The X-Kid Army

Adrienne and Scout reached the bottom of the ladder. They jumped down and stared down the dark tunnels, broken up here and there by beams of light from the surface.

"Which way should we go?" Scout asked, quietly.

"Umm... This way." Adrienne said, and pointed towards a long, nearly completely dark, tunnel.

"You don't know." Scout said, laughing.

"No, I do not, but I'm older, so we're doing it my way." Adrienne stated and headed down the tunnel, while Scout followed obediently. The girls wandered for nearly an hour. They turned down separate tunnels countless times, and could've sworn they were walking in circles.

"Adie, we're lost." Scout said, exasperated.

"No, we- we just need to find-" Adrienne began.

"Adrienne! We've passed this spot twice already!"

"You don't know that!" Adrienne snapped. Suddenly, both girls spun around in different directions towards the sound of footsteps. The sound was distorted and disorienting because of the echoes. Adrienne grabbed Scout's hand and ran down a tunnel. She turned a corner sharply, and found herself face to face with a pair of bright green eyes.

"Ahh!" Adrienne screamed.

"Whoa!" The eyes screamed back. She turned to run the other way, when she heard a voice.

"Wait!" A boy in his early twenties stepped out of the shadows. He was small and pale with jet black hair. "I don't want to hurt you!" He said, holding his hands up in a surrendering position.

"Who are you?" Adrienne asked nervously, still standing in front of Scout.

"I'm Billie, I live down here." The boy, Billie, said. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Adrienne." She said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Pretty." He said. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Your name, I mean." He said blushing. "And who's the little one?" Billie asked, nodding curiously at Scout.

"Scout." The fifteen year old mumbled.

"Nice to meet you guys!" He said, smiling.

"Don't know if I can say the same about you." Adrienne said, cautiously.

"Oh my God, I'm not gonna hurt you! How can I prove it to you?" He said, exasperated.

"Lead us outta here?" Adrienne asked, after thinking it over.

"Sure." Billie said. "Follow me." He turned around and pulled a flashlight out of his pocket. "So how'd you two end up down here?"

"Um, we took a left, then a right after we passed-" Adrienne began.

"No, a right, then a left." Scout cut in.

"Oh yeah, a ri-"

"I meant in the sewer." Billie laughed.

"Oh. We were running from the Clowns." said Adrienne.

"You escaped? Why aren't you wearing prison jumpsuits?" He said, turning to look at them.

"We weren't in prison." Adrienne said, confused. Billie stopped dead in his tracks.

"You were free?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah? We're not the only ones." Adrienne said, laughing.

"What?!" Billie exclaimed, "We've been up to the surface a bunch of times and we've never seen anyone!"

"That's kind of the point." Adrienne laughed.

"Oh... That would make sense."

"You said 'we" Adrienne said, quietly.

"What?" Billie asked.

"Before, you said "We've been up to the surface" who's we?" She asked.

"Oh, my two best friends live down here too, Mike and Tre." He answered.

"That's it? Only three people in all of New York know about this place?" She asked, shocked.

"Five now." He said, smiling. He reached a ladder. "Well, here we are."

"All right," Adrienne said, grinning. "I guess I can trust you."

"Absolutely." He said, laughing.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Billie." She said, sticking her hand out for a handshake, even though she really left like hugging him for being so kind.

"You too, Adrienne." He said, accepting her handshake. "Wait," he said, still holding onto her hand.

"Yes?" She questioned, glancing down at her hand.

"Can I... come with you?" He said.

"What?"

"Is it all right if I come with you guys to the surface, I mean, you're the first people aside from my friends and the Clowns that I've seen in months."

"Scout, what do you think?" Adrienne said, looking at the girl who'd been quiet the entire journey.

"Sure, why not?" Scout said.

"Great!" Billie exclaimed. "Wait right here, I just gotta go tell my friends!"

"Wait, what?!" Adrienne yelled after him.

"It'll take two seconds! Wait here!" He said, running off into the darkness, and leaving Adrienne and Scout confused and staring at each other.