“Hurry up,” Michael says to John. “We don't want to get caught.”

       John looks at Michael and rolls his eyes. “There’s no one around, relax.” But Michael is not happy. He is nervous and keeps looking around, making sure no one has followed them. He’s still surprised they are even doing this—being in the rebellion. Why did I say yes, I am not cut out for this, Michael thinks, while they try and find the entrance.”

​

       Pop Express sent such an encrypted message that it took him and John two days to figure out where they had to be. “In a freaking forest!” Michael had screamed when he saw the location. “At night? Who do they think we are? Owls?” John had to calm him down and say it was all going to be fine. Of course, he understood that it had to be somewhere secluded and that it was not going to be easy to find, but he couldn’t deal with the fact that they could get caught and that it was in the middle of Richmond Park.

​

       Pop Express is an important paper. When the intruders find out who is dealing with this paper, it is going to be bad. Not only for the city but also for the people who work on the paper.

​

      “I found it,” John says.

      “Sshht,” Michael hisses, looking around to make sure no one is there. “Jesus relax, there is no one there like I said before!” He isn't happy with John. He is loud, careless, and he knows he stole something before coming here.

      “The door is hidden under the roots of a tree and is locked. John knocks quickly three times, then twice slowly, then twice again quickly. The peephole opens and the woman behind it looks at them.

      “Password,” she says with a firm voice.

      “The woman of music,” John replies. The door flies open. A flashlight shines at their faces; Michael can't see anything.

      “Come in, quickly,” the woman says. Michael walks inside and John follows. A bang behind him lets him know the door is shut and that there is no going back now. He sighs.

      “Follow me,” The woman says. While John engages in conversation with her, all Michael can do is think, how did they make this? Looking around him, eyes wide, he follows John and the woman deeper and deeper into the ground. He is still not sure if this is the right decision.

​

      The space is massive. The room is filled with people running around and machines are everywhere. In the right corner, there are four tables with eight typewriters. The people behind them seem to be in deep concentration. Next to it is a small office, where three people are reading an article for the next magazine or so Michael assumes. On the left side, you have the printing machines. Then in the middle, there are tables to put the papers together. In the right front, you see piles upon piles of the magazine, ready to be sent out. Michael thinks it is amazing that this is in the middle of Richmond Park. He keeps glancing around. The room is lit up by old oil lanterns. This gives the space a nice intimate atmosphere.

      “This is the room where the paper is being made,” the woman says, transfixed on Michael as she says it. “By the way, my name is Isabel.”

      Michael reaches out a hand to shake Isabel’s in greeting. “Michael.”

​

      Suddenly, John barges in between Michael and Isabel. “This is amazing, how did you guys do this?” Michael is annoyed again but just stares at Isabel. He’s just noticed she has nice skin and long eyelashes. She is talking to John, but Michael catches her eye. Her eyes are light brown, almost gold. He starts blushing and looks back to the room.

       A man walks into the room and approaches the group. He stops in front of Michael and John. The man is just staring at them for a couple of seconds, making Michael uncomfortable.

     “Are you John?” he says. John nods and then he looks at Michael. “And who are you?”

     “I’m Michael.”

      The man looks at Michael with doubting eyes and then at Isabel. “They’ll do, I guess,” he says to her, and stares at Michael and John again. He explains to them that they have to report to Isabel and that this is where they need to come to give the information. Of course, only with their discretion. If they had any questions, they had to ask Isabel. It was so short Michael thought, but I guess they don’t have time for chit-chat. This is all business for them.

      “So, who was that?” Michael asks.

      “That is our leader,” says Isabel.

      “What is his name?”

      “None of your business. The less you know, the better.” Michael looks at her and they stare at each other for a short second. She starts explaining what they need to do, and what kind of information is top priority. Then it is time to leave. They need to go before sunset. When they leave, Michael looks back at Isabel and smiles. She laughs back and closes the door.

​

      On the way back, Michael can’t stop thinking about Isabel. He’s completely sunk in his thoughts. John is talking to him, but Michael isn’t listening. They are on their way back to the entrance of the park when suddenly, they hear roaring in the distance. Michael glances at John, who’s gaping at Michael.

      ’Quick! Hide!” John whispers as they both jump behind the bushes in the park.

