Finding Miss Cellaneous Novellas

Judas and the Renegades

I was running. All I knew was that I had to get out of the city. My traitorous brother, a high-ranking official, had decided it was a good idea to implicate me in the Renegades' plot to overthrow the government, and now I was running for my life.

If I could escape the city, the police would have no authority to arrest me, and I could find a way to bury the documents I had in hand.

Sirens wailed behind me. Spewing curses, I dashed down an alley, causing the vehicles to squeal to a stop, and scrambled over the fence. The chase had attracted a voluminous crowd, so now I not only had to avoid the police but also the onlookers.

I turned around and nearly screamed. In the shadows of the alley lay a squalid creature, staring up at me with narrowed eyes. As I stepped away, the creature's seemingly corrosive gaze followed me.

Suddenly, screeching tires shook me out of my disgust. I peered over the fence to see that the vehicles had disappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief, but froze when I heard a very discernable voice behind me.

"Judas Peter Fide, turn around with your hands up." Slowly, I turned around, but I did not lift my hands. A tall, well-built man stood at the end of the alley, his raised gun flashing in the sunlight.

"Brother," I smirked. His expression did not change, but his dark brown eyes softened a fraction, proving a bond existed once. "I'd say nice to see you, but you've caught me at a rather inconvenient time. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

In a flash, I was scaling the building. My hand reached up to grip the edge of the roof when a bullet whistled through the air and landed right where I was about to place my hand. Startled, I lost my grip and fell. Quickly, I writhed in the air, twisting my body so that I landed on my feet.

I straightened up, glaring at my brother. He glared back, a smug look on his face, and at that moment, I hated him like never before.

A movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and it caught my brother's attention as well, for he turned and pointed his gun at the moving creature that I had previously stumbled upon.

It rose, and I realized it was not an animal, but a human dressed in filthy rags. I raised my arms slightly, prepared to defend myself. I watched as the filthy human lifted an arm and snapped its fingers.

Nothing happened.

Confused, I lowered my hands and turned, only to find my brother frozen in place, his wide eyes unblinking. I stared, amazed, at the sight of my brother so helpless and vulnerable and, to be frank, standing quite ridiculously.

I turned back to the squalid human, watching in fascination as he straightened up, dirt and grime disappearing into thin air. His rags were replaced with a navy suit, and what was once a hunchbacked creature was now a tall, crisp soldier. He grinned at me.

"Welcome to the Renegades."