6.Ground

The creek-cracking clicking of the suspended basket made an odd accompaniment to the grounding fans orchestra, making atrocious chills passing through my spine.

They sounded like miss accorded instruments omen of a frightful event. My body was shaking like a collapsing building, heart beating so fast I thought it might stop at any moment. I could not breathe, the air was passing heavily on my lungs making the ominous gas in the atmosphere burn them more than usual. My brain was sending bombs, shooting me with survival instinct and fear through confused and rampaged thoughts. It was like I was ordering myself to give up, to throw my idea all away and tell the other that it was just an unfunny joke, that i was not serious. Even though tears did not burst out of my body I could not stop biting the inside of my mouth. If I failed to keep my calm, then it is the other that would panic. A tense atmosphere of fear was palpable, as if the end of the world was approaching the further the carrycots were reaching the rooftop.

I had Navajo right hand in mine, he was not looking well, I could see fear, no, horror in his eyes. He was trembling, shivering like he suddenly got the flu, looking like he was nearly about to make a panic attack.

We were all tense, my belly was cramping like paper on itself, we were waiting for the moment we would jump at the men and kick him off the carrycot like we planned. Every thing had to go according to the plan, it was already complicated enough.

When the sound of the suspended basket became so loud that we could feel it making the floor trembling a bit I looked at Navajo, but when I was just ready to give the final signal, the door of the rooftop opened brusquely.

"Guys wait for me!" yelled Biggy. Took by a moment of surprise we all looked at him completely disturbed by his arrival. All the concentration we built during those long minutes vanished.

"-what the fuck?! What are you doing here kids?!

-Shit. Amador now!

-Eh ? What"

Although I tried to force Amador out of his stupefaction he was already destabilized to react fast enough and ultimately the situation went out of control. Faced w ith the reality that something should be done as soon as possible, I tried my best to pull out the big and tall man alone, obviously resulting in a failure as he was incredibly heavier than I thought and almost insistently gripped me with his strong arms, making me completely unable to move. Amador tried to stop, pulling as much as he could, punching the arms of the man with no real success. The carrycot was nearly completely stopped, I could feel all my hopes scramble as I tried to give the directive. Biggy ran to us, he was still far , "what to do? ", I thought feeling completely overwhelmed.

"Navajo! In the carrycot! " I yelled " Jump in it now!

-Eh!?but you?!

-Just do it!

- Stop-it you fucking brat! "

Navajo jumped, while the man was busy dealing with Amador and his iron staff, avoiding it from knocking him out. I tried to reach out to my dark skinned friend, Biggy was still running to us when the carrycot stopped completely at his destination, he was getting closer but not sufficiently. My vision became blurry as the man was shocking my neck so hard I thought I was about to die, I could not escape from his grip. However, when I thought I was about to pass out, Kenny jumped out of the carrycot, punched the man so hard he flew in the air. Without me getting how he did it, the small blondie quickly took me before i fell with them men and Amador in the same occasion, pushing us in the carrycot while the men was staring his ascension in the air.

-A rope?!

Said Navajo horrified while Kenny jumped out of the carrycot.

My brain was overflowed with information and questioning, I couldn't follow what was going on and i was still suffocating from the man's choking. Then the carrycot suddenly started to fall swept along by the man's who was attached to it all along.As fast as I could gripped someone trying my best not to fly away.

"-Hold onto something!!" I yelled with a broken voice.

The carrycot was still going down dangerously fast and not to help anything Kenny and Biggy jumped on it while it was furiously going down making the engine move an shake out of control with us completely manhandled. A CLICK then a CLACK CREAK rose as if something was ultimately broken before the suspended basket started to fall even faster.

My stomach started to feel awful, I could feel my organs going up, moving in my inside it felt sick with a strong desire to throw everything that eventually was in my belly. Everyone was holding onto the engine as much as they could, but when we thought it couldn't get any worse something else jumped in, the carrycot started swinging again, more furiously than before making most of us nearly fall in the air.

"The fuck Marco?!!" I heard Amador's voice but just couldn't pay it anymore attention.

The plan was fucked up and we were about to die from a certain death.

Then like a beam of hope the carrycot stopped, making us jump again like it wanted to expel us but at least, once the engine stopped to shake like crazy.

