Rebellion

Chapter one

Hangings weren’t to punish the people who did wrong, it was to bring fear into the people watching. I watched as two black coated Guards dragged a bound captive up the steps of the gallows and held her there waiting for the priest and executor to arrive. They took off her hood, the crowd let out a hiss. The captive had bushy red hair, a dirty face, and desperate green hair, she looked down at the crowd gathered around her and she called out, “Please someone help me! I’m innocent!” The hissing got louder. She hung her head. Shocked, I noticed that the girl was a couple years younger than me. She looked like they had kept her held up for a couple weeks, beating on her, and doing unspeakable things. I took pity on her. Being marked as a Skill was punishable by death and nothing could save her now. She was doomed. The priest of the town walked up the stairs and stood next to her, a worn Bible in hand.

“Any last words?” he asked.

She looked up at him, pleading, “Please, I’m innocent. I’m not a Skill. I’m not special. There is nothing that I can do. I’m just a poor farmer’s girl!” She struggled against the Guards but was too weak to pull free.

The priest shook his head. “It is not for me to decide, young’un. Only the good Lord can save you now. Would you like to pray with me?”

But the girl was sobbing too hard to answer, any strength she had left was gone. He bowed his head and said a quick prayer then walked away.

Next came the executor. He was another Guard, except he was wearing all white. Part of the Elite Guard. In his hand he held an envelope. He smiled at the girl, then nodded to the Guard to put the hood back on and wrap the rope around her neck and tighten it. The crowd drew silent as he read the orders on the paper. “Julia Keen is marked as a protesting Skill. She is known as a threat to the people of the Southern California and she must be sentenced to death!” The crowd let out a roar, as he put up his hand to ready the men to drop her. The crowd got louder while they watched him drop his hand. I looked away, I shouldn’t be wasting time watching this horror when I had a job to do. I could hear my blood pounding in my head. But I could still hear the snap of her neck as she fell and the cheer of the crowd.

I was running out of precious time, I slipped out of the middle of the crowd. Pickpocketing wasn’t a standing still sort of job, I needs to move and steal fast before everyone became aware of what I was doing. The crowd was already thinning, getting ready to get back to their day, now everyone was whispering about what just happened. It gave me more options and more cover. I bumped into one man, slipping a few coins out of his pocket, and steadying him while apologizing. I walked fast, bumping into people as I went, pretending I was going somewhere important. Many of the pockets I slipped into were empty but I hit a few jackpots along the way. I found a gold necklace, few coins, and three piece of paper that was worthless. I was getting to the edge of the crowd. What I got was not enough for me to get through the week. I need just a few more coins to not have to do this again until next week. Sure there would probably be another execution in the next couple days but I would rather avoid them as much as possible. Watching innocent people die wasn’t my idea of entertainment.

Against my own judgment I weaved into the crowd again. Going through twice was twice as risky, because it wouldn’t be too hard for someone to notice they were missing things and start a stir. Then everyone would get suspicious and my picks would disappear. Worried I chose carefully. Seeing a man in a business suit dressed well looked to be promising. He would be my last victim. I walked parallel to him. I picked a couple more pockets then took a deep breath. I gauge my approach and I sprinted towards the man, hoping that nobody was paying attention to me. I ran full on into him, making both of us fall to the ground. With him being on the bottom, he cushioned my fall, banging his head on the ground, making him disoriented for the small amount of time that I needed. I scrambled up, pretending to use his body to help me up. I slipped my hand into his pocket and withdrew a few coins. But before I could get my hand out and drop them into my pocket, his hand caught mine. I tried to pull away but he used my strength to jump up before I could yank my hand out of his grasp.