Shun

We surfaced from that God-forsaken tunnel, and I couldn't have been more grateful. I enjoyed the open landscape that the Wastelands provided; not the cramped, dark tunnel we just left behind. Alice had helped me over the heap of debris that had been made when we pulled the door down.

They were all dusting themselves off; I just stood around and started to scan my surroundings. The first thing I saw what the City. It was still the same. I would have though it would look different, considering what was going on inside the fence. Since there was nothing special about the City, I started to turn and look around for my home. Panic started to build up in me when I couldn't find it. Then, I saw its small outline across the Wastelands. I've got to remember that I'm on the other side of the City.

Alice and her friends had finished getting the dirt off themselves. I walked over to her and said, "I want to check on the Outcasts back home…To check on them." Alice knew what I really wanted to go there for; to see if there was anything left. She nodded and turned to her friends. "We're going to make a stop at Shun's old home before we start following the map."

Dan stepped between the silver-haired girl and short blonde; I still wasn't good with all of their names yet. He said harshly, "Why should we go there? It's not like there's anything worth seeing anymore." He also mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "As if there ever was." I growled. I knew this couldn't be too fun for the brunette who had spent all his life in the City, knowing of nothing else other than to hate the Outcasts.

But he wasn't in the City anymore. Things were changing, and quickly. My hands clenched by my sides when I snapped, "Listen, you-" Alice stepped between the two of us. She kept us an arm's length apart, and I wondered if that was enough to keep us from getting into any kind of conflict.

Alice snapped her head to her right so she could face Dan. Her eyes were daggers at him. "You would want to do the same thing if you wanted to know whether your family was still alive or not. Besides, it's the first stop on the map anyway." Dan reluctantly backed down.

He hissed under his breath, "Yeah, but we didn't get our families out of the City. So why should we worry about his?" Alice let out an aggravated sigh, but didn't say or do anything to him, even though she wanted to. She walked over to me and apologized for Dan once more.

"He's never been this bad before," she said softly and glancing at the brunette. Dan kicked some of the ashes on the ground, then growled. "It's probably because I'm here," I told her. Alice wasn't going to sugar-coat it. We both knew that's why he was like this. She could tell me story after story about how nice or funny Dan could be. But as long as I was within the same vicinity as him, he was going to be a totally different person.

The sooner we get all of this over with, the better. We had no reason to use the map to find my old home. For one, I knew where it was. And two, I could see it. All of us made an effort to stay low to keep from being seen, but that was a difficult task.

There were no trees or rocks to hide behind, nor were there any buildings out in the Wastelands like there was in the City. The cover of night helped somewhat, but our silhouettes could still be spotted. Although, the Officials were probably too busy rounding up the people they wanted to kill, that they'd probably not even notice us. As we got closer to my old home, I saw that it looked darker than normal.

And I figured out why; no fires were lit. Usually, somebody was always burning a fire for either warmth, or even for just the illumination it provided. My heart started to sink when I thought about what that could mean. No fire. No life. Alice must have sensed my worry, because I felt her hand on my shoulder.

I looked at her, the only thing visible were her brown eyes. "I'm sure everybody is fine." But even her voice gave away the hint of doubt she was feeling. My home was the best weapon the Officials could use against me while I was hiding in their City.

Dawning sunlight was peering over the horizon, painting the sky with oranges, reds, and pinks. Nature didn't have a clue of the horror taking place in its midst. I stopped walking when I could clearly see the cluster of houses. The already broken and chipped windows, were broken even more. Some of them that had no damage to them, now sported holes and cracks in the glass.

It looked like somebody had hurled a rock, or other object, through it. I saw the familiar bodies of the Outcasts. They shuffled along the sides of houses. Seeing that there was still people alive, I ran through two houses and into the center of our little town. People froze when they saw me. Not as many faces as I remembered there being, but I was just overjoyed that there were any.

"Shun?" I turned around to meet the face of the voice that had said my name. A smile slapped me across my face when I saw Christina standing on the porch of the orphanage. Her eyes were fixed on me, almost like they didn't want to leave because of fear that I'd vanish again.

Christina ran from the porch and towards me. I found my own self running towards her as well, despite the soreness still in my limbs. We both skidded to a halt at the same time, staring at each other like we were looking at ghosts. Christina's eyes scanned over me, taking in the fact that I was real. That I was me, and not some imposter. "You're alive. We all thought you were dead, or that the Officials took you when they left."

