Hello, all! I apologize for missing last week’s post, but I was super busy. I hope you can understand! This week is something special, though. For the past few months I’ve been working on a new short story for the Owl Canyon Press Hackathon #3, and I am happy to say it was submitted on the 29th of September. I, of course, don’t know if I’ll win, but writing this story was certainly a fantastic experience. It stretched my skills as a writer, and gave me more confidence in my work. Winners of the contest will be notified in December, so I have quite a long wait! One thing I can’t wait for, though, is sharing the story with you! For the contest, the story had to be 50 paragraphs long exactly, and each paragraph had to be a minimum of 40 words; that’s difficult when writing dialogue! Owl Canyon provided the 1st and 20th paragraphs for me, and I could not edit them at all. After that, the story was in my hands! I believe I’ve done a pretty good job with it, so here it is for your reading pleasure!
1 Beyond the cracked sidewalk, and the telephone pole with layers of flyers in a rainbow of colors, and the patch of dry brown grass there stood a ten-foot high concrete block wall, caked with dozens of coats of paint. There was a small shrine at the foot of it, with burnt out candles and dead flowers and a few soggy teddy bears. One word of graffiti filled the wall, red letters on a gold background: Rejoice!
2 Rainbow Moon gazed at it, her ice blue eyes going back and forth as she read the single-word message over and over again. A slight movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and she sighed when she turned to look at it. It was just a flyer from the pole drifting in the wind. That kind of poster wasn’t unusual to see. It was marked with a letter from the government, Greater Good Industries, preaching about how they were going to change the world and all we had to do was be patient. Rainbow tilted her head ironically. Of course. Patience. A praise worthy virtue, until it got you in trouble. The graffiti wall gave the same message, even though it was just one word. The shrine at its base was against GGI, but they didn’t dare to remove it. If they did, there’d be a full-blown revolution against them.
3 The shrine was dedicated to those who died at the hands of the government. That included anyone and everyone who said even the slightest word against them. Rainbow had contributed a few flowers to it, for her parents were two of the Eliminated. Gazing at the shrine, Rainbow whispered, “I miss you guys.” She was only seventeen, and her parents had been killed four years ago. No one had bothered to take care of her. No one really bothered about anyone these days.
4 Rainbow’s hand strayed up to her neck, fingering her necklace. It was a rainbow-colored crescent moon on a simple silver chain. Her mother had made it for her, knowing it fit her name perfectly. Rainbow never took it off, not even when she showered or slept. It was no longer shiny, but Rainbow didn’t mind. It didn’t attract attention when it was dull, and attention was the last thing Rainbow wanted.
5 Rainbow turned away from the wall and walked down the narrow street that had been on her left. Very few others were there, and they simply mumbled at Rainbow if she accidentally bumped into them. They weren’t mumbled curses. In fact, they weren’t words at all. Just a mindless sound in faint acknowledgement of Rainbow’s touch. Those she didn’t bump into simply shuffled along, heads raised high and pleasant expressions on their faces. They looked like they might be perfectly normal and fine, but their eyes were glazed over, making them seem like ghosts trapped inside mindless human bodies.
6 Scooting past them quickly, Rainbow turned down a few more streets before ducking past a hanging dirty blanket that served as a door. Beyond it was her home. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had. A pile of random clothes and blankets made her bed, and she had broken pieces of billboard balanced on long-empty kegs as her table. An overturned bucket was her chair, and an old lantern provided a tiny amount of dim light which only reached half the room. Her canned and freeze-dried food was kept in an old refrigerator that didn’t work. She had a rusty can opener and some bent silverware as well as an old pie tin for opening and eating her food.
7 Rainbow smiled grimly. This was more than anyone had, or at least, more than anyone appreciated. Before sitting down, her eyes strayed to the left-hand wall of her room. She went over to it, sliding her hand along its surface. Before long, she found the secret pressure point that caused a section of the wall to pop slightly out. Inside was her most prized possession, a small old wooden chest that her father had engraved vines and flowers on years ago, before she was even born, before the rules became too strict. She unlocked it and carefully pulled out a notebook. Her parents had written in it, detailing all they knew about GGI. She opened to the first page which showed the GGI logo and what they assumed it meant. It was made up of two green G’s and a black I. The G’s were right next to each other and slightly overlapping, and the I was underneath the G’s, right against the place where they merged. Her parents said it was a tree, and not just any tree. It was the Tree of Life. That made sense with a name like Greater Good Industries. Rainbow believed everything her parents wrote except for one small thing. They said GGI used to be good, but changed shortly before Rainbow was born. Although Rainbow knew it was impossible for her to have memories of that time, she still had a hard time believing it; the only experience she ever had with GGI was purely bad. Not to mention how her parents had died.
