Words Unspoken

I was running this time, in the dark. There was a light in front of me but I was nowhere near it, whatsoever. I kept trying to get out of this darkness. I stopped mid run when I heard voices coming from the other side. My heart beat faster and faster, my legs getting heavier by each step I took. The voices grew louder as I inched closer to the light.

"Samantha!!" A voice echoed through the darkness. Mom??

"Sam!!" Another voice echoed. Dad?? My parents' voices continued shouting my name and I forced myself to keep going to help them. I knew they needed me, and I didn't want to disappoint them again. As I got to the lighted doorway, the screams got louder and gunshots began to fire.

"Noo!!!" I yelled out as one last gunshot went off.

I shot up instantly panting heavily as I placed a hand on my chest. That was the second time I had this dream, the only difference was that I heard my parents screaming, not strangers. I reached up with one hand brushing my sweat drenched hair out of my face before ripping the blanket off of me. I breathed, in and out, in and out, until I finally got my breathing under control. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and used my hair tie that was around my wrist to get my sweaty hair out of my face. I looked around the room for a bit, it was pretty dark except for the lights in the corners of the room.

I slowly got out of my bed and stood up stretching my arms over my head, making my way towards the door that I came through with Noah. I turned back to see if anyone saw me but they didn't, thankfully everyone was still asleep. I slowly opened the door and closed it behind me as I made my way up the stairs slowly. A light turned on and I placed a hand over my eyes to shield it from the bright light.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" It was Johnny. Of course he would still be there, he's the only one that stands watch.

"I couldn't sleep, I was gonna get some fresh air." I said, still keeping the hand up over my eyes. Johnny waited for a minute before opening the door.

"Just stay here, don't go outside, in case someone sees you." He said to me.

I nodded my head as I made my way up the stairs and stepped into the main room. I glanced over my shoulder as he closed the door behind him. A small sigh escaped from my lips as I walked through the dust and rubble before walking over to one of the windows. I slipped my hands into my hoodie's pocket and stared out the window, the bright full moon shining through the windows, illuminating the large space. I closed my eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, a breeze coming through the window.

I still couldn't believe this was happening. One minute I was home, living my boring life and the next thing I know, I'm at the rebellion bunker, with Jill. I opened my eyes when I heard footsteps.

"Hey." The voice said which made me turn around. It was Noah.

"Oh, hey." I replied with a small smile as I turned back around and gazed out the window.

"You alright?" Noah asked, now standing next to me. "You weren't in your bunk."

"You keeping an eye out on me? Make sure I don't try to escape, run to the cops."

Noah let out a soft chuckle shaking his head as he looked out the window.

"No, I know for a fact you're not going to run to the cops" he said now looking over at me. I let out a small sigh, shifting the weight from one leg to the other.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna do that." I said softly. "I had a bad dream, I couldn't go back to sleep." I admitted.

"I used to get those a lot." He said to me as I looked over at him, he was already looking at me. A light blush formed on my cheeks. We just stared into each other's eyes, making me forget about this fucked up world we live in. Being with Noah right now at this very moment, I felt calm, and at home. I was more comfortable, more myself with him than I ever was at home. I had no idea what was happening at this very moment, my heart was beating heavily and I could feel my cheeks heat up, knowing they were a bright pink color now.

I cleared my throat and turned my gaze away from him so he didn't see the mess on my face.

"We should head back down." He said to me and I nodded my head in agreement, following him back downstairs. Once we got back inside, I looked around for a bit, everyone was still asleep.

"I'm not that tired." I whispered to him. He turned to face me but I could barely see his face.

"Come on, follow me." He whispered back. I felt something on my hand and soon realized it was his hand in mine. Noah then led me across the room and to one of the bunks, which I'm guessing was his. A second later, a dim light was turned on, which was attached to the side of the bed. Noah plopped down and leaned back. He looked up at me with a smile, patting the bed for me to sit.

"I'm not gonna bite, don't worry." He said with a chuckle as he leaned back. I rolled my eyes at him before sitting down on the bed. We sat there quietly for a few minutes before Noah finally spoke up.

"So, are you adjusting okay? I know it's only been less than a day but I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright." He said to me.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought for a moment. I honestly had no idea how I was doing. Was I happy? Was I angry? Sad? Scared? Confused? Possibly all those feelings at the same time and it's overwhelming. I yelled at my parents, I told them what I saw, but I didn't regret any of it. I inhaled sharply and held my breath for a few seconds before slowly breathing out.

