Population Control

Chapter 2

Once Shesh realized this he quickly began thinking of an alternative escape route, but his house was underground and had another house on top of his. At the sight of Shesh realizing that he couldn't carry his "shield" up the ladder, Hedri took one of the pipes from one of his men and said, "Looks like you're stuck, if you let him go we might let you leave here in one piece."

Shesh didn't believe him and continued thinking until he had an idea. The only idea he could think of was risky, but he put it into action anyway. He shot the shocker at the ceiling above the gang sending out a metal rod that hit the ceiling above them, then an almost lightning-like bolt shot through the ceiling, causing it to cave in on them. It didn't kill any of them, but it bought Shesh some time. Then he threw his captive towards the pile of debris and started franticly climbing up the ladder.

Shesh almost got to the top of the ladder when a shot from a shocker hit the ladder a few inches below him. It shook the whole ladder and split it in half, but the top half stayed. Shesh almost lost his grip on the ladder, but hung on with one of his hand's, pulled himself back on and rushed for the exit once again.

When he finally reached the exit, he shoved open the door as another shot came from directly below him and flew out the now open exit. Shesh took a glance down to see the gang members jumping, trying to reach the top half of the ladder so they could reach him. He also saw the one who shot at him; he was looking for a clear shot on Shesh. When the gang stopped jumping for the ladder an opening came up and he aimed his shocker at him, but Shesh shot first and nailed him in the shoulder throwing him down.

After that, Shesh went through the exit and closed it. He then did his best to hide the shocker from the crowd of spectators starting to form around him. As he tried to merge into the crowd he saw Hedri come up and look around, he made eye contact with Shesh and began moving towards him. Shesh quickly hid under a cart on the other side of the street.

He waited there for a while until he saw Hedri walk past his hiding place. If Shesh could talk he would've screamed because Hedri came back and stepped less than an inch from his face. Then Shesh dared to barely look out from under the cart, he saw the other gang members huddled around Hedri wondering where Shesh was.

"Where did that little runt go!? He killed Tyre back there." said a gang member as he glared around.

"I'll smash his face in with that shocker he stole!" declared another gang member.

"Relax; knowing him he would have just hidden from us, he doesn't run away. He's probably close enough to even hear us." said Hedri with almost a laughing tone. "Just spread out and search every nook and cranny in the area. Remember that he is small; check every place that's even feasible for him to fit in."

Then the gang spread out to begin searching except for Hedri. He sat down on the cart and watched his gang search. Shesh quickly retreated under the cart more and began thinking of a way out. Shesh looked around under the cart, then, he got an idea.

He grabbed hold of a board on the underside of the cart and pulled hard on it. He ripped it off on his second try; Hedri was just about to stand up when he fell through the hole getting him lodged in the cart. Then Shesh rolled out from under the cart and started running away. Shesh glanced back to see Hedri being helped out of the cart by two other gang members. Then, Shesh faced forward again only to see a pipe heading towards his face.

Shesh woke up to Ze everywhere; he got stepped on and shoved by a few of them as he got up. Shesh couldn't see through the crowd so he looked up to see a large metal ceiling that was about 30 feet high and appeared to have metal beams holding it up. Shesh was still wondering where he was when he noticed a piece of paper. He managed to push the crowd aside enough that he could grab the paper. He held it up close to his face because the lighting was bad and read the paper.

You have been punished for the crimes of murder and suspected interaction with a gang. Your punishment is 4 years in confinement.

The following is for the individuals serving 4 years or are in confinement during the Ryprime selection.

The quota is 560,371,204,713. The criminal population is 532,895,546,370. If the quota is higher than the criminal population then you will be entered into the Ryprime. If the opposite is true you still have a very good chance of being selected for this Ryprime since you are a criminal. You, according to our laws will be put to death if you do not go willingly. If you survive the Ryprime you will get a trial, to evaluate your crime and determine if you need to serve more time or if you are free to go.

This slip was made by the Ze council of region 3.

Shesh stared at the paper thinking of how this was possible. He soon realized that all Hedri had to do was take him to the police and accuse him of murder and gang activity and he would be sent here. Shesh knew that there was about 8 hours left when the gang first showed up, but had no idea how long he was out.

He looked around and tapped another Ze on the back, who was not much bigger than him. The other Ze turned around and waited for Shesh to say something. Shesh quickly grabbed a bit of charcoal-like rock that was on the ground and wrote on the paper hoping that he could read.

Shesh handed the paper to the other Ze and it asked how long he was out for.

The other Ze responded saying, "You were out for a while, maybe seven hours? Why do you ask?"

Shesh wrote that he wanted to know when the Ryprime started.

"I heard them announce something about it over the speakers a little while ago. I think it starts soon."

Shesh wrote back thanks and asked where he learned to read.

"My dad was a fanatic about books; he even made me learn to read in two human languages, just so I could read their books in the language it was "meant to be read" in." replied the other Ze. "And why can't you just ta..."

Then the speakers came on and drowned out their conversation repeating, "All prisoners go through the doors that are now opening and make your way to Ryprime selection."

Shesh wrote more down on the paper, but the moving crowd separated them. Shesh then turned his attention to the doors that he was passing through. They took up most of the wall and were bigger than anything Shesh had ever seen before. When he returned his attention to where he was going he saw that he was being funneled into a tunnel made out of chain-link.

He looked up and saw guards in towers alongside the tunnel. They were carrying big shockers and were staring down at the crowd of prisoners looking like they want to use their weapon the first chance they get. They also had body armor that probably weighed more than Shesh did.

Shesh then turned his attention to a ramp that he was now going up. It led to a bulky ship that said Ryprime Transport across the time-worn hull. Shesh was pushed into it by the crowd of prisoners and shoved into a wall near the cockpit area. Shesh had been on the ship for barely ten seconds when the doors closed and the ship took off.

He tried looking through the crowd of people, but quickly realized it was impossible. So he turned towards the wall he was up against. He put his hand on the wall and let his head drop until it stopped on the wall as he was contemplating his situation. All he could think of was "What are the odds?"; he couldn't help being amused that the only thought he had was so simple, it actually made him feel slightly better.

However he knew that he wouldn't be that way for long. He knew that in a matter of hours, he would be in the prep areas for the Ryprime. While he was thinking about this he noticed that he was still holding on to the note that he had had a conversation on. He held it up to his face and looked at the back of the note where his questions were written, then turned it over to the side that had notice stating that he was to be sent to the Ryprime.