#but they’re also the only two who could realistically carry ivan out so *shrugs with a dead look in my eyes* | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

godofevrerything · 5 years ago

Text

Hell Rising Chapter Four: Rin

I hated close knit neighborhoods. They were the most dangerous places to be in. Everyone knew everyone, and a stranger, especially a colored stranger, could be picked out in a second.

I looked around, feeling sick. The air smelled like exhaust and tar. Nothing like the clean air and spice from India.

The cargo ship had been suffocating. I had been running all around the ship for a week, in a constant state of panic.

It was a damn miracle that nobody tossed me overboard for trespassing.

I walked down the sidewalk as quickly as I could. The sooner I was out the the neighborhood, the better.

"You're not from around here, kid. What do you think you're doing?"

I jumped, fear pumping through me. But the question wasn't directed at me.

The security guard glared at the brunette boy in front of him. I ducked into the alley, and peaked out at the scene.

The boy was shaking. "I was j-just passing through, s-sir! I mean no h-harm, I swear!"

I felt a surge of empathy for the boy. He was taller than me, and several years older, maybe 17.

His blue gray eyes darted around in a panic. They swept to the alley and met mine, silently pleading me to help him.

I was conflicted. If I stepped out to help him, I'd get the brunt of the punishment. If the security was this gruff to a light haired, white boy, who knows what they would do to me.

But at the same time, if I helped him, he'd be in my debt. I could use him as my shield to get anywhere.

I drew in a breath.

Allah protect me.

I stepped out of the alley and plastered a relieved look on my face.

"Master, there you are!" I gasped. "Come along, the Madame will be furious if you aren't home for dinner!"

The guards head snapped to me, scowling darkly. "Are you this boys maid?"

I dropped into a low curtsy. "Sir, I am so sorry that the Master went astray. But we must go."

The guard took a step towards me, his eyes flashing. "What kind of damn brainless fool are you to lose your master? A stupid islander like you should know to keep close to their superior."

I bit back a yell. I shoved my hands into my pockets. I could feel the sparks crawling up to my wrist. No. I couldn't kill the guard. That would be the opposite of escaping quietly.

"Once again, I sincerely ap-"

"A cheap sorry, especially an apology from an islander doesn't change the fact that you superior has trespassed." he spat.

"Sir, do not speak to my maid that way."

We turned. The boy had drawn himself up to his full height. He was actually as tall as the security guard, if not, he was taller. But the scary thing was his cold eyes. All the nervousness was gone, replaced by a icy sense of confidence and superiority.

The security guard frowned. "It's a maid. She's not worth much."

"It doesn't matter." the boy scoffed. "She is my maid, and I do not tolerate anyone speaking to my staff that way."

Oh god. Didn't this kid know that people didn't think much about their staff? He was going to get us locked up for being decent.

"Also, if it's anyone who can speak to my staff that way, it's me. God knows how many times she screws up. And if her esteem goes too low, she won't be able to work as well." the boy added.

Well. Never mind.

For a long moment, the guard stared at us, his eyes narrowed.

Then he shook his head. "Go on then. Just remember to not loiter. And make sure to keep your staff in check." the guard addressed the boy.

The boy nodded. "Of course." he tossed a glare at me. "Now hurry up. If I'm late, you won't get any dinner tonight."

I gritted my teeth. Christ, he didn't have to be such an ass.

"Of course, Sir." I muttered.

We walked away from the guard as quickly as we could. I kept my head down, my heart in my throat. The boy was silent.

We made it a few blocks outside of the neighborhood when he spoke up.

"Um, thank you."

I glanced at him, raising my eyebrow.

He shifted, looking at anywhere but me. "For what you did back there. You, uh, saved me."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I know. And are you thanking the tree, or me?"

He looked at me, startled. "Huh? I'm thanking you?"

I smirked up at him. "Sounds like a question. And typically, you look at the person when you're thanking them."

He flushed. "Oh. Sorry."

I waved my hand. "Forget it. I don't need a thank you."

