Freegans part 47

Matt
Finally, we came to a stop. I looked ahead, and saw the reason was a dead end. 'O-kay,' I thought. 'How is this helpful?' My unspoken question was answered when Kestrel reached up, and pushed on the ceiling. It shifted! Some of the others moved to help him, and after a moment, that part of the ceiling lifted up. With a few grunts, they moved it, leaving a square hole over our heads. I could see the night sky, with sprinklings of stars decorating the dark blue. Suddenly I felt very emotional (ssh, don't tell Cara or Lucy). How long had it been since I had last seen that sky?

I could hardly wait to get boosted up out of the hole, just so I could see more. I felt cool breezes over my face, which was really nice. I could feel soft, wet grass beneath my worn-through shoes. Even though there was no moon, I could still see almost everything. I looked at my friends, and saw they were looking happy too. However, our reactions were nothing compared to those of Ben and Madiza. They were actually crying, Ben silently, Madiza in loud, unashamed sobs. They were hugging each other, staring at the stars, the ground, even the shadowy trees, as if they wanted to drink in everything at once.
"They're still here!" Madiza cried out jubilantly. She pointed at the stars, joy written all over her face. "The white coats didn't drain them! They're still out there!"
The Resistance members anxiously shushed her, plasma rifles cocked. That reminded me that we were not out of the woods yet.

As soon as the last of the team was out, they pushed the rock which served as the trap door back into place.
"Come on, we have to get going," directed the Ox. He handed out a few sets of goggles. I put them on, and discovered they were for night vision. Awesome!
"Can we keep these?" I asked Kestrel.
He smiled. "Maybe. We'll see if we survive first." I figured that would suffice for now.

Survey

Hello out there, you readers of my blog, and especially of my blog story! Just wanted to ask you all a little question:
After I finish the story I've been working on (and be assured, it's coming to an end soon!), what kind of story do you want me to write next? Fantasy, science-fiction, mystery? Or do you have any opinion at all concerning the matter? Please let me know!
Yours truly,
The Looney Writer

Freegans part 46

Lucy
Once again, we were off. I felt about ready to drop. What's more, I was kind of annoyed with Madiza. We'd gotten an excuse to finally go home, and she insisted that we be dragged along on another crazy trip, which had a possibility of us getting killed! I felt so angry I wanted to-to- to do something violent! However, what with all the plasma rifles around, that would probably not be a good idea, so I just walked and stewed in silence.

You'd think Cara and Matt would notice I was upset, maybe try to make me feel better, but did they? No! They were perfectly happy to be chatting away with some of the Resistance members, palling around! Madiza was speaking in French with Le Masque again, and as for Ben? He walked along by her side, looking a little anxious, but perfectly willing to go along with this. For some reason, his compliance annoyed me more than anything else. I glared at the ground sullenly.

I don't know how long we walked. It could have been days, or just a few minutes. Suddenly, a pair of bloodshot green eyes were staring right into mine, and a voice shrieked, "Boo!"
I screamed, and jumped back, bumping into one of the new people. Blushing, I apologized, and turned to see Madiza standing there, cackling her silly head off.
"That wasn't funny!" I cried indignantly.
"Oh, come on! Don't you know what day it is?"
"No. Why should I?"
"Friday, October 31st. This is Halloween, everybody make a scene!" Madiza grinned, and ran to the front of the line, where Ox and Kestrel were.
I looked at Cara and Matt, nonplussed, forgetting I was mad at them.
"Hallow-what?"
"Halloween. It's an old holiday, before the government took over. People dressed up in costumes, and went to people's houses for candy. It was something called trick-or-treating," said Cara.
"Oh."
"The rule was the scarier, the better, I think."
"She can keep track of the days of the week?" I asked, bemused.
Cara and Matt both looked at me.
"You're actually surprised by that, Luce?"

Freegans part 45

Cara
The woman in the mask cried out jubilantly, "Monsieur Boeuf! You and the rest are alright! It is magnificent!" She nearly threw her arms around Ox, who quickly took a step back.
"Yes, Masque, I'm quite alright, thank you. It's very fortunate that you came to us so quickly."
"Oh, it was not all my doing, non? It was mainly due to the ingenuity of La Tour, and his knowledge of the tunnels." She indicated a small, dark man with a small, scruffy beard. I noticed that Kestrel gave an involuntary smile upon seeing him.
"Tower," said Ox in a relieved-sounding voice. "You made it, too."

Le Masque, Tower, and the others peered over at us curiously. When she cast her eyes on Madiza, Masque gasped.
"Is that-"
"Mais oui, c'est moi, Le Projet 112!" Madiza exclaimed, in perfect French. I can't say I was surprised; nothing she could do surprised me anymore. Looking delighted, Masque broke into a rapid conversation with her.

Though his face seemed more accustomed to smiling, Tower looked very grim as he sidled up to Ox, Kestrel, and Max. He said, "There is no more time. We need to get to the Church and free Deep Thought and the others now." He spoke in a foreign, but very nice-sounding accent.
Ox nodded. "Alright. Kestrel, you and I will take 112 and a few others, and go to the Church. Max, you can take the others back home-"
"What?!" It took us a moment to realize that the shocked cry had come from Madiza. She had evidently finished talking to Masque, and was behind us, listening in. Her green eyes were wide with shock, and slight terror.
"You're going to take them away? You can't! I need my friends! I need them!"
"The Church of Golden Light is no place for them. They can't help us. You can," said Ox.

