Chapter One

The walls surrounding the city always amazed me. Measuring 100 meters, the steel fortress served as protection, security, and safety, but also kept us here. No one knew what was on the other side of the walls. Some said there was nothing on the other side, just a vast landscape with no sign of life. Others said horrible, horrible things rested outside. Those huge walls were easily the biggest structure in Koron.
I was determined to reach the top, and be the first Peasant in who knows how long to see over the wall. For all we know, Nobles could take tours over the wall and see over it whenever they want. In their district, anything they wanted could be there. Their guards patrolled the top, to no surprise. The Rebellion could get into their wonderful District if they got on top of those walls.
But I wanted to see over it. Ever since I was a kid, I looked up at those walls in amazement. I figured that they were the tops of the world, and from there you could look down on everything, see everything in existence. I would be free from poverty, hunger, and all my other troubles. Since then, it became an obsession of mine to see over the top. Today was the day I would see over those walls, and be on top of the world, the highest structure in the city. But I couldn’t stay long. Guards would be there quick. Those guards are at least twice as fast as any other man in the city, but I was sure I could get away. I have been climbing rooftops for years.
The plan I had developed was simple, actually. There was a chain-mail fence that used to surround a warehouse, but now it just sat there, as it was closed a long time ago. My brother and me would climb up that fence, and leap onto the rooftop. Since it was so close to the wall, alarms might sound, and we’d sprint from there. There was only one leap between buildings that we would have to complete. On the second rooftop, there was a cable supporting the wall. We could climb up this cable one at a time. I wasn’t sure if it was strong enough to support both of us. The cable would take us to the top of the wall- to momentary freedom.
From there, we would run to the next support cable and slide down to safety.
“Are you sure we should do this, Bryce?” My brother asked.
“Of course. It’s simple. We just have to climb the fence,” I pointed to everything as I talked. “Hop to the roof, and climb the support cable to the top of the wall. When the guards come, run to the next support cable, and slide down. We’ve climbed buildings a million times before.”
“What if the guards get to us?” John asked.
“We’ll be gone by then. Don’t be a wuss” I teased. “We’ve climbed rooftops all the time. It’s just the same thing.”
John smiled. “Well, I guess your right…” John waited a second, than yelled “Race you to the top!” And with that, he ran at the fence at full force. Laughing, I sprinted after him, and leaped up on the chain mail fence, climbing up like a rock wall. Like I expected, when John landed on the first roof, the alarm sounded. A small red flashing device popped out of the wall next to John, making a high pitched wailing sound.
“Keep going!” I encouraged. “We’ve got at least two minutes before those guards show up, and the fence was half the height! Just keep running.”
“Well I wasn’t planning on stopping.” John shouted back.
When I got on top of the first roof, John had reached a gap between buildings. Without hesitation, he jumped over to the next building. One leg got over, but the other was dangling over the edge, and he had a death grip on the shingles.
“Hang on!” I yelled, and cleared the gap easily with my longer legs. I gave him a hand, and pulled him up on the roof. He rolled over on to his back.
“You alright?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a little close.” John replied.
“Well, this will sure give me a good head start!” I sneered, and ran up the slanted roof towards the support cable. At this point, I had forgot about seeing over the wall and was just teasing my brother, racing him to the top.
“Aw, come on!” John yelled cheerfully, and got up to sprint towards me. In the far background, I could hear the perfectly synchronized marching of the guards, and I picked up my pace.
Behind me, John did as well, and his expression turned to worry. It would not be good for either of us if the guards got to us. But I needed to see over that wall. When I reached the support cable, I leaped up onto it and climbed up, hand over hand, as fast as I could. When I was about halfway up, I looked down to see John waiting at the bottom of the support cable. Farther down, the guards were climbing up the fence. They were huge, each in full body armor. They climbed up the fence extremely fast, and I hurried up faster up the cable. When I reached the top, I looked down at John and told him to hurry up the cable.
He leaped up without question, and climbed quickly but awkwardly up the cable, as if he wasn’t quite sure how to do it. The guards were sprinting up the roof, and made the leap across the gap with a couple yards to spare. This was a jump further than any human could’ve done, yet they each did it with ease. Each of them, I could now see, was carrying heavy weaponry. Some seemed to be carrying machine-guns, some shotguns, and lost of other assorted weaponry.
Hurry, John, hurry! I thought. “John, meet me over at the next support cable!” I screamed, and ran. I knew we needed to get out of here as soon as possible. The guards arrived a lot faster than I anticipated. When I finished sprinting on top of the wall, I slid down the support cable, onto a building overlooking the muddy river that was our only source of water.
When I looked over the river towards John, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The guards had caught up to John, and were taking him down the cable. I knew where they were taking him. They would turn him into a guard and force him to fight in their ranks. With pain, I realized that I lost my brother and didn’t even look over the wall. I should’ve stayed and fought, I thought. But then I’d be captured or dead, too.

Chapter Two

I arrived at my house after an hour or two of just thinking of everything on the rooftops. It was a very small unit, even for a Peasant. But the only one living with me was John. When our parents died, I had to take care of John. At the time, I was 14 and John was six. I’d been looking after him for six years- and now he’s gone.
Most likely, I’d never see him again. There are thousands of guards patrolling not just our District, but theirs, the dividing wall, and everywhere else in the city. And the city was just too big.
The house, if you could call it that, had shabby wooden walls, a bare-earth floor, and a shingled roof with holes everywhere. It was run-down, old, and probably had a few pests. Inside was one room, with two old mattresses as the only furniture. I afforded this, plus food and everything else, by stealing. My dad died before he could teach me how to fish, which was what he did. So, it was the only way I could get any money.
Off my mattress, I grabbed some money that wasn’t mine, and went for a drink. I knew the owner of a nearby bar pretty well, and I’ve been going there for about a year.
When I walked in, I was greeted heartedly by Baron, the bar owner. “Bryce! Come in and have a seat!” He motioned to a stool up next to a wooden bar, and got me a drink. I handed him the money. He looked at me funny.
“Whose money is this your using today?” Baron asked, knowing how a get my cash.
“Don’t know.” I replied bleakly.
“Getting sloppy with this?” Baron asked.
“Maybe a little.” I answered him, before he seemed to pick up that I wasn’t in a good mood.
“What happened today? You don’t seem like yourself.”
“I climbed the wall with John.”
“Did you get the top?” Baron asked.
“I did. John was behind me and got captured by the guards.”
Baron stopped what he was doing and looked at me. “I’m truly sorry. You have to know there was nothing you could do. The Nobles wouldn’t just let John go because he was young. They’d tell the guards to take him away.”
“I had my knife with me. I could’ve at least fought back against the guards, but I ran across the wall, and told him to meet me on the next building. I should’ve stopped and looked after him. Or at the least let him climb first. There are so many things I could’ve done, but I chose the most cowardly option possible.”
“Look, if John didn’t get taken away, you would. And if you would’ve stayed and fought, you know you would’ve lost the fight. The guard’s don’t make mistakes. They’re human, but their programmed not to make any mistakes- you would’ve lost the fight right away. You would’ve been killed or captured.”
“It’s better that way. I can’t deal with the fact that I’m the one who lost John.” I took a long gulp.
Baron had no response for a long time. “Did you see over the top?”
“No. I didn’t even accomplish what I was planning to. I lost my brother, and the climbing was a failure.” I took another deep gulp of stale drink, and hoped that if I drank enough I would forget tonight – or even die.
“Look. I have one thing that might get your mind off things. There is the option of getting back, joining the Rebellion.” Baron suggested.
I looked at him with a cold disgust. “No.”
“Why not?” Baron asked.
“You know why not! I can’t look at a rebel in the eye without thinking that their fights are what killed my parents. I’m not joining. That’s a mistake my parents made, but now I know better.”
“That was six years ago! The fight is still alive, so what does that tell you? They’re making advancements. I’ve never actually seen them myself, but I do talk to Scar often. I could point you in the right direction, maybe even come with you and show you around.” Baron said with a smile.
“They still killed my parents. The Rebellion is the reason for those guards, too. They’re why they took us off the streets and turned us into fighting machines.”
“And now they’re figuring out how to reverse it. It’s a significant breakthrough.”
“Look, you can say whatever you want. But I am not joining the Rebellion unless forced to. End of story.” Saying this, I got up, and left Baron’s bar.
As I left, he yelled out. “If you change your mind, remember what I said!”

