I woke to Kate pushing my shoulder gently. "Todays the day!" she whispered, bouncing excitedly. I closed my eyes and smiled, propping myself up and admiring Kate's crazy bed head.
"It IS," I said eagerly, running a hand through her hair. "Let's go," I smiled, seeing her blush. We rolled out of bed and began to get ready. Soft streams of light pored past the blinds, highlighting the specs of dust dancing through the air. I couldn't help smiling as I looked over my shoulder and saw her looking gleefully out of our quaint little shack. I slipped on my jacket and laced up my boots. "Are you ready?" I asked. I fluffed my short hair, pushing it to the side of my face. The light bounced off it, making my hair look silver.
"Ooooh man, I was BORN ready for this!" she said, pulling her hat low on her head. She tossed me my goggles and planted a kiss on my head. "Let's get going." We jumped in the car and sped off.
We made our way from the outskirts of the city; the slums that were our home. We passed by shacks very much like our own but had long since been abandoned. Ever since 'Better' Living Industries' had taken control, life in Battery city had become… different. The blasts destroyed everything, and launched the society into anarchy. Everything was going to shit until suddenly this million dollar company comes in and has this cure… a 'better way to live'. It was bullshit. They killed people, they changed them. I felt anger start to boil up inside of me because of the pain they caused. They forced Kate into a life like this, took away her family, she didn't deserve it. I just want her to be safe, which was why I was worried about today. Kate must have sensed my unease because she put her hand on top of mine.
She looked over at me, smiling softly. "Thank you for doing this, Zoe." She whispered.
I smiled softly, "of course," I said lacing our fingers. She smiled and flicked on the car radio. Music blasted through the speakers and I felt my nerves slip away. I laughed as Kate began to belt out the lyric of static-y song that was playing. I joined in and we sped through the city.
It didn't take long to reach our destination. We drove by the large crowd of colourful people and parked. Kate was practically vibrating with excitement before the car even stopped. We got out just as two figures walked onto the stage. "WE," the one man shouted, "ARE THE PILOTS OF THE REVOLUTION!" The other man hammered large drums as the crowd burst out cheering. Kate and I joined the ravenous crowd, yelling and dancing with the rest. The men on stage wore dark balaclavas that covered their entire face. They let the crowd quiet before they spoke again. "YOU ARE HERE FOR A REASON. NOT FOR GOD, NOT FOR A HIGHER CAUSE, BUT BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE. BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN WHAT IS RIGHT, YOU BELIEVE, IN FREEDOM!" The people cheered again, the drums resonating through the crowd. I turned to Kate, excitement and joy coursing through my body. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, both fists high in the air and face lit with exhilaration. "BETTER LIVING INDUSTRIES MUST COME TO AN END!" The man shouted. "WILL YOU JOIN US? FIGHT THE BULLETPROOF AND BLACK? FIGHT FOR YOURSELF AND ONES YOU LOVE!" I felt power sure through me at his words. I turned to look at Kate and blinked in surprise as she threw her arms around me and pulled me into a kiss. The world seemed to dissolve around us, my head spun with delight. The electricity in her touch drove me crazy.
We were interrupted by blaring sirens and sudden quiet from the crowd. I pulled away, immediately on guard. I kept my hand around Kate's waist as we looked around to see what was happening. "Fuuuck," I whispered, dread building in my stomach. As the sirens got louder I recognized the sound, it was the Draculoids. "Kate, we have to get out of here," I urged, tugging at her arm.
"Wait," she said, pointing at the stage. Horror washed over her face as Draculoids filed up onto the platform. The Pilots of the resistance stood back to back facing the oncoming threat. I spun around as I heard the screeching of tires and froze as dozens of BLI vans and trucks surrounded the large crowd. "They're gonna kill them!" she cried. Screams started to echo through the crowd as the Draculoids emerged from their vehicles, guns and phasors in hand. On stage the two men lashed out, the one picking up the mic and shouting: "POWER TO THE LOCAL DREAMER!"
That's when the shots began and mass chaos erupted. One of the pilots lay face down on the stage while the other was dragged away kicking and screaming. I reached for Kate, my hand grasping thin air. I felt my heart plummet and fear fired through me. "KATE!" I screamed.
"ZOE!" I heard her strangled cry from a distance. The crowd had turned volatile, pushing and shoving in a mad dash to get away from the Draculoids that had started to advance.
"KATE!" I yelled once again. I tore my way through the crowd of screaming people, not caring about anyone else. "NO!" I screamed. The shots flew everywhere, people dropped like flies, left and right. Terror filled me as I saw the Draculoids beginning to take people, hauling them away and throwing them into their trucks. Blinding pain scorched through me and I fell, hitting the ground hard. I screamed as I tried to push myself up. One of phasors must have caught me because the pain in my shoulder was unbearable. I bit my lip hard as black spots danced in my vision.
"ZOE!" she yelled as I saw her fighting her way over to me. I tried to stand, sluggishly making it back onto my feet. "BEHIND YOU!" she yelled, just in time. I turned around to see a Draculoid towering in front of me. My mind froze but luckily my body didn't. I lunged for the launcher in the thing's hand and moved out of the way. A shot fired off into space but the Draculoid regained control quickly. I tried to doge again but it couldn't move fast enough. It caught my arm, throwing me to the ground and pinning both hands behind my back. I struggled with all the power I had left but the entire weight of the Draculoid immobilised me. I felt cord zip tight around my wrists. "NO, ZOE!" I heard Kate scream. I looked up through my dimming vision and saw her running towards me; I also saw the Draculoid looming above her. My breath was knocked out of me as I was hauled backwards and dragged towards one of the BLI vans. A bag was thrown over my head and I was launched into the back of the truck. I landed heavily, not able to break my fall. The other poor bastards that had gotten caught were piled in also. The pain in my shoulder radiated through my entire body my vision began to fade and then go black as I felt the truck pull speed off.