Chapter 1

The introduction chapter, slower than the rest but is necessary.

Chapter 1

Luckily running and I got along quite well. I was practically flying at this point. I was flying past trees. I was ducking under low branches and hurtling over dead trunks. I chanced a look behind me and instantly regretted it. They had the dogs. I grabbed a hand full of the blue dust in my side pocket. I let it run through my fingers, trailing behind me. When I was out, instead of clapping my hands together, I rubbed the left over dust through my hair and on my shirt. I could hear the dogs howling but I was already up a tree. I was hidden in the leaves and just in time because that was the only, what I called, Smell-be-Gone, dust within all the rebel camps and I felt incredibly guilty for using it on myself. How did this happen? How did I end up hiding from a bunch of guys in suits with dogs that will happily rip my face off?

It all started four years ago with six bombs, strategically dropped. Those killed over fifty million people. After that it only took a year for all chaos to break loose. It was my fourteenth birthday when the bombs dropped. By my fifteenth birthday my whole family was dead and I was running. I have no idea what’s happening around the world but in North America everyone split into two groups. The government, which was an elite group of people who recruited people to protect them and fight for them, dropped the bombs. Then there are the rebels, who started as the majority but five years before the bombs dropped the government outlawed any guns or ammo, so they had much better weapons then us and it only took a couple of them to take out twenty of us. We were quickly the underdogs. Towns were ransacked and if you weren’t with the government, you were against it.

I had been at my grandparents when my whole family was murdered. My parents didn’t choose a side. They just wanted everything to go back to normal. My little brother was five. I was only gone for a couple hours. It was only two months after the bombs so things weren’t all to hell, not yet. I didn’t know that in less than an hour, all the family I knew would be dead. I was at Grandma and Grandpas when the officers knocked on the door. My granddad placed a leather bag on my back. He drug me to the bathroom sink and threw a bunch of medicine and bandages in my bag. He also put in a picture of all of us and gave me a hug, “Run home, Parker. Do not come back here! If something happened there, take the medicine. Parker, things are bad. Help everyone you can. Don’t let this ruin you. Keep your kind heart, no matter what? Promise?”

I may have been fourteen but I was crying. I knew this was my last time to ever see my grandparents. I nodded, “Okay.”

He went to the living room and Grandma shoved me out the back door, “Run, Parker!” The door was kicked in and I was running towards my house. I knew something was wrong as soon as I got in my yard. My backdoor was standing wide open. I had to be incredibly quiet. I had grown up in this house so I knew where the creaky boards were. I avoided them easily. The first body I found was my fathers. He was in the living room. Six bullet holes were ripped through his torso. My mother was against the stairs. Half her head was missing. My adrenaline was running too high to cry. I had to find my brother. Surely they wouldn’t murder a five year old so brutally. I walked in his room then heard a cough in the room next door. I recognized it immediately. I ran into the room with P.W. glued to the front. The room I had lived in for fourteen years and Josh was in the corner. He was holding his stomach and when he saw me he started crying, “Bubba!”
            “Josh!”
He lifted his arms to me and that’s when I saw the blood. I quickly scooped him up, laid him on the bed, and wrapped a towel around his middle. He had three bullet holes. His eyes were distant, “It doesn’t hurt no more, Bubba.”

I was full on crying. I held my baby brother’s hand as he died. He went out with a coughing fit of blood. It got all over me. I covered him in a sheet and remembered what my grandpa told me. I quickly changed, packed a jacket, different shoes, and a change of clothes. More than one pair of underwear and socks was a good idea. I went to my parents’ room and took a silver watch my father loved more than anything because it was a ten year anniversary present from my Mom. It was too big for me at the time but I wasn’t going to let it go to the black market. I also took my toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. I hurried to the kitchen. I loaded my bags with food and water. When I closed my front door, it was the last time I went by my house. I left town and never went back. Chances were the house was completely ransacked, if standing at all. If I had a choice I would never ever go back.

I was crouched in the tree. I heard them run past. I was too scared to get down so I ended up falling asleep among the branches. I was alert the instant I heard the tree branches snap. Three years running alone did that to a guy. The first year after my family was slaughtered; I lived in a rebel camp with a foster family. After that I took a job as a messenger. All I had to do was take letters to ten rebel bases which covered a lot of ground. It would take me about three months to go hit all the bases there and back. That was if I didn’t stick in one of the bases for more than a couple of days. I also liked to run so sometimes it would be shorter. The first year was really hard but after that I was pretty much a pro. It also kept me from getting close to people. I liked talking to the people in the towns. I loved socializing but I didn’t mind being by myself. I had trouble connecting with people on a deeper level. I handed out letters and told stories about my travels or just rumors I’d heard from being on the road. A few girls have asked to go with me. Every time I turn them down. I’d rather not drag a pretty girl up a tree with me. They deserved to have a nice bed to sleep in and a guy that will fight for them. I was not a fighter. I was a runner and a hider but I was stuck in a tree and sometimes even the sweetest animals will turn deadly when backed in a corner.

