The Rogue Agent

by Shiloh White

  “So we're at risk too?” I asked. Dart nodded. “What about Takao?” I pointed to where he was laying, in corner of the room. “At its core, insanity is linked back to Depression,” Dart said, “and Depression Agents can't die from the very thing they amplify. Although it can give them a crazy rush, they're still in control at the end of the day. That Agent didn't even need to knock himself unconscious. Probably just did it to scare us.”

  “Blah, blah, blah, death this, insanity that,” Chug said impatiently. “I told you Takao likes the feeling.”

  I'd had enough of this brat. I aimed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. CLICK went the hollow chamber. No bullet. I slid Dart the gun, and saw that surprised look on Chug's face again. It in no way made up for what he did to Halsey. But it was nice to see him squirm, knowing he had to face the gun more than once now. Dart aimed the gun at Chug, who winced as Dart pulled the trigger. Another CLICK told us it was another blank. Chug was safe for a little longer. But we had him outnumbered two-to-one. We could do this...assuming he didn't get lucky.

  “Give me that,” Chug said, yanking the gun from Dart's grip and firing at me so quickly, I barely had time to react before the empty CLICK made my heart jump. Chug scowled and almost threw the gun. “Getting angry isn't going to help you,” Dart told him calmly. “It's Lucy's turn.” Forget the gun, I thought. I still wanted to smack him. I didn't mind seeing him squirm either, after what he did to Halsey. But I could see what Dart was doing. It wouldn't do us any good to keep him angry while he was still holding the gun.

  “Shut up!” he yelled at Dart. “Your interruption with my shot earlier is still pissing me off. I get a free Pass from that.”

  “We never agreed to Passes!” Dart argued.

  “Street rules,” Chug said smugly. “Passes are legal.” He tapped the barrel of the gun against his shoe as if to remind us who was holding it. His point was clear. I just hoped Dart didn't plan on pushing his luck. No use arguing with the one who held the gun.

  “Fine.” Dart scowled.

  “What's a Pass?” I asked.

  “It lets the person pass their turn to the next person.” Dart explained.

  “What? Why would they—” “There's more,” Chug cut in. “The next person has to shoot their target two times, and it can't be the one who passed.” It was like they had immunity, then. I thought that mechanic was so selfish.

  “You just went, though!” I said, getting upset. The whole game was a ridiculous idea. “I didn't say I was using it now.” he said, trying not to laugh. I snatched the gun from him, and looked back at the door again. The three goons stood with their backs to us. If I grabbed the last bullet off the carpet, I could hit two of the thugs. If Dart could take the last one out and carry Halsey, Chug would be no problem for me—

  “Lucy,” Dart interrupted in a harsh voice, as if he could read my mind, “We can't escape without playing the game to the end.”

  “Why? We can take them if I just—” I looked down at the carpet. The last bullet was missing. I glared at Chug, instantly feeling like a fool. He just stared at me with the same smug look on his face and shrugged innocently, but I knew he took it.

  “Lucy, Takao will wake up eventually. If we don't play right, he'll find out and the whole gang will be on Mr. Reggie and next, the Depression Force. Saving Scott's not going to do much good if we bring a gang war behind him.” Dart said, laying it all out on the table.

  “A gang war? That's crazy!” I shouted.

  “Uhh, hello,” Chug said sarcastically, gesturing around the room. “This is De Mentoria.”

  I shook my head at him, gripping the gun handle hard. I wanted to pull the trigger with no remorse, game or no game. Chug might have been young; definitely no older than Chloe. But he'd done a great job of making me want to hurt him in the short time I'd known him. That and he was a Depression Agent. Or, according to Takao, he used to be. It was enough for me.

  Or so I thought. As I pulled the trigger and the chamber sounded with that hollow CLICK, some hidden part of me sighed in relief.

  “Getting soft?” Chug asked. I shook my head. Softness didn't explain it, exactly.

  “It's like you said; this is De Mentoria. A lot of what goes on here doesn't make sense. So why are you trying to join a gang?” I asked. Surprisingly, it took Chug more than a second to answer. He looked down at his fist, probably gripping the last insanity-filled bullet.