Chapter Three

The trip home was what ultimately threw me into the fight, and ultimately decided my fate. I witnessed something that happens ordinarily, but caused me to lose control.
As I walked home, I saw a fight going on, and everyone but the ones involved walking away. The fight horrified me, and gave me a choice to back up or fight. My first thought was to just walk away and pretend I saw nothing, until I saw the boy in the fight. He was about John’s age, and I thought about how I walked away from the fight with John. I knew I couldn’t do that again, and ran into the fight.
The fight involved three people. First on the assault was a guard, in his shining black armor, trying to take the boy captive. The mother of the boy, however, was not allowing it. She was fighting back, screaming, and crying. Without weapons, however, it looked like she was just throwing herself at him, hitting and kicking. All she accomplished with this action was to anger the guard, and he repeatedly at the cold earth. By now, all Peasants had cleared the area, running or hiding behind run-down buildings.
I ran out at them, taking out my knife as I did so. When the guard turned his head and saw me charging at him, he threw the boy and his mother to the floor, and faced me. From a sheath by his midsection, he took out a black handgun and pointed it at the mother on the ground. “If you take one more step, the mother dies.” He threatened. “Drop you knife, and back away.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Okay, okay. Just leave them alone, then.”
“You know that won’t happen. Drop your weapon, or the mom dies. And I have one more hostage if you don’t.”
I looked at the mind-controlled person in disgust. “Is their no person left in there? No one can hear me or react like you used to? You have no memory of your past at all? No sympathy? There’s no bell in your head that realizes that your pointing guns at a person?” I asked.
“I don’t understand your questions, and don’t have to answer them. Drop your weapon. One more pointless question, and the mom dies.”
“Fine.” I slowly bent down to the ground and set my weapon down. Then, I slowly backed u. The guard picked up the boy and his mom, the boy held in a headlock, and the gun pointed at the mother with his other.
“Come with me.” The guard said to the mom, who got up and followed, tears rising in her eyes, which were red and blurry.
If I continued pursuit, all three of us could die. But, I could save us all. Staying here would ultimately result in the boy and the mom wishing she were dead anyways, and I had nothing to lose. I ran up and picked up my knife, running towards them. To stay out of sight, I climbed up a balcony and onto the rooftops, Jumping from roof to roof to where I knew the guards would go – towards the Noble’s District.
I stayed near the edge, looking down at the Peasants walking by, searching for the guard. When I saw Peasants running away in a confused chaos, I knew that I was close. None of them wanted to get involved with a guard or Noble of any kind. They knew it would not turn out good for them, or anyone around them. If they took any action, the guards would see it as an act by the Rebellion. Even if they would somehow defeat the guard, every guard in the city would recognize their face, and they would be killed on sight.
When I spotted the guard with the boy, I slowed down, trying not to knock down the shingles, or make any noise. I crawled crouched down into their path, my knife in my hand.
Finally, when they were right in front of me, I stood up. The guard must’ve heard me, because he looked up just as I landed on top of him, digging my knife into the back of his neck. There was an initial ring of metal hitting metal, and then a crunch as the knife pierced the spine. The guard fell down to the ground. They were strong, but not invincible. Lying on the ground, the guard stared at me, probably putting my face on the wanted list. If another guard saw me, I would be shot at.
With a sudden, mechanical jerk the guard turned his head to the boy’s mother, and raised his weapon.
“No!” the boy cried out, and pushed himself towards the guard, but any attempt would be too late. The guard pulled the trigger sending a loud boom through the air, causing silence to take over, and the mother fell to the earth. When I looked down at the mom, the bullet hole was dead center on her forehead.
Again the boy cried out. “No! No, no, no!” He knelt down near his mother, and stared at her face, just to assure him there was nothing he could do. It was all over. Like the mother was just minutes before, the boy was crying and screaming uncontrollably. There were no audible words coming out of his mouth, only wails and murmurs.
Soon, it just broke down to quiet sobs. I finally spoke up. “Kid, we got to get out of here. More guards will be here any moment now.”
He didn’t look up from his mom, but he replied. “Why did you do that?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Why did you kill my mom? If you had done that, she’d be alive. You didn’t have to. You chose to kill my mom.”
“Look, I was only trying to help.”
“They were going to let her go!” He stood up and locked eyes with me. His were red and watery, his veins showing up prominently. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked like he had been crying for hours, not just minutes. “They said they weren’t going to hurt her! They just wanted me!” He continued to weep and yell at the same time.
“Look, they were going to take you away. You wouldn’t remember anything else for the rest of your life. They probably would’ve killed her anyways.”
“They said they wouldn’t! They said that they were going to let her go, and they just wanted to take me somewhere!”
“They lied.” I replied. “Why else would your mom be crying and fighting? She knew that they were lying. She knew that she’d never see you again.”
“They weren’t lying! You killed my mom, and I hate you!” He screamed, his voice shaking.
“Fine, hate me.” I replied. “But no matter how much you do, it won’t change the fact that what I’m saying is true, and that we will all lose people. Life will never be fair, and if I wouldn’t have helped, you wouldn’t be alive right now, and you mom would be lying on the floor, crying.” With that statement, I left the kid.

