Escape to Sealand

After his escape, Jonas from ‘The Giver’ finds his way to the post-apocalyptic world of ‘The Chrysalids’ and find new friends on their way to Sealand.

The fire snapped and filled the damp, dark room with a warm glow. Quiet chatter played in the background. He laid there, unable to move, his thoughts blurred. A cool breeze moved over his malnourished figure, making his body ache. Slowly, lifting his head, he saw that he was not bound by any restraints. Even still, his body refused to move an inch.

“Gabe,” Jonas said groggily, fractions of his memory returning to him.

There was a moment of silence followed by loud cries. Jonas was then propped up against the cold wall of the cave, only to come face to face with a young man whose sunken, tired eyes made him look older than his age. Behind him stood a tall, scrawny girl with dirty blond hair cradling a small figure. She had taken Gabe into her arms and studied him with curious eyes.

“You look like you’ve seen better days,” said the young boy as he provided Jonas with sips of cold water.

“Who are you?” replied Jonas, struggling to sit up straight. The boy paused a long time before replying. “You look pretty beat up. How did you manage to survive out here without proper clothing?”

“We had nowhere else to go,” Jonas mumbled. “ I heard singing, I thought someone might be here.”

“Singing? There was nobody for miles when we found you. We’re in the middle of nowhere, really.”

What should we do with him, Rachel. Should we believe him?

He seems to be telling the truth. Besides if he was truly one of the hunters, why would he risk his life for a child.

Good point.

“Here, drink this,” the girl handed him a bowl of soup. Jonas struggled to lift his arms, the pain sharp, but nothing he has never felt before. The girl helped him put the bowl to his lips, and he drank. It was the best thing he had tasted in days he thought. “I’m Rachel and he’s Michael. We have nowhere else to go, like you. For now, you should rest while I take care of this cute little thing. We will move in the morning.”

“Get up!”

Jonas sat up quickly his body sore but more rested than he felt the previous night. The morning rays shone through the entrance of the cave; snow glistened in the sunlight.

“I’ve been trying to wake you for hours,” said Michael.

“You’ll ride with me, and Rachel will take care of Gabe. Oh, and before I forget, here.” Michael handed Jonas a weathered jacket with a few small holes. “It’s all we have to spare.”

He then led Jonas out of the cave where Rachel was preparing three mounts; Gabe was sleeping soundly, hanging from a make-shift sack on her back. Rachel handed Michael the rein for a medium-sized horse with a dark brown coat. Michael climbed onto the horse and helped Jonas onto the rear. Rachel then gracefully mounted her snowwhite horse and began to descend slowly down the hill leading the way with Michael and Jonas behind her and a third horse in tow with whatever gear they had with them. Jonas was amazed at the new scenery he had only seen in the memories he received.

“Thank you,” Jonas said. “I never thought the world could be so beautiful.” Michael had a puzzled look on his face.

“Where are you from again?”

“I don’t really remember how to get back there, but I’m from beyond the mountains, somewhere far from here.”

“Why did you leave?” said Michael.

“I don’t remember, I just knew I didn’t belong there. How about you?” said Jonas.

“Me, Rachel and the others didn’t fit into our community. We were different, and being different wasn’t a good thing.” Jonas didn’t know what he meant about them being different. They both looked normal to him.

Jonas looked alert. “Do you hear that?” The echoes of singing chimed again, amplified by the grand mountains. As he listened more closely, the singing began to transform. It was replaced by a host of different voices, millions maybe, coming from the same source.

“Are you ok?” asked Michael.

“You don’t hear the voices? They’re all saying something, Zoo land, s…”

“Sealand!” Michael exclaimed.

Rachel immediately stopped her horse and turned to face them. Michael turned around on the saddle and grabbed Jonas by both shoulders. “We’ve been trying to locate Sealand for months! Can you find out how to get there?” Michael said impatiently.

Jonas who didn’t know the importance of “Sealand” just stared blankly at the excited faces of Michael and Rachel. “The voices are coming from that way,” Jonas pointed towards the large body of water seen far in the distance.

