Asphalt Tribe

July
“Stop! Thief!”

I clutch the bright box closer to my chest and barrel through the crowd. The noon sun beats down on me as I dash through the market. I hear shouting behind me, along with the cries of those I’ve pushed aside. Let them scream, I think. They don’t know how important this is.

Speeding out of the garishly-painted gates of the market, I hear a mechanized voice commanding me to stop and relinquish the box. The robocop’s iron feet make an unpleasant scraping noise as they move across the concrete. I’m about to dash across the street when the light turns green and the hovercars fly forward in a steady, blurred stream. I look back. The robo is gaining on my and I’m cornered. Oh, I am screwed. My eyes frantically dart back and forth, looking for any path of escape. The last thing I need is my sorry ass dragged down to the station. They’d find out who I was, and then where would we be?

“Stop in the name of the law!” screeches the robo, and I assess the options. Can’t go back. Surrounded on all sides by road. Can’t go through…

An idea flashes through my head, and in an instant I am on the ground, crawling under the hovercars, pushing the box along with my nose.

“Stop in the name of the law!” The recorded message plays over and over again, mocking me. If I were to stop now, I’d be decapitated by a flying hunk of metal. No, I keep going, and not until I’m safely of the sidewalk do I scramble to my feet and start running.

I’m halfway down the block when I hear something whizzing through the air. Suddenly I’m engulfed in a black net that sticks to my skin. The more I struggle the more tangled up I get. All I can do is wait for the robo to retrieve me.

The ride down to the station is less than fun. Not only am I being carted to every outlaw’s worst nightmare, I’m stuck in a spider web and my best friend is going to be pissed that she isn’t getting a birthday present. Not unless I manage to get out and steal something else by the end of the day. The car pulls up to the station and the robo drags me out.

The robo sticks me in the cell, where three other criminals are sitting. There’s a huge, brawny guy with tattoos, a totally blissed out girl who looks like she’s been living on drugs for weeks yet still has more meat on her than me, and a teenage boy a little older than me, looking scared out of his wits. As the robo gives its report, I sit down next to the boy.

“So,” I say. “What’re you in for?”

“Stealing a car,” he mutters sullenly. “You?”
“Stealing a necklace. Can’t see why it matters, though. It’s not even real gold, just cheap market crap.”

A tall blond woman stepped out into the lobby. Fixing her blue eyes on me, she told me it was time for my interrogation.

I quietly got up and went into the interrogation room. Inside the room was a stainless steel table, a matching bench, and… a robot.

“What?” I said to the officer outside. “I’m not good enough for a human?”

Lips pressed tightly together, she said, “We don’t use live officers for petty crimes.”

“Ah. So any crime I commit isn’t good enough? You saying I can’t pull off something big? You calling me stupid?” I closed the door before she could run over. I sat down in the stainless steel chair, trying to look nonchalant in case the robot had a camera.

“So, Officer Robot, can you make this quick? I’ve got a meeting at two.”
“Your first question is: why did you attempt thievery?”
“Your first question is: why are you so stupid?”

There was a moment’s pause as it processed this.
“Invalid answer. Repeat: why did you attempt thievery?”
“If there’s a human on the other end of this thing, you’re going to need more than a drone to make me talk.”
“Invalid answer. Repeat: why-“
“Seriously, cops, I’m about to throttle this thing. Change the question.”

There robot was silent for a few seconds as a new question was given.
“Your second question is: did you evade capture?”
“Depends. Will I get a big fine for it? Or is this just for brownie points?”

“Invalid answer. A live cop will report to interrogate you momentarily. Please stay seated.” The machine made a buzzing nose as it turned off.
Seeing that I wasn’t going to have a chance to annoy them for a while, I went to work on the robot. By the time the officer came in, I’d taken off one of the arms.

“Ma’am, I must request that you do not touch the drone,” said the officer as he closed the door. The cops creeped me out almost as much as the robots. Ever since last year when this cult started murdering cops they recognized from their captures and interrogations, Queen Dahlia had started making all the officers wear face masks to hide their identities. This mask happened to have a mustache drawn on it in marker. I could imagine that he wasn’t happy about that.

“Now,” he said as he pushed the robot out of the chair, “it says here that you attempted to steal jewelry from Mr. Jared Winslow? Is that correct?”

“If you can count a spray-painted gold chain jewelry.”
The officer made some notes.
“Now, it also says that you evaded capture. Is this true?”
“If I evaded capture, do you honestly think I’ll tell you anything?”
“Alright, forget it, I’ll let you go. But it says here that you didn’t give your name to the front desk. I’m going to need that.

“What if I don’t want to give you my name?”
“It doesn’t matter. I need it anyway so we can identify you. Also, you and your friend are going to need someone to pick you up.”
“Fine. My name is... Schnoodlepumpernickel Jinxenheimerockovitz.”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Don’t make me use force.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll be serious. My name is Wilma. Wilma Janssen. Can I call my mom now?”
“Sure. Just go out to the lobby. Since the crime wasn’t anything severe, you will just have to pay a fine.”

I picked up the phone and dialed the number of the Tribe house. After two rings, someone picked up.

“Who is this?” asked a familiar voice. “If you’re the police, I didn’t do it.”