Chapter Four

The next day, I woke up to a rattling noise in my house. Slowly, I got up and gripped my knife, ready for any guard that decided to follow me home. Considering that I killed a guard, they would no doubt expect me to be part of the Rebellion. But if there were a guard that followed me home, he wouldn’t be alone. By any means necessary, they would exterminate me. But, for all I knew, John could be invading my house in black armor, raising his weapon to my forehead, controlled by the Nobles. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that.
Then I realized I couldn’t know. Their faces are all hidden behind visors, never revealed to any assailant. The guard I killed yesterday could’ve been John. It was unlikely, but I could never know. This thought alone froze me in place, my face dug into the worn mattress. But I had to get up, or else I could die here like a coward, face hidden.
I jumped up suddenly, facing the source of the noise, knife raised, trying to catch the invader by surprise. But all that was there was the boy from yesterday, struggling to fit through my open window. He raised his head and saw me facing him with my knife raised.
“Don’t hurt me! I’m not here for anything bad!” The boy screamed, raising his hands and falling into my house onto the dirt.
“I’m not going to hurt you. What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I had nowhere else to go. Guards surrounded my house. And, I figured since you, uh…” The kid stumbled, unsure what to say.
“Saved your life?” I finished for him.
“Yeah, that. I realized that you were right. About what you did. It’s what you had to do. So, I thought that I should probably warn you. I heard the guards talking about invading your house. They’re coming soon.”
“The guards are coming here?” I asked.
“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, sorry. Let’s go. Now.”
“Agreed.”
As if on cue, the mesmerizing synchronized marching of the guard sounded. The window, I mouthed, being careful. I didn’t know how good the hearing of the guards was, and I doubted they could hear me, but you could never be too cautious. I motioned for the kid to go first, and lifted him up onto the window by the bottom of his shoes. I followed, lifting one leg up first to support the rest of my body, and dropped into an alleyway to the side of my house, right as the door to my house was broke down.
The kid and me ran down the alley noisily, followed by the emotionless yelling of a guard. “They went out the window!” He screamed, and the marching began again, at a much faster speed than anyone could run. “Go, go!” I screamed, louder than I needed to. This is just like when I lost John. Guards chasing after a kid, and me I thought. On the ground next to me, there was a whizzing sound that made me jump, and dust kicked up by my feet. “They’re armed! Don’t stop running!”
“Why would I stop running?” The kid yelled.
Finally, I stopped the kid at the balcony that had saved me many times, especially when the person I was stealing from caught me. From there, I could get onto the rooftops, and run to Baron’s bar. He had a hole in his kitchen roof that he couldn’t afford to replace. I jumped up towards the balcony, grabbing the floor posts with my hands, and muscling myself up. It was like extreme pull-ups, this time with two lives on the line. With some struggle, I lifted myself up.
“Jump! I’ll grab your hand and pull you up!” With a pang of guilt, I realized that going first was the same thing that had killed John. “Hurry!” I leaned down, arm outright.
“I can’t jump that high!” The kid yelled.
“You don’t have to! I’ll grab you.” The kid leaped up, ending up half a foot short from my hand. The guards were out of the alley and were running towards us. A bullet hit the wall next to me, and I heard the family inside scream. I leaned over as far as I could this time, holding onto the posts tight. “Jump again!”
The kid bent his knees for a couple seconds before making his leap. I grabbed his outstretched hand this time, and pulled him up with a struggle, almost falling over myself.
“Follow me!” I yelled, and the amount of fire coming towards us increased. Luckily, we were running away from their direction. The shingles were mostly intact here, but had large holes in various places around where we were running. Soon, I ran up and made the leap between the rows of adjacent buildings we were running on, onto Baron’s roof. I motioned with my hands for the kid to follow. He backed up, ran and leaped onto the building easily. The gap was only about a meter.
We crawled towards the hole in Baron’s roof, and I jumped down into the back of Baron’s bar. He was inside the kitchen where we fell, and we were lucky not to land on him.
“Oh, Bryce! You scared me!” He put a device in his pocket that he had been fiddling with. “What’d you steal this time?” The kid fell down “Uh… You didn’t kidnap this guy, did you?” Baron asked.
“Shut up!” I yelled. He looked at me, hurt. “There are guards coming! Be quiet.” I kneeled down by the back wall, and waited for the sound of marching to come. If the guards knew where we were, Baron, the kid and me would all be killed. But, after a few minutes of waiting, the sound never came.
“Okay, I think it’s safe.” I said.
“Alright, then.” Baron started. “Back to my question. Did you kidnap this kid?”
“No, no of course not.” I replied. “A guard was taking him, and I kind of fought back. I killed the guard, and before he died, the guard shot his mom.”
“You did what?” Baron exclaimed. “That’s crazy. Who in their right mind would attack a guard?”
“I don’t know. I was mad, and I had just lost my brother, and when I saw him being taken like that, he’s so close to John’s age. My mind was fogged, I guess, and I just lost it.”
“How’d you even manage to take out a guard?” Baron asked.
“I leaped from a building. First, I tried attacking him in the open, but he threatened to kill the kid’s mother.” I had grown tired of just calling him ‘the kid’, so I asked. “What’s your name, kid?”
“My name’s Clyde.” I finally knew his name. But I didn’t really have the time to ask before. The whole time I’d been in contact with him, I’d been shot at, or at the risk of being shot.
“Ok. Clyde’s mother. When they were out of sight, I picked up my knife, and got on the rooftops. I met up with them, and leaped of the building. I stabbed him in the spine right by his neck.”
“Wow. I didn’t know you could kill a guard with just a knife.” Baron said.
“Yeah, either did I. When he came by this morning, he told me the guards were coming after us. So that’s why we came here.”
“To escape the guards?”
“Yeah. Also, I was hoping to stay here for a while, Clyde and me. Both our houses will be under tight security for a while, I think.”
“Why don’t you just stay at the Rebellion’s base?” Clyde asked me.
I gave him a funny look. “Why would I do that?”
“Well, I figured since you’re part of the rebellion, you could just stay there for a while if you needed to.”
“I’m NOT part of the Rebellion. I never have been.” I said.
“Oh. I just thought that since you took out that guard, you were part of it. I’ve never heard of anyone doing that on their own.”
“I’m not with them. My parents were, but not me.”
“Why don’t we stay with your parents, then?” He asked me.
I winced. “My parents died fighting in the Rebellion.”
The kid looked at the floor. “Sorry. I’m just saying all the wrong things right now, aren’t I?”
“It’s okay.” I said. “You didn’t know any of that stuff.”
“Alright, then. Now that we’re all caught up, you guys can stay back here. But I can’t guarantee any comfort. I don’t have anything to spare for you.”
“That’s okay. Thanks for letting us stay.” I said.
“No problem.”

Chapter Five

The next day was a very tough day for me. I had to make a very important decision.
Baron walked in with a look on his face that was not his normal, careless face. His face was bland, with no expression, and white as a ghost. “Guys, I have something I need you to do for me.” He said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I need you to move out of my kitchen. I simply don’t have enough food to support you anymore.” Baron replied, obviously not liking saying it.
“Where do we go? I really can’t go home, it’s crawling with guards, and so is Clyde’s. We’d have to wander the streets.”
“Don’t worry. I already have a place arranged that you can go.”
“Where?” I asked.
Baron didn’t reply. He simply opened the door to the kitchen and nodded to someone beyond the door. The man was very tall, wearing normal peasant’s clothes with extra padding, and a knife on his belt. I recognized him immediately.
“No.” I said.
“You don’t have another choice, Bryce. It’s this or wander the streets. I don’t have enough room or enough food. We’d starve.”
“Find a different place. Anywhere but this.” The man that came in the door was Scar. His name was on posters all over our district. He was the leader of the Rebellion, and knew my parents without doubt.
“Bryce, you can-“ Scar started.
“Shut up.” I yelled. “I’m not listening to you talk. Your little gang got my family killed. I’m not making the same mistake my parents did.”
“We can help you. We’re not trying to hurt you at all.” Scar replied.
“You’ve helped enough.”
“Bryce, It wasn’t my fault. The guards killed your parents. The Nobles were at the root of the guards, and ultimately it’s their fault. We were just trying to prevent the same thing from happening to more people. They tried to take Clyde, and you fought back for that, so you must understand why what they’re doing is wrong.”
“What their doing is wrong, but you’re doing the same thing.” I replied.
“How?” Scar asked.
“You’re controlling your army with the hope of a better life, just like the Nobles are controlling theirs. These men of yours are fighting for a better life for you as you sit and watch it happen.” I replied.
“I fight, too. And my men all volunteered, with enough rage for the Nobles to fight back. I’m not controlling them. They can quit any time they want. They choose to stay because they want it all to stop. All the kidnappings, killings and everything else they’re doing just to keep their perfect lives. The Nobles killed your parents so that they could continue to be rich, and luxurious.”
“I won’t be able to look a rebel in the eye without thinking of my parents.”
“We can offer you a bed, a place to stay, food, and all we ask is a little cooperation with our endeavors.”
“Until we die.”
“Shut up!” Clyde yelled. “Both of you! Bryce, your parents died ages ago, and right now you’re just being selfish. Both of your parents died heroic deaths for a good cause. Just listen to yourself! You’re just being stubborn and one-sided. Your not listening to anything that he’s saying.” I thought about this, and realized he was right. I was being completely blinded by the fact that my parents died. “Your getting a chance to get back at the Nobles, to get them back for taking your parents, and your brother, and your just going to pass this up? And you know what? You’re getting a chance to prevent this from happening to anyone else. I’m listening to what he’s saying, and I lost my parents too!”
He was right. I had a chance here to prevent everything from happening to anyone else. I had a chance to get payback, and in the back of my mind, I knew if I got far enough, I could get John back. I still wasn’t a big fan of Scar, remembering how he tried to bait me, but Clyde was right.
After a while, I replied. “Fine. I’ll come with you. But I won’t be a perfect rebel, and I’ll tell you that right now.”
“Good. I’ll show you the way.” Scar said right before there was a loud bang on the door of the bar. We were all silent.
“What’s all the yelling about?” Asked the monotonous voice of a guard. Baron motioned towards a ladder that had been leaning against the wall, and then pointed to the hole in the roof. Scar grabbed the ladder from against the wall, and Baron went to answer the door.
There was a creaking as the wooden door opened, and Baron talked to the guards. “Yes?” He asked. Scar started climbing the ladder, and climbed onto the roof. I motioned for Clyde to follow, and I would climb up last.
“We heard screaming, and something about a Rebellion. We need an explanation, and then we will search the building.”
“Oh, I was just arguing with my employee in the back. You see, we’re redoing our system here-“ Baron tried stalling.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s great. We’ll need to come meet this employee and confirm this.”
Baron is going to be in real trouble. I thought, and climbed up the ladder, onto the roof, and we jumped down into an alleyway behind the bar, listening for what happened to Baron.
The door to the kitchen creaked open, and the guard must’ve seen that there was no employee. Baron worked alone. I heard a gun being pulled.
“Who was here?” The guard asked. Baron had no reply. “Who was here?” The guard pushed. I heard the thumping of Baron’s footsteps as he ran for it, and the bang of a gunshot. There was a thump of something hitting the floor.
No! I thought. Baron can’t be gone! I just sat there on the ground, unbelieving.
“Bryce, there’s nothing we can do about it. We have to go before they find us.” Scar urged, and I found myself running from Baron’s final resting place.

