Outcast

Stuck

My leather boots made a repetitive Clack. Clack. noise as I strolled down a dark alley. This ship was proving to be rather boring, sans the other girl that seemed to be in the same boat as me. That only crossed my mind for a moment, however, as I reached into my back pocket to grab a few bullets to reload my pistol with, a quiet rustle sounded behind me. With a Snap! I'd loaded my pistol, pointing it directly at the sound. A man of about 30 exited from behind a pile of crates, hands in the air. "Don't shoot, kid, please." My fingers only tightened around the pistol. "I'm just here from the confederation, they really hope they can work something out with you." He cringed as I bared my teeth. "I want nothing to do with any of your new captains," I hissed, stepping closer to the man. "The old captain was the best you ever had." His eyes blazed, his lips preparing to utter the last mistake he'd ever make. "Why in the heck did you kill him then?!" He spat at me, rather unnerved when the sly smile spread across my face. "For the same reason I'm going to kill you, sir. I do wish you'd stay alive long enough to tell the confederation what a bunch of idiots they are, but I'm afraid that's not how I do things."

BANG!

I blew on the barrel of my pistol, kicking the slumped over man to the side as I continued along. I was here to find my old commanding officer, not one of his lackeys. I suddenly realized two things. One, that man could have helped me, and two, what if my old commander was now captain?

I shrugged. The man was a jerk anyways. He was bound to have pissed me off before I even reached the commander. But my second thought was scratching at the back of my mind. I'd set out to ruin the Federation's lives, but not before I'd set up a name for myself. I was pretty confident in my image at this point, but staying away from any news regarding the Federation was coming back to bite me in the butt. I stomped out into a large open area, never a place I wanted to be. Ever. Cover. Cover. My body pleaded, every fiber of my being screaming to run back into the dark alley and hide. Hide. Hide. Hide forever. I was at war with myself. I grasped my auburn hair with my leather-gloved hands, trying to regain my sanity again. RUN! HIDE! GO! I gritted my teeth, thrusting my fists to my sides and screaming "STOP IT!!!" to nobody in particular. My rash shouting was a terrible decision on my part. In fact, it wasn't my decision at all. I just.... Did. All of the shady characters gathered in the clearing in the dark of midnight turned to stare at me.

One of them, of course, was Commander Xavier.

Except he wore the Captain insignia.

Crap.

.       .       . 

"Well, well, well," Captain Xavier sneered, his hard-soled shoes clacking on the marble floor. "Look what the cat dragged in." I bared my canines. "If the cat drug me in, then the dog must have drug in a rat to see me," I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Cats can drag in various things. For all you know I'm a diamond he found in the fields." Xavier crossed his arms, an unamused look on his stern face. I wish I didn't ramble like that. "I am captain now after you murdered Captain Hank, and I've got every right to kill you." I rolled my eyes, twirling my pistol around my pointer finger. “Shoot me and we both die, sir. I’m afraid it wouldn’t be your greatest decision.” He stomped his spiky shoe sole on my toes, causing me to cry out. “You’re not leaving this ship unless it’s in a jail cell, Smith.” I rolled my eyes. “They don’t call me that nowadays, you idiot.” I stopped twirling the pistol around my finger and pointed it directly at a young man working on an essay across the clearing. “They just refer to me as the Outcast. Has a nice ring to it, eh?” I raised an eyebrow, gripping my pistol tighter. He darted his eyes from the man to me. Then me to the man, and back to me. “You… Damn it.” He pulled out a radio, attempting to grab the pistol from me. I grinned, tightening the trigger and firing directly PAST the young boy. It clipped his ear and blood poured forth, but that was the kindest I’d ever been to somebody my pistol was aimed at. “AUGH!!!” the boy screamed, grabbing his ear and running for an apartment nearby. Xavier gawked at me. “What the heck? You’ll just fire at any person? Your aim sucks.” I gritted my teeth. “I did that on purpose, you idiot. And yeah, why not fire at anyone? You’re all the same anyways…” I raised an eyebrow, confused at why he’d even ask that question. “THE KID’S GONE MAD, I’M TELLING YOU,” Xavier screamed hoarsely into his radio. I studied his jaw. It was lopsided. I grinned. “How’s the jaw, buddy? I hope it’s harder for you to frame people. At least you don’t have to frame me this time.” I pointed my pistol toward a figure in the shadows. “Not that I’m letting you take me, of course.” I paused. But maybe this person has a family. Children. Maybe they’re a child themselves. I shook my head, growling with anger. Since when did that matter before?  I responded, frowning. This falter in my game screwed up my threat, since who appeared from the shadows?

