Letting the World Burn

by Graham Dalton

  “It's all of our livelihoods,” said the smoker. “It's rough, but you gotta do what you gotta do.”

  “I'm going to get everything ready for tonight,” he said. He walked back off into the shed.

  The smoker growled and fumbled a clumsy hand into his right pocket. He pulled out another cigarette cradled between two shaky fingers.

  He took a deep breath and pulled the cigarette to his mouth. His lips hugged the end of the stick and lit the end with a match. He took a deep breath. The end of the cigarette glowed red.

  He was definitely nervous about something. His trembling lips huffed rapidly on the cigarette. What was he so afraid of? Maybe they were onto me, but then again, maybe I was just paranoid. My wife would always tell me how deluded and paranoid that I could sometimes be. I still missed her.

  I slipped out from behind the crates. The man looked away from me. He stared off at the sea. I wrapped my arm around his neck. I smashed his skull onto the ground. My arm wrapped tighter and tighter around him. He struggled and gasped for breath. He tried to call out, scream, or alert the others, but he was too breathless. His efforts were fruitless. His body grew limp, and I dragged his body behind a crate.

  I bent down and undid his pants and shirt. Quickly, I switched clothes and slid his cap upon my head.

  From what I'd seen today, many men worked these docks. There was no way that someone knew all of them. So, if someone didn’t know who I was, it wouldn't cause alarm.

  I slid both my hands into the pant pockets, pulling out his matches and an empty pack of cigarettes. My face scrunched as I thought of how good a cigarette would feel right now. I reached over the crate and pulled it open slightly. I wrapped my arms around the man and threw him into the crate. I quickly shut the lid behind him. I walked into the large shed.

  Crate upon crate was stacked in towering piles. Several guards in raggedy old clothes stood around, gripping assault rifles. Old, dingy overhead lights flickered from the mold- encrusted metal ceiling.

  I lowered the hat slightly, shading my face. There was little likelihood that someone would recognize me. Then again, you never know. It was best to keep my identity as inconspicuous as possible without appearing overly suspicious.

  I walked around a stack of crate. The word “FRAGILE” was stamped in faded crimson markings on the sides. I just wondered what they were transporting. By glancing around further at the crates, I knew the children wouldn't be transported by these crates. There were no holes to breathe through, so the children would suffocate. I surmised that wherever the children were going, they were needed alive.

  I walked through several more stacked rows of crates. That old woman undoubtedly had a big role to play in this operation. Who she was and what her purpose was remained unclear to me. Also, I had to find Jack. He might know something about his kidnapping.

  I crossed through the whole warehouse. My feet clanked against the damp metal floor. Guards whispered nearby. A few of them chuckled in hoarse laughter. I reached the end of the warehouse and walked beside a stack of moss-covered crates. I glanced to my left and saw a small room with a door ajar. Two sets of footsteps clanked behind me. A couple of men walked past me while sharing crude jokes with one another. They rounded the corner and disappeared from my vision.

  I tilted my head toward the room and stepped inside. The room was small with a single dingy light strip that flickered above. A single computer with a glowing screen was situated atop a steel slab. I shut the door behind me and walked toward the computer. By tapping a finger against the screen, an image popped up. It asked for a retina scan for security clearance. I cursed beneath my breath and stepped away.

  “What're you doing here?” snapped a woman. I knew that voice. It was the woman from before.

  I swung around and saw that same old woman hunched in the doorway. She slowly crossed over to me, hobbling with her crooked cane.

  “Get back to work,” she snapped with the wave of a finger. “This is for authorized personnel only.”

  “Oh, of course,” I said.

  I needed to get into that laptop and access the data. Whoever these people were, they had some role in stealing Anna away from me. For the first time, I had a lead. I could almost see my daughter again. I would get access to that laptop and obtain that information. Nothing was going to stop me.

  I nodded while crossing over to the door. She muttered something as I walked past. I froze. I turned around as she crossed over to the laptop. She lowered herself toward the screen, and a red light flashed into her eyes.

