The Tomorrow Series Fanfiction: Who Will Lead Us? - Chapter 5
This is the fifth chapter in a fanfiction of The Tomorrow Series by theun4givables.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
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Jazz pulled his cap down to keep his conspicuous blond hair covered. As he moved through the streets of this particular slum, he tried to remain aware of his surroundings. Having been on the run before, he knew he had to stay alert. Too bad he thought he would never have to be on the run again.
If only he hadn't voted for Mitchel, Jazz could have been safe in the Palace, not walking through streets full of people who might want him dead for how he was born. Jazz felt the hairs on his arms stand on end as he walked down a narrow street. Noticing his physical response, he scanned the area for potential dangers.
He couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean he was safe. Jazz's heart pounded too much for it to be nothing; he felt too anxious to dismiss the feeling as unimportant. His palms sweated as he pulled his cap lower over his eyes. Jazz strained his ears, trying desperately to figure out where the threat was coming from.
It didn't matter if he couldn't pinpoint it exactly; Jazz still had to run. But which way should he go? He didn't know, turning into an alleyway and hoping for the best right as the first shots rang out. Jazz ran, but the shots only grew louder and closer. Snipers. There must be snipers on the roofs of these buildings. For a second Jazz contemplated turning around, but he heard footsteps following him.
Heart pounding, Jazz quickened his pace. Another shot rang out, and he felt an all too familiar stinging in his shoulder. The pain nearly blinded him, but he kept running. Jazz didn't stop even when a second bullet hit him in his lower leg. His vision went funny, going gray at the edges, but, after stumbling and nearly falling, he kept on.
Jazz couldn't maintain his pace; the pain quickly became more than he could bear, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He fell even as he tried to keep running forward, his leg and shoulder burning where they had been hit. Jazz's vision swam, getting fuzzier from the blood loss. Maybe he could rest for a moment and get up. He needed to continue on, or he would be dead for sure.
His heart sank as he heard footsteps coming his way. Jazz had hoped if he looked close enough to dead, the shooters wouldn't bother to finish their job. It looked like his hope would be dashed, but why wasn't the approaching figure shooting at him?
He closed his eyes, willing the figure to go away. Jazz winced in pain as it approached him. His vision was too blurry to tell much, but he could now see the figure was a man.
This man knelt beside Jazz. “You okay?”
That was the last thing Jazz heard before he passed out.
* * *
Savin shivered as he entered the rundown store. It had only one mannequin in the window, which was missing an arm. He didn't trust the place, but he need a coat before he got hypothermia, and this was the only store he had found nearby. Savin would have gone into a more respectable shop, but he didn't want to risk it too close to the Palace. Mitchel was bound to have alerted the police by now.
After some hurried browsing, Savin picked out a coat and headed up to the cashier to pay for it. When he placed his purchase on the counter, the cashier smiled.
Her eyes glittered. “Good how the new Emperor's takin' some real action, huh?”
Savin didn't understand. “Excuse me?”
“You mean t' tell me you didn' hear 'bout the NB Purge? Emperor Foraker announced it the second his proposal went through,” she said.
He could feel the color drain from his face. “NB - Purge?” Savin desperately hoped he was wrong about what he thought that was. Even Mitchel wouldn't -
“Emperor Foraker's headin' an effort to get rid of all the Natural Born vermin. Gonna be troops comin' through the Capital and findin' every last one they can. Finally, an Emperor who will do somethin'!” The cashier's face shone with excitement.
“Y-yeah,” Savin managed, unable to look at her as he finished making his purchase.
When he was done, he left the store as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself, grateful that the cashier hadn't taken notice of his green eyes. Savin felt sick to his stomach. As soon as he was out of sight from the shop, he leaned over the nearest trash cash and vomited into it.
Savin's mind swirled as he emptied the contents of his stomach. He couldn't stay in the Capital. Not only was he an NB, he was an NB whom Mitchel knew personally. Savin had only one option if he wanted the slimmest chance of staying alive: he had to try and make his way to the desert compound. He hoped it was still there and still safe.
