“The One” Kirsten Scott vs. Justin Davis

[TheOne]

OOC Note: Sean your signature is terrifying.. That is all...

{FREEDOM: Chapter Two}

When you first have to ask "what is freedom," you then have to ask "how do you handle it?"

Initially, I got to watch a young girl see nature, see life as she never knew it, and enjoy it.  And I can tell you that seeing something so pure from the eyes of an outsider, and feeling like you're part of the reason it happened, is a level of happiness I cannot convey.  And seeing Emma, the little girl who I was led to believe was a modern-day prophet and fortune teller, just feel what it was like to swim in a river, splash her brother, laugh because she thought something was funny and not just because she felt obligated to follow along, was something I will forever cherish deep in my heart.

I say that because, having lived life in a manner that one would normally say was "free" meant that she would, someday, find out that life is a fucking scary place.  It wasn't this "white picket fence, birds chirping, blissful, world," which she was seeing around her for the first place.  Instead it would, likely, have a lot more similarity to the fear she lived back in at home.  And that wasn't because she was going to have to face the same demons.  She was free, minus all of the legal battles she'd inevitably have to be brought in to provide testimony on, and those types of evils were now behind her.

But in the real world, things are still frightening.

Since I had been there, since Hailey had been there, we knew there would come a day where something would happen that would inevitably challenge Emma, and even Ethan's, perception of freedom and force them into a world of fear.  The battle, then, wouldn't be running, and engaging in some elaborate plan to fight back against it.  Hailey and I had a much bigger duty on our plate.  We were, effectively, parents to these two.  While our age was similar to that of Ethan's, his captivity had definitely led him to have a lesser than normal understanding of the "outside world."  So until we could get him up to full speed, outside of the protecting of his sister, we would be having to help two "newborns" navigate a scary world, where they had to begin to learn that things around them would be scary, would illicit moments of fight or flight, and would make them question if they were better off back at The Compound.

And let's be real... For two, female, twenty-somethings, who viewed themselves as "outcasts" and "rebels against 'the man,'" Hailey and I were not what you would picture as the ideal "role models" for these two.  But the fact is, whether or not we fit a mold, we had been there, done that, and had plenty of t-shirts to prove it.  We had seen the world for its beauty, but more importantly, we had seen it for how ugly and scary it could be.  So we may not look the part, but we felt like for once, in our lives, we served the bigger purpose.  We had begun as those kids, confined to a room, sheltered from what was going on around us, and we had emerged better than we could have ever imagined.

Now we had to do what we could to pay it forward...

We had to do what we could, to raise a young man, and an "Oracle..."

We had to, for once in our lives, be grown ups, and not just be the two kids who felt they could go out and overthrow the system, simply because they didn't like it...

Being a Fourth of July holiday in the United States creates a stir of people out and about, and that is just a given no matter where you live.  In the Midwest, it is no different, although it may not be as centralized as in Washington DC, New York City, or any other major, metropolitan, area.  Instead there will be a central conglomeration of people, but along with that, almost all citizens bring the festivities of the Independence Day celebration to their doorsteps as well.

BBQs...

Flags...

Repetitive songs about "American Pride..."

In some comunities parades march down the streets, with floats and bands, playing these songs to help share in the day where the United States did break away from the United Kingdom, and establish itself as its own country and its own "democracy."

The unfortunate side to this is that there are those who have never experienced this, and this is where Kirsten and Hailey wanted to remove the blinders from Ethan and Emma, and show them what "Independence Day" is all about, as it pertains to the regular people of the Midwest.

For reference, since the "seige" at The Compound, we had relocated to another Midwestern City to be involved in the legal proceedings, but also allow ourselves the freedom to be absconded from the people who may or may not have still held a grudge against us for bring The Compound to its knees.

Hailey, Kirsten, Emma and Ethan walk through the downtown festivities, with the two who had been sheltered ogling at all of the vendors and parade goers.  To them, this was a complete mystery on why everyone would gather, so openly, and celebrate something they had never been shown in their lives.  Ethan, at least, had an idea of what was going on, but Emma's seclusion, being so much tighter than Ethan's kept her completely in the dark.

Emma Taylor: ... So... Why the benners?  Why are people waving them, and tents draping them around what they are selling?

Hailey smirks.

Hailey Brooks: They're flags...

Emma Taylor: Ok... Whateever you call them, why are they all over everything?  What is the point?

Emma's brother tries to chime in.

Ethan Taylor: It's Independence Day...

Emma Taylor: So what?  They aren't like celebrating us, are they?

Kirsten realizes that this is more foreign to her than she realized.

Kirsten Scott: Let me make a long story short... In 1776 we, Americans, got pissed off at those who told us what to do, how to act, and how to behave.  We decided we were going to say "fuck you" to those people, and say we are free... So to a degree, yeah, they're celebrating us... But to be more honest, our story is more reflective of the greater picture.  Our country that we lived in got its freedom, kind of like we did, with The Compound.  And now everyone shows it by displaying the flag that represents the country.  It can be culty at times, but we won't go there...

Emma Taylor: So they are celebrating us?

