Sorry it took so long to get the second chapter out. End of the semester was busy, and I have been traveling for the holidays. But it is here now! Hope you find it enjoyable. As always, review if you have any feedback for me! Oh I have to add this- I do not own District 9, this is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any money off of this.
The Only Good Prawn is a Dead Prawn
Chapter 2
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
It was amazing how variable time could be when you are cramped up underground. Minutes could feel like hours. Hours could feel like seconds. Brian had no idea how long he had been sitting there, staring off into space. It was almost comforting to him, to get a chance to blank his mind and not think. Almost like sleeping with your eyes open. A figure coming down the narrow corridor caught Brian's attention. The poleepkwa walked past Brian and sat down on the ground. It was the same one Brian had talked too earlier, his scars still apparent even in the dim light.
"How's it going, Nick?" Brian sighed. The red poleepkwa looked up at Brian and was silent for a moment.
"How is what going?" Nicholas asked back, puzzled. His single antenna twitched.
"How are you?" Brian clarified.
"Fine."
Nicholas picked up a can, and peered inside it. Empty. He tossed the can to the side and stared down at the was an awkward silence. Brian wondered how someone in his position could be fine. He could hardly imagine what kind of hell Nicholas had been through to get those scars.
"Any more news about our plan?" Brian asked, breaking the silence.
"No. It goes on as planned. No changes."
Brian dug into his pockets. He pulled out a crumpled cigarette pack.
"Shit." Brian sighed, as he tossed the empty pack aside. He glanced at his watch. "Damn." Brian grunted, standing to his feet. "I have to go get ready. Its almost time to get going." He turned to walk down the thin corridor.
"Brian." Nicholas called. Brian turned around.
"Why do you care? Not just about today. About this in general." Nicholas waved his three fingered hand in the air, motioning to their surroundings.
Brian was taken off guard by the question. He paused for a moment. Why do I care? He felt a surge of emotions and memories.
"I don't know." He shrugged. Nicholas looked back down at the gravel floor.
"Your race never ceases to confuse me."
"Thanks." Brian remarked, sarcastically. He continued down the hall and stopped. He turned back.
"Hey Nick. You spend too much time staring at the ground. You need to look up once in a while." Brian quickly continued down the hallway, not giving Nicholas time to respond. Nicholas stared down the corridor after Brian. He slowly looked up at the ceiling, more confused than ever.
Brian glanced in the filthy mirror. It had been almost a year since he had worn his MNU uniform. He stepped back and tried to fit his full image in the small frame. He dusted as much filth as he could off of the clothing. It still looked dirty, but it would do. He had tried one of the clean uniforms he stole from MNU before he went into hiding, but it did not fit. The other human members of the team needed the extra uniforms anyway, their plan would not succeed without them. Brian looked away from the mirror and picked up his helmet. He then wrapped a thin band of yellow tape around the rim. He placed the helmet on his head, picked up his shotgun, and left the room.
Compared to the underground hellhole, the air above in D9 actually smelled fresh. To anyone else, it would probably smell like a rotting dump. Brian was taken off guard by the sensation of a breeze after being cooped up underground for so long. Brian also felt a slight tinge of nervousness. Because they had left their hiding place, that meant their plan was already in motion. There was no going back. The inter-species group was able to find some empty shacks to hide in while they waited to set things into motion. They had only 15 members to carry out the operation- the rest were unable to join in the assault, others were unwilling. Four of the members were human, the rest poleepkwan. The shacks were small, but felt even smaller with that many bodies crammed into them.
"Nicholas. I need you and a couple of your guys to keep watch outside. We don't want anyone to report seeing some humans. Especially humans wearing MNU uniforms." Nicholas nodded. He left the shack, letting the door swing shut behind him.
"So what are we waiting for?" Asked Jacob, one of the humans.
"MNU has recently evicted the residents that used to be in these shacks. That means there should be a small team coming around to double check them before they are bulldozed. They should have transport we can get our hands on."
