The Militia

Two

The weather in the Utopia was controlled by the panel in the Government building. That panel controlled everything, the sunrise and strength of the sun rays, the clouds in the sky, and whether or not it rained. When both cities were still around, both government building had its own panel. But after the second city was practically abandoned, the first city got both panels. And since they found out kids were going to the second city almost every Friday night, the sky was almost always filled with thick clouds so the small lights on the bottom of their hoverboards could be spotted easier. But that never stopped anyone from going to the dark side of the utopia.

Even though people talked about the second city light it was a giant amusement park-- there was something eerie about it. Wade's older sister, Chelsea, had come to the second city a lot when she was younger. And she was the one who pointed out to him how odd it was that the first city didn't just expand. But how they instead just let the buildings go to waste, the windows got broken in eventually, and the parks got overgrown with grass, weeds, and some of the trees had been choked out by the invasive weeds. It was just strange how the first city just let that happen. And the more Wade thought about it, the more he thought it was strange that the first city was so against going into the second one.

Separating the two cities was a river, and it was practically a wall between the two cities. All the way up to the riverbank on the second city's side was overgrown, and on the other side it was neat and tidy. The only thing that wasn't kept up on both sides was the bridge that had once been the best way to get from city to city. In old pictures of the Utopia, the bridge was bronze, and reflected any light that hit it. The river banks still went up quite a bit under the bridge on both sides, so that's where groups met when they were crossing the river.

"Don't you think we could go high enough that the clouds would cover the lights?" Jesse asked as the two bows walked down the path towards the riverbank. Because of the clouds, it was easier to just walk to the bridge than to worry about getting caught because someone saw the lights on your board.

Wade looked up at the sky, "Give it a try, if the sensors go out, I'll be sure to tell your mom it was for research." he replied, scoffing a bit at the end.

Jesse elbowed him roughly, "I'm serious," he stated, "Think about it, we could get by with so much more and it would take half the time to get there and then get home."

Wade shrugged, "Walking isn't that bad, Jess."

He groaned in response.

"But like I said, go for it-- give it a try." he stated, pointing up at the thick clouds.

The walk didn't last much longer. They were at their side of the bridge before Jesse could suggest another idea. There was a small group already waiting, Carly, a younger kid named Luca, and Jeremy were there. Jeremy was trying to start a conversation with Carly but she didn't look interested at all. Carly had blonde hair, light blue eyes, and freckles-- which weren't very common in the Utopia. As soon as her eyes saw Jesse and Wade carefully making their way down the rocky ground to get under the bridge, she found a way to get away from Jeremy.

"Finally," Carly sighed heavily, "I was starting to think you two weren't coming and I'd be stuck with a bunch of middle schoolers and Jeremy."

"And let me guess, Jeremy is the one that would make the trip miserable?" Wade asked.

Jesse scoffed, "He'd probably only stick around for half the trip anyway."

Wade looked around the group. Jeremy, Jesse, and Carly were the only kids there who had actually been to the second city. Which was strange because usually there were more of the older kids going to find parts that could sell for people to add to their boards. Luca and a few other younger kids were the majority of the group.

"Where is everyone?" Wade asked, as he examined the faces of everyone. "Half of these kids have never been over there."

Carly shrugged, "That history project is due Monday," she stated, "Maybe they're finishing it up." she said crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow as she looked at Jesse.

Jesse let out an exasperated sigh, "I'll get it done this weekend." he assured her, "My mom would kill me if I didn't."

"You've said that before," she retorted.

"But-"

"-this time I mean it." Wade sighed, finishing his sentence. "So who's going to lay out the ground rules to the new kids?"

Carly rolled her eyes, "Jeremy already did."

"Of course he did." Jesse scoffed, "It's kind of funny the pansy who ditched out half way through the last trip is giving the new kids orders." he sighed, loud enough that people around them heard him. Including Jeremy.

Jeremy eyed Jesse for a moment before making his way towards the small group. But before he could get to them, Wade gave Jesse a pat on the shoulder as if to tell him to get on his board so they could go. Carly dropped her board to the ground as the two boys did, and hopped on-- making their way across the river and under the bridge. Jesse said too much sometimes, and it got him in trouble. Wade didn't say much, unless he was talking to friends, or talking about something specific. He was a lot more logical about things, but Jesse-- he was impulsive and too relaxed sometimes. So they sort of evened each other out.

"So any ideas about where to go?" Carly asked, "Which block?"

"We were thinking we actually went to the government building," Jesse stated, "We've been to the same blocks for months."

"Why the government building?" she asked as a few younger kids hopped off their boards near them and then grabbed them and hurried up the rocky ground. "It's on the other side of the city."

"It'll be more fun," Wade confessed, "If we see anything interesting on the way we can stop there."

"But if you'd rather stick with Germy, then by all means-"

"Shut up, Jesse." Carly stated sharply, her tone dripping with irritation because of his snarky remarks. Wade had gotten irritated with them too when they first met, but he has learned to block them out. Or even go along with it. "But let's hurry so we actually have time to look around."

The three of them stayed with the group for a few minutes before they finally found their chance to break off. Jesse led the way, weaving them along the rundown sidewalks to cut through the blocks instead of taking the streets that would give the rest of the group a chance to see them. Wade couldn't help but look around the blocks, and look at the playgrounds that were overtaken by weeds, or the couple trees that had been blown over by the Utopia's thunderstorm. Thinking back to the playground on his block in the first city, he couldn't help but think about how busy the playgrounds must have been when there were still people living in the city. Or the buildings that were empty besides the furniture...how many people had lived there? Had they even been part of the dispute between the cities?

Suddenly Jesse came to a stop, and looked around, "It should only be a few more blocks," he said over his shoulder towards Wade and Carly.

"Why do you two want to go to the Government Building anyways?" Carly asked as as came up behind Wade.

He shrugged in response, "Why not?" he replied, "Like we said before, it's more fun than staying in the exact same few blocks as we have been."

She sighed heavily, "There would have been plenty to do back there."

"If you don't want to come, then don't." Jesse called over his shoulder, "We don't need you to babysit us."

She scoffed, "Wade doesn't, you might."

The three of them didn't say much of anything else as they made their way to the Government building. It looked almost identical to the one in the First city. The only difference was that the windows were dark, the hedges and trees weren't trimmed.

"Why do you think they just let it..." Carly paused, "Turn to this?"

Jesse shrugged, "Save resources probably."