* * *
"You need to take it easy," Ravi said, looking at Blue. "I'm no fuckin' expert, but I think you still got a bullet in your shoulder. It ain't exactly safe to move around so much."
“I'm fine, okay?” he grumbled, while wincing in obvious pain.
“That don't look like fine to me,” Ravi muttered. “Say, do you got a name, or should I just keep callin' you Blue Eyes?”
“Jazz. You can call me Jazz.”
He said, “Think I like Blue Eyes better. You mind if I still call you that?”
Blue grunted as he shifted position on the couch. “That's fine. Do you mind if I turn on the TV? I want to check the news.”
Ravi reached for the remote. "I ain't one for mainstream media, but you can turn on the TV if you want. You're the one who's been fuckin' shot, not me."
He handed the remote to Blue, who turned the TV to a popular news station.
That reporter Victoria Glass smiled as she announced, “It is a glorious day for Second Earth's Empire. Our Esteemed Emperor Mitchel Foraker is pleased to inform us all of the implementation of what he is calling the 'NB Purge.' Troops will be combing the Capital for any remnants of the Natural Born threat and making sure the city is safe for all legal citizens. Once through here, the program will move throughout the Empire, making sure everywhere is secure and peaceful.”
Blue Eyes blanched. “Oh fuck you, Mitchel,” he muttered under his breath.
Mitchel? It almost sounded like Blue knew the new Emperor.
“You know him?” Ravi had to ask.
Something strange flashed in his eyes. “Of course not.”
Ravi blamed it on the pain Blue was clearly feeling. A new image flashed on the screen beside Victoria Glass' smiling face. A man with green eyes, glasses and long black hair.
The reporter explained, “In shocking, tragic news, one of Our Esteemed Emperor Mitchel Foraker's very own Council members was discovered to be secretly Natural Born. Former Councilman Savin Bates escaped before he could be apprehended and is believed to still be at large. A reward of twenty five thousand dollars is being offered for any information that leads to his arrest. Call the toll-free number at the bottom of the screen.”
“But he's not an NB!” Blue shouted.
Ravi raised an eyebrow. “How would you know? Ain't like you're personally acquainted.”
Victoria Glass said, “Corruption is passed down through the generations, as the former Councilman Bates had a Natural Born daughter of his own. When his wife, Dr. Mari Bates, refused to surrender the illegal child, both mother and infant were gunned down for violating the laws of Second Earth's Empire.”
Ravi watched as Blue placed his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking. "Shit," he hissed under his breath. “Shit.” Blue looked up at the screen, tears in his eyes.
Something wasn't right.
The realization clicked just as the image next to the reporter's faced changed. This time, the screen showed a picture of a man with blond hair and blue eyes, labeled “Former Councilman Jazz Callahan.”
That man was Blue.
Ravi smiled wryly and turned to the man sitting next to him. “Don't know the Emperor, huh?”
Blue flushed and looked away. “Fuck,” he muttered.
"I ain't gonna turn you in, if that's what you're wonderin'. Would be fuckin' suicide for myself if I did,” Ravi said.
The man turned back to look at him. “You're - you're Natural Born, too, aren't you?”
Ravi nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
Blue muttered, “Shit, it's not safe here for either of us.”
“Ain't fuckin' safe for you to travel,” he said.
"I don't have a choice. It doesn't matter that I've been shot, we need to get out of here. It'd be rude to say genocide, but that's what the fucking NB Purge is, and I'm not gonna get fucking killed." Blue bit his lip.
“Where would we even go?” Ravi asked.
Blue sighed. “When I was last on the run, there was a desert compound maybe a week away by foot. It's the only real safe space I know. We should head there.”
Ravi didn't like it, but Blue was right; he would be killed if he stayed here. Unlike Ravi, Blue couldn't pass. “You know the way?”
“I hope so,” he said.
It looked like they didn't have a choice. Ravi guessed they were heading towards the desert. He only hoped Blue would be able to survive the trip.
