The Day They Cured Death

Chapter Twenty-One ~ The Underground

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The Government kill innocent people to hide their secrets. The Government dictate people’s lives: choose when you can live and die. I’d had enough of running, now it was time.

Chapter Twenty-one ~ The Underground

I awoke with my back slumped against the hard cold wall. I was laying in the alleyway still, where I had been last night. I sighed. I felt uneasy. I felt numb. Stretching my back I adjusted my clothes and walked down the street. I was in the ghost town. Slipping down a few back streets I came to the main road. People flooded the street walking in various directions. All in a rush to be somewhere. I walked like a phantom down the road. No one noticed me, in which I revelled in. there hadn’t been any Troops for a while, I figured it was safe.

I kept myself out of sight, blending into the crowd. I needed to act now. I crept into a vintage music shop. The walls plastered with old fashioned rock stars and paint splattered album covers. I wondered aimlessly flicking through the various disks, records, sticks all contained music. I saw a few teenagers searching through the layers of music. Then a bell rang through the street. The teenagers groaned while the shopkeeper sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Okay. you know what that means…go on…come back after when you can…” the teens walked away as the few adults in the shop continued shopping. The shop keep went back to his desk, I cautiously walked towards his desk and whispered “what was that?” the shop keeper raised his eyebrow at me.

“Where you been?” he chuckled. “I’m new…” I shrugged. “…only just woke up from the injection…” he nodded in agreement. “Okay well that bell is the new thing the government got running…you hear about that guy and the lass who ran, apparently some rebels down underground thought of it as a revolution…the bell calls everyone under 16 who haven’t been injected yet to go inside…it’s a patrol…” I nodded. A revolution eh? I smiled to myself.

“What’s underground?” I asked. The shop keeper’s face was calm while he stated.

“Somewhere you shouldn’t go…unless you’re looking for trouble…are you?” I gave him a small smile. “Just trying to piece things together,” I replied shortly. The shop keeper smiled at me fondly.

“You better keep away child…you don’t want trouble…trust me I know what trouble it can bring…” The shop keeper flashed a smile before turning his head to show a scar running down the jaw to the scalp of his head. I gasped and nodded to walk away.

I walked out the shop and kept to the crowds, I didn’t need to be spotted. My eyes searched each face that passed by.

I kept myself in the shadows, overwelmed by various conversations around me I zoned in to listen.

"No John I think the red dress..."

"Yes Dear..."

"James get off there!"

"Mum..."

"The meeting is tonight...it's time to attack...we havent heard from Chris in a while..." my heart stopped. Chris? My Chris? I fought the tears which threatened to flow at the mention of his name.

Could that be the underground? I paused and followed the voices. There stood two boys about 16 years old stood wearing over coat jackets and stood akwardly rigid.

They walked down the street like me, they kept to the shadows and made sure no one noticed them. I stalked them like a tiger approaching it's prey. They skulked into a dark alley, down long steps until they paused at a large iron door. I kept to the corner as they turned around from the door checking if anyone was around before entering. The door was left slightly open and I took my chance. I crept behind them, I slithered through the gap before freezing still. "You took your time..." I stood, my mouth agape, there stood before me were roughly 40 teenagers, both female and male, two of those being the two teenage boys from before.

"Give me your name, and why you're here...or else..." All of a sudden I was thrown to the ground as the group of teenagers surrounded me.

"I heard you're wanting a revolution?" I said with a smirk. "Well...maybe I can help..." Their faces turned to each other debating for a second.

"Who are you?" they repeated. I smirked again.

"I'm Anna..."

They all gasped, wide eyed.

"Oh Chris has spoken about me?" The teenagers helped me up, getting me a seat.

"Where is Chris?" One asked.

I hung my head and shook it. "They got him..." Gasps echoed around the room.

"What now?" Another asked.

"Tell me...how do you know of me and Chris?"

"When you wen't missing after one of your particle life...Chris told us all about everything, the government, you, everything..." One chimed, I nodded in acknowledgement.

"So what do the Underground do exactly?"

"Nothing at the minute...small riots things like that...just to get noticed...Chris told us that he'd come back as soon has he found the Paradise and then he'd come back with you...he would start the war against the government...he'd show us the truth...what happened Anna?"

"He told me what happened...I remembered, then...they he questioned about what happened after the population got too high...then we ran from the Troops, we found the paradise...it was beautiful...we forgot about everything bad in the world, but by the morning the Troops got us...we must be such a threat for them to have caught us in unknown land...they took us back here...to their base...the leader told us about how we made an uprising...they had names for me and Chris...4 lives...no one else has lived for so long...they take them away on the 3rd cycle...I found Chris...he was...dead...I don't know how they'd done it...but he was dead..." The teenagers cursed around me.

"What now?" Some asked. But before I could reply another did.

"We attack."