8 Although Rainbow didn’t know it yet, GGI was in the process of experimentation. It wasn’t just any kind of experimentation, either. GGI had a massive building about ten miles away from Elysium City, dedicated to making the perfect utopia for mankind. To accompany this utopia, it was their goal to make humans immortal, allowing them to enjoy it forever. But of course, science costs money, something that doesn’t tend to appear out of nowhere. GGI used the vast majority of its funds on the experiments, which could only be done on a certain number of the population. Elysium City, which contained the rest of the population, was therefore neglected, and the Orations were put into action to give people a false sense of security and happiness. Rainbow’s parents had been able to figure out a few aspects of GGI, but not quite enough to give Rainbow anything extremely concrete.
9 Rainbow sighed, slipping the book back into place and closing the chest. After a moment, she walked over to her bed, pulling out her iPod as she flopped down. She also pulled out some earbuds. She couldn’t risk anyone hearing her music. It was banned by GGI. Her parents couldn’t figure out why that was, and Rainbow was determined to find out herself. But for now, she simply put the earbuds on and hit “play” on her iPod. She leaned back, absorbing the music as it flooded into her ears, thankful to her parents for protecting it. When GGI went bad they set off an EMP bomb which took out all technology; all except Rainbow’s iPod. Her father had altered it, making it resistant to the bomb. Whether he did it just because or if he knew what was coming Rainbow didn’t know. But at the moment she didn’t care, either. She was just thankful.
10 As she lay on her bed listening to her music, Rainbow fell asleep, which wasn’t rare for her, even without dinner. A loud commotion outside startled her awake. She shot up in bed, ripping her earbuds out, stuffing them and her iPod under the blankets. She stood up, checking to make sure her gun and ammo belts were firmly secured and not visible underneath her baggy coat. Slipping her hands into her pockets, which were actually holes in her coat leading to the guns, Rainbow ducked under the makeshift door. As she straightened up her eyes widened. Alex Carlyle, the president of GGI was standing on a slapped-together stage, machine-gun-wielding soldiers flanking him on each side. He was speaking loudly, projecting his voice to the gathering crowd incredibly well even without a microphone.
11 “Ladies and Gentlemen of Elysium City,” he began. “Gather around and listen close, for I have the greatest of announcements. I understand that you are all happy, but I could make you even happier if you aid me in one thing. If you help my team and I in tearing down about half of the old buildings on Main Street, we shall build the greatest ride of your life. It will be calm, it will be soothing, it will make you the happiest people on the planet! Eden’s Treasure will be the name, and trust me when I tell you you won’t need anything more than this. It will enhance your Orations, leaving you with absolutely no troubles and no cares. It shall be paradise.”
12 Rainbow choked back a disbelieving snort as he finished. She knew the truth about the Orations, and them getting enhanced was the last thing the people needed. Ely City. More like Helly City she thought to herself. But everyone else around her had huge smiles on their faces. They were too drugged by the Orations to whoop and holler their approval, but that was just how GGI wanted it. They wanted a quiet people, oblivious to whatever they were doing wrong. Rainbow was sure there was something.
13 Alex looked around at the crowd, bright greed glinting in his eyes as he saw their unanimous approval. He didn’t look twice at Rainbow, for she knew how to blend in, even if she didn’t approve of what she was doing. Faking it was better than death. Alex handed out pickaxes, shovels, and other menial tools for people to use in the destruction of the buildings. His employees got to use a wrecking ball. They smashed down the buildings, leaving the rubble cleanup for the people. Rainbow had no choice but to lend a hand, so she dragged wheelbarrows of broken bricks and concrete to the designated dump site and back again.
14 As she worked, Rainbow had to fight very hard not to get addicted to the Orations. Everyone chanted them while they were working. Rainbow moved her mouth with the words, but never actually spoke them. However, they did not need to be spoken to become addictive.
15 The days began to go by in a blur, merging together like it was just one continuous day rather than the regular progression of days and nights. This was an effect of the Orations. Because of them Rainbow was becoming numb, more and more unaware of the dust and grime. Some nights she even forgot to listen to her music, sinking deeper into a drugged abyss. She no longer minded hauling the wheelbarrows of debris to the dump, and her muscles no longer complained of the work. It wasn’t because they were getting used to it, they just had little to no feeling because of the Orations.