“Yo, Trouble,” I said. “Get Mom on the line, would you?”

“Sure. If you tell me what’s up.”

“Trouble, I really don’t have time for-“
“I’m hanging up…”
“Okay, okay. God, you are so immature! I got arrested, okay? You happy?” I could just picture his startled face as he fell silent on the phone.

“Yo, Mom!” I heard Trouble call. “Bane needs you on the phone!”

There was mumbling in the background as the phone was passed to my mother.

“All right, Bane,” came the raspy voice. “What did you do this time?”

“I got arrested. For stealing. And now I need you to pick me up.”

Mom cursed into the phone. For an old lady, she sure has colorful language.

“Fine, just wait while I drag myself over there.” Click.

I sat down in one of the plastic chairs and put my head in my hands. I am so screwed. If Mom wasn’t already pissed off – which was a rare occasion-, she would be now.

Mom isn’t really my mother. But she acts as a mother for the whole Tribe, and she punishes us as a mother would. The Tribe? Well, we’re a group of rejects, all from a race called the Maics, living in three abandoned houses on Oak Street. The Maics were a clone race created in 2020. They rebelled against their masters, and have been hated ever since. If you’re the offspring of a Maic, you don’t get anything. No school, no jobs, no doctors.
We steal or trade for what we need, and, according to the police, we don’t exist. Which is why Mom was going to blow her top at this.

The door hissed open, and an old lady with long gray hair swept in. Her bright floral dress brushed against the cement floor of the lobby, making a swishy noise. Yeah, you’re about to get killed and you’re thinking about swishy noises.

“I apologize for my daughter’s behavior,” Mom said to the police officer. “She will be punished for this, I promise you.” Eyes shooting daggers at me.

“You’re going to need to pay $50 as penalty,” he informed her. “Do you have that now or will I need to come pick it up at you house?”

I froze. He couldn’t pick it up at the house without seeing that it’s not abandoned at all.

“Oh, no, that won’t be necessary, I have the money now.” She handed over a few tens, no doubt ill-gotten spoils from her deal with the druggies across the street.

“Thank you. Your daughter is free to go. The man she stole from isn’t pressing charges.”

Mom grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the station.

“What were you thinking?” she screamed. “You could have gotten us all kicked out! Do you want to be put into an orphan’s home? Why the hell did you let yourself get caught?”

“My mind was on other things, okay?” I shouted back. “Get off my back!”

“What could be more important than not getting caught?”

I hesitated. No way was I going to tell her I’d been daydreaming about my crush. Not going to happen.

“I don’t even remember what it is anymore!” I lied. “And I didn’t get us caught, all right? I didn’t give my name, didn’t give my address. I called the cell phone, and they can’t trace the call ‘cause Trouble did something to keep that from happening. So what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal,” she hissed, “is that I trust you not to get into trouble. And those fifty bucks were going to buy you all food! It was supposed to be a surprise! But you ruined it and now we have nothing. God, you are so-“

“Sweet Jesus, will you shut up about it?” I groaned. “Yes, I did something bad. But nothing happened. End of discussion.”

“You can’t-“
“End of discussion!”

In which we meet my possibly psychotic friends
We stalked home in silence. I sighed in relief when Mom went into the backyard, off to resolve a fight, without even a “we’ll discuss this later”. I waded through the knee-high weeds in front of the main house, a small ranch half-covered in tarpaper, as if the person putting up the white siding forgot to finish the job. As soon as I stepped through the screen door, I was tackled.

“Bane! OhmyGod I was so worried! What did they do to you? Are you going to jail? What happened?”

“Get…off!” I shoved Trouble away from me. “I can’t tell you if you’re babbling!” He got a hurt look on his face and my mood softened. I could never stay mad at Trouble. He was just… I didn’t know what he was. Dorky? Odd? Annoying? He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box and, as an unofficial ADHD child, had a tendency to blurt out random phrases and words. Let’s put it this way: Trouble was proof that the dodo bird is not extinct.

I told my friend what had happened.

“Aw, dude, that must have been so cool!” he said. “I’ve never been inside a police station. Never been chased by a cop, either. What do you think Mom would say if I got caught? Would she kick me out of the Tribe? Maybe-“

“I’m leaving now,” I told him. He didn’t seem to notice, and kept on babbling.

I vaulted over the window into the backyard, praying that Aria wasn’t out back. Luckily, she wasn’t, and I started to pick some of the tiger lilies that bloomed under the window. It was early summer, and the vibrant hues stood out in the setting sun.

I sat cross-legged, weaving the flowers into a necklace, humming a song off-key. Idly I wondered if I should get something else for Aria. Maybe food. Or maybe-

“Whatcha doing?”

I jumped, then turned to see the face of Sear. His brown eyes blinked questioningly at me, and I felt the heat flood to my cheeks. Daniel’s the same age as Trouble, Aria and I. He’s not actually in the Tribe, he actually lives in the run-down apartment complex around the corner. But, being Trouble’s best friend other than me, he more or less lives here. Oh, and did I mention that I have a huge crush on him?

“Making Aria a birthday present,” I told him, turning away from his intense gaze.

“Heard you got arrested.” He sat down next to me.

“Y-yeah. What’s it to you?” God damn it, tough-girl exterior, would you let me flirt for one minute?

