Out of Control Riot

Distant explosions made Felicity freeze in her tracks. Her senses were tingling, and she tended to trust her intuition since it has already gotten her this far. The bombs that the protesters of the program that is required for the students after the testing were getting out of hand.

Most of the news coverage had been in the capital city, as well as larger cities. Felicity was in the suburbs, and the rioting had never been this close—close to her city and home. What was going on?

Screams were echoing down the street, and she grabbed Aston's arm and brought him into the shade of the building that they were walking past downtown. He was still holding the grocery bags full of napkins that their mother asked for and other various snacks that she and Aston randomly tossed into the shopping basket.

Her heart pounded harshly against her chest when she suddenly raised her eyes to the heavens above. In her gut, she knew exactly what was happening, but she still couldn't wrap her head around it.

Aston shifted his weight onto his right leg. "Felicity," he chided when Felicity was still looking up at the sky, his phone in his right hand completely unaware of his surroundings.

Felicity wasn't listening to him at this point when there was a flash of glass shields only a couple of streets over from where they were. People were walking down the streets carrying guns, yelling for more recruits with faint screeches in the background. Wait—she remembered those sounds that were harshly imprinted into her mind without her consent for the rest of her life.

She shoved Aston to the right and screamed, "Go!"

He stumbled but understood the instant danger fast. Aston took off into a run, and Felicity followed, clutching a hand to her chest as her hair flew around her as the winds picked up. The signs were all there. Raures.

The street led in the opposite direction of their house, but they couldn't just run out into the main street with the violent people out there. A loud firecracker noise sounded off behind her, and she screamed when a sharp needle-like spike pierced her calf. Felicity ripped the spike out and threw it to the ground.

Blood was pouring out the small puncture, but she didn't slow her pace. Aston turned the corner, and Felicity grimaced when she turned to glance at the people after them.

The protesters were known to use physical methods to force people to join the movement. It seemed as though their mental capacity finally broke. Felicity bit her lip in anxiety and wished that she still had her affinity weapon with her.

The raures would soon come pouring down the street if they weren't eradicated fast. She grimaced again from the memories that seemed like dreams. Now wasn't the time to reminisce, and Felicity took the price for that when someone grabbed her hair and yanked her back. She screamed from the searing pain but didn't hesitate to defend herself.

Immediately twisting and grabbing the person's arm, she pushed him over her shoulder and smashed him into a nearby brick wall of the hair salon that she often went to with her mother. She didn't have time to do anything else, but it didn't matter since the man was already knocked out anyways.

Aston peered back and yelled, "Hurry! There are three behind you!"

Felicity took off into a sprint, pushing the pain back in her head and her legs from the sudden burst of energy. Felicity followed Aston into the library that was nearby and would be the perfect hiding spot until they caught their breath.

The way home was in the open since they needed to take the main road if they wanted to go back the normal way. Now, the route was small roads.

Aston shoved open the door, and the library was vacant inside, the interior a mess from the chaos that went by like a tornado. Books were fallen off the shelves, and tables and chairs were flipped over alongside shattered desktop screens.

They crept inside and went to the emergency exit door that opened up to a small room that had metal stairs connected to the back of the alleyway. Felicity crouched down and huffed out a breath while Aston didn't break a sweat being the track runner that he was.

Felicity squeezed her legs which were suddenly contracting and realized the blood on her hands. "Aston, find me a bandage would you?"

"Where?" Aston sighed.

"I would look around myself, but I don't want to be caught lacking since I can barely catch my breath."

He sent her a pointed look. "Any ideas on where I could find any?"

Felicity pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. "Look in the workers' room or something. There's always a kit on the wall."

He nodded and went back out the door into the minefield. She sat by the back exit, nervously waiting. Felicity seriously would have gone herself, but it was wiser to send Aston.

The brat would complain, but he was dependable and strong. She would know since she practically raised him herself since he was always following her when they were younger.

The door slammed open, and her breath seized for a moment since she thought it was someone hostile. Aston stuck his head through the door before softly closing it with his hands tightly wrapped around the white medical kit.

He carefully cleaned the wound and slapped the bandage on. "Let's go, Felicity. They are probably still hovering around the entrance."