Chapter Six

Once we were sure that the guards were too far away, and couldn’t find us, we slowed down to a walk, Scar leading the way to the Rebellion base. It was very silent for a long time, with just the sound of our feet hitting the earth, and the soft murmuring of the peasants around us. I just thought about how Baron was gone. How this war had caused another person I knew to die. It wasn’t fair, and everyone knew it. But at least now, I could try to do something about it.
Scar broke the silence. “My name’s not really Scar, you know.”
“Why do people call you that, then?” Clyde asked. He seemed very at ease talking to Scar. It’s like he completely ignored that he ran an entire army to fight after fight.
Scar didn’t reply with an answer at first. He just pulled up his sleeve to his shoulder, revealing a nasty bulge on top of his shoulder blade. It was white, and had stitch marks across it, like laces on a football. The bulge stretched across his arm in a crescent shape.
“A guard shot me in my shoulder a long time ago in a fight. It hid my shoulder blade and tore the muscle in half around it. I couldn’t move it for a long time. Then, it scared over, and by some miracle my muscle rebounded without the help of a cast. I don’t know how it works exactly, but it healed, leaving behind this scar. People just called me Scar ever since.”
“What’s your real name, then?” Clyde asked.
“Lee. People also thought the name was much to normal to belong to the leader of the Rebellion.”
“Cool.” Clyde said.
Scar then talked to me. I wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about talking to him, my parents still on my mind. But I figured that I’d have to get used to it. I would be talking to him for a long time if my thoughts were correct.
“What you did to the guard attacking Clyde was very brave.” He started. I didn’t have a reply to that. “Especially how you pursued him even after he pulled the gun out on you. Baron told me all about it. I’m surprised that the knife was able to kill the guard. One bullet usually doesn’t crack their armor. It’s incredible strong, but you must of hit a weak point. But I am terribly sorry about what happened after you leaped down on the guard.” Scar looked at Clyde compassionately. I wasn’t sure if he was just playing him to get on his good side, or if he really cared about Clyde already. “I think you’ll be fascinated by what we’ve figured out about guards so far, from fighting them. They’re all individually programmed with different strengths. Some are stronger, some have better intelligence. But for some reason, we haven’t run into a guard that was strong in all categories.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked him.
“Because one particular area in our studies could very much interest you. If a guard’s programming is dropped, and they escape the suit, they are no longer under control. Unless they are inside the suit, the programming doesn’t work, and they gain free will. Then they’re simply very strong, very fast people.” Scar explained.
“Don’t try to use my brother as bait for fighting. It’s won’t work to use me like that.” I figured that he knew that I cared for my brother very much. Baron probably told him that as well. He could be trying to get me to fight harder if there was a chance that I could save John.
“I wasn’t trying to use you like that. I was simply telling you that eventually you could have that opportunity.” Scar explained, defending himself.
“I’m not falling for it.”
“Fine, believe what you want. Nevertheless, our studies will interest you.”
“Will we get guns?” Clyde asked. He didn’t seem to like me and Scar fighting like this.
“Bryce probably will. We’ll have to wait and see with you, though.”
“Okay.”
Scar stopped in front of an old, run down abandoned house. It had holes in the front, and was empty throughout.
“Here we are!” Scare said, and walked in the front door.
“You’re kidding. This is it? There’s no cover, guns, or people anywhere.” I said.
“You’ll see. Follow me.” Scar said, smiling. “That’s what makes it so hard to find.”
We followed Scar to a staircase leading upstairs.
“I thought this place was underground.” I said.
“It is.” Scar said, still smiling like he was mad. He reached towards the railing, grabbed hold, and pulled it out of the wall. It locked in place, and stayed part way out of the wall. There were a couple clicks, then the sound of gears rotating and creaking. Slowly, to my amazement, the stairs lowered one by one. Soon, each had lowered far enough so that the stairs now lead down, to a small room and a bolted steel door.
“Going down!” Scar said, and started descending the stairs. I looked at Clyde in awe. He just shrugged and followed Scar. When we reached the bottom, Scar pushed the railing back into the wall, and the stair started rising up to the original position, leaving only bare earth. Turning around, Scar pushed in one section of the metal door, and the door opened with more creaks and groans.
When it opened, we were met with guns being pointed directly at us. Holding them were Rebels with peasant clothes visibly under very light and scarce metal armor. They all had knives strapped to their belts, along with spare long clips that went to their assault rifles.
“Don’t worry. It’s only protocol, incase a guard gets in somehow.” Scar said, with the big smile still implanted on his face.
“It’s okay, Tyson. Just me and the new people I told you Baron wanted us to take in.” Scar started. “This is Bryce,” Scar motioned towards me. “And Clyde.” Scar motioned towards Clyde.
“Hi. I’m Tyson.” The largest guard said. He was very big, over six feet tall, and well built.
“Hello.” I said, and Clyde waved.
The base consisted mainly of one large room, filled with tables that were stacked with papers, guns, ammunition, and various other weapons. The sides of the room were filled with doors, and people were constantly moving to and fro between these. On the far side of where we were, there was one large, enclosed room jutting out from the wall. There were glass windows fogged for privacy. Next to the glass room to the left was one larger door. It was a steel door, and had numerous locks on it.
“What’s that room?” I asked Scar, pointing to the locked steel door.
“Oh, that’s the armory. It’s where we keep all of our guns, knives, ammunition, and all that good stuff. It’s locked so no one can steal any and we can keep track of it all. It was very difficult to get the guns in the first place. As you could imagine, not many people here have any guns the Nobles hadn’t taken away when the rebellion broke out.” Scar explained.
“What about the rest of the rooms?” Clyde asked.
“Well, the middle area here is where we do most of our planning and organization. We try to keep track of guard activity and all that happens between them and us. In fact, recently, guard patrols have lowered. They only come urgently if there is an attack or a violation of some rule. Otherwise, there are very few patrolling the streets. Not nearly as much as they used to be, even though our attacks haven’t ceased in aggressiveness or frequency. We’re assuming something is going on in their district that they need to fight off, as well. Maybe Nobles are committing crimes, although who knows why. They have everything they could ever want, really.”
“That’s weird.” I said. “Since there aren’t as many, are you planning something big?”
“Not at the moment.” Scar replied. “Honestly, the more we attack, the more of us they’ll take off the streets to replace them. And our population is much larger than theirs. Plus, if we have an extremely aggressive attack, you can bet your ass just as many guards will come as always.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. When I tried looking over the wall, they got there fast. Too fast.” I said, choking up a little.
“You tried to look over the wall?” Scar asked, surprised.
“Yeah. That’s what got John taken away.” I said.
“Did you see what was on the other side?” Scar asked, suddenly interested.
“No. I was too focused on John. I didn’t look.”
“I’m sorry to hear it.” Scar said, sounding genuinely disappointed. But I couldn’t decide whether he was disappointed that my brother got taken away, or that I didn’t look over the wall.
“Anyways,” Scar continued “The doors to the sides here lead to dorms. They’re where everyone sleeps, including me. The room with the glass windows over there is the infirmary. We have three medics for anyone who gets hurt. Our supplies are not very good, but they work for the most part.”
“Where are we sleeping?” Clyde asked.
“You will be sleeping in a dorm. I hop you two don’t mind sharing one.”
“Not at all.” I replied.
“Good. I’ll lead you to your room.” Scar said, and walked towards a door somewhere in the far corner. On the way, many Rebels looked at us funny, and I knew that was appropriate. I had taken down a guard, and I’m sure Scar had told everyone about that. They could all even know my name for all I know. And then there’s Clyde. He was probably the only kid in this room. Maybe the only kid to ever be in this room.
“Here it is.” Scar said, and opened up a wooden door. Inside were some blankets, that’s it. Four of them. One for us to sleep on, one to cover us up. The rest of the room was just white walls, and bare earth.
This would be my home for a while now, I knew.

