Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

I predict a riot

The Crowd feed pulsated with breaking news. The drone footage surveilled the houses of lower Esperanza. Hundreds of people on the streets, causing a ruckus. Masked groups running around the block, setting dumpsters on fire. They trashed windows and kicked over trash cans. Most wore monster masks to avoid face-tracking software identifying them.

More than a protest, not yet a riot.

Was this escalation a reaction from the Red Blocker getting shot during the police raid?

Rain cringed.

She called Benjamin but he failed to pick up. He didn't use AR lenses which meant he wasn't available twenty-four seven.

Rain ran outside. "Have you heard what's going on in Santa Kahlo?"

"City's on fire," Lincoln said.

"Isn't it always?" Dad said. "Hope Metro's handling it."

Mother summoned her sweetest voice. "Come sit down. It's time for a little dessert."

Strudel cake, Rain's favorite.

She applied her butt to the chair but failed to suppress the tension tearing through her limbs. To her right, Sanchez and Lizzie ate the desert with forced silence. The air between sparked enough to power up a Fleet car.

"There's nothing you can do about it," Mom said. "Let the police handle it."

"The hotzone is in Esperanza where my boyfriend lives."

"Sucks to be him right now," Lincoln said.

"You aren't helping."

"Are you?"

"Quit the yapping, you two," father said. "Your mother's right. Let the police handle it. You're safe with us."

Maybe, but what about Benjamin? Rain prayed he would stay at home and watch the riot from his windows. But the uncertainty knotted her stomach.

"How's the ice-cream?" her mother asked.

Rain had decimated the desert without paying any attention to it. She put the live news stream on her augmented vision and turned it half-transparent. Armed police cars swarmed into the area, releasing officers. She couldn't see what was going on Benjamin's block, probably because it didn't have any surveillance cameras.

"I have to go."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to know if Benjamin is alright."

"Call him."

"He doesn't pick up. There's no message, no comment. Maybe something happened to him."

She hugged her mother and kissed her father goodbye. "I'll return tomorrow if everything's fine."

Her father pushed himself up with a concerned look on his face. "Show me those feeds."

"Can't. You don't wear smart lenses, remember?"

"Isn't there another way to see what's going on?"

Rain thought about synching her information with the wall-screen in the living room but feared freaking out her father.

She tried to downplay the issue. "I will be alright, Dad, I know the city."

His face darkened. "I don't want you to go into hotzone with those thugs running around, setting things on fire and beating people up."

Rain hated what she was about to do next. "Dad, I can defend myself."

She pulled out the high-tech stunbolt Sasha had given her and activated its grip. The shaft extracted with a buzz. "When someone gets too close, I'll stun him."

Father's eyes doubled in size as his mouth O-shaped. "Where did you get that from?"

"My office. Standard equipment."

"Looks like those do-gooders have some sense left."

His shoulders relaxed, his voice softened. Rain knew the weapon would calm him down.

Her dad said, "Still be careful. Call us, okay?"

"Big promise."

She waved Lizzie and Sanchez goodbye, but the two were too invested in their passive-aggressive silence. Did Lizzie found out about the one-night stand at the office? Rain would call Sanchez in a few days and find out. She hailed an express ride and stormed toward the Superloop platform. Paid premium again to get an immediate capsule to San Kahlo and spent the trip worrying about Benjamin. Even though she had set up a call-return, she manually hailed him in vain.

Benjamin, what are you doing?

Still no response.

Rain watched the newsfeed reporting about the riot. The camera drone flew through the street and shot extreme close-ups of the protestors, throwing stuff at windows and shouting muffled insults. She recognized the area from the last time Sasha drove her.

All the way back in Santa Kahlo, she took a Fleet auto-cab and told the AI to hurry up.

"Esperanza is a yellow alert zone."

"I don't care. Take me there."

"I strongly advice against that. Metro police is dealing with the issue. It is recommended to stay away from the district for at least twenty-four hours."

"Whatever happened to the customer is king?"

"King is a male-gender term we don't use to refer to our customers."

Rain clutched her fists. "You know what I mean."

"If you insist on getting to Esperanza, you will be charged with a thirty percent danger bonus."

"Fine."

With her discount rate of about fifteen percent, she would only have to pay a surcharge of fifteen. The auto-cab resumed its path. The closer they drove to Esperanza, the fewer vehicles they passed by. Rain shivered but the worry over Benjamin prevailed. She still had her stunbolt, courtesy of Sasha, so when her ride entered the hotzone, she was prepared to deal with whoever was coming her way.

She checked the ride with her mini-map. "That's not the route."

"We have to take a different path for security reasons. The police have blocked the following streets."

The AI listed a couple of street blockades.

Rain couldn't argue with that. It was already dangerous enough to ride through the district. The least she could do was avoiding the clash zones.

Still no response from Benjamin.

Rain arrived at the other side of the living block. She stormed out the ride before the AI warned her once again about the impending danger. Rain ignored the hooded guys to the far left and stormed through the corridor. Opened the door with Benjamin's access codes and took the elevator where the blood stains and brown-greenish substance still smeared the walls. Why wasn't anyone in the house cleaning up this mess? It cost little effort to just bring a bucket and a sponge to get rid of this disgusting substance.

Rain reached the third floor and ran toward Benjamin's apartment. She hammered on the door and shouted Benjamin's name.

No answer.

Rain glared into the corridor and worried about her next step.

Wait?

Call the police? They were too busy dealing with the protestors. Besides, what was her case? A grownup man that didn't respond to her messages?

Rain forced herself to stay calm.

She waited for five minutes.

Ten.

Almost fifteen, before she ran down the stairs, back to the entrance.

Adrenaline and panic boiled her blood. She clutched the stunbolt in case someone tried to hurt her. Her eyes scouted the area when a figure crossed a corner. Carrying a grocery bag and an innocent baby look on his face.

Benjamin freaking Fredheim.

He almost dropped his bags when he spotted her.

"Rain?"