Raven hadn't gone out of her way to avoid Jay the day she was to leave; their paths had never even seemed to cross. It was for the better- she was sure she would have been sick if she'd laid eyes on him one more time. Still, she could not put the emotions and feelings towards him together in her head. It was a mixture of fear, anger, annoyance and … love? The love was strange. It didn't sit in her stomach well- it felt like the kind of love that would betray another. He'd gone from a personal mentor and friend to a sickening voice in her ear, torturing her with thoughts of memories she'd never experienced.
There was a convoy of about 3 black trucks which would be following each other to the new sector. Raven entered the first one with her single brown, canvas bag. It was pretty spacious in the back of that truck, though the ceiling was a little low and caused Raven to have to duck. She made her way to one of the two black, leather benches, picking the one on the opposite side of the two other Techno's being transported. They both seemed to know each other and were chatting until Raven placed her bag in the overhead bag rack and sat down. It was quiet for a while, and Raven knew without looking up that the two girls were looking her up and down, judging her by her appearance. She'd never had such an awkward experience before.
A Techno whom Raven hadn't seen much while she'd been training came to the open door of the truck. From what she could recall, his name was Mega, and he mostly stayed with all of the computers. "Your truck number is 5753. When you get to the sector, this is the number you will tell the leader of the sector. The trip will take you around an hour, so make yourselves comfortable. Remember this: The base of power is fear. With fear, you can accomplish anything." He gave them a small, devious smile before he tapped the side of the truck and shut the door.
Raven could feel the rumble of the engine and the relaxing pull of the truck moving forward. "You're that girl Jay had eyes for." The comment took Raven from surprise. It was from one of the girls, she couldn't catch who exactly it was from. It seemed rude and uncalled for, but it was true all the same. He did have eyes for her, but the thought made Raven want to be sick.
"I have a name." She responded. "It's Raven."
"My rude friend is named Gwen. I'm Jane." The younger of the two girls said in an apologetic tone. Raven found this girl to be quite familiar... but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. It was the shape of her face- just on the cusps of being a young woman, but still very childlike. Her lips were perfectly pouted and beautiful in every way. There was a small glimmer in her eyes. Her hair was a light brown, the bangs on her head bleach blond and curled unevenly.
A bump in the road caused them all to jump in their seats. The awkwardness of everything hung in the air like a fog. Raven began to listen to the rhythmic hum of the engine coming from the front of the truck, trying to tune out her thoughts. Jane and Gwen began picking up their conversation in a slightly hushed tone. The chatter annoyed Raven, so she closed her eyes and enjoyed the black which was behind her lids. Slowly, the talking died down and she could feel sleep tugging at her from all angles.
"Where did you come from? Like, before the Technos..."
Raven opened her eyes, sighing. She couldn't remember anything before the white walls and the voice. In response, she just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." Gwen and Jane eyed her suspiciously. Again, the awkwardness filled the back of that truck. A small amount of anger rose in her chest. It was as though these girls were expecting her to give them an answer. "Jay told me I was brainwashed by some tribe. I don't remember anything before that."
They both just nodded, Gwen's face still contorted in a weird look. Jane's was a little more solemn. "I had originally been with the Loco's until Zoot died... stayed with the Chosen, and now I'm with the Technos." Gwen told Raven as if it was no big deal. Jay had told Raven of these tribes, and he'd also explained how each had fallen. He then drilled her on ways they could have succeeded. "It's the best thing I could have done. Technos will go far- further than any tribe could have in history." She was twirling one of her thick, black dreadlocks around her index finger. This habit bothered Raven, maybe because the girl's hairstyle reminded her of a birds nest.
Jane rolled her eyes, which caught Raven's attention. "What about you?" She asked the girl, curiously.
"It's almost the same story as you... though instead of not remembering at all, I just remember bits and pieces." Jane told her. "Like... I remember being in the mines, my feet bleeding because of all the work I was doing; My best friend's face... I don't know her name, or what tribe we belonged to. I was probably brainwashed like you." She seemed so sad. Obviously she was younger than Raven, and it caused her some greif to know that this girl couldn't remember her childhood. "I'm glad the Technos found me. I now have a home, and things are getting brighter." Jane smiled, but there was so much sadness behind it. It wasn't convincing.
