Behind the Walls

Part Eight- Gabriel

041.9 Hours Since Quartz's Disappearance

I'm still tightly gripping Lincoln's arm when I lunge out of the cafe booth. The alarms's screams ring in my ears on a never ending loop. It grates on my nerves that Lincoln and I are still recognized for who we used to be. It's hard not to let old instincts and habits kick in at the sound of the alarms.

I don't realize that I'm outside until the sunlight nearly blinds me. Shaking my head, I try to get rid of the old me while disregarding the escape route that I had already planned. If we don't run, the guards won't know that we're the ones that they're looking for. Lincoln must not have been following the same train of thought.

He bolts across the street and down an alley. The guards notice and start to give chase. He's trusting his instincts before his head. I have no choice but to follow. Besides a few boxes of trash or new dumpsters, the winding streets we run down are all familiar. Hopefully they don't catch us back here. They're just as likely to kill us as the city guards.

Lincoln turns down another alley, but he backtracks and shoves me back around the corner. An arrow flies out after we get to cover. The guards will be using guns, and the gangs will have their swords and arrows.

"Damn. They're everywhere. The city guard and those rivals are both looking for us", Lincoln chuckles with a glint in his eyes. He's starting to act differently, and that scares me. I fought for a long time to get out of that place. He falls back in it right when things get tough.

"Lincoln? You ok-", I start to ask him, but he shushes me. He takes the knife out of his boot, poised to strike. I grab him again by the wrist and pull him across the intersection. The surprised thug jumps back from where he was about to turn the corner. Lincoln would have killed him. He doesn't fight or struggle against me, which I'm thankful for.

Leading this time, I keep us running through the city. I'm starting to pant, and Lincoln isn't doing much better. My reaction is automatic when a guard steps into our path. I duck underneath the blade and tense my knees. When I pop back up, I hit the guard right underneath his chin. My knuckles burn with impact. The guard's head snaps up, crumpling into the dirt. I knocked them out with one hit. My own horror and shock snaps Lincoln out of his own dark thoughts. It's been a long time since bruises decorated my knuckles like trophies.

These city guards aren't that different from who I was. They're all just trying to survive like anybody else. Following orders means another paycheck to take back to their families. Where's the evil in that? Attacking the snake's tail will do nothing to defeat the head; what's the point in hurting everyone who's just trapped in the system? Our viewpoint hasn't always been so clear.

Lincoln flinches back and out of the way when a bullet streaks down from a nearby building. It grazes his arm and leaves a trail of red in its wake. This prompts us to start running again. I can easily recognize every turn we take. It's a little unnerving to realize that we're in gang territory. No wonder I punched that guy so hard. It still feels like I'm defending my own ground.

Just as Lincoln starts to turn down an alley, he has to lunge back when a guy nearly chops a piece off of him. I pull him down in the opposite direction. I don't have to look to know that it's a dead end. Pulling the knife out of my shoe, I can't help but feel a little fear. Lincoln and I are cornered with nothing but knives up against swords and bows, and guns when the guards get here. Skill doesn't mean anything without the proper weapons.

"Well this sucks", Lincoln mumbles. I can see the guards' shadows coming closer.

"I'm not going to go rot in one of the city's prisons. I...... I think I'd rather die", my reaction isn't unexpected. It would be a life sentence for either of us if they could connect all of our past crimes. Our past isn't very pretty. It was only a chance meeting with Quartz's rebellion that brought us where we are now.

Five city guards turn the corner and see us standing at the dead end. I growl at their victorious looks. They're gonna try to take us alive, but I won't let that happen. I'll fight as much as I can before ending it. I won't betray the rebellion with any information that I could give.

Lincoln lunges forward first, and I cover his back. The guard fumbles with his gun, but Lincoln knocks it away. I come up underneath and sink my dagger into their shoulder.It worked for about two minutes.

Lincoln immediately backs up, but I couldn't get away fast enough. A guard brings up their gun on my side and fires. A bullet rips through my arm. Lincoln has to grab my shirt collar and yank me back when I stumble in shock. The bullet went right through. It's not fatal, but still burns like a cold flame.

I have to lean against the alley's back wall in order not to fall over. Mitch looks back at the guards before turning to face me with a mournful gaze. It's over. I can't fight anymore. I flip the dagger in my hand to face the opposite direction.

Lincoln stops me when two shadows rush out from behind a dumpster. The guards aren't expecting an ambush. Even though the guards could have just caused my death, I still wince at how they're brutally executed. Blood splatters as blades cleave flesh open.

The two shadows both wear dark clothes and gloves, faces covered by their bandanas. I would have recognized both of them even if I couldn't see their black and brown hair colors. I can't do much besides stare in my current position. The four of us hold eye contact for a full minute before the shorter of the two shadows speak.

"The path past the old library is clear all the way to that small tech shop. You need to leave before the others know you're here", he speaks quickly and to the point, but not coldly. I met these two soon after I first met Lincoln. Andy is taking a big risk by helping us.

"We're not supposed to be here", the brown haired man's name is Derrick, and he looks around nervously. In the end, I couldn't convince them to come with us when Lincoln and I left. This is only the second time I've seen them in two years. Our other 'friends' almost killed me last time.

"Andy! Derrick! Is everything ok? I thought that I heard from someone that Ja-", Lincoln tries to talk with them, but Andy shakes his head once before backtracking out of the alley. Just as fast as they appeared, they're gone. I watch the spot where they had just been. I miss them. I miss our two other friends, too. There used to be days, when we were all still kids, where we would run around on the streets for hours after school. Lincoln sighs before turning back to me.

"Come on. Let's go home", he throws one of my arms over his shoulder as we head towards the library. I'm still slightly annoyed that Andy thought it would be funny to let me take that bullet. It's probably revenge for some prank that I no longer remember.