  “Access granted,” chimed a feminine robotic voice.

  A new screen popped up, displaying dozens of documents and files. The woman typed away on the keyboard before she froze. She turned toward me, giving me a long bitter stare. I don't know why I hesitated or why I stood there, but something held me back.

  “What are you doing?” she asked. “Go! Be gone! We have a busy night ahead of us.”

  I slammed the door shut and rushed over to her. I grabbed her by the neck and pulled out my gun. I smacked her face against the table. She tried to cry out, but her words were nothing more than wispy gasps for breath.

  “Why the hell are you kidnapping children?” I asked, whispering loudly.

  “G-guards,” she muttered softly. The woman gasped for air louder and louder. She shrieked. I steadied my gun against her forehead but knew I couldn't fire it. I couldn't alert the guards. I'd be outnumbered, and they would quickly kill me.

  “Answer the fucking question,” I said.

  “I...I don't know,” she said. She coughed and gasped for breath. I slightly reduced my grip around her neck. “I don't know anything.”

  “You're lying,” I said. She knew more than she let on. I could sense it. “Answer my goddamn question, or I will break your fucking neck.”

  “Jensen comes here,” she said. “He gives us the kids, and we do what he tells us to. Sometimes, we load the kids up on boats and take 'em to another country. Sometimes, we just take 'em somewhere local. I don't what they do with them. Let me go. Let me go.”

  “Where's Jack?”

  “Up...upstairs. We're going to load him up soon. He...he's going to Mexico, but that's all I know. Let me go!”

  “Where's Anna?”

  “Anna?”

  “My daughter! You stole her from me! Tell me where the fuck she is now.”

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  I closed my hands tighter around her neck. She deserved no sympathy from me. After all, she'd been a part of a massive child kidnapping scheme for so long. She deserved no sympathy from anyone. This woman, she was an old crone who was far beyond redemption. Her death would be a net positive for society.

  “Please, let me go,” she shrieked. “What about the others?”

  “Who?”

  “The fucking kids. Where the hell are they?”

  “U-upstairs...they...they're all being held upstairs. Guards...guards!”

  I'd gotten all I needed out of her. I couldn't let her go, she would expose me. I squeezed tighter and tighter around her neck. She flailed and gasped for breath. In time, her body went limp, and I dropped her onto the floor. I stepped over her body and walked to the laptop.

  Dozens of file names appeared before me. Each name appeared in alphabetical order. I scrolled down the list as I searched desperately for Anna Abrams. There was no such name listed. I cursed, but then scrolled to Jack Carter. I saw his height and all of his attributes listed. Included was a short bio which detailed several of his characteristics. That was all I needed.

  I turned around and rushed out of the doorway, quickly shutting the door behind me. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I had to remain calm and collected. I took a second deep breath and made my way to a set of metal stairs. My feet clanked against the metal with every step as I ascended the spiral staircase.

  I reached a metal platform and walked down a corridor. A couple of guards stood around, idling gossiping. I t
urned my head to a metal door to my right. I glanced at the guards, but they hadn't paid any attention to me. After walking to the door, I placed a hand on the knob and quietly opened the door. I snuck inside.

  A dozen children lay on metal slabs in this lifeless gray room. Above me, a dingy grime-speckled light flickered. A few splotches of blood stained the dusty floor. Then a few of the kids groaned as they muttered something softly. The sight made me freeze. I could feel a churn in my stomach. All these kids had been taken from their parents, but for what ends? No child deserved this. I wished I could save them all.

  I stepped forward and glanced around the room, looking for the kid. I saw him in the corner, lying down on a slab. His eyes were half-open, and drool drizzled down his chin. I stepped over to him and picked the child up in my arms. Then I turned around and faced the door.

  For a few moments, I thought. They wouldn't just let me walk right out with this kid. These men would probably shoot me on sight. There had to be a way out of there. I couldn't be too quick about it, though.

  The door swung open. I cursed beneath my breath.