  “It won't just be a gang for me,” he said finally.

  “What's that supposed to mean?” I asked. Chug shook his head and glowered at me. “You wouldn't understand.”

  Dart held out his hand for the gun. I handed it to him, hoping he could do the hard part. And that the bullet was finally loaded in the chamber. He aimed it at Chug and I held my breath, grabbing the sleeves of my jacket.

  “You don't have to do this,” I told Chug. “You could just come with us.” He snickered at me. “Not gonna happen.” Then he looked straight at Dart, waiting for the bullet. “Now come on. You got a fifty-fifty chance. Feeling luck—” Dart pulled the trigger, shutting Chug up.

  CLICK. The sound echoed in my ears. The chamber was hollow again. Dart handed the gun to Chug, who grinned a cheeky grin and pushed Dart's hand in front of me. It took me a second to realize what he was doing. I looked up at Dart, disbelief washing over me. “He can’t just—”

  Chug simply snickered and said, “I pass my turn to Lucy.”

  ✽✽✽

  “Take the gun, lady. Hurry up!” Chug shouted at me, shoving the gun into my face. I kept my eyes forward at Dart, hoping he'd have some way around this. And because I was going to hit Chug if I looked at him. By the way, Dart didn't have a way around it. Instead, he tried to encourage me. “Lucy,” he said calmly, “I'll be fine. But we're running out of time. You have to hurry!”

  “Save Scott? There are so many holes in your idea; I don't know where to start!” I retorted. “How about how we're going to get back to Mr. Reggie's for starters? I can't carry you AND Halsey. And that's if I could knock you out once the bullet takes effect. What if you—”

  “Lucy,” Dart interrupted me, his voice carrying that calm tone that I did not appreciate. How could he not be freaking out? He wanted me to shoot him!

  “I'll be fine,” he continued, “I need you to trust me. You'll need to get back to Mr. Reggie's by yourself. Scott and Chloe don't have time to wait. . Halsey and I'll meet up with you back at HQ.” I gritted my teeth. I had to help my sister. There were no arguments there. I definitely couldn't leave Scott hanging either. Something felt...different about him knowing now he'd been a part of the same incident as Lucas. I needed him to stick around too.

  “Okay!” I shouted. “Okay.” I angrily grabbed the gun out of Chug's hand, trying to appear as intimidating as I could. I held my breath while I inspected the gun. Maybe there were more shots than six? Not a chance. I was gonna have to shoot Dart. Next to me, Chug chuckled proudly to himself. I was angry I felt sorry for him a minute ago. I pointed the gun at Dart, taking a deep breath to stop my hands from shaking.

  “Any day now,” Chug taunted. I bit down on my tongue to release my anger. Any harder and I might have bit it off. But I was at my limit. If I said anything to that boy, I was going to lose it, and we'd never help Scott. I felt a bead of sweat slide down the side of my face. I knew what I needed to do, but it seemed impossible. I felt like I was fighting my arms just to hold the gun up. It weighed a ton in my hands.

  “You can do it, Lucy.” Dart said. “I'll be okay.” I put my finger on the trigger and tried to pull, but a feeling in my gut stopped me. Dart looked me in the eye and said, “We don't have time to wait. Look at Halsey!” I looked down at Halsey, lying limp on the carpet, a thin line of blood coming down from the welt on her forehead. Then I looked back up at Dart. “Are you gonna tell her she did this for nothing?” he asked, although it sounded more like just yelling. “Fine!” I yelled. I took a deep breath, in and out, trying to keep my aim straight. But I couldn't s
top myself from closing my eyes as I pulled the trigger.

  33. A Woodsman And A Surfer Walk Into An Alleyway

  If I ever played another game with hoodlums, I would make sure to ban street rules before the game started.

  I held my breath to fight back tears as the bullet left the chamber. Dart's body jolted from the shot and he fell over sideways on the carpet. I dropped the gun, unable to stop my hands from shaking as I stared at Dart. I waited for his scream to start, knowing I'd lose it. I felt bad for Halsey too. Even if it she shot Takao, I understood what it felt like having to shoot the gun.

