The Risen Phoenix

Chapter One

"Danny, come on already. You've hacked into systems way bigger than this one before. What's the hold up?" I sighed heavily, watching him push his glasses further up his nose. Looking over at Ashlinn, I saw how badly my sister needed to move.

Ash was bad at sitting still; she was constantly in motion and today was no different. Even with us squatting inside an abandoned warehouse, they had to be still and quiet. Her leg was bouncing in constant rhythm with Danny's tapping on the keyboard. Her hands were folded over her chest as she stared down the corridor into the dark. Her eyes were unmoving but I watched her anxiety about our situation seep through every pore.

"Damn it all." His exasperation was written all over his face.

"What is it?" Ashlinn asked. We both looked at him expectantly while he stared at the glowing screen in front of him blankly.

"They traced my hack." He mumbled almost inaudibly.

"What?!" Ash and I asked in unison. My mind was whirling with a new plan. We had to move, and quickly. Most likely, they had enforcers rerouted now and headed to our destination. A full scale attack could be mere minutes away.

"Ash, grab the bags. Danny, get the cords, change the IP address or whatever you need to do to try and shake them. Come on, let's move it people. I'll drive the van around front. I'm not slowing down much. I want us to shake it out of here in 3 minutes or less." I laid out the plan as I walked towards the exit, keys in hand. I could feel the tension in the air as we all realized everything was about to change in that instant.

My van was an antique; however with the new engine I installed she purred like a kitten and flew faster than a jet plane. Growing up, Ashlinn and I lived on a farm. We didn't grow vegetables and raise animals like in the stories from the old days, our family grew materials. We'd melt down scrap metals and create something new that could be reused. There were so many old vehicles and piping on our farm that I could basically build whatever I wanted until my heart was content. But when I saw the skeleton for Big Bertha, I fell in love with an idea of what I wanted to drive for the rest of my life. I was 13 when I met Big Bertha, and over the next 3 years I had scavenged for all of the parts I needed to make her into my dream car.

If you were ever to get in the back end of my van, you would see my initials carved into the metal, alongside my father's. It's one of the most special memories I have of him before The Pure Bloods came through our town the very next year. I was just barely 17, and Ashlinn was only 10 at the time of his murder. My father was proud of being a Scavenger, he was proud of having my sister and I. We were happy to just be left alone, that was until the Bloods ruined our family.

Ashlinn and I were in the backyard, going through the metal piping to see if we could craft a bow out of any of it when we heard shouting.

"This is my land, Trump!" Our father yelled at Stanley Trump, the Tyrant that runs The Pure Bloods. They say you can trace his lineage back to some orange man, with little hands that wore a wig but apparently was elected as president some 150 years ago or something.

My sister and I ran around the side of the garage, I held Ash back while we watched the altercation.

"How do you figure that it is your land, Stevens? I don't see a Title with your name on it." He snickered. The damn bastard actually snickered. His grandfather had burnt the official documents buildings all across the nation. Titles, Birth and Death Certificates, Social Security Information; all burned to the ground in a matter of days. The only person who "owned" the land now was the Trump family.

"I've made an honest living here my entire life, my wife died here and my children were born here. You will NOT take my home from me!" He screamed, Ashlinn jumped back as if scared. I merely held her tighter.