16 After about a month of work the building rubble had been cleared and the lot was now ready to be built on. Rainbow watched with the others, still in a semi-drugged state. She managed to get back to her home and pull out her iPod, but the more she looked at it, the more unappealing it looked. Rainbow stumbled over to her chest and opened it. The picture of her parents was the first thing her eyes found. When she saw it, she picked it up and pulled it out like it was some foreign object. Then, all of a sudden, she clasped it to her chest and began sobbing. A flood of memories crashed upon Rainbow, screaming at her, cursing her for falling into GGI’s trap. She stood up suddenly, wiping tears off her face. She put the picture on her table, propping it up against the wall so she could look at it properly. After staring at it for a few minutes, Rainbow nodded to them, vowing to shut out the Orations from now on. Grabbing her iPod, Rainbow plugged in the earbuds and pushed play, shoving the buds into hear ears. She slumped on the bed, absorbing every note. As it played, she felt herself being released from the hold of the Orations. Her vision became more clear, and her mind opened up once more. She would not be fooled again.
17 The next day, the cleared street was full of commotion. But Rainbow was the only one who noticed. Now that their task was done, the other citizens of Elysium City went about like they had before: mindless and foggy, paying no attention to anything or anyone else. They simply walked along the streets, heads held high and faces pleasant. Rainbow ducked behind some old fifty-gallon drums, peeping through the cracks between them to spy on the building process. It was nothing spectacular. There were no bright colors, no eye-catching mural to draw people in. It was gray concrete, just like everything else. But despite this, Rainbow knew that it would be a death trap once it was completed. Before the Orations got to her, she had been observant as she worked. She managed to spy on some official papers. From what little she saw, Rainbow gathered that the ride would give the people the Orations on a whole other level. People would get into cars mounted on tracks, somewhat like a roller-coaster. But instead of going for a thrill ride the car would move slowly as speakers emitted the Orations loud enough to penetrate the soul without disrupting the spell it cast. There would also be ambient lights and other soothing sounds to sink the people even further down than they already were. Rainbow shivered. If this Eden’s Treasure truly did become all that, Elysium City was doomed. She had had a close call with just the regular Orations. If she went in this monstrosity she might be lost forever. But just then, something caught her eye. It was a splash of color in the drab, gray world. A young boy, perhaps around her own age, dressed in an old red Pizza Hut uniform, was standing not too far away, staring blankly at the construction. His eyes were foggy, but perhaps not quite as foggy as everyone else’s. He was holding a small box in his right hand, and he was rubbing his thumb over it thoughtfully. A minute later he turned and walked away, going towards an old garage, not looking back. Rainbow considered following him, but then decided against it. It’d be suspicious for her to appear out of nowhere and go after him. The construction workers would be sure to see her. So instead she shuffled away, back to her home and her music.
18 A few months later, Eden’s Treasure was complete. Alex Carlyle did not make an appearance again, but Rainbow noticed a slight change in the Orations as the people flocked to try out the new ride. Alex didn’t need to come out and speak again; the Orations were commanding his subjects for him. But even though he wasn’t there, his guards were. Rainbow got pushed along with the crowd, unable to slip away with the guards watching. She walked like they did, trying to match the blank pleasant expressions on their faces. When she finally reached the entrance one of the guards bustled her onto a car, and other people were set down next to her. It took all her willpower not to look around at her new surroundings. The others were looking forward, and forward only, so she had to mimic that no matter what. As the last person was squeezed in, the guard closed the door of the car and it moved forward, going slowly but gradually picking up speed. It never exceeded ten miles per hour, though. But soon Rainbow didn’t seem to mind. The Orations thrummed in her ears, and the lights opened her eyes wide and held them like that, making it impossible to close them for more than the occasional blink. Her head was fixed and refused to move. She nearly went mad at this, for the physical effects happened long before her mind began to go. But when it did go, she was gone for good. The lights, the sounds, the chants, they were all so soothing. Her mind slowly turned to mush once more, forgetting the sound of even the most simple of notes.
19 The ride ambled on, dragging Rainbow deeper and deeper into its depths of light and sound. Eventually, the car slid into a slot, and was barred in so that it could not slide in any direction. Normally, Rainbow would have panicked, but she was too drugged to do that now. The car lifted up, like it had become part of a gigantic ferris wheel, and indeed that’s what it was. One last soothing motion before getting dumped back into reality. Well, as real as a drugged reality is. Right before going almost completely numb, Rainbow’s memory jogged and she saw the splash of color. She fought the Orations fiercely, only causing her to slip into the cold blackness even faster.