I was silent. I was listening and scanning the trees around me. I saw the leaves move and I was up and heading towards it. I could hear whoever it was swinging through the trees. It was much bigger than most animals. It could have been an escaped monkey from a zoo but I doubted it. I felt like it was human. I was about thirty miles from the closest camp. I finally stopped chasing the mystery being down when I could no longer hear it.

I sighed and dropped out of the tree. I adjust my leather backpack, now covered in patches. I checked the watch my mother had given to my father. It now fit me. It was just past three a.m. The air was only slightly chilly so I left my jacket in my backpack. As I approached the rebel camp eight hours later, three huge guys wielding guns told me to halt. With one M16, and two AK’s pointed at my chest I wasn’t about to disobey.

None of them were in suits, “Name?”

“Parker.”
            “We want all of your weapons in sight!”
I pulled the knife out of my pocket. I opened it. This was routine.

            The one in the middle shook his gun towards the kid with the M16, “Check his bag.”
He ordered me to drop my bag and take four steps back. I did. The younger guy went through my bag, “He’s a messenger!”

            He was probably around my age. The guy calling the shots looked about forty but he could have been in his thirties, watching out for a town of people could age a person quickly. The guy on his other side didn’t look much different.

            “Parker, you said?”

I nodded, “I was here a month ago.”

            “You back already?” The guy who hadn’t said much of anything lowered his gun. He had a trucker hat and a full beard. His voice had a twang to it. He probably had an illegal stockpile of guns before the bombs dropped.

            “I’m one of the fastest messengers out there.”
The young guy smiled. He let his gun hang loosely. His hand was outstretched, “You are that Parker! We heard about you! The little kids love it when you come.”
            I smiled and shook his hand.

“I’m Harry by the way. This is Buster, the head of security and Dan.”
            I smiled at them.

“Harry, escort Parker to the town hall, take him to Mary Kade. She’ll know what goes where.”

            Harry nodded and did as he was told. He was an inch or two taller than my 5 foot 6 frame. He probably had fifty pounds on me though. I was a little on the scrawny side from running all day and not eating near as much as I should. He was healthy with sandy hair. His eyes were grey, “You hungry?”
            I shrugged, “Yeah, actually, I’m starving, but I have to get these letters delivered first.”
Harry nodded his head, “Do you know where to go?”
            “I’m pretty sure,” I said as we entered a makeshift town. Tents were everywhere but everyone was outside. I could hear a lesson being taught, probably to all ages of children, somewhere in the background while I stared at the old woman in the middle of the street. She was talking to a very young couple with the baby. She glanced up then did a double take. Her hair was dark and cut to her shoulders. She was a pretty heavy woman for this time but everyone loved her. “Parker!”
            I let her squeeze me against her giant bosom. She motioned towards the baby, “Do you plan on settling soon?”
            I shook my head, “No, ma’am. I like traveling.”
She laughed, “Of course, let’s see what letters you have, dear.”
            I fished them out of my backpack. I handed her the whole handful. She read the names quickly, handing me the ones that weren’t in her town. She ended up with about five, “I’ll make sure these are delivered. Harry, dear, can you take Parker to Auntie’s for some food.”
            She pinched my arm, “I swear you get thinner every time I see you.”

“Mary Kade!” I caught her arm before she turned away.

            She looked surprised until I pulled out a bag full of medical supplies from my bag. Her look softened, “Parker, bless your heart. Where do you get this stuff?”
            I put my finger to my lips and winked. She shook her head. I knew she wouldn’t like it if I told her I snuck into loyal towns or old hospitals. Suits loved to hangout near old hospitals because they knew rebels would try to break in for medicine. I was pretty good at it. I was also good at breaking into cars and abandoned houses for first aid kits and other essentials.

            Harry grabbed my arm, “Come on!”

One good thing about being a messenger was the food. In every Rebel camp, they fed you for free. I was an essential part of rebel survival. I was the communication line. Messengers also had a much higher mortality rate. They were more likely to get caught and tortured since they knew where the rebel bases were, but I was fast. I would never tell anyways.

            I was scarfing the food. Harry was watching me, “I have seen you before.”
I nodded, “Yeah, I have been here quite a few times.” At least monthly for the past three years.

