“C’mon,” the guy taunts as he shoves the YP’s aside. “You think you’re so tough? Let’s see what you got?”
Jeremin steps in front of me and strikes the fat man in the face with the butt of his rifle. The man’s legs buckle, and he crumbles to his knees. He falls forward, smacking his head against the asphalt. He doesn’t get up.
“Get the rest of the kids on the bus!” Jeremin orders. “And darken those windows, goddamn it, I don’t want them seeing this.”
The crowd’s rage intensifies. Nothing will stop them now. They bust through the laser barrier and start attacking the YP’s. Most Youth Patrollers easily fling off the first wave of attackers, but there’s just too many of them. Luna is tackled; her gun is ripped from her hands. An older man stands over her, holding up the weapon like a conquering warrior. But Jeremin, as calm as can be, shoots the old man in the face. The other YP’s take the cue and start firing onto the crowd. They mow them down one by one. No one is left alive.
Over by the overhang, the principle and the faculty are huddled together on the lawn. They’re horrified. Jeremin turns around and finds me standing on the lawn with them. How did I get over here? Don’t tell me I ran like a coward?
Jeremin steps over a body and walks up to the principle. “Do you know who these people were?” he asks, referring to the dead people on the ground.
The principle swallows nervously. “Uh, most are parents of the students.”
“Can you and your staff identify them?”
“I believe we can.”
“Good, I need to know which kid lost a parent or who might be orphaned. It’s very important to us.”
“Yes, I understand,” the principle cowers.
“Good, see Miss Luna over there?” the commander points. “Tell her what you know.”
“Y-yes sir,” the principle stutters. “We’ll tell her whatever she wants.”
The principle and the faculty run to Luna, while Jeremin slowly turns to look my way. He flips up his visor and stares me down. “You started a riot, Evan.”
“What? I started this?”
“Oh yeah. You didn’t keep your mouth shut like I told you to. These people are dead because of you.”
“Oh my God.”
“Don’t worry about it, dude, this was inevitable. We weren’t getting out of here without someone getting shot.” He puts his arm around me and walks me over close to the carnage. “Look at it, Evan,” he says calmly. “Look at the all these dead bodies. Are you looking at them? What do you see?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Look at it.”
“I… I…”
“Don’t feel guilty about this, Evan.” Jeremin says reassuringly. “This is nothing. You’re going to do a whole lot worse.”
CHAPTER 10
“Clean it up people,” Jeremin Shouts.
The Patrollers quickly adjust the settings on their rifles and fire onto the lifeless bodies. Intense bluish flames pour out from their gun barrels, incinerating everything. Nothing is left except for the stench of burnt flesh and the smell of kerosene.
All of a sudden, Dagger comes running up to Jeremin. “Sir, we have a problem.”
“Don’t tell me the kids just saw us burning up their parents.”
“Uh no, they were all on the bus, they didn’t see a thing.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“We have a rogue. There’s a kid missing. He was in the gym during the program, but he didn’t make it onto the bus. We’re tracking his L-Chip signal as we speak. He’s not far away, but he’s traveling pretty fast. He must be in a car or some other kind of vehicle.”
Jeremin flips his visor down. “I see his signal,” he says. “He must have snuck away during the riot.”
“Should I assemble a team to go after him?” Dagger asks.
“Yeah, send Dirk and Luna…” But then Jeremin pauses, he glances over at me. “Wait a minute. I’ll go after the kid.”
“By yourself?” Dagger questions.
“No, I’ll have Mr. Sparks with me.”
“You’re taking choirboy?” Dagger replies. “Sir, I wouldn’t recommend that.”
“We’ll be fine, besides, he’s got to learn what we do.”
“Commander,” Luna interrupts. “Download the runaway’s file. You need to see this.”
“Why? What’s up?” Jeremin asks.
“Just do it.”
Jeremin downloads it onto his visor. I go ahead and do it too. A school picture of a smiling boy with dark wavy hair appears on my visor. He’s an Arab boy, ten years old. He looks like me when I was his age.
“So why is this a big deal?” Jeremin inquires.
“Look at him,” Luna insists. “And then take a look at Evan. They’re both Arabs.”
“So?”