20 When the ride ended, she was lifted again. The kid slid her body onto a soft pile of clothing among the boxes in the garage. He pulled an old coat over the top, creating a cave that emanated the sweetness of old ladies who frequently powdered themselves—a light rose motif that played ironically well in the deep recesses of Rainbow’s ancestral brain. The pizza kid lifted her head to help her lap water from a hubcap. He broke bits of pepperoni and crust into bite-sized pieces and left them where her tongue could reach them. Much later, she heard him practicing his orations like songs. Like monks chanting in the distance, they were a comfort.
21 After a few minutes of listening to the soothing sounds Rainbow forced her eyes open, staring at the pizza kid’s bright clothes. They brought back memories of a singer she knew who had bright red hair, and she did her best to push the Orations out.
22 “Hey,” she whispered hoarsely, unable to raise her voice any further, “stop.” The kid looked over his shoulder at her, hesitating in his chant. Rainbow repeated her request, adding an urgent “please” at the end. The kid cocked his head at her, not sure why she was making such a request. His Orations mumbled on, habit and addiction refusing to let him stop.
23 Rainbow pushed herself up slowly and awkwardly on her elbows, then managed to shove herself into a full sitting position. She channeled the rest of her remaining strength into her voice, singing the first few words of a song she knew by heart. The song was “SING” by My Chemical Romance. The kid stopped mid-word, the slightest spark of light shining through his misty eyes. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to give Rainbow hope for him, especially since he didn’t return to the Orations right away.
24 “What were those sounds you made?” he asked slowly, clueless that the simple word “music” even existed. Rainbow took a few deep breaths, gradually regaining her strength as the Orations released their hold on her brain. When she felt ready, she considered his blank face for a few moments before answering.
25 “It’s a song,” she explained, “not like the Orations. I mean a proper song. Music. Joy and laughter and pain and sadness. It reminds us of all the things that are human.” He nodded slowly, still not quite understanding, but the mist had receded from his eyes just the tiniest bit. Rainbow smiled at him, and to her surprise, he smiled back. It was a sideways smile, but it lit up the pale, freckled skin of his face nicely. He ran an equally freckled hand through his ginger hair.
26 “Are you feeling…ok?” he asked hesitantly. She nodded, looking around at the garage they were in. Technically it was a side room within a larger garage, but it obviously belonged to a mechanic. She doubted this kid was the main mechanic, though. He looked much too young, even for an irregular world such as Elysium City. Then, Rainbow remembered something important. Very important. She had not yet introduced herself, and she had no idea what this kid’s name was, either.
27 “I’m Rainbow Moon,” she said, hoping he’d get the hint and respond with his own name. Unfortunately he didn’t. He simply nodded, once again rubbing his hand through his hair. She waited for a minute, and when he stayed silent she probed him gently with a question: “Who are you?”
28 The kid seemingly snapped to attention, blushing slightly. “Felix,” he said quickly, “Felix Hobson.” Rainbow held back a chuckle. Even though she knew his slowness was caused by the Orations, she couldn’t help thinking it made him look like a sweet dork.
29 “Do you live here? Alone?” Rainbow asked, scanning his face with her perceptive blue eyes. Felix nodded and then shook his head. He explained that he lived here with Baz Parrish. He was the mechanic who owned the shop. However, Baz never had any customers, so he pretty much just spent his time working on an old car he had found. When Rainbow asked to see the car, Felix didn’t hesitate long.
30 “Are you feeling ok enough to get up, though?” Felix asked, standing up. Rainbow assured him she was fine, and took his hand that he held out to her. He helped her up off the ground, and she brushed the dust off herself. Smiling once more, Felix led the way through a door to their right into the large main room of the garage.
31 A medium-sized car was positioned in the center of the room, its front wheels raised higher up with ramps. The car had no roof, not even one that could go up and down. It looked almost like a boat, with a short steeply angled windshield in front, and nothing of the sort on the back. The seats were tan leather, and both were benches. There was no space in between the seats, even in front, making it able to carry six people comfortably. The sides were quite dented, so it was impossible to open the doors. But despite its ramshackle appearance, it was clean, and looked like it could actually go somewhere.