The truck stopped short. There was a look of confusion on everybody's face as the door slid open and two young men walked inside. Raven had her gaze to the ground as she felt one body sit next to her and saw the feet of the other sit over by Jane and Gwen. The door slid back shut and the engine revved on. Slowly, her eyes moved up to the person next to her. He had a shaved head and deep set green eyes. He looked so pale and thin... almost sickly. They made eye contact and he smiled at her- one of his front teeth was silver. Raven cringed. "What's your name, lovely?" He asked in a sickly smooth voice. Raven's glance went back to the ground.
"She's Raven. This is Jane, and I'm Gwen." Gwen's obnoxious voice piped up. It was a little bit obvious that she fancied this boy, which was fine with Raven. "What are your names?"
"I'm Russ and that loser over there is Alec." Russ nodded in the direction of the silent boy.
Raven looked over at him, a chill running through her spine. The same feeling she'd felt with Jane began to stir up within her, but they were stronger, almost burning with the intensity of an explosion. Those brown eyes; that long, brown hair; the chiseled jawline; the boyish face. She almost gasped at how strong this feeling was, as if it were taking a hold of her lungs and completely deflating them. Why could she remember his face? She'd never met him before. The name didn't even remotely sound familiar to her. Alec was just so beautiful it was reducing her stomach to knots.
She'd been so in her head that she didn't realize everybody staring at her hungry eyes. She glanced around the truck, then coughed nervously and lowered her gaze back to the floor.
"So, where are you two lads from?" Gwen asked.
"I'm from Sector 2 originally, but Alec is from around Sector 7." Russ told them. With her glance still at the ground, Raven could see Russ's hand getting closer and closer to her leg. He was already sitting too close to her... she could smell his dirty, sweaty figure edging closer to her still. She tried ignoring it, but the fact that he was coming closer bothered her. He placed his hand on her knee.
"Get off." Raven muttered, swiping his hand off of her as though he were a bug.
"No need for the snap." Russ put his hands up in surrender, but Raven knew he'd be at it again in a second.
"I apologize for my rude friend." Gwen glared. It was obvious that the girl wished she was in Raven's seat.
Russ tried the same move a couple of other times during their trip, and each time Raven slapped his fingers away. Eventually, she moved to the very end of the bench, her knees pointing in this furthest direction from him until he took the hint to stop trying. Raven was a stone, she wouldn't be moved unless her weakness, which was Alec, swept her off her feet. It seemed as though the boy was entirely too quiet, though. He was too engaged in gazing at his shoe laces rather than at the obvious stares coming from Raven. In her mind, she tried to will his eyes up to look into her's. Look at me. Look at me, Alec. I'm here. Just up a little further-
Mid thought, the truck stopped moving. It was an abrupt halt, causing Russ's body to lean into hers. That was the straw that broke the camels back. Her first reaction to this was to punch, and punch she did. Her fist met with Russ's nose, causing a very audible crack and an exaggerated gush of blood. "What the f-"
"Oh!" Cried Gwen as she ripped the sleeve of her shirt off to mop his face clean.
Raven glanced at Alec, who had been looking up at her at the same exact moment, a small smirk on his face. With the adrenaline coursing through her veins and the warm feeling of blood on her knuckle, she couldn't help but smirk back. Time seemed to freeze (despite Gwen's annoying chatter and Russ's loud breathing through his mouth). A slight jolt, almost like electricity, ran through her limbs, and her knees felt weak.
In an instant, Raven was being grabbed by her shirt collar by a bloody faced Russ. "You dumb bitch! You ruined my nose!"
"It's not like it was your best feature." Raven muttered, not feeling even remotely threatened, even when he lifted his own fist to hit her. Jay's training came in handy; her knee met with his groin.
Never before had Raven seen someone in such pain. With a deep suck in of breath, Russ fell to the floor, his face almost blue from pain. Gwen made an advance to her, but Jane held her back, murmuring something about not getting hurt. The door of the truck finally opened, and one of the Techno leaders stared at them, astonished at the sight before him.
Before anyone could say anything, Raven stepped out of the truck, walking away from the monstrosity that had occurred. She didn't feel bad about what she'd done to Russ, though she knew it would come back to hit her... but she'd definitely be ready. Nothing really mattered except that Alec had acknowledged her. He had even graced her with a smile.
