The Tribe

Chapter One

      The sirens blared, the echo of Zoot's slogan rained throughout the streets. I sat next to the driver, Ebony's boot digging into the back of my chair. I could hear the laughs of Zoot and Ebony through the roof of the car, and I shuffled further into my seat. I hated these rides. Where Zoot trolled the streets in search of scared kids, trying their hardest to keep hidden.

     I hardly remembered the days when there wasn't chaos across the city. The virus epidemic had lasted so long, it felt as though there wasn't really a life before it. Following Zoot now, it felt wrong,  I admired his leadership, his strength and his will to survive, but he over stepped that line long ago.

     The car came to a stop. When I looked out the window and saw a line of unused train carts, rusting from improper care. Zoot tumbled down the top of the car, sliding down the front window. Ebony got out through one of the doors, and met up with Zoot at the front of the car.
      I got out of the car, joining the two of them at the front.

      Ebony was second in command, I was third which basically made me responsible for everything. I stood on the other side of Zoot, and finally saw why they had stopped. Surrounded by the locusts stood four people. Three men and a girl.
     The one with black hair and tanned skin walked up to Zoot, the obvious leader of the small group. In his arms he had a bag, filled to the brim with goods. "Zoot." He said, "I was starting to think you weren't coming. Guess time keeping ain't your thing, hey?"

     Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zoot's expression tighten into a grimace. I surveyed the others in the group. The female was hanging way back, her hair done up in halves of blue and pink. "Yeah me neither." The tanned man went on. "Time's dead. The old way. We make the rules now right?"

     Zoot's light blue beady eyes flickered down. "What's in the bag?" Even without the intimidating look in his eyes, he could over power someone with just his stance. The way he looked down at you, was like nothing I had ever seen before.

     "Glad you asked, friend." The man said, dropping the bag. The zip broke open, revealing electronical equipment, and games. I saw a glimpse of some batteries, not many though, and as a powerful tribe, batteries was something we needed more of, unfortunately they were becoming harder and harder to find. "Walkie-talkies, C-D players, batteries. You name it."

     "Food?" Zoot raised his head, as though the man in front was a fly now trapped in a web.

     The man looked back at the cart, where his three deciples held back. "We only have enough for ourselves —"

     "Give it to me." Zoot interupted.

     Another man, a little taller than the leader jumped down. He had black tear like marks underneath his eyes, with a buzzcut. He stopped next to the tanned man, and dropped another bag. One of the militia snatched it and began rummaging through it.

     "Why do you wanna be a locust?" Zoot asked, glaring down the tanned leader.

     "You guys are the best outfit around, you cut it. You really. . ." The man struggled for words, distracted by the glares of the locusts.

     "What?" Ebony asked, "Really, what?"

     Silence. That was never a good sign. This man had absolueltly no idea what he was talking about, and there was no way Zoot was going to let him into the locusts. They were now as good as dead.

     "Scandlous." The man suddenly blurted. I chocked back on the gasp that threatened to come out. If that man hadn't already secured his death warrant, he just signed it in big block letters.