I was sure that a lot of people thought I was dead. My sudden disappearance went without a single word of where I was going. I got up, and left. Never told anyone. And then I was captured and so on. The words that Christina said finally registered to me. "The Officials were here? What did they do?"

I felt the happiness of seeing that Christina was alive begin to fade away, and it was replaced with anger at the fact that the Officials had been here. What had they done? Christina nodded and said, "They were here a couple of days ago, but they didn't do anything to us. That was when we noticed you were gone, and all of us thought they took you away."

That would have meant the Officials showed up right after my capture. But why would they have gone out in the Wastelands if they didn't have the immediate intentions of hurting anyone? Those Officials work in strange ways. Christina clutched her hands together and said, "But sometime last night, while we were all sleeping, they showed up again. We were all starting to turn in for the night when we heard this loud popping noise."

I cut her off before she could say anything else. "Popping noise?" My worst fears and worries had been verified. Those loud noises Alice and the rest of us heard last night, had in fact, been from the Officials attacking the Outcasts. Again, I cut her off. "What did they do?"

Christina looked around on the ground, then picked up a metal can. It looked like the one that contained the poison that was thrown in the river. She handed it to me. I took it, scanning over it. The metal was still warm, as if it had been laid next to a burning fire. "What is this?" I asked, not able to figure it out.

The Officials had technology well beyond anything we could comprehend. Christina stared at it grimly and said, "Gas canister. They shot several of them into the houses to get people out into the open." That would explain the damage to the windows. I imagined how terrified and confused the Outcasts had to be when one of those cans shot into their homes and released its contents into the air.

"What did they do after that?" I asked, not wanting to know, but I had to. She took the canister away from me and tossed it back on the ground. "They shot poison gas at the ones who ran outside." Haunting images flittered through my mind as I thought about my nightmare.

The smoke that lifted through the ash. Had it been the poison gas, rather than smoke from the burned buildings? Maybe. I looked past Christina, and saw the building that I used to share with her and the parentless children. "Did any of the kids….You know…Get caught in it?"

Christina bit her lower lip and sighed. "Some of them did. When a gas canister shot into the house, we all panicked and started to run outside to get away. But the moment I saw what the gas was doing outside, I got as many of them together that I could and made them hold out through the gas in the house. At least it was harmless."

I knew Christina didn't want to leave those kids outside to be killed by the Officials, but she could have only controlled so many of the panicking children. I could see by the look on her face, that she hated herself for what happened. She couldn't have done anything to stop it, but I would never be able to convince her of that. Christina put on a sad smile and said, "So, now that you've been caught up, what's been going on with you? Where did you run off to?"

I felt like a traitor. I had run off and left them all behind and never told them. Even my capture was my fault for not being observant to my surroundings. "It's been crazy on my part. I'll have to sit down and catch you up." She nodded, then her gaze went to something behind me. I turned to see what she was looking at. Standing behind me, was Alice and the rest of the group.

I had been so caught up in speaking with Christina, that I had forgotten about them. Alice waved at Christina, who in turn, smiled and waved back. "This is our little group of refuges," I said and held my hand out to motion to them. Christina looked at me quizzically. "Refuges?"

I nodded and replied, "Long, long, long story. That's why I said it'd be best if we sat down and went over everything that's happened so you'll catch up." Christina pointed back towards the orphanage and said, "You can tell me in there." I motioned for the others to follow me.

Dan, of course, didn't look like he wanted to go. But with some coaxing, he made his way down towards the orphanage with the rest of us. I walked through the door, and took in the familiar surroundings. The building that I spent most of my life in, still looked the same, but held a more ominous feeling now that I knew most of its inhabitants were gone from this world.

There was a chorus of squeals, and I looked down to see some of the kids smiling up at me. "Shun!" they yelled and hugged my legs. I laughed and said, "Hey, guys." A sad feeling washed over me. Was this all that was left of them? I couldn't image how hard it was for the older ones to have watched their brothers, sisters, and friends killed by the Officials.

My eyes left from the kids, to the little corner that I had last seen Sarah laying in. It was now empty, the blankets piled carelessly in the corner. I knew she wouldn't have made it, so why had I clung onto the hope that she would? I forced my thoughts away from the corner and put on a smile for Christina. "Ok, let's get started."

omg. i had the most random idea. a parody of The Blues Brothers, with the brawlers. i was like, that could be kinda cool. i doubt i'll do it though (i'd have to watch the movie God knows how many times to have it all down by memory). it still would have been fun and interesting to see how that turned out. who knows? if there are enough 'yays' for it, then maybe it will happen. ;) (hint hint) well, read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~