Once calmed down, heart still beating and guts still all over the place, I looked up to what might have saved us from a certain death. The man's head was stuck between the broken bars of a balcony. His neck pressed on the silver bar ready to be cut-of at any moment. Everyone was in Panic after going back to their sense.

"Shit we gonna die! I shouldn't have followed you! Said Biggy completely panicked.

Amador looked ready to explode.

-Who's fault do you think it is hu?!!You dumb ass, coming is a time like that!don't you know what timing means!?? Your big ass nearly killed us!

-Shut up! It ain't only my fault !what is this fucker doing here hu? He's the one that nearly got the carrycot broken.

-You ain't better with you fat ass! Look at you I'm even surprised this things didn't break!

-Shut it Marco ! What the heck are you doing here anyway hu? You came here so I can beat your ass??! No one agreed

-Try it if you can fucker! "

Everyone was particularly tense, my brain was boiling, all the noise was driving me crazy, with the boys fighting and Navajo crying I was about to break like the man's neck.

"-Shut up you all it's really not the moment !If we don't do anything we will die! " I yelled, tried to take my composure back my composure.

"- Come on Navajo use your brain!"I said, but he was just in the incapacity of doing anything but crying and shaking. I clicked my tongue as my nerves were ready to break, I had to find a way before the men's neck broke. I looked around still gripping firmly on what was around me. There was a table with a small button, it slowly tried to reach it. This was written on it and i never felt so happy to read in my entire life.

"-Guys keep on gripping what you have I have an idea! But if it fails we will die smashed on the floor.

The carrycot moved brusquely again as the men head was then holding on a wire. Blood was falling on our heads, when the falling started back the man's head fell right next to us. Navajo yelled of dread as I was trying my best to keep the situation under control, I pushed the big red button with "Stop" written on it. An awful creaking rose in the air, curling off for good the discretion we wished to have. But the carrycot wasn't stopping, instead it was desperately going slower then faster without control, shaking in all the ways. Biggy was yelling continuously that we were about to die, calling his mom and asking who knows why he jumped in this shit with us. I myself did not know why we were doing this anymore. However, when I thought of my father only for one instant I just could not let this situation worsen.

-"Guys!! Listen !! As soon as we touch the ground, If we don't die instantly, we need run! If you stay behind consider yourself dead! "

The carrycot slowed down bit by bit but not sufficiently for us to land smoothly. The shock passed through my bones, making each of them shake off pain. I felt groggy and could barely stand up. My whole body was aching and hardly did I got back on my sense.

"-What on word is that?

-Are those kids?! are they still alive?

-Aaaaaah!!!! L.....LArry.....Larry's head just fell!!"

Men were slowly gathering around us, looking at us like we were some monsters or atrocious things. The noise of their conversation were closer to the music af the grounding fans than human voices. They looked horrified, pale face covered by beard and surely were they ready to end our lives if we did something stupid now that their colleague's heard just smashed itself on the floor.My friends were slowly getting back to their senses, realizing in which shitty situation we were now drowned in. Although they seemed vaguely fine, their face were pale enough to make them look like dead bodies. It was the end. We nearly died, and killed a man, just for us to be killed by a some angry tall and scary men.

When I just thought it was all done for us, a big sound, near from a "Plack!" suddenly rose while leaving a splash of bloods and what we could assume as being human body's part. The body of the man we knocked to death just fell of where we left it, turning everyone attention back to the an the presumed Lenny's death.

"-AAAAAH LENNYYYYYY!!!"

They all looked more horrified than the second before, but more than that, Navajo who was the closest to it appeared ready to throw up. It was ideed dreadfull, but I felt like it was the perfect moment for us to run.

"Now! It's the time!!!"

I Quitly told my friends, taking both Navajo's and Amador's hand's as they were the closest to me.

"RUN! Just Run! Or else we are dead!!!!!"

Then I jumped on my feet and started running with them behind me. Navajo quickly got caught. I turned, yelling at Amador to keep on running."-You won't go anywhere!!" Said the person who got Navajo.

Little did he know that the person of Navajo, was an strictly protected being. Instantly, Kenny jumped on his feet when he saw his dearest friend in a tough situation. Like an enraged animal he jumped on him, punching the imposing man, once again, hard enough to make him fly.