He frowned. "Then why were you making a big deal about it?"

I shrugged.

The boy swallowed. "So, I'm guessing that you need my help."

I chuckled. "Glad you brought that up. I'm going to need to travel with you."

He blinked. "Why can't you travel on your own?"

I sighed. "I could, but that would be extremely hard. I've traveled on my own for about a decade, and I can tell you; it's no picnic. You know that guard that you just talked to?"

He nodded.

"Well, imagine that you have to deal with that a hundred times a day, the harshness is ten times worse, and you don't ever have anyone like me to pop out and save you." I speared him with a look. "Now imagine dealing with that for every day, for a decade. Not pleasant, right?"

He shuddered. "No. But, if you've dealt with that for a decade, then why can't you deal with it for a bit longer?"

I groaned. "I can, but I don't want to. I mean, nobody would want to. And not to mention that if I slip up once, I'll be thrown in jail for life."

His mouth opened. "They're that harsh? Please tell me you're kidding!"

I smiled grimly. "Nope. Thats my life. I mean, the guard was awful to you, and you're white. I'm Indian, and not to mention, a girl."

He drew in a breath. "Alright. I'll help you. I have two tickets to Missouri. The train leaves at noon."

I grinned. "Great, lets go."

His eyes widened. "What? But you don't even know my name!"

I snorted. "So? Names don't matter to me. People come and go. No use trying to remember them. It's not like they're remember me."

He stared at me.

I sighed. "Look, are you coming or not?"

The boy held his hand out to me.

I frowned. "What are you doing?"

"It's a handshake." he said.

I glared at him. "I know that. But theres no point. It doesn't matter."

He shook his head. "It matters to me. Come on, it'll only take a minute."

I stared at his hand and sighed. I shook it quickly. "There, happy?"

He sighed. "That wasn't a proper handshake."

"It doesn't matter. You'll forget me anyways." I sneered.

He shook his head. "No, I won't."

I sighed. "Liar."

He frowned at me. "Are you always this cynical?"

I chuckled. "It's called being realistic. And since I don't think you'll stop asking, my name is Saundrine. But call me Rin."

He smiled. "I'm Ivan."

I glanced back at Ivan. He was just as innocent now as he was five years ago. He had become more confident, I supposed, but he still had the optimistic innocence.

I kept telling him that the world wasn't good. People died every day and the ones who lived came and went. Few stuck around, and most hurt you. If he had went around without me, I had no doubt that he'd be locked up in a lab by now. He'd probably blatantly flirt with some man, and the officials would drag him away.

He wore his heart on his sleeve. And never held his tongue.

I sighed. He was going to get killed someday if he didn't watch himself.

Rana squeezed my hand. "What are you thinking about, Sunshine?"

I drew in a breath. "When I first met Ivan. He's just as oblivious to the world as he was back then."

Rana smiled. "Cute. I'm just glad that you two didn't meet like Darcy and I met. Wouldn't want you to have nightmares like me."

I sighed. "That makes the two of us."

Kai tugged on my hand. "Amma?"

I looked at him. "Yes?"

"My feet are tired. Can you carry me, please?" he asked.

I chuckled. "Sure."

I put Kai on my shoulders. He yawned and lay his head on top of mine. I glanced at Rana. Sabrina was curled in her arms, fast asleep. I couldn't imagine the toll it took on them to escape the hotel. No wonder why they were exhausted.

We walked through the city, keeping our heads down. Ivan and Darcy were walking behind Rana and I, something they never did. They always walked in front of us, to sort of shield us from any officials. But now I supposed the roles became switched.

"-Johnson and Ivan Stravinsky. The two young adults not only destroyed their hotel room and grievously injured our police force, but have also been helping two convicts to flee from the law."

My head snapped up. There, on a TV screen in a shop window, were Darcy and Ivan's faces. Right on the news.

"That's right, Dan." the reporter continued. "Johnson and Stravinsky are reported to have helped the escaped convict Namarana Ishimi and a young woman. Ishimi is also reported to have two young children with her, and has been dragging them all around the country. It is unclear if the young women is Ishimi's accomplice or captive. Now, let's hear from David Ricker, the head of the police force."

