Prologue: Meeting
“Gati, wait. You know that I can’t keep up with you.”
“Move faster, Morgan. You know what will happen if the leaders found out we went to the upside,” Gatrina yelled back.
She was farther up the ladder than Morgan was. Despite the fact that they both had electric bulbs attached to their hips, the upward tunnel was still very dark; so dark that you couldn’t even see the bottom. If they fell, they would surely not survive it!
“I can see and hear something. We’re almost there,” Gatrina called out and climbed even faster until she arrived at the top.
There was a manhole covering the tunnel, so she pushed with all her strength until she got it open. Morgan also made it to the top and wondered what Gatrina could see.
“Gati, is it clear?” She asked.
She stuck her head out and with her blue eyes, she did a 360 degrees scan and thankfully, there weren’t any Krugs around. It was night and there wasn’t any power in this part of town; the Trenches!
“It’s clear.”
She climbed out the manhole and helped Morgan out. They closed the lid and quickly took cover behind a dumpster, so they could go over the plan one last time, get what they came for and head back home, down to the Underground.
“If this goes south, Gary will kill us. He’ll start with you first,”
“Just follow the plan, Morgan, and Gary will even be glad that we did this. He’ll reward us,” Gatrina said, looking hyper focused on the task at hand.
“Are you sure the store owner won’t be in tonight?” Morgan asked, still worried.
“I told you he’s not. Just stay close to me and I’ll get us in. We’ll fill up our bags and get out the same way we get in. We’ll return to the hole before anyone even suspects anything and just like that, we’re home free and everyone can eat well tonight,” Gatrina said with assuredness.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” Morgan was in!
Just as Gatrina had said, there was nobody inside the bakery. They got in through the skyline and after filling their bags with all sorts of pastries; they climbed back up and got out of the shop. They returned to the dumpster, happy and ready to return home.
“That was such a good heist,” Morgan said excitedly.
“Didn’t I tell you it would work out perfectly?”
“You did,”
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Gatrina said.
Just as the twins were about to run over to the open manhole, there was a sudden crash in the middle of the road just ahead of their position. Two hovercars had suffered a head-on collision and it wasn’t looking good.
Gatrina and Morgan watched for a while, too afraid to do anything else. The driver in the first hovercar; a female Krug, got out and stumbled disorientedly until she walked away from the crash site. The other driver was still inside his car and the vehicles were already leaking power fluid; a very corrosive and explosive chemical fluid that made the cars run.
“Gati, let’s get the hell out of here,” Morgan urged her sister.
“The other driver is still stuck in there,” Gatrina said with concern.
“Fuck them! The driver is a Krug. What do we care if the freak dies?”
Gatrina gave her bag to her sister, “Take this and get yourself down the hole. I’ll catch up with you.”
“Gati…!”
“Go now, Morgan,” she yelled and ran over to the crash.
Morgan wasn’t as brave as her fraternal twin sister, so she ran over to the hole and went underground, hoping that Gatrina would catch up soon. The cars were smoking even more and just as she reached the driver’s door, it flew open and the first thing she saw were his huge green fingers.
It didn’t take long before their eyes met and when they did, there was a moment of tension because this was an unusual situation; a Krug in dire need, with a human as their only salvation.
“Climb out quick! The fluid’s getting everywhere,” Gatrina yelled at the alien driver.
“My foot is stuck under the hover clamp. You have to cut the link from outside,” he replied while coughing; the smoke was getting into his lungs.
Gatrina moved quickly. She took out her pocket knife and ran to the underside of the car. She knew what a hover clamp was so she spotted it quickly and cut it in two.
“My foot is free,” the Krug yelled out and started climbing out of the vehicle.
Gatrina went back to the door and gave him her hand, pulling him out with all her strength. She managed to yank him out and they got clear just in time. The vehicles exploded in a fiery green blast that shook the entire neighborhood to its foundations.
She and the alien lay beside each other on the ground and were both breathing very heavily. Gatrina immediately realized that she was in a perilous situation; she had exposed herself to a Krug and she had to run away before any more of them came along.
“Wait!” He held her hand just as she tried to sneak off.
“Let go of me,” she yelled in distrust.
On instinct, she pulled out her pocket taser and shocked the alien with it until he lost consciousness. She ran as fast as she could and after she entered into the manhole, she closed the lid and smiled when she looked down and saw Morgan still hanging around, waiting for her.
“I saved the driver,” Gatrina said cockily.
“Took you long enough, you crazy bitch. Let’s move,” Morgan said and the twins began descending the ladder.
.
.
.
Gary walked into the underground hall and saw a bunch of hungry people stuffing their faces with pastries. He wasn’t sure what was going on and kept looking on…until he saw Gatrina and Morgan on the other side of the hall, handing out donuts to a couple of kids. He instantly knew what she had done and he wasn’t happy about it.
“Gati, may I speak with you?” He said after walking up to her.
“Sure thing, Gary,” she answered.
Gary grabbed her forearm and pulled her away from the rest of the crowd, much to her annoyance.
“Will you stop dragging me, Gary?” She said when they were alone, causing him to let go.
“You went up-side again, didn’t you? Gati, how many times will I ask you to stop going on unsanctioned runs up-side? You could get caught by those alien bastards,” Gary was upset.
“I’m a good runner, Gary. I don’t get caught and besides, it paid off, didn’t it?” Gatrina said proudly.
“Yes, it paid off. I’m just worried about you, babe. I don’t want anything bad to happen,” he said much calmer this time.
“I know. I’m sorry for making you worry,” she said with a smirk.
They both eased up a bit and Gary took her hands in his.
“Can you come see me tonight?”
“Gary, I told you I’m not ready yet,”
“We don’t have to do anything crazy. I’m not that down bad,” he smirked, “I just want to have dinner and maybe dance a little.”
Gatrina liked the sound of that, “Alright, I’ll come over after I’m done here. You’d better keep it in your pants, mister,” she teased.
“You got it,” he smiled before pecking her cheek and walking off happily.
Just after he left, Gatrina placed her hand on her chest and realized that she couldn’t feel her pendant. She checked her neck and the rest of her person, but her necklace was gone.
“Fuck!”
Gatrina subtly walked over to Morgan and whispered in her ear, “I lost my necklace up-side. I have to go get it.”
“Gati, I know how much that necklace means to you, but it’s too risky. You have to let it go,” Morgan pleaded.
“Cover for me with Gary. I’ll be back as soon as I can,”
“Gati…”
Before she could say any more, Gatrina walked out of the hall and made her way back to the upward tunnel. She scaled the ladder and after she reached the top, she looked out first and spotted the crash site. It was still there, which meant so was her necklace.
“Typical! The police don’t give a damn what happens in the trenches,” she said to herself.
She got out and ran over to the wreck. She checked the burnt-out vehicle for her necklace but couldn’t find it. She was starting to get seriously worried and it got worse when she felt a firm cold grip around her forearm.
She looked back at her assaulter and a gasp escaped her mouth when she saw that it was a Krug…and not just any Krug; the same one she had saved earlier.
“I knew you’d be back. Is this what you’re looking for?” He held out her necklace.
“Give it back,” she said without fear, maintaining eye contact.
“I will, but I want something back in return.”