            “The littles always talk about you. They love your stories.”
Every rebel camp had them. They had a variety of names but at this one they were called littles. Littles were children whose parents died or were killed or were off hunting the Suits, pretty much orphans.

            We both watched two girls walk by. They were both in shorts. He whistled. They rolled their eyes and sashayed off.

            “So what’s your story?”

I shrugged, “Don’t have one.”
            “What do your parents think of you running around all the time?”
I took another bite and swallowed, “No parents.”

            “ What happened?”
“Shot dead.”
            “Oh gees. I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. I hate pity, “Could have been worse.”
            “Could have been the red mist,” He had lowered his voice but I heard. He was right. The red mist was awful. I had seen it but never seen it at work. It was actually tiny nanobots. The government had created it and it was a fate worse than death, even though it always ended in death. All these tiny nanobots were programmed to stay within certain perimeters. If any kind of flesh got in, that person might as well sign a death certificate. These nanobots got in your nose, and mouth and went straight to your lungs, after that delicious snack it would continue onto other organs. Usually by this point the person is coughing up blood. Another minute and the person will have blood oozing out eyes, ears, and other orifices. It took all of ten minutes to kill someone but it was excruciating. I never heard of anyone surviving except one person but he was mostly a myth.

            I nodded, “That would have been worse.”

“PARKER!” Squeals filled the streets. I stood up and the littles surrounded me.

            “Parker! Guess who was here a week ago!”

“Who was here?” I had a hand on the head of a curly blonde haired girl. She was probably about seven.

            “The Shadow,” Speaking of the myth. All the kids hushed and looked around like he might show up again.

            I turned to Harry, “He was here? For real?”
Harry was nodding, “He was wicked cool. He was in camo pants and boots but he was so quiet. He had to be at least six foot tall.”

            All ten kids were talking at once.

“He was so SO tall.”

            “He had his face covered like a ninja.”
“His eyes looked like the leaves. He barely talked at all.”
            We both sat in the dirt. The kids surrounded us. A few of them had their hands on me, some way or another. I knew they were all thirsty for attention. I tried my best to give it when I could, in all the camps. The children greatly outnumbered adults. Twenty or thirty orphans per town, plus all the kids that still had at least one living parent, it was unsettling.

            I closed my eyes for a second.

“Parker! Did you bring the families letters?” One of the small voices asked. One of the kids was leaning on my back. Her arms were around my neck. I could see them clasped. She nudged her face into my neck.
            I forced myself to smile even though I was reeling in my own self-pity, “Yes I did.”
All the little kids sighed. They scooted closer and I felt more little hands attach themselves to me. My heart warmed up.  My smile became genuine. One of the older boys stood up, “Take me with you. I can help. I want to be a messenger too. I want to run from camp to camp. I want to help the rebellion.”

            I stood up and two of the little’s wrapped themselves around my legs. The boy looked up at me as if I had all the answers, “What’s your name?”

            “Jack,” He said it with conviction.

I glanced at Harry who was watching us very carefully. I sighed, “Jack, you don’t want to be a messenger.”
            “Yes I do! You are super awesome. You bring medicine and letters to families. I know it’s dangerous. I can handle it. I am really fast and smart. I won’t hold you back. I am really good at memorizing so you’ll only have to show me the routes a couple of times. It won’t take long.”
            I ruffled his hair, “You have something far more important here. You seem like quite the leader. I’m sure you take care of these younger kids. Stay with them, take care of them. Plus, you would run me out of the job,” I winked.

            He sniffed and held his chin high, “Okay. I’ll take care of the kids.”
“Parker!” All of our attention shot to Mary Kade. She was smiling with a hand full of envelopes and paper.

            The littles whined, “No! Parker, stay. We didn’t even get to hear any stories.”

I felt bad. I was about to ask Mary Kade for a few minutes but she looked serious and stepped between the kids and I, “He has some very important messages to deliver. He’s going to be working overtime.”

            I said a reluctant goodbye to the kids and followed her. At the gate she handed me the pile of letters. She held onto only one and handed it to me by itself, “This is very important. Priority. Destroy it before you let them get it. Got it?”
            I nodded, “Is it going to Wes?”
She nodded once, “Defense plans. Shadow helped with these.”

            “The Shadow?” The blue envelope was thicker than the others but the importance of it made it seem even heavier.

            She nodded again, “He was going to take it himself. I told him about you. He didn’t trust it but we convinced him. He isn’t a trusting man. It was hard but he finally gave in. A few of us really put our necks on the line for you.”

            I was still staring at this envelope. This was probably as close as I was going to get to him. I finally looked up, “Where is Wes?”

            Her lips tightened, “Hopefully you can catch him at the Eastward camp.”