32 “Wow,” Rainbow said breathlessly. She had never seen a car that looked so nice. “Does it actually run? Like, can you drive it places?” Felix shook his head again, but explained that he and Baz nearly had it completely fixed. So it wouldn’t be long before it was able to drive. When Rainbow asked, Felix confirmed her thoughts that Felix was somewhat Baz’s student.
33 “Yeah,” Felix said. “He lets me live here just so long as I help him with whatever he needs. Right now, the thing he needs is to get this car going. He only really likes to work on one big project at a time, and I’m more than happy to help. Working on the car…it’s fun, I guess.”
34 “Fun?” Rainbow asked. As far as she remembered, people under the influence of the Orations had no concept of fun. They simply didn’t know what it was. Felix laughed, and the mist on his eyes very nearly vanished. Rainbow could almost see their true green color.
35 “That’s what Baz calls it, anyway. And I have to say I agree with him,” Felix said, almost sounding proud of himself and Baz. Rainbow smiled to herself. Maybe, just maybe, she could get at least Felix, if not Baz as well, off the Orations completely. It’d be nice to have some help with her quest.
36 “So,” Rainbow began. “Where is Baz?” She was surprised to hear Felix say Baz was just in the other room. The room Felix went towards wasn’t the room the two of them were just in, but another side room. “Felix, are you sure he’s ok me being in here?”
37 “Oh, sure, yeah,” Felix said, shrugging. “Do you want to meet him?” Rainbow nodded nervously, not sure what to expect. Felix led the way again, around the car to the other side of the room and though a door there. When they entered Rainbow saw a small room with a workbench that was littered with tools and odd machine parts. A somewhat old man with wrinkled skin and gray hair streaked white was standing in front of it, putting something together.
38 “Hello, Felix,” Baz said in a gravelly voice. His steel-blue eyes turned cold when he turned around. “Who is this?” Rainbow was relieved to see his eyes weren’t misty, but his tone scared her. She shoved her hands in her pockets, lightly touching her guns for comfort.
39 “Baz Parrish may I present to you Rainbow Moon, the loveliest lass of Elysium City!” Felix announced, exaggerating his tone of voice ridiculously. Rainbow blushed, managing to speak only a little squeak of a “hi.” Felix looked at her teasingly, eyes mist-free, like she had just ruined the moment.
40 “Pleasure,” Baz said, holding out his hand. Rainbow shook it shyly, trying her best to avoid Felix’s gaze. “Don’t mind Felix,” he continued. “I don’t think he’s ever properly met a girl before, so he’s a bit, shall we say, awkward.”
41 “So are you two not as affected by the Orations?” she asked, looking from one to the other. They explained that they did the Orations properly and often, same as everyone else. No explanation of why they worked differently on them could be supplied.
42 About two weeks later, Rainbow had been pretty much adopted by the two mechanics. They asked her quite a few questions, especially when they noticed that she didn’t chant the Orations. When asked why, Rainbow explained what the Orations did to people. She told them how they were created to be addictive, and to make people think everything was fine with the world, and that GGI was a “normal” government. Baz especially took this skeptically, but Felix was certain Rainbow was telling the truth. In her explanation, Rainbow had told them how her parents had died, and Felix knew exactly how she felt.
43 As time went on, Rainbow gradually convinced the two to believe her, and she mostly got them to stop chanting the Orations. Every so often they, especially Felix, went into spasms that couldn’t be calmed by anything except the Orations. Even music didn’t do anything when they were in that situation. But about six months after adopting Rainbow, the trio was ready with a plan to storm GGI and expose it for what it really was; a government that had no care for the well-being of its people. It would be dangerous, especially since Rainbow had the only two guns. They tried finding and making others, but neither were successful.
44 Late at night, near the end of September, the trio hopped into the car, all three in the front with Baz driving. GGI headquarters were about ten miles northeast of Elysium City, so the car, which they named Forsaken Death, was their best travel option. Once they were outside Ely City, Rainbow turned on the radio which she had fixed and connected to her iPod. She turned the volume up loud, singing along with all her might, hair flying behind her. Felix joined in, despite the fact that he was dreadfully off-key. Baz smiled, and pushed the gas pedal a bit harder, making Rainbow’s hair whip even more.
45 When they were about a mile from GGI HQ, Baz stopped the car and turned off the radio. “You kids ready?” he asked, hopping out onto the dirt, avoiding the stiff sagebrush. Rainbow and Felix nodded, and Rainbow took off her baggy coat, revealing a close-cut black bodysuit with blue highlights. Around her waist were two belts; one had a gun fastened to each hip, and the other contained shotgun shell-shaped glass vials which contained light purple liquid. She handed one gun and about five vials to Felix, who shoved both into his pockets. Baz’s plan was to steal the gun from the first guard they took out. Once they were ready, they set off on foot towards the looming building, Baz hanging behind.
