Through the noises of people trying to get where they just had to be right at that second. No one noticed the young girl with purple hair, white t-shirt with a double 8, and baggy black pants making her way through the crowd. She pushed people and they returned the favor, everyone was different, but they all looked annoyed and frustrated in this crowd. Swiftly, the girl reached into the pocket of a coat of a grown man and grabbed his Pennlar Box only glancing back when she was a few steps ahead of him noticing how the man did not react. Shaking her head, she pocketed the flat money box ignoring the loud noises surrounding her. The girl made her way through the bustle of people to the bus station, standing on the elevator to go down to the trains. She caught a glimpse of the Middle Platform. The all-powerful Screema stood as a hologram proudly observing SC-16 and SC-17, two of her most trusted guards. The identical purple bots with gold masks covering their faces were whipping two poor men. Even though the girl had grown accustomed to the displays of power, it never failed to make her flinch at the echoing sounds.
People stood around the platform watching Screema with her one red eye and her goons torture two men. The girl noticed the Rising Band tattoo on one of the exposed men’s chests. The swirling lines made the girl’s mind swim. A crack whipped through the air, startling the girl out of her mind trip, she was surprised the glass elevator didn’t break around her as the crowd screamed loudly at the traitors. Words were thrown around carelessly as the crowd was just grateful that they were not the ones on the receiving end of Screema’s wrath. The girl got one last glance at the Platform, the eyes of the man with the tattoo met her own. They held each others eyes, green on brown until brick cut off all sight to the platform. The girl stepped off the elevator onto the station, trying to forget what she just saw.
The neon blue lights were flashing on the Echo Trains, some going underground but most staying on ground level. The flash of purple that covered her head was mesmerizing as she moved like a blur never staying in one place for long. She got onto a train and stood to hold one of the rods hanging from the ceiling. As people moved on and off, the girl would memorize their faces, she had long since learned that no one in this world was as they seemed.
As the train passed by, the lights made a show that the girl always loved to watch, green connected to white, blue connected to yellow, all on a sheet of black. The colors would always change and seemed to play a new image each time. And while they traveled, she could get glimpses of posters and billboards, all showing her face. The dictator of all the Ports, Screema. The girl couldn’t stop thinking about the men on the platform, the brown eyes that bored into her wouldn’t get out of her head. She woke up from her daze as the screeching halt broke the seeming peace, Far-North Port, the smallest, most dangerous part of Central Port. But it was also the best place to get a view of the Middle Port. She smiled as she climbed the bright, unnatural green hill, once she reached the top she stared at the city she lives in. The blue and green hues shone on the thousands of skyscrapers towers reflecting the water from below.
The North Port looked like emeralds in the nighttime sky, the West and East Ports looked like a wave of the blue sea as the building seemed to sway. The farther Ports, the small islands stood out with purple and blue hues. The Middle Port that seemed gigantic only minutes ago, was the busiest of them all, filled with people who always wanted to be something they were not and could never be. The constant loud noises and bright lights. The ports have been her world her entire life. And far off, the faint island just off the coast of Middle Port, was lies Heart Port, the fortress where Screema lives and breathes to make lives miserable. The girl thought about the red-eye that people have become to fear. She worried about her grandparents who were in Middle Port right next to the Heart. She shook her head and refused to get worried, they were adults, they could handle themselves.
The girl scoffed at the roar of the H-L Cars that laid just below her, she turned away from the tip of the hill and began walking home. Shoving her cold hands into her pockets, trudged through the mud and dirt of land she lives in. She passed by the lit houses of the night into her own, knowing her grandparents wouldn’t be home yet from their dinner with her great aunt down in Middle Port. She sighed and pulled out her Raider Phone and scanned the Pennlar Box that was safely stashed in her pocket. She maneuvered through the house she grew up in her bedroom at the top of the house. She sat down at her Hover Desk and placed the Box onto the Platform. She pulled up the records and scanned through the accounts with her eyes, the lights blurring in her iris’. After she read all them, she placed her own Pennlar Box on the Platform and transferred the money to hers. After she finished, she rolled her chair over to the second desk, put on safety goggles over her eyes. A crackle was the only thing heard as the girl burned the Box to leave no trace.
The familiar beep noise from her Raider Phone made her roll her way back over to her first desk. The opened the message and read it,
Where are you? We’re waiting for you. -K
The girl swore under her breath and removed the goggles, she moved to climb out of her window. She reached a fence around the Pipeline, a hole in the ground that leads down to the sewers. She got on the ground and rolled underneath it to the other side. She got up and dusted herself off, she then proceeded to lower herself down the hole and onto a pipe below. She continued her descent down the pipes until she reached the bottom, the bottom of the sewer had water running through it, she swung herself onto one of the side panels and went through a doorway that revealed a smaller room.
