Date: July 13, 3035

Location: San Fransisco, California

The next morning I enter the living room to find two women and two men sitting on the couches, mugs of coffee on the coffee table in front of them. I immediately understand who they are: Sebastian's friends who work for the government.

"Good morning," I greet with a smile, "So, where do we start?"

"Well," one of the men scoffs, "We're waiting for Sebastian, not some naïve teenager."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Jackson asks, walking up behind me, "Beth is the reason you five are here. This is her plan, not Sebastian's, and I suggest you remember that, or there will be serious consequences."

One of the women raises an eyebrow at us. "So you expect us to take orders from a teenager? Sorry, kids, that's not happening."

"On the contrary," Sebastian challenges as he enters the room, "That's exactly what's happening."

"Excuse me?" the other woman asks, taken aback by Sebastian's statement, "You can't possibly expect us, mature adults, to follow instructions given to us by two uneducated teenagers."

"Oh, but we expect you to do just that," I chuckled, "I'll have you know, Jackson and I are very educated. As for you, I wouldn't be so quick to call yourselves mature. Since I arrived, you five are the only people in the room who have been acting like toddlers, and I believe Jackson and I have been very mature and civilized in your presence."

"She's not wrong," the second man says meekly, addressing the two women and the first man, "You three have been acting a little childish."

The first man's face turns bright red with anger. "Childish?!" he bellows, "I am nowhere near childish! You're the one who barely has the courage to speak! I don't even know why the rest of you are here! I'm more capable than the four of you combined! Why, I-"

"ENOUGH!" Jackson shouts, getting everyone's attention, "Shut up! All of you! Do you even remember why we're all here?!" The four men and women look at each other shamefully, and Jackson nods. "That's what I thought. Now start acting like what we're here for is important to you."

The men and women finally agree to receive and obey instructions given out by Jackson and I, and the two of us inform them of our plan. In no time, I'm seated before a vanity, and Sebastian is readying his makeup supplies. One of the women, who's name I learn is Anna, assists him. Meanwhile, Jackson converses with the other three, debating on their roles in our plan.

When Sebastian begins to work on changing my appearance, he turns the chair I sit in so it is facing away from the mirror on the vanity. He then steps out of my line of vision, and I feel my hair getting tightly pulled back. I let out a squeal, and Sebastian apologizes, but declares it necessary for my hair to be pinned tightly back and to my head, otherwise the blonde wig will look obviously fake. Once he's finished with my hair, he moves in front of me, and begins applying special effects makeup to my right temple. He also puts what I believe to be bush on my cheeks and eyeshadow under my eyes (which confuses me), although the process is much longer than I would have believed prior.

"It's done," Sebastian announces as he applies the last bit of makeup to my face. Everyone else in the room turns to stare at me, awestruck. Sebastian turns the chair back around so I'm facing the mirror, and I'm shocked at the sight I face. My eyes are a purple-ish color underneath, making me look exhausted, like I haven't slept in days, possibly weeks. My cheeks appear to be sunken in, as if I've been starved for who knows how long. Then there's what appears to be a bullet wound on my right temple, and by the looks of it, the imaginary bullet is still lodged into my skull. What surprises me the most, though, is the wig. Topping my head is a mass of unruly, golden-blonde curls, and it's so similar to my natural hair that I'm tempted to reach up and pull it back into it's usual French braid.

"How do you make it look so real?" I ask.

Sebastian smirks. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

The eight of us pack ourselves into Sebastian's car and drive out far away from the city until we're at the edge of a wood. I, of course, kept my face and hair hidden in the backseat as we drove through the city, so as not to cause any outbursts. When Sebastian parks the car, everyone climbs out, and Anna grabs a professional-looking camera.

"I used to be a real photographer before I worked for the government," she mentions after she notices my staring, "Now I just photograph staged photos for the government news."

"This probably isn't the most appealing thing in the world to you, then, is it?" I question.

Anna merely shrugs. "Taking staged photos for a rebel cause is better than taking them for the government."

"You've got that right," Jackson mutters from behind us. I turn around to see him standing no more than two feet away from me. "C'mon, you two," he says, "Let's go make fools out of government officials."

Anna and I follow Jackson into the woods, and we eventually catch up with the others, who are still traveling deeper inside the ominous forest. I look over at Anna, who is walking beside me, and notice that she appears younger than the other government employees. Her eyes still have a childlike, hopeful spark, and she's much more enthusiastic compared to her coworkers.

"Anna, how old are you?" I query.

"Nineteen. How old are you?"

"Fifteen. But only for a fee more months."

"Oh, really? When is your birthday?"

"September eleventh."

Anna looks at me quizzically for a split second, but her expression changes back to normal so quickly I begin to wonder if I imagined it. "That's cool," she finally replies, a smile growing on her face, "Happy early birthday!"

Her smile is contagious; soon, I have one of my own. "Thanks."

Sebastian, who leads the group, suddenly stops. "This is it!" he proclaims, "This is the spot!" I turn to look behind us and realize just how deep inside the woods we are. I can't even see the road anymore.

Sebastian helps me smear dirt on my clothes and in my hair to match my facial appearance. Then, when he hands me a gun, my heart pounds like a bass drum in my chest. I swear everyone around me can hear it. I've never touched a gun before in my life.

Jackson, who now stands to my left, sees my distress and nudges me with his elbow. "Don't worry, it's empty. There are no bullets in it," he reassures.