“What happened?”

I launched into the story of what I was trying to do, how I got caught, and how Mom yelled at me, stuttering and blushing the whole way. I waited for his response.

“This is proof that whenever you try to do something nice, it backfires,” Sear laughed.

“Yeah, well, it’s not so funny when your mom is threatening to kick you out!”

His smile faded.
“My mom doesn’t even need to kick me out. She’s able to tell me that without even talking.”

Oh, shit! I’d forgotten that his parents hated him. That was the other reason why he spent so much time here. Do I apologize? What do I do? In the end I just stayed silent.

“So,” Sear said, bouncing back from my comment. “Tiger lilies, huh? Aria likes them?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “She loves orange. So do I. Tiger lilies are my favorite flower.”

“That’s good to know. You know, in case I want to get you a birthday present or something.”

“Why would you get me a birthday present?” Double oh shit! That was supposed to stay in my head! “I-I mean, we don’t talk much or anything.”

“Yeah, but you’re Trouble’s best friend. Just something to think about.”

Out of nowhere, Trouble sat down between us. I gave a yelp of surprise.

“So, what’re you guys talking about?” he asked. I wanted to slap him for interrupting.

“Bane’s spectacular arrest,” answered Sear before I could get a word out. “And tiger lilies.”

Trouble noticed the flowers in my hand.
“Oh, are those for Aria’s birthday? Since you couldn’t get a present?”

“Yeah, and-“
“Oh, Sear! I almost forgot to tell you1 I’ve been working on a new invention! Want to see?”

“Is it likely to cause you physical injury?”
“Yeah!”
“Sounds great.” He waved goodbye as Trouble dragged him away.

I was walking on air as I went up to Aria’s and my room. Sear talked to me! That had to be the longest conversation he’d ever had with me. Usually he was talking to the other girls, the tall, skinny, blond ones. Usually whenever I talk to him I start the conversation. But this time he came over to me! I collapsed onto my bed and squealed into the pillow.

“Yo!” I heard someone calling from the street below. “Bane! Get out here!”

I darted to the window and looked down at the dead end that our houses were clustered around. Aria stood in the street, waving up at me. The red waves of sunlight washed over her cocoa-brown skin, making her look like she was glowing. She’d look amazing with the tiger lilies wreathed around her neck.

I climbed out the window, landing on the awning above the porch. The girls’ and boys’ houses are old, wooden, two-story Victorians. Tiger lilies clutched in my teeth, I slid down the pole and onto the porch, landing in a sea of feral cats. For some reason, stray cats liked the Tribe. We all took care of at least one, and they returned the favor by keeping pests out of the houses. Today they were lounging on the porch, soaking in the last bits of sun.

“What’s that?” asked Aria.
“Happy birthday!” I placed the tiger lilies around her neck, and tucked another one into her hair.

“Oh, thank you!” she grinned. “How do I look?” She twirled around for a while before stumbling. “Whoa… dizzy…”

“Come on,” I said, grabbing her arm. “The big present’s in our room.”

We climbed the stairs, my hands over her eyes. When I opened the door, I uncovered her eyes and she gasped. My handiwork lay before us: a fitted orange silk dress with gold beadwork along the neckline. The necklace would have been a nice touch, but it was still beautiful.

“Oh my God!” Aria ran up to the dress, which was on her bed. “Oh my God, Bane! How did you know?”

“I knew you’d like it!” I smiled. “You were complaining about not having anything to wear when we go clubbing, and I thought, ‘I can fix that’. Happy birthday!” I threw my arms around her.

Aria tried on the dress. It fit perfectly, just like all the clothes I’d made her.

“I was going to get a necklace too, but…” I launched into the story of my arrest.

“Ooh, that sounds bad,” she muttered.
“Yeah, but it got me an opportunity to talk to Sear.” She grinned and cheered.

“So am I going to get any details? Hm?”

“While I was picking the tiger lilies, he came over and sat down next to me. He asked about me getting arrested. Then I mentioned that both you and me like orange, and he said that it was nice to know in case he ever wanted to give me a birthday present.”

Aria laughed. “Girl, I knew he liked you! Didn’t I tell you?”

I gave a nervous laugh.
“Nah, I think he was just being nice. Probably knows I like him and it was an act of pity.”

“Believe what you want, but… hey, you want to go down to the club? I can try out this new dress.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We walked through the neighborhood, chatting about Aria’s day. The moon was full, and the street was ablaze in silver light. This was bad, because our town, Riverton, had outlawed street lamps in residential areas. Said that they were trying to cut energy costs. Of course, it also helps when you’re trying to sneak into enemy territory. But if there’s moonlight, it doesn’t make a difference.

Riverton is a small town. As such, they have no clubs whatsoever. So if we want to party, we have to go into Ridgeboro. Unfortunately, Ridgeboro is not Tribe territory. The gang ruling over it, the Mecros, have been our enemies since Mom first started the Tribe over twenty years ago. They’re always trying to take over Riverton, and punishment for trespassing is strict. We have to stick to the alleyways as we make our way through the streets of Ridgeboro.

Finally we get to the club. It’s a big brick building. A purple neon sign reads “Angel’s Blood” in capital letters. The wall is plastered with graffiti.