  After a moment, I realized Dart's scream didn't come. Instead, I heard, “AGH! That really smarts more than I thought it would!” as Dart sat up, clutching his arm. All the breath I was holding leapt out of my lungs. Before I knew it, I was giving Dart a hug, doing all I could not to launch into tears. “Dart! You're alright!” I said.

  Chug on the other hand, was launching into a fit. “You have horrible aim!” he screeched at me in that furious pre-adolescent voice of his. “You missed his head completely. A shot in the arm's gonna make the bullet take FOREVER to work!”

  “Well, more like a couple minutes,” Dart interjected, “but—Owowow! You can stop hugging me now!” Dart said. So I might have been hugging a little tight. But I appreciated not being alone in this predicament. Nonetheless, I let go of him and scooted back, facing Chug. “I don't care!” Chug yelled. He picked up the empty gun and aimed it at Dart. “You're a cheater. I demand another Pass.” Cheater? Another Pass? Oh, all bets were off with this kid now.

  “Look here, brat,” I said, surprised—and a bit creeped out—at how calm my voice came out, “Your buddy Takao said we just had to shoot the person next to us. Technically not against the rules to hit the arm.” I looked at Dart as I spoke. “Right?” I asked. Dart shrugged, and winced from his arm. I guess the bullets did make an impact, whether there was a wound or not. I wondered just how much pain Dart was still in.

  “Lucy's right,” said Dart, “you guys just let us know that a shot to the head would drive us insane. Didn't say we had to shoot there.”

  “Whatever!” Chug shouted, waving the gun at both of us. “We don't have to finish the game; I can just shoot you both. I have more bullets somewhere...” He fished into his pockets, looking for more Insanity bullets. I was pretty sure I could've stopped him before he found one, but suddenly a voice called out from down the alleyway, stopping both Chug and I from moving.

  “All the noise's coming from this way!” the voice yelled. It sounded deep and gruff like a big woodsman.

  “It's gotta be the little punk who smashed our front door!” A second voice said just as loud. It sounded younger, though. More like a laidback surfer if I had to guess. I looked out the front door of the building, but I didn't see anyone standing out there. I did notice that instead of three thugs, there was only one guarding the door. And instead of guarding, he was looking around. For where the two voices where coming from or his other two thug friends, I wasn't sure. But he warily stepped back into the center of the alleyway, and it was pretty clear he wasn't planning to stick around.

  “Who was that out there?” Dart demanded. “Uhh," Chug stammered. He was still trying to sound upset and tough, but that twinge of fear in his voice shone through it. “Probably angry people from one of the other places I vandalized.”

  “I hear others! Hurry!” the woodsman voice yelled. I looked out the front door again and sure enough; the last thug was gone.

  “We need to get out of here.” I said to the both of them. “I agree with you, but I can't leave Takao.” Chug said, rising to his feet. That surprised me.

  “Your friends left him. Why can't you?” I said. He bit his lip sheepishly. For the first time since I saw him, his tough guy attitude was completely gone. He looked exactly like what he was; a crazy, scared kid ready to lose it while holding a gun.

  “If I ditch Takao, I can kiss The Abandoned goodbye.” he said. I was pretty sure if those two dudes down the alleyway found him, they wouldn't give Chug a chance to kiss it goodbye. But before I could say anything about them, Dart stood up and walked over to Halsey. I waited for him to grab her and book it, but he walked right past her and over to the corner of the room. Right to where Takao was lying. He grabbed his arms and hefted Takao up over his shoulders.

  “Is that bullet kicking in?” I asked Dart, trying not to freak out. “What? Oh,” he grunted, shifting Takao's unconscious weight, “I haven't lost it yet if that's what you're asking,” he said, “but I’m getting there.

  “Still,” he continued, shuffling over to the doorway, “these kids don't need to be involved in any more than they already are. Plus it never hurts to have someone owe you a favor. Grab Halsey.”

  I nodded, kneeling down next to Halsey. Favor or no favor, we did need to get out of here. If the only way Dart would do it was with Takao on his back, it was better than not getting out of here at all. It was now or never.