  Two men walked through the door. One nestled a clipboard in his right arm as he jotted notes. The other man, a hulking beast of a human, stepped forward. He snarled his ugly, scarred face at me.

  “What're you doin' here?” the man asked. Then he spat on the ground as he took another step forward. “Eh. Whatever. Just make yourself useful.” He tilted his head toward the clipboard man. “Jeff. Who's first on the list?”

  “Rosa,” the clipboard man said. “She's the one on the left.” He pointed to a small red-haired girl, who lay on one of the slabs.

  The hulking man nodded. “You! Grab the girl.”

  “Sure thing,” I said, walking over to the girl. I wrapped my hands beneath her and felt a twisted knot in my stomach. Whatever these bastards were doing, it didn't matter. These people were some of the scummiest people in this city, and that was saying a lot. Even I would never dare harm an innocent child.

  I stared down at the girl and thought of Anna. My girl was once lying here helpless as these men abused her and dragged her away. They must've drugged her, too. I glanced back to the hulking man and could feel rage bubbling up inside of me. He was partially responsible for what happened to my daughter. I clenched my fists as I thought about wrapping my hands around his oily throat.

  “Hey, what the hell's your problem?” he asked. “Grab the bitch. She's supposed to go on the boat...eh...what boat she's supposed to go on, again?”

  “The Kracken,” said the clipboard man.

  “Eh, yeah,” he said. “The Kracken. Hurry up, or I’ll dock your goddamn pay.” He spat on the ground and turned around. “Can't find good help anywhere these days.”

  I slammed my fist into his back, but he didn't move. The man grunted and turned around. He wrapped a hand around my neck and lifted me into the air.

  “Hey! What the fuck is your deal?”

  I reached for my revolver while I dangled in the air. The man kept screaming at me. I fished my revolver out of my pocket and aimed the weapon toward his stomach. Then, I pulled the trigger and shot a bullet straight through his abdomen. He fell back and collapsed on the floor. The clipboard man dropped the board and turned around. I shot him in the back of the head. He collapsed dead.

  Before leaving, I stared at the other children while they moaned softly in a sleepy daze. I wished that I could grab them and take them all to their homes. Their broken parents would probably be overwhelmed with joy from the return of their child. I knew the pain the parents were going through.

  “It came from over here!” a voice shouted.

  “Shit,” I groaned.

  I grabbed Jack and bolted out the doorway. From there,

  I raced to my right and fled down the set of stairs. A pair of voices screamed behind me. A bullet whizzed past my ear. I ducked behind a stack of crates and leaned up against the wood. I took several deep breaths and could hear the footsteps surround me. I waited for a moment and then sprinted toward the exit. A few gunshots echoed through the warehouse as I raced out into the night.

  I swerved around the crates. People shouted profanity behind me as a couple more shots rang out. Looking ahead, I stared at my sedan. I was almost there. Running even faster, I rushed to my vehicle. I opened the backseat door, threw the kid into the car, and slammed the door shut. I turned around and saw a few men rushing out of the warehouse. Then I hopped in my car and swerved off.

  My heart thumped rapidly against my chest. We were safe, and I was one step closer to finding Anna. I glanced into the rear view mirror and saw the kid lying in the backseat. Some poor parent must really be missing him right now. The kid was just a Commoner, but that didn't matter. This just wasn't right. It didn’t matter if he's a Commoner or an Elite, no kid deserves to be taken like this.

  I thought back to the other kids on the docks. My heart sank when I thought of what might become of them. Sure, I had saved Jack, but that wasn’t enough. I should’ve saved them all. Then again, they would’ve just shot me down. Still, I felt as if I could’ve done more.

  I drove to my apartment and released a heavy sigh. I parked on the side of the road. The boy still lay half-asleep in the back seat. I hopped out of the car and opened the back door. I picked the boy up into my arms, slamming the door shut behind me. As I made my way up to the apartment door, a teenage boy snarled at me from the sidewalk.

  “What the hell you lookin' at?” I snapped at him.

