Soundless

Chapter 1

She was running. Her boots were hitting the pavement hard, lungs crying, and her heart was trying not to burst. She twisted her head to look over her shoulder and almost doubled her pace when she noticed how quickly they had gained on her. Tears started streaming down her face as she pushed herself to get to the only safe place she knew. She noticed a familiar building in the maze of streets. She looked for the sign and ran down the cluttered alleyway. She reached the end and crouched down, knocking 3 times on an off-colored brick. A small entrance quickly cleared and she slid in just as the sound of heavy boots made there echo in the alley. Once inside, she took deep, ragged breaths and knocked 3 times again, but only this time in a pattern. Center-Up-Left. An opening was made and a bright light lit up small space. Squinting, she noticed a hand reach in and grabbed her collared shirt. Yanking her up, a tall figure examined her bloody lip and broken nose.

"They didn't catch you in there? You didn't leave a trail right?" Were the only words that left Maxwell's mouth.

"Of course not. Plus I even had time to get info on your tech stuff," She said. Maxwell's face lit up as she pulled a small bag out of her pocket. The bag held 2 small SD cards and a a few rounds of unfired ammunition.

"You're a genius," he said as he plucked the bag from her hand. Maxwell examined the ammunition, and began taking one apart.

"This is new, stronger. Where are they getting the materials for this?" He said, examining the powder and the bullets.

He walked over to his computer and started the old fashioned hand crank. He turned and turned trying to get the amount of energy needed to start up the generator for his computers. When one of the many screens came to life he motioned the girl over and had her start cranking it. He put the first SD card in and uploaded the new data to his computer and read through the information on the screens.

"This is pure gold," he mumbled while going through the seemingly endless files that began to flood the screen. The girl shook her head while cranking.

"Thas great. Now will you please fix me up. My nose is killing me," Maxwell powered down the computer then turned to face her and examined her injuries. She stoped cranking the machine and stood still. He put one hand on the back of her head and put his index finger and thumb against her nose. He counted to 3 then quickly pushed her nose back into place, the crack and instant blood flow making her feel sick.

"All better. Put some ice on it for a few then take it off. You know, the usuall." Maxwell turned around and turned on one of the few security cameras that actually worked. "Those stupid guys are still outside. I thought that you got rid of them?"

"I didn't leave a trail, but they followed me to the end of the ally. Do you want me to take care of them?" She said, getting ready for another fight.

"No. That'll only make more noise. They'll get what's coming to them."