Immediately Aria is approached by a cute guy. We chat and dance, buy a couple of drinks. I’m only fifteen, but I know the bartender, and besides, Angel’s Blood is for outlaws, gangsters and anarchists. The drinking rules don’t really apply here.

After I’ve drunk just enough to get a light buzz in my head, Aria drags her boy away to go make out. I lean against the bar and talk to the bartender, Jake.

“So how you doin’?” I ask, giggling at the slight slur in my voice.

“Could be better,” replies Jake. “College is beating the hell out of me.” Jake is Mom’s grandnephew, and a medical student at a nearby college. “What’s up with you? Usually don’t see you here on weeknights.”

“Yeah, there’s more of a crowd on the weekend. Better music, too. But it’s Aria’s birthday, and she wanted to go out and wear the dress I made her.”

“You made that?” he asked, pouring someone a cocktail. “Jeez, Bane, I thought you stole that. It looks like a designer dress.”

“Yeah, I think I want to go into fashion when I grow up. I’ve definitely got the skills. All I need are the connections. Listen, I’m gonna go dance.”

“Catch ya later.”

I found a group of rebels I was acquainted with. Unlike me, they went to school, so we didn’t exactly socialize much. But we danced for a while. After about half an hour, I decided to go find Aria.

“Aria!” I called. “You here?”

“At the bar!”

I headed over to the bar, where Aria was sipping a drink. I sat down on the cracked vinyl seat next to her.

“What happened with your guy? He leave?”

“Yeah, once we made out he disappeared. Bastard. Anyway, I’m about ready to go home. You ready?”

“Yeah. The music isn’t that great tonight.”

As we pushed our way through the crowd, I noticed a cute boy. Aria saw me looking and smiled.

“You think he’s hot, huh?”
“Yeah. Hold on a minute.” I walked toward the boy.

“Go on, girl! Make your move!” called Aria.

He looks kind of familiar, I thought. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but when I got close, I knew where I recognized him from. Just as I realized who he was, he looked over to me.

“Hey Bane!” he said. “What’s up?”

“Shadow! Why are you here?” Shadow was a boy from the Tribe. He was short and thin, with black hair and tan skin. I’d always considered him kind of cute. If only he didn’t have that web of scars crisscrossing his face, he’d be a real looker. Scars were taboo in non-Maic culture, since as soon as anyone got them, they got them zapped away. I personally liked mine, since they made me look tough, and they made him look tough, too. But Shadow was also the quietest boy in the Tribe, always by himself. You’d never expect to see him here.

“Because I like this place. Why else would I be here?”
“I just didn’t think you would like this type of music. You don’t really seem like someone who’d like industrial and alternative.”
“What did you think I liked?”
“I don’t know. Classic rock? Anyway, I’m here with Aria. For her birthday. So, um… nice seeing you.” I darted away, embarrassed by my error. The boy I’d thought was a potential date was actually the strangest person I knew. Trouble was a close second, though.

“What happened?” asked Aria. “Was he a dud?”

“No,” I muttered. “He was Shadow.”

Aria started cracking up. I whacked her in the stomach.
“Shut up. I only saw him from a distance. And the lights are dim in here.”

“You thought Shadow was a potential hottie?”

That’s right. I’d never told her that I thought he was kind of cute. So I just rolled my eyes as we walked out.

As we lay in our room, Aria on the bottom bunk, me on the top, I tried to make sense of the day. I’d never been arrested before. The shock of that was still flowing through me. Then there was the embarrassment at the club. I shook my head. Best to forget about that. Satisfied, I let sleep wash over me.

Nice one, Aria
“They’re coming to get me!” screeched Aria as she barreled through the door. “They’re coming to get me and it’s all my fault!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I moaned. “I’m trying to get some sleep here.”

“I trespassed into Ridgeboro and I got caught! And then they said that they’d come get me and oh, I’m so scared!” She put a hand to her head and sat down next to me.

“Well, it’s your own fault. What was so important that you had to go there in the day?”

“They got these delicious cookies at the bakery, and I was craving some, so I went over there, thinking I’d be fine, right? Wrong. The second I leave the bakery, they jump me. Took my cookies, too.”

I sighed.

“Aria, how many times has this happened? You do something stupid, and you have to tell Mom, and I’m not helping you anymore! You’re on your own with this one. Go tell her.”

Aria gave me a wounded look before getting off the couch and skulking away. I lay back down and resumed my nap. Summers are excruciatingly hot here, and I wasn’t in the mood for a fight today. But, of course, a fight was going to happen. The Mecro gang would probably be here in an hour, in another attempt to get our territory. I pushed the thought from my mind and went back to sleep. Best rest up while I can.

Everyone in the Tribe was crowded into the living room – about twenty-five people squished together on a 90-degree day. Everyone was muttering, groaning, and growling under their breath. I had a feeling that most of them were sleeping, too, when Mom called us over. Now Mom stood on the old coffee table, ready to tell us about Aria’s stupidity.

“Today, someone – who shall remain unnamed, as you can probably guess who she is – trespassed into Mecro territory. They promised that they would be coming back for her. Undoubtedly this means that they will be here for a battle. You are all to get your weapons and prepare for a fight. We will most likely be outnumbered three to one. Don’t be afraid to kill. As usual, the children under ten will be in the basement. Aria, you’re in charge of getting them down there. Everyone is to be ready and at their posts in an hour. Dismissed.”

