Paradise Falls

Chapter 12

An hour later I had seen enough of my face. Wanted posters were everywhere and also portraits of the country's new leader. I wanted to rip down every single one of them. Everywhere I turned that woman was watching me through those posters. Jack, Alex, and I stood on a street corner a mile away from where that mysterious address should have been. Jack had bought sandwiches from a deli market with some of the money we had and I had felt some energy begin to return.  

"We have to find Bri and Kara. And we have to find some sort of shelter. Anything that is under the radar" I say finally. Jack and Alex made no move to argue. We all wanted to find shelter and I could tell they were both wondering where Kara and Bri had gone.  

"Most likely they are moving towards the address if they still have it" Jack offers thoughtfully. I nod to him, at least that's a start. Nobody wanted to mention the possible thought that they could have run into trouble or gotten hurt. The sky was a mere shade darker but I could tell it may grow deeper in only a matter of time. None of us knew what this address was. It could have a link to Paradise Falls or it could not. But what if it was some sort of snare?  

Once more the three of us wove our way through the city. We tried to look as innocent as possible and blend in to the people around us. Many people had some sort of weary expression, like they feared something. Whatever it was we couldn't get involved, not now anyway. I began to realize how it looked like the city had been turned back many years. Instead of bright stores and busy traffic the streets were barely empty aside from a few stray cars here and there. What looked like a few stalls sold items along the roadsides. Jack, Alex, and I ducked into an alley to avoid a few officers walking in our direction. We couldn't take any chances, all it took was one glance for them to possibly recognize us. Alex waited at the edge of the corner flattened against the wall within the shadows. Paranoia began to rise in my throat constricting me. What would we do if we were recognized and an alarm was raised? The officials marched past the alleyway without even a sideways glance. I turn to say something to Jack and Alex but instantly pause. Had I noticed the footsteps behind us I would have been able to react before a knife was suddenly held to my throat. Jack and Alex were similarly caught, from the thin veil of light coming from the sky above us I'm able to glance at the two men holding Jack and Alex. Rough looking guys in their mid thirties probably. But they weren't officers, at least they did not look like it.  

"Make one move and we slit yer' throats" a hoarse voice growls behind me. Alex's eyes flare for a moment but under my warning gaze he pauses and takes in a slow, shallow breath. Jack's eyes display fear for a moment but steadily he too calms only slightly. And then a fourth man steps ahead of us. He has at least some designation to him do I assigned he must at least have some sort of authority with the group.  

"Very rarely is it that we receive...guests" he says with a smooth tone. Alex attempts to shift his weight over to his other foot. The guy holding the knife to his throat roughly shoulders him against the brick wall and holds his arm against Alex's neck.  

"I advise you that struggling will not help your case, actually nothing will." 

The fourth man says with a sigh in his voice. 

"We were just on our way home so if you would just let us get to it then we will be on our way" Jack offers, acting as if the confrontation had been nothing more than an inconvenience to his schedule. The ringleader only shrugs and flicks his wrist towards the three holding us. One raises Jack's hand followed by Alex's and mine. They're bare aside from a partial cut and scrape.  

"You see the citizens of this city all have I.D tags and sir I am afraid you and your friends do not." The man raises his own hand as he speaks revealing a blue wristband the size of a watch. Several numbers were scrawled on it in black ink along with several dashed lines. This didn't look good for us at the moment.