Fire Starter

Chapter 1: Match smoke.

       It was cold. My breath came out in puffs of white as I tried to stay behind the row of fuel containers. The smaller ones were easy cover but the bigger tanks were hard to move around without being seen. I was hiding in the old storage lot. Because of the flat ground and the straight rows of storage tanks the wind could really pick up. It swept my dark brown mess of hair around turning the ends into daggers as they whipped my face. I couldn't remember the last time it had been warm outside.

       "Cristle you've done it again.." I whispered to myself angrily. I wasn't sure how long they would keep me trapped behind this stack of crates and containers, to set on not being found, but my lips were beginning to burn from the cold. Not that being discovered was that big a deal. I did it all the time, sometimes on purpose, but this time was different. I didn't have the time. The time for the A.Bs, the strict unrelenting police force of upper class. I didn't have the time to wait them out and I certainly didn't have the time to take them all on at once. I knew the next patrol wouldn't be around for a while but these guys were still in my way. I thought back to all the times I'd been cornered behind crates and boxes and half-demolished buildings that littered the area. All the times I'd been hit with stunners and broken bones punching those silly faceplates the A.Bs wore on their helmets. A stray dog barked behind me and I peered around the container to find about six A.Bs turning in the direction of the dog. "That stupid mutt!" I hissed. I looked back and saw the dog scramble behind some containers to my left, it was a grey and black patchy looking mutt and yet my heart still went out to it. They would find it and probably kill it at moments notice even though it looked like it was about to die from exhaustion and malnutrition anyway. 'Good thing I'm human' I thought. A.Bs are not allowed to kill humans they can only bring them back to containment or wherever they would be most useful. If I got caught I'd be left with the grueling task of breaking free again, but like I said, I didn't  have the time.

       I only had a few of the items I so desperately needed and only a few more hours 'till the airships would be flyin' over dropping new patrols everywhere. I'd end up having to wait them out in an abandoned building or somethin' but that wasn't going to happen either. I had people counting on me and with Fall sinking it's final icy fangs into the ground, snow wouldn't be far away. I wouldn't miss my chance.

*BANG*

       The Guard closest to the containers had seen the mutt run out from behind its hiding place as they had gotten too close. In the time it took for the mutt to drop I stole away from the containers and around the side of a big white storage tank. I had a moment to realize the dog I'd been calling a mutt all this time had just given me the distraction I needed. Of course there where still A.Bs circling the other containers, their gray uniforms protecting them from the cold, but I had only started concocting my plan of escape. Ah, what the hell, it was worth a shot if it got me back in time. I made sure all of the A.Bs were in range and went around the side of the tank. There was no point in hiding anymore. I stood up. All of them saw me at once and were ready to fire in seconds. The stun guns were smaller than the gun used on the dog but no less menacing. That 'menacing' part is actually a huge lie.. they look like multi-colored plastic toys you'd presume shoot rainbows but instead can knock ya out in a couple of minutes. The A.Bs held their fire. Maybe they thought I was surrendering? I threw my hands up, but instead of surrendering, I knocked on the tank to my left hoping whatever was inside was useful and making it ring out. By the sound alone I could tell it wasn't empty. I gave all the A.Bs a smug smirking laugh and snatched a match from my belt. You'd think from the way I talk about them they are just stupid military soldiers but to give them credit they are probably hundreds of times smarter than I am. As you can guess they all stopped dead when I pulled the match looking from the tank, to the few containers I presume are filled with some type of fuel, to the match in my hand.

       "Guess I'm looking at some pretty fried A.B ba~bies if you don't scuttle back to your little airship" I laughed, shooting them with my other hand.

       "What good would that do? I'd rather not take you back to Marcus in pieces." This particular A.B was the only one who didn't stop when I pulled the match. He wore a sadistic grin, visible below the edge of his faceplate. 'Well now this is gonna be a little more difficult' I thought. Smirking, I lit the match.

*BANG*

       "Hold fire!" The A.B shouted at his lower ranked companion. I felt a jolt to my left arm that sent my entire body into a fit of jagged movements and stiff muscles. I hit the ground on my side feeling hazy and the A.B Captain motioned for the rest to close in. I was kicked on my back, the match falling to the ground and starting to smoke itself out under the tank. The A.B captain leaned down and, grabbing my hair, and pulled my face towards him. The same smile plastered on his face. He was dripping with superiority as he spoke.

       "I hope you understand that you can't set off a sealed tank with a pack of matches." He laughed removing his helmet. He was a dirty blond that looked about 20 something, one of the older ones. "I honestly don't understand why you think you can outsmart us." He looked around at his buddies. "Containment will be good for you and maybe you'll even learn some common sense." He said letting go of my hair and motioning the rest of them over.  " ..Ah who am I kidding.. you're just a~"

*KAABOOOOM*

       All the A.Bs were knocked ten feet from their original positions as the tank exploded.

********************************

       I felt like I'd been hit by a truck, and most of my clothing was on fire. My coat had taken most of the damage and it fell off as I sat up, turning into nothing but blue pieces of chard fabric on the front side. My shirt was left relatively unscathed. The A.B that had grabbed my hair was crumpled against the containers opposite the now half-destroyed tank. The smoke and my haziness had mostly cleared by the time I tried to stand but I fell backward once I felt the pain in my left thigh as well as in my shoulder.

       "Shit.. okay. Fireproof? Yes. Blast proof? No.." I said aloud, using the now wrecked tank to help me stand. The good thing was that neither were very deep at least as far as I could tell. I tried to shake the hazy feeling from my limbs but also remain standing. It was hard and the pain was beginning to bite all the way down my leg. Couple the explosion with being stunned and I was a little shaky on my feet. I looked around at the A.Bs strewn about like plastic toys. The weird gray armor suits they wore didn't help that image. Parts of their suits were cracked and broken, entire pieces missing, masks shattered. The one I'd caught monologuing like an old cartoon villain had less suit than I had jacket. His whole side was a mess... I went over to him and slowly leaned down to checked his breathing.