The Box

Chapter 1

I slowly walked into one of the many lines. One of the many lines of people- no; drones. I felt like one of the only people with brain in this place; everyone else were mindless drones. The tall, modern skyscrapers rose into the air, towering above us all. Guards were posted every yard and I knew there were more, looking above from the buildings. The line of people turned in and orderly fashion, heading towards the richer neighborhood, but I continued forward. With my new found freedom, I sprinted down the empty street, ignoring yells from guards, and racing towards the west side of the city. The west side was known as the 'the beggar side,' since most of the people who lived there were broke. My few friends were considered rich, since they didn't owe any debts. The only people in my group who owed money were Robby and I.

I ran down the street and saw almost all 4 of my friends sitting in front of my house. "There you are, Johnnie boy!" Mark yelled, smiling. He stood up and gave me a hug, patting me on the back. Mark was the oldest and the cockiest. He wasn't afraid to hit on any guy, or hit a person.

"We were wondering where you were." Chris said, as I sat down, leaning against my mailbox. Chris was as crafty as anyone could get. He could could pick any lock, fix anything, and get his way out of anything.

I let out a small laugh, fixing my fringe so it wasn't entirely in my face. "The lines were hella slow today. By the way, where's Robby?" I asked, frowning as I looked around the street.

"His dad was waiting for him when we got back." Andy told me, shaking his head. "Already drunk when we got here. The little-" He began cursing about Robby's dad. Andy was the 'leader' of our little group. There was no vote, no one even mentioned it, it was just a thing. I would say something about him being the leader, since in my opinion we shouldn't have someone so irresponsible being our leader but I didn't want to be punched, so I keep my mouth shut. Sure he protected us and was the oldest, but he was always mad at someone, or something. Today, it was Robby's dad. "I just hate his old man! He's always drinking and he takes the grief of his wife's death out on Robby!" He kicked a garbage can over, the garbage flying out onto the street.

"Woah, calm down buddy." Mark laughed, leaning back on a fence. He walked up to Andy and held up his hands. "You need a dummy?" He asked.

"Ha, thanks." He smirked, and pushed Mark's hands. Mark ducked down and

charged at Andy's waist and grabbed it, pushing him back. "Asshole." Andy smiled, and their horseplay amped up quickly. Chris laughed at them, fiddling with some spare parts.

I looked over at Robby's house and sighed, seeing his dad through the window and watched as he raised his fist; I turned away before I saw more. I feel bad for Robby. His mom was killed by our leaders because she didn't pay her taxes on time. After that his dad got stricker and drank more. Robby was small for his age, looking more like he was 13 when he's 16. He's a quiet kid who is hardly noticed, except by our group, and the assholes who like to beat us up. We do our best to protect each other, and stand up for each other. I thought about how much better life would be if we lived in the past LA. I heard it was much better than this, because it wasn't controlled by our current government, and it even had a theme park. I heard about theme parks in books from the past, an illegal secret I keep to myself and Robby. They are these huge parks with rides, and food, and everyone seemed to be happy. At least they were smiling in the pictures. I just wish I could see if there was a theme park in one of the cities. "If those rats who run this stupid city ask about me, don't say a thing. Got it?" Andy said, pulling me out of my thoughts. Mark and Andy had finished their fight, Andy, obviously, victorious. Mark's hands were red and he had a scratch on his right temple and he scraped both of his knees.

"Um.. Okay.." Chris chuckled, adjusting his hat.

"Sure.." I said, distracted, looking at Robby's house, worrying about him.

"What did you do this time?" Mark laughed, putting a cloth on his temple to stop the blood.

Andy looked around for guards. The only guard posted in our area was facing away from us and was too far away to hear what we were saying. He pulled out a small cube, it having a slight, blue glow. On one side there was a keypad, the digits 0-9 put in 3 rows.

"I found this book," He pulled took a book out of his bag and flipped to a page bookmarked by his straw from what i'm guessing his soda from lunch.

"Wait, you read?" Mark teased. He was the only one of us who could tease Andy. If one of us did that, we would end up with a black eye.

"Shut it, Mark." He said, playfully punching his arm. "Anyways, I read about this cube that contacts the other cities if we need help. I know they have the code, and I know what room, I just don't know where in that room."

"It couldn't hurt to try, right?" I shrugged. He tossed the cube to me and I examined it. It was just a simple, glowing cube with a number pad and a small symbol.

We worked at the code for a good half an hour after getting the cube, and then just started talking and joking like we usually did until dark. Chris fiddling with small parts he kept in his pockets, always making some cool toy, but scraping the project claiming it 'wasn't good enough.' Mark was dreaming about this kid from my class who we see, since he was like me; not rich enough to live in a neighborhood different from ours, but smart enough to be in the rich school. He was 'hot and sweet' according to him. Andy was still yelling about Robby's dad, and I was talking about how annoying everyone in my class was. "It's getting late and we don't need guards on our backs. Plus, some of those rich pricks might come and pay us a visit, so I'll be heading in." Chris said, getting up and putting his bag over his shoulder.

"I would be fine if Ryan came." Mark sighed, sounding like a schoolgirl telling the story about she was going to marry some kid.

"Ryan isn't rich." I laughed. "He lives at the end of the street." I grabbed my bag and walked up to my house. "See ya!" I walked into my house and my dad was already asleep on the couch. I walked into my room and dropped my bag on the floor, exhausted. I didn't do my homework, since it was friday, and there was no school on Saturday. I took a break from the cube so i just sat on my bed, crossing my legs and staring at the wall. I wondered what it was like having a tv. Or not having to steal to live. I wondered what it was like to be normal. I walked up to my small mirror and took a look at myself. I switched out my snakebite piercings, exchanging it with black one that had spikes on the ends. I sprayed my ears with a saltwater solution and put in a gauge I made that was a size bigger. I checked on my nose ring, but decided not to change it. I noticed the roots of my hair started showing, the silver being mixed with brown at the top. Most of the kids in my area had this look. It was kind of to scare kids off, but mostly as our only form of self expression. The industrial bar on my ear had started to get infected, so I soaked it in rubbing alcohol. It stung for a second, but I knew it was for the greater good. I was too lazy to change into my pajamas so I just sat in my skinny jeans and and oversized Rolling Stones T-shirt. We don't have music in our time, but in the past there was lots. I was able to take discs from the library and transfer them into my music player. I fell asleep in my bed listening to music and letting all thoughts leave my mind.

I woke up on the floor, and my sheets were next to me, but not covering me. I quickly changed into a Blink-182 shirt. When I went outside, expecting to see my friends and have a peaceful time, I saw them panicking. "You have to hurry!" Chris yelled. Mark grabbed my hand and sprinted to downtown. Robby was crying, and had a bandage around his left arm. Chris was twitching, something he always did when he was scared. Mark was sweating like mad, and Andy wasn't there.