I must not have heard her right, “That’s out of my route. I’ll be cutting into someone else’s-”
            “Tell them Shadow sent you. If the other messenger has a problem, they can take it up with him. He doesn’t trust anyone else. You need to get going. I heard Wes will only be there a couple of weeks.”
            “That’s nearly impossible.”
“Don’t stop at other camps unless you have to. Go now and you should make it. Parker, this is important. Do you understand? Can you handle it?”

            I put the letter in my inside jacket pocket. I held out my hand. She ignored it and pulled me into a hug. Her ringed fingers brushed against my face lightly, “You can do this, Parker. Out there is dangerous but you are the best at what you do. Don’t get caught.”
            I smiled, “I’ve got this.”
“I know you do,” She whistled, “Harry! Get Parker some water bottles and food to go. He has a long trip.”

            As we were walking, Harry had his hand on my shoulder, “You are practically working for him.”
I shrugged even though it was nerve wrecking. Two years ago, The Shadow showed up out of nowhere. His signature look wasn’t the only thing that made him famous. I only heard rumors though. I knew he always wore bandanas to cover his face. Hats were pretty prominent and if it was sunny, sunglasses. He was a fan of long sleeves and pants. Most people claimed to see him wearing boots and gloves also.

            He was silent. No one knew where he was until he wanted them to. He was incredible in any kind of fight, be it guns, knives, or fists. Rumor had it; he had a kill count of close to a hundred. Suits were scared shitless of him. He was the epitome of a living legend.  He never missed a shot. He could even kill quickly and efficiently close quarters with knives or just his hands. Of course the biggest, most spread rumor was him walking through the mist. People reported Suits releasing the mist on him. It didn’t matter. He would walk out like it was nothing and kill the Suits.

            He was one of those guys I wanted to meet but at the same time didn’t because I knew there would be a level of disappointment. Or worse, I would accidently piss him off and he would rip my heart out and show it to me before I died. I had never heard anyone talk about him laughing or just hanging out. He was always killing, protecting, or making plans to protect these camps.

            Harry was shaking his head as he went into a convenience looking place. I looked around. He started grabbing stuff off the shelves and shoving it in my backpack. The shop owner flipped s**t, “Hey! I have a gun back here! You better intend to pay for all of that.”
            Harry only blinked at the man, “Do you know who this is?”
My gaze shifted between Harry and this guy. The guy narrowed his eyes.

Harry continued, “This is Parker! The Parker. The fastest messenger ever!”

The clerk looked me up and down, “Unlikely. Pay or get out.”
“He was hired by The Shadow.”

“If there is something I don’t tolerate more than thieves, it would be liars. I’m going to cut off both your tongues.”

I quickly stepped between Harry and the clerk, “Alright, sorry. We’ll put everything back.”

Harry had his chin jutted out. He motioned for me to stay put then got in the clerks face, “Don’t move.”

Five awkward minutes with the clerk later, Mary Kade stomped in. She gave the man an earful and I ended up with my bagful of food and water. I waved a thank you but it was obvious the clerk was not pleased.

Author's Note

Anything helps! Edited once already

Reviews

[AprilRN1210]

The story line was interesting and entertaining.. It actually captivated my interest early on and held it.. the details were nicely done and character like-able.. It definitely made me interested to see where it would go next.. I will say there were a few places I stumbled with wording, but overall, nicely done.

[K.E. Henderson]

If you could tell me where you stumbled I will try to fix it.... Thank you for the great review this helps.

[AprilRN1210]

You're welcome. I recommend combining some of the short, choppy sentences, and looking over some of the longer ones that get a little wordy and confusing.. Also there is a lot of unnecessary repetition in here that could be edited out..

[K.E. Henderson]

I'm going to try and fix it tonight.... Thank you again for the very insightful review.

[AprilRN1210]

If you do edit, I wouldn't mind coming back and looking over it again, if you would like. You're welcome again :)

[K.E. Henderson]

I did the edit, but I still think it needs some help, Just let me know!

[Kotite]

I like it, it really brought us up-to-date without any nonsense and brought us right into the plot. Great exposition and it really grabbed my attention and kept me interested!

[K.E. Henderson]

Thank you for the review!

[Kotite]

No Problem!

[Soulless Writer]

I like where this is going, I'm kinda iffy about the pace of everything though, it seems as if the pace is going a bit too fast. Other than that I think this whole thing was interesting and a great start. I also want to point out that your word choice was great.

[K.E. Henderson]

I'm aware of the pace being iffy (i liked your wording) I'm mot very good at having cool down moments and this book is very fast paced so far. it's a first draft and I'm trying to slow it down . I really appreciate this review. It helps!