The Secret to Flying - An MCYT Cyberpunk/Dystopian AU

9: Scar

Me, Bdubs, Tango and Impulse have a bet as to whether Cleo's told us to mistrust Beef and Etho's shop due to food poisoning, Watcher involvement, or she's got some kind of grudge against them. I bet the latter and, as we approach, I'm proved right.

'Welcome to Beeffo's food shop! Proudly know as the greatest in the Blindfold!' Beef calls.

'Except if your name is Cleo...' adds Etho. 

'Hey Beef!' I run over, ignoring Bdubs's yell behind. 'What's going on with you and Cleo?'

'Ah, their accomplice has arrived...'

'I'm not Cleo's accomplice, you silly goose! Anyway, I'm here for some of the cocoa beans, you got any?'

'Why, we've got plenty of-'

Explosion.

'BY THE DECREE OF THE WATCHERS, STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR YOU WILL BE SHOT!'

Chaos.

Everyone's running and screaming, I think there's fire. A thousand Watcher guards and Watcher soldiers run into view, attacking anyone not in their black and blue uniforms. I hear gunshot, I see people hit the ground and stop moving. Dead. They're killing people. People who try and run. But anyone who isn't running is being dragged away, screaming. Everyone's screaming. 

A tug on my arm, a yell, and Bdubs drags me away from the chaos, the cacophony, the gunshots and screams and the crackling fire and the yelling for help and my eyes burn from the smoke and if Bdubs wasn't holding my hand I'd be completely lost. Above, I hear the roar of the planes I always loved, the planes I'm going to fly in a couple months time if I don't die today with everyone else. And the smell of smoke and blood overtakes the smell of whatever food and products the innocent people of the Blindfold sold. 

'Bdubs, what's going on?!' I shout.

'Someone snitched.'

We realise at the same time.

I stumble, almost falling as I grow faint and my breathing doesn't work and my legs don't work and my heart burns and I feel like I'm going to die and all around me all I can see is tears and a blur of amber shapes, running, fleeing, falling, dying all around us because I told Grian. I told Grian. I told him about this. I told him everything, absolutely everything he needed to tell the Watchers to get them to burn down the Blindfold and kill... they killed...

Pain.

In my arm, then my whole side. My hands touch something hard and sharp and covered in sticky red blood. The ground. I'm on the ground.

'Serves you right.' The gang leader steps closer to me. 'For stealing. You s***face thief.'

'P-Please I'm sorry. I'll give it back. I didn't realise it... that you... owned it...'

'Everything you see here is ours.' I turn to face them. Blood runs down my cheek with the tears. They hold me against the wall again, the knife to my throat. 'Now, you little f***er, we need to teach you a lesson.'

'A- a lesson?'

'People don't get to steal from us, k? What do we do to thieves, True?'

'We take something from them.'

'I- I don't have anything...'

'You have an awful lot of stuff, s***face. A awful lot of stuff we could take away from you...' The knife raises from my neck to my ear. I struggle, trying to scream, but their hand covers my mouth before I can. 'Shhh, shhh now, s***face. This won't take long. It's only a little token. A little reminder for you to...'

'HEY, HEY AWAY FROM HIM!' 

Another voice. A furious, female voice. I stop struggling. The gang leader stops too, lowering their knife.

'What did you say, p****?' He turns. The newcomer immediately punches him, right in the face, wrestling his knife off him.

'I said- GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER! HE'S MY BROTHER! DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY! HE'S NOT DEAD! HE'S NOT A CRIMINAL! HE- HE'S ONE OF YOU! HE'S A HAWK!'

The world changes around me. All around, the horrors still attack my senses. There's still fire, the screams less of a cacophony and more of a yelling, pleading. There's pain in the side of my head, pain in my arm. I'm sat, pinned against a wall, my hands held out in front of me by Watcher guards. One holds handcuffs.

'What- what are you doing?!' I try to stand. Beyond the Watchers, I see Bdubs fighting his own Watcher. 'No- Wait- I didn't do anything!'

'He's a HAWK FLEDGLING! Scar, tell them! You're a Hawk!'

'I'm- I'm a Hawk!' I insist. 'I'm one of you!' As little as I want to associate with the people slaughtering innocents, I have to. 'Please let me- ow- let me go! You're hurting me! I'm a Hawk! I'm a HAWK!'

'SCAR?' Another voice. The one from the street, with the gang. The one from that memory, who helped me. 'SCAR NO!' 

With the passion of a thousand Scars, Cleo runs into view. 

'CLEO! CLEO PLEASE THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE ME AWAY!'

'Don't you F***ING DARE!' 

She punches the guards holding back Bdubs, hard enough for them to stop going for him, and start attacking her. Bdubs runs to me, trying to wrestle away the guards.

'Stop or I shoot!' One shouts, shoving him away 'STOP!'

'Get off my sons or I will BREAK YOUR LEGS!' Cleo snarls. They lunges for their guns, fighting it from their grasp. She removes the safety.

'I'm not joking, I will shoot you! I will F***ING...'

'Ma'am, drop the gun. We don't want anyone getting hurt.'

'You fricking liars! You've killed so many people!'

'They disobeyed. We weren't shooting to kill.' 

One of the guards manages to force the handcuffs onto my wrists, dragging me to my feet. Cleo stands a few feet away, aiming her borrowed gun at whoever moved last. I count 5 guards, one holding me, two holding Bdubs and two pointing their guns at Cleo. I fight against my captors. 

'Please. Listen to me. Scar is a registered Hawk. He's part of your lot. We were just seeing how bad this Black market really was when you started attacking it. We got caught in the crossfire. We only found out about this place the other day...' Bdubs begs.

'Who told you about it?'

'We just found it! Let us go. Please.'

'Let the boys go.' I let out a sigh of relief until the guard continues. 'This one will be arrested for stealing dangerous weapons and attacking All-Protecting officers.'

Cleo fires a warning shot into the air. 

'The next one will be in your chest,' they spit, backing away.

'Cleo...' 

'Drop the gun. 3... 2... 1...'

Gunshot. 

Bdubs screams.

And Cleo collapses.

Dead.

:)