The next evening, after lying to Alex’s face again, I arrived at Zach’s place, not Lorenzo’s, like I’d told my brother. Zach and his friends were already waiting for me. They seemed agitated and excited when I joined their group in the parking lot. Now there were more guys and more bikes.

“Ready to save this country?” Zach asked as he handed me a helmet.

“Yes,” I said, my doubts now gone.

I could finally help.

I’d be a hero…

“It’s Saturday night, so there’s going to be a lot of people on the streets. Lots of drunk people with lots of cash. Our job is to… take back what should’ve been ours,” he told me.

“Got it,” I said.

“You follow me, and if you drive past someone with a purse or a handbag hanging off their arm, you snatch it and speed away, got it?”

“Yes,” I said with a stern nod.

“Good. And try to target people who have their back turned on you. That way, they don’t see you coming so they won’t step out of your way, and they’ll lose their grip on their bags much easier,” he told me hastily, while his friends were growing more and more restless.

“Got it,” I said.

“And since this is your first time, we’ll go easy on you. It’s fine if you can’t grab anything, as long as you watch and learn. And keep following me. We have safe spots where we can drop off the bags and go make another round, so you should learn the routes to them as well.”

“Right,” I said, and he gestured for me to pull the helmet on.

“Good luck, kid,” he said with a grin and pulled his helmet on, too.

When I sat down on the bike they gave me, and turned the engine on, I got filled with restless energy and need to prove myself. One bag? Hah! I’d steal at least three! I’d make sure we got tons of money tonight! I was going to show all of them…

I’d show them I was serious about saving this country…

We left the parking lot. At first, I felt like I’d forgotten how to drive, but I slowly got the hang of it again. We spread out quite soon, but I kept following Zach like he told me to as we headed to the busiest part of this city. And sure enough, I spotted dozens, if not hundreds, of people in their finest clothes, heading to the fancy nightclubs and sports bars. And the girls dangled their purses like begging for us to steal them… I spotted so many of them barely holding onto their bags…

It seemed so easy… Zach wasn’t making a move yet, though, so I followed his example. I quickly realized there were quite a lot of soldiers patrolling around, which was probably the reason Zach was being careful.  

But then…

There was a girl up ahead, standing next to an expensive-looking car that had stopped by the curb. She was cheerfully talking to someone who was still sitting on the backseat, completely oblivious to her surroundings. She was really small, so she had to be an omega, and she was wearing a small, skimpy dress and had a huge handbag hanging off her arm. I couldn’t think of a better target.

And sure enough, when Zach drove past her, he reached to grab the bag, yanking it from her, and sped off. The girl fell against the open door, shouting in pain as I drove past her as well. I just grinned and drove after Zach, who had now caught the attention of a lot of people who saw him take the bag.

It was such a rush… It was so easy! She never even saw us coming! No one could come after us since we were already long gone! And the bag was huge and looked heavy… There had to be something valuable in it…

I was even more excited now… I wanted to prove myself so badly… It looked so easy that even I could do it as a first timer. I kept my eyes open as we kept driving slowly through the streets. I was so ready… I just needed another perfect opportunity…

Only a few more turns later, it was granted to me. There was a group of people waiting to cross the street just up ahead. The light turned red for us, and we stopped our bikes right next to the crosswalk. Six people started crossing the street, with an older woman being the last of the group. She was watching her feet without paying any attention to us. She had a backpack hanging off her arm… Her path took her only two feet away from me…

I felt Zach tapping the back of my arm, and when I turned to him, he gave me a big grin. He, too, wanted me to get that backpack… I nodded and got ready to take it.

My heart started racing a little as I waited for the woman to get closer… I suddenly felt physically a little sick, too, for some reason… Maybe because I got more and more nervous the closer the lady walked.

I breathed out. I could do this.

As soon as the lady was in front of me, I accelerated quite hard, sending my bike past her. I nearly missed the bag when I reached for it, then almost crashed my bike when she instinctively tried to pull the bag away from me, making me lose my balance, but she lost her grip. I quickly grabbed the handle to balance the bike and speed up to get away from her, then pressed the bag against my chest while Zach caught up with me and gestured for me to follow him.

I was pretty sure I heard him hollering excitedly at me…

And I smiled even wider. I did it! I stole my first bag! It was so fucking easy, too! Holy crap… I did it… I started shaking a little from adrenalin and excitement, but fuck, I did it!

And what a rush it was… I wanted to do it again!

I needed to do it again, because we deserved it. We were fighting for a good cause, after all. That lady’s expression when she realized she was going to lose her belongings… Suited her right… She was a traitor, after all… She probably supported omegas like the rest of them… If she wasn’t one of the omega lovers, then she must’ve been glad to give her stuff for our cause.

I again followed Zach as he drove through the streets, but this time, he headed away from the center. I assumed we were heading to one of the drop-off spots he’d mentioned, and five minutes later, I found out I was right.

