MAKE IT GO BOOM | JINX

F I V E

C H A P T E R   #05   //   S U N K E N   T R E A S S U R E

        Everyone successfully made their way out of the filthy sewage tunnels. The group began their walk through the streets, heading towards the elevator that would take them to the underground. They walked past a blond guy who was sitting on a wooden crate. He toyed with a metal barrel with his foot. It created an eerie noise.

Sage ignored him and kept her eyes ahead. They had just passed him when he called after them, "Nice haul?" He referred to their bag and their dirty appearance. Sage knew better than to respond, but not everyone within their group seemed to be in the same boat.

"You could say that," answered Mylo, while he looked back at the blond. Sage noticed Vi looking towards Mylo with an annoyed look plastered on her face, silently telling him to shut up.

"I heard there was some action across the river," mentioned the blond, which caught the group's attention. Vi and Mylo turned around to face him. Sage followed suit. "Someone, uh, someone really kicked the nest, huh?" he continued to question them, though it was rhetorical. He already knew the answer. It was evident in the way he spoke.

Only now did Sage recognise him; it was Deckard. He and his group occasionally hung around with her and her group of friends. The air usually felt tense in their presence; they were far from friends.

"Is that so?" asked Vi, not sounding interested in the conversation. Sage saw Vi turn back around, but her movements ceased quickly. The young girl looked in the direction Vi wanted to head and saw the path blocked by two of Deckard's friends.

Sage's heart dropped slightly in worry about what would happen next. She tried not to let it show. She turned around to face Deckard again. He let out an arrogant chuckle while he made his way towards them, taunting them, "But now you're... you're tracking this mess of yours through my streets."

The tension rose as Vi began to take angry steps in the blond's direction. She asked, sounding agitated, "Your streets? What makes you think-" Vi was cut off by Claggor, who pushed her behind himself.

"Listen, we don't want any trouble, okay?" said Claggor in an attempt to defuse the situation. Sage knew it was pointless; these guys were out for trouble. She stayed silent, Vi having scolded her countless times for not keeping quiet in situations like this.

One of the blond's goons spoke up from behind them, "Hear that, Deckard? They don't want any trouble." He sounded amused.

Deckard, what a dumb name, thought Sage to herself. She had never liked that guy or his friends to begin with. She looked around herself and counted four of Deckard's group, including him. Her palms had gotten a little clammy, the anxiety settling in her stomach.

"You know, in my experience, trouble finds you," said Deckard, pretending to be some sort of master villain with an antagonising speech. "There's no reason this has to get ugly," he continued, making Sage forget about Vi's scoldings.

"Get any uglier? Don't think that's possible for you. Whose name is even Deckard? That's such a dumb-" Sage began to insult the older boy. In an attempt to calm Sage down, Vi pulled the younger girl towards herself with an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Vi did not make an attempt to actually stop her, though. Either way, Sage did not finish since a provoked Deckard cut her off.

"Real sweet, really," he sarcastically replied, while he stared at Sage with fierce eyes. "You should get your little sister in check... or I will," he threatened, looking at Vi. Sage felt Vi's grip tighten, likely not amused by his threats.