Chapter Seven

At 8:00 A.M. the next morning, Tyson woke up Clyde and me. I was extremely tired after the events of the past couple days, and my body pushed me to close my eyes and fall back asleep. Clyde, on the other hand, was exactly the opposite. He was up as soon as Tyson entered the room. Clyde was doing everything he could to get me up – screaming jumping, kicking, until my eyes slowly adjusted to the light and I got up groggily. Finally, I was up, although I still felt tired. Tyson was waiting for us outside of our door.
“Good morning.” Tyson greeted us.
“Not for me.” I replied.
“Well, since you’re knew, you’ll need a weapon besides just the knife your carrying on you. You were extremely lucky to defeat that guard with it. Plus, President Clover put your name on the wanted list. Every guard in the city can recognize your face and will fire at you on sight. And once you’re on their list, you can’t get off. That’s why were providing you with a gun.” Tyson explained.
“Do I get one, too?” Clyde asked.
“Probably not yet.” Tyson replied, much to Clyde’s disappointment. “Later, you probably will, though. Follow me.”
Tyson led us to the other end of the large room filled with tables, and to the steel door.
“When do we eat?” Clyde asked.
“Whenever you want.” Tyson replied. “Just get food how you used to get it. There’s no way we could feed over a hundred people ourselves. We need some help on your part.”
“Great.” I said, disappointed. I had a feeling that stealing from people wasn’t exactly the best way to keep away from the guard’s attention.
“How’s the door open?” I asked. It was locked in three different places- a chain, a steel bar running across parallel to the ground, and one regular deadbolt lock.
“It’s actually very simple.” Tyson explained. “All you have to do is push on this brick here.” He put his hand on a brick to the left side of the door. On it was the Rebellion’s symbol – a cross through the letter N. When Tyson pushed on the brick, there were a couple of clicks, and the steel bar was off the door. Tyson pushed in another brick with the same symbol, and the deadbolt disengaged. Finally, he pushed on a brick above the door, and the chain loosened. Tyson was then able to open the door, revieling a room filled with shelves of guns and ammunition.
“Where’d you get all this security?” I asked. “The stairs, this door, and all your other precautions?”
“We have someone to do that for us. He’s not officially a member of the Rebellion, and no one really talks to him but Scar. Scar is very close to him. All I know about him is that he is really good at all this stuff. We can always hear him mumbling to himself. His name is Venus.”
“Wow.” I said.
“Well, in we go.” Tyson said. Everything in the room was neatly organized. On one shelf were handguns, on another sniper rifles, and so on. Below each shelf was another shelf with the ammo to go with it. On the floor near these shelves were piles of other supplies.
“That’s quite a collection of weapons you have here.” I exclaimed. “Where do you get them?”
“Well, most of them are honestly taken from deceased guards. It’s not the best or most honorable way to get weapons, but it’s the only way. A couple were hidden when the Nobles came through and took them all, and were given to us by their owners.”
“First, you’ll need a handgun to carry with you at all times.” He moved over to the handgun shelf and scanned the selection for a little while. There were probably over twenty different kinds of handguns there, and different ammos to go with them. Tyson made his selection, and carried it over to me. He handed me a grey pistol with the butt of the gun separated from the rest by a small gap.
“This is the Mustang .457. You’ll have to pull back the back part every time. When you hear a click, the bullet has been placed in the barrel, and it will way there until you fire. Than it will rock forwards fast, but the kick will still go towards you. It’s a very powerful weapon, but you can only get off so many shots. You’ll need some practice shooting to see if it’s the gun for you, though.”
“Cool. What do you want me to shoot at?” I asked.
“Me. It’s loaded with mock bullets. It won’t hurt a bit, but the recoil will be just as much. Try it out.”
“Alright.” I replied, and struggled to pull out the back part. I couldn’t quite get a grip on it. When I finally did, I pulled it back with a lot of strain until it clicked. Than I aimed and fired at Tyson’s chest. The recoil ensued immediately after I pulled the trigger, and my shoulder snapped backwards, almost as load as the gun itself.
I yelped in surprise, and held my shoulder. “That things got a LOT of power.” I kept holding my shoulder. I felt as if my shoulder had simply fallen off my body.
“Yeah. That’s to be expected the first time you fire one of these. One of the disadvantages of the Mustang is that it has more recoil than a lot of our larger guns. You want to try a different gun?” Tyson asked.
“Yeah. But this time, have it less recoil.” I told him.
“I have the perfect weapon for that problem.” Tyson said, and put the mustang back on the shelf where it was before. He picked up a dark blue-ish grey handgun with a small clip coming out of the bottom in front of the trigger. He handed it to me, and if felt like plastic. The gun was slightly malleable, not steel like the Mustang was. Lighter, too.
“What’s this thing made of? It feels lighter than air.” I asked.
“That is the Trident. It’s made of shock-absorbent material. It absorbs all the recoil, resulting in no kickback. The gun itself just absorbs all the energy. The Trident is a remarkable weapon, and can shoot just as fast as you can pull the trigger. Try it out.” Tyson explained.
“Am I supposed to shoot you again?” I asked.
“Yeah. It’s filled with mock bullets. But this time, fire all the rounds in the clip until you hear a click, indicating that the gun is out of rounds.”
“Alright.” I replied, and raised the light gun. It took no effort to pull the trigger, and I emptied all ten rounds in less than a second, before it answered with a click.
When I lowered my weapon, Tyson was smiling. “Well, all ten rounds hit my chest, and in less than ten seconds. I think we found your weapon.” Tyson said, still smiling like a madman. He then walked over and picked up several small clips of ammo for the Trident, and a shoulder holster that included a spot for the gun, and the extra clips.
“Here. This is all you’ll need to take care of the gun. I’d recommend hiding the shoulder rig under your shirt, just so no one gets suspicious. Only use it in emergency, against guards or Nobles. We won’t have anyone hurting a Peasant.”
“Don’t worry. I’d never shoot any Peasants.” I replied.
“I expected that you wouldn’t, but Scar has me tell that to everyone who gets their first gun here.”