We arrived at a large, crumbling highway bridge that now served as a roof for another hut village like our abandoned grocery store, but this one was larger. There were a couple of dudes waiting for us at the start of the bridge, and they hurried to take the bags from us after making sure no one was watching. We didn’t stay there for long, but I still got enough time to look around. The space below the bridge was closed off with chain-link fences that were covered with tarps and wooden planks, and the space above the bridge was basically a junkyard. The area surrounding it had more huts, tents, and whatever else homeless people had used to build their new homes with. The darkness showed the several campfires here and there, illuminating the horrific conditions our people had to live in.

Unacceptable… This was disgusting… Why was the governor wasting millions and millions of dollars on her army, while we had like a million people right here, starving and dying from cold and diseases…? Why were these people forced to live under a dangerous bridge that could come down any day now? Why were her fucking soldiers sleeping in beds worth three thousand dollars, while the best bed I’d had was a dirty mattress found in a ditch?

Disgusting… Absolutely disgusting…

“Ready for another round?” Zach asked me.

“Yes,” I said, gritting my teeth together.

We had to put a stop to this madness.

Zach and I returned to the center of the city and started looking for new targets. It took us a while before another partygoer caught Zach’s eyes, and soon, she was left screaming after her stolen bag. I smiled at her frustration as I sped past her.

It was my turn now… Only two minutes later, I spotted another young omega, a male this time, talking to his friend, barely standing on the sidewalk. Zach passed him, letting me grab the bag he was holding. This time, I prepared myself for the sharp tuck that could cause me to fall over… And I grabbed the bag with ease. My bike wobbled a little, but it was easy to get back in balance. I heard people shouting after me. One of the guys even tried to run after me, but I kept speeding away. I laughed loudly at their futile attempts…

That’s what they get for letting omegas ruin this country.

We dropped off the bags at another place, behind an abandoned gas station this time, and as soon as the three people got the bags, they retreated inside, and we returned to the center to continue with our hunt.

I wanted that third bag. I’d promised myself to get three, and I was not leaving without it.

This time, Zach grabbed two bags. It happened on the same street with only a block between his targets. He was so good at it. He grabbed the first bag, leaving the guy stumbling forward, then pressed it against his chest and grabbed the second one form a drunken woman who had wobbled too close to the street. I laughed when the girl fell, then pushed herself up on her knees to shout after us.

But how cool was Zach…? He got two back-to-back! I wanted to do that same, too!

My excitement grew only a moment later, when I spotted a small guy walking on the edge of the sidewalk, dancing a little, with his friend next to him. He was barely holding onto his bag as he swung it around in a playful manner.

That bag was mine…

With a wide smile on my face, I steered closer to him just as when he swung the bag again. I grabbed it, and this time, my bike didn’t even wobble at all when I tore the bag out of the guy’s grip. I saw him falling face first into the pavement behind me, and his friend hurried to his aid, shouting and cursing after me. I just laughed…

Until…

I watched him in my mirror as I sped away…

The guy wasn’t getting up…

I had to look away to make sure I wasn’t crashing into anything, but… I took a few more glances… The guy was still not getting up… Then I couldn’t see him anymore…

I felt something heavy in my chest all of a sudden.

I tried to forget it. I tried to focus on the heavy bag I held against my chest as I followed Zach through the streets. We headed back to the bridge. There, we stopped to give the bags to Zach’s friends, and they left in a hurry.

I could still see the guy lying on the street…

“Josh?”

I looked at Zach.

“You did so fucking well! You’re natural at this!” he said cheerfully and patted my back.

“I…” I stared at him a moment longer, but all I saw was the guy on the street…

Suddenly, I had to yank my helmet off, and I nearly jumped off the bike in my hurry to throw up into a bush nearby… I felt cold… My chest felt heavy…

“Josh? Josh!” Zach spoke loudly and started laughing. “Boy, you need to work on your nerves…”

I felt so cold…

“You know what? You did so well I think we can call it a night. I’ll escort you back to my place and you can go home, yeah?”

I just nodded as I wiped my mouth clean and cheeks dry.

Did I just…? Did the guy…? Holy shit… What did I do…?

“Hey? You listening? You did such a great job!” Zach tried one more time, and I finally turned to face him. “What’s the matter?”

“I think I killed that last guy…” I whispered.

He stared at me for a moment, then snorted. “Nah. He was just drunk. Probably just bumped his head. It happens.”

He spoke so… So casually…

“But, what if…?” I whispered, shivering and still feeling sick.

“I’m sure he’s fine. No one has ever died from tripping over their feet. Just forget about him,” he said.

“But–”

“Have you ever seen anyone die after a little fall like that?” he asked.

“I… no….?”

“See? He’s fine,” he said, and went to pick up my bike. “Come. Let’s get you back home. You did so great. I’m so proud of you!”

I breathed out, feeling calmer now… Not better, but calmer… “Yeah?”

“Yes! I knew you’d make us proud. I knew you had what it takes to help our country,” he told me cheerily. “No one has ever stolen three bags on their first night, and it’s only been a few hours! You did great, my boy.”

His words finally made me feel better, and I smiled a little when I went to fetch my helmet.

I did it… I stole three bags, like I’d promised…

I just wished…

Well… I guess it wasn’t a big deal… He was probably fine. Just like Zach said, no one had ever died from tripping over their feet like that…

…Right?