The Treaty

The world was ending, and I was the one that was supposedly destined to save it. Myself and two other “warriors”. There’s no way that I can actually call myself a warrior. I have never done anything that could be considered “warrior” like in my entire 17 years. But here I am on the eve of my 18th birthday, the eve of the day that I’m supposed to take off to the other side of the wall. The side of famine, the side of war.

There are two sides to the world today. The future, which holds endless possibilities and evolving life forms and technology. That’s the side that I live on. I was born into one of the most powerful families of the day. I was God’s gift to humanity. And because of that my parents named me appropriately. Jayne, meaning literally, the gift from God. I grew up in a happy home with my two best friends, Ray and Cedric, living in the houses next door. Together the three of us were unstoppable.

Then there’s the other side. The side of Poverty. The people over there didn’t believe in evolution. They believed that everything would stay the same forever. Several hundred years ago, the leaders of the two sides decided it would be more beneficial to them both if they just built a wall dividing our great city. Not long after the wall was built, they began a Civil War with themselves. The side of evolution didn’t do anything to stop it. ‘It’s not our problem’ they said.

Since we built the wall, anything the other side has done to themselves is not our problem and it never will be. Until tomorrow, when I and two other people will find ourselves on the other side.

I continue thinking about this while I walk up the stairs to the room where I receive messages from God. Ever since I was a young girl I would have to climb up these stairs to read a message that appeared on a piece of parchment that would give me some kind of idea of what was happening on the other side. Or orders. It depended on the mood God was in for the day. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of message it would be today. I was hoping for orders telling me that we would hold off for another couple years. But unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

Once I finally made it up to the room, I walked to the center where the parchment laid on a table. That was the only piece of furniture in the room. A single table in the center of the room. The piece of parchment laying in the center of that. I slowly looked down at the parchment and gasped at what I read:

The Devil has inhabited the center of the End.

The Lord always called the other side ‘The End’. I don’t know why but that’s just what he did. I didn’t know what to make of the crypt message but as I looked at it longer another message burned into the parchment at the bottom of the paper. It was a bit of a long one, but I enjoyed this one much more as it gave me some instruction on what was going to happen tomorrow:

Two of your warriors will show up at your doorstep at 7 am tomorrow. You will have a third warrior. My warrior. The Lion of God is already based in the End. It will be up to you to find her and convince her to help you. She will be wary at first but soon will know that you’re my gift to humanity and will be willing to help you. I’m afraid this is the last time that you will be hearing from me until the End is destroyed and the war is over. Unite the people Jayne. It is up to you and the warriors. You are the last hope for the world.

I read it once. Then I read it ten more times to make sure that I was reading it correctly. Then I grabbed the parchment and ran downstairs as fast as my legs could carry me. My blonde hair getting in my mouth as I screamed for my parents. My mother was the first that I saw. Her gray eyes looking at me with a wide stare. You could see the worry in them. My mother was always worried about me though, so it was nothing new. As I reached the bottom step I could see my father walking without his usual bounce. My father was typically a happy man. Always smiling, always had a bounce in his step, until today. I handed them the parchment as I tried to catch my breath so they could read it over.

My mother started to cry instantly. I already knew that she was thinking of all the worst possibilities and outcomes. My father walked away without saying a word and I think that’s what hurt me most of all. He didn’t try and comfort my mother or I. I also understand that he’s upset though. I’d be lying if I said my whole family wasn’t on edge today. Everyone was. With reason though. The people of the future believed that when I walked to the other side of the wall that all of it was going to suddenly end. That my presence alone would be enough to end their war. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that it was much more likely that the war would continue on for several more months; years even.

My mother handed me the parchment back and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back and after what seemed like ten years but had only been a couple minutes; I let go of her and told her to go and comfort my father as I felt I could only make it worse for him if I went. She nodded her head and left me at the bottom of the stairs alone.

After several seconds of just standing still, staring into space I decided to go find Ray or Cedric. They were most likely together. We all used to be inseparable. Before I had to start reading my messages. Those were the good old days. I missed them immensely. I wanted to show them what God said today.

I decided to check Ray’s house first, mainly because there isn’t a 10 foot hedge blocking the way. I knocked on the door and waited several minutes before someone finally answered. It was Ray’s mother, Annabel, who told me that the boy’s were at Cedrics. I thanked her and gave her a hug. I was going to miss her. She was like another mother to me and treated me, often, as if I was her own daughter. I then told her goodbye and left for my journey around the wall.

I don’t know why Cedric’s father built a hedge wall to separate our homes. He did though. He’s always been over protective of his boy, perhaps it’s because he didn’t want him getting close to me; knowing that I was going to leave one day and probably never come back. He did get close to me though. It’s hard not to get close to the only other kids that live around you.

We live in a gated community full of mansions that a bunch of young adults live in with their friends before they go and get their own place. The only three families are Ray’s, Cedric’s, and mine. Our parents have been living here, however, way before we were born. They tell me that when we were born, this place was nothing but families. I guess they’ve all found better places to live. It’s hard for me to imagine a better place though.

I knock on Cedric’s door but before anyone can answer I hear some ruckus around the back. I grin to myself knowing that they’re playing one of our favorite games. Soccer. We’ve been playing it since we were toddlers. I quickly ran around the side of the house. As soon as I make it to the back corner, I see the ball flying towards me. My eyes go wide but my instincts kick in. I give the ball a bump with my chest and watch it fly into the air. When it comes back down I hit with my knee and then let it come down to my feet where I dribble the ball towards my goal, the pool house doors, and kick it in. The boy’s look at me with a smirk and tell me that it doesn’t count. I laugh and tell them to Hell with them and that it does too.

They’re response was to tackle me. Naturally. They are boys. We lay on the ground wrestling for a moment before I push them off of me. We spend another ten minutes laughing in the grass. I think it’s hilarious that even though it’s basically my death tomorrow we’re all sitting in the grass laughing like nothing’s happening. Then it gets quiet.