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written for the hc_bingo prompt "Runaways" & 500themes #165 - "A Valley of Echoes"
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
---------
Jazz pulled his cap down to keep his conspicuous blond hair covered. As he moved through the streets of this particular slum, he tried to remain aware of his surroundings. Having been on the run before, he knew he had to stay alert. Too bad he thought he would never have to be on the run again.
If only he hadn't voted for Mitchel, Jazz could have been safe in the Palace, not walking through streets full of people who might want him dead for how he was born. Jazz felt the hairs on his arms stand on end as he walked down a narrow street. Noticing his physical response, he scanned the area for potential dangers.
He couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean he was safe. Jazz's heart pounded too much for it to be nothing; he felt too anxious to dismiss the feeling as unimportant. His palms sweated as he pulled his cap lower over his eyes. Jazz strained his ears, trying desperately to figure out where the threat was coming from.
It didn't matter if he couldn't pinpoint it exactly; Jazz still had to run. But which way should he go? He didn't know, turning into an alleyway and hoping for the best right as the first shots rang out. Jazz ran, but the shots only grew louder and closer. Snipers. There must be snipers on the roofs of these buildings. For a second Jazz contemplated turning around, but he heard footsteps following him.
Heart pounding, Jazz quickened his pace. Another shot rang out, and he felt an all too familiar stinging in his shoulder. The pain nearly blinded him, but he kept running. Jazz didn't stop even when a second bullet hit him in his lower leg. His vision went funny, going gray at the edges, but, after stumbling and nearly falling, he kept on.
Jazz couldn't maintain his pace; the pain quickly became more than he could bear, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He fell even as he tried to keep running forward, his leg and shoulder burning where they had been hit. Jazz's vision swam, getting fuzzier from the blood loss. Maybe he could rest for a moment and get up. He needed to continue on, or he would be dead for sure.
His heart sank as he heard footsteps coming his way. Jazz had hoped if he looked close enough to dead, the shooters wouldn't bother to finish their job. It looked like his hope would be dashed, but why wasn't the approaching figure shooting at him?
He closed his eyes, willing the figure to go away. Jazz winced in pain as it approached him. His vision was too blurry to tell much, but he could now see the figure was a man.
This man knelt beside Jazz. “You okay?”
That was the last thing Jazz heard before he passed out.
* * *
Savin shivered as he entered the rundown store. It had only one mannequin in the window, which was missing an arm. He didn't trust the place, but he need a coat before he got hypothermia, and this was the only store he had found nearby. Savin would have gone into a more respectable shop, but he didn't want to risk it too close to the Palace. Mitchel was bound to have alerted the police by now.
After some hurried browsing, Savin picked out a coat and headed up to the cashier to pay for it. When he placed his purchase on the counter, the cashier smiled.
Her eyes glittered. “Good how the new Emperor's takin' some real action, huh?”
Savin didn't understand. “Excuse me?”
“You mean t' tell me you didn' hear 'bout the NB Purge? Emperor Foraker announced it the second his proposal went through,” she said.
He could feel the color drain from his face. “NB - Purge?” Savin desperately hoped he was wrong about what he thought that was. Even Mitchel wouldn't -
“Emperor Foraker's headin' an effort to get rid of all the Natural Born vermin. Gonna be troops comin' through the Capital and findin' every last one they can. Finally, an Emperor who will do somethin'!” The cashier's face shone with excitement.
“Y-yeah,” Savin managed, unable to look at her as he finished making his purchase.
When he was done, he left the store as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself, grateful that the cashier hadn't taken notice of his green eyes. Savin felt sick to his stomach. As soon as he was out of sight from the shop, he leaned over the nearest trash cash and vomited into it.
Savin's mind swirled as he emptied the contents of his stomach. He couldn't stay in the Capital. Not only was he an NB, he was an NB whom Mitchel knew personally. Savin had only one option if he wanted the slimmest chance of staying alive: he had to try and make his way to the desert compound. He hoped it was still there and still safe.