That godforsaken girl again.

“Hello, my trigger-happy friend,” she sneered, sashaying over to where I was. I smirked, lowering the pistol. I didn’t even care Xavier was barking orders into his radio. I could get away from whatever officers they sent to come and kill me or whatever they saw fit to do to people these days. Maybe frame them.  I thought amusedly, laughing to myself. She crossed her arms. “What’s so funny, smart-aleck? I don’t see anything funny. Well, except maybe the fact that you pointed your pistol at me AGAIN. That’s pretty darn ironic.” I nodded, glancing back at Xavier. “Why don’t you say we get outta here? I can ruin this guy’s life another day, when he ain’t callin’ his lackeys to come and do the job for him.” She crossed her arms. “Just keep your hands to yourself, pretty boy.” I narrowed my eyes, a slow smile spreading across my lips. “Well, we’ll see,” I joked, only to receive a slap across the face. Again. “SORRY, GOSH,” I hissed, rubbing my cheek. She punched Xavier, who was barking into his radio the entire time, not even noticing the fact that two 17 year olds clad in black were whispering to each other. His eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the ground, a small Pop! when he hit the ground on his jaw. She cringed. I laughed. She looked at me like I was crazy. I shrugged. We ducked into a cramped alley, sirens sounding as the lackeys Xavier had called ran into the clearing. There was a collective gasp and murmur as they found his crumpled figure. Someone groaned loudly. “Good lord. How many times does this guy have to piss this kid off before he doesn’t get his jaw punched?” a quiet laugh came from the clearing. They seemed to have forgotten about the fact they’d came to kill me. Typical. They'd made a mistake losing me. There was a grunt as several men picked the captain up, carrying him to one of the small pods they had arrived in. The girl and I were hiding in a rather small cranny in the alley. Since she was pressed up against me from behind, I began massaging her shoulders. “Good gosh, you’re tense,” I commented in her ear. She stiffened. I knew she’d have slapped me had the situation been different. But it wasn’t. So I continued. She progressively loosened. When there was a quiet hiss from across the square, indicating that the pressure had released and the pod had pulled away, she jerked away, stepping outside and rubbing her shoulders self-consciously. “Um…” she searched for an insult, failing. “Tell me your name. Other than the fact you’re the Outsider of course.” I grinned. “Ah, so you know me. I see no reason why I should tell you anything, miss.” She crossed her arms. “I’m Abigail. Just tell me your freaking name and maybe I’ll help you with whatever it is you’re out to do right now.” My eyes brightened. I much better preferred the thought of working alone, but with this girl, flexible, skilled, and certainly not hard for my eyes to rest on, could possibly be a vital ally. “Look, my goal is to sneak into the Federation’s ship. I used to work there.” I paused, biting my lip. She’d know my name. She’d run. She’d think I’d killed the golden child. She’d know I’d killed the captain. I sat down on a bench, covering my face with my hands. WEAK. My mind screamed. I didn’t want to be like this in front of her. Not a girl like her. No. No. Stop. I begged my body, lifting my head to meet her unwavering gaze. She didn’t seem to care that I was breaking down. Maybe she understood. “You’re Josh, aren’t you,” she said calmly, putting a hand in her pocket. I nodded, standing up and brushing the concrete dust from the seat of my pants. She narrowed her eyes to slits. “Geoffery was my boyfriend. Explain yourself. NOW.” She pulled out her knife, prepared to stab me with it. I backed away, hands in the air. “Whoa whoa whoa, sweetheart. I ain’t looking for a fight with you. It’d be a shame to ruin such a pretty face.” I ran my finger down her face, tracing her neck and then her collarbone. She slit my arm with her knife. I looked down at my arm. It looked as if my skin had been unzipped to reveal a strange red pit inside, spewing blood all the while. I looked up at her, in pain, but impressed. “Nice, Abby.” she stiffened. “Only Geoffery called me that,” she warned, inching closer. “Goodness gracious, honey. I didn’t kill him, okay? Captain Xavier framed me for it.” She didn’t believe me.

Maybe she was just like the others.

But something kept me from shooting her right on the spot.

I hated it.

So I ran.

She stomped her foot behind me in anger as I ran, yelling something about finding me and forcing the truth out of me no matter what it took.

I just ran into the nearest store and shot one of the plastic clothing models.

I then fell to the floor and sobbed, not even caring when several women screamed, muttering something about the “Outsider.”

At least everyone leaves me alone.

Right?

Right?

RIGHT?