Jailbreak

Chapter 2: Jay

Until a few decades ago, this city was the capital of this country.

But on that fatal day, it was discovered that the mayor had been embezzling money from the country. His excuse was that he was trying to make life a bit more better for the citizens living here, who were struggling with everyday life, but the government had no mercy. As joint liability, the whole city had been forsaken.

A large dome made of iron and glass was built over the city, and no one was allowed to enter or leave without the government's permission. As for the mayor, he was mysteriously killed in the country's prison. No one knew who the killer was, and in truth, no one actually cared.

Factories that had once boasted the latest technology. High-rising buildings. Enormous department stores. The structures that were once the city's glory and pride were almost all abandoned, with no money to manage them any more. Only a few heavy industrial factories survived, and the citizens had no choice but to get a new business running, or become factory workers, to survive.

Then came the keepers – dispatched elite soldiers from the new capital who came to keep watch over the city night and day.

Taking advantage of the fact that the country had abandoned the city, these keepers began to use the citizens as punching bags to relieve their daily stress and frustrations – accusing us of the most ridiculous things, they started to hunt us down, killing the innocent with their guns without second thought.

Our lives became a living nightmare; we cried and screamed for help, but help never came.

Normally, I would stay still, and wait until the hunt is over, but today, for some reason, my heart stirs uncomfortably.

I stand up, and tiptoe towards the door leading outside. "I'll be right back."

Raven grabs my arm. "Don't. It's too dangerous."

I look back at him, and smile sadly. "Sorry Raven. I have to." I shake his hand off, and fling open the door.

"Jay!" Raven shouts behind me, but I'm already running.

Right, left, left, right, left again - I sprint down the narrow, dirty alleyway, my heart still fluttering restlessly. This feeling provides me with an extra burst of speed.

I come to an open area, and a frightening scene meets my eyes.

People screaming, frantically searching for a way to escape. The injured and the dead, surrounded by pools of blood. And the keepers, waving around bloody knives and smoking guns.

Even as I watch, an old man is sent sprawling onto the ground, and a young keeper, his eyes covered with a blood-red blindfold like the rest of them, thrusts a pistol into his ribs.

I recognize the man - it is the owner of the old clock I was mending this morning.

Even before I know what I'm doing, I'm already running towards the keeper, yelling, "Stop!! Don't shoot!!"

Both the old man and the keeper towards me with a startled expression. The old man seems to recognize me in an instant, and rasps, "No... Don't come...!", but it's too late. The keeper aims his gun at me silently, mouthing something I can't hear. Just as the keeper is about to squeeze the trigger -

"GET DOWN!"

I hear a familiar voice. Immediately, I drop to the ground, and at that moment, there is a crack of gunfire. I look up to see the keeper who had his gun pointed at me slowly toppling over, slamming his head onto the ground with a painful-sounding thunk.

"Raven...!" I whip my head around, and find my friend standing there, a musket held loosely in his right hand. "You... Did you... k-ki..."

"Hm?" Raven looks at me, and shakes his head. "Don't worry Jay, this gun doesn't have actual bullets in them. It's an ultra-short acting tranquilizer gun. He's not dead." He walks towards the fallen keeper, and jabs his foot into the man's ribs quite roughly . "But honestly, I think he has every right to be. To be erased from the face of this planet." Seeing the man's fingers twitch, Raven brings down the tranquilizer gun on the keeper's head with a nasty whump, knocking him out completely.