Jacob nodded.
"So we just wait until then?" Teresa chimed in. She was wearing a different uniform than the rest on the humans. She had business casual clothes on, with an MNU vest over the top. If they had any luck, she would appear to outrank any real MNU they might come into contact with.
"Yes. Nicholas will let us know when the patrol arrives. Until then, just make yourselves comfortable." Brian motioned to the shack around them. He placed his shotgun up against the wall, and sat down on the ground. The shack grew quiet as Brian stared up at at the ceiling. He had never been in this particular shack before, but it still seemed eerily familiar. The way the sheet metal ceiling was held together with rusty nails and duct tape. The holes in the walls had rags and trash stuffed in them. Of course, most of the shacks in District 9 looked like this. Still, it brought back memories. Memories Brian wished he could leave behind.
Two years earlier, only 6 months before Christopher Johnson leaves Earth.
Brian had stayed at work early that night. He had to recheck all of the weapons in the armory. Serial numbers, maintenance those kinds of mundane things. Brian had rarely done this kind of work before, but was usually stuck inside ever since he was demoted. "Poor and unreliable performance that may endanger other MNU employees and contractors.". Thats the reason they gave. Brian was still lucky to be even working for MNU. The only reason he was able to keep his employment was that Markus was now his boss.
"You all set boss?" Thomas poked his head into the weapon storage room.
"Yeah I can finish up here. I'm off tomorrow anyway." Brian tossed his pen down on the pile of paperwork and rubbed his eyes.
"Night boss" Thomas placed his shotgun on a rack and walked out of the room.
Brian looked back down at the paperwork. He was no where near being done, only half of the weapons had been checked. He wondered what MNU was planning. Whatever it is, its big. They had never had anyone check every weapon in the armory at once before. Brian called it quits at around 11pm. The morning shift could take care of the rest. He slid open the top drawer of his desk. He moved some files and other office supplies out of the way. He removed a small stack of papers, and flipped through them quickly. Brian folded them in half, and put them in his pocket. He grabbed his jacket, flipped off the lights, and headed out the door.
It was another typical night at home. Alone. Brian never even bothered to turn on many lights anymore. He kind of liked the darkness. It had been like this for a few months, ever since Brian had been demoted. Brian pulled a glass off of the counter and poured a drink. He say down on a chair and let out a sigh. He did not go out much anymore. Its not that he had made many enemies, but he had lost a lot of friends. He still talked with those at work. Not really anything special, the weather, sports, that kind of stuff. It felt awkward talking to people he used to manage before he was demoted. He stayed in touch with Markus, even though they had grown apart. It was hard to ignore someone you have known and worked with for 15 years. Especially is that person was now your boss. Brian lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He exhaled slowly. Even though he did not have to go into work tomorrow, he didn't have the day off. He had a meeting with a friend in District 9.
Brian wiped a scuff off of his boot and looked up into the mirror. He still looked good in his black MNU garb. He reached in his vest pocket and pulled out a pair of Aviators sun glasses. He put them on. He was lucky MNU had forgotten to take his old ID card away. With that one, he could outrank any of the other MNU "grunts" he might come into contact with. He was planning to enter D9 around 11:30 am. It was in the middle of a shift change, and there would not be a supervisor at the checkpoint for 15 minutes. It was risky, but it had worked before.
Brian stepped outside from his apartment building. The Metrobus stop was about a half mile away. From there, it was just a short ride to the MNU checkpoint into D9. The bus ride was quiet. Brian felt out of place wearing his full MNU uniform. It was not uncommon for people around Johannesburg to see MNU uniforms, but Brian still felt like he was being stared at. He was probably just nervous, knowing he was not supposed to be in that particular uniform any longer. The checkpoint was easily visible from the bus stop. Brian waited for traffic to clear and crossed the street. He stepped up to the first gate. There was only one guard sitting in the booth. Brian had timed his entrance perfectly- the supervisor was absent. He held up his outdated ID card to the window, hoping the guard would not bother to enter the ID number into the computer. There was a buzz from a small speaker, and the door swung open. Brian stepped through, into District 9. He walked straight into the first line of shacks, and unholstered his revolver. It was unwise to enter D9 alone, especially if you were wearing an MNU uniform.