As Aria rounded up the children – groaning about “why do I always have to do this?” – I made my way back to my house, where my weapons were hidden under the bed. When I got there, three cats were sitting on Aria’s bed. Two of them, Cookie and Angel, were Aria’s. Cookie reminded me of a grouchy old lady, while Angel was senile. My cat, Red Baron, jumped off the bed and scooted over to me, purring his head off as he wound between my legs.

“Hey, Baron,” I said, scratching his ears. I shooed Cookie and Angel off the bed. “Now you guys are going to go hide, right? There are bad people coming, and we don’t want you getting hurt. Now skedaddle.” Baron climbed up to my bed, while Cookie led a nearly-blind Angel into the closet.
I rooted around under my bed before coming up with my weapons: two daggers with long, curved blades, polished to perfection. Is it wrong that looking at weapons makes me feel all warm and fuzzy?

I was in my room an hour later when they arrived. At least thirty teens and young adults, weapons in hand. A young woman with red hair that was set ablaze by the sunlight stood at the front, clearly their leader. And she had a gun.

That’s impossible! Civilians can’t get guns! I knew the same thought was running through the minds of my friends.

I saw Mom step out of the house, along with two of the strongest male fighters. Most of the other fighters were gathered on the porches.

“What brings you here today?” asked Mom. “Something wrong?”

“You know that you’re not allowed to trespass,” snarled the red-haired leader. “And we intend to make you pay.”

“And we intend to make you pay for coming here. You’re trespassing right now. Don’t think we’ll let you go without a fight.”

The leader raised her gun. I knew that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. She was ready for any move they could make on her. But she wasn’t expecting anyone else. Wasn’t expecting a sneak attack. Definitely wasn’t expecting a girl who knows twenty different ways to kill you with a knife.

I climbed out the window.

When life gives you thugs, stab them in the eye

Standing out on the awning, I wondered if I really had the guts to do it. It would have been better if it was evening, then I’d be in the shadows. But out in the afternoon sun, they could see me perfectly. As long as no one looked up here, though, I should be okay.

I crept to the edge, raising the knife above my head. My pulse quickened, and my breathing grew ragged. I only had one shot. My arm flew forward and I let go.

The knife sailed through the air and hit its mark: the leader’s eye. A hit like that would kill someone, if not from the knife lodged in your brain, you’d simply die of blood loss and shock. I smiled, leaping down from the awning. The street, which had been in stunned silence, erupted into screams and wails. Maple Court was officially a war zone.

I yanked the knife out of the leader’s eye, grabbing her gun as well. She had slumped to the ground and I tried not to look.

I raced into the thick of the fight and was immediately tackled by a brawny teen boy. He picked me up by the waist and held me there, laughing, while one of his friends punched me. I slashed his wrists and he dropped me, screaming. One of the other Tribe girls had attacked his friend, and I managed to get away.

I tried to assess who needed to be taken out. There was the girl with the switchblade, the boy with the club, the boy with the spear. The girl was pushing someone against a wall, and I decided to go after her. Only after I ran closer did I see who it was. Aria!

I crept up behind the girl, motioning for Aria to be quiet. Crouching down, I drew my knives across the backs of the girl’s ankles. She immediately slumped to the ground, and I grabbed Aria and dragged her away.

“Did she hurt you?”

Aria nodded, then raised her arm. A curtain of blood flowed from a gash on her forearm. She looked unsteady, and her breathing was ragged.

“Get in the house. Mom’ll bandage it.”
“But I need to fight-“
“Get in the house!” I shoved her towards the door and didn’t leave until she was safely inside.

I glanced around to see if any more of my friends were in danger. I saw Trouble being held down by two guys, each twice his size. I got over there at the same time Sear did, and we each took out one of them, me with my blades and him with his fists. I hauled Trouble up. He was barely conscious.

“Get him to the house, will you?” I said, shoving him at Sear.

As Trouble was led away, something heavy collided with my back. I slammed down hard on the asphalt, landing on the side of my face. I blindly kicked up, hitting someone in the leg. As they kicked me in the sides, I rolled over. Pulling myself to my feet, I roundhouse-kicked the girl attacking me. I glanced around. The fight was winding down, and it was pretty obvious who the winners would be. Only a few of our fighters were left, and I knew that it had t stop. But how?

I ducked into the shadows, thinking. I sat down on something hard. The gun. I pulled it out of my belt, pointed it to the sky, and fired.

Time seemed to stop. Everybody in the court was looking around, trying to find out where the shot originated from. I stepped out of the shadows, gun still raised.

“Get out of here!” I snarled. “I’m not afraid to use this! Do you really want to risk it? Do any more people have to die today? You’ve proved your point. Leave now!”

The Mecros, apparently realizing that I had the upper hand and could kill them from fifty feet away, started to leave. They dragged themselves and their fallen comrades down the road. I didn’t put the gun down until they were out of sight.

I headed into the main house. The whole thing had taken all of twenty minutes. The whole house was full of injured teens. Mom and some of the younger kids were helping as fast as they could, but there would still be blood on the carpet tomorrow. I sat down and waited, since let’s face it: I’m better at destroying than fixing.

