The Rouges

t h i r t y s i x

                                                           ------- FINAL  CHAPTER -----

IT TOOK A moment, a heartbeat, to realize what had happened. As the guard's head whipped back and his slack body crumpled to the ground, time seemed to stand still. Then all at once it sped up, as if making up for the lost seconds. The second guard glanced at his dead comrade in shock, but his training quickly took over as he turned his firearm on Brant.

Gunfire echoed down the streets like sporadic thunder. I felt sickly vindicated having not wasted any brain cells remembering his name as Brant's body spasmed when the bullets pierced his flesh. Obviously our outdated armor was nothing compared to their weapons. None of us were safe now.   

  While he shot, the guard was screaming into his earpiece. He would not be alone for long. In the short instant that his gunfire ceased, his cold blue eyes turned instantly to us. In that instant there was understanding in his eyes and I knew we had made a mistake.

Every other civilian still on the streets had dropped to their knees at the sound of the first shot. Hoods were pushed back from their plain faces and their hands were locked behind their heads. They had been trained to show they were disarmed, to surrender immediately. Only four people still stood on the street and now the guard knew exactly who we were. His gun rose, the barrel pointed at my face, but the shot that rang out didn't come from him. Maddox had fired, hitting the guard's left shoulder. Without hesitation, we bolted for the nearest alley. As we dove into the shadows, I caught Maddox's green jump suit disappearing into another alleyway.

My instinct was to go higher, but the roofs here were sloped too steeply to maneuver. My eyes searched the ground, but the even pavement had no drains. There was nowhere to hide and the darkness was creeping in at an unusually rapid rate. The white linens we had donned to hide would soon make us easy targets. We shed our stolen clothing as we sprinted through alley. I pulled at Mouse, helping her out of disguise before removing my own. Once free of his garb, Triven grabbed Mouse, swinging her up into his arms as he ran. Our eyes met for a second and a horrible flash passed through my mind. I had lived this moment before, but through different eyes. The only difference was that I was no longer the one being carried. This time I was in my parents' shoes.

I pushed harder, running from my past. Running for their lives as well as our own.

The darkness had swallowed the city whole, almost as if by command. The thought flickered through my mind that maybe that's exactly what had happened. If they could make the sun so bright here, the usually tarnished skies so blue, then wasn't it just as possible that they could take that all away? The shields surrounding the city kept us out, but they were also keeping these people in, controlling their lives.

Even in our fear-driven panic, we ran with purpose. Every turn we took kept us on a path toward the northwest corner of the city. We just had to keep moving. The alleys here were cleaner than ours. The pavement was smooth and uncluttered with trash and rubble. The catch was if we could move faster, so could the people chasing us.

I turned a corner three steps ahead of Triven and collided with a wall of human flesh. The world spun as I was knocked to ground, but not before I could pull the knife from my boot. I slashed out as our bodies collided with the cement, but found only air. I thrust again, but a meaty hand closed over my wrist, squeezing so hard I could feel the bones bend, precariously close to snapping.

"Now is that any way to greet a friend?"

I kicked, catching Maddox in the gut and throwing him off of me. I grabbed my newly healed arm as it began throbbing again. It felt as if the wound may have reopened. "No, that's how I greet everyone I hate."