Brian started getting strange looks as he traveled further into D9. Most of the prawns just scattered when they saw him, others stared. He knew it was strange for them to see someone in an MNU guard uniform alone in D9. He did not like traveling in broad daylight, but nighttime travel was impossible. Most of the gangs, human and alien alike, roam at night. There was no doubt he would have been killed this far into D9 at night. He found the shack he was looking for. He pushed open the flimsy door, and stepped into the dimly lit shack.
"Hey Nick-"
There was a prawn sitting at a table. The two did not recognize each other. The prawn was a deep blue color. They stared at each other in a brief second of silence. The prawn dove for a shelf, grabbing a hidden AK-47 and leveling it a Brian. Brian lifted his revolver and pulled back the hammer. There was another brief moment of silence. Both stood still very still, their weapons leveled at each other.
"Nicholas is not here." Clicked the Blue prawn, his rifle still pointed at Brian. "Leave before I kill you."
"I am a friend of Nicholas. I'm not here to arrest you. Now stop pointing that fucking gun at me." Brian said back, never removing the sights of the revolver off of the prawn.
"Nicholas is no friend of MNU."
"Neither am I."
"Then why are you wearing their uniform?"
"I can explain that, after you lower your rifle."
"I do not trust you."
Brian sighed. He gently lowered the hammer of the revolver. He slowly moved his firearm down, and placed it back in its holster. He removed his sunglasses and placed them in his vest pocket.
"If I was really MNU, we probably would have both shot each other by now." Brian said, with a sly smile.
The prawn stared at Brian, with the rifle still raised. Brian looked back.
"I guess I'll just get going then." Brian turned to the door.
"Wait."Brian turned around. The blue prawn had lowered the rifle to his side. "Nicholas had to go help with a hatching. He will be back in a few hours."
"I have time. Mind if I have a seat?" The blue prawn was silent. Brin seated himself in a char across the table from the prawn. He extended his hand. "Brian Peterson." The prawn just stared, not responding to the friendly gesture. Brian slowly pulled back his hand. "You have a name?"
"Yes." The prawn responded, still firmly grasping the rifle at his side.
"Well... What is it?"
The prawn responded with a series of clicks and grunts that made no sense to Brian.
"I am not fond of my human name."
Brian nodded.
"I have heard Nicholas mention your name before. I was unaware that you were human."
"Yeah well, sometimes I don't feel human..........." Brian chuckled, staring down at the beat up table. He looked back up at the prawn. "How long have you known Nick?"
"A few months." The prawn responded. "I had lost most of my family and friends in an MNU raid. He helped me escape. You seem to know him well. How come I have not met you before?"
"I have been passing Nick information about MNU. Patrol schedules, arrest records, that kind of stuff. I have had to lay low lately because I was at risk of being found out."
The prawn nodded. Brian can tell he was starting to relax, his grip on the rifle had loosened.
"Where are you from?" The blue prawn clicked, becoming more interested. "I can tell you speak differently than most of the other humans here."
"I'm one of those loud-obnoxious-self-centered-Americans."
"That is a very strange name for a country."
Brian chuckled. "No, no. The country is called the United States of America. I worked for MNU there before being transfered here." The blue prawn nodded. "So did you have a chance to see where you came from?"
"No. I was hatched a few months after my family was brought down from the mothership. Earth is all I know."
"Well, I wish I could feel good telling you that makes you an honorary earthling."
