Juniper

She stared over the hill, trying to place the sound being carried towards her. It was like a growl, but more metallic, like an insect. Only bigger. It sounded like one of the beasts. She had seen them before, both in the wild and as pets. They were huge, scaley creatures on four crouched legs, capable of incredible speed. They were dangerous. She had watched her mother wrangle them in the past, but it was a risky game. On the rare occasion she rode with her inside the beast, she was frightened the entire time. It moved erratically, smoother in some moments, but jerking in others. She couldn’t see this beast though, only hear it over the hill. She’d need a closer look. She let out a deep sigh. How long had it been since she escaped? It felt like weeks, but it could have only been days. It was still a surreal feeling being outside, it was hard to keep track.

How long was she in there? She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and reached as far back in her mind as she could for the day she was taken. Her mother was calling for her somewhere nearby, but she couldn’t see her. It wasn’t safe outside, she was supposed to stay with mother, she knew that…she was just so curious. She had to see what was out there...she had to keep going. She was running, finally, unhindered by the locks that kept her, and her mother, trapped in their home. But she didn’t make it far.

The Mastermen were pulling her into the back of a beast, she kicked out at them but there were too many. She tried to bite and hit, but they pinned her small frame down with almost no effort. She was screaming for her mother, fighting the hands at her throat and her arms…they took her. It was dark and the hum of the beast under her feet told her they were already moving. Her mother’s voice still in her ears, she was taken to the prison, searched, sprayed down, and thrown into a cage. Until now.

She was too young to understand how this all came to be, the Masters were formed long before her time. Mother had talked about them almost like an urban legend…a ghost story. They were the boogeymen that punished the naughty who went outside without their parents. Older now, she felt wiser and stronger than when she first heard the stories. But she didn’t know why the Masters took her, and not any others she had seen in her brief time on the other side of the door. Now that she thought about it, they had all been tethered to their parents. It was the law. Stay inside, stay with an adult, don’t break the rules. The Masters were more than boogeymen, they were giant, hulking figures with rough hands that didn’t care how small she was. Now that she was out here, they were a real, terrifying threat. But why? Why couldn’t she come outside? All that seemed to be out here was dirt, stench, and beasts. She wanted to know more about all of it, but mother wasn’t here to ask. Mother was a distant figure somewhere in the wasteland in front of her, and she didn’t even know which direction to start.

Another memory floated in front of her eyes, while her mind worked quietly to identify the threat over the hill. Mother was placing a metal necklace around her neck, heart shaped and silver, murmuring words in her ears...it was so foggy, so distant.

She pushed all her recollections away and her eyes opened. The sound was getting father away now, it might be safe to try and look. She crept to the crest of the hill, finding cover in the long, dead grass. She crouched at the top and looked over a small dip in the earth, a concrete jungle in the small valley. Another one. She’d have to find a way around.

The labyrinth below was one of many she’d seen in the last few days, gray, dead, smelling of sickness and human filth. She had thought about slowly searching the edges for mother, but there were too many people, too many Mastermen. She was a fugitive now.

She turned away from the valley and started back down the hill, thinking about which direction to try next. Mother would be looking for her too, they just needed to cross paths. A setting sun over the dull, brown horizon meant the search would have to end for the night. Slinking into the tree line, she let the memory return of mother. At least when she was curled up tonight in the woods, she’d have something to occupy her mind.

In a troubled sleep, the words she’d heard when she was small came back to her in between twisted dreams. She was running from the Masters, they were catching up, trying to take her back…she was so tired, she had to stop running. There were voices all around her, she couldn’t recognize them. Everything was a blur of gray and black, the voices were calling for her in the distance…until a smiling face swam into view. Just mother now, she was safe. Her voice was soft. “See? Just like mine.” Mother opened the locket around her own neck, revealing a small black and white picture of the two of them at the park. She saw a fleeting image of a heart before mother fastened the chain around her, showing letters and numbers in a language she couldn’t understand.

“This will help you be found, if you’re ever lost.” The sound was far away, ancient…be found…

The next morning, she set out more confused than yesterday... be found. What did that even mean? Where was her necklace? Did the Masters take it? It was so long ago… Maybe she wasn’t wearing it that day…she didn’t know anything anymore.