"Ricker." Rana snarled.

Ricker appeared on the screen, wearing an oily smile. "Thank you Lindsay. I believe that Ms.Johnson and Mr.Stravinsky were simply brainwashed by Ishimi. They were two good young people who Ishimi manipulated into helping her. Nevertheless, they did cause considerable property damage, and not to mention the damage done to our fine police force."

"Well what were we supposed to do, you sick bastard?" Rana growled. "Let them kill us?"

"Rana, quiet." I hissed.

She exhaled angrily, her eyes trained on the screen.

I glanced back at Darcy and Ivan. They were stock still, their faces white. To my horror, there was a small crowd surrounding us, listening to the news.

"I truly believe that Johnson and Stravinsky can become sane again if they simply turn themselves in." Ricker sighed. "We have plenty of outstanding psychologists and medics who can help them through the trauma that Ishimi put them through. And once she is taken care of, I truly believe that the city will be safe again. For she is the reason of the unrest in the city."

"You sick son of a-" Rana hissed.

I stomped on her foot, cutting her off. She glared at me, and I glared back.

"Is there anything that you'd like to say to Ishimi, sir?" the reporter asked.

"Absolutely."Ricker chuckled. "Ishimi, I suggest that you turn yourself in. You've terrorized the country enough, and even manipulated innocent people into helping you. Turn yourself in, or we will be forced to drag you into government custody."

"Forced, my ass." Rana mumbled.

Luckily, nobody seemed to hear her.

"Come on." I muttered. "We've heard enough, let's go."

I grabbed Rana and Kai's hand, pulling them out of the crowd. Darcy and Ivan followed us, silent.

We made it two blocks before Darcy spoke, her voice shaky.

"You know, I always wanted to be on TV when I was little. But this is not what I meant."

Ivan shook his head. "None of us did."

Kai spoke up. "Haha, why were they saying all that stuff about you?"

Rana didn't answer, choosing to stare down at Sabrina in her arms.

"Haha doesn't want to talk right now, Kai. But don't mind what that man on TV said. He was lying." I whispered.

"But why was he lying?" Kai asked.

I shook my head. "Because he is evil. That what evil people do. They lie all the time to make themselves look like heroes. And they paint the real heroes as villains."

"That's awful." Kai whispered. "Can I kick him?"

"Yeah, I'll join you." Rana muttered.

"No, Kai. Kicking him won't solve anything." I sighed.

"But it would make me feel a hell of a lot better." Rana scoffed.

"It still won't change anything." I sighed. "If it would, trust me, I would have beat him black and blue already."

Rana let out a weak laugh.

We walked into a bookstore, ducking into the back isles.

I turned to Darcy. "In the cab, you said that you had a friend who would help us. You said she'd meet us here."

Darcy blinked. "Oh. Yeah."

"Yeah?" I asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hi guys. Glad you made it out."

We turned. A girl approached us, smiling faintly. She was a bit younger than Rana, with short pastel pink hair.

Rana stared at her, frowning. The girls eyes were silver, and they flashed slightly when she looked at Rana.

"Something on my face?" she asked.

Rana blinked. "What? Oh no."

"Great." she sighed.

"Guys, this is my friend, Jae." Darcy said. "Rana, you've already met her when she took care of the kids. And Ivan knows her. Rin, Jae. Jae, Rin."

I nodded. "Hello."

"Hiya." Jae chuckled.

She turned to Darcy. "So are we going or not?"

"Going?" Rana asked. She held Sabrina a bit tighter, her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, to the safe place." Jae snorted.

"Safe place?" I repeated.

"Well, one of them."

Darcy frowned. "Jae, you've never mentioned safe places."

Jae laughed lightly. "Ah, well. I've only known you for what, nine months? I couldn't trust you yet. Y'know how people turn your trust against you."

"I can relate." Rana muttered.

They shared a grim smile.