The conversation continued off and on for the next couple of hours. Brian had the feeling he was gaining some level of trust from the prawn- even if he still kept the rifle within reach. The sun was getting dangerously close to setting, and Brian was contemplating leaving the information at the shack and heading home. Just has he was reaching for the door to leave, Nicholas opened it from the other side. The scarless Nicholas stepped into the shack, both of his antennae intact.
"Nick! I thought I would have to leave without getting to talk to you." Brian sat back down at the table.
"I am glad to see you are ok." Nicholas pulled up another chair to the table.
"Now I'll have to make this quick, I have to get out of here." Brian pulled a folded up stack of papers out of his pocket. "I'm not sure what MNU is planning, but it is going to be big. They are doing inventories on everything. I think it might be the relocation."
"It must be a few months away still. They have not made it public yet."
"I have a feeling they will soon. Here is all of the equipment they are massing, and the new patrol schedule." Brian slid the papers across the table to Nicholas. Brian reached into another pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "And here is a way to keep in touch. The bill is prepaid in cash, so they won't be able to trace it back to me. I hope you have brushed up on your written English. They don't make keypads in non-human characters yet."
Nicholas studied the items in front of him.
"I hope MNU will not find out you are doing this."
"Oh they have their suspicions. But its nothing they can prove."
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud vehicle pulling up outside of the row of shacks. Brian jumped up from his seat and peered out of the dirty window. Two MNU trucks had parked in front of the neighboring shack.
"Shit." Brian muttered under his breath. "Its MNU." Both Nicholas and the blue prawn stood up abruptly. "You guys have to get out of here. I can stay and talk to them. Get going! They are still searching the other shack."
Nicholas gathered all of the contraband in a plastic bag. He headed to the back door of the shack and turned to Brian.
"Brian. Thank you."
"No problem. You have to go now." Nicholas nodded and quickly exited out of the rear door.
The blue prawn approached Brian and extended his hand.
"Lucas."
Brian shook the extended hand.
"Nice to meet you, Lucas. Hopefully we will see each other again." Lucas turned and followed Nicholas out.
"MNU! Open the door!" The guard outside pounded on the wall. Brian sighed, and opened the door. He was face to face with 3 MNU guards, all with their weapons pointed at him.
"Stand down! I have the situation under contro-" Brian was greeted with a rifle butt to the face. His legs buckled underneath him, and he crumpled to the ground.
Brian was trying to open his eyes, but still could not see. It was like the room was too bright for his eyes to adjust. The wold felt like it was spinning out of control. His head felt like it had been split open, and he felt like he needed to throw up. As Brian was trying to process all of the pain, he became aware of a voice screaming in his ear. It started to become more clear.
"Wake up!"
Brian felt a sharp stinging impact across his face, it was enough to bring him fully into consciousness. He straightened upright in his chair, and the room started to come into focus. Brian tried to rub his eyes, only to realize both of his hands were handcuffed to the arms of the chair.
"Are we awake yet?"
"Kind of." Brin mumbled. His eyes had partially adjusted to the light, and he could see two figures in the room. One was close to brian, the other was leaning in the corner of the small room. The first was dressed in business casual clothes, a blue button down shirt with a tie and a pair of khakis. Brian could see an MNU ID on a lanyard around his neck. The second one was an MNU guard, armed with an electric stun baton.
"How do you know this prawn?" The man tossed down a picture of a red poleepkwa onto the stainless steel table.
"I do not know who that is."
The man leaned in close to Brian. "Listen. We already know what is going on here. The more you co-operate, the less painful this has to get. So you can knock off the bullshit. Now tell me. How do you know this prawn."
"I do not know who that is." The man quickly turned away from Brian, and grabbed the stun baton from the guard. He turned back, jabbing the electrodes of the baton into the top of Brian's shoulder.
"You have one more chance. How do you know this prawn?"
"Never seen him before." The pain came more quickly than Brian had anticipated. His whole upper body tensed up as the electricity passed through him. His knuckles turned white as he clenched the arms of the chair. It seemed like every nerve in his body was screaming. The crackling sound of the device was muffled by Brian's clothes. The interrogator pulled the device away, and the pain ended as quickly as it had begun.
