Rising Up

Chapter 4

          "What do you mean, stop them?" Alice spit out her food. I stared down at my own food, my hair falling down over my eyes. Alice slowly put down her fork and folded her arms. "Allen, they're the government! In what universe do you have a say? You're a-" she stopped herself.

My eyes shot up and locked with hers, regret written on her features. She reached across the table towards me and I jerked away from her fingertips. She faltered for a second. "I didn't mean that, Allen. You know that."

"No, I'm pretty sure you did. You're right, I am a Null," I said sharply and stood up. "What power do I have anyway, right? I'll probably get us all killed anyway." I snapped. I turned around and walked away from the table of the small cafe.

"Allen wait!" Alice called after me. I threw the door open and stormed out of the restaurant. If she wasn't going to help me I'd do it myself. I walked down the street towards the garage. My mind rambled on and on about what Alice had said to me. I knew she was right, I just didn't want to believe it. I was stuck, and I didn't know how to break free.

"Excuse me?" I came to a stop and peered into a small alleyway where a small, frail voice had come from. A small boy, probably 8 or 9, held out a small bowl to me. His eyes were dull and he was covered in dirt. It was easy to see he was homeless. I wondered if he was, like me. "Can you spare a coin or two?" He stated with a quiver in his voice.

I looked up at the boy and studied his face. He flinched slightly and backed up. I held out my hand to the small boy and gave him a small smile. He gazed down at my hand and his face brightened at the sight of a worn bill. It was 10 Getz, or 𝒢10, enough for a hot meal tonight and a cold breakfast tomorrow.

"Thanks Mister!" he threw his arms around me in a tight hug. I let out a slight chuckle and patted his head. Joy bubbled in my chest as I looked down towards the old Cafe. Alice stood just in front of me, her arms tucked into her pockets. She sent me a soft smile and nodded in approval.

After the boy scurried off, Alice placed a small hand on my shoulder. "I was wrong," she said softly, looking in the direction the dirt caked boy had run off in, "You have the power to change so much. To brighten so many lives. Count me in."

A grin broke onto my face and I wrapped her in my arms, tightly hugging her. "Thank you so much Alice," I said into her hair. She let of a small giggle and patted my back. "Sure thing, Adams," she said.

ØØØØØØ

"So what's you plan?" Alice sat down across from me at the kitchen table. I peered up at her, through my hair that had been growing out since my family disappeared nearly a week ago. I sat up straight and folded my arms over my chest with a long sigh.

"We need to gather as many Nulls or Simps as we can," I stated loudly, moving a long list over to her. "We need support from both adults and children. They'll be our backbone and the most likely to want changes." Alice stared down at the list of names I printed off the planet's database. She nodded slightly, her eyes dancing across the page.

"We need a way to get messages to people in other districts and planets without the government noticing. I'm stuck on that one. My computer skills are nowhere near enough to accomplish something like that."

"I could help out with that," Clint casually said and he walked into the kitchen. Alice and I stared over at him, his face shaping that into a childish grin. "I may not be good at math or reading, but hand me a computer and I could contact the president directly and demand the reinvention of tater tots."

Alice let out a snort as Clint slid into the seat next to me. He patted me on the shoulder and flipped open his BUL, his fingers dancing across the keys. Alice got to work mapping the locations of everyone on the list and planning out how she'd get the message across. I stared over at my two friends and smiled.