I frowned. "You said that there were multiple safe places. Why haven't we heard of any of them?"

Jae sighed. "Practically nobody knows about them. We have to be extremely careful about letting people know about the safe places. They're all connected, so if one wrong person hears about them, the government will be able to connect and destroy all of the safe places in a whole state. And then the ones out of the state."

"That's dumb." I muttered.

Jae glared at me. "Excuse me?"

"That all of the safe places are connected. I mean, every safe place shouldn't be shut down just because one is discovered. Really, at the most it should be all the safe places in a city connected. Not all in the state. And even if they're just connected in the city, it's idiotic." I scoffed.

Jae sneered at me. "Well, you aren't in charge of the safe places. So could you please shut your mouth and listen to me. Like you said, you didn't even know that they existed."

"Do not talk to Rin like that." Rana snapped. "You might know more about the safe places, but that only proves that you don't have as many street smarts."

Jae's mouth opened slightly. She stared at Rana in shock. Rana glared at her.

"Ummm... So, what about the safe place?" Darcy squeaked.

Jae looked her, lips pursed. "It's hidden. Follow me."

"Oh, so we're just supposed to trust you without any evidence that you're telling the truth?" Rana asked.

Jae paused. "I am telling the truth. I would never lie to you."

"We only met you today." I sighed. "We don't trust you."

Her eyes flashed. "You don't trust me. Darcy and Ivan trusts me."

Ivan raised his eyebrow.

"Is there a problem here?"

We all whirled around. There was young man standing a few feet from us.

"What?" Rana whispered.

"I asked if there is problem." the young man said. "You all are quite loud and rude. Also,"

He paused and frowned at Kai and Sabrina. "Children aren't allowed in the library."

"What are you talking about?" Darcy asked. "Libraries are for everyone."

He scoffed. "Well, they are not for people who aren't mature enough to take their private matters outside."

"Oh, and they are for people who stick their noses into other peoples private matters?" I scoffed.

The young man sputtered indignantly.

Rana shot me a glare and gave the man a sweet smile. "I'm terribly sorry for the disturbance, sir. We didn't mean to be this loud."

He sniffed. "Well, you have been."

Jae smiled. "We meant for it to be a small discussion, but it got," she paused, searching for a phrase that wouldn't have the man be suspicious.

"out of hand." Rana finished. "Truly, we apologize for the disturbance. And we'll be right out of your hair."

The man frowned at us. "Hold on, have I seen met you?" he asked.

He asked Darcy.

She froze. "What? N-no. Why?!"

Rana laughed quietly. "We've never seen you in our lives. Now if you'd excuse us,"

He shook his head. "No, I know I've seen you two."

He pointed at Darcy and Ivan.

They froze.

"Well, my two friends are stunt doubles!" Jae chirped. "You probably recognize them for a show."

"Yeah, they've had to stand in for some actors as well." Rana chuckled. "I'm so proud of them."

She gave Ivan and Darcy a bright smile.

The man frowned uncertainly. "No, I've seen them somewhere-"

He winced suddenly, grabbing his head in pain.

Rana frowned. "Are you alright?"

"Headache." he mumbled.

"Ah, well we'll just get out of your hair then." Jae chuckled.

She grabbed Darcy and Ivan's hands, slipping out of the mans view.

"Yes, we'll get going now." Rana said brightly. "After all, dealing with strangers might worsen your headache. And I know how bad headaches can get."

She grabbed Kai and my hand, rushing out of the bookstore before he could answer.

We met Jae, Ivan and Darcy a few blocks down.

"That was close." Jae croaked. "We have to get you to the safe place now."

"Then let's get going." Rana snapped.

They started walking down the sidewalk. All of them, without a single question or complaint.

I rushed after Rana and grabbed her arm. She jumped, glaring at me. I didn't care. I took Sabrina from her arms and gave the baby to Darcy. I told Kai to go walk with Ivan. He listened, and I went back to Rana.

"Rin, what the hell?" Rana demanded.

"Keep your voice down." I hissed.