  I grabbed Halsey's arms like Dart did, and slid her up onto my back.

  “Come on!” Chug yelled, and ran out the door. I stood up, thankful that Halsey was a lot lighter than Scott, and followed Chug and Dart out of the building and into the alleyway.

  ✽✽✽

  Chug stopped once we were outside, looking left and right down the alleyway. To our right, the gruff woodsman voice yelled, “We're almost there; I see someone up ahead!”

  “This way!” Chug turned left and booked it back the way we came. We followed him, running as fast as we could. As we ran, we began to pass him up.

  “When we catch you, it's all over!” the surfer voice yelled.” I probably imagined it, but I thought I heard Chug whimper next to me. I was tempted to call him a coward, right to his face. He totally deserved it. But I thought better of it. I probably needed to save my breath for more important things. Like running.

  “Wait,” Chug said, panting, “this way!” He took a left turn and kept running. A little while down, we hit a fork in the road and Chug took us right.

  “You sure you know where you're going?” I called out. Some things were more important than saving breath. Like knowing where we were running.

  “Of course!” Chug panted.

  Some more running and another fork in the road later, I looked behind me as best as I could with Halsey on my back. I didn't see, or more importantly, hear the two guys behind us anymore. This was convenient, since Chug stopped shortly after the next left turn we took.

  Wait...where's the...building?” he asked, bent over with his hands on his knees.

  “What—” I gasped for air “—are you talking about?”

  “The building.” he said, “The alleyways should've led us right to it.”

  “Oh, right to it, huh?” I echoed his words with the finest of sarcasm, getting in his face for good effect. “Is this part of your trap too? Are we really being chased?”

  “I hear them again! And I'm losing my patience, so run faster!” the woodsman voice growled angrily somewhere around the corner.

  “We're being chased. I swear there's no trap!” Chug yelled in exasperation. It occurred to me that whoever these guys were, Chug did not want to get captured by them. Maybe he was telling the truth.

  “We don't have much time. Forget the building,” Dart said, stepping in front of both of us. “We're going back to Reggie's.” No argument came from either of us. He started down the alley again, Chug and I close behind. I heard more thumps than our footsteps made, though. The two guys must have been gaining on us.

  “So, I'm not complaining, but how are you lasting this long from the bullet? Chug asked while we ran. What did he say? “Wait, what does he mean “this long”?” I asked Dart.

  “De Mentoria's specialized in these bullets for a long time,” Dart answered vaguely. “Did they have to do with your other business with Mr. Reggie?” I asked, trying to keep up. Dart was pouring on speed all of a sudden.

  “Yeah, I got hit with my fair share of
insanity bullets working with Mr. Reggie. Probably the only reason it hasn't affected me yet.” I got a bad feeling in my gut when he said yet, which didn't make running easier.

  “It's actually for reasons like this that I put that whole mess behind—”

  A sudden THUMP stopped him mid-sentence.

  I turned around and saw Dart on the ground face-first, Takao nowhere in sight.

  ✽✽✽

  I stopped running, which was hard with Halsey on my back, and turned around.

  “Dart! You gotta get up!” I told him. I could see him shaking. He pushed with his elbow to look up at me, dirt scratched up on his face from the fall. His pupils were dilating, starting to show that same vacant stare Halsey and Takao had.

  “Run,” he said. Then his head fell back down.

  “How do you expect me to do that now?” I said, only slightly freaked out. “I can't leave you here!”

  “Over there! I heard someone shouting!” the surfer guy's voice echoed. Oh, great.

  I felt a tug on my arm. I looked down and it was Chug, trying to pull me the other way. “We need to go, now!” he said. I stared at Dart. I couldn't leave them for those two guys. They already sounded angry enough at Chug. Only, they didn't know it was Chug. For all they cared, they could've decided Dart was who they were after.

  As much as I hated it, I turned and ran. Dart gave me an order. I needed to follow that, at least.

  Except now we had a new problem: my body had trouble following Dart's order. I felt myself slowing down. It wasn't long before I took a step and almost buckled under the combined weight of Halsey and my tired self.