Rats: Shai's Story

A Broken Connection

Author's Note: Remember to vote and comment. I really want to know your thoughts on this story.

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The kids started to trickle out of the daycare as there were only a couple hours left until Curfew. A handful of kids were throwing around a ball between themselves. Darla was sitting on a chair encouraging them to run after it when they dropped it. Brodhi was in the kitchen preparing dinner from the food they had just gotten from the Drop-Off. Lynn was sitting on a chair in the kitchen. A sleeping baby was in her arms.

Someone outside loudly knocked on the door. Both Brodhi and Lynn turned their head and stared at the door. Brodhi walked over and opened it, expecting it to be one of the moms of the kids. Instead, Shai was standing there.

Her dark hair was tied up on the top of her head. She had on a frayed cardigan that was way too big for her and a ripped pair of jeans.

"Jasper's not here," he said already starting to close the door. Shai put her hand out and stopped him from closing it. He left the door open a crack.

"I wanna talk to you," she told him. "I need help."

"If Todd won't help you with your plan I don't even wanna hear about it."

"It's to help Todd."

Shai looked at Brodhi softly, that was a look he almost never got. If Todd needed help he must have been in big trouble. He opened up the door wider and let her in. They walked together into the kitchen. Lynn looked at Shai in surprise. She carefully got up out of her chair so that she didn't wake the baby.

"I'll go upstairs," she told them. Brodhi nodded his head and sat down at the table. Shai continued to stand. He could see her picking at the fabric of her sweater.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"Todd got arrested today," she said.

Brodhi couldn't stop his jaw from dropping. He always assumed that it would happen sooner or later with all of his schemes he came up with. But Todd was always someone to get away with them. He had knowledge and a brain that Brodhi could never quite understand.

"It's not even Curfew yet. How do ya know?" he asked.

"I watched them do it," she said quietly.

"And you didn't do anything?"

"What was I suppose to do? If I attacked a group Officers I'd be arrested too or I'd be shot. There wasn't much that I could do."

"Fine. But what do ya need my halp with?"

"I wanna break him out."

Brodhi couldn't stop himself from laughing. Spending all those years with Todd, must have rubbed off his crazy ideas on her. She scowled at him.

"You can't be serious?" Brodhi said continuing to laugh.

"Yeah," she said sternly. "We can't just leave him there."

"No one gets out of those camps, Shai. And you can't just magically change that. He was my best friend and it sucks that he got caught, but there's nothing you can do."

"Nothin' that just I can do. I need help. That's why I came to you."

Brodhi let out a deep breath and ran his hand over his scalp. He did wish that he could get Todd out of whatever camp he was in, but he knew that was impossible. Plus any attempt to get him out would get them arrested. He has been too careful lately to let some stupid move like this to get him arrested.