Aria was sitting across from me. Her forearm was bandaged, and some blood seeped through the white cloth. She gave a weak smile.

“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she mumbled. “I just hate blood.”
“Yeah. Me too.”

I rested my head on the threadbare arm of the couch. Closing my eyes, I drifted off.

When I woke up, the scene was much the same. Aria’s arm soaked in blood. Trouble with ice over a nasty bruise on his forehead. Small children rushing about, fetching bandages and pain meds and hydrogen peroxide. One of them put a peroxide-soaked gauze pad to my forehead and I yelped at the burning pain.

“Sorry,” said the girl, a sweet little thing named Stacey. “But you need it. Otherwise it could get infected.”

“Yeah, I guess. Mom’s been coaching you well, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah!” Stacey grinned. “I’m gonna be in charge of medicine when I get older.”

“Is that so?” I mumbled, except when it came out, it sounded wrong. Like my voice was underwater. Fuzzy clouds of black crept into the corners of my vision. “Listen, Stace, could you get Mom? I think… I think there’s something wrong with me.” I barely registered her swift footsteps as she ran off.

When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at the living room ceiling. Giant faces loomed above me. Something cold was on the side of my head, numbing my skull.

“Wha happen?” I mumbled, conscious of my dragging voice.

“You got a concussion in the fight,” Mom said gently. “We gave you pain medicine and ice, and there was a tiny scrape that we cleaned up. You should-“

“What fight?” I struggled to sit up, but they pushed me back to the carpet.

“You don’t remember? And don’t try to sit up, just lie there for now.”

“I remember Aria screaming, and blood. I remember… oh, wait, was that after Aria trespassed?”
“Yes, dear. You got knocked to the pavement and hit your head pretty hard. But you’ll be okay. We’re going to move you to your bed for tonight.” They lifted me off the ground. As the starry sky drifted by above, I faded back into unconsciousness.

Aria wasn’t in the room when I opened my eyes. I tried to sit up, but immediately fell back to the bed. Groaning, I punched the pillow. My body was itching to be up and active. I heard the creak of the door opening.

“Aria?” I mumbled.

“Do I really look like a girl?” asked Trouble, standing in the doorway. “Not to mention that she’s black. However-“

“Sorry, I didn’t see you. ‘Sup?”

“Mom told me to bring you some food and water since Aria’s out doing God knows what. Sit up.”

“I can’t,” I whined. “When I sit up I get all dizzy and shit.”
“Here, let me help you.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me up. I wriggled away from his grasp, not in the mood for contact. “Now do you need me to feed you, too? Or can you manage that?”

“Shut up. Give me whatever you’ve got and get out of here.”
“No. I like it in here. I want to hang out with you.” He handed me a tray. On it was an orange and a bottle of water.

“Why? I’m not really that great, you know.” I started peeling the orange. I was thirsty as hell, so I took a gulp of water, too.

“Shut up, you’re epic. Plus I’ve got no one else to hang out with. And I’ve never been in a girl’s room.”

“I knew there was an ulterior motive.” I took a bite of the orange and the succulent juice flooded my mouth. “So what do you want to talk about? Make it quick, because I want to get out of this bed ASAP.”

“I dunno. Stuff.”
“Only you would come in here to have a conversation and have no clue what to talk about.”
“Well, there’s – oh! This morning Aria and I were, like, walking down the street, talking. And then Sear just pops out of nowhere, and starts screaming. Aria looked like she was gonna have a heart attack! So I tackled him, except that didn’t work too good because he’s all tall and strong and I’m…”

“Not?”
“Yeah. That. So we started fighting and then I kicked him in the balls and then I ran. And then he shouted that he was going to get me back.”

“And?”

“The end.”

“He is going to get you back, you know. Probably gonna publicly humiliate you. As usual. Actually, he doesn’t have to humiliate you. You do that yourself. Remember the time you got stuck in a tree? Or the time you tried to cook and scalded your hand? Or the time you ran into a parked car?”

“No. I got run over by a parked car. I’m just so awesome that I can make it possible.”

“You’re so awesome that you could be a Christian evolutionist.”
“Or a rich hobo.”
I laughed, nearly spitting out all my water.

“Congrats, you’ve reached a new level of strangeness,” I grinned. “But what if-“

Aria burst through the door.

“Trouble! There you are! Whatcha doing in here?”

“Bane can’t get out of bed, so I brought her some food. Then I decided to stick around for a while. You got a really nice room here, you know-“

“Well, she’s gonna have to get out of bed, ‘cause we’re going down to the mall. I pick pocketed some money so we can get pizza. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Aria,” said Trouble, “Bane’s got a concussion.”
“Ah, she’ll live. Won’t you, Bane?”

I nodded, carefully getting out of bed. The room spun for a moment before coming into focus.
“Yeah, I’ll come with you.”
“But… your head…” Trouble sputtered. “You need to rest!”
“I’m not missing this. I want pizza and I’ve already got cabin fever. I’m going. Even if I am kind of dizzy. Anybody else going?”

“Yeppers. Sear and Sunny are coming, too.”

I groaned. “Why Sunny? I hate her guts.”

