Distracted

Part 2: Johnny

Why are books always about the brave and extraordinary people? Just like why no one draws ugly faces, I guess. It's boring. Nothing new, nothing interesting.
As I left the life-campus our government so graciously forced everyone under 16 and 1/2 to stay in and live in, except for from 4 pm-7 pm, I tried to blend in so that no one would recognize me, or try to get me to join in on their fun. But it was their fun. Not mine.
I had formed an illegal habit about 3 years ago, 5 years after the Cassia took control of our government and forced us to obey them, of going to visit my mother once a week. I guess because I was already 8 when Cassia took over, I had grown too attached to my parents, and I tried to find them endlessly.
To help hide our parents from the "New-Age members" (a.k.a. the members of society who had already grown up with their parents when they took us away and separated us) they had reconstructed our parents faces, so that they were completely and entirely unrecognizable to us. But one word from my mothers sweet voice, and I knew it was her.
It was only a matter of telling her guard I was doing an article on how people are adjusting to their new life's, and then getting to see my mother after a very long time.
And after that, I kind of just started coming to her shows every week. I got to talk with my dad, and see my mom. It was like a hole was filled. It was like I lived in the old U.S.A. instead of the United Government of New Cassia.
So, I continued down back streets, pretending like a student just walking out to look around, no where to go.
That's when the dark-side of town decided to pay back for all of my previous, safe travels through it.
"Hey, are you lost?", was the first thing one of the men surrounding me said.
"No, I'm just looking around." I called back, I didn't want them to think I was up to anything.
"Oh. In that case why don't you come in with us, spend a few hours, you can tell us all about how sad your life is, and at the end, we'll give you a few bucks.", they announced their deal as though it was something kind, or even generous.
"No, I have enough money, I'm just gonna go back, I think.", my mother could wait.
"Oh, we didn't mean to scare you off, sweetheart, we just wanna see if your up for some fun.", said a tall man in front of me, who I assumed was the head of this gang. He was tall and very lean. His skin was ghastly pale, and i saw a clear bag of cash was overflowing from the pocket of his athletic pants. His muscular arms poked out from his white tank, black ink circling his skin as though they were his veins. He seemed too young to be in this business.
He also looked quite familiar. But it was that kind of face that you can't tell if you knew them briefly before, or if you just saw them on the news. I assumed it was the later, it didn't seem as though he was trying to hide his criminal intent to well.
I backed away slowly, waiting for him to attack.
He began as I predicted slowly at first, but then picking up speed as his confidence surged. By now, I was pressing my emergency button on the back my wrist rapidly. Hoping that my call wouldn't be denied. Though I had never tried calling for emergency help before, I had heard tales of people's calls being denied just before they were jumped, or beaten.
As he came close enough for me to see the numbers that should be printed clearly on his neck, my call went through. In my ear, a clear voice spoke, sounding tired.
"Hello, this is emercency services. What is your emergency? Need medical assitance? Say 'Medi required'. Need to report and track a number of someone who may cause you harm? Say 'Number tracking required.'--" it continued as I brought my wrist up to my ear and half yelled, half whispered,
"Number tracking required." a buzz sounded in my ear, and the man before me grinned while laughing with the men now surrounding me from all around.
"Please say the number now." the voice commanded.
I searched the leader's neck for any kind of number printed there, but there wasn't anything. How could that be? When Cassia came, the first thing they did was get a census of everybody and print a tracking number clearly on everybody's neck. We were even required to cut our hair at a certain length to make sure the number was visible.
I spun around, searching the whole groups neck's, praying someone had a number. But nothing was there. Just plain skin.
"Still need help? Need medical assistance? Say 'Medi required'. Need to-" the voice in my ear began again calmly before i ended the call by pressing the button on my wrist.
"What?", the leader said, now standing right before me, his height towering over me. He now didn't seem so young to be the leader.
"Oh! That's right! There's no number! Sorry you can't report me. To everyone outside this part of the city, I don't exist!", his laugh boomed off the walls.
Why was I so trusting of this part of town! Why couldn't I just have paid the money to go on a tram?
The leader than grabbed my butt, squeezing roughly, before releasing me, and pushing me back into the guys now directly behind me.
That's when I remembered.
Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't given up on finding my parents. I now found another missing piece. And he had just grabbed my butt.
"Johnny." I pleaded, staring into his eyes. The men behind me lossened their grip, obviously surprised I knew their leader.
"Jy, what is this chick talking about?" a guy standing off to the side said in a voice laced with gang-accent. One word said in a gang-accent in a government-run building, and you would be taken down immediately.
"No one calls me Johnny. Who are you?", he said. Although I could tell he already knew by the way he stepped back, looking down at the hand that had grabbed me as though it had betrayed him.
"Johnny, it's your sister, Rena. I know where our parents our. I can bring you to them. You can see Mom. She sings now. She's really good too." I tried to convince him of the truth, but he slowly started to shake his head.
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP, SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, RENA!", he yelled at me from across the alley as though I had just insulted him in every way possible.
"Do you think I can't see what Cassia had done to you? What happened to Johnny, the boy who would stay up with me all night dreaming about becoming a politician, dreaming about changing the world?", I asked in my sister-voice. He stared at me again.
"What happened to the older sister who loved me? Huh? How do you think it felt when you ran away with Michael? You were just a little girl in 8th grade, and you left me with an abusive older brother, and A PAIR OF CLUELESS PARENTS!", he scolded me for my mistakes.
"I'm so sorry, Johnny. I really mean it. I had to get away from him or he would have killed me. You had a chance, you could fight back.", I began, "You're right. I should have stayed though. I should have told our parents. I'm so sorry."
"Whatever, you know, I just wanted someone who cared for me. To clean the blood up with, but you left me with the mess.", he replied.
"I'm so sorry, Johnny." I repeated.
"Guys, just let her go, she isn't worth it." he said back, more to me than to anyone else.
So the men pushed me in the way I came, and I left crying.

A/N: ayyeeee hope you liked it :)