Rebel

Chapter 6

Maddy gripped the leather handle of the knife tightly, watching two soldiers march together below her. Maybe if I follow them, I'll find Leo, she thought, narrowing her eyes to look closely at the soldiers. Their red and navy blue uniforms stood out amongst the crowd around them, two bright warning signs in a sea of anxious faces. The pair seemed to not care that they were being followed, they chatted and laughed loudly, and Maddy eyed the guns at their belts. After all her training with Alesha, even though it had only been a little more than a week, had stuck with her.

Maddy jumped from roof to roof alongside the soldiers, her stomach clenching every time she sailed through the air. She pulled up her hood, refusing to be identified by the public. The soldiers took a right, and the crowd around them thinned, until they went loitering into an empty alleyway. One of the soldiers took off one of the gloves on his hands, and pressed this thumb up against what looked to be a rusted pane of glass. There was a buzz, then a click, and a green light flashed across its surface. Maddy's jaw dropped. A crack in the bricks appeared, slowly peeling apart until there was a wide opening where the wall had been. Maddy waited for the first guard to go through, and Just as the second was about to do the same, Maddy leapt through the air, landing squarely on a pile of junk with a thump. The soldier turned around, but before he could object, Maddy threw one of her knives, a quick flash of spinning silver, going straight through the fabric of his uniform.

The boy screamed in anguish, but Maddy just rolled her eyes. The knife had only grazed his shoulder, and it was pinning him to the wall behind him. "L-let me go!" He ordered, "You will be punished for this!" Maddy laughed hoarsely, watching as the brick doorway closed.

"Oh please. By the time you've escaped, I'll be out of here." The soldier's cold eyes bored into her, but Maddy could sense that he wasn't as bad as he appeared to be. He was latino, with deep, dark blue eyes and a few freckles sprayed across his cheeks.

"Whatever you're looking for, you won't find it here," The soldier continued, looking down at the ground. Maddy took a step towards him, spinning her other knife skillfully in her fingers.

"I am looking for a boy named Leo. He was taken yesterday, by some of your friends." The soldier rolled his eyes, but avoided Maddy's keen gaze. "Please, help me. We can go the easy way or the hard way." Maddy took a couple more steps in his direction, stopped spinning her knife, and pointed it towards him. He cringed away from it, as if it was a bomb about to explode.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about. I was forced to join, I don't actually want to hurt anyone." He stammered, slowly holding up his hands in surrender. So he isn't as bad as he seems. Maddy realized. He took a gun out of his pocket and threw in to the ground, where is snapped into pieces at Maddy's feet.

"Then help me. You don't understand..." Suddenly, Maddy was in tears, and her vision clouded. The boy looked up at her pityingly.

"It will be against orders, but I can help you. What do you want me to do?"

Ϫ

Maddy crouched on the top of the roof, her legs starting to cramp. What is taking him so long? She wondered. Even though she didn't trust the soldier one bit, he had promised to get her a uniform and lead her to the prison cells. There was also something behind his cold stare... something kind and gentle. A few minutes passed until he finally joined her on the rooftop, gasping for breath as he collapsed at her feet.

"Jeez, I thought you soldiers had training." Maddy commented, offering a reluctant hand. He took it gratefully, shoving the red and blue uniform into her arms.

"We train to sprint, fight and march, but never to climb." He retorted, pushing his thick, dark hair back and standing up straight.

"You never told me your name." Maddy noted.