The Falling of Lauren Johnson

Chapter Six

We make our way down the dark street towards the poorer end of the sector, towards my house, and sticks to the shadows, making sure that no one can see us. I'm breathing heavy, not used to all of this physical exertion, and I closely follow Melissa and Katelyn. They seem to know where they're going, not stopping to question themselves once.

"Do you know where you're going?" I whisper when we stop in the shadows of one house.

Melissa looks back at nods, and me "We've done this once or twice."

I'm surprised when they lead me to the park where I like to spend my time looking at the river drawing. Instead of going to my favorite tree, we head into the woods and follow a trail. How can they know where they're going when I can't see ten feet in front of me?

We creep along the track for about twenty minutes before we reach a clearing, and beyond the clearing is stepping stones that lead across the river to the other side, the forbidden side for us regular folk.

I know deep down that this is such a bad idea, but I also have this nagging feeling that this is where I'm supposed to be headed. Since the relaxer is still working its magic in me, I decide to continue following Melissa and Katelyn, not hesitating when they cross the river.

After the river, we keep making our way towards the abandoned sector; when people lived on earth a hundred years ago, they lived in large cities, and now that the population is contained, the clones get to spend their days in the abandoned part of the land, abandoned by the government anyway. We reach the city and finally pause outside of a desolate storefront.

I finally say something, irritated by the silence from the last hour, "When you said party, I thought you meant back in our own sector. And aren't your parents going to notice we're gone?"

Katelyn answers first, "There wouldn't ever be any good parties in our sector."

Melissa chimes in, answering the second part of my question, "No, they're not going to miss us. I put a couple sleeping serums in their drinks, so they'll be out for at least fifteen hours. They won't know either, because the symptoms of the sleeping serum matches that of a hangover."

I'm shocked, "You drugged your parents!" I must have said that a bit too loudly because they both simultaneously 'shh' me.

"Yeah, and they'll never find out." She replies. Her response feels almost like a threat, and I believe it. I have no idea where she gets all of these drugs, and I don't want to find out what kind she'd use on me if I ever crossed her.

We keep moving towards the inner parts of the city, hiding once when a police drives by. There are police out here? I thought that the clones had free range to do whatever they want. Apparently not.

We make our way into a dark building, and just as I'm about to step out of the building following Melissa and Katelyn, I hear somebody yell, "Freeze you two! Put your hands where I can see them!" I suck in a deep breath, and watch as Katelyn and Melissa stick their hands straight up into the air. Should I step out and reveal myself? A police officer emerges into my line of sight so I immediately retract back into the safety of the shadowy, cluttered building. Does he know I'm here?

"What the hell, you two aren't clones! What are you doing on this side of town? I could've shot you dead for breaking curfew! Is it just you two out here?" Breathe Lauren. Calm yourself down. You cannot get a panic attack now.

Melissa replies, "Yes officer, its just us two." That takes care of that question. I sink down to the floor and crawl underneath a desk waiting for someone to call me out. Nobody does.

"You two are in some serious trouble. Get into the vehicle. Now!" The officer yells and I hear feet shuffling away. A few moments later, I hear the vehicle driving away. I crawl out of my space when I think its safe and poke my head out of the doorframe. Nobody is there. I push myself off of the ground and look around, seeing nobody at all. I'm in some serious shit.

I walk down the street aimlessly, hoping for someone to appear and help me. Apparently, my plea was heard because a man walks out of a decaying shanty and spots me. He has a look of aggression on his face, and I immediately decide to walk away from him. I make a B-line for a dark, brick building and reach the doorway just as the man I was trying to avoid comes and stands in the doorway.

"Its like a maze in here." He says. I can tell he's taunting me. I keep backing up, and he follows suit. He steps into the light, and I can finally distinguish his features. He has a crooked, bumpy nose planted in the middle of his face, and patchy leather skin surrounding the rest of his feature.

"Yeah," I give a weak laugh in hopes that he'll back off, which he does not, "So I should probably be getting back home." I mumble. I try to step away from him, but he latches one of his meat-mitts he has for hands around my throat and spins me around into the wall.

The breath gets knocked out of me. I try to suck in a breath, but he grips my neck and squeezes a little harder. I can no longer feel any pain from his grip, but rather from the lack of oxygen. It's like several sharp stabs to your lungs, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. I'm going to die. I'm going to die here all alone.

He squeezes harder and I try to pry his cold, clammy hands off of my neck to no avail. "Why are you doing this?" I squeak out.

He gives a hearty chuckle and gives a toothy grin. "Oh sweetheart, because I can." He laughs harder and lifts me up against the wall. I can feel my feet leave the ground, and the air around me starts to get dimmer and darker, full of spots.

"Hey! Get off of her you asshole!" An unfamiliar voice yells, and my attacker drops me to the ground. My body hits the pavement hard and I try to suck in oxygen as fast as I can. I try to control my breathing but everything remains its original dark hue.

The attacker and a new man start throwing punches at each other, and even though the new guy is a head or two shorter than the other, he throws a blow straight to the assailant's temple, and his heavy body hits the ground. The new man faces toward me, and the darkness continues to settle in.

A strange beeping noise starts ringing in my ear. I imagine that the heart monitor on my chip is trying to tell me that my heart rate is low, so I pull up my sleeve with my little remaining strength, and am surprised when its not my heart monitor beeping. Instead, zeros are flashing before my eyes. The soul mate clock is up. I stop the clock and look up at the man approaching me. Now the darkness of unconsciousness looks much more appetizing than before, and I take its beckoning hand and slip into unconsciousness.