Rebel Red Hope

12

     My mind is spinning, my vision is warped like seeing through a kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes. Alex seems to speak, but the buzzing of the neon is too loud to hear anything other than the buzz and the steps of the bishops coming closer. Shit, they're almost at the door,

     "It won't happen, do you hear me? I won't let you die like this!" I catch myself muttering, trying desperately to think through everything. How do Tyler, Josh, and Clancy do this so often and stay so calm? Alex is trying to talk to me but their words are still drowned by Lidens effect.

     Out of seemingly nowhere, Alex takes my hand in theirs and everything for a blinking moment is quiet again, "You need to get out of here," they almost whisper. That's what I'm not going to do. I'm done losing friends to these ceremonies,

     "I won't let them take your life away from me," I choke out in a whisper, unaware of the fact that I had started crying, but the words were more of a promise than anything. Then it hit me just as there's a knock at the door,

     "It's time." comes the stern yet, soft voice of Keons. Taking a glance at Alex, something in their eyes shown the same fear I'd seen in too many people and myself. I knew they were coming with me at this point, even if they didn't realize it.

     Snapping to action and parting from Alex again, my eyes dart around their room, locking onto their jacket witch I immediately shuffle over to and throw at them, "we're both getting the fuck out of here,"

     "This is insane!" 

     Indeed it is, 

     "How?" 

     Fuck- 

     Looking around the room, something about everything triggers a small glimpse of a memory. I know what to do. Moving to the window and shoving back the curtains, my brain goes on some kind of long-forgotten autopilot as I throw open the window and lean out, 

     "You can't," Alex hisses in disbelief, "It's the last story!" a smile creeps across my face looking down, then back up. The sound of Lisden and Keons still at the door, the wind from being this high up, escape, is all too familiar to me. There's no time to unpack everything, but somehow, my body knows what to do,

     "Please!" Alex calls causing me to turn back to them. Were they going to rat me out? "Give me time," they glance back at me, eyes ablaze, "I need to calm myself," there's that fire in their soul.

     Standing on the windowsill, to get a better look at what to do and realize the roof is just within reach if I jump, so that's what I do. Jumping up, my hands grab onto the ledge and my legs dangle as a smile spreads across my face,

     "Impressive," the shadow leans over the ledge, though it's not a shadow. Not anymore. It's the strange masked version of me with the glowing eyes and pill designs, but I ignore it and pull myself up with grunts and groans. 

     The shadow person evaporates as Alex screams my name, piercing the quiet roar of the wind in my ears, causing me to panic and struggle faster until I'm on top of the building, laying on my stomach, head, and hand over the ledge ready to catch Alex who pokes their head out the window to look up at me, 

     "Alex! I need you to jump and grab my arm!" I shout down to them, holding my hand out for them to take,

     "No way!" Alex nervously chuckles back, the fear in their voice says one thing, the fire in their wide eyes says another. They look down at the ground and back to the door of their building and I knew what was happening, 

     "Look at me," I call to them, "Alex, just look at me," I shout down to them, and they do, locking eyes with me, "I will catch you, trust me." I give a smile, but they shake their head as they lean back in, but were too far now to turn back, "I will not hurt you, Alex!" I know what the bishops teach us of banditos. Of escape. I know the fear of Trench. But we both know the beauty that lays beyond the perimeter walls, "Take this chance with me! Give me a chance!" I'm begging at this point. I've come too far to lose them now, "I won't disappoint you." I give them a comforting smile.

     Seconds later, I can hear their door smash open, and Alex jumps, grasping onto my forearm that still burns for unknown reasons, but grasp onto them as well, letting out a scream of both pain and desperation, pulling Alex up. About halfway, something pulls them back down. The bishops got to them. I could hear Keons yelling anathemas at them. More desperate than ever, I pull harder until Alex starts coming back up again and over the top of the roof with me.

     Standing quickly, something takes over me almost like someone else entirely that had done this all a thousand times over,

     "Quick, we need to get low and find the tunnel," And off we go, sprinting over rooftop after rooftop, jumping from building to building, over Keons district, even Listens. The Watchers scream over us, following us, but it almost didn't matter as we run, a smile plastered on my face.

     Upon reaching Andre's region, we managed to get low enough to safely get to the ground as we run to the doorway that I swing open with ease due to the adrenaline,

     "RUN, DON'T STOP!" I call out to Alex who sprints past me as I close the door, locking it behind me. and with that, we are both out. 

     Catching up to Alex, we run side by side for what seems like forever down the dark stairs and through the tunnel until we reach the opening of the cave. 

    The blinding light of Trench hits our faces causing us to squint, but the two of us keep running and I can't help but smile like an idiot as we run with the wind in our faces and hair, the actual sun on our skin, the living world around us. The smile wasn't just the fact that we made it out. I'm proud of myself for getting us out and proud of Alex for breaking free of the Neon. As we run, my eyes scanning the tops of the clifts desperately looking for my friends in yellow, but nothing. After running for a while, I recognize the small cave Clancy and me stayed in. Grabbing Alex by the wrist, dragging them with me into the cave we both collapse upon entering, panting and wheezing until I start to laugh while rolling over onto my back,

     "We did it," I smile between raspy gasps as we catch our breath, my eyes closed. Who knew one could miss a musty cavern so much. 

     "We did," Alex breaths faintly, a relieved smile in their tone.

     Indeed, we did.

-.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. / --- -. .-.. -.-- / .-. ..- -. / ... --- / ..-. .- .-. .-.-.- / .-- .... --- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / ... .- ...- . / - .... . -- / .-- .... . -. / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / --. --- -. . ..--.. / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / -. --- - / .-- .... --- / -.-- --- ..- / - .... .. -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . .-.-.-

What good will escaping do?

Well, we have to do something!

Why not stay and be safe?

Because it's not safe! They will kill us!

Then let them.

No.