“Then that’s where we’re going,” Michael said assertively.

Michael, he’s picked up the signal from Sealand. I thought he we had lost it forever.

After hours of riding in silence, Rachel suddenly spoke. “What do you think makes us different?”

“You look pretty normal to me,” Jonas said truthfully. Rachel then said, “They said both physically AND mentally you can’t be different…..

“You have to be perfect outside and in,” Michael said. Jonas wondered at what they were getting at, and then said, “I was different because I could do something no one else could. Mentally, I guess,” Jonas said softly.

“Let’s confirm my suspicions,” Rachel said with a grin. “Hello!” she shouted on the inside.

Jonas put his hand on his ears, shaken by the sudden loud noise. “You don’t need to yell.”

“She didn’t,” Michael said.

“You are one of us.” Rachel had a smug look on her face. Jonas realized that Michael was right. The sound had just entered his head through some secret channel. “You can speak through your mind?!” Jonas said shocked.

“So can you, I bet,” Rachel said. “I mean, you can hear, so you should be able to speak too.”

“It’s called thought-shapes,” Michael added. “We use it to communicate, but we keep it a secret because we are seen as mutants that should be purged.”

As if on cue, an arrow lodged itself into the Rachel’s horse, and it fell to the ground. Is it the hunters?!

Jonas looked towards the direction the arrow was shot from and saw three people on horseback all carrying bows. Michael grabbed Jonas and jumped off the horse right as an arrow pierced its side. They hid behind a large rock which protected them from the hunter’s view. Rachel hid behind her fallen horse, tucking Gabe behind its lifeless body. Grabbing a dagger from its side pouch, Rachel had a look of hostility in her eyes. Jonas looked back towards the ledge. The hunters had temporarily gone out of view, but in a few moments they were surrounded. One stood out from the rest wearing a red robe, a glistening silver blade at his side.

“Well, it is indeed nice to see you again,” the man said with a wicked grin.

“Did you really think you could escape your fate, even after what your friends did to our tribe.”

“They escaped, so why not try,” Michael said with a sneer.

“Oh Michael, if only you weren’t a horrible mutant, I might actually feel bad for you.” He turned to look at Rachel, then turned away with a look of disgust. Then it was Jonas that he held in his tight gaze.

“What’s a young man like you doing with mutant scum like them? Don’t tell me you’re one of them too!” He said raising his voice. Jonas stuttered unsure what to do “ I, um…”

“Well!” said the man reaching for the sword.

“I lost my way and these two just happened to be passing by. I asked for directions and they said they would take me there,” Jonas said confidently.

The man stared at him questioningly, then he forced a grin. “Luckily for you, I happened to be here.”

“Yes, very lucky,” Jonas nodded.

“Come with me young man. We’ll help you get where you need to go. As for those two, kill them.” The two hunters drew their swords and placed the blades across the backs of their necks and prepared to strike.

Time froze as a memory of war came of its own accord into Jonas’s mind. He did not want to accept that it might be useful. This is not why the Giver had shown him these memories. Nevertheless, the memory urged Jonas forward, and he instinctively grabbed the man’s sword handle and, shifting his wieght just so, drove the silver blade into the man’s side after which he swiftly moved to deal with the other two hunters, who were so shocked that they lost their fighting poise. Jonas kicked one hunter to the ground and slashed the other with deadly force. Michael and Rachel quickly joined in and took up the fallen hunters’ swords. Once Jonas knew they had won, he collapsed on the ground and the world faded to black. Being inhabited by the memory of war so intensely had drawn upon his vital energy. When he woke up, Jonas was leaned up against the large rock covered in blankets with Gabe lying peacefully at his side. Michael and Rachel wore the robes of the fallen enemies, and they prepared the new horses for travel. Once they saw that Jonas was awake, they rushed over to him.

“Something came over you,” Michael said with a grin. “I saw it in your eyes.”

Rachel nodded pensively, then said, “Well we better get going. Sealand’s not going to find itself.”

“Here,” Michael tossed Jonas the red robe. “Lead the way.”

Kathryn Tuns | Crestwood Preparatory College | Grade 10