Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Hotzone

Half past six in the morning, Rain snuck out of Benjamin's couch-bed, washed her face and slipped on her clothes. She kissed Benjamin goodbye on the cheek but made sure not to wake him up. He'd have to wake up a few hours later and needed his sleep.

Rain grabbed her bag and took out the stunbolt, which she hid underneath her jacket. Before she entered through the door, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her hammering heart. She hoped the folks in the area would either be asleep or someplace else at this unruly hour. Her head peeked out the corner, turning left and right.

No one stood in the corridor.

Yesss.

Rain tiptoed along the floor and entered the staircase when she heard voices from below. Manly voices. She returned to the elevator with the stained blood and unknown substances. Ugly and smelly, but better than whoever lurked in the staircase. Rain closed her eyes, squeezed her nose and tapped the display.

The elevator ride took fifteen seconds but felt like five minutes.

On the lower floor, she pushed open the door to the hallway. Finally outside, where the morning wind brushed her face.

Rain only needed to traverse the courtyard before reaching the street where her partner would await her. To her far right, a few shady figures lurked around. Why in the world where they are up this early?

Maybe they had never gone to sleep in the first place.

Rain hesitated fumbled around her bag, pretending to look for her keys. She wanted to come across as a tenant who knew the area.

"What's up?"

Rain froze.

"Hey girl, talking to you."

Two guys approached her. Full-face coats wrapped around their heads.

"I'm late for work."

The guy gauged her top to bottom. "Where you workin' at?"

"Special Advisor."

"What's that?"

"I work for Crowd and help people in need."

Her sweaty fingers clutched the stunbolt underneath her jacket. Her thumb neared the touch-sensitive button. The two couldn't care less about her story. They eyed her body, especially the upper part.

"Nice jacket you got. Nano-fibered smart jacket, right?"

Rain swallowed. If he knew the jacket, he knew it was adaptable to any size, even his.

"Shiiit's expensive, like a thousand bucks online."

"It's a used one," Rain quickly said. "Bought it with a heavy discount."

The tall guy squinted his eyes. A faint blue shimmer flashed the iris.

Did he wear augmented reality lenses?

"Nanotech all-around jacket," he said.

Crap, he had scanned her.

"One thousand and four hundred bucks."

His smaller buddy whistled. "Why you lying' to us?"

"I really need to get to work."

If she opened her jacket and hand it over, they'd see the stunbolt. The thought of their reaction scared her even more.

The two neared her private space. One was at least a head taller, with the build of a steroid bull.

"C'mon babe, I—"