"Well, if you want the truth, I don't know exactly." I admitted to him. "It's a mixed feeling of emotions, but what I do know is that I don't regret leaving my family." I added. Noah gave me a small smile, glad that I was able to trust him.

"I understand how you're feeling, it's crazy in the beginning. Now you know that Jill is my aunt, I should probably tell you how this all started." He said

"Wait..Jill started this?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as Noah nodded his head slowly.

"Jill and my mom..." he said as his smile faded. He looked down at the floor for a moment. I could see the pain he was in when he mentioned his mom. I slowly reached over and placed my hand on his, which made him turn his attention back to me. He gave a small smile.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I said to him. Noah cleared his throat, shaking his head.

"No I do." He said as he shifted in his seat getting more comfortable I'm assuming.

Noah finally told me the story of how Jill and his mom had started the rebellion. This was when Jill was around our age, her and her sister Linda went up against the government with a large group they had gathered. They protested, started riots, and whatnot. Seventeen years later his mom was pregnant with Noah, and his dad just up and left, no one knows what happened to him. At the age of five Noah's mom was caught tagging one of the houses and sent to prison, she's been in there since then. No one has a clue if she's alive or not. Hopefully she is. Noah also told me the name of the rebellion group and what T.I.S stood for, The Insurgents of Silence.

Ever since Noah's mom, Linda, was sent to prison, the group faded. They stayed, hidden and blended with the rest of the world, following the rules as much as they could without starting anything. That is until a few years ago, Jill decided to start up the group, slowly but surely. Noah, Krista and Ben were the ones tagging houses and buildings, hopefully to get more people to join, people like me, but it was hard.

"So yeah, that's the story." Noah said with a sigh as he kept his gaze on the floor. We stayed quiet for a few minutes before Noah spoke up again.

"At least one good thing came out of it today." He said as I turned my attention over to him and he gave me a small smile.

"What's that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, tilting my head slightly

"You."

I cleared my throat, now feeling my cheeks heat up. Thankfully it was dark enough he couldn't see the pinkness in my cheeks.

"Thanks, for telling me the story." I said, hoping to get myself out of this nervousness.

Noah just nodded his head and smiled at me. "No problem, I trust you." He said to me. "So, what about you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and shifted on his bed to get a better look at me.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at the floor. "Me? I don't know, I don't really have a family history, I mean I do but nothing as adventurous as yours. My family..they stick by the rules." I said as I played with the edge of the blanket for a moment. I turned to look at him and he motioned for me to go on. I let out a small sigh and leaned back against the bed before speaking again.

"I have no idea why I'm so different from them, but I am. My whole life, I felt like I didn't belong, you know? Reading about how the world was before, I've always wished I lived or was born during that time. Now? It just feels like my fall has been on endless time loop and I just want it to end." I said with a hefty sigh rubbing my face with my hands.

"And what about your dreams?" Noah asked. I peered through my fingers and looked at him before lowering my hands.

"It's just me in an empty space, there's a bright light and i'm trying to get through it. The first dream, there were screams and gunshots before got through. The second one, which was tonight, I heard my parents." I said as I bit down on my lip and stared at my hands in my lap. "What does that even mean?"

We sat there as we both thought for a moment before Noah spoke up.

"I think it means that you want that freedom. And as for your parents, you want to save them from this shitty world." He said with a smile. I nodded my head slowly to what he said. Maybe he was right. I wanted that freedom, I wanted to live how I wanted and not what the stupid government or president decide. It's not up to them on how we should dress or speak. It's up to us. I turned my attention back over to him, giving him a warm smile.

"Thanks for the talk." I said to him. Noah smiled back at me nodding his head. "Anytime you want to talk I'm here, you can even talk to Ben or Krista as well, they're great listeners and good friends."

I smiled at him and let out a small sigh before looking around the dark, quiet room. It was still late, but I had no idea what time it was. I thought for a moment, wondering if I should try and get some sleep or just stay awake. Noah interrupted my thoughts by speaking again.

"It's late, we should both get some rest. We've got some long days ahead of us." He said to me.

I nodded my head in aggreemant before standing up from his bunk and stretched my arms over my head, letting out a small yawn. I definitely was tired. I just didn't want to sleep, afraid of having that recurring dream or nightmare, whatever you may call it.

"Goodnight." I said to him with a small smile and he nodded his head. "Nighty Night." He replied as I laughed softly before making my way back to my bunk to get some shut eye.