The Law and the Codas

Chapter Three

The logo of our country, the emboldened Dove, clenching in both its talons a promise to never spare the rod, catches my eye first, as the intruders come into view. There are hundreds of them, dressed in white military fatigues

Their vests studded with blood splatters. Their shirtsleeves are pulled apart, They wear breathing masks, and the apparatus that wrings the air of unwanted toxins buzzes, Mini grenade pins stick out of vest pockets.

I shiver. These folks, whoever they were, came ready for war.

"Drop the gun," one of them wheezes. He nods to Sam and trains his gun on the tender spot of flesh between the eyes. I get the feeling none of them would need a program like accuracy to assist to help them make the shot.

I watch on with bated breath. A pool of liquid blossoms across Sam's crotch as he lets the gun fall from his hands. it clatters on the ground. It doesn't go off, which means Sam's had the safety on the entire time. Guess it was a nice thing, given the current circumstance.

The man who's put his sight on David, motions for him to step forward. I grab David's forearm and shake my head. "Don't go."

break of my strength, my grasp does little to convince David to stay. He shakes off my hand and steps forward.

"just trust me," he mouths, as he walks toward the group of Militia imposters.

The man put his gun down at David's approach and motions to someone on his left. "This the Chemist?"

The other man nods.

unexpectedly, the soldier's shoulders slump as he sighs in relief, causing his breathing apparatus to wheeze. he reached up and peels off the mask.

hair falls in front of his face. He flicks his head back, lets his hair fall over his ears and around his chin. No, excuse me. Not his chin. Her chin. her hairstyle could be for either a female or male, there's no mistaking her gender.

After the mask come off, she starts to take on a different shape. Her shoulders seem more slender than the others, and her waist more cinched.

she looked at David "We're here to set you free," she says, motioning to her crew. "Praise Dove."

David nods but stays silent.

The woman hands him a plastic bottle. Bluish liquid sloshes against the insides. "Take it," she says. "It'll stop the explosives in your blood."

"What explosives?" Jonathan shouts in my ear. "Have we been walking bombs the entire time?"

This news, shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Law built us a school within a prison, why not weaponize our blood? It would keep us in line and stomp out any pesky notions before they manifested into something bigger, something dangerous.

David takes it and sips. He never breaks eye contact with her. After his second gulp, he runs the sleeve of his uniform across his mouth and gives a refreshing sigh.

The woman stamps her foot. "Can we leave already? I'd like to get a few hundred klicks away from here before the Law sends in the Birds."

David shakes his head and the woman smacks the barrel of her weapon into her gloved palm. "What is it?"

"What about them?" David says, motioning toward us.

We're still hunkered on the ground, Rima clutching Sam, Jonathan holding Marava, me clutching for air as I fail to remember how to breathe. Sin's got his fingers sprawled out on the floor, inching through a pool of blood to try and reach the gun Sam dropped.

The woman shakes her head. "No way. The deal was for you, not the others. I'm already risking by rescuing you. "

She grimaces before grabbing David's arm. He doesn't budge. Though he's thin David's packing serious strength in that lean musculature of his.