Chapter Eight

After getting my equipment, I left the safety of the base to get some money. Me and Clyde needed to eat. The Rebellion didn’t supply food, because it would simply be too many mouths to feed. I climbed onto the familiar rooftops, and lifted Clyde up as well. I scanned everywhere I could see for a victim that would make it worthwhile. One person in particular cought my eye, but it was a risky endeavor.
The victim was a Noble. If I was caught, guards would be called in and it could be the end of me. But if I successfully stole from him, I wouldn’t have to steal again for months. I had to get his money.
I pointed to the Noble, in much nicer clothes than everyone else, telling Clyde he was the one I was going to steal from. He was large, in a nice black suit. He seemed to just be walking around, scanning the area. Rarely did they come in our District. But this must be a special occasion for him.
“Are you sure you want to steal from a Noble?” Clyde asked. “If your caught, guards will be here, and you just killed a guard a few days ago! They’ll recognize you immediately!”
“Relax. I won’t get caught, and if I do, we have time before the guards get here. The most he’ll do on his own is yell at me. Plus, if I get his money, I won’t have to steal for months, and I could lay low during that time. You stay behind me, and I’ll get his money, alright?”
“Okay. I guess the reward is enough.” Clyde said.
“Good.” I replied, and leaped down from the roof onto the dirt. The Noble was walking ten yards in front of me, and I waved him down from the rooftop. He landed awkwardly, with one knee collapsing to the ground. I looked closer at the Noble. He had his wallet in his front suit pocket. All his money would be there. I put a finger to my lips, silencing Clyde, and starting walking normally towards the Noble. If I ran into him at the same time, he wouldn’t feel me grabbing his wallet. All he’d know is that someone bumped into him. The Noble wouldn’t be happy about me running into him either, though, and I could expect to be yelled at.
I picked up my pace to meet the Noble in front of me, and bumped into him with my side, making him stumble. I pushed up on his pocket, and the wallet came out, and I quickly slipped it into my pocket, all in one motion. I had done this again and again for the past six years.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t watch where I was going.” I apologized to the Noble, but he wouldn’t take it.
The Noble regained his balance and looked me in the eye. Out of respect, I looked away from his eyes like I was supposed to, so he would be convinced there was no funny business. “Go to Hell. And your family, too. “ The Noble retorted, spitting on the ground near me. Then, the bad thing happened. The Nobles may be told to check their wallets after every encounter. This one knew to, and checked his pocket. As he did this, I started walking away, trying to get out of his sight before he realized his money was gone.
“Stop!” The Noble yelled, and I did. If I didn’t, he would send the guards here. Each of the Nobles were monitored, and could directly link themselves to the guard’s database, sending them in whenever they feel necessary. If I kept running, he would send more than if I just obeyed him.
“You dirty son of a bitch.” The Noble started.
“I could say the same thing about you.” I replied.
“Funny. I’m getting the guards over here. And when they get here, you and your whole family will rot in a cell like you deserve. In fact, you might ev-“ The Noble wasn’t able to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, Clyde smashed into the Noble, knocking him to the earth, a twisted expression of rage and hate imprinted on his face.
“Shut up!” Clyde screamed, and threw a punch at the Noble’s face, without holding back. “You think you’re so special! You kill us to make your life better!” Clyde threw another punch.
“Get off me you little bastard!” The Noble yelled, trying to knock Clyde off of him.
“You’re a low life animal who take everything from us, and takes everything in return. You’re no better than anyone else in this city!” Clyde punched him again, and this time there was a crunch sound, and the Noble’s nose started bleeding. He screamed. “You’re the lowest animal known to man, and you deserve to die right here!” Clyde punched the Noble over and over, even after he stopped moving.
“Clyde?” I asked, softly, but he didn’t reply. He was done punching now, and just sat there on top of the dead Noble. “Clyde, are you okay?” There was a long silence, with no reply. I looked around for the first time to see that everyone had backed up, but was watching us with interest. They all seem to think that Clyde had done the right thing. I tried putting my hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and stood up.
“They killed my mother.” Clyde said, and started running. He seemed to have to destination in mind, but he ran. There were bags under his eyes again.
“Clyde! Where are you going?” I screamed. “Clyde!” Clyde seemed not to hear me, and kept running. I could now hear the monotonous marching, the key sound and warning of the inevitable danger. And Clyde was running straight for it. Realizing that he planned to attack the guards, that he was out of control with rage, I ran after him. I could faintly hear Clyde mumbling to himself as he ran. He was about twenty yards ahead of me. Even though I was bigger and stronger, I couldn’t gain any ground on him. The marching was loud, and the guards could be there at any moment, and they would not hold back simply because Clyde was a kid.
“Clyde, stop!” Clyde would not listen. When the guards appeared, they were advancing in a line, spread out in front of us.
“Hey, that’s the kid that was saved earlier!” One of the guards screamed, right before Clyde smashed into him. The rest of the guards shot, and in no time at all, there was a thick cloud of gunsmoke surrounding the guards, blinding me from what was happening. Without question, I ran into the smoke in the hope of saving Clyde. I would not abandon him like I did my brother. There was gunfire lighting up the outermost edges of the smoke clouds, making it look like one bit fireworks display.
I ran everywhere in the smoke, and visibility was only a couple feet, if that. I flailed my arms, trying to grab hold of something, and hoping it would be Clyde.
“Clyde!” I yelled, in hope that he would come near my voice, like some deadly version of Marco – Polo. “Clyde! Where are you?” I screamed. A couple of times while I was running through the smoke, I could feel a bullet flying past me. Any of them could hit me, but I was more worried about them hitting Clyde. Finally, my arm slammed into something, but by the metallic sound and the pain that hit my arm, I knew it wasn’t Clyde. I had run into a guard, and he turned his faintly glowing visor towards me. I couldn’t see his face behind it, but I could see words and symbols flashing across the screen, sending commands to the guard’s body. No matter how hard I looked, I could not see the face of the captured Peasant behind the visor.
“The kid has a friend! He’s on the wanted list as well!” The guard yelled, notifying the other guards of my presence. I tried to turn and run, but the guard grabbed me by the arm. The faintly green glow on the visor turned to a red glow, and the guard screamed. “Kill them both on sight!” It yelled.
In desperation, I kicked his knee. All that came out of that was a hollow metal thud, and pain in my leg. He was completely guarded by armor. No one knew what the guard’s suits were made of exactly, but everyone knew it was extremely tough and hard to penetrate. I’m dead! I thought, and the guard raised his weapon with the arm that didn’t have a death grip on me, it was a thick black pistol that I recognized as the Mustang Tyson had showed me earlier.
Before he could fire a fatal shot, I saw my opportunity for escape. His shoulder piece had been penetrated by a bullet, probably another guard’s. I took out the Trident that Tyson had given me, and knocked away the gun from the guards hands simultaneously. Off his guard, the gun flew from the guard’s hands and hit the ground. A bullet flew from the guard’s gun, but hid the floor. I had knocked the gun away just in time. The guard swore, then attempted to get his weapon back. While he did this, I fired three quick shots at his shoulder. The guard’s arm went limp, now uncontrolled, and free from his grip, I ran back into the chaotic smoke.
“The helper’s armed!” The disabled guard screamed. With his good arm, the guard attempted to fire three shots at me, but they were all blind shots. He was unsure where I had gone, thanks to the smoke. I continued to run around, hoping that by some miracle, I would run into Clyde. I was extremely short of breath, and I figured that Clyde could be suffocating by now. He had been in the smoke longer than I had, and it was getting thicker.
It wasn’t long this time, before I ran into someone else. I raised my gun, prepared for another guard, but I had run into Clyde.
“Clyde!” I whispered urgently, making sure the guard’s couldn’t hear me. “Thank God! We need to leave now!” But Clyde didn’t move. “Clyde! We need to go!” I urged, and tried to pull him to his feet. But then I saw why he wasn’t moving. His left leg was covered in blood. He had been hit by a bullet.
“Oh, God!” I said, and lifted him up over my shoulder. I ran in one blind direction, hoping it was closer to the rebel base, although I had no idea where we were. The thick smoke was very disorienting. I was lucky again, and it was the right direction. When I had emerged from the smoke, I took a huge breathe of air, and was slowly regaining my breathe. My body begged for me to just lie down, but I had to run. They would realize we were gone any time now, and I wanted to be far away from them when they did.
I found a building where the roof had caved down, and climbed onto the rooftop. It was much more difficult than normal, with me short of breathe, and Clyde on my back. He still hadn’t spoken, and his body felt limp. I prayed to God that he was unconscious, not dead.
Finally, the loud sound of gunfire stopped, and the world seemed to be silent. They had realized that we had escaped. I picked up my pace, using all my momentum to leap between buildings. It was difficult finding short enough gaps for me to leap, with Clyde on my back weighing me down. But if I went on the ground, the guards would find me in no time. The base wasn’t far away, but remembering how fast they got to me and my brother, I wasn’t taking any chances. If they got here this time, both Clyde and me would be captured or killed. I heard the guards shouting, and they ran in their creepy, synchronized footsteps. They had seen me. Luckily, I was very close to the base, and I jumped down. I entered the building, pulled down the railing, and pressed on the opening panel of the door, making sure I raised the stairs when I opened the door. I was again met by Tyson and the rest of his crew with guns pointed at me. When they saw it was just me and Clyde, they lowered their weapons. Tyson screamed for a medic, and I gave them Clyde, hoping they could heal him.
“What happened?” Tyson asked.
I was gasping for breath, the taste of smoke still in my mouth. “I stole from a Noble…” I took a deep breathe. “He caught me… Clyde killed him…” I started.
“Clyde killed him? Why?” Tyson asked.
“I don’t know… He ran away after that… Ran into some guards… I had to carry him back…”
“Did the guards follow you back?” Tyson asked, suddenly even more interested.
“Yeah… Why?” I asked.
“Did they see where you hid?” Tyson asked, and I realized my mistake. The guards would see where I went, and would search the building. If they got into the base, a war would break out and they would know the location of it.
“Damn it!” I yelled.
“Yeah. We need to get everyone ready in case they break in. Those stairs won’t stall them forever.”