“Sear insisted on bringing her. Apparently this is one of their good days.”
“There are good days?”

Sunny was Sear’s on-again-off-again girlfriend. She was also way too girly for the street life, and was thus pampered by most of the Tribe. I hated her, and I was pretty sure that the feeling was mutual.

“Whatever. If she gets out of hand, I’ll just hurt her.” I hopped onto the windowsill. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Beat you down!” cried Aria. She wriggled out the window.

“In your dreams!” I crouched down, preparing to spring. Air rushed by my face as I plummeted to the asphalt. I landed hard on my knees, but the rush was worth it. After being in bed all day, I longed for adrenaline.

Aria landed next to me, jumping from the porch. Trouble did a back flip off the porch and landed on his ass. He looked bewildered as to why it hadn’t worked. I helped him up, laughing.

“Epic fail,” I said, grinning.

“Even my fails are epic.”

From around the corner of the house, I saw Sear sneaking towards Trouble. He motioned for me to be quiet. While Trouble talked to Aria, he stood behind him.

“Prepare to die!” Sear screamed in Trouble’s ear. His friend stumbled and did a faceplant.

“Ow…” mumbled Trouble. As he got up, I saw that his face was scraped.

“And that’s what you get for trying to beat me up!” Sear laughed.

“That really hurt…”
“Ah, you’re used to getting hurt. Now come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Where’s Sunny?” Aria asked.
“She wouldn’t come. Said she didn’t want to hang out with Bane. And I can kind of see her point.”

“Oh, thanks,” I grumbled. “I’m feeling the love.”

We started down the dead-end street we lived on, towards the main road.

“I wonder if they’ll even let us in the mall?” Aria chirped. “What with what we’re wearing.”

She was right. She and I were wearing bandeau tops, hers orange and mine black. Practical if it’s ninety degrees out and you’ve got no AC. Not so much if you’re going to a public building.

“Ah, they’ll let us in. They’ll probably know we’re street kids and think we’ve got knives or something.” Without all the high-tech gadgets and clothes, they’d know we were orphans.

“Do you have knives?” asked Trouble.

“Um…” I stuttered. “Um… I’ll take the fifth on that one.”
“Oh, God, Bane!” cried Sear. “You can’t just be normal, can you?”
“Oh, God, Sear!” I shouted back. “You can’t just be respectful, can you?”

We walked on in silence for a few minutes before someone started singing. At first you could barely hear it, it was more of a mumbling noise, but it grew louder and louder until I could make out the words.

“We’re going on an adventure, we’re going on an adventure, we’re going on an adventuuuuuure…”

“Shut up.” Sear whacked Trouble in the stomach and his singing faltered. It wasn’t long before the song resumed.

“We’re going on an adventure, we’re going on an adventure, we’re going on a-“

“Shut. Up,” I hissed, though I couldn’t help smiling. It was just so funny to see Sear pissed off. Making him angry was something of a sport to Trouble, and apparently Sear had a good enough sense of humor to stay friends with him.

“We’re going on a-“
Sear fixed him with a death glare and he squeaked. That was pretty much how it was until we got to the mall.

The Riverton Mall was out-of-place in a small town like ours. Really, it would be better placed in one of the new towns by the shore, where all the buildings were solar-paneled geodesic domes. It was originally meant to be a new town center, designed to bring the town into the future. But the funding failed, and the structure was left half-finished. Now the cubes of the hulking steel grid were walled by undulating mirrors. At the center of the wall of cubes was a large metallic sphere, the food court. The building had an elitist air, as if it wouldn’t welcome street kids like us.

As we walked in, people gave us a wide berth. A little kid pointed at us as his mother shooed him into a store. I smiled at her.

“Where we going first?” I asked Aria.

“I dunno. You choose.”
“Why the hell do I have to choose? This was your idea.”
“Fine. Let’s get something to eat first.”

As we stood in the treacherously long pizza line, I looked around for empty tables. There were none. Naturally the place is packed the only day we come. Once we got the food, we sat down against one of the cement pillars holding up the massive sphere.

“Oh my God, this pizza is so good!” I cried, grinning. “I haven’t had pizza in forever!”
“That’s why I gotta teach you to pick pocket,” said Aria. “Much more reliable than the black market as a source of income.”

“Ugh. No thanks. I don’t need another run-in with the cops. At least with the black market no one ever finds out your stuff’s fake.”

A girl at a nearby table was glancing over at us. She was listening to the SongChip linked in to her jacket.

“How much do you think one of those would cost?” I wondered aloud.

“Probably twenty-five, thirty bucks,” mumbled Aria through a mouthful of food. “They’ve had those things around for years.”

“I want one. Maybe I’ll get one with my latest batch of cash.”
“You still have to buy the songs.”
“Hel-lo¬, illegal downloading.”

“Look at those freaks,” said a man to his friend as he walked by.
“Yeah,” said his friend, looking at us. “Street freaks.”

I would have stood up, ready for a fight, but I wasn’t abandoning my pizza. Sear, however, was finished, and he jumped to his feet.

“Yeah, we’re street freaks! You got a problem with that?”
The two men hurried away.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought! Bastards!”

“Sear,” whispered Aria. “Sit down. You’re embarrassing.”

