Magpie Calling

Chapter Four

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could just have your attention please for one moment." Ruben Grey said to the already awaiting crowd. Casper turned to say something to Clarence, but when he glanced around she had disappeared from sight.

He walked through the crowd, trying to find Robert in case she was with him. He finally spotted her walking up behind her brother, just as general Grey called the president to the stage.

"Clarence!" He whispered, trying to grab her arm, but failing as she pulled away. He expected her to say something to her brother or stop her pursuit and listen to the speech. What he didn't expect was for Clarence to pull out a gun and press it to the back of her brothers head.

"What are you doing?!" He asked. She ignored him and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out and they were immediately plunged into darkness as the lights went off. Emergency red lighting went on and people around him screamed as the alarm went off, telling them that rebels had entered the building.

In the fading light, Clarence darted through the crowd, Casper running after her. She reached a fire exit and pushed her way through into a dark alleyway outside where she she throughout off running, despite the heels she was wearing. Casper continued to chase her down, staying in the shadows of the alley.

More people were appearing now, running around Clarence. At first he thought that they were other Peacebringers, but then he say the dark clothes they wore and the guns held in their arms. These were rebels.

"Good evening Clary, fancy meeting you here!" One called.

"Shut up, Ash, keep running!" Another said. They turned down another alleyway, going deeper into the outskirts of the city.

The other Peacebringers must be closing in by now, Casper thought, as he continued to chase the rebels. He wasn't exactly sure why he was chasing them, but this was the closest any Peacebringer had come to finding them in the last ten years.

He was so close to them now that he could just about see their faces. Four were boys and three, not including Clarence, were girls.

Just as he thought he couldn't keep up with them anymore, they stopped. Sirens were blaring all over the city and he could hear Peacebringers shouting orders not far away.

"Seth, what are you waiting for? Open the tunnel!" One girl hissed. The boy she had shouted at bent down and twisted the lid off a sewer entrance.

"Ladies first, Foxy Loxy." He said. The girl scowled and jumped into the sewer. "Hurry up guys, we don't have much more time."

The other rebels began to climb down quickly, still not having noticed Casper, who climbed down after Clarence. The only light in the tunnel came from the open sewer lid, but that was cut off suddenly as the last person entered the sewer.

"Go, go!" He whispered frantically and they began running through the damp sewer again. At one point, something scampered over Caspers feet and he shuddered to think of what it was.

"The exit is just up ahead." Someone shouted, as they ran towards a dead end. For a moment, Casper thought that this was all a trick, until Clarence placed her hand on one of the stones, which turned out to be a hidden hand scanner. A large door, disguised as a brick wall, opened up, revealing a blinding light. The group walked though and the door slammed shut behind them.

Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, Casper was left to stare in awe at a large, high ceilinged room, with white walls covered in screens that had digital maps of Clascatava and much more cities covering them. A large spiral staircase rose out of the middle of the room, branching off in different directions, which led to thousands of shut doors higher up the building.

Hundreds of people were walking around, some watching the screens on the wall and others talking together in little clumps.

The groups bypassed all these people and made their way to the stair case.

"We should get a lift installed instead of climbing all these steps." Someone grumbled, as they began to ascend the stairs.

Three floors up from the ground floor, the group walked along one of the narrow strips the lad to on of the wall-doors. Casper had to wonder how he had gone unnoticed for so long.

Maybe they know that I followed them. He thought. They're probably bringing me to one of their execution rooms.

However, when the door opened, they entered into a completely normal kitchen.

"Dove, help me get water for everyone." One of the girls said, while everyone else sat around the large table.

"I can't feel my feet anymore." Clarence groaned, pulling off her shoes. "I'm going to get changed."

"Need help?" One of the boys asked cheekily.

"Not from you anyway, Seth." She grinned, walking through another door.

"Well, mission accomplished, I think. We got to Robert and the other group handled the rest of the generals. Not to mention we got our little package." The boy named Seth said.

"Don't call your wife a package, Seth." One of the girls said, handing out glasses to everyone. "Oh, did I miscount?"

She was standing in front of Casper holding a single glass in confusion. Suddenly, her face darkened. He held up his hands in defence

"Wait-"

"What are you doing here?! How did you get in?!" She shouted, throwing the glass to the floor and taking out a gun in seconds.

"What's going on in here? Foxy, what are you doing?" Clarence asked, coming back into the room in her pyjamas.

"He's one of them."

"Oh my God, Casper. How did you get here?" Clarence asked, pushing past the girl with a gun.

"I-I followed you out of the party. Please let me go and I won't say a word." Casper pleaded.

"Oh sure. We'll let you leave in a coffin, with a bullet through your head!"

"Shut up!" Clarence said, turning to the others. "We need to bring him to waters."

Casper paled. Did 'waters' mean drowning him?

"Let's save time and kill him now." One boy suggested.

"I second that." Gun girl said.

"No, Clary is right. We don't do that kind of thing anymore. Let's get him upstairs and see what happens." Seth said.

"Casper come on." Clarence said.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To someone who can help. Let's go."