Kirsten Scott: Eh... Technically no... But to be real, in the grand scheme of things, we are celebrating the same thing they did long ago.  So we are following in their footsteps...

Emma Taylor: Umm OK...

Kirsten Scott: It's complicated... History is a weird subject.  But simply put, we are all Americans.  Americans are supposed to be equal to one another.  Many times in life, that has been questioned, including today, and including with us.  Although we are much luckier than some... But the reality is, everyone, at some point, is the "bad guy" because they're bigots in some way, shape, or form.  Nobody is perfect.  But those of us who realize it isn't the right way to act, we try to be better and learn from our mistakes and our own bigotry.  Why?  Because if history repeats itself, good always wins over evil...

Hailey shrugs and nods at the very simplistic view of the situation that Kirsten gave Emma.  Kirsten, obviously, knows that Emma has a limited understanding of history and its divisiveness, and elected to explain it in the simplest way possible.

Emma Taylor: Yeah... Sure... Whatever you said!

Ethan Taylor: I'd say just go with it... Enjoy yourself...

Emma Taylor: Now that I can do...

The naivety of Emma allows her to put the philosophical explanation of "The One" aside, and do her best to understand, while continuing to take time to stop and look at some of the booths and exhibitionists who showcase their "Americana wares" and enjoy the pomp and circumstance that comes with the celebration of the day.

In enjoying the celebration and the festivities, Emma is introduced to parades, a carnival and rides, and her favorite part of the whole experience was obvious, it was the food.  Every stand that advertised something she hadn't heard of before or tried, it was fair game and she was like a bottomless pit.  The others joked that she was going to "break them all" with the amount of food she was packing away.  It was another "fairy tale" moment, but then...

BOOM

The explosion of the first firework of the night, signalling to all that it was about time for the whole show exhoes throughout the area, and somehow sends Emma into a sense of panic and fear.  Her "fight or flight" mechanism is engaged and she immediately takes off, running through the crowd, fearing for her life.  The reaction stuns the others, and after the shock of seeing her dart off subsides, it registers they have to take off after her.  Ethan, Hailey and Kirsten all begin a sprint, pushing other patrons of the events out of the way, all trying to keep an eye on which way Emma was running.

Emma, meanwhile, didn't know where she was running to, but it was going to be in the opposite direction of the loud boom.  As she weaves her way through crowds and vendors, Kirsten directs traffic.

Kirsten Scott: Hailey... That way... I'll go this way... Ethan you stay behind her!

The trio split into a forking pattern trying to begin cutting off possible deviations in her path.

Emma continues turning left, right, and going straight until she makes one turn and without looking up runs, literally head first, into Hailey.  Emma, stunned, falls to the ground and looks up in fear, only to be relieved to see a friendly face.  She jumps up and embraces Hailey, as the other two slowly come up from the rear, finally catching up.

Kirsten Scott: Emma...

Kirsten is obviously out of breath from the chase.

Kirsten Scott: ... What was... What was that about?

Emma Taylor: That noise... It was an explosion... I thought we were being attacked!

Everyone begins to show smiles at the girl's lack os knowledge, as they all begin to understand she has a lot of learning and growing to do.

Kirsten Scott: No no... While, yeah it was TECHNICALLY an explosion, that wasn't an attack, that was a fun explosion?

Emma Taylor: What in the hell is a fun explosion?

Kirsten Scott: It's called a firework.  They blow them up on Independence Day.  They are a sign of celebration and show off pretty colors and patterns in the sky.

Emma Taylor: But... Why?  Why would people want explosions?

Kirsten Scott: Hear me out... And trust me on this... Let's go see them, and you cover your ears... And just watch them, once?

Emma Taylor: But, how will I know?

Hailey Brooks: Oh you see that shit going into the air... You'll know it's coming.  That one you just heard, though, we just weren't expecting, and didn't realize you didn't know what it was.  Otherwise we'd have prepared you for it...

Emma looks at her brother, who nods at her, acknowledging that what Hailey is saying is true.

Hailey Brooks: Seriously... If you cover your ears, it's not that loud...

Kirsten Scott: Plus we can stand further away.  That one they let off behind us was basically right over head.  We stand further back it will MUCH less scary, and you can enjoy the colors...

Reluctantly, Emma finally agrees, and the group find a spot putting distance between themselves and the pyrotechnics.  As the show begins, Emma watches on, nervously as the first loud "salutes" take flight into the sky.  Upon realizing the explosions are much quieter than before she lowers her hands and begins to realize that what she is witnessing and hearing is something she always heard, while captive, in the distance, and her parents said was always "people at war with them."  They always made it out to be something she didn't need to bear witness to, but instead, what she sees is bright lights, beautiful patterns, and a bigger understanding of how sheltered she was inside that compound.

While she is in awe, she also becomes a little scared, deep down, wondering what else she doesn't know about, or what else she's always been lied to about.  It's something she hadn't taken into consideration along with her newly found freedom, and brings a sense of concern on if she's ready to face what else may be lurking out there that she doesn't know about.

Nevertheless, in this moment she feels a sense of awe at the beauty of fireworks, and begins to let her guard down enough to do as she had been doing earlier, simply enjoying the new exposures in her life.