Under the Water (Book 1)

Three

Quinn Seventh

"Dad!! Hydee!! Dad!!" my voice is lost in the crowd of other peoples voices.

Somebody rams into my back and I wince. Even after 11 years, it still hurts at contact. It's probably all in my head though.

"Dad!" I burst through the front line of the crowd and stop. A line of plant pods are sparking and flaming, incinerating the contents inside. Besides it, two Overseers punch and older man to the ground, and pull out their weapons.

100 years of evolution and weapons didn't change, they stayed as painful and crude as ever. Stun sticks. Painful,yes. Fatal? Not usually.

The downed man stands back up, fists clenched ready to fight.

"DAD!" I recognize my father's angry scowl, looking ready to take down anyone in his way. But no matter how much spirit he has, he's not going to win this fight.

One of the Overseers lunges forwards and knocks Dad to the ground again. There are still only two of them, no reinforcements are being called yet, that's good.

I look around for Hydee. Once I know she's out of danger I'd try to calm down the Overseers.

I see Hyde huddled on the ground a little ways into the crowd, paralyzed watching Dad. She's safe enough.

I turn and put myself between Dad and the Overseers.

Then I get punched in the face.

"Get back reb." The first one spits and starts to shove me away.

I stay put, trying to ignore the throbbing in my probably broken nose, and start speaking. " Stop! Pods are being destroyed. If a higher up comes to investigate, they'll see you harming a worker, and failing to take care of the APP's." I say, referring to the Artificial Plant Pods. "This is probably enough of a disturbment to get you fired, and then you'll be working down here, in the dirt, with us."

The second Overseer flinches, and glowers back at me, but I could see his confidence faltering.

"What's it going to be?" I say narrowing my eyes. Behind my back I motion for Dad to back up and blend with the crowd while I have the Overseers attention.

"Now, I'm sure you're ready to get back to your house and eat. So just report the broken pods as a technology failure, and we can all go. It's almost curfew." I say trying to seem submissive and modest. I apparently fail.

The OS's eyes flare up "And who are you, to be telling us what to do? Punk. Do I need to report you as a rebel? Huh? Cause you should know what they do to those traitors." The first OS lunges forward and shoves me back into the dirt, the crowd backs up and starts muttering among themselves

Crap. I roll out of the way as a stun stick comes down.

"Disperse!" I yell at the crowd of people, some obey, some are more reluctant. "Get away! Get out of-" I grunt as a stunner jabs me in the stomach. I see Hydee being helped up my my Dad, him pulling her away back towards the house. I feel my muscles locking and felt my body falling to the ground.

The voltage was to high.

"Crap." One of the Overseers says, "What voltage did you have it on?"

"I swear, I thought it was on low!" the other one replies, panic obvious in his voice.

"You thought!" Th other one replies, my eyes start to close. "It was on high!!"

"We'll say he was smashing pods, lets bring him to Trial. That'll take care of him."

My head lolled and hit the ground.

Everything went dark.