      “What was that?” Michael asks.

      “I don’t know. It sounds like a car.” They listen carefully as they hear the sound come closer and closer. John looks toward Michael, terrified when he realizes that the sound wasn’t just a car, but also footsteps.

      “Shh, just stay quiet and don’t move,” Michael says.

      John doesn’t say anything and is starting to panic. When he finally speaks, he says, “we have to go; they will find us here!” But Michael shakes his head no. “We have to, dude. They will find us. We are going to die!”

      John tries to get up, but Michael grabs him to keep him down. “They don’t know we are here. If you go now, they will see you. Just keep quiet and keep it together!”

      John isn’t even listening anymore. He is trying to get loose from Michael’s grasp. Michael is trying to hold on to John, but John is much stronger. Michael can’t hold onto John anymore and John starts running. Michael watches him run into the woods. When John is a little further and almost out of sight, he hears a gunshot. He watches John fall to the ground. He listens to people run towards John and watches them shoot two more bullets into him. All Michael can do is try not to scream as he watches his friend die.

​

      The people are looking around to see if John was alone, but because the sun has set, there isn’t enough light to find Michael. They continue walking and Michael just lies there, looking at John. He doesn’t know how long he’s been lying there, but when he finally comes to his own mind again, he crawls to him. He looks at him; eyes filled up with tears.

      “Why did we have to do this?” He starts hitting John on his back. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea. You are a dick, you know that? Leaving me here.” He falls over John’s body and cries.

​

After a couple of minutes, there’s an explosion. Then gunshots in the far distance. He looks up, but he cannot see anything. He looks at John and he knows it is time to leave him. Leave him forever. He gets up, wipes away his tears, and looks around. Just to make sure no one is there. Then he walks towards the road and starts to investigate. He sees smoke coming out of the forest in the distance and he still hears gunshots. It starts to dawn on him that that is the direction they came from when they walked back. A flash of Isabel goes through his mind and he starts running towards the smoke through the forest. After a couple of minutes, the gunshots are over and Michael slows down and stops. Do I even want to know what I am doing? I cannot do anything, he thinks. He looks back and then forward again and back anew. Then, he turns around to walk towards the exit. After a couple of steps, he turns around and decides to walk to the resilience. Maybe there are survivors, he thinks.

​

      Slowly, he approaches the spot, careful nobody sees him. He looks around him and he sees some bodies on the ground. None of them are female. He sighs. He moves closer and closer to the hiding place. He hides behind the bushes and starts looking through them. He sees a nightmare as he stares at the battlefield. There is a hole in the ground and a lot of bodies around it. He looks around for Isabel. But he cannot see her from this position. He turns around as his stomach starts to twist. He takes a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. He then proceeds to walk through the bushes to look around.

​

      Then he sees her. A couple of meters to his right Isabel. He walks to her to see if she is still alive. He is nervous and feels his heart pulsing through his veins, as he graces his fingers atop of her neck. He holds his breath and then gasps. A pulse. He can feel a pulse. How is that possible? He stares at her. This is not possible, how is it possible you are still alive? Then he takes his jacket off and pulls it over her, picks her up, and hopes that he will make it to the hospital in time. He starts running, not wanting to be seen with her in broad daylight.

​

      He reaches the hospital and carries her inside. “Help, I need help,” he yells. People start running towards him to take her away. They place her onto a bed and immediately tend to her. For Michael, everything happens in slow

“she is going to be fine. He says he doesn’t know but they are going to do their best. Michael nods. Then he turns around and walks out of the hospital. Once outside, he lifts his head up towards the sun, closing his eyes. He doesn’t know what to think and he is exhausted. He starts walking home.

​

      He opens the front door and walks inside. His mum is in the kitchen, making breakfast, and looks at him. She sees the blood on his clothes.

      “What happened, Michael?” He stares at her for a moment and says “Nothing.” He sits down at the table and helps himself to a piece of bread. His brothers and sisters start walking in and join him at the table. They’re all engaged in conversation. His mum is watching him talk and laugh with his brothers and sisters, dirty clothes still on but acting as if nothing had happened. Michael notices her glance.

      “I’m fine, Mum, nothing happened. I got a nosebleed; that is all.” He smiles at her and continues his conversation.