Then I was forced to eat my words. Madiza did something that completely surprised me (and probably Lucy, too, since she was so hostile towards the looney). She folded her arms stubbornly across her chest, and said, "Not without my friends!" Then, even though they didn't say anything, a conversation passed between Ox and Madiza. The problem was plain. He needed her, and didn't want to try to force her to give the code. He didn't want us in danger, but saw that she wasn't willing to be separated from us. It was a struggle for power that only one of them could win. Finally, he sighed and nodded.
"Alright. They may come too."

Freegans part 44

Matt
'Figures,' I thought. The Ox, Kestrel, and the red-haired woman pulled out plasma rifles, and began blasting, making it hard for me to see who it was that we were even fighting. Dodging a plasma ball that nearly took my head off, I grabbed the crowbar that Cara tossed to me from her knapsack (I was beginning to wonder if that thing was bottomless), and joined in to the fighting. As soon as I got involved, I could see that these weren't the Junkmen, since they were of ordinary height, and they weren't robots, since they were humans. The conclusion? They must be from the government. This had an odd effect on Kestrel. He had set his beret very low over his face, and looked like he was trying to hide somewhat. I figured he had been a spy, or something like that.

Sadly, we were outnumbered, and out-gunned. In almost no time at all we were surrounded. One of them stepped forward, smirking. He was dressed in the same uniform as the rest of the soldiers, except that his beret was bright red. I assumed this meant he was the leader. He addressed the Ox:
"You have some things that belong to us." The man indicated us kids. "We'd like to have them back now."
"I'm afraid that you can't," said the Ox in a dignified voice.
The soldier looked annoyed. "Perhaps I am not making myself clear." He made a gesture, and almost every soldier pointed his gun at the Ox's chest.
"You aren't in any position to say what we can or can't do. We are taking them now, and if you try to resist, you-"
He was interrupted by a blast of electricity, knocking him sideways into some of the other ranks, like a set of dominoes.

Madiza then turned her tazer on the group next to them, before they could come to their senses and start shooting her. Unexpectedly, more help emerged, in the form of another small group of people, who shot up the tunnel towards us with more plasma rifles. Their leader was a woman wearing an elaborate mask, as if she were about to go to a costume party. Madiza looked down at the man with the red beret, and said contemptuously, "Baaaad old putty-tat!"

Freegans part 43

Lucy
Madiza and Ben looked very sweet, snuggled up together like that. He couldn't use his voice to say 'ssh, ssh', so he was softly hissing through his teeth. It was all very cute to watch. So why did I have bile rising in my throat, and feel churning in my stomach? I turned away, only to see Cara and Matt smirking at me, and looking as though they were trying not to laugh.
"Shut up!" I snapped.
"What?" asked Cara, her green eyes going wide and innocent. I just glared, and looked for somewhere else to look. My options were becoming smaller by the second. From behind me I heard small explosions of giggles.

It was a relief to me when Kestrel announced that it was times to go. We got up, and began to quickly pack our things. I tried to carry as much as possible, but didn't do very well, I'm afraid. Most of it had to be taken from me, and distributed among the others. But I didn't mind much. I was used to being the weakling. The tall woman, Max, opened the secret door, and we slipped out. To my dismay, I found myself walking near Madiza, who was mumbling and humming to herself, perfectly happy again. I tried to ignore her, instead focusing on the sides of the tunnel, or my friends, or anything else.

Suddenly, Madiza looked right at me and said, out of the blue, "I've been considering words that begin with the letter J. Jealousy. Jaundice. Jack-in-the-box. Juvenile."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" I demanded, stung by the first word.
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," she replied lightly, looking up at the ceiling as if there were something interesting there. "Just-beware of the green-eyed monster. Oh, and you can't lose what you never had."
Then she went back to her demented mutterings. I felt flustered and angry. Had she just given me a threat? My wonderings were interrupted-by an attack suddenly made on our small group.

Freegans part 42

Ben
For a while all I did was watch Madiza draw. I could tell something was wrong, because her hands were trembling slightly, and she was writing an essay in Latin. That only happens when she feels agitated. I reached out and touched her shoulder. She stopped her frantic scribbling, and looked up at me. Her green eyes were bulging with fear.

Hey, are you okay? I signed at her with my free hand. Madiza had taught me sign language, but we didn't use it that often, unless I had no writing materials handy. She replied, No. Well, not really. If you want to know the truth, Ben-ben, I'm really scared. I'm expected to turn off the Drones of Golden Light, for crying out loud! It was clear that she was in one of her more lucid moments. She looked down, and suddenly stuffed the chalk in her pocket.

I don't know if I can take all this pressure, Ben! she signed. I reached out and put an arm around her bony shoulders.
Madiza, I signed with my right hand, you're a genius. You know the KillCode. And we'll all be here to protect you. You'll be fine.
She smiled at me gratefully. Thanks, Ben-ben. But what happens afterward? What will they do to us? They seem nice, but who knows what their real motives are?

I pulled her close, leaning her head against my shoulder. Gently I began to rock back and forth, hissing through my teeth. It was a guaranteed way to calm her down.