The Rebels of Salis

Chapter one

Chapter 1

We run side by side into the darkness as the wind rushes past us giving me goose pimples down my arms and legs. Our elbows knock together as we suppress a laugh for if we are caught out here, our eyes will be gauged and our throats slit. I gather up speed and sprint towards the rundown house we are racing to. My legs are stiff and my back aches from the heavy pack I carry. As I approach the ruin, I savour my last breaths of this sweet air for I do not know the next time I will be able to taste it again.

Crashing through the opening, I gasp and pant in an attempt to silently regain my breath. Alec is at my heels grinning. We are only centimetres away from safety but our silence is still key to our survival. I have taken this route hundreds of times before but the power of the adrenaline that runs through me still takes me by surprise. Alec walks towards the grate at the far end of the room stepping over the debris of wood that litters the room. He quickly and quietly opens it then lets himself drop down the hole. His landing echoes violently throughout the long tunnels of the subway. As I lower myself down, Alec catches me and gently places his lips on my forehead. In response, I jokingly prod his arm with my finger and grin. He shakes his head in mock disapproval before turning down one of the thousands of tunnels that constitute my home, the subway.

 To a stranger, the underground would be a crazy and fatal maze with violent revolutionaries at every corner. To me, it is home sweet home, safety from ‘them’. From Eastend to Morrington, I know every nook and every cranny by heart. The rest of the subway though, I am thus a stranger to. Rumours and tales have always said that nastier, fiercer rebels lurk through the rest of the underground ready to jump at our throats and roast us for supper. As children we were always recounted the legend of Zafir who ventured off one day never to be seen again.

It is not the other rebels that we fear the most though, it is the government of Salis. The rulers of the country we live below. They are cruel, manipulative and most of all, greedy for power over everyone. Every happening above ground is for the profit of the government. Every single citizen of Salis is brainwashed by the propaganda. The people who do not comply with these manipulative rules are hidden away to be used as lab animals or sex slaves for the governors. This is the reason we live in secret.

After many twists and turns, we finally turn down the tunnel that leads to the hideout. Alec's father, our leader, greets us grumpily at the entrance. “You’re late” he growls. Alec bows his head in respect whilst I just smile sweetly and retort:  “Aren’t we always?”

In return, he grunts and walks off down the tunnel to Morrington station, the place of our camp. Alec grins and raises his eyebrows as we head off in the same direction. The tunnel leads to the brightly lit subway station I live in along with another three hundred people or so. Although it is midnight, more than half the people are actively busying themselves.

A subway train sits on the tracks, doors open as if frozen by time. The higher part of the station, occupied by two long tables and storerooms, overlooks the lower section connected only by four stationary escalators. A few people sit at the wooden tables chatting and drinking a peppermint flavoured brew. Along with water and soup, it is the only thing we drink.