Empty Hands

Jay

“How far are we gonna run?” Brad tripped on his own feet. His breath was visible in the cold air.

“We run till we physically can’t anymore.” Mel, who’d been taking up the rear, shoved past him. “Got it!”

The raid on the festival had been sudden. Line Keepers didn’t come to the ruins. They just kept Punks out of the Pops’ city. It has been this way for a long time. No one expected them to come this far out. Even with the extra patrols around the border the last few weeks, the attack was a surprise.

People scattered like seeds to the wind. Those who weren’t fast enough… I am afraid to think about. Our friend Taylor, lost in the chaos. Now there was nothing we could do but run.

Brad tripped and fell on Brittney and remarkably she didn’t fall as well. Neither of them were used to this. They shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I never liked Brad. He just showed up one day acting like being a Punk was a fun game to play at. Since then he learned but I still ignored him when he talked most of the time. He was a rich kid from the city, a Pop and so was Brittney. The world they grew up in they’d sooner run to a Line Keeper than away from one. Honestly, I can’t believe they were ballsy enough to cross the line from their picture perfect city in the first place. Brad, maybe I understood a little but I don’t know how he got Brittney to be out there that night.

Mark held his hand in the air and everyone slowed, except Mel. She ran past Mark and away from the group. Everyone stopped. “What the hell?” Brittney huffed. Her question got left hanging. Mark stared blankly in her direction.

Mel arrived back at Mark’s side and nodded. “Alright, we'll sleep here tonight.” Mark clapped his hands together and gave a goofy grin.

“What? I’m not sleeping here! I have to get home and besides the ground is covered in pine needles. Also bugs.” Brittney stomped off away from the group.

Mel flopped to the ground “well, more bugs for us then.”

“Mel…” I sighed.

“Wait, Brittney.” Brad ran after her. “Where are you going?”

“Home.” a deep puff of air. “Or wherever this path takes me.”

“Not looking like that you don’t” Mark shouted. “You’ll be put down by a Line Keeper in no time.” He had a point, she wasn’t dressed in typical city style and with the dust from running. Well, Line Keepers asked questions; never.

Brittney stopped still, it would have made a statue jealous how long she stayed that way. Brad buzzed around her kind of the way I imagine old world humming birds moved. This carried on for several amusing minutes with Brad becoming more and more frantic. I’m not sure what he did but eventually Brittney moved again and they came back to where the group had settled on the ground amongst the trees.

Brittney sat down and crossed her arms. I watched UFO get up and he walked towards her, his oversized trench coat dwarfing his slight frame and his fingers absently playing with the heart locket around his neck. He sat down and silently offered a candy bar to her from his pocket. It was a sweet and compassionate move typical of him. One of the many reasons I fell in love with him. I held on to my matched locket as I watched him.

“Alright, how do we get Taylor back?” Mel, spoke up.

“Well, it’s not safe to go anywhere tonight, but in the morning we should go back to old buildings, see if he was brought back there.” I suggested.

“I doubt he was brought back there. The Line Keepers were out for blood tonight.” Mel leaned back gruffly. Her body made a thump on the tree behind her.

“It’s true but we should still start at the Old building.” Mark’s hand absently ran through the needles on the ground.

“Excuse me,” Brittney half whispered. “What’s a Line Keeper?”

“What’s? What’s a line Keeper?” Mel repeated. “Did you not tell this girl anything before dragging her out here Brad?”

Brad slunk back.

“You see what you call a Peacekeeper, we call a Line Keeper.” I started.

“They don’t do anything peaceful.” Mel snorted.

“Right.” I hummed. “What they do is try to keep us on our side of the line. See, big government doesn’t really like Punks in their city… Or at all. So Line Keepers don’t let us cross the line or anything else for that matter. Lately it seems that they are just tasked with finding excuses to take us out.”

“Well, you must have done something to deserve it, something illegal or something.” Brittney spoke slowly.

“A whole group of people?” Mel said.

