The Flyers

by BRANDON WOO

  9

  The Movement

  Jacob:

  I jogged around the streets of Seattle. The people were running here and there. No one bothered to slow down to check out the view and the art surrounding it. The weather is like how Seattle should be.

  Raining. The plan was to get the City to know what’s going on and bring them to realize that we The Convicts are actually good people and not monsters. What we need is a Fire.

  We need a Movement, and I’m going to start it

  I said to myself that when I left Brinnon, I knew I was meant for more.

  This power, it was given to me for a reason.

  A reason to keep fighting.

  Go go after Wednesday is one thing but this is more than that.

  I know that.

  A day passed as the lovely City of The Space Needle felt the coming of a hero named, Jacob Brown. Or so I thought.

  You won’t believe the way how they treated me.

  I was given names, all sorts of insults but like uncle Henry said.

  “it takes a while for people to open up to new things.”

  For these few days, all I did was sight seeing, going on the monorail and just chill. I saved some people, prank some kids and scared off this bully who was picking on a kid. It was a lot of fun. I needed to do more so I started out small.

  Old uncle Henry told me to not get into trouble and I did. Got started with West Seattle, cleaning up some of the checkpoints and started doing this “set the people free” movement and I’m gonna keep going till the Space Needle. Turns out Wednesday and Sean got busy. But when they hear an ‘old friend’ has return and is making his homecoming, I’m pretty sure old Wednesday is going to be mad.

  And I am counting on it. I’m gonna bring the fight to her to save the Church. I don’t need her, I just need her powers.

  The city of Seattle is going to change from this small town hero. Some of them believed that my small actions assured them that Convicts are not dangerous but some of them still believes that we are and wants The Lab to hunt us all down, its time to change that.

  And its going to start with me.

  I took the fight to Wednesday, I took down maybe five or four checkpoint by the minute, I walked passed the rubble with the guards being restrained tight in sand cuffs solid. Getting her attention. My movement became big.

  It was easy. The guards only used guns.

  Healing factor gave me an edge.

  Its cool not to die with so many guns facing you. I’m getting used to using this power of mine bit I’ll need more fire power to go after Wednesday. That’s why I’m here and not going to to to with Wednesday yet. I need friends. My phone rang in this annoying ring tone but I was too tired to change it. It was Henry.

  “yeah. What’s up?” I asked. I’m in the city of Seattle. Same ole same ole. The winds blowing, the sun peaking out from the clouds. Perfect weather. “Jacob, I checked around with some old friends” Henry talked on the phone. “looks like they took the city with checkpoints in every corner. what do you say if you go make a name for yourself?”

  Now he is talking my language! “I’ll be there.” and I have the perfect place to start. I was nearby the Space Needle.

  Just a few blocks away. I’ve never been to it. Never been to Seattle either. So navigating my way though the city can be quite a story for a first timer. I got closer to this strange building.

  The Space Needle was being covered by a huge chunks of concrete. Wednesday...

  I parkoured my way to the bottom of the Space Needle. Drawing closer to the observation tower in Seattle, Washington, a landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. I stared in awe of this unique structure of the top where the "hovering disk" of the Space Needle stood. All covered in the disgusting concrete enforcer. I’m thinking of getting rid of those to make a statement to Wednesday and Seattle. I ran straight bellow the Needle and began climbing the 605 feet high icon structure.

  A city icon covered in concrete. The biggest base of The Lab. Taking this out will even the playing filed.

  Guards started coming out to fight. About ten or twelve.

  Finally, a real fight after taking down those checkpoints! Its On!

  One guard took shots at me, I sanded my way to the back of him and took a knee to head.

  Another took shots. I sanded my arm and extended it towards his head.

  The helmet landed on my solid knee. The helmet broke as his head lands in after.

  PEZZZZZZ~ POOF! PEZZZZ~POOF!

  Three more came over charging.

  I took a leap up and sanded up again.

  Five more is coming from the back. While in mid-air, I threw a pile of sand waves form my hands to the ground. I turned and created a spiral.

