Year 6 (First Draft) #Wattys2016

-Chapter 6-

  I wake to shouts coming from the other side of my door. I grope around for my LR-5 which I had sat on the nightstand the night before. Whatever the men were shouting about, most likely had to do with the NEWS. My LR-5’s screen flickered, but finally stopped, leaving me with a bright clear screen. I clicked on the NEWS, hoping to find an answer to the raucous. I scrolled through the newest update. I stifled a gasp, my heart rate picking up ten notches.

  NEWS: TWO GOVERNMENT AGENTS--- FOUND DEAD IN BACK ALLEY--- KILLED WITH POISON DARTS--- TWO GOVERNMENT AGENTS---

  Kane had lied. Those darts weren’t meant to slow down a predator. They were meant to eliminate them. I think about how close I had been to the Agents, and a shiver rips through me. If Kane’s aim had been off…

  I try not to dwell on the thought.

  The shouts outside me door grow, becoming a dull chorus of voices. I wonder how long it will take before they wake Amelia. She wouldn’t appreciate being woken up by this noise.

  I cover my ears, wanting to escape the shouts slipping through my door. I didn’t get much sleep, if any, and I am left with a terrible headache. Can’t they stop?

  A loud pound on my door jars me, and I rush towards my door, flinging it open. A bright light filter into my room, making it hard to see. I blink, letting my vision refocus.

  “What’s going on?” I ask Kane. His hair is ruffled and he looks like he got about as much sleep as I did. Maybe even less, “What’s all the shouting about?”

  “Did you check the NEWS this morning?” Kane asks sighing, running his fingers through his hair. Hi tone implies that if I had it would be obvious.

  I nod, going back over to where my LR-5 lays. I grab it, finding the NEWS again. A new update flashes across my screen.

  NEWS: CHARLIE WONG--- SENTENCED TO EXECUTION--- CHARLIE WONG---

  I gasp.

  “Everything I do out here, the guys the Feds have gotten ahold of pay for. Charlie was one of my best,” Kane says, his voice betraying his composure. He sounds broken. I try to imagine the elusive Kane Porter being broken. He is human. Every human can be broken in one way or another.

  “Well… I’m really sorry,” I say, but not all of me is in the comment.

  Kane just nods. He grips his jaw firmly in between his thumb and forefinger, trying to keep his emotions in check. Charlie must have been a good friend. Do criminals have “good” friends? I looked at Kane’s mournful expression and dismiss the thought. Everybody can have friends.

  “Charlie and I grew up on the streets together,” Kane says. He doesn’t owe me an explanation, but I can imagine getting all his thoughts off of his head will help him with the idea of losing Charlie. “I found him my second year on the streets. He was a wiry little things. Filthy too,” Kane laughs, but the sound is hollow.

  “I started to offer other boys the chance to hang with us. One night, one of the boys, John, became really sick. We didn’t have any medicine or the money to buy it. John died later that night. We went to the Senator’s house a few hours after he died. We threw rocks at the windows, ruined anything we could get our hands on. We knew it wasn’t right, but we were upset. John didn’t deserve to die,” Kane’s voice drops a notch.

  “That’s when it all started. Charlie and I decided we weren't going to let the Feds walk all over us anymore. We started riots and protests against the Government, hoping more people would become involved. Some did, but not as many as we had hoped. Then the Feds caught some of us. It has just been a big mess these last 12 years.”

  Kane sighs.

  “I have a plan,” He says quietly. “But I have a feeling that as a newbie you aren’t going to like it.”

  “Try me,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Well,” He says looking up, a fox like grin filling his lips. “Me and the boys are going take a trip to the Government Prison Cells. We’re gonna find Charlie, and we’re gonna bring him back.” 

  I try for a calm tone, choosing my next words carefully.

  “Sounds great. Count me in.”

  “How’d you get her to come?” Felix asks, hoisting a large black gun over his left shoulder.

  “She wanted to,” Kane says, shrugging his shoulders. I watch as he flings guns down from a top shelf located just outside of their hideout. The wood looks molded, and I begin to wonder how it supported the weight of so many guns.

  “Here,” Tom says, prodding my forearms with the tip of a large gun. I shake my head, pushing it away. I don’t tend to use weapons.

  “You have to have something to protect you,” Felix says, tossing me a sack. “Wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face.”

  I open the small bag, reaching in carefully. I’m greeted with cool metal, and the shape of the object feels vaguely familiar. I pull the item out carefully, startled by what I see. A Taser.

  “Ah, her weapon of choice,” Tom snickers, slapping his hand on his knee. I just shove the Taser bag into the sack, holding it down at my hip. With difficulty I find a way to hook it up with my fanny pack that Felix gave me earlier. I hear a few more snickers around me, but for the most part, everyone has their eyes on Kane, waiting for instructions.

  “Get Charlie. I don’t care what it takes. He should be here with us. He didn’t deserve to be thrown into Confinement. Jack, I want you to drive the truck. Paul, find a way to get us in. Hack their systems, bomb the main entrance, I don’t care.”

  This fiery side of Kane makes me reconsider the whole endeavor. Maybe I should stay put with Amelia and the younger boys who stayed behind to watch her. Wouldn’t that be safer?

  “Hey, Goldie Locks! We don’t have all day,” Felix says, elbowing me in the ribs. I shove him back, hoping I won’t regret the decision.

  We all pack into a large rusty truck, finding a way to all stand in the back. I’m shoved in between Kane and some guy I don’t even know. He reeks of alcohol, leaving me with a nauseous feeling in my stomach.

  “You scared Newbie?” Kane asks. “You look kind of green.”

  I shake my head, pretending like being pressed into a truck with thirty men I barely know isn’t a big deal at all. The only way to go along with this one, is to act like I’m completely calm about the whole thing.

  “No, I’m doing fine. I’m great actually. Just first Government attack jitters I guess. Can you scoot over any more?” I feel claustrophobic in the tight space, and Kane obliges, scooting to his left. It’s only a few inches, but having a two inch gap between me and the drunk man makes me feel slightly less on edge.

  “Just wait until you get there,” Kane says. “The adrenaline rush is unbeatable.”

  I feel my pulse accelerate. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. It was only an offer. I sigh.

  “I can’t wait,” I say, lying through my teeth.

A/N Thanks for being so patient! I would love love love!- feedback. Also, thanks for keeping Year 6 in the top 100 (for Science Fiction), that means a lot!