If I Should Die

Chapter One

Sprinting around the corner, I gasped for breath and took in my surroundings. An old building and crumbling wall to my left, and one of the last functioning shops, Mary's Body Shop, to my right. Pressing the chip on the inside of my elbow, I urgently spoke to it, "Ryan, are you there?"

A calm voice spoke back. "Shit, Kitty. Calm down, I'm just fine! If you're that worried, just come back." Ryan was the voice of reason. Creeping past the gang that was beating up a adult, about 5 years older than me, as I was a little bit older than 14, I carried the bundle to our hideout, a small cave on the edge of the ruined city.

As I drew closer, I ran faster, desperate to see the one person in the whole world who made me feel that I had family again. We only met after our parents died and put us in the cave for our own safety. "Ryan, I have food!" At the announcement, he wandered out of the dark, creeping shadows and showed his light blonde hair matted with dirt first, then his blue eyes and finally, his whole body.

Seeing it was only me, he ran up and hugged me with so much force, I'm sure he could've knocked out Iron Man. I didn't know who he was but we read a book about him when we ran to the old burned down library and salvaged some books. Iron Man was probably a wonderful man, too good to be true. When I looked back, I saw that Ryan had started eating without me. Sitting on the hard floor next to him, we ate a meager dinner. It was more than what we usually ate though. Nothing.

Splitting a special treat I had to steal from the supermarket for the rich, we both savored tiny slices of apple. Letting the juice remain on my tongue as long as I could, we both fell into a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~

I was suddenly woke up by the call of something I hadn't heard for a long time. A bird. Grabbing my handmade knife, I crept out of the cave so to not wake Ryan up and hunted down the source of the sound. A crowd of hungry people like me were already crowded around the stump of a tree, mouths watering and weapons up. I had almost no chance to catch the bird. When the bird took flight, the crowd, including me, ran after it until we were out of breath and gasping for air.

Remembering that I had left Ryan at the cave alone, I froze for about a second. A second wasted. When I got to the cave, Ryan was gone. All I could see were the remains of his struggle, a paper, and our leftovers. In a daze, I picked up the paper and knew it was the government. No one else was rich enough to buy paper, since about 99% of the trees were dead from lack of rain, sunl and nutritions in the soil.

The only thing on the paper though, was Ryan's chip stuck on with glue. Feeling a hot tear leave my eye, I fingered it and cried. Running outside, I screamed to the world,"Why! Why me!" I can't believe the last thing I said to him was, 'Ryan, I have food.' I was pathetic. I couldn't even save my own friend. My only family.

Thinking that it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself, I made a plan to save him. To break him out.

Running on the remains of the used-to-be-but-not-anymore sidewalk, a hand grabbed me and pulled me back. Oh, god! Why didn't I think this out before I acted?

Now I was going to have to pay. Bowing my head, I readied myself for the deathblow. I hoped it wouldn't be too painful and Ryan would survive without me.

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Thanks so much! Oh, and can you guys make up a name for the guy who pulled her into the shadows? I really appreciate it!