Authors: Michelle Chaves
Tina
swore, spitting the words out. She had an ancient looking laptop on the desk,
hundreds of wires running to and from it. “Cutting the power should make the
walls come crashing down in their makeshift holes,” she said as she saw Frey
looking. There’s no time to find the main server, so I’ll have to hack inside…”
“But
didn’t you say-“
“I
know, but I don’t have a choice!”
Then
the Three Houses will know what we’re up to…
Frey
again moved her hand atop the Dome, turning the daylight on in Hole.
“I’m
in!!!” Tina yelled.
“Can
you shut the
dome
off?” Frey asked her, eyes snapping towards Tina.
“Yes,
but-“
“Do
it!”
Tina
turned her head back to the screen, her fingers speeding over the computer.
Frey
could see the digital dome
fading,
the screen
flickered away in a matter of seconds. It felt unreal, like a hazy dream where
she was bound to wake up any second.
The
dome was gone, and Frey was staring down at Hole, trying not to think of how
lives had been played with from up here.
Jin…
please, oh please, be alive…
They were up on
the roof as usual. There was still some food, but Jin and Father Patrick both
knew it wouldn’t last for much longer… Jin had started making plans to go out
and get more. Problem was, the old man seemed to see and hear everything.
Even when I’m thinking them.
“Don’t
you even think about it,
Jin.
There
is
no
food
out there, and I won’t have you risking your life for it. That’s my job as a
father!” He had been so angry. Jin had never seen him loose his temper like
that before, but the effects had been what Father Patrick desired.
“And
we still have food left, Jin. Its not over yet,” the old man had reminded him.
Father
Patrick was staring to live up to his nickname. He looked worn and had lost
weight. There hadn’t been much on him to start with. Jin knew he was barely
eating, trying to be one less mouth to feed.
“If
you come down sick or weak with hunger, you’ll only be a burden to the rest of
us.” Jin hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. But he was counting on the old
man to be there, and realized he was scared at the thought of not having his
foster father around. “It’s as you told me. We’re
not
out of food yet.”
“We
only have the brown powder left…”
He man
reminded him.
“Which
is food,” Jin reminded him back.
Father
Patrick chuckled; a deep sound Jin almost felt in his chest. It felt good to
have him laugh again, even if it was only for a while.
Father
Patrick patted Jin on the shoulder. “You’re right, Jin.” He leaned his head
back against the wall.
Then
the sky lit up… The digital dome prepared for daylight like it normally did by
letting the darkness fade. That would have been fine normally. Problem was, it
was in the middle of the night…
The
digital dome was unmistakably preparing for daylight. The sky grew almost as
bright as day before it quickly faded back to night again, as if it had just
noticed its mistake…
Jin
could hear the pause in the gunfire and chaos, as if every single person was
looking up at the dome. Now the silence felt almost painful. Jin could feel the
entire Slum City holding its breath. Never before had something like this
happened. Never had the dome malfunctioned in any way. He hadn’t realized he
had stood up, and saw the old man do the same.
This
hadn’t been a dropping. There was no way anyone could have mistaken it for one,
or dismiss it as such. The difference was way too great. This had been daylight
at night.
The
reaction was more frightening than the marked pills had been. Everyone was dead
silent… Jin didn’t know how long he had been trying to understand what had
happened when it happened again…
The
sky lit up for longer this time, holding daylight as if to prove to everyone
that was exactly what it was…
The
sky fade again, much slower this time, and he knew without a doubt that the
silence was like one before a storm.
He
clutched the edge of the walls, his knuckles white as he felt his stomach clench.
The people down there had fared much worse than he without the pill… He was in
control of the normally aggressive behavior that followed if the craving was
left to fester. The others however, had not been so lucky.
That
was why the utter silence frightened him more than the killing had done. It was
abnormal behavior… He racked his brain thought all that had happened lately.
First Frey had disappeared, then the markings on the pills, and now the dome…
There was something going on, and Jin wasn’t the only one thinking that.
The
digital dome suddenly shimmered, and then was gone. It didn’t take more than a
few seconds. The projection that had been above him his entire life, the thing
that had covered them from the real sky was
gone
…
Jin
was staring up at something he couldn’t believe was there. His brain wasn’t
able to process what he was seeing and he felt it go blank. There was nothing
to fall back on…
There
was a groaning, like a deep rumble in the ground that made them
cover
their ears. Then the shaking began, and boiling clouds
of dust filled the air where The Wall met the ground.
Jin
gripped the edge of the roof, Father Patrick falling to his knees as the
shaking grew. There were groans as unsecure buildings twisted, the structures
bending under the strain of the earthquake.
The
crash of collapsing buildings was lost in the rumble from The Wall.
Jin
clutched at the railing, staring wide-eyed at the looming black shape that had
acted as a shelter as well as a prison for Slum City. He held his breath as he
stared at the walls, coming straight down with an almost painful slowness.
Already
the dust had reached them, and Jin blinked away tears, not knowing if they were
from the grit or from awe. Father Patrick pulled Jin to shelter behind the
railing as the storm hit them. Sand, junk and metal flew through the air from
the force, the two of them huddling behind the wall as the storm raged. It blew
over the roof like a tide, pulling at them from every direction.
Small
rocks and dirt fall down like rain as the wind died away. He opened his eyes.
The
dome was gone, and so was The Wall… Jin saw, but he didn’t believe…
How
could he, when what he saw was so unreal?
“Frey
was right all along…” He heard someone whisper next to him. Father Patrick was
holding himself upright, his knees shaking. His voice quivered as tears ran
down his cheeks. “She was right all along…” He managed before he broke out in
loud sobs, letting his knees buckle.
