Max wasn’t sure what that meant, but Alice was waiting for a response.

He nodded slowly. Reaching into her supply bag, Alice pulled out a hammer she stole from shop class.

Max’s heart dropped. Alice, hammer in hand, waited for the guards to turn their gaze away from the house, and pounced like a lioness hunting for her prey. Max couldn’t watch, but he heard the screams of the surprised guards, he heard the crackling of bone and felt the cold steel on his face. After a moment he turned the corner and saw two bodies on the floor; Alice triumphantly looming over them. He was relieved that neither of them sounded any alarm. No attention was drawn to the scene. He slowly crept out of the shadows.

“Alice! What are you doing? You-” Alice shushed him and grabbed him by his lapel.

“Don’t make a sound,” she said sternly through her teeth. “Come on.” She took one of the guard’s assault rifles.

Funny, why have assault rifles at an orphanage?

She ran in a combat stance ready to fire at anything that moved. When she said no mercy, she meant it. Max hesitantly lagged terrified, not certain of their fate.

A mile ahead they saw the gate of the orphanage, armored with three guards, one in the caged tower and two on top of the gate’s ledge keeping watch pacing back and forth slowly on alert for trouble. The night grew darker while the rain came down harder. Fog moved in to protect the children from being spotted. Alice used this to her advantage as she slowly walked on the far left side of the concrete platform. Max had stopped at that point and whispered to Alice pleading for her to return, but she was stubborn as an ox. She moved in quietly as a mouse.

Climbing the armored staircase, she heard the guards talking about the City.

“You know, the Queen? She’s pretty good, she makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. I don’t mind workin’ for her. She doesn’t demand too much, just lets you be.”

“Nah, she’s fierce. I don’t like her. This City’s going crazy. Just last week I was stationed on the Outer section. People killing each other over nothin’. It’s nuts out there, man!”

Alice crept up behind the one who was talking and knifed him in the throat. Before the other knew what was going on, she slashed his throat. Blood spewed out.

She threw him off the ledge as the third sounded the bell and sirens rang all throughout the platform enlivening the silent night. He opened the door of the caged office as he sprang up, dagger in hand, ready for a knife fight. But Alice aimed the assault weapon with her left hand at him and opened fire, unloading a whole round. She quickly tried to turn off the alarm but didn’t know what she was looking at on the dashboard. She noticed the key to open the electric-infused gate required eye identification. She stopped and looked at the corpse of the guard and got an idea.

Cupping out his right eye with a little spoon she had in her pack, she wiped it off by rolling it around in her palms. She placed it on the screen of the dashboard in the gated guard tower. Then the electric gate opened slowly as the alarm still sounded loudly.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Max came running, shouting, “Alice! It’s time to go! They’re coming!” Alice could hear the guards ramble around to put on their gear as the roar of engines could be heard in the far distance.

“Let’s go!” Alice called back. They just had to run another mile or so to get to the landing. The platform had cartridges and huge cases that were perfect for cover if the guards came closer and opened fire. Max and Alice decided to hide behind the cases filled with ammunition. Alice opened one trying to find the right rounds for her weapon.

They will open fire. They won’t stop till they capture us, or worse: kill us.

“Max, find a weapon. Quick! Mr. R. is on his way. He should be here soon,” looking at her watch.

“We don’t have any time! I don’t see a gun anywhere!” Max shouted furiously.

“There should be one around here somewhere! He’s gonna come any minute! Right on the landing zone.” The landing zone was part of the platform circular with flashing lights around the rim to signal to flying ships where to go. Flying ships brought supplies and new orphans.

The caretaker Jezebel Sweed would fly out to find new orphans and bring them back. She never returned without newcomers. Sometimes she wouldn’t be seen for months. She also talked about visiting her sister, but she didn’t talk much about her. Resorting to her privacy, living in a separate corridor by herself, no one was ever allowed in. And no one was ever allowed into the orphanage grounds except by the direct order of Miss Sweed. It was only she and the guards, that were supplied, that watched over the children. The children were trained in case of an emergency, for the outside world was a dangerous place, they were told. You must learn to fight and to defend yourself if you were to venture one day to the City. But those who were too old to stay at the orphanage just simply disappeared one day. There was no celebration, no ceremony, no parting gift for the child, not even a mention of the child going off. Nothing was spoken about the older ones and no one brought it up. That was the question no child dared ask.

Suddenly, the alarms turned off and the only noise was of the guards in their jeeps traveling to find what could possibly be going on at this hour. Alice and Max could hear them two miles down the platform. But just as the rain had stopped and the fog was as thick as snow, the children heard a fanning motion out in the distance. It was quiet at first but grew louder every second. The fog made the children vanish out of sight from the incoming guards who approached.

Then out of the dense fog, a great flying ship came swiftly in their view, just a few yards from where they were. The wind and fog were pushed and spun in the great propellers of the ship. The children were taken aback by the force. The metal ship stopped suddenly and levitated in mid-air.

Mr. R, the captain, cackled, “Come on, Alice!” as he let down a ladder for her to grab.

“Max?! What you doin’ here? Come along for the fun?” Mr. R laughed and hollered in the night. “Quickly now!”

Alice climbed as fast as a cheetah. Mr. R put out his hand and helped her up.

Max hesitated. Alice looked back down and saw him standing idle. Rage took over.

“You promised to not slow me down! We’re leaving you! Come on Mr. R!”

“Wait my child. We have time,” Mr. R said with gentleness.

“No, we don’t! The guards are about a mile away in that thick fog. If we don’t leave now, we’re toast!” They both were pleading with Max to come aboard or to be left in the hands of his caretakers. Max could not move, frozen with fear and anxiety.

Alice at last yelled with all her might, “Max! You promised! You’re no friend, you coward!” With that phrase spoken Max, hurt and angry, was reanimated suddenly. Leaping onto the ladder, he made it in time as the ship began to take off.

Suddenly, the ship gained momentum turning around. Just as the back propellers pushed the grand flying ship forward away from platform B-12, two squad jeeps with four guards in each came out of the fog and into view. They started firing with their assault rifles as the three raced up and forward into the night sky away from danger.

Alice and Max had made it out of the orphanage unharmed. They were free at last. They both sighed with relief. They were safe… for now.