“Choirboy might sympathize with the kid.”
“No I won’t!” I blurt out. “I don’t care if he’s Arab. Makes no difference to me.”
“Hear that Luna,” Jeremin laughs. “Makes no difference to him.”
“But sir.”
Jeremin waves her off. “Let’s go choirboy. We’ve got a rogue to catch.”
“Yes sir!” I answer gladly. I glance at Luna; she scowls at me. I’m surprised at her bigotry. I expected more from Youth Patrol.
“Commander!” someone else shouts.
“What now?” Jeremin gripes, turning to see who’s speaking.
It’s Perry. He comes walking up to us. He’s the one guy that could put the whole kybosh on me joining Jeremin on this little mission.
“What do you want, medic?” Jeremin grunts as he steps in front of me like a lion protecting a kill.
Perry doesn’t react to this obvious posturing. In fact I don’t think he’s offended at all. Any normal person would be, but not Perry. He just looks at us like it’s nothing. “I’m supposed to look after Evan,” he mumbles.
“Yeah, I know,” Jeremin snaps.
Perry, unfazed by the Commander’s resentment, remains steadfast. “I just have to go with you,” the medic says nonchalantly. “I don’t want to, but I have to.”
“Oh!” Jeremin laughs. “I thought you were going say he couldn’t go.”
“Yeah well, he probably shouldn’t, but to be totally honest with you, I don’t care what happens to Evan, I just don’t want Willenger taking it out on me if something happens to him, and I’m not around.”
“I get it,” Jeremin smiles. “You’ve gotta cover your ass. All right then, you can come. Grab your gun and let’s roll.”
We run over to the Wasp. And the three of us climb inside the aerodynamic vehicle. I’ve driven Wasps during my training back at Santa Verde, but Jeremin won’t let me drive, he takes the controls instead. Perry is content sitting in the back seat even though his gangly un-proportioned limbs are all folded up. It’s kind of funny seeing him like that with his downcast face and his knees almost touching his chin, but I’m not going to laugh at him. I want to kick his ass, that’s what I want to do. He’s supposed to protect me, but he doesn’t give a shit. Why is he even here?
Jeremin engages the engine and hits the accelerator. We’re off. The half car, half hovercraft skims across the road. The large wheels only touch the ground when it makes a turn. The speed of the car is exhilarating; it makes me feel alive. I almost feel normal again. I almost forget about Luna’s bigotry, Perry’s weirdness, and Jeremin’s use of illegal words. I almost forget about the dead bodies… almost. I know they’re One-Wayer scum, but it’s hard to see people, even those kinds of people, die like the way they did. I’ve got to be more like Jeremin. I’ve got to be like him.
“Evan,” Jeremin calmly says. “Do me a favor and pull up the kid’s file.”
I transfer the info over to the holographic optical system onto the windshield.
“Find out if there’s anything else we need to know about this kid.” he adds.
“Like what?”
“Are you questioning
my orders?”
“No, no sir,” I say, biting my lip. I begin to scan the file, but I’m not sure what I’m looking for. I turn around to see if I can get any hints from Perry, but he gives me nothing. What an asshole. I turn back around to the file, hoping I can find something. The kid’s name is Anthony Franklin. Ten years old. He attends Kennedy Elementary. I keep reading and then I see something.
“The family attends The New Liberal Brotherhood Mosque.”
“That’s one of those Government sanctioned Mosques,” Jeremin interject. “They’re supposed to be all tolerant, but you know, a mosque is a mosque. What else is there?”
“The family changed their name to Franklin to be more religiously acceptable,” I say. “The mom even had an L-Chip installed at age… 30? Wow. Let me see if I can find her on the grid.” An error message flashes. ‘NO SIGNAL EXISTS’. “That’s weird, the computer can’t find her.”
“She probably had her chip removed,” Jeremin casually remarks.
“What!” I flip my visor up to look at Jeremin. “You can remove your L-Chip?”
“Yeah, where have you been?” he says flippantly.
“I don’t know. I never knew you could remove it. Did you?” I turn around to ask Perry.