I nod, letting out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in. Anna has me sprawl out on the forest floor, gun in my right hand, as if I committed suicide. Who else would have shot me if no one knew my whereabouts? Once I'm in position, Sebastian takes out a small bag of fake blood from his pocket, dropping some on the makeup wound. It drips down the side of my face and onto the wig.

"Alright, Beth," Anna starts, "Keep you're body limp and loose. I want you to keep your eyes open, and I want you to stare off into space. Make it look like you're really dead." I do as Anna instructs, and she snaps a few photos from different positions. "Perfect," she grins, "It looks genuine."

Jackson holds out a hand for me to take and helps me off the ground. As soon as I stand, we hear the slamming of car doors coming from the road.

"Mr. Barnes?" a male voice calls, "Are you there?"

"Government officers," Sebastian murmurs, "You all have to hide."

"Let's go," Anna commands. She and her coworkers charge through the woods. I, on the other hand, am frozen in fear, staring in the direction of the road. How are They here? Did They find me? Do They know who I am?

I feel a hand around my wrist, and it pulls me away from Sebastian and down the same path Anna took. I finally tear my eyes away from the scene to face forward, seeing Jackson leading me through the forest. We finally slow near some bushes, and Jackson drags me behind them. I see Anna and the other government employees there, as well.

"Hand me the gun," Jackson instructs. Without question, I do as he asks. I watch him pull a cartridge of bullets out of his pocket and slip it into the gun. He glances at the other four, then sighs. "You're kidding me. None of you have guns?" The four men and women shake their heads in response. Jackson groans. We wait in silence for some time before we hear more voices.

"Mr. Barnes? What are you doing out here?" the voice from earlier asks.

"Oh, good morning, gentlemen," Sebastian greets nonchalantly, "It is still morning, isn't it? I've been out here so long, I don't even remember!"

"Are you alright?" another male voice queries.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just making some sketches of plant life. I've heard rumors of movie makers wanting stage makeup that looks like a forest."

"Alright, Mr. Barnes, but be careful."

"I will be, don't you worry."

Footsteps are heard heading towards the road. We wait for anything dangerous to happen before standing up, and just as Jackson shifts his weight to do so, I hear something.

"Stop," I whisper, and Jackson freezes.

"What is it?"

The footsteps grow louder from behind us, approaching our backsides. "It's Them," I breathe. In response, Jackson gives me the loaded gun in his hands, then pulls out another, which had been tucked in the waist of his jeans and hidden under his shirt. I assume the second gun is loaded, as well.

"Be ready," he says. I nod.

"Who's there?" one of the men demands, "Come out with your hands up!"

"Take this," Jackson tells me quietly, shoving the second gun into my hands. I almost protest, but then I realize what he's planning. Slowly, Jackson stands, his hands raised above his shoulders.

"Well, would you look at that," the other man sneers, "Seems like we found ourselves a fugitive."

Fugitive? Jackson's a fugitive?

The first man walks around the bushes to face Jackson. He takes out a scanner, and a laser grid is projected onto Jackson's face for a couple seconds before disappearing.

"Jackson Moore, age sixteen," a robotic voice announces from the scanner, "Fugitive. Wanted for creating rebels of citizens."

My eyes widen. How many rebels are there?

The first man pulls out a set of handcuffs. "Alright, kid, put your hands in front of you." Jackson does as told, and the man slaps the cuffs on his wrists before grabbing his arm and roughly pulling him from the bushes. As the two men begin to take Jackson away, I tuck one of the guns in my front pocket and hold the other in my right hand to fire. I stand up and step out of the bushes quietly and cautiously, pointing the gun at the back of the man who's dragging Jackson away.

"Freeze!" I shout. The men turn around, and whip their guns out of their holsters as soon as they see me.

"It's the blonde," the second man informs the first.

"I can see that," the first man growls, "Just shoot her!"

Before either of the men can pull the trigger, both of their guns fly out of their hands and in front of my feet. "I guess that plan backfired," I smirk. Immediately, Jackson kicks one of the men's shins with his heel, causing him to fall, then loops his arms around the other man's neck in a chokehold.

"Get the keys," he mutters. I dash to the man on the ground, crouching down and jabbing my knee into his back to prevent him from getting up. I take the keys hanging from his belt loop and kick him in the stomach after standing up. He groans, curling up and clutching his stomach. Jackson loosens his grip on the second man and I unlock his handcuffs. He knocks the other man to the ground and pulls out a cellphone.

"What are you doing?" I ask him.

"Erasing the last ten minutes of their memory. They'll remember Sebastian, but forget about us, and return back to their station." A beam of light shines in the first man's face, then in the second's. "They'll wake up within the next half hour. As for us, we all need to get out if here." We gather up the others and pack ourselves back into the car. I'm sitting next to Anna.

"You're lucky the other three weren't watching," she mentions, leaning over to whisper as quietly as she can, "But don't worry; your secret's safe with me."

My eyes widen with realization. Anna knows I'm actually blonde.

^^^^^^^^^^

Hello, my lovely readers! It is still Monday where I am (however late at night it may be), so I did in fact update when I said I would. Also, this chapter is the longest so far, with over, 2,200 words! Other than that, I honestly have nothing else to say, except that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'm currently writing Chapter Nine, so the more I write, the more I'll update!

~Tiffani

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