The line we cross

980 miles from the border

I sit in silence. The sticky leather sews itself into my skin. Some ketchup from Masons hot dog splashes on my bagel, staining my plate.

"You feeling okay Owe?" Tyler asks, his mouth full of greasy sliders. I nod.

"You should eat, there's not a lot of food spots near the border" Mason mentions. I dig my teeth through the bagel. The scent of burnt butter overwhelms the meal, putting me off my appetite even more. The crunch soothes my brain. I place it back on my plate and lean back.

"Look" Mason says, "There's no point in getting upset at this. If you don't get it together, you are not going to stand a chance at the border."

"Mason!" Tyler shouts.

"Do you think the officers at the border are going to care about you dying?", I don't reply. I feel my chest shake at the confrontation.

"No, they're not going to care about you or the dead kids trying to cross or the kids who died in the pits or the kids who sacrificed themselves so others would live, just like us".

"Mason what the hell are you saying?" Tyler says.

"Listen, the Dead revolt is a suicide mission" Mason exclaims, Tyler's eyes widen.

"A bunch of unarmed teens are going against ruthless police officers who have no hesitation in shooting a child on sight. And you think they're just gonna let us through?".

"We're fucked Tyler". My whole body decays like I've just died on the spot. Mason is probably right as well, I feel nauseous at the fact I'm going to die in two and a half days. Mason continues chomping his hotdog meanwhile Tyler sits in shock. I glare at my bagel, it laughs back at me. I press my forearms on the cold, rusty metal that is screwed to the floor. My gaze gets lifted by a speck of sunlight. I hold my arm up to block it when I see Brooke. She's just standing there at the bus stop waiting. I leap off my seat and dash towards the door. I run up behind her, she turns around and her face glows.

"Owen?". Tyler pushes past me and hugs Brooke. I watch from a far.

"I thought you'd be dead by now" Tyler says. She lifts her shoulders and sighs.

"Yeah, I'm surprised I'm not" she chuckles.

"Where's the others?" I ask. Mason stands confused.

"They left me. I proposed we go home and they got mad at me and snuck away while i was sleeping".

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Mason asks. I hear a cold tone in his voice.

"Oh I'm Brooke, hi".

"Mason" he gestures his hand out and she shakes it.

"So we have big news" Tyler says.

"On election day, we're going to protest at the border!". Her face widens, she bows her head, her eyebrows trying to climb up to her scalp.

"The dead revolt?" she asks, her voice scratchy and scared. Tyler pauses for a minute.

"um, yeah why?" Tyler asks.

"You, can't" she says. My confusion has never been more pure.

"Why?" I ask. I thought she was a 'Terrorist' just like us.

"You have no idea what is going to happen when you protest" she says.

"What?" Tyler says.

"All I can say is something bad is going to happen to everyone who protests. A certain person is going to do something very bad".

"Yes we know, some creep is going to try and murder Gabe" I say.

"Gabe?".

"Yeah, the leader of the dead revolt" Tyler says.

"No, no no what is going to happen is much, much worse than a murder".

"What's worse than murder?" Mason asks.

"Genocide".

I smash my fist on the glass wall of the phone booth. The reoccurring answer machine drives me closer to insanity every time it repeats, every time I place a coin into the booth.

"Keep trying, they always answer". It's like the ringing gets slower and slower. I clench my jaw and I squeeze the phone tight. My hands shake, my chest lurches when all of a sudden, the ring stops.

"Gabe!" I shout, " You're going to die! We're all going to die! There's a bomb at the fucking border!". No answer. My brain vibrates. My volume was louder than a fog horn. I rapidly hit my fist off the coin slot. Just then I hear muffling on the phone.

"Thanks for the info" I recognise that voice, that gross, croaky horrific voice that haunts me. The killer driver.

"Hey! I know who you are you piece of shit" How was I not suspicious when he was acting weird about the revolt. A long ringing screams in my ear. I shake in fear. I drop down next to a pile of metal.

"Owen, who was that?" Tyler asks. I slowly move my head towards his.

"We have to find Gabe".