46 They crept slowly, relying on the moonlight to see where they were going. If one of them stepped on and snapped a stick, all three froze for about ten seconds to make sure the noise hadn’t given them away. Back at Forsaken Death they agreed that there would be no talking during their mission, relying on visuals to tell each other what to do. Despite the fact that Baz was the oldest of their company, Rainbow led the way and gave most of the signals.
47 When they reached a side door leading into the building Rainbow waved the other two behind her and blasted the lock. The ray gun didn’t make a lot of noise, but they waited a full minute to make sure they hadn’t been detected. If GGI knew they were there, they weren’t making any moves. Rainbow flung the door open, catching it right before it banged against the wall. The room in front of them was mostly dark and looked like a storage unit. Once the trio was inside and had closed the door behind them, five guards leapt out from behind the boxes, pointing their guns and shooting with near-perfect accuracy. Rainbow and Felix fired a few shots, taking out two of the guards as they ducked down. The rest of the fight was like a deadly whack-a-mole game with people popping up from behind the boxes to fire while trying to avoid getting hit themselves. A blast went through Rainbow’s hair, but fortunately the guards were the only ones who got injured. When the firing ceased, the trio gagged the guards who were still alive and they took four of the guns, two for Felix and two for Baz. Rainbow was glad to have both of her own guns back; it was more security than just one.
48 The trio moved more cautiously after that, pointing guns in rooms before entering them, but they didn’t do much of that either since most doors they came upon were closed. Rainbow assumed the guards were posted inside as they had been for the storage room. Eventually, they came upon a staircase and an elevator leading up to something hopefully more official. They opted to take the stairs since unexpected elevator noise could alert more than five guards to their presence; if the whole of GGI didn’t already know they were here. At the top, they got more than they were hoping for.
49 The room was bristling with guards, as well as computers and other promising equipment. A handful of people in suits were sitting at a table in the center, with Alex Carlyle sitting at the head. The moment of shock didn’t last long before they screamed at the guards to act, which they did promptly. The trio formed a human triangle, backs facing each other. They spun slowly, firing and dodging as necessary. It was difficult to shoot accurately, with the volume of noise and the need to make quick movements. Before they knew it, Felix was down. Rainbow looked at him, afraid at what she would find, but he was simply curled on the ground, shaking. Orations. He was spazzing out and needed the Orations. Rainbow dropped down, keeping an eye out for shots fired in her direction. She hefted Felix into a sitting position, and helped him start the chant. Once he was fully into it she stood up again, and she and Baz circled him while he recovered.
50 The amount of guards slowly diminished, collapsing as they were either killed or wounded. The situation began to look promising, just for a minute. Just as she was thinking they were going to be fine, Rainbow shrieked as a strong arm pulled her aside, causing her to drop one of her guns. When she twisted around, Alex’s face was right next to hers, and his eyes bled with fury. With another shriek, Rainbow elbowed his face and tried to scramble away, but he was too strong. He slammed her face-down onto the table with her arms bent behind her and tried to take her gun. Rainbow pulled the trigger, not knowing what direction it was pointing. Apparently the shot hit home, because she heard a scream of pain and the pressure on her body was instantly gone. Without looking at the prostrate body, Rainbow straightened herself and turned around, firing at the computers until they were almost hidden by sprays of sparks and plumes of smoke. When she turned to face her companions she saw a change in positions with Baz on the ground clutching his arm and a dazed Felix attempting to fire in a straight line. She leapt for them, pulling them towards the door of the elevator. Within a minute, they were inside, breathing heavily, trying to recover. But as the doors opened, they were met by another group of guards. Rainbow yelled to run through, so that’s what they did, firing blindly as they went. They ran as quickly as they could, not stopping even after slamming through the door to the outside. As quickly as they could they made a run for the car, shots sometimes grazing their limbs. Once they reached Forsaken Death, Rainbow hopped in the driver’s seat, and the others jumped in next to her. As they drove away, Rainbow pressed her foot all the way down on the pedal and turned the radio at full blast. She wouldn’t be going back to Elysium City, but the damage at GGI was done. It would take time for them to recover, giving her enough time to make her own base and hatch a new, better plan to Eliminate GGI completely.
The Phoenix Author 