Splitting a Match

Hijack

15.

[Time: 5:05am]

[Location: Castor Home

Seattle, Pangaea] 

[December 20, 2097]

Did I have all the details worked out? No, no way. Did I know anything about that organization I planned to join? I knew virtually nothing. Did I have any idea how I would survive the trip? No. In fact, I had no idea if I was going to make it or not.

What I did know is that I was leaving. To join Gamma. Without my family.

It was early in the morning, and everybody would be sleeping for another hour. I'd set my phone under my pillow and it woke me at 5:00am with its buzz (it always scares the heck out of me when it vibrates). Quietly, I had got myself freshened up and then pulled the suitcase which I had repacked the night before out from under my bed. I had grabbed the handguns in the false bottom out stashed them in between the pants and shirts in the suitcase.

I slipped on my running shoes and silently slipped out of our front door into the hall. Pulling the door closed, I winced at the loud creak it made until it finally clicked shut. I rode the elevator to ground level and breathed in some of the fresh morning air to calm myself.

I had done some serious planning the night before. Everything I needed seemed to fall in place perfectly. I knew there was a train leaving in an hour to take laborers to within ten miles of the Sea-Tac airport, where there was a trans-pacific flight leaving in three hours to Singapore, carrying goods and weapons. Once in Singapore, there was another cargo flight leaving in two days, bound for Sydney, Australia. There, I would ask around, maybe join a Clan, and eventually find my way to Gamma.

It was going to be hard, especially without my friends there to back me up, but I was determined, and I knew I had to go.

I had also taken the precaution of putting some essentials in my backpack which I had packed the night before. Extra water, one extra pistol made of a hard synthetic in case I had to go through metal detectors, a tactical knife, food, a space blanket, and a disguise.

I began my run to the train station which was located on King Street. It was still in our territory, but barely, edged in the extreme south end of the plot. It didn't take long to run there, only about ten minutes, but my adrenaline levels were high. If I stopped running, my limbs would shake.

I was shocked at the mass of people at the train station. Every one of the dirty, scared faces seemed to be in a haunted state of apathy, floating around in a sea of humanity . It was surreal, nearly frightening. Nobody talked; it was almost silent except for the noise of the padded boots hitting the floor. To me, it seemed like a kind of purgatory, where everybody lives in a partial reality, going day to day without any other purpose than to simply live.

I navigated my way through the ocean of humanity , weaving my way toward the sign that read "19A to SeaTac". That was the door where the Lightrail would take the workers. As I passed through the door, the smell of burnt oil and grease with the nauseating odor of unwashed bodies hit my nostrils, and I stumbled onto the platform, being pushed along by more people behind me.

Five minutes later, the rusty Lightrail trail screeched past the platform, slowing to a stop with a shudder. People began to board and I followed the crowd, hoping to blend into the crowd.

Suddenly, my sophisticated running shoes, my clean black sweats and my hoodie looked morbidly out of place, and I began to feel extremely self-conscious. Every glance my way sent a rush of adrenaline through my veins. Sulking back, I hid myself partially between two large men who didn't seem to notice anything.