The sides of the room were dirty and stained a sickly green color. To anyone else, it would have smelled like the blood that covered the Platform in Middle Port. The blood dripped down and runs with the water that everybody drank from. And yet, the girl didn’t mind the copper aroma that filled her nose. She had been down there too much. She finally made it to the bottom and clapped her hands together, getting rid of some of the dirt that covered her fingers. She walked down the hallway, she walked with confidence, her eyes seemingly knowing where to turn. Left, right, right, left, left, passing different tubes, metal walkways above her, and a steady stream of water below her. The faint lines of red were flowing with the murky water. All the hallways looked the exact same, the girl stopped in front of a doorway that was made of concrete. She walked in and looked around the small room.
In the center of the room a boy and a girl stood talking while another younger boy sat on one of the pipes above the two on the floor.
The younger boy had a flop of black hair on top of his head, bright blue eyes that moved so quickly read what was on his computer screen, all that could be seen were two blurs. He wore a giant orange jacket with the hoodie covering the mess of hair he has, only his hair that covered his eyes could be seen. The other boy had short blonde hair that was spiked in all different directions. His eyes could not be seen and he could not see. The blind eyes of the adolescent were covered with goggles, he wore a black jacket that had silver spikes on the shoulder pads. He stood with arms crossed but one hand was holding a Radar Staff and seemingly was already aware of the girl’s appearance. The girl was completely different from the other two boys, her fiery red hair already gave people the impression that she was not someone to be messed with. But, yet her body that people could see were covered with Elec-Veins, black lines that separate parts of her body. Her eyes were purple but whoever stared into them would notice how the pupils would move electronically. She wore a green shawl that covered her shoulders and black shorts. The way she was tapping her foot, anybody could see she was annoyed but her face held worry. The purple-haired girl stepped out of the shadows with a smirk on her face,
“Miss me?” All heads turned towards the girl, relief was seen on the girls face as she rushed forward and hugged her friend,
“Told you she was fine.” The younger boy said without looking away from his computer screen, his fingers moving rapidly.
“Nobody asked you Mo.” She retorted as she glared at the boy even though he couldn’t see her.
“Where the Elec were you?” Demanded the girl as she released the shorter girl from her death grip.
“I’m fine Karasi, I was in Middle Port.” Replied the girl while rolling her eyes, the younger boys eyes turned at the sound of Middle Port but quickly left towards his screen again, the other boy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Really Lex? Middle Port?” He shook his head, making his hair swish from side to side bumping into his goggles when Lex shrugged like it was nothing.
“you could have been hurt, then who would explain to your grandparents what happened?” She paused catching herself from saying anything more, it was quiet for a nanosecond her mechanical eyes narrowed, “You didn’t steal anything did you?” Lex then avoided Karasi’s eyes and smiled sheepishly, a chuckle could be heard from Mo, a groan from Kain, and wide eyes from Karasi.
“You idiot!” Karasi exclaimed smacking Lex’s arm back and forth, her shawl fell off the side of her shoulder and hung off the side of her arm.
“Hey, quit it.” Lex swatted her hand away, “I’m fine, I got some extra bucks, no harm, no foul.” Karasi fixed her shawl covering her Elec-Veins and opened her mouth to scold her some more when a loud ding cut through the air. All the eyes turned towards Mo, who was now furiously typing on the hologram screen on his lap. He stuck out his tongue in confusion and concentration as Lex rushed to his side.
“What happened?” Inquired the girl
“I’ve never seen such a big blast in the Bottom Net,” Mo said, mainly to himself.
“Well, isolate the main fabric of the blast,” Lex said trying to reach over the youngers hands, but Mo quickly smacked her hand and kept talking. They continued arguing, Mo’s hands were moving just as fast as his mouth was. Karasi seemed about to break it up when suddenly a loud beep echoed throughout the sewer line. Both parties hushed and focused their attention on the screen instead of each other.
Their eyes moved in sync reading the screen, the blue lines rolled up making it seem like they were moving faster than they actually were. Karasi and Kain knew they were searching for something and waited until Lex’s hand moved so fast, they didn’t even see it, onto the space bar. Everything froze, it was so quiet, Kain could hear Karasi’s pupils contract to see the screen from where she was standing by Kain. A short gasp from Karasi’s lips made Kain curious about what was on the screen that the two hackers found underneath the Top Net, the wifi interspace that people go on. The Bottom Net yet was only used by Screema and anyone who could hack it. There, these kids could find any answers they wanted to know about this world dictator.
“What did you find? Anything on the Rising Band?” Kain inquired looking up at the ceiling, trying to listen. He raised his staff with one hand and brought it down on the ground. The soft vibrations radiating smoothly off his Radar into the ground. As the waves came back, a digital picture showed in his goggles. Lines formed shapes and he recognized the outline of the robot girl, the sarcastic hacker, and his little stepbrother at the laptop. The pipes were clear in this vision but he noticed something else, with his head pointed up, he saw two figures he has never seen before.
