Terranovus

Chapter II - The Chase

The thing with Jack was that he liked to be spontaneous with a hint of recklessness. One time he accidentally kicked his favourite soccer ball down the drain and instead of cutting his losses and being normal, he decided to break into the sewage system of district 6th of Sector F18 to retrieve it. Did he retrieve the ball? Definitely not. Did he instead become infected with a virus that almost killed him? Yes, he did. 

So when we strolled through the markets and Simon jokingly dared Jack to shoot a Toff with his new gun, it didn't really come as a surprise that Jack thought it was a brilliant idea.

"Jack! Are you crazy? I was joking!" hissed Simon. Jack grinned and his eyes were wide with delight.

"Come on! It'll be fun!" insisted Jack. We all groaned and rolled our eyes. Oh yeah, and Jack was as persistent and stubborn as the devil himself. Why we were friends with him, I did not know.

"You could get arrested," stated Tommy. I nodded, agreeing.

"You'll be sent to jail, perhaps even executed," I added. Jack laughed.

"Executed? I ain't killing a Toff, just shooting 'em with a tiny weeny metal stud," he retorted.

"Nah," I said, "I saw it in the news last week. A drunk guy punched a Toff and he was executed. Jail isn't a thing anymore. They're a waste of space." 

Jack paused, for perhaps a millisecond, then shook his head and grinned, "pfft! Except I won't be caught."

We all groaned again and watched Jack skip away in search for a Toff. Tommy shook his head.

"He's mental," he said.

"We should follow him," stated Simon. 

"Are you crazy?" I said. "I don't want to be arrested." Nonetheless, I followed them down the markets and groaned as I saw Jack kneeling behind a rack of clothes and eyeing a Toff patrolling the street perhaps six metres away.

"Oh, not Old Nick!" groaned Simon. I peered through the crowd and cursed, it was Old Nick indeed. Old Nick was one of the oldest Toffs on the street. Made a Junior Army Cadet when he was eighteen, Old Nick had failed to move up the ranks any further.  The reason why was rumoured it was because he had repeatedly failed the fitness test  ... and that was believable. Weighing in at over 400 pounds, Old Nick's uniform was custom made to fit his large figure. Of course with his salary package, he could afford to buy the luxuries sweets and savoury food, which is why patrolling the markets was his favourite and preferred shift.

"Just look at him," said Tommy, his facial expression showing utter disgust. "Does he ever stop eating?" Currently, Old Nick was gorging himself on a chocolate pastry of some sort. I glanced around the market and saw a few hungry eyes watching Old Nick with envy. Obesity was a sign of wealth, of an ugly wealth. My dad was on the same salary as Old Nick but Mum only kept what we really needed and gave all the rest away every month.

"Jack!" I hissed quietly across the street. Jack turned and grinned. He gestured at Old Nick with his head then winked at us as he pulled his shotgun out of his pocket and begun to aim.

"He's out of his nut!" exclaimed Simon.

"Let's get out of here before he causes trouble," warned Tommy. I nodded agreeing and went to take a step back just as Jack pressed the trigger and fired. The round bullet flew through the air and made direct contact with Old Nick's could-not-miss buttocks the size of a small elephant. Old Nick roared with fury and spun round clutching his behind. He accidentally dropped his pastry in rage and shrieked when he trotted on it. He spun around, his eyes alive with anger and Jack quickly ducked out of sight. Sensing danger, I took another step back when-