. “What kind of place is this?”
The boy reached out a hand, gently holding my face. “Your world is not yet ready to know about us.” His hand dropped. “Not yet. Soon.”
Sally stepped forward, looking sheepish. She meekly extended her arms, expecting me to cut her free; I abstained, glaring at her angrily. She lowered her hands; she looked as if she knew she deserved my fury.
“I know you must be mad, Luella,” she began.
“Mad?!” I repeated. “Mad?! Oh, no, Sally, I’m not mad – I’m enraged! I find you detestable!”
She lowered her eyes as well. “I thought you would think this way. But, Luella, I was just trying to survive – ”
“Survive?!” I yelped, feeling my blood boil. “You were trying to survive by—by helping that thing kidnap and almost kill me?!” I stamped my foot. “You were willing to kill me to save yourself?” I laughed, but did not feel any mirth. “God, Sally. I can’t believe I actually thought you were a good person. I can’t believe I wasted my time pitying you!”
“Luella.” The boy put a frail hand on my arm. I snapped my eyes at him, wanting to continue lashing viciously at Sally with verbal assaults, but something in his eyes made me stop. Whoever – whatever – he was, he was different. Magical, even. I don’t know how, but I could just tell.
“Let me go home,” I pleaded of him. “I don’t want to be here. I want to go home.” For some reason, this was making me very tearful; I was going to turn away to wipe my eyes in private, but I knew that this boy would not mock me for crying. I blinked; the tears did not fall.
“Here,” grunted one of the guards, holding out a small, leather pouch sealed with a drawstring that had been attached to its belt. “I have this.” It handed the pouch to the boy, who took it. I was surprised by his sudden lack of suspicion; as though he read my mind, the boy looked at me and smiled.
“The Empress is gone,” he explained, “so I can trust them.” He opened the pouch and showed it to me. “I will have to throw all of this on you. Once it hits, you will go back to where you had been. You will remember this but, depending on what your brain thinks is best, you may or may not remember this as an actual event. It may just be a dream to you.”
I nodded slowly, not really understanding his words. In less than half an hour, I had entered a foreign world and freed it of a mighty Empress, yet I would not recall this as a true thing…momentarily, I debated the fairness of this, but it was too late. The boy had fully opened the pouch and tossed the entire contents at me. I reflexively put up an arm, shielding my eyes; it landed lightly on me, and the scene faded into black.
OoO
Monday came, and I felt the familiar disappointment dredge up inside of me. I dragged my feet across the ground, through the shortcut in the woods. When I emerged on the other side, I heard a chipper voice tentatively calling my name:
“Hey…Luella?”
I turned around to see Sally Squire walking towards me. She seemed very shy and afraid of me; I was probably imagining it, though. Many times I feel like my dreams influence the people in my life.
“Hi Sally. What’s up?” I greeted, trying to remain friendly. The girl may be kind of annoying and childish, but she’s sweet, in her own way.
Her smile was odd: she seemed very relieved. “Nothing. You?”
“I had a weird dream this weekend,” I told her. “You were in it. It was hilarious.”
“H-hilarious?” She looked alarmed at this description. “What did I do in—in this dream?”
I laughed. “You won’t believe it, but – you ‘betrayed’ me to this snake lady. I didn’t really get it, but it was pretty cool.”
Sally nodded slowly. “Yeah. Um, sounds cool.”
“Luella.” An elbow nudged me, and I turned to look at the tall, blonde figure of my friend, Victoria Bellum. She had snuck up next to me while I was talking to Sally. She has the strange tendency to do this. “Look at that.”
I followed to where she was pointing, and I felt my jaw drop. A tall, thin boy with dirty-blonde hair was ascending the steps to the school. I stared after him under Victoria interrupted my thoughts.
“He’s totally gorgeous,” she stated. She wasn’t kidding. She grinned at my shocked face. “He’s all yours, Luella.”
“I can introduce you to him,” suggested Sally casually. I turned to her, surprised.
“You know him? For real?”
She nodded, her small head bobbing up and down eagerly. “Yeah. Um, he’s my cousin. He just transferred here from out-of-state.”
“No way! You’d do that?”
“Of course. After all you’ve done for me, I certainly owe you one.”
As the three of us headed towards the school, blithely talking about petty things such as homework and the latest gossip, I had the distinctly odd feeling that Sally owed me for more than I could ever fathom.
