The dude was shorty Like he couldn't even be taller than 5"2 and he was thin.
"Wait, you're telling me this guy's some sort of drug dealer?" I leaned to the front, where Hayden sat shotgun while the twinkish-looking dude sat behind the wheel, while Ash and I sat passenger. "And how'd you get such a nice lookin' car if you're in the 3rd district?"
"Ahahaha, yeah, it's a pretty good business, gets me enough money to live through another day" He chuckled, just narrowly avoiding an android that crossed the street. "And the car's not mine, it's him." he took one hand off the steering wheel to point it at Hayden's direction.
"Eh, dad won't need it." He shrugged but somehow, that doesn't seem oh so right with me. Like what if the car's being tracked or something and we're taken back and then we get killed on the spot. exactly what we get for trusting this slimy little git. "Relax yourself, Anthony, Don't overwork your brain too much." He snickered and I heard a small sniffle of a laugh come from the guy behind the steering wheel, who I still don't know the name of.
The laughing died down as we reached our first checkpoint, the border between the first and second district. One of the harder borders to breach but if you're trying to leave, it should be fairly easy. Which reminds me-
"How the hell did enter the first district, coming from the underground?" I asked once again, though the two of them looked tense, Ash was sound asleep by my side and I still have tons of questions to go through.
"Shhh.. Not now," Hayden gave me one quick look as he repositioned himself in his seat. I leaned back and watched as we slowly rolled up to the point where there were a few guards, both android and human, who were keeping watch. The guy in the driver's seat placed sunglasses on, he looked like a joke honestly. A short and thin boy, wearing a leather jacket whit sunglasses on.
I sat back and just watched them.
"Hello sir, good day, where to headed?" The android has their signature smile on her face, a smile that quite doesn't reach their eyes. Her face was emotionless, eyes dim and face pale. It was like they changed something in them. They're not the same androids they once were. Noticing this, Hayden shot me a panicked look and I immediately grabbed Ashton. I placed a hand over his mouth and pulled both of us down so we were out of sight.
Ashton looked disgruntled for a minute, grabbing my hand and try to get it off, but when he saw it was me, he relaxed just a tiny bit. I removed my hand and we both waited and listened carefully.
"Oh you know, just going out for a date, nothing too special," I almost barfed if the quiver in his voice made me snicker silently. The android made a noise of approval.
"Alright, enjoy your date sirs," WE drove past as the two in the front released a breath of relief. Ashton and I slowly stood up from where we were on the floor of the car and sat down slowly on the seats. Ashton looked back outside the window, bored as ever. The basic buildings of the second district came into view, repetitive colors with the same architectural designs. Nothing really stands out much in the second district, the cars you can buy here are also all white, you can only buy colored cars in the first district. And of course, in the third district, the cars you can buy are plainly rusted metal with chipping paint. That is based on what I saw the first time we went there to visit my father.
People walked by looking just as dead inside as the androids do, seemingly tired from the mundane everyday work that they just operate like robots. It's actually pretty bad here, I heard the news that some time ago, there was this guy getting beat up in front of a store with so many passing people, but none of them helped, they just went by like it was nothing. Eventually, the police came but all they did was to call an ambulance and take the guy to the hospital, the perpetuators were long gone by then.
"So how much longer till we're out?" I asked as the boy in front took off his glasses and placed it down.
"An hour drive from here, second districts from all around the world tend to have this maze-like structure with their roads if you haven't figured that out already. it makes me tired every time I navigate on foot, good thing we have a car," he giggled, whooped, and patted the steering wheel a couple of times.
"I really can't believe that you're some drug dealer," I said and he, once again, just giggled at this.
"Nothing really surprises me anymore, a lot of shit just went down way too fast," Ash grumbled from beside me, with that the atmosphere in the car turned somber.
"Speaking of which, how did first district residents like you guys are now suddenly on the run for your lives?" The guy looked at both of us from the rear-view mirror, I looked back at Ashton, to see him already staring back at me. He sighed and sat up properly.
"Wow, uh well...our mother." He gave a bitter laugh and I had to look away to keep myself from tearing up. As much as I hate to admit it, I was a mommy's boy. Yes, both I and Ash are quite more attached to our father but unlike Ashton, I also grew an attachment to my mother. Ash didn't really care much about her. "She wanted to re-marry, leaving me and Anthony basically parent-less."
"Yeah, and I was in charge of their burning. Now look at me, helping them run away, I'm basically a fugitive now too." Hayden said as he buried his face into his arms, I looked at him for a moment and grew suspicious myself. Why is he helping us like this? Last time I checked, we weren't friends at all, he lost that title long ago.
"Yeah, why are you helping us anyway, don't you like hate us or something?" scooted a bit closer to the front so that I had a better view of Hayden's reaction, there was none at the moment. Stone-cold features.
"I have my reasons."
"And those reasons are?"
"Reasons I'd like to keep to myself," He too, now looked out the window and the rest of the car ride to the final checkpoint was nothing but awkward, filled only by shorty's poor music. Really? Who listens to someone like Justin Bieber anymore, that's like centuries ago.
A loud alarm suddenly blared, waking up the two sleeping passengers and making driver-boy go on high alert.
"We're doomed, it's the alarm. They must've found out you two escaped." Hayden turned back to look at us, I was about to reply when a loud shriek cut me off.
"The car's moving on its own!" Seamus, The driver who I finally learned the name of, had his hands off the wheel as the car turned back at a U-turn.
"It's my dad! He probably found out that I helped you two escape!" Hayden quickly undid the buckle of his seatbelt and looked in front and behind the car. "Let's jump!"
"What?!"
"Sure, okay," Ash said numbly as I panicked, the car was increasing speed the longer we stay in it.
"Works for me," And without any hesitation, Seamus leaped from the moving car and tumbled pass us, Ash followed right after and left Hayden and me.
"Go on then, jump." He said, and the quiver in his voice didn't fail to pass by me unnoticed.
"Aha! So you are afraid after all!" I said and opened the car door beside me, I pulled him to the backseat and jumped out with him. "Geronimo!"
"You asshat!" The car zoomed past and I rolled and rolled, it was painful on my back and my arms but I held on tight as I continued to skid on the asphalt. Other cars zoomed past us as I finally came to a stop by the pedestrian lane. Letting go of Hayden, who is unscathed thanks to me, the pain hit me full force from all sides of my upper torso. But just like all the stories, no one cared that four boys just jumped out of a moving car, they just went along with their day.
"Thank you for that," Hayden said, holding out a stretch hand, I grabbed it and pulled myself up, dusting myself off in the process. Man, all my clothes were ripped, my skin is bleeding, there probably dust in them, what if they get infected? God all these things plus the whole civilization now is on red alert, nothing could get worse.
"Where's Ash and Seamus?" I asked just as the two showed up, looking much better than I do.
"You guys need to go, there's a bit of company on the way," Seamus said.
I shouldn't have jinxed it, huh?
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