The kids in the Dark

Chapter 4- the same day

Sarion pulled me into his house and locked the door. His parents were both working, so there was nobody to force us back to school. He drags me to his room, pulling out a small flip phone that looked to be from 2012. He really was committed to the aesthetic. (Apparently that's what they said back then so that's what he says. I generally just go with it)
"Micah called me after I got my card" he informed me. Micah was Sarions older sister. She was tall and skinny like him and she wore her hair in long locs, adorned with gold cuffs and metallic thread.  She had left to college at 18, just like most kids do. She was destined for life as a plastic surgeon.
"Okaaaay....." I muttered. It wasn't uncommon for Micah to call Sarion. They had been very close before she turned 18, sometimes she even texted me to see how I was.
"She ran away." Sarion explains as my mouth drops. This is unheard of. People don't run away. They just.....don't. If you do, it's considered disobeying your card and you instantly get a bounty in your head. Nobody has tried it since 2021, the first year Samuel Loriman took over. Thousands of rebels died and nobody has disobeyed their card since then.
"She told me there's this group. They call themselves the Kids in The Dark, and they're all runaways. They don't let us know about it because they think more people will run if the know, but it exists. Micah told me that once I got my card, I could run if I wanted and stay with her. You can come too"
I sat down. This was a lot, to say the least. I can't just run away, can I? What would my parents do? What about school? What if I'm caught?
"I know what you're thinking." Says Sarion, shaking me out of my thoughts," but if we're old enough to have our entire futures decided for us, aren't we old enough to change them?"