Still unraveling the dream, she walked right to the edge of another maze without being aware of her steps. Her heart dropped into her stomach for just a moment, but after confirming she wasn’t far enough in to be seen, she recovered and looked around. This labyrinth felt different, smelled…familiar. She was getting closer to home.

The horizon was obscured by pollution, but she saw the vague shape of giant gray buildings in the distance. Those must be where the Mastermen lived, looming over everyone else. Filling in the rest of the valley were the boxy silhouettes of houses and buildings, with almost no activity on the paths aside from a stray cat or two.

The growling sound from yesterday suddenly returned, and her eyes snapped over to the source. A huge beast rounded the corner, bigger than she had ever seen before. It’s great glowing eyes in the morning light moved right past her and continued crawling the street, evidently looking for food. It lurched to a stop and a scaley arm reached out from its back. It scooped up a box on the street and dumped it right into a wide gaping mouth on the top of its head. She shuddered as it threw the box and continued to crawl on, looking for more. There were a few boxes along the paths of the maze, she noticed. Maybe the boxes were offerings to this beast, was it special? It was bigger than all the others she’d seen, maybe some couldn’t be kept as pets or used for travel…

Without warning, a hand grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her down to the ground. A large, odorous Master pinned her there, slipping a rope loop around her neck and pulling it taut. She was choking-how did they find her? The hands of the Master grabbed her by her hair and threw her into the back of a small white beast. Why didn’t she hear it? That monster had been so loud, she was distracted… and now, she couldn’t breathe. She was panicking, clawing at her restraints to escape…and then the prick of a needle in her neck, and the world was black.

When she woke up, the lights were off, but a small orange bulb hung outside her bars. This was a different cell than before. In the dull light she took in her surroundings, water in the corner and a mat on the ground for sleep, but nothing else. She was so tired. There were others in here like her, she heard them crying and whining all around. How long had she been here? Did it matter? She curled up on the mat… so tired. She was never going to get home. She was going to die here.

In the days that followed, she tried to learn the pattern of the Mastermen as they patrolled the prison. Last time she’d managed to slip under the outstretched arm of a Master and sprint toward the direction of the front gates, maybe she could do it again. But this place was different…the gates might be somewhere else, or she might hit locked doors and dead ends like last time. The only way she’d be able to figure it out was with time. Who knows how long it would take, how long it would be before she found her way to mother. She was mulling this over when a gate opened at the end of the walkway. She couldn’t see which Master was coming in, but she heard the dull murmur of voices as people entered the block. More than one Master, maybe?

A woman’s voice laughed lightly. That wasn’t right. There wasn’t a lady Master in this prison that she had seen. The voices got louder as they moved towards her. They were pausing every so often, checking inside each cell. What were they looking for? One man, one woman…they sounded familiar, almost. In the dull light, two silhouettes appeared in front of her bars, as she hid herself against the dark back wall.

“Oh my god,” the woman’s voice said. “That’s her,”

She knew that voice.

“It’s her! We found her!” the voice exclaimed.

She didn’t understand. This voice was familiar, so was the smell, but the shape was still frightening. She stayed hidden against the wall. This was probably a trick by the Masters, to confuse her. If she didn’t move, they’d think she was asleep. Then the bars opened.

In a dim ray of orange light, a glint of silver flashed. There was a heart on a chain… just like hers. A woman’s face appeared next. She had a wide smile and tears streaming down her face. Mother.

She ran to mother’s arms, starting to cry too. Finally! Her mother scooped her up and pulled her close. She let mother scratch her ears while she breathed in the sweet scent of home on her jacket. All that mattered now was going home. Mother pulled the necklace out of a bag, and buckled it back around her neck, giving her an affectionate head scratch before straightening up.

“Of all the days not to wear your collar,” she laughed.

She’d have to remember to ask mother how it all worked, how mother found her if she wasn’t wearing her necklace the day she had run away. But her questions could wait until she was safely back at home. Her leash was once again held by her mother’s gentle hands, and she heard the soft clink of the metal heart on her neck. All familiar sounds, the monsters from outside were gone…quiet. She was safe and loved again. For now, she was found.