System Failure (A Hayden Tree x Brandon Hoover Story)

I

"Where's Bones?" I asked Taddie, earning a scoff in return.

"Awe man, dude. You better hold your balls so he doesn't take em'." He laughed, swaying with each of his words. I rolled my eyes and shoved him out of the way, the stench of alcohol on his breath now thick and repulsive.

"Bones is in his den." Leo piped, nasally voice annoying me already. Leo didn't deserve to be an equivalent to me. He sucked and swallowed his way to the top, dropping to his knees at the sound of an advancement in power, and nearly everyone knew it.

"Thanks." I breathed, pushing past him and making my way down the dark hallway. The halls were nearly pitch black other than the few candle holders along the wall every hundred feet. The sound of moans came from the other side of the door and I rolled my eyes. We weren't supposed to have sex outside of mating season due to how crowded the compound was. Having sex with a female outside of mating season was punishable by being lashed in the center of the compound for all to see. Sex with a male was a bullet to the head.

"Bones! Open up!" I called, fist hitting the door time and time again. It was hypocritical for him to be screwing some girl when he's our leader, and he was the one to lash me a couple years back for losing my virginity outside of mating season, leaving me with deep wide scars. I could practically hear him scramble for clothes, opening he door just a crack. When he realized it was only me, he exhaled deeply.

"Fuck. Get in here." He sighed, pulling me in forcefully, pulling on his boxers once I was in along with his vest. He grabbed a cigarette from the wooden table and lit it, inhaling deeply before offering me it. We hadn't figured out how to end war with The Raven but we found ways to roll cigarettes.

"You're falling behind, Tree." He stated, inhaling deeply.

"Can't have that in The Resistance." He muttered, clapping me on the knee.

"I'm going to give you two options. Train all the new initiates,"

"No." I protested quickly, shaking my head and taking his cigarette. He laughed and exhaled a thick puff.

"Then get the fuck out of The Hollow." Bones threatened, taking his cigarette.

"Train them or get the fuck out. This isn't some freeloader shit. We have a truck full of them coming in and I want them trained right. Teach them to become Runaways or send them on their way. Got it?" He asked, inhaling once more. I nodded slowly, dropping my head and running my fingers through the mess of hair.

"Good." He smiled, clapping me on the back. Bones dismissed me and I felt as if the room was spinning. Training new Runaways was an all day job for months, but it sure as hell wasn't worth it to be kicked out of The Hollow. I made my way to the commissary, grabbing a tray, bowl, cup, and plate, getting my rationing of food before swallowing it all down quickly, not caring to sit and speak amongst the others around the fire pit. I discarded my eating utensils and licked my fingers before making my way to my housing unit, closing the metal door behind me. It wasn't much. A table and chair, a couch and a bed. Bathroom, kitchen, ect. Small things. The shortage of resources meant either taking a twenty second shower or reusing water. I pulled out the metal water pail that was filled with murky brown water and placed it in the dirty dark tub. The dirt coating my body needed to go, and until I was Bones, reusing water would have to do. I stripped from my clothing and sat in the tub, pail between my legs as I dipped the cloth into the bucket before rubbing it across my body, the dirt sliding away quickly. I continued the process until my whole body was nearly clean. I dipped my hands in the bucket and wet my hair before grabbing the bar of soap and cleaning my hair with it. Once finished, I dumped the entire bucket on my head, shaking away the remaining water in my hair before standing and grabbing the towel. I dabbed my face and grabbed a new pair of boxers, drying my hair with the towel before falling in bed, rubbing my eyes.

When I first joined The Resistance, things were different. Bones wasn't in charge yet, and the two of us were just children. Everyone lived within The Hollow without threat of being kicked out for not doing their part. Everyone worked and pulled their load. Some dug, women cooked and tended to the wounded, while The Runaways fought against The Raven in hopes of gaining back control of the resources. The Resistance was now greedy, hateful, not what our ancestors planned for it to be. Bones abused his powers to benefit himself, resulting in there not being enough for everyone. I touched at one of the scars, left behind from when Bones had lashed me in the center of the compound, that spanned across my entire back to the center of my chest, cutting through several of my tattoos. We managed to salvage whatever possible after The Fallout, learning things from the books left behind and those who managed to survive the flames. Tattoos just so happened to be the one thing from before The Fallout I personally carried on.

In the morning, there would be new initiates that I would have to train and mold into Runaways. If they failed, it would be my ass on the line. I groaned and curled up in my blanket, chewing at my nails.

Welcome to The Resistance.