Hannah held her bag close to herself, watching with wide eyes, to large for her small face as the guards searched the children one by one. They grabbed one small boy and tore his backpack from him. Hannah began to shrink away. The men searching them were too large, too strong, to aggressive . The children were crying, trying to hold back their sobs but the men were shoving and pushing too hard. Hannah stumbled backwards, gripping the bag. She had to run. The walls, gray, black and stained with mud were too tall for her to climb. The guards were coming for her. Hannah screamed and scrambled back, her boots squelching in the mud. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, the children were too young, it wasn't the right place, justice would not be served if this happened now. No. Hannah was saying no in her mind but the word chocked in her throat like a rock was stuck there, her saliva turning sower in her mouth. The green grass in the school yard was trampled by dozens of boots, staining the once peaceful and quiet school house and it's grounds. The school house was further up the hill, burning. A woman, maybe twenty four years old was being dragged towards the children, bound hand and foot.
Hannah stared at her school teacher with round eyes, scared and confused. Why? Why? That was all she wanted to know, why. One of the guards grabbed her and tore the bag from her hands. The man was big, hard features on his face and his dark eyes almost expressionless. He dug around in the girl's bag with his large rough hands until he found what he wanted. A bible. It was a bible, the cover a dark brown. It was new, Hannah's older sister Lissa had just bought it for her on Saturday, when Hannah was baptized. The man grimaced and shoved his face close to the child's, his eyes now hot and merciless.
"Christian schools were outlawed three hours ago, bibles without a license two hours ago. Who gave this to you and when? Speak!"
Hannah jumped and stepped back. She gulped and answered slowly.
"My... My sister, yesterday. Lissa gave it to me, please... Please be careful with it, she just bought it."
Her faltering words died away as the man slammed the bible on the muddy ground, kicking it away with his boots. He shook his head.
"You and your sister, along with your parents are going to have a talk with us. Come on." his hand strayed close to her arm.
Finally the word was able to burst out, almost louder then Hannah had first intended.
"No! No, I won't go!" she said, her red hair swirling about her face as a sharp northern wind blew about her, chilling her to the bone. The poorly made coat was not warm enough.
The man grabbed her by one of her wrists and began to drag her down the path to the gate. Hannah began to scream but the man's hand grabbed her and dragged her more quickly, as if he was stealing instead of carrying out the law. He was carrying out the law, wasn't he. The police cars were parked just outside the gate. Hannah did not want to go. The rain began to fall again in force as she dug her heels in, crying out in pain as the 'policeman' twisted her arm behind her back and dragged her out of the gate, down the steps and shoved her into the hands of another man who held her as the first opened the door. Hannah was shoved in and the door was slammed behind her. Thunder crashed over head. Lightening. Lightening, thunder again. The girl did not dare look out the window. She did not want to see what the men were doing, what they were doing to her friends, to her classmates, to her teacher. Hannah sobbed into the dirty sleeve of her coat, feeling smothered in the hot car. Screams and pleading cries came from the school yard. Hannah still could not watch. She would not.
Outside the car, several men were dragging the other children towards the cars. They forced them into the awaiting cars then also did the same to the young woman. Hannah felt the car moving and felt like she needed to throw up. What was going on? Why were they doing this? What was wrong? Lissa's smiling face flashed before Hannah's eyes then the words of the older sister as she bent down and gave her the bible.
"I'm proud of you, Hanny."
The warm touch of Lissa's hand, the soft leather of the bible cover, the smiling faces of Hannah's parents. The last cherished moments with the girl's family. Ever after was a nightmare.
Hannah woke up suddenly, her eyes snapping open. Sweat dripped from her face and her clothes were drenched with it, chilling her to the bone. The poorly made blanket was not warm enough. Hannah gripped it, suddenly remembering the dream. She cast about, seeing the other beds beside her, half expecting to see her sister Lissa beside her. No, she wasn't there. She was dead, wasn't she? Hannah drew her knees up to her chin, hugging herself and shaking. She couldn't cry, not now. She was fifteen, too old to let the guards see her crying. Hannah wiped the sweat away, not warmth but heat sweeping over her as she recalled the dream. Did that really happen? Surely not. Hannah did not know. She didn't have a sister called Lissa, did she. She didn't have a sister at all. No parents, no baptism, no bible with a soft brown cover, nothing. Nothing. Hannah gulped and glanced about her again. A small room, six beds with white sheets and a single window on the west wall with white curtains that just touched the floor. The walls were gray. Gray and white, gray and white, black, then white then gray, a little green. The only drab colors Hannah was aloud to wear or see. She past a hand over her mouth, holding back a sigh. She loved and hated her nightmares, wished that she could only see her imaginary family in them and not the guards that were everywhere in her real life. It was impossible to avoid them. Hannah unclenched her fists and slowly lay back down, staring up at the gray ceiling. Oh how she hated that ceiling, for no apparent reason other then that it was gray. Hannah blinked, tried to keep her eyes open then fell asleep, surrendering to what her unconscious mind would throw her in the way of dreams, nightmares. It was useless to resist.
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