"That was only 5 seconds. Next time, we go for 20. Now we'll try a different question. What were you doing in District 9? I'll give you a few seconds to think over your answer." The man stared directly into Brian's eyes as he waited. "Are you ready to answer?"
"Sure."
"Well, go ahead then."
Brian paused again. "Go fuck yourself."
The man smiled, and let out a small chuckle. Brian returned the smile. Without any warning, Brian was struck across the face with the baton. Brian felt a snap in his nose, and blood began to poor down his face. Before the man had a chance to strike Brian again, the door to the room swung open. A familiar voice shouted.
"Get out. Both of you."
The interrogator tossed the baton down on the table. He motioned to the guard, and both of them exited through the door behind Brian. Markus shut the door behind them. He walked around the chair, rubbing his eyes. He let out a long sigh.
"Nou is ek gefok." Brian said, his American accent still very obvious.
"You're damn right you are. Look at this." Markus flipped through a file that had been on the table. He pulled out a page that contained Brian's computer history. "MNU spreads lies? Please, don't tell me you believe this bullshit." Brian remained silent. "Do you have any idea of what I am going to have to do to clear you for this one? Hell, I'll be surprised if they don't sack me for saving your ass all of these times."
"I never asked for your help."
"Thats not the point. I am going to have to demote you again, you know that."
"Of course."
"Your demotion is only temporary this time."
"How did you manage that?"
"Because I am having you transferred back to the United States."
"What?" Brian was taken off guard by the news.
"I know I can't stop you from doing this stuff. You are going to get yourself killed, either by MNU or by some prawn."
"I won't go through with it. You can just fire me."
"I can't just fire you. If you stay, I will have to let my supervisors know about your activities. You will end up in some secret prison. No one will ever see you again. Your demotion is only for a few weeks. Then you will get to work for MNU in the US, and you will be promoted back to your original status."
Brian sighed and looked down at the ground. "You know I can't promise you anything."
Markus smiled "I was afraid you would say that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the handcuffs that bound Brian's wrists to the chair. Brian wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve. Markus walked over to the door and opened it. Brian followed.
"And one more thing." Markus faced Brian. "Your Afrikanns pronunciation sucks."
Brian had never really worked in an office before. He had always worked in the field in some form or another. He had been a platoon sergeant in the military, and had been in charge of firearms instruction forever. He had never been in charge of a copy room before. Office work had never appealed to him. And now he knew first hand he hated everything about being cooped up in an office. Brian closed the panel on the copy machine, and looked back at the display. It still read "No toner".
"I just put more toner in, you piece of shit." Brian mumbled under his breath. He pulled the machine away from the wall, exposing the outlet where it was plugged in. He pulled out the plug, and then replaced it. Ge glanced back up at the display. "Printer ready"
"Finally." Brian pushed the machine back into place, and put a new stack of paper in it. He pressed the start button, and the machine began quickly kicking out copies. Brian took a look at the document being copied. It was the eviction form MNU was using to justify moving the prawns to District 10. The evictions were due to start today. Brian had tried to get into contact with Nicholas with the cell phone, but he never got any replies.
"Hey Brian." Brian looked up and saw Jacob step into the copy room. "How's it going." Jacob leaned up against the doorway.
"It's going." Brian sighed, moving a stack of the eviction forms onto a desk.
"Doesn't look like its going well."
"I just need a smoke." Brian chuckled. Another man poked his head into the copy room.
"Hows it going guys? Hey make sure you keep most of the talking during break times. We need everyone to be working efficiently this week." He quickly turned and went down the hallway, with a goofy grin on his face.
"Who is that?" Brian asked.
"Wikus Van De Merwe. He was put in charge of this whole District 10 relocation project."
"So that guy is our new boss?"
"Yep."
"That sucks. He's kind of an asshole."