Chapter Nine

“Attention!” Tyson screamed to everyone in the base, and they stopped dead in their tracks, looking toward him. “There are guards that followed Bryce and Clyde, and they may know where we are. The stairs and door will hold them for a while, but not forever! I want everyone in position to defend our position and then move out as soon as possible! I’m not sure if they’ll get in or not, but we need to be prepared if they do! Set up the barricades, and everyone get into position, now!” Tyson yelled. It was then that chaos broke through. Scar had stepped out of his room and was looking over everything, with his arms crossed. Clyde was now in the medical room, which was the farthest room from the entrance, surrounded by blurred glass windows.
The door to the artillery was opened, and many came through to grab weaponry. Others moved the desks and tipped them over in a line far from the entrance, to serve as cover. The guards were much stronger than us, and it would take a lot of firepower to bring them down. I was unsure what to do, until someone handed me a black shotgun with bullets strapped to the sides. “Go by Scar by the end of the barricades.” He told me. Tyson was gone, joining the chaos that was going on. Somehow, there was planning behind this seemingly random scattering. Within two minutes, everyone was holding a weapon, and was in position behind the tipped over desks. Behind us, in the medical room, there was screaming as they tried to get the bullet from Clyde’s leg, but soon, all was silent.
Next to me was Scar, with a gigantic sniper rifle in his arms, stand up on the top of the desk. Tyson was looking down the sights of an assault rifle. I wasn’t sure how useful the shotgun would be at long range, but I didn’t object. Above us, the heavy footsteps of armed soldiers was above us, and we could hear them talking.
“Are you sure they came here?” One asked.
“I’m sure. It may look run down, but its just part of their cover. Search the entire place.” Another confirmed, and there were footsteps all above us. I heard someone going up the stairs, but they didn’t realize the double usage of it, and just walked upstairs. Click, click, click! The guard’s boots rang against the stairs. Behind us, Clyde screamed again.
“Did you hear that?” One of the guards asked above us.
“Yeah but it sounded like it was under us.” Another replied.
“No one saw any stairs leading down, or tunnels?” One guard asked.
“No. The only other floor is above us, and there’s nothing there.” A guard walked on the stairs again. “Wait.” The guard on the stairs said, and jumped up. Smack! His boot slapped the floor. “This things hollow!” He yelled. Another kicked the stairs, and the banging sound echoed.
“Anyone got explosives? We could blow these stairs up, see what’s under them.”
“Nope. The one carrying the explosives died back there. That maniac kid attacked him.”
“Well, there’s still one way to get past them.”
“What’s that?” There was a crumbling sound, and a metallic sound as the guard hit the floor. He had run right through the stairs. That guard’s voice got louder, and closer.
“Guys, there’s a door down here! It’s some sort of camp.” I looked around me for the first time in a while. All the overturned desks were in a perfect line, and each Rebel was behind them, a gun pointed at the door above the desks. There were more noises, and the rest of the guards jumped down towards the door.
A guard tried the door, but it was locked, of course. It was double bolted from the inside. “How do we get through?” One asked.
“Same way we got past the stairs. Run through them!” A guard replied. Everyone in the base was prepared to open fire as soon as the guards burst through the door. One guard slammed into the metal door loudly, and one person fired a single bullet, startled by the noise. The metal door was now dented, but it wasn’t broken through.
“You hear that?” One guard exclaimed. “Someone fired a bullet in there!”
“Be prepared.”
Another guard took a try at the door, and broke it down. All at the same time, one hundred angry rebels opened fire. The sound was deafening, magnified by the closed space, and everyone’s ears rang. The smoke created by the guns was also bad very soon, and a faint haze was over the base. My gun sprayed two rounds of dazzling buckshot over the battlefield, and I fired again.
The unlucky guard who ran down the door was immediately torn to shreds. His armor opened up and ripped in many places, and blood leaked out of his suit. He fell to the ground face-first. The other guards showed no remorse, or any reaction to their fallen companion.
Everyone around me reloaded, and I struggled to find where to stuff my shells into, until Scar pointed to the back of the gun. I stuffed the shells into it, than pumped my shotgun, and regained my aim over the desk.
The rest of the guards stayed back for a while, and the tension grew. They could be getting backup, and then we wouldn’t stand a chance. There were six guard left, and I wasn’t sure if all of our rebels could take down that many. No one volunteered to go see what they were doing, and the base was shrouded in silence, amplified by the noise that had just finished.
As I was thinking this, all of the guards flew out the door, and we all opened fire again. There were small barriers that Tyson and his guards stayed by to greet people coming in, and the guards took cover behind those. Scar motioned to both ends of our line, and six people on each side crept around the edges of the base, towards where the guards were hiding. They were inevitably going to attack the guards, and I knew they couldn’t all make it. Each of them was poorly armored, with scrap metal scattered around them. None of these would stop an incoming bullet. Even their clothing didn’t surround their whole body. It was ripped in torn in every place. One poor kid wasn’t armored at all, with just street clothes on.
The rest of us stayed in position, ready to fire when the guards popped their heads up. The six men creeping up on the left side, including the kid, reached their destination. When they rounded the corner, the barrier would be in front of them, and they would attack. A man with the same gun as me took the lead, and tensed up, ready to leap into action and shower the guards with buckshot.
He waited for the other side to also reach their destination, and rounded to corner, leaping over the guard’s cover, and got one shot off, which echoed through the camp. But, his victor was short lived, and a guard shot the man in his head, ending his life quickly. The other lead man didn’t even get over the wall. A guard picked him up, and slammed him into the ground. Then, on the left side, a guard jumped up, holding his victim’s shotgun. We all opened fire immediately, but his armor took most of the damage. He blasted the remaining five attackers with two quick rounds. The kid with no armor fell like a rock, and the guard still stood standing. The rest of the attackers soon followed, and the guard picked up a rifle from a dead rebel. He soon started firing at our line of attackers with deadly precision. After the fifth shot, smoke blasted my face as Scar fired his sniper rifle beside me, and the guard’s visor shattered. Smoke rose from his helmet, and I realized that the weapon had started a fire inside the suit.
I ducked down in horror, trying not to think of the pain that the guard was experiencing. I tried not to think of the person inside the suit, and how he had been taken away. He was forced to kill, and now, to die. I needed to get back in the action, however, and I tried to get rid of my nausea.
I got back up to see the guard face-first on the ground, helmet still smoking. My ears hurt, and I couldn’t hear, because of all the echoing gunfire.
The five rebels on the other side that had advanced retreated back behind the desks- and everyone stopped shooting. Silence was emphasized by the ear-shattering noise that was going on just seconds before. The room was still, with everyone in the same position, ready to fire again when the guards got up.
All at once, the rest of the guards jumped onto the battlefield in full armor, and started firing on our line with their own pistols. One of the guards took the rifle from his dead companion, whose helmet still had smoke rising from it. The guard who grabbed the weapon showed no emotion at all towards his dead companion.
We all started returning fire, and confusion ensued as bullets flew everywhere over the battlefield. Our men were weaker, and not superhuman like the guards. Most of the bullets missed, and the guards kept running back and forth, dodging them. Their aim was not so off, and people began falling down around me, each bullet hitting their forehead dead on. Behind me, Clyde was screaming, adding to the noise. I tried not to think of him right now, because it was just too much.
Soon, guards began charging on our line, jumping over our desks, which were now covered in bullet-holes. When the guards were over our line, they began using physical combat as well, and they tore through our line of people. The guards seemed to be an unstoppable force on their own, and six of them were easily tearing through us. I was simply watching the others when one jumped right beside me. Startled, I fired an instinctive shot, which missed miserably. He lashed out towards me with his knife, and I ducked down to the ground on my back. I pumped my shotgun, and fired again at his visor. It cracked, but did not break. He again lunged at me, extending his knife.
The pain in my shoulder told me that he didn’t miss. I could feel my blood dripping down my arm, and could smell the iron in it, masked by the smell of gunfire. Tyson jumped up beside me, and punched the guard’s visor, shattering it into millions of tiny pieces, revealing the guard’s expressionless face.
“Finish him!” Tyson yelled at me, but I couldn’t. I recognized the face immediately. I froze, not being able to shoot, now that the man behind the visor was revealed. The man behind the visor was my father. I realized he hadn’t died in battle, he had been captured. When they lost the battle, the Nobles took him, and turned him into this monster. The man behind the visor did not recognize me, or if he could, didn’t show it. I looked away as Scar fired his pistol three times into the guards face, causing him to fall to the floor, dead.
When my father was taken away, it was sometime during the summer, and they said they were leaving for “work”. But by now, I had figured out what they were really up to. It was hard not to hear everyone’s conversations when you live in a one-room house. I was taking care of John for the day, trying to keep him entertained, when I heard the gunshots outside of our house.
Instinctively, I ran out to see what was going on, but I stayed in the doorway so I wouldn’t be in the crossfire. John followed me as well. There was smoke rising, but not as thick as when I got Clyde, and I could see what was going on. It was more like a fog, hanging low over the battlefield.
I saw the fighting going on, and the flares from the guns lit up the fog, and I remember thinking of the fireworks you can sometimes glimpse from the Noble’s District.
