By David C. Daoust
“Who is it you think you are? Who is it you think you’re talking to? Do you think it’s ok to talk to anyone this way?” Sadie angrily asked in rapid succession, her finger poked hard into the young man’s chest, which forced him against the wall.
The young man just watched as she bore her steely eyed gaze into his very being. He didn’t respond, but she did not expect him to. The single index finger recoiled slightly as she splayed out the rest of her fingers and gave him an extra push, as though to tempt him, to dare him. She then backed off a step and threw her arms out, inviting him to come at her. He didn’t make a move.
“What am I even saying?” she sneered as she leveled her gun hand at him. “As if you have the sense, the brainpower, to realize how anything you could do or say may affect those around you.”
The young man watched, back still against the wall as she continued on.
“Oh, maybe you weren’t talking to me?” She asked.
He just stood there as she let the question hang in the air.
“I don’t see anybody else here,” she trailed off as she gestured to the otherwise empty surroundings.
After a few seconds a smile broke through the anger forged visage that was the young woman’s face.
“So what’d you think?” Sadie asked.
“I think I almost pissed myself,” the young man, Jessop, praised with a laugh, “That was amazing!”
“Thank you. Thank you.” Sadie said as she took a couple quick mock bows, clearly excited that the young man had enjoyed her performance. The ‘gun hand’, of course, was empty, all part of the scene. Though she returned the imaginary weapon to its imaginary holster.
“So, have you heard from your Dad?” Jessop asked.
“Not in a while,” Sadie answered with a shrug. “I’m sure he’s just busy ‘making contacts’ or whatever. ‘Course with the flattened Grady up top, and that blackout, who’s to say he’s not trying as we speak!”
“You’re going to be great, Sadie,” Jessop told her as he pulled her in close.
She let him hug her, but squirreled away when he leaned in for a kiss. They were currently in the unused backroom of a way-station of the underground tramway that circled through Grady; little more than a janitor’s closet. The Way-stations were a popular place for the young people to sneak away to, even before it was one of the few remaining structures (Mainly because it was underground). This was not the first time they’d been there together, and it wasn’t the first time Jessop leaned in for a kiss. Might be the first time Sadie squirreled away though, she wasn’t sure.
Sadie’d snuck away to see him, but had to keep it short. Her mother wanted her back home. Once they started snogging, she knew she’d lose all sense of time.
“I have to get back,” she gave the bad news to the creased brow, “Don’t be that way, the whole world was torn down around us.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jessop sighed, he probably had other problems to worry about too, “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t vanish under the rubble… like the rest of my life.”
Jessop was a Gradian, the son of the local sheriff. He was a young writer who accidentally said so many sweet things, she could not help but melt into him; the chiseled good looks didn’t hurt either.
It was the thought of all he’d lost, that kept her from squirreling away as he leaned back in.
An hour later the pair climbed up the stairs, back into the destroyed world of rubble and debris that was Grady. After chatting some more and sharing a few too many farewell kisses, Jessop and Sadie went their separate ways.
Sadie’s home wasn’t far off, whether or not her mother would be angry with her or not, didn’t even register in her mind as the love struck young woman made her way home. A walk she’d made dozens of times since they’d parked the family Crawler in Grady. Sadie was on auto pilot, thinking only of Jessop.
It wasn’t until she caught sight of the figures from the corner of her eye, that she realized she’d messed up. The bounce in her step was a bit too peppy. The elated smile on her face, as she strolled through their wrecked lives, could only be construed as a smack in the face to those that had lost so much. Sadie was dressed like a Gradian, but everyone knew she was First Wave. A First Waver whose home went completely unscathed. She felt that sinking feeling in her stomach, she knew –knew- what was next.
The group was led by two brothers. Anyone from Grady would recognize them- the Bram brothers. They were the sons of the ‘extremely well-to-do’ that lived on Twin Crown. If there was a high society in such a silly little town, the Bram’s were certainly bolstering for the top. These were the boys that, for their entire lives, thought they had their future in the bag; their father was a prominent business owner, their mother was this snide little teacher everyone pretended to love. Every aspect of their lives were guided and protected. To the rest of the world, they were the designated assholes. They played that part for all their young lives, and that didn’t change once they’d got out of school. They didn’t show respect to anyone they didn’t have to cow to, or that didn’t cow to them, which meant they were currently surrounded by toadies.
And now, now, their future was stripped away.
They caught up to her fast, and the hateful words they spoke, threw her. The fear gripped her before she could get that wolf to wake up. She went from love-struck to fearful, so quick, that the anger was just slow to boil. Her face contorted as she forced it all down, collected herself, even so, the ‘anger forged visage’ came too late.
The first fist struck just as she turned on them, the world spun as the knuckles met her cheek. The fists that followed met her torso. Searing pain followed through her ribs, she thought she may puke.
She was thrown into the gravel. Her face scraped over rubble as her hands came up too late to catch her weight. She kicked at the legs around her, but that just made things worse. More seemed to join the assault in answer to her meager attempt to fight back, and the kicks that followed were much heavier. Sadie couldn’t do anything but roll into a ball as more and more heavy boots rained down on her.
The kick to her side, pushed Sadie into jagged rock…
Discussion ¬