  After making my way into my apartment, I lay the kid down on the sofa. I placed a hand against his forehead. He felt too warm. I plopped down on the couch next to him.

  I patted the boy twice on the shoulder and smiled. As strange as it sounded, I didn't mind having company every once and while. Even though he was passed out, it felt kind of good to not be alone in this apartment.

  I turned on the television and flipped to the news. I wondered what awful stuff could be going on in the city right now.

  It was all the same shit.

  There was more rioting on behalf of Andy's group. He tried to defend his people and claimed that wasn't what he believed in. He went on and on about how he wanted peace and prosperity for this whole city. There were more images and videos of the rioting that must've been happening several blocks away. After that, they interviewed Jessica. She talked about how the police force was doing their best to keep the city safe.

  I sighed and turned off the television. My eyes darted toward the kid, and I smiled. I was sure that whatever drugs they’d put him on would wear off by tomorrow. I stood up and made my way back to the bedroom. Tomorrow, I'd be one step closer to finding Anna.

  Chapter 11

  That night, I was haunted by those missing children. They were thrown in boxes and dragged out onto the docks like cargo freight. The shadowy guards that monitored the docks talked to each other, jovially joking like they weren’t transporting innocent children to hundreds of miles from their parents. I rushed to the shadowy men and bashed their faces in with my fist until they disappeared. I was going to save the children. I had to save the children. My head tilted toward the shack where the children were. I walked to the shack, prepared to kill anyone to save those kids.

  I awoke early the next morning. When I walked over to Jack, I saw that the boy was still asleep. Then I walked into the kitchen and prepared a quick breakfast. After I ate, I approached Jack again. His eyes now slowly opened. He turned to me, looking ahead with glassy blue eyes.

  “W-who are you?” he said, his words slurring.

  “Quincy Abrams,” I said, with a shrug. “But names aren't important.” I knelt by him. “Tell me, kid. Has anyone been stalking you? Do you have any enemies? Why would anyone kidnap you?”

  His eyes slowly shut, and drool spilled off his swollen lips. I groaned and walked away.

  The kid was still too fucked up on whatever they'd drugged him with. I smiled. I felt a sense of joy that I hadn't felt since the day my daughter vani
shed. This wasn't the hollow joy that I felt whenever those pleasurebots pleased me. This time I would ensure that the trail wouldn’t run cold.

  I tried waking Jack up, but it was a fruitless effort. So, I distracted myself and spent the next several minutes watching TV to pass the time. Then I tried to wake Jack again. He was still too fucked up. I watched more TV, imagining that Anna was there with me. I could hear her laugh. I could hear her beautiful, soft voice. I saw her smile, I could see her unmistakable giggle.

  I couldn't wait any longer. I turned back over to Jack, who opened his eyes again. He sat upright and rubbed his head, muttering beneath his breath. I knelt down by him, and he gave me a dazed look with his glassy eyes.

  “Where am I?” he asked.

  “You're safe,” I said. “And, that's all that matters right now.” I leaned into him. “But I need you to talk to me.” He stared forward and nodded slowly. “There are some bad people out to get you. Tell me, you ever made any enemies, kid? Why would anyone want to hurt you?”

  “Bad people,” he said, slightly trembling.

  I needed to ask him another question. “What was the last thing you remember before you woke up here?”

  He stared back at me and shook his head. “I...I...don't know. I was leaving school when...I don't remember.” The boy sniffled. His eyes welled up in tears. “Where's Momma? Where is she? I want Momma.”

  I hated to see this kid cry. I knew I'd have to take him back to wherever he came from once I was done with him. Still, I couldn't let this mission be for naught. He had to know something about his own disappearance. There had to be something this kid knew that could lead me to Anna.

  “You'll see Momma soon enough,” I said. “She's safe. I promise.” He smiled faintly and stopped sniffling. “But before you see her, I need your help. What was the last thing you remember?”

  “I was leaving school,” he said softly and quietly. “I was with friends…and then, I don’t remember.” The boy frowned and glanced down. “Where's momma? I want to see momma.”