Jacob smiled, and walked out of the copy room.
If there was one thing Brian liked about working in the office, it was that his hours were predictable. He knew when he had to be at work, and he knew when he would be home. That was pretty much it. It was not long before Brian returned to his old game of stealing information from MNU. Even though his contact in D9 had gone quiet, he still felt the information could be useful. He had planned to do it around the supervisor's lunch break. But he didn't need to wait. Wikus never showed up to work that day. Apparently he had passed out at his promotion party, and was now at the hospital. Brian rummaged through Wikus' desk, taking anything he thought might be useful. There was not much there, only stuff Brian had seen before. If Brian really wanted to get some good stuff, he would have to get into the company archives. It was a fortified room, almost like a vault. Brian knew he had no chance of ever getting in. The only way in was if there was a fire alarm triggered. When the alarm goes off, every door is automatically unlocked so people can escape. Brian had thought about pulling a fire alarm, but he would be caught on camera if he did.
"Hey Brian. Take a look at this." Jacob tossed down a newspaper on the table. Brian picked it up. On the cover was a picture of Wikus in a very odd position with a prawn.
"He did seem like that type." Brian remarked, flipping through the article. "Says here he escaped from the isolation ward and is on the run now."
"That story still does not sit right with me." Jacob said, leaving the room.
Brian knew Jacob was right. MNU mostly published half truths in the media. And if they were not half truths, they were outright lies. Brian checked his cell phone. Still no response from Nicholas. He went back to reading the article, but was startled when the building gave a sudden shudder underneath him. The lights dimmed and flickered before returning to normal. Brian poked his head out of the copy room. People were obviously confused, peering over their cubicle walls and muttering to each other. The evacuation alarm sounded. "Security breach in level 2" That was a new one. Brian thought someone must have crashed their car into the building or something. Whatever it was, it was his perfect chance to get down to the archives.
Brian joined the crowd of people filing out of their offices into the stair wells. He could hear muffled yelling on the stairs below. He did not think much of it, and continued down. He reached the ground floor. He noticed whatever happened to the building was not a simple car accident. A thick cloud of dust clung in the air, and debris were all over the floor. Brian ignore them, and continued to the below ground levels. He snuck down the hallway, heading toward the archives. He stopped suddenly when he heard muffled gunfire. He listened. It sounded like there was alien weaponry being fired as well. Brian ducked into a corner and pulled out his cell phone. He quickly typed a message to Nicholas: Are you guys attacking MNU? Brian hoped to get a response, but received none. The building gave another sudden shudder. Brian dropped the cell phone and was hit in the face with a blast of hot air. Brian grabbed his cell phone off the floor. He ran down the hallway, and took a sharp right into the armory. He stopped suddenly. The sight was awful. Human blood and tissue was splattered all over the walls. Shreds of clothing were scattered about the room. Brian had no doubt that MNU was being attacked with alien weaponry. Brian jogged over to the weapon rack. He grabbed a pistol, loaded it, and put it in his waistband. He also took a fully loaded assault rifle.
He continued down the passages to the archives, moving as tactically as he could. He reached the door, and placed his rifle against the wall. He tried to open the door, but it would not budge.
"Shit!"
Apparently, MNU did not want anyone viewing what was contained in that room. Brian stomped his foot in frustration. He should have known better.
"Hey!! You! Get you fucking hands in the air!" Brian was surprised by the voice yelling from behind. He slowly raised his hands up, his back still to the mercenary.
"You kick that rifle away!! Do it now!!" Brian complied, kicking his rifle down the hallway.
"Now walk backwards to the sound of my voice. Slow."