I was completely stunned by what I saw it was the second time he showed us this incredible strength and I asked myself how we did to spend so much time together without noticing anything. Maybe he really wasn't human at all I thought, then my mind tilted realizing the opportunity that presented itself.

"Kenny !! Help the other!!"

I took back Navajo's hand's."_You better run fast, there's no time for panicking."

Marco then managed to join us."-He's not human!!!! A monster! A monster I tell you!!!

-Shut up Marco it's not the moment to throw your hatred on him!Do you realize we nearly died!

-You sure did not see what he did!!

-You guys can you please stop arguing for a second? keep your breath for the run."It was then for the turn of Kenny to catch us up nearly carrying Biggy with him.

"-Huf..Huf...the car...they got in..."Biggy was hardly trying to say this as he was certainly suffocating.

"-Don't talk Biggy, just keep your breath we need to run as much as we can.

-B....B....B...bu...but...the....they...they...are .....following us....with...the car!!"

-I know that. I can hear it behind us. We need to find a way to outrun them."

The way Navajo was talking was worse than usual proof that it was at the verge of breaking, and Biggy state was not getting better as we were running, on the contrary I was surprised, his heart did not give up at the end of our fall. Actually none of us, even after what we experienced, did break, even Navajo was still able to run. I could feel it, maybe it was the same for all my friends, an unknown strength making my body more alert, my muscle more tensed but ready to run even faster if I had too. I felt a change in my sense and the way information were flooding in my brain felt different? It was something completely new, that did not know much about,even even thought I could have reed it somewhere, living it was a completely different thing.

The car was getting closer and closer, and I was doubting or survival once again.

"-AH...I...I.....I...I...I.....I....

-Arh just say it already!!!" Aggressively said Marco looking like a hot tomato sauce.

I did not like how he talked to my friend but he was not completely wrong for once, we were raver in a hurry and Navajo language issues weren't of any help.

-I...I Have an Idea!!!!!!"

I curiously looked back at him. Was the stressing situation making him think more efficiently than usual? I asked myself dozen questions over how a boy who looked so lost a minute ago could blur out that he had a Idea.

"-Hurry up and spit-it out! The engine is getting closer!!!" said Marco even more aggressively as he looked desperate.

-I...I don't know if it's going to work...But...There's a intersection there. Because the car is faster we might be able to outrun them by changing our running direction at this point."

-I don't really get it! claimed Amador

-Let's just follow you OK Navajo?we should speed up a bit."

The corner was not so far from us so we quickly got there, as soon as we did arrive Navajo stopped making Marco nearly fall in the process. Then he waited until the car took the corner, took the opportunity to run in the opposite direction like he suggested us to do I could see the men in the car looked at us, both surprised and annoyed, and as they tried to turn back but instead we heard a cricking like song and a boom crash. We did not look back focus on running for our lives.We ran, for I didn't know how long we did run, but we didn't stop when Amador Said.

"I think Biggy is dead! he doesn't move his leg no more!

-Shit." I said when we stopped ourselves in a small alley.They all looked exhausted as I was, but it was my big friends complexion that got me worried the most. Biggy was not breathing anymore, his heart was not even beating. I wished he was not in this state for too long, because it would meant that we had no way to save him.

Quickly I grabbed Biggy's bag, and looked furiously in it. Biggy was not an idiot, although he was not the most intelligent either, he still was very logical so I assumed that he took his portable defibrillators. They were small round devices, like a small patch, easy to use and portable we could say that their only flows were that they could kill the person trying to use it with a strong electric shock or simply break their bones if something went off.

I took a deep breath, immediately pulled my friend t-shirt so we could see most of his upper body, put the patch on Biggy's chest and, as it was supposed to be, pushed my right palms on it then the left one on top.

"-WOHW, WHOW. Wait Marica! let me do it!"Said Amador. I could see where he came from. Never did we do this maneuver alone, we were strictly forbidden from using the small patches because one wrong movement or one mistake in the device itself could kill the user and let the person who was supposed to be saved as dead. Most of the time we would call Biggy's parents for help. However there were no parents to help anymore and I refused to let Biggy die, nor to put any of the other in any more danger.