Jin
turned his head back to the sight before him. “Frey was right…” He heard
himself whisper, as the pieces seemed to fall into place. “Frey was right.”
The
roaring filled the air, and it took a while before Jin recognized what it was…
The
people of Slum City were making the noise as they charged the world beyond The
Wall. Jin didn’t know if it was merely the craving for the Yellow Pill and
their aggression that made them like a hoard of mindless beasts, but whatever
the reason, they charged. Thousand upon thousands of humans ran towards the
soft green glow as they let their primal screams fill the air, their enemies
within Slum City forgotten as they directed their attention toward a new one.
As he gasped for breath, he realized he had joined them. He ran to the edge and
pushed off from the building.
He
barely heard Father Patrick yell’s behind him.
Jin
tucked his shoulder in as he landed, softening the impact with a roll and came
up on his feet without stopping. He jumped from building to building, not
caring that he barely made some of the jumps. His mind was gone, and the only
thing he saw was that green glow, and the settling dust from The Wall.
People
were running in every direction, choosing the exit closest to them. He tore his
mask from his back, not slowing as he fastened it around his mouth and nose,
thinking of Frey as he did so.
These
bastards took her…
he was sure of it now.
They took her!
The
sentence seemed to echo in his mind, fuming his fury and feeding his primal
side, making him loose himself in the rush of adrenaline.
Jin
slid down a water drain as he neared the boarder, and snatched a discarded gun
from the ground. He ran past blood and garbage, yellow foam, weapons and bodies
as he closed in on the alien sight.
The
stench of the Slum City was soon left behind, and if Jin hadn’t been in the
hands of his instincts, he wouldn’t have been able to cope with the sight they
as they broke out from the strange building.
All
that filled his mind was the urge to find the ones responsible for having taken
her…
Frey saw the
walls fall, and when the earthquake started, many of the buildings in Hole
collapsed under the strain.
There
was no time to worry about the people down there as glass shattered above. Tina
tossed herself to the side just as a panel smashed into the computers. Frey
grabbed her arm, and the two of them stumbled for the exit. One man screamed as
a panel hit him. The rest made it out in time.
Frey
pulled her bandana up as their small group bolted for the exit, trying not to
fall from all the shaking. Even if the actual structure held, the glass above
them certainly wouldn’t.
Tina
crashed into the black door as more of the roof fell around them, shattering
and spewing shards in every direction. Frey reached out to pull the last man to
safety just as big shards of glass smashed down where he’d been a second
before.
They
bolted down the stairs as the building, Tina screaming at them all to hurry.
Frey
reached the street outside, running towards the park as humans flooded out of
Dome. She looked hopelessly into the sea of humans, trying to spot Jin. She
knew as well as the others what danger they were in.
“Tina!”
Frey yelled. “Where’s the Three Houses
?!
”
“Not
far-“
“Let’s
lead as many as we can there! We won’t get a better chance of tearing it down!”
Tina
signaled the men closer. “Take the cars, meet us at the main street! All lights
on, and get the riot your attention. You heard her! Let’s bring a bit of hell
to the Three Houses!”
The press from
the furious mob was behind them. There were thousands of them that had spotted
the three vehicles. Now they were charging after them like starving dogs.
Tina
and the others had kept the pace low enough for them to always be in sight of
the procession. Frey clenched her hands tight around Tina’s midsection as the
big woman tilted this way and that. If she were to fall, their disguise
wouldn’t stop the crazed humans from ripping them to pieces.
The
motorbike twisted left and right, following huge roads that were surrounded by
parks and low buildings. It all looked extremely expensive, even for
Alya
standards.
Frey
could see The Three Houses, and she knew without having been there that it
would still be guarded, even as the rest of the city burned. The government
would protect
their own
hides, even at the cost of
Alya
.
Tina
didn’t have to tell Frey which of the constructions were The Three Houses…
The one that opened up in front of them was without a doubt the one. The
massive gate were closed, the white building immense in its size and built.
Compared to the other buildings, this one seemed almost ancient. There wasn’t
one scratch on it, not one crack, but it still seemed almost sacred, like it
had been standing here before all the other buildings.
One of
the trucks drove straight through the heavy gates, smashing through the metal
bars, the nose of the car flattening. It smoked and
hissed
as the engine died, the driver stumbling out just as guards came running.
The
two remaining vehicles sped inside, heading straight towards the great doorway.
Three
big machines stepped into view on their mechanical legs, their nozzle pointing
out towards the approaching riot. Frey touched the side of her helmet. “Ram
them!” She yelled at the two truck drivers, hoping they wouldn’t hesitate to do
so. She knew they had to take out the metal monsters, or there would be little
but minced meat left from any of them. Neither hesitated as they drove straight
into the machines, taking them inside the building from the force. They
disappeared in a cloud of rock and dust, and Frey could feel Tina shift in
front of her.
“Includes
us!” She yelled as she drove her bike straight at the middle machine. She tore
her throttle to the bottom, flipping the bike up on its back tire.
Just
before it hit the stairs, she fell backwards, taking Frey with her. The air was
pressed out of her as, and they skidded over the grass, bike exploding in a
ball of flame.
Frey
flipped around. She tore the helmet off, facing the crowd. They were almost
upon them. She felt a strong hand under her arm, pulling her to her feet. Tina
was bleeding from the shoulder.
“This
way!” Tina yelled, dragging her over the rubble and into the building, the wild
cries just at their backs.