Brad put a hand on Brittney’s shoulder “They didn’t do anything Bri. They helped build the city but when they no longer were necessary and didn’t conform to the government's new standards they were pushed to the edges and now it looks like they’re making the final push. It’s been happening for years.” Pops weren’t taught the real history of what happened during the rebuild, after the giant fall. That was part of the problem.

“Oh, I’m sorry” Brittney became quiet.

“Anyway,” Mark giggled tightly.

UFO moved next to me and took my hand. I was grateful for this. “So in the morning we return these two to the line and then find Taylor.” UFO smiled and looked at me.

“It would be better if I got out of your hair wouldn’t it.” Brad mumbled.

“Ya think!” Mel kicked the ground.

It seemed as though Brad finally realized he didn’t belong here. Though I doubt on this messed up planet there was a place for a guy like Brad to belong.

For the rest of the night everyone was huddled together and real silent. The tension was palpable and at times it felt like I was choking on it but we stayed together for warmth. However, like a snail creeping calmness fell, as one by one we all fell asleep.

I held UFO close as we slept. My wonderful boy with a funny little name.

UFO

The morning after the Line Keepers raid on the gathering everything had changed. It feels weird to say. Instinctively we knew it. It was like the cliche turning point in an adventure story where the hero has to go off and fight the dragon but you didn’t know whether this is the type of book where the hero lives or where the hero dies.

At dawn we got up and headed to the Line. In retrospect the line probably wasn’t the best place to be going. Brad and Brittney had to go back where they belonged before they got into any more trouble they didn’t deserve.

As we began walking I slipped my hand into Jay’s and squeezed. He gave a squeeze back. Every time I held his hand it felt like home, like nothing bad would happen as long as I kept my hand in his. So that’s what I did. I kept my hand in his as the six of us made our way through the woods to the line. I didn’t let go the whole way there.

I stole a glance at Jay as we walked. His heart locket bounced light against his chest with each step. I remember the day he found them. He ran to me so excited, swinging around the two matching lockets, shouting about how we’d be together forever. The lockets were Jay’s version of a wedding ring. The weight of mine around my neck meant everything. He never did tell me how he found them, though. Claims a magician never reveals his secrets.

It was still early morning when we got to the line between the ruins, our side, and the city on their side. It was quiet still and all that could be heard was the planet’s endless wind.

“This is your stop.” Mark gestured to the well known territory divide.

“Thanks.” Brittney muttered. She’d been quiet since last night.

Brad saluted Mark and Mel. “Good luck you guys.” He turned to leave then turned back. I held my breath hoping he wouldn’t say what I thought he was going to. “You better get going before…” And he jinxes us.

“You there don’t move.” Came a shout.

The first instinct was to run. Run and never come back to the line again but as we began to move Line Keepers were everywhere. I felt Jay's grip tighten. Mark and Mel put their hands in the air. “Woah, woah. Easy there, we're just heading home.” Mark kept an even voice.

“I’ve heard that one before.” A mean looking Keeper growled.

“Just tell us what you want and we’ll do it.” Mel stepped back.

“I want you to shut up girlie.” That was not a good thing to say to Mel. I closed my eyes and prayed she could keep her cool just this once.

When I opened my eyes her mouth was moving. That wasn’t good. Then I noticed the Keeper’s weren’t holding the usual white taser guns. The weapons they were holding were black hard metal guns that shined in the cold morning light. They were rifles, the deadly ones with bullets and everything. I thought rifles were supposed to have been put out of commission because taser guns were deemed more humane. Not that that was necessarily true but nevertheless here they were.

And one was pointed at Mel.

I stopped breathing.

I breathed again.

My hand slipped from Jay’s. The warmth of his skin was gone.

I ran full speed at Mel knocking her out of the way.

Thunder sounded and lightning ripped through my abdomen. I put my hands to my stomach and they turned red. I looked a Line Keeper in the eye. The eyes were empty but held a hint of blame “What did I do?”

My legs folded up under me and my head hit the ground. I could hear screaming. Three more rounds of thunder came. The ground was covered in thick warm red.

My hand was empty.