Zodiac:The Unborn

Winners of Exile

The Bartender gave me fifteen bucks for my food and sent me on a train.
When asked any questions,I said I was going to see my family in China.
They then say,thats not possible
I respond,how do you know?
Then they would walk away.Convinced that I had some mental issues.That was fine by me as long as they didn't suspect anything.
The train rode straight into the Court,the center of Anthem.The oasis in the desert,the Door out of Hell and into Heaven.Thats what others called it.I just call it the Court,with maybe a few curse words.
The Court was also where winners of past Exiles lived(do you spot the Hunger Games connection). The Court threw you into Exile,watched you kill or almost be killed to survive,brought you out and said.'Wow,you did well with the deaths of our people.Come live with us,so you could train and watch other people do the same thing you did!'
That was the deal,if you managed to make it out you helped train others to do the same.
The Winners didn't live with the Court,more like on the sidelines.Or at the bottom of a hill.I felt like I was gonna tip over and roll down the hill like tumbleweed.Surprisingly I made it just fine.
I had to admit.The Court dd good with this one.
Every house was shining marble white.Its a good thing the sun was setting or I would have been blinded.Each one sat on a crisp green lawn,some had blooming colorful flowers.Temperatures were normal here,not like hot Cancer or freezing Capricorn.And each road was paved clean and spotless,it felt like you stepped into uncharted territory.Which in my case,I did.
I walked down the road,rummaging in my bag for what I might need.Poppers,flour,smoke screen firecrackersHmm.
I reached the house I was looking for fairly quickly.Gabriel Stuart.It wasn't empty.Light shined out from inside.That makes things more difficult but not impossible.
I checked every window,putting down a firecracker until I found one that was open.I crawled inside and lightly dropped to the floor.
I was in the kitchen.Something was cooking on the the stove.The kitchen was big and stylish,dropping some poppers around the stove and floor.I moved on.For every heated appliance,I placed a firecracker or a popper.For every heavy item a bag of flour.
Mr. Stuart was just lounging on the couch.A tall man in his thirties,with a beard and a flannel shirt and his boxer shirt watching...Was he watching housewives?.Perfect.
I crouched and crept slowly behind the couch.Under it I rolled poppers and lit a firecracker and a smokescreen.
Let the action begin in three....two....one.
BAM! The firecracker went of and started flying all over the place.
"What the-",Stuart jumped up as a loud crack and yell echoed through. He stepped on the poppers.
Hissssssss there goes the smoke,filling up the room with gray and blurred light from the television.Time to blast.
While Stuart stumbled and yelled.I quickly found my way back to the kitchen and out the window.
Unfortunately I forgot about the firecracker I put there.
Bang! An explosion of dirt went off on my left side,knocking me to the floor.
My face felt wet and hot,the firecracker probably hit me in the face and was still going
I got shakily to my feet as it hit and activated another firecracker with a bang.
I half stumbled,half ran back to the hill and only just started climbing when Gabriel Stuart busted through his front door.My bloody face was the first thing he saw.
'HEY'
I turned and struggled up the hill.My mind foggy.Lights turned on everywhere,more voices.
SHWOOM!
Another blast this time on the right side of my face.I managed to stand upright and keep moving,but I was losing.Losing blood,losing consciousness.
Shouts echoed in my head like a bad radio.Flashlights swarming above ground.Then I fell.Fell into darkness as the sky popped into color.