She glared at me furiously.

"Why are you trusting Jae?" I whispered. "You don't know anything about her! For all you know, she could be leading us right to the Admin!"

"Jae is Darcy's friend." Rana whispered. "I trust Darcy's judgement."

"Darcy's judgement is what got us wasted in a dumpster and covered in hot sauce in Houston!" I snapped.

"Don't bring that up." Rana scowled. "I don't ever want to think about Houston. And I trust her judgement with people, not alcohol."

"Are you kidding me? Darcy is the type of person to trust a serial killer in the middle of the woods!"

"That's Ivan." Rana corrected.

"And," she hesitated. "I trust Jae. There is something about her that makes me trust her."

"What?!" I yelped.

"Look, if you can't trust Jae, then trust my judgement. You can do that, right Rin?" she asked.

I frowned. "Of course I trust you, but-"

"Great." she interrupted. "Now let's get going before the Admins men come back and try to kill us again."

"I second that." Jae called out.

"Were you eavesdropping?" I snapped.

"Nah, just heard the end bit." Jae chuckled. "Now hurry up."

We went down the street and ducked into an alley. I held onto Rana's hand tightly, frowning at Jae's back.

She yanked the manhole up and grinned at us. "Come on."

Jae dropped into the hole.

"No! Hell no. I am not climbing down into a sewer!" Darcy yelped.

Rana pulled her hand from mine and scooted into the hole. "Then enjoy getting pumped full off drugs and endless interrogation."

She disappeared from view.

Ivan hesitated and then went after her.

"Kai, sweetheart, come on down! I'll catch you!" Rana called up.

"Kai, no." I hissed.

He hesitated.

"Come on Kai, we got to move!"

"Come on, Amma." Kai said. "Haha will catch us."

"Kai?!" Darcy yelped.

He climbed down in the damn hole.

Darcy leaned over the hole. "Um, can I drop Sabrina down?"

I stormed over to Darcy. "Absolutely not. Drop her down that hole and I'll push you in."

"Don't listen to Rin!" Rana yelled. "Drop Sabrina. She won't push you in here, don't worry."

"Darcy." I hissed.

She dropped Sabrina.

And climbed down instantly.

I dropped to my knees and looked down the hole, my heart nearly beating out of my chest. What if Rana didn't catch Sabrina? What if Kai didn't get down alright? Why didn't I hear him? Why didn't I hear Ivan? Were they de-

"Got you, Sabi!"

I heard Sabrina squeal in delight, and Rana laughed. I heard Kai talking to Sabrina, and Ivan helping Darcy down.

Thank you Allah.

"Rin, come on!" Rana called. "We have to go. Hurry up!"

I swallowed. If Jae was leading us into a trap, well....

She was going to regret it.

I swung my body into the hole and yanked the cover closed. I climbed down the ladder as quickly as I could.

Rana grinned and gave me a quick peck. "There you are! Thought you weren't coming, Sunshine!"

I shook my head. "As if I would let my family walk around with a stranger."

Jae groaned. "We get it, you hate me. Now let's get going."

"Hate you? I don't-" I started.

But she was already walking away.

Rana grabbed my hand. "Come on, Sunshine. You can fry her if it's a trap, don't worry."

"How can I not worry?" I sighed.

We went down the sewer, holding hands in the dim light. Eventually, Jae stopped in front of a wall. She kicked the bottom of it.

"What are you-" Rana started.

A panel appeared on the wall. Jae leaned in and spoke quietly.

"It's Jae. I have some newbies with me. Darcy Johnson, Ivan Stravinsky, Namarana Ishimi, and-"

She glanced at me.

"Saundrine Iago." I said.

"- Saundrine Iago." she finished.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a rumble. And the wall opened.

We stepped inside.

My mouth dropped open.

It was a huge pavilion, with hundreds of tent and booths. Everything was colorful. Voices filled the air.

Happy voices.

Jae grinned.

"Welcome to the Haven."

#Hell Rising #original story #dystopian

3 notes · View notes