Girl Apocalypse

Followed

We walk faster. I shouldn’t be out of breath, but I find myself struggling to suck in air, chest tight, lungs burning with effort. I know I should try to be subtle, but I can feel my body stiffen, hands at my sides as we stride along. I’m sure they can see my body language, but I try to resist the urge to glance back over my shoulder.  Footsteps scuffle on the cobblestones, they’re getting closer. Low, muffled laughter behind us makes the muscles in my back tense. Out of the corner of my eye I see Ellie grab Gus’ hand, and think to myself that she’d be better off hiding behind me. An unkind sentiment, but probably true.

                To my horror, the street opening up in front of us is almost devoid of people. There are a few carts rumbling past, and a lone figure or two shuffling bleakly towards some unknown destination. What did it matter though? I’d learned fast that even in the middle of a bustling street you could get stabbed, nobody would do anything to stop your attacker if you looked just as ragged and poor as they did. I’d seen it happen.

                There’s a burst of sudden movement behind us, and I whirl quickly on my boot heel, blood thundering in my ears.  They’re right behind us now, walking fast, eyes fixed on us. I count them again. Five, three bigger ones and two small ones, all wearing what amounts to rags, hungry looks on their faces. What the hell do they think we have? We look pretty much as ragged as they do.

                Beside me Ellie shifts and catches my eye. Perhaps that’s it. She has the remains of gentry, a tattered air of refinement that tells you she used to come from money. They’re probably going to target her, and she’s the smallest of us…

                Something in me stirs, a fierce animal savagery. Like a mother bear whose cub is being menaced. It was foolish to get myself attached to anyone, I know it, but it’s too late.  I’m in this up to my neck, and I’ll damn well go down swinging.

                Impulsively  I reach into my pocket, and my hand closes around the chain of the jewel. When I yank it out the black diamond swing heavily back and forth, daylight reflecting off the facets in the surface, glowing like black ink in the light. I call out in mocking tones, “Is this something you’d be interested in, ya bunch of bootlickers?”

                The group pauses for a moment, two of the smaller boys almost running into the bigger ones in front. The three bigger boys look at the swinging diamond with huge eyes, then glance at one another, greed twisting their features into nasty smiles. The boys spread out and walk closer, they’re only a few feet away now, hemming us in slowly so there is no chance of escape. You can tell they’re used to this, that they’ve done it before. How many people had they mugged? How many people had been left beaten in the gutter and relieved of whatever pitiful coin they may have been carrying.

                I let the diamond swing back and forth on the end of the chain, chanting as they walked closer, “Come on then, come and get it. You can have it. We just stole it off some ducky man anyway, so just take it and leave us be.”

                The biggest boy is within arm reach now. He’s  a head taller than I am, looming over me like a black shadow, his blue eyes gleam in his dirty face, “that’s a mighty big rock, girl. Is it real?”

                “Far as I know,” I grimace at him, “just take it and leave us as we are, it’s all we got.”

                His hand shoots out and snatches the diamond out of the air as it’s swinging. My gut seizes in a mixture of fear and triumph. Now I’ve done it, I’ve carried the plague over to London, one of the biggest cities in England. I’m supposed to be saving the world, but apparently I’m intent on destroying it first, or spreading as much as the plague as I can before I reach my goal. What if it’s too late, what if destroying the diamond won’t help now, and it’s my fault.