“All I’m saying is I don’t know why it’s so bad to be street kids. People have been giving us looks since we got in here, and I’m sick of it. I’m a proud street punk!”

“Me too!” cried Trouble as he walked back from throwing away his plate. “I’m a proud street freak, too!”

“I second that emotion,” I said, smiling. My stomach was full, anyway, so I was happy to make a scene.

“Hell yeah!” shouted Aria. She did a cartwheel. “Top that, Bane!”

“No problem!” I tossed my pizza in the trash and executed a perfect back handspring. “And that’s how a street punk does it!”

“We’re street freaks!” Sear did a back flip off a bench. I clapped, starry-eyed.

“Hey, what’s that?” asked Trouble, pointing to a door in the cement pillar. He’s so easily distracted.

“Hell if I know,” said Aria. “Does it open?”
“Yeah, it’s unlocked. Let’s go in!” He opened the door to a darkened staircase and started up.

“Sure,” I muttered as we followed him. “Just walk right up the creepy staircase. That’s safe.”

We traipsed up the spiral staircase. I moved deftly in the dark, in my element. We reached the top, which had a pitch-black hall. At the end of the hall, we came to a door. I poked my head out and gasped.

We were on a small balcony at the top of the steel dome, looking out overt the food court. Straight ahead, I could see the colossal mirrored spheres suspended from the ceiling that were supposedly modern art.

“Dang,” said Trouble. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could hang out up here?”
“Why not?” suggested Aria. “Just jump on one of the pretty shiny balls and relax. If you’re not too chicken.”

“I am not chicken!” Trouble launched himself onto the installation art. The mirrored orb swung for a second and then stopped. He shot us a triumphant look.

“Don’t look so smug,” I said. “Even I can do that.” I leapt from the balcony railing onto another sphere. The ground below swung back and forth before coming to a dizzying halt.

“Right behind you!” Aria jumped onto the orb I was on, then to another one. “Come on, Sear! Join the fun!”

“You guys are insane.” He shook his head. “I’m going back down.” To my dismay, he left down the dark corridor.

“Bet you can’t catch me!” yelled Trouble. He sprung onto the mirrored ball next to him, then the next, dashing above the food court on our new playground.

“We’ll see about that!” I jumped onto another ball, chasing after him. Soon I found that it was easier to aim for the iron rod holding up the ball than the try to land perfectly. Of course, then the sphere started swinging, making our stunts even more death-defying. As the world spun below me like a merry-go-round, I laughed. I lived for this, this heart-pounding adrenaline. I prepared for another jump.

“Hey, look at the ceiling!” someone shouted as I landed. I looked down. A boy was pointing at me, the rest of the mall-goers following his gaze. I shot them a toothy grin and jumped to the next ball, to much applause. Everybody was watching me now, even the workers.

As I soared through the air, my vision darkened. Was the room supposed to be spinning so much? No, not while I was in the air. The head rush distracted me for so long that I missed my landing. I began sliding over the side of the sphere. Sharp, bright pieces of mirrored mosaic sliced up my hand. I screamed as I fell, certain I was going to die.

Think like a cat. Right your body. Land on your toes. But I couldn’t get vertical in time. The walls were moving by too fast. I braced myself for the blow that would surely kill me.

I never struck the hard tiled floor. Instead I landed on something soft. Everyone around me was gasping. I looked around to see what was shocking them (and me, too, frankly)-

And found myself looking into Sear’s eyes.

OhmyGod he caught me he saved my life whatdoIdo whatdoIdo whatdoIdo? Thoughts raced through my head at breakneck speed. I didn’t know whether to be relieved, embarrassed, or thrilled that my crush had saved me and was now holding me close. I decided on a complicated mixture of the three and closed my eyes.

Then he had to talk and ruin it, the bastard.

“I told you that was stupid! Why didn’t you listen? You could’ve died!”

“Bu-bu-but…” I sputtered. “You were down here to catch me, so it’s all good, right?”

Sear just sighed and gently stood me on the ground. I wobbled a bit. My head hurt like hell, and my hands were bloody.

“No, it’s not all good. What if I didn’t get there in time? You’d be lying here with a cracked skull, bleeding all over the place.”
“I’m already bleeding all over the place.”

He put a hand to his head and took a deep breath.
“Just… don’t do it again. You idiot.” He looked up at Aria and Trouble, who sheepishly stared back. “Get down here, you retards! Before someone else gets hurt!”

After we started walking, my head started spinning again. I groaned and leaned on Aria, who put my arm around her shoulder.

“C’mon, Trouble, we gotta carry her home.”
“Why do I have to?” whined Trouble. “Make Sear do it. He’s stronger than me.”

Now Trouble, knowing of my crush, had probably meant the best when he said that. What he failed to acknowledge is the fact that Sear is nearly a foot taller than me. Hell, everyone was taller than me, but Sear must be, like, part tree or something because he’s huge. So there I was, one arm around a friend, the other awkwardly placed in such a way that my body was sort of diagonal in the air, which, frankly, wasn’t helping my vertigo.

“We’re going home from an adventure, we’re going home from an adventure…”

“Shut up,” I groaned. “I swear to God, if you keep singing you’re gonna be sorry once I can walk again.”

When we got home, Aria tossed me face-first on the bed.

“Thanks, friend.”