* * *
"You need to take it easy," Ravi said, looking at Blue. "I'm no fuckin' expert, but I think you still got a bullet in your shoulder. It ain't exactly safe to move around so much."
“I'm fine, okay?” he grumbled, while wincing in obvious pain.
“That don't look like fine to me,” Ravi muttered. “Say, do you got a name, or should I just keep callin' you Blue Eyes?”
“Jazz. You can call me Jazz.”
He said, “Think I like Blue Eyes better. You mind if I still call you that?”
Blue grunted as he shifted position on the couch. “That's fine. Do you mind if I turn on the TV? I want to check the news.”
Ravi reached for the remote. "I ain't one for mainstream media, but you can turn on the TV if you want. You're the one who's been fuckin' shot, not me."
He handed the remote to Blue, who turned the TV to a popular news station.
That reporter Victoria Glass smiled as she announced, “It is a glorious day for Second Earth's Empire. Our Esteemed Emperor Mitchel Foraker is pleased to inform us all of the implementation of what he is calling the 'NB Purge.' Troops will be combing the Capital for any remnants of the Natural Born threat and making sure the city is safe for all legal citizens. Once through here, the program will move throughout the Empire, making sure everywhere is secure and peaceful.”
Blue Eyes blanched. “Oh fuck you, Mitchel,” he muttered under his breath.
Mitchel? It almost sounded like Blue knew the new Emperor.
“You know him?” Ravi had to ask.
Something strange flashed in his eyes. “Of course not.”
Ravi blamed it on the pain Blue was clearly feeling. A new image flashed on the screen beside Victoria Glass' smiling face. A man with green eyes, glasses and long black hair.
The reporter explained, “In shocking, tragic news, one of Our Esteemed Emperor Mitchel Foraker's very own Council members was discovered to be secretly Natural Born. Former Councilman Savin Bates escaped before he could be apprehended and is believed to still be at large. A reward of twenty five thousand dollars is being offered for any information that leads to his arrest. Call the toll-free number at the bottom of the screen.”
“But he's not an NB!” Blue shouted.
Ravi raised an eyebrow. “How would you know? Ain't like you're personally acquainted.”
Victoria Glass said, “Corruption is passed down through the generations, as the former Councilman Bates had a Natural Born daughter of his own. When his wife, Dr. Mari Bates, refused to surrender the illegal child, both mother and infant were gunned down for violating the laws of Second Earth's Empire.”
Ravi watched as Blue placed his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking. "Shit," he hissed under his breath. “Shit.” Blue looked up at the screen, tears in his eyes.
Something wasn't right.
The realization clicked just as the image next to the reporter's faced changed. This time, the screen showed a picture of a man with blond hair and blue eyes, labeled “Former Councilman Jazz Callahan.”
That man was Blue.
Ravi smiled wryly and turned to the man sitting next to him. “Don't know the Emperor, huh?”
Blue flushed and looked away. “Fuck,” he muttered.
"I ain't gonna turn you in, if that's what you're wonderin'. Would be fuckin' suicide for myself if I did,” Ravi said.
The man turned back to look at him. “You're - you're Natural Born, too, aren't you?”
Ravi nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
Blue muttered, “Shit, it's not safe here for either of us.”
“Ain't fuckin' safe for you to travel,” he said.
"I don't have a choice. It doesn't matter that I've been shot, we need to get out of here. It'd be rude to say genocide, but that's what the fucking NB Purge is, and I'm not gonna get fucking killed." Blue bit his lip.
“Where would we even go?” Ravi asked.
Blue sighed. “When I was last on the run, there was a desert compound maybe a week away by foot. It's the only real safe space I know. We should head there.”
Ravi didn't like it, but Blue was right; he would be killed if he stayed here. Unlike Ravi, Blue couldn't pass. “You know the way?”
“I hope so,” he said.
It looked like they didn't have a choice. Ravi guessed they were heading towards the desert. He only hoped Blue would be able to survive the trip.
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written for the hc_bingo prompt "Runaways" & 500themes #165 - "A Valley of Echoes"