"-You should take care of Navajo instead. He can't stay unconscious for too long and he might do a panic attack as soon as he wakes up. I want you to stay there with Kenny to reassure him. Nothing is telling us it will go wrong today so don't worry. "

With that said, I started the simple procedure. With all my strength and weight i pushed my hands on Biggy's chest, activating the small device which left an electric shoot traverse him as his chest lightly rose from the shock. Fortunately the first shot did not cause me any harm, so I confidently tried a second time, but is heart was still not beating, so I tried a third time and I felt a slight electric wave traversing my harm, not yet painful but it felt deeply uncomfortable. I tried two more times and the pain was getting stronger, but Biggy's heart was not beating.

"Common Biggy...Don't die on me now, you just can't die. I don't allow you to die."

I tried several more times, pain flooding throughout my right arm was like i was burning from the inside, and I could even feel it reaching my brain. The pain did not stop me from trying, I could still do it as long as I had the strength to do so. So I did, and around the tenth time after a strong electric slave passed through all my body, traversing my spine way up to my entire brain, Biggy finally started to breath again. I nearly fainted, my brain felt brunt and boiled and I wandered how i was still alive, my ears were ringing awfully and I could sense the blooming of a strong headache.

I had to lie down for a moment.

"Are you Okay Marica?"Said Amador.

-Yeah...No actually I feel awful like my.brain.just got burned....but it's gonna pass i just need to lay down for 5 minutes."

Marco looked at us the whole time without a word, I found it surprising as he was usually so big mouthed.

"I'll go around with Marco....

-Ha?!Why him?

-Well I don't trust Marco to stay with the other and maybe reassure them when they wake up.

-Then go with Kenny.

-Do you think he will follow me in his state? He's completely glued to Navajo anyway so it's useless. And It's better to have him around. I do not know if it was luck or what but he showed that he could be powerful. Having him around increases our chance to resist if someone comes at us here.

"-Hey, are you not even asking my opinion?

-You'd rather stay here with Amador and Kenny? Or perhaps you want to go alone and get yourself killed?

-Nothing is telling us they will kill us, if he say we didn't know what what we were doing, and I'm sorry to say that but I won't especially feel safer with you around.

-Oh really? It would have been fine if one of them wasn't dead because of us, but we were obliviously killed him.-I didn't!

-It doesn't change anything, you were with us wen they found us, and you ran with us, for them you are guilty.-Why are you so sure of it ?! You know nothing.

- Well I'm obviously a bit more educated than you.- Hahah? By your stupid books of things that do not even exist?! Don't make me laugh, You are just a stupid black and a girl at that.- Shut the fuck up Marco! how dare you?! You came here uninvited, you nearly got us killed and you talk?! Say one more thing off and I'll beat your ass!

-Shut it, you damn dog. It's not because you follow here like a dumb baby that I'll do the same.

-Who are you calling a dog?!

-Live it Amador, we have no time for this. I do not care about what you are thinking, do whatever you want." I stood up slowly, my head was bouncing so hard it felt like it was about to explode.

-Go die alone if you want....I'm going to look around....We ran without looking at the map, and as far as I can tell, everything looks awfully similar, so I've no idea of where we are or where we should go....

-Why don't we just return?

- They might still be around, and even if I wanted, everything look the same, we might get even more lost than anything, on top of that I just ran without thinking, I don't remember how many times we turned left to right. If you do I'll be pleased."

I took out the map and unfolded it.

-So tell me Marco. Where did we go? It doesn't matter if you don't like us, but helping us figuring this out will help you as well."

As unhappy and unsatisfied as he looked. Marco still got near me and looked at the map, showing that despite his attitude he could use his brain.

"-Where d'ya found that?

-My father possession, can you even read this?

-It's not so hard, it's showing us how it looks around isn't it?

-How do you know?-My father has maps of the factory he works in, so obliviously I know how a map work and how to read one. Though this one is different."

Amador,Marco and I looked thoughtfully at the map with no conclusive result whatsoever. The beginning of the itinerary was clear but then we all started to disagree over where we turned right or left, and the state of panic we were having while running made things more complicated.

"-It's useless...We still can't stay here without doing anything, we should keep on moving forward. Marco Let's look around, we might find something. You can decline if you want But making as I said helping us is also helping you."

The red-headed boy flicked his tongue, brows frowned, snub-nosed covered with freckle. He looked annoyed and it completely did not matter to me.

-I don't want to stay alone with the dumb dog anyway. Let's go."

On those world we both took or bag packs and started our patrol.