“Yes I did,” he says lazily as if I’m disturbing him from a nap. “The government’s official response is that L-Chip cannot be removed,” he recites unenthusiastically. “Nevertheless, people try. It’s very dangerous. The wires from the L-Chip grow into the brain and actually become part of the organ. So when someone attempts to extract the chip it can pull out parts of the brain.”
“Oh my God,” I say in disbelief. “And people still do it anyway?”
“Hey guys, knock off the civic lesson and check this out,” Jeremin says as he points to the hologram optical system. “The kid’s L-chip isn’t moving any more.” He flips on the transceiver on the dashboard, “Luna, this is Wasp Two, come in Luna.”
“Go ahead Wasp Two.”
“I need a warrant for an L-Chip tap?”
“I figured you’d be calling me soon. Just had the judge sign off on one.”
“Thank you Luna. You’re the best. Over and out.”
Jeremin then waves his hand over the communication port on the dashboard and we immediately hear voices coming through the speakers.
“Why couldn’t they meet us at our house?” a boy’s voice is heard.
“Please stay quiet,” answers a female voice. “They might be listening in.”
“That’s the kid with his mom, isn’t it?” I say.
Jeremin nods. “Probably.”
I touch my forehead. I remember when they embedded the L-Chip in me. I was eight. I should have had it installed when I was born, but my stupid parents prevented me from getting one.
We follow the kid’s signal to a deserted street of an abandoned town. It’s one of those old-old towns you see in black and white photos. It has a certain, oh what’s the word? Nostalgia? Is that the right word? Nostalgia? I think that word is one of those words we’re not supposed to use. What’s with me anyway? Why would I think this place has some kind of appeal? The town is old and old means ‘bad’, end of story.’ I mean look at this place. I bet the businesses around here used to display ‘white only’ signs in their windows. Now look at it, it’s full of trash, the buildings are broken down; the windows are boarded up. I hate this place.
We come to a stop about 200 yards away from a two-story office building.
“The kid’s in there,” Jeremin says.
“What are we waiting for,” I say impatiently. “Let’s go get the boy.”
“Evan,” Perry says drowsily. “Would you please calm down, we have no idea what’s in that building.”
Jeremin turns up the volume on the control panel.
“What’s he going to do with that?” the kid’s voice barely comes through.
“Shhh,” A muffled voice response back, “Not another word.” Then there’s static.
Jeremin turns the volume all the way, but we only hear a crackling sound from the speakers.
“Do they know we’re here?” I ask.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Jeremin says, opening the door. All three of us grab our rifles and jump out of the Wasp. We run as fast as we can to the side of the building and slam up against the wall. We stay low and sneak up to the front door. The door was probably made of glass at one time, now it’s plywood. A large spray painted black arrow pointing upwards is prominently displayed on it. Seeing this causes Jeremin to become on edge.
“What is it, Commander?” I whisper. “What does it mean?”
He doesn’t answer me, but Perry does. “It’s the sign of the Resistance. ‘One way’. One-Wayers use this building.”
“What? The painted arrow tells you that?”
“Yeah,” Perry nods. “One Way. One way to God.” He points upward to the sky with his finger.
I look at the black arrow more closely. I guess I’ve seen these arrows before, but who knew it meant anything, let alone, the sign of the Resistance.
“What do your sensors detect?” Jeremin asks.
“I’m getting a negative reading on everything,” I tell him.
“Yeah me too,” Jeremin says apprehensively.
“Is that a bad thing, Commander?”
“Well, we know for sure that there are people in there, we just heard them, but now the kid’s L-Chip signal is sporadic, and our motion sensors are telling us the building is empty.”
“Why do you think that is, sir?” I ask. “Visor malfunction?”
“More like a jamming device, or an L-Chip scrambler,” Jeremin answers.
“What do you want to do?” Perry asks.
Jeremin slowly pushes the door open and peaks inside. He then holds up three fingers and counts us down. As soon as he gets to one he pushes the door open and Perry and I jump inside. Jeremin follows and then takes the lead. We quietly stalk our way through an office lobby. The air is stale, grimy. Chairs are turned over; couches are ripped open with their white stuffing spread all over the floor.
Jeremin holds up a fist for us to stop. “This doesn’t seem right,” he whispers.
