"Fight, flight, or screw up royally."
"They were tied together with string; no matter what happened or how far they traveled apart, they still found their way back to each other."
Two years before the legendary names: Connor Lassiter, Risa Ward, and...
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BRIAN
A fist connected with the side of his eye. Brian had seen a Junior picking on a few Freshman and he wasn't having it. Brian stood in front of the two smaller boys and seized the Junior up. He told him to stop and mind his own business but instead got the reply to a hit in the face.
This wasn't going to end well.
They were on the side of the school, so not many people spotted them. The Junior threw another punch, but Brian was expecting this and easily dodged the blow. Now that they were physical with each other, Brian could tell that this was going to be an easy fight. It seemed this guy had never been in a fist fight before.
Brian grabbed the Junior's arm and twisted it behind his back as he tried to punch again. He quickly pushed him up against the school wall, his chest to the bricks and his arm behind him. After about a couple seconds, Brian released his grip.
"You're gonna get yourself unwound if you start anymore fights. Don't," Brian warned with sad smile.
The Junior just growled in response and sulked away while holding his arm that Brian had pinned to his back just a moment ago. School had ended already so he figured why not just head home.
Brian was a stubborn kid these past few years until now. He never took unwinding seriously. He and his friends always made jokes about it. But a part of him blames the schools. They barely taught them anything about the Heartland War and abortion rights and unwinding. They were never taught of the origins of that stuff.
But then, one day, his friend didn't come to school. At first, Brian didn't think much of it. Maybe he's just sick. Yes, it was weird he didn't text but maybe he's just still sleeping. Brian didn't want to think the worst quite yet.
But then the next day he didn't show up with no word from him. Brain began asking around. And everyone gave him that look. Brian just couldn't admit it to himself yet. Later that day his other friend confirmed it. Jacob has been unwound. And the reality of unwinding hit Brian like a truck.
So now Brian is trying to fix himself. His grades have gotten better and he doesn't get in as many or no fights than he used to. Little did he know is that his fate was already sealed in an unwind order document.
---
When he got home, his father wasn't home. Brian figured he was probably out drinking again. The boy sighed and plopped down on the dining room table to work on homework. When Brian fell asleep, his father was still out. He was out drinking for his mistake he did to his son.
---
Brian didn't even get the chance to wake up before two Juvey cops busted down his door and dragged him out of his bed. He wasn't even sure what was happening to him until he was held in front of his father who looked distraught.
"What...?" Brian questioned, still half asleep. Everything was happening too fast for him to comprehend.
"You're being unwound," his father stated plainly. That snapped Brian to full consciousness. His face turned a deathly white and he could barely even stand. The Juvey cops gripped him tighter on his forearms.
Brian couldn't speak. After all of his hard work to become something better these past few months.
"I signed it four two weeks ago, Brian. And I regret it. I will blame myself forever," his father sighed, tears growing in his eyes.
How is that fair? How can be crying? Anger started to form and replace the shock of it all. "You could have at least warned me! Helped me go AWOL if you really regretted it!" Brian yelled, tugging against the Juvey cops' grip.
"I know. I know."
And that was it.
Brian was led into the back of a vehicle and shoved inside. Neighbors from other apartments watched in plain stares. The two Juvey cops got into the car and drove off. The thing that Brian hated the most was that he was helpless. There was absolutely nothing he could do to get out of this one. There would be no fighting. He wouldn't go out with a bang or even a whimper. He would go out with the silence of a candle being put out with two fingers.
Oh, boy was he wrong.
---
Brian was riding in the back of a police cruiser when the accident happend. A deer just had to run out in front of the car like a beam of hope. The Juvey cop tried to swerve around it, but they ended up losing control. The car hit something that made them spin upside down and they fell into a ditch. Brian was jerked around the vehicle, still having the common sense to put on a seat belt.
Everything was spinning. The world was upside down - literally. Brian groaned and unlicked his seat belt, gravity pulling him down. Shattered glass covered the car. He felt the side of the head that ached. It was leaking a warm liquid.
Brian knew he was on the verge of unconsciousness. But he had to stay awake. He had to get out of this car. The Juvey cops weren't stirring and he wasn't going to wait for them to wake up. Brian flipped onto his stomach, and with a big push with his one good leg and a groan, pushed out of the overturned vehicle.
He stood up with shaky legs. It felt as if his knees were going to give out at any second. But he pushed. He wasn't going to give up just yet. But he did need a rest. Brian sank down next to the car and leaned into the drivers seat. When he came back out, he was holding a tranq pistol.
Just in case, he thought.
Suddenly, a charge of adrenaline surged through his body. Brian jerked to his feet and booked it to the road. He still felt that sticky liquid dripping from the side of his head and his nose and his leg hurt something almost unbearable. But that wasn't going to stop him.
He's now an Unwind AWOL. And he was determined to survive.
And just as he made it to the road, a car slammed on their breaks, just missing him by a couple inches.