Brian knew what he was about to do. He obeyed at first, slowly stepping back to the mercenary. In the blink of an eye, he pulled the pistol out of his waistband. He spun around to face the mercenary. Two shots rang out. Brian's pistol clattered to the ground. The mercenary had fired first. Brian clutched his chest, struggling to breath. He fell to the floor, landing flat on his face. Brian looked up from the floor. The pistol was laying just out of arms reach. Brian crawled toward it, his chest still in excruciating pain. Brian stretched out his arm, his fingers just barley touching the pistol. The mercenary quickly kicked the pistol out of Brian's reach. Brian slowly tried to sit up, breathing was still difficult. He saw the mercenary's boot out of the corner of his eye, but it was too late to get out of the way. The boot connected with the side of Brian's head with a tremendous impact. Brian slumped forward, everything went dark.
Brian's head throbbed painfully with every beat. He breathed shallowly, his ribcage felt like it was broken in a thousand places. He opened his eyes, and saw nothing but complete blackness. Brian wondered why it was so painful to be dead. He tried moving his head, but is neck was too sore. He was able to see a very dim light out of the corner of his eye. Brian suddenly snapped to his senses. He was lying on his back, on some kind of cot. It did not smell pretty. He slowly sat up, the whole world seemed like it was spinning around him. He reached deeply into his pockets, and pulled out a small flashlight. He turned it on, sweeping the beam of white light around his environment. He was inside a cramped, dirty shack. Brian had been lying on a torn up mattress. He moved to swing his feet over the side of the mattress, but recoiled due to the pain in his chest. He placed the light in between his legs, and aimed the beam up at his torso. He unzipped his jacket and tore open his button down shirt, reveling his concealable ballistic vest. Brian tore the two flattened slugs out of the vest. Brian was glad the vest had stopped them, even if the impact broke a few ribs and left a few bruises. He was lucky he got to keep the vest after being demoted.
Suddenly, the door to the shack swung open. A poleepkwa stepped in. Brian quickly aimed the light toward the creature. The creature's dark red shell was cracked and scarred in multiple places. Its face looked bruised, and it was missing an antennae.
"Nick?" Brian said, still extremely groggy.
"Yes, its me." The poleepkwa clicked back.
"What the fuck happened to you?" Brian said, noting all of the damage to Nicholas' body.
"I was captured by MNU after out last meeting." Nicholas responded, sitting down in a chair.
"Shit. How the hell did I end up here?" Brian suddenly fully realized where he was.
"Last night you were dumped out of the back of an MNU truck. Right outside in front of my shack."
"Markus..." Brian mumbled.
"Who is that?"
"He is a friend....... Sort of. He is the one who had me dumped here. He must have known I was helping you."
Nicholas nodded. He stood up from his chair and picked up a chrome revolver. He held it out for Brian. "You left this here."
Brian took the revolver and examined it. "Holy shit. I though I would never see this thing again. Thanks." Brian placed it on the mattress. "Anything new happen in D9 while I was gone?"
"The evictions have started."
"I know about that."
"And the mothership left."
"The mothership left?" Brian quickly stood to his feet, shocked by the news. He was immediately overcome by a wave of dizziness. He grabbed for something to steady himself, but nothing was in reach. Nicholas grabbed Brian by the shoulder, stopping him from falling.
"You need to rest." Nicholas guided Brian back to the mattress. "I will explain everything when you are able to handle it."
Brian nodded, as he laid back down on the dirty mattress. He sighed, and stared up at the ceiling.
One and a half years later
The door of the shack swung open. Lucas poked his head in.
"The patrol is here."
Brian stood up. He put his helmet on and grabbed his shotgun. Brian surveyed the group, making sure everyone had a band of yellow tape somewhere on their uniform. The rest of the group in the shack gathered their gear.
"Everybody ready?" Brian said. Everyone gave a silent nod in response. "Alright.... Lets roll." Brian held the door open, as everyone began to file out. "And remember, yellow tape means friendly. Do not fire on anything with yellow tape on it." Brian looked around the now empty shack. He turned, and stepped outside into the bright sunlight.
Thanks for reading! Please, please review! I'm still new to this. I hope to have chapter 3 out in a couple of weeks.
Cheers,
DR Fronkensteen