  I got higher. More coming!

  I landed on one of those concrete parts. It feels very hard.

  Some of them climbed up.

  Run! I ran to the other side of the pillar. The guards were getting closer! The phone rang. I hid one side and answered. “yeah.”

  “kid! What did you do?” Henry called. I just turned on loud speaker.

  The sound of the fight got Henry’s voice on the phone muffled.

  “bad timing again, Uncle!” I answered.

  “I said make a name for your-” I turned it off.

  I took out a few more with a few more blast of sand towards the guards coming out. I ran faster towards the top.

  Too high up! Need a better way. On my left was a vent.

  PK-AAH-ASH-AHA! AAH-AHA!

  PK-AAH-ASH-AHA! AAH-AHA!

  I ran into the vent. As I was about to make impact, I shattered into sand bits and flew through the vent.

  The vent tunnel was all dusty but the air blowing made me surfaced to the other end faster. I immediately reassembled.

  Before I could process any of this, I was high up in the air.

  Not dead! Good.

  The vents worked. Good to know.

  Guards came up from above, they were ready! I blast a few more blasts of sand and landed on an upper floor.

 

  PEZZZZZZ~ POOF! PEZZZZ~POOF!

  That did it! I climbed a few more miles upwards.

  The Space Needle was way high up above the ground.

  The top was full of space. “hey Henry,” I called.

  “yeah?” he asked. “you said make a name for yourself right? Then how about this?” I asked “Jacob Brown, the hero of The Emerald City.” I scoffed. “sounds cool huh?” Henry said nothing. I’ll take that as a yes. I flew up and made a huge drop on the top of the Space Needle. Causing it to vibrate heavily. The concrete shattered and tumbled down to the ground. Bits of the disgusting concrete fell. The Space Needle returned to its glorious shape again!

  I escaped the area, hoping that catches her attention,

  I ran somewhere in the streets. away from the Space Needle.

  I stopped next to a 7-Eleven and a KFC. Off a few blocks away. There is a disc shop nearby, it had a Transformers Dark on The Moon poster on the glass window. “this place could use some spice.” I walked to the back wall of the shop,took one or two of my spray paints out that I brought that was kept in jeans pocket and began spraying. I used the color black to do an outline of a Raven soaring. All black but its not done yet.

  I sprayed a coat of red and blue on the wings and a bit of green towards the belly. Had white paint to make its eyes and and a circle. Added a few more touches and Voila!

  “a man and a spray can with a plan.” I said to myself.

  The art work was nicely done. Perfect.

  I brought myself out there to tell these people I am not like the other Convicts. Neither am I going to give up on them being better.

  Like the Bible said. “ Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

  He changes us to be a better person every single day. If that is what its gonna take to make someone be
better. I sure am gonna give it a shot.

  Life is strange and yet wonderful. If you believe in something or a someone who is more powerful that you, your boss, your family, that someone is the one you should pay attention to.

  I’m no Church Kid but even I know someone is watching me everyday. Not Henry, Aunt May or the folks from the Church...

  He is. That was one of the reasons I tried to do art around town. I’ve always tried my very best to create magic with my skills and I am still learning. I remembered a book I read in the local library back home, it called The Perks of Being a Wallflower but to sum it up, the book taught me that we all belong somewhere and that somewhere belonged to the home of Aunt May. Not much can be seen in Brinnon.I spend most of my days in the Brinnon Local Library. Reading comic books and other books. Its a small place but, it was still home for me. It was also back home I had my first spray paint around when I was 14 that I started my artistic days.

 

  I remembered when I turned 14, I did my first drawing of a school girl that I saw while going out and about after being home schooled by Aunt May. That was the day I discovered I could draw. Then later, graffiti.

  I took my maroon red beanie off my head.

  Giving it a good stare. Its color is fading as it has been through multiple washes dust from my little adventures. The beanie went through a lot than keeping my hair piled up instead of letting it fall. It was a gift from aunt May for my seventeenth birthday.Aunt May has been nothing but a sweetheart. Most people would just leave me be but Aunt May wanted the best for me.