“Kain, you’ve got to listen to this.” But he didn’t hear Lex as he sent out another wave to get a better picture. It came back and he saw that there was a boy and a girl, the girl was completely blue, she wore a black helmet and suit, she carried a giant gun on her back that anyone could see. The man was different, he wore a grey long trench coat and Kain could faintly see a slight smirk etched on his face. Other then that, he carried a long sword in his hand, it looked like it would weigh a ton but he carried it with such ease, he made it look as light as a feather. They were climbing down the sewers to where they were. After a final wave was sent out, Kain could see they were talking, he focused on the mouths and read the lips of what they girl was saying,
“Signals strong down, I got a ping on the laptop, we get down there you know what to do.” A couple of the words were hard for Kain to make out but he got the gist of it. Her partner’s smirk only grew as he jumped onto another pipe,
“You get the laptop, I’ll care of children.” He didn’t seem like a person they wanted to mess with. He quickly realized what these people were, they were part of Screema’s robot army, though he didn’t know their SC names, he knew they meant trouble. They were probably sent to get Mo’s laptop. Kain was shocked but he knew that he had to warn his childhood friends.
“…Screema plans to use the weapon to get rid of the… are you even listening to me, Kain?” Lex’s voice cut through the pictures and the thoughts and he quickly moved to the laptop and shut the lid.
“Dude!” Groaned Mo at his step brother’s movements, he was shushed by Kain and he grabbed Karasi’s arm and motioned for the other two to follow, they began exiting their Pipeline with the laptop under his arm.
“What the elec is wrong with you Kain?” Demanded Karasi, as he led them down the sewer line heading towards the top.
“Some of Screema’s army is here looking for this laptop,” he motioned to the laptop as he spoke so softly, they had to lean in closer as he pushed himself up against the wall and slammed the Radar to the ground. The three were completely confused when Kain groaned and led them down a different hallway then before. Millions of questions in each of their minds but they knew better than to ask them right now. After another hit to the ground, Kain mumbled under his breath and turned towards the confused kids as he led them down underneath a railing.
“What the elec did you find to make them come at us?” The frustration was radiating off of him, nobody wanted to answer his question until Karasi spoke up.
“Screema has been building a new weapon called the Game Changer, supposedly it’s so powerful that it could destroy a single port with one shot. Screema wants to use it to fight the Rising Band but thousands of people will die along with them.” She summed up the information they had found on the Bottom Net.
They all froze as they heard a loud thud just above them, no one said a word as footsteps could be heard from the railing above. They didn’t make a sound, the footsteps were about to leave to the next rail when Mo shifted and knocked over a nail.
Clink.
With wide, scared eyes, they waited as the slow drawn out steps came towards them. The person spoke into a microphone with three words,
“I’ve got them.” Kain assumed the voice belonged to be the sword robot, they all held their breath, knowing that once he found them, they would be over with. Kain gave his Radar a silent little tap and saw that he had his sword raised in the air, about to stab it down on their heads. He grabbed Karasi’s hand out of instinct and squeezed it, she returned it and grabbed Lex’s hand who was glaring at the man even though they could not see each other. Karasi squeezed her best friends hand, Lex reached out to Mo, out of all them, they all wanted Mo to get out of this, the youngest of them all. He is the reason they all got together, he’s the reason they actually know each other.
The blow was just about to be brought down when a big explosion entered in the sewers. New people had entered the room, gunfire could be heard up above, shouts from the unsuspecting SC bot and the four just stood still. Karasi and Lex were straining to try to get a glimpse of the chaos above. Mo stood silently, with his eyes squeezed shut, wishing he was back in Kain’s and his small attic room. Even though the sword never came, he was still waiting for the effect of his mistake. He didn’t open his eyes until someone pulled him from underneath the rail. He opened his eyes above the edge of the rail to see, a robot with a giant sword, four adults with guns fighting the SC bot, and the four of them peeking over watching the fight unfold. There was one woman with the three men, Mo watched as the really old guy with a white mustache punches the SC in the face, then the girl shot a round of five bullets into his chest. The bullets had no effect on the robot, Mo’s eyes widen as the furious SC charged at the warriors with his sword held high. The four moved together almost as if they were a well-oiled machine even though they didn’t have any Elec-Veins on their bodies. The adults maneuvered through the attack, quickly recovering, the SC bot made a noise that sounded like an animal.
“You’re not taking these children.” The woman said, Mo watched as angered SC bot’s eyes turned into fire. None of the children had ever seen such chaos in one’s eyes, it was almost as if the bot was going to melt inside because he had such a fire inside of him.
“I do not fail, unlike you Core Four I am not old, and I never will be old. I will succeed.” But before the fire SC could attack again, one of the men reached into his belt and threw down a smoke bomb. The four children found themselves being lifted on different pairs of shoulders and off they went. The youngsters didn’t quite understand what was happening, all they knew was that the SC bot was not pleased. Screams and shouts could be heard from where before they were. Chills ran down their spines as a metal hit against metal. Obviously, the sword dweller was trying to cut down anything that was in his path so that he would not fail. But before the crazed SC was even close to them, they were out of the sewers.
Lauren Stangl Writing 