Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Inferno

Rain neared the room but failed to see any fire extinguishers, which wasn't surprised that Red Blockers failed to adhere to public fire regulations.

Rain spun around and spotted a masked guy with a canister in his hand, a zippo in his other.

The guy faced her. "Whatcha looking at?"

"I just saw fire."

"Shuddup. You didn't see anything," the pyro said.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that."

The masked Blocker snarled, shot from his position, and lunged toward her. Rain evaded the incoming punch, used his forward momentum to grab his arm then twist it around, and unleashed the stunbolt again. "Do you wanna get shocked?"

With no reply, Rain twisted his wrist. The masked guy shouted like a little boy. "Let me go."

Rain squeezed two seconds before releasing his arm. She wielded her stunbolt with her other hand. "You try one move, punk, and I'll send ten thousand volts up your ass."

The man ran away but almost stumbled over his legs. He must have been scared to death. Rain almost felt sorry for him even though the thug had tried to hit her. She was even bewildered by her own response, sounding like her father. Rain was one second away from telling the Red Blocker to go get a job and stop blaming everyone else. Her heart hammered from the confrontation, and then she remembered the fire.

It had spread through the neighboring room. The flames licked at the floor.

I have to get out of here.

Rain had nothing to protect her from the smoke. She hurried to the staircase and ignored the other Blockers running up and down. Some of them gawked at her and froze in confusion.

"Fire," she said and pointed up the top floor. "The whole floor's burning."

Not yet, but she needed to lie to avoid another brawl.

Thanks to fate, the first bellows of smoke reached the top stairs and verified her words. The Red Blockers ran down the stairs like mad men.

Rain kept her fingers clutched around the stunbolt and sprinted down the stairs to the ground floor where dozens of Red Blockers buzzed around.

One guy bumped into Rain from behind. She spun around, ready to slam the bolt into a masked face.

"Watch out."

Sasha grabbed her stick-holding arm. "I know we have our issues, but violence is not the solution."

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I told you. I was outside calling the cruiser."

"I tried to call you."

"The police are now blocking internet outside, too."

She had never heard about it before. "Can they do that? I mean, legally?"

"Yellow alert, Rain. Civil liberties are temporarily restricted."

With Sasha around, she felt safer, even though they were still in the danger zone. He ushered her into an empty side room to avoid the chaos on the floor.

"We should hide somewhere and wait until the curfew's over."

Rain liked his idea, but there was a tiny problem.

"There's a fire upstairs."

"What?"

Rain wanted to tell him about the guy igniting it, but realized they had to get to safety first.

"It's dangerous outside," Sasha said. "Anti-riot troops are marching down the street with their shields and smoke guns."

They had to choose between staying inside and risk being burned alive, and going outside to risk the skirmish between rioters and police.

"Where's the cruiser?"

"Last time I was able to check its geo-tag, it parked two blocks away from here."

"Do you know its exact location?"

"More or less."

Sasha rushed toward the barricaded windows and peeked through the slits. "Shit. Fights are getting serious."

"Do you think the protestors blew up our cruiser?"

"It's armored like a police unit. I highly doubt they could damage it." He paused. "The real problem is getting to the cruiser."

Rain joined his side and glanced through the slits. The rioters clashed with the police outside. Smoke bombs exploded and filled the street. Only a madman would be foolish enough to walk through that.

Otherwise...

Rain returned to the corridor.

"Rain?"

Smoke seeped above the Red Blockers' heads. It either came from outside or billowed from the top floor.

Rain swallowed. "It's better getting beaten than burned alive."

Sasha grabbed his PEPS pistol with his left and his stunbolt with his right. "I know you don't believe in violence."

"Too late for that. I just shocked two Blockers."

His right eyebrows arched. "You did?"

"I show you the takedowns later. Let's hurry."

Armed with their high-tech devices, the two ventured through the chaotic hallway and prepared to hit the street.

***Author's Note***

Thanks for taking the time to read the ongoing showdown. I'd love your feedback, so feel free to comment. If you like the chapter, you can vote for it by clicking the star below. You can also add "Crowd" to your library if you like to continue the journey which will be updated 4 times a week.