Remembering that my parents had just left to go to the Rebellion, I searched the fight that was going on. As usual, it was between the guards, and the Rebellion. It was a small fight, maybe thirty rebels vs. ten guards, but the rebels were obviously outmatched. Searching, I found my parents in the heat of the battle, and John did too. “Why are mommy and daddy fighting?” He asked me.
“I don’t know.” I lied. I knew they were fighting for the rebellion, and they were losing badly. One guard had been taken down, but only eight rebels were left, including my parents. Soon, they were the last two standing against nine guards. All of them had their guns pointed at my parents. I picked up John, and carried him back into the house. I didn’t want to see what happened next.
Then, I sat down on my bed, and cried. John did, too, but I think he only did because I was crying. Later, when he asked when they were getting home, I replied. “They won’t.” This was six years ago, and it still haunted my dreams today.
Seeing my father die for real this time, I was filled with rage. I only faintly remember Scar yelling my name, but mostly, I remember what I did. I ran through the line, filled with a sudden wave of hatred and rage.
As a guard put a bullet in someone’s shoulder, I smashed his visor with the butt of my shotgun, and then fired a shot into his open visor. The guard fell to the floor.
I ran towards another guard. As I raised my gun to shoot, he fired a bullet down the barrel of my shotgun. When I tried to shoot, all I got was the sound of gunfire, but no buckshot. I dodged the second round, and as I hit the floor, I took out my knife and rolled between his legs, ending up behind him. I stood up, and stuck my knife into his neck like I did to the one attacking Clyde. I heard the knife hit his spine, and I twisted it, making a small cracking sound, and the guard flopped to the ground, twitching. I had hit a nerve in his neck somewhere.
There were two guards left standing, and about 15 rebels. The last two guards had teamed up, and they had trapped the last group of rebels. When I looked over, a loud shot sounded behind me, and the back of the guard’s helmet cracked.
I kneeled down and picked up the gun from the now motionless guard’s hands. When I looked up, the guards had split and one of them was running towards the room that Clyde was in.
No! I thought, and fired a shot without thinking. It hit the back of the guard’s helmet, and he smashed through the glass windows and into the room where Clyde was being treated. I followed in through the hole in the glass.
When I stepped inside, the guard was already attacking, smashing and throwing around medical e equipment. I looked down at the table Clyde was laying on, and saw that the bullet had been removed from his leg, and was laying on the table next to the bed, covered in red.
One medic lay on the ground, covered in blood, and I knew he was dead. The guard, who began to raise his weapon, trapped the other medic. If the medic was killed, Clyde might not make it. I tried pulling the trigger, aiming for the crack that my bullet had made in the guard’s helmet, but I got a dry click. The gun was out of ammunition.
I threw the gun down, and the medic tried to run, screaming. Drawing on my last bit of anger, I took out my knife. I had never thrown much of anything in my life, especially not a knife, but I knew it was the only option, and raised my arm behind me. And I threw.
The knife sailed through the air, spinning like a wheel. It came down with a whoosh! And landed point first into the crack on the guard’s helmet. It was an extremely lucky shot. When the knife plunged into the guard’s neck, he fell to his knees, then face first into the floor.
“Are you okay?” I asked the medic, who just nodded, crouched in a corner. She didn’t appear hurt, but she was shivering violently.
I walked out, and as I did, there was another loud bang, and the back of the last guard’s helmet exploded open, and he fell. Suddenly, all was quiet. For the first time, I looked around at the depressing scene. Bodies lay in heaps all around me. Maybe a hundred rebels had died in the last ten minutes. Mixed in was the shining armor of the guards. Seven were left standing. There was me, Scar, Tyson, the medic, hopefully Clyde, and two other rebels, standing where the last guard had died.
No one said a word. No one wanted to. We all just stared at the ground, thinking of all that had just occurred in front of us. At least one hundred people had just died in that room.
Finally, Scar broke the silence. “We have to move.” He explained, gaining our attention. “More guards will be here any moment. They all know where we are now. We need to grab the supplies we need, and get out of here. We don’t have much time.”
“Everyone grab supplies, except for Tyson. You get Ashley and Clyde from the infirmary. Kane, get some medical supplies packed up. We’ll need food, weapons and anything else you find. Got it?”
Everyone nodded. “Good.” Scar said.
I was dying to know how Clyde was doing, but one of the standing rebels got my attention. He was older than the rest of us and had a scratchy voice. “Hey, Bryce!” He yelled. “Come with me, and we’ll get supplies from the armory. We need weapons, and we store other supplies in there as well.”
“Okay.” I replied, and followed him into the room.
He handed me a bag and told me to start packing. “What will we need?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. I know Scar’s got some plan, but I’m still so fucking confused. I just can’t believe all that happened. This whole thing’s just so messed up. We shouldn’t have lost all those people. They were all good.”
“A lot of guards died today, too. They used to be like us.” I replied.
“Screw them. They’re the reason that we have to fight this stupid war.” He started stuffing guns and ammunition into a pack, and threw me another one. “My name’s Rich, by the way. The other guy out there that you haven’t probably met is Kane. I’m guessing you met Tyson, though. He’s always all over the place. Scar’s been talking a lot about you, Bryce.”
I started to grab handfuls of whatever I saw and scooped them into the pack. “What has he been saying?” I asked.
“He says he has a lot of faith in you, and that you’ll turn this war around. I don’t know why he thinks so highly of you already, but he does. It might have something to do with the fact that your parents were both great fighters.” Rich said, still stuffing supplies in the bag. When he finished one, he grabbed another from the same pile and continued on. “He also mentioned the fact that you have a lot of motivation.” I finished one pack, and grabbed another.
“What does he mean by that?” I asked him.
“No clue. He wouldn’t tell us why.”
Scar’s scream split the air. “Let’s go! They’ll be here any second!” He yelled.
“Let’s go.” I said, and zipped up the faded pack. Outside the door, Tyson was carrying Clyde on his back, piggyback style. Clyde was breathing, but he wasn’t moving otherwise. The medic that was with Clyde was sitting down next to Tyson, wit her knees up to here chest, rolled up in a ball. I tossed a pack to Scar, and Rich tossed one to Ashley, the medic.
“Let’s get out of here.” Scar said. None of us disagreed, and we followed him to the broken down door. Faintly, we cold hear the marching of the dead guard’s back up. If they knew the magnitude of what was here, they would bring a lot of back up. And this time, we couldn’t win.
Kane tried pulling out the railing to activate the stairs, but they didn’t move. They hole in the middle where the guards broke through must have disabled it. “How are we supposed to get up now?” Kane asked.
Scar just smiled.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Venus thinks of everything.” Scar replied, and walked over to the other railing to the left of us, and pulled it out. In front of us, by the wall next to the hole in the stairs, a brick ladder slowly crawled out of the wall, one rung at a time. “It’s the same basic technology of the stairs, but it’s only for emergencies. I myself would count this as an emergency.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I replied. Tyson climbed first, using one hand to climb, and the other to make sure Clyde didn’t fall. We all followed after him, one at a time. When we were all at the top, Scar took the lead and exited the run-down building, but stopped after that.
“What’s wrong now?” Rich asked him.
“I’m not sure where to go. I can’t tell where the marching is coming from.”
“Follow me!” I yelled, and ran towards basket that would help us reach the rooftops. Once again, my climbing skills would come in handy for me. No one questioned me, and climbed onto the rooftops. Then, I looked around from my elevated view to see which direction the guards were coming from, and the view killed my hope. It’s no wonder that Scar couldn’t decide where the sound was coming from. They were closing in on every direction.
“They’re everywhere!” Ashley screamed.
“This way!” I yelled, picking one at random and running.
“Why this way?” Scar asked me.
I turned my head, and yelled back at him. “I have absolutely no reason for it!”
“Well, that’s just great.” Rich said, but no one ran off in any other direction. Soon, the guards saw us, and made their pursuit. They were closing in on four directions, and each way had eight guards. That totaled around to 32 guards, much more that we just had in our base.
“This is the most guards I’ve every seen!” Tyson yelled, grunting. Clyde’s weight was slowing him down, but he was still keeping up with the rest of us.
As we kept running in my randomly decided direction, the guards formed one group, merging into an army. They were all to the left of us, as we were sprinting down a single row of buildings. The gunfire made me jump when it started, and once it did, it would not end. It was one ceaseless, continual line of death, coming towards us at immeasurable speed. I knew that either one of us could be hit at any moment, and knocked down off of the building.
I looked for any solution. The line of buildings we were running on was going to end soon, and we’d have nowhere to go, assuming we made it that far. There were no detours or turns available before this, and I tried to assess my options. Option one: Get shot, fall, and die. Option two: Get to the end, fall, get shot, and die. Option three… Jump now.
“Follow me!” I screamed, and jumped off the buildings to the side opposite of the guards, creating a barrier between them and us. The rest followed me down, all of us rolling on the ground as we did so. Tyson struggled to maintain his balance as he landed on the ground, and Scar helped steady him, so Clyde wouldn’t get hurt, or crushed under Tyson’s weight.
We ran for a long time, criss-crossing and circling in every direction, to make sure the guards couldn’t find us. When we had been running for at least ten minutes, we stopped and sat down. None of us said anything. None of us wanted to.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 11.07.2012

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