This week's Flash Fiction Friday is another "Roll & write." I roll a die and whatever number it lands on that is what I write about. I have four categories so I rolled the die four times to choose my character, time period, place, and conflict.
For this particular story I rolled a 2, 8, 6, and 9. My choices were: A lost boy, 1980s, Fantasy Kingdom, and worst nightmare realized.
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Sanders raced through the back alley knocking over trash cans in his wake. His ratty sneakers threatened to untie at any moment and trip him straight into the pavement below.
He only had to go about 25 feet and over the chainlinked fence just ahead and then he could be free.
Sanders's heart was beating out of his chest as his fingers wrapped around the metal of the fence and his feet latched onto the links.
Luckily, he was able to climb the fence on and over to the other side. Just as he anticipated, the robots that were chasing him weren't able to climb. They had no choice but to give up their pursuit.
"Nice knowing you guys," said Sanders as he gave a fake salute and turned around to head into what had become his sanctuary.
"Good news guys," he said sauntering into an abandonded building.
This place had become a home for Sanders and about 5 other kids since their parents were killed in the cyberwar of just two years ago in 1980. The uprising of the Cyberillians, a cross between AIs and humans, decided they were tired of being servants to the humans, so they held a revolution. To this day the revolution is still raging and any human is a target. That is why what Sanders had tucked away in his Ghostbuters jean jacket was so important.
"Did you get it?" asked a girl with blonde hair with pink ends swooped into a fauxhawk. Her dark glasses glinted off the neon lights in the room.
"You act like you had your doubts," said Sanders.
The girl rolled her eyes, while a voice in the darkness of the makeshift living room said, "You shouldn't be so cocky, you know, some day you are going to get caught and we won't be able to help you."
Sanders sighed loudly. "I'm cocky only because I KNOW I'm good," he responded.
"Yeah, well, that's what Jefferson thought. And look what happened to him," said the boy coming out of the shadows. He had dark green hair that was shaved on one side, highlighting his heavily pierced ear.
Shanders swolled hard preparing to say something about their friend Jefferson who was killed by the Cyberillians.
"Sanders! Brad! Cut it out, you two," said the girl with the fauxhawk. "We are on the same team. Or have you forgotten. What happened to Jefferson couldn't be helped. All we can do is go on in his memory."
Silence hung in the room.
"You're right, Callista. But, don't call me Brad. I'm Axel now. Brad is gone."
Sanders bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh out loud. He remembered when he first met Brad/Axel and how he told Sanders that Brad was the guy that went to the mall and to the country club for golf lessons. But, since that was gone, Brad was dead along with his family. Axel was his new identity in the new world of him being an orphan on the run.
"Yes. Of course, Axel. I'm sorry."
"So are we going to sit here all night talking about our names or are we going to get this done," asked Sanders.
"Give me the drive and I'll make it happen," said Callista.
Sanders reached into his pocket and pulled out a red jump drive about an inch long.
"It's so hard to believe that everything, our key to ending this awful war, is on such a small piece of plastic," said Axel as he watched Callista plug the drive into her computer.
She punched in a few passwords into the program that was running on the screen. Sanders was completly lost. The only experience he had with computers was playing Super Mario Brothers on his Nintendo that he got for Christmas.
All of a sudden, Callista's experssion began to change. Her look of concentration turned to one of confusion and then one of horror.
"I don't get it. I don't know how this is happening," she said.
"What is it," asked Axel?
"This drive should help me corrupt the system that is controlling the Cyberillians. But, instead it is locking me out of all the controlls. It's like it's closing a door and locking it so I can't hack back in. I don't understand this," she said talking faster.
"Slow down, there has to be a mistake," said Sanders.
At that moment a lound bang was heard and the door to the hideout was blown wide open.
The trio looked toward the door just in time to see a canister leaking smoke rolling in.
"Get down!" yelled Axel.
Callista, Sanders, and Axel all dropped to the ground to try and breathe in whatever remaining air there was. It wasn't long before the three of them were choking and gasping for air.
"Look at you three. Crawling around on the ground just like the roaches you are," said a voice in the fog.
Sanders thought the voice sounded familar, but wasn't sure because their speech was muffled, probably from a gas mask on their face.
Two boots stepped into view of Sanders's. As he looked up, he saw through the fog the unmistakable combination of red and blue hair with Liberty Spikes. That is when it clicked for him.
"Jefferson! I thought you were dead," Sanders tried to yell through all of his coughing.
"You never were too smart, were you," replied Jefferson. "You thought exactly what I wanted you to."
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