REBEL CLOTHES ✓

LEAVE THE CITY

Josh sat against the brick wall of the renovated Eastern Tower, waiting for death to claim him.

A fire burned and flickered at the center of the bricked room he was trapped in. He was too weak to use his abilities to keep it alive, so he tended it to whatever dry grass or wood he could reach or whatever was inside the tower.

Nico was evil, much more evil than any other Bishop Josh had ever encountered. He didn't even need Josh to be a new Bishop. He just wanted him dead so he was the last Fire Breathing Sleeper.

His life force was tied to the fire by Keons, so if the fire died, he would too. And now the fire was less than a foot tall.

Eventually, the fire would go out, and Josh's body would return to the dirt it came to. In the meantime, all he could do and wait.

Scabs and blisters from the fire covered his hands, the pink flesh harshly bright against the rest of his tan skin. Josh used a metal stick to poke the fire around, trying to stir some more life into it.

"In time, I will leave the city," he sang softly, sleep getting to him. Spooks once told Josh that he would end up being the one needing to be rescued, even though it was usually the other way around.

"For now, I will stay alive."

He could hear someone singing along with him, but it didn't sound like it came from anywhere near him. It was inside his head, coaxing him to sleep. A small smile tugged at his lips.

"Tyler, I can hear you," Josh hummed along.

Tyler appeared a foot in front of him, sitting cross legged. "I was hoping you would." Ever since he was captured, Tyler visited him every night. They talked about plans of escape, how the promised land was, Clancy and Spooks' funerals.

Apparently, Spooks had driven himself mad and, during one of the attacks on the Southern Tower, he threw himself and one of the Bishops off of the tower's roof. Neither of them survived.

Tyler was leaner and more muscular than before, the black stain left by Keons on his hands and neck faded to a light gray. "How are you?"

"Tired. Weak. The fire's dying, and there's nothing left to feed it. I can't even remember the last time I'd eaten or drunken anything."

Tyler frowned. "It's been three days since you've eaten. I've been counting."

"That's reassuring."

"Don't worry, my love. I'll be seeing you soon."

"You say that every time you visit," Josh mumbled.

Tyler leaned over and grabbed Josh's healing hand, squeezing it gently. "This is a lot sooner than you would think. I haven't seen you in months, Josh. I wouldn't lie to you when we're so close to getting you and the others out."

"How close?"

He smiled. "East is up, right?"

Josh opened his eyes, a freshly picked dandelion flower in his right hand, the hand Tyler held. Sirens rang through the air, red lights flashing through the single barred window in his room. Slowly, he stood, limping to see plumbs of smoke escaping a cave hidden by a section of the walls. He smiled.

There were veins of hidden tunnels that ran from the caves in Trench's ravine to a hidden grove that sat behind the Eastern Tower. That was how the Banditos got in and out of Dema for years. None of the Bishops, not even Nico, had ever been able to find it. No matter how much they torture Josh, he'd never tell them.

Even though he was far away from the place he called his home, Josh would never be alone. He had a family in Trench. That was something the Bishops would never be able to take away.

Josh gripped the bars of the window, seeing figures shrouded in shadows break through the vines, flaming torches in hand. Pride swelled in him as he recognized the yellow shoulder tape of Tyler and the bright bandanas of Jenna and Rose.

He snatched the last intact wooden stick from the fire and wedged it and his hand in between the bars, holding the makeshift torch for the Banditos to find him. A sharp pain shot through him, making him drop the torch out of the window and fall to his knees, groaning.

The fire was almost out.

His hand was stuck in between the bars, so Josh forced himself back to his feet and pulled his hand out of the window. He stumbled back with the force of his pull, hitting the metal door that kept him away from the rest of the world. The door banged back, with shouting coming from behind him.

Josh forgot about his bruised wrist, stumbling back to the fire. He grabbed the metal poker off the ground and pointed it towards the door.

"S-stop!" He shouted. "I've got a stick?" The last threat wasn't meant to sound like a question, but he was so fatigued and scared that his body was barely functioning enough to keep him on his feet.

The door swung open, and Josh dropped the poker in surprise. The metal stick clanged against the bricks, echoing. He laughed in disbelief, watching the one person grow to two, then three, then a dozen. Tears were already streaming, he couldn't believe that he was there.

"Took you long enough."

{REBEL CLOTHES FINISHED: 14th NOVEMBER, 2018}