  “I’m gonna make it up to you Aunt May.” I said to myself.

  I discovered one truth for these few days. The Lab and its agents,

  The Lab’s Hunters are trained to track and hunt Convicts down and take us away from our families and friends. Sometimes they use force if they had to. Which is why the injured Aunt May to get me out.

  To her, to them.

  In the' eyes of The Lab, we're all just lab rats. The Convicts from New York fought against humans to be equal for their existence in this world but all have been captured by uncovering our every weakness. The first generation of Convicts fought hard but was brought down. Not much was known of the people who stood against the powers of The Lab but what they’ve done created an impact on our society about the Convicts.

  Some humans like us and some don’t.

  But who could blame them.

  We are dangerous, but we are still people.

  I started walking around the less city like parts of Seattle

  Out here in the ally, some of the people here are trying to be nice while facing a bad day. Their tents builded out on cardboard and the streets having fire stoves being set up, keeping the people warm.

  The streets, even though cold was filled with laughter.

  I had a plan to end The Lab by going after Wednesday and that plan is working. Her army grew and became more lethal, more dangerous and more advanced than ever. The more the world will see the truth behind The Lab. This once glorious city was being turned upside-down from the inside of this city.

  Time for a Change!

  The checkpoints became harder but I’m not giving up until I get what I need. I was on top of a building. Watching over the streets until something odd showed up.

  A metal firefly with a blue bulb on its back. It zipped across me.

  Annoying me.

  “H-hey!” I said.

  The metal firefly kept zooming around. Flying around me.

  “you want me to follow you?” I asked.

  Who am I kidding? Its a robot firefly.

  The firefly flew off. “Where do you come from?” I asked.

  The firefly flew even further. I hesitated and ran after it while it shows me its way to a huge tunnel under a damaged Lab checkpoint I destroyed previously. The firefly rested hovering on top of the tunnel.

  “you want me to go in there?” I asked.

  The firefly dived in. “okay.”

  Down,down and down to the bottom of the pit,

  The darkness is now

  I’m never good with riddles.

  Falling through the broken concrete and metal pipes.

  I began to armor up, preparing to crash.

  The armor made me get down faster.

  Its like a falling plane with nothing to stop it.

  I hardened my armor, preparing to drop.

  My crash brought me sinking into the dry concrete floor.

  I was expecting it to be wet.

  at the end of the pit. A wide tunnel of darkness.

  “where are you I asked the firefly.”

  The firefly’s blue lights glew.

  I braved through the dark with the firefly as my flash light.

  As a child, I’ve always loved heights but feared the dark.

  It gets hard for me in places like this.

  The Surface is what makes me alive.

  running through the buildings and feeling the air on my face makes me feel free. “where are you taking me?” I asked.

  The firefly stopped and hovered right in front of me. I stopped walking and stared at it. Nothing.

  I looked around and found a picture of an English kid with a Japanese boy. The English kid was wearing a red jacket while the Japanese kid wore a blue jacket. “this is what you wanted to show me?” I asked.

  The Firefly gave a huge flash of light.

  And the Firefly was gone.

  Big whoop. I thought.

  This place must belong to these two kids.

  Poor souls. I said a prayer and got moving.

 

  I climbed out of the tunnel thinking about what I felt while I was in there. What was that? I thought for a moment why was the tunnel here.

  I left it aside thinking its nothing. Then the phone rang. I picked up the phone and answered. It was Henry. “yeah?” I asked.

  “well well. Brown, your heroics just triggered a huge group of Lab guards to double the checkpoints form being installed around this city. What next kiddo?” Henry asked.

  My heart pounded loudly. Thoughts ran through my mind while I am trying to make up my next plan. At that moment I remembered something. Violence is never an answer. But He gave me this power for a reason. Should I keep doing this graffiti thing, saving people to send a message or just go for her?