“Why don’t we call in the Drone Monster?” Perry answers very much concerned.
Then, “Ahhhh!”
“Is that the boy?” I yell. “It’s coming from behind those doors. Sounds like he’s in pain.”
“Ahhhh!” We hear it again. I start running toward the scream. I gotta save the boy.
“Sparks, No,” Jeremin says half whispering.
I ignore him. I get this rush of courage. I’m the one who’s brave. I kick in the double doors; I see the boy lying on a padded table in the middle of what was once an operating room. A woman with a scarf, wrapped around her head, holds the boy down while a gray haired Arab man digs into the boy’s forehead, using some kind of strange device.
“Stop, you’re killing him!” I cry out. I then see there are three other men in the room. One of them has a dark overcoat. At least that’s all I notice because that guy has a double-barreled shotgun pointed at me. It goes off. I’m hit. It knocks me down.
Jeremin and Perry come running in. The three guys return fire, but it’s all in vain. Three more people are dead at the hands of Youth Patrol.
Jeremin pulls me up and I immediately look down expecting to see blood, but there’s no wound. There’s nothing. I’m alive. The uniform saved me.
“Where’s the boy?” Jeremin says angrily.
I shrug my shoulders.
“Goddamn it, weren’t you watching?”
I look around the room. He’s nowhere to be found. The woman with the scarf and the Arab man are gone too. Oh shit, where’d they go?
“I’ve got him on radar,” Perry says calmly. “The L-Chip must still be in the kid’s head. They didn’t get it out.
“And they don’t have the jamming device anymore, either” Jeremin adds. “We got ‘em now.”
Jeremin f
lips his visor down and we rush out of the room. I blindly follow the two veterans as we make our way through a series of hallways. The signal leads us to the back of the building. Two heavy industrial doors stand in our way. Jeremin adjusts his rifle to missile launch and lets it fly … now, there’s nothing in our way. We run outside and see the gray haired Arab man, placing the kid into a car. He shuts the door and the vehicle speeds off, leaving him alone in the back alley. He pulls out a large handgun and begins to fire at us. Bullets fly everywhere. I jump for cover behind a metal trash bin, Perry steps back into the building, but Jeremin takes the man head on. The Commander lunges forward, leaping high into the air, twisting all around and landing right behind the old man. Before the man can turn around, Jeremin jumps up again, sweeping his leg across his body, kicking the man in the back of the head. The man falls forward, slamming his face against the blacktop. The man is out cold… or dead.
I come out from behind the trash bin, ashamed at my cowardliness once again. But at the same time, I’m totally amazed by Jeremin’s skill. “How’d you do that? How’d you jump so high?”
“It’s all in the uniform, choirboy, it’s not that big of deal.” Jeremin seems amused at my fawning.
“I don’t know about that, Commander, that was pretty awesome.”
“I still got the kid on radar,” Perry says as he walks out from the building.
Bang!
Jeremin cries out in pain. He’s been shot.
The old man who is supposed to be dead isn’t. He holds the smoking gun in his hand. He then points it at me, but before I can even think, I fire first. I blow him away; my first kill.
Jeremin gets up, stretches out his back and twists his torso from side to side.
“Damn that hurt,” he says, looking down at the old man whose head is now missing.
“Not bad there, choirboy. Not bad at all. Now let’s finish this job.”
CHAPTER 11
We run back to the Wasp, jump in and take off after the woman. In no time the getaway vehicle is in sight. We glide over the potholes and debris with relative ease. It’s no problem for us; we have hovercraft capabilities. But the car in front of us does not, and it’s having major problems driving on the road. It’s an old light blue jalopy, rusted and beat up. I’m surprised the battery can still take a charge. Why would someone even try to drive something like that? Ever since the government stopped fixing the roads 40 or 50 years ago, the streets are pretty much impossible to use. Most people can’t qualify for a hovercraft permit, so most people stopped using the highways. ‘If we don’t fix it, people won’t use it.’ That’s what the slogan was back in the day. It encouraged people to use public transit. But the Resistance doesn’t like to follow rules; they’re different. They somehow think using public transportation is evil. They selfishly insist on using unsanctioned vehicles.
Youth Patrol Page 6
