The Tag Bearer

Chapter 1 - The March

The street in which we marched was in ruins and the bodies of hundreds of terrified children shivered as they unwillingly trudged forward down the decaying road. It would have been unnerving to anyone who remained hidden in the deserted buildings above, but to me, this was just another reality check. If I was them, I'd remain hidden forever. 

Only, I wasn't them. I was Ellie; the girl who'd been found and dragged into the stampede of marching children to a place no one knew of. I'd heard rumours about safe havens and city clean ups, but since the war I'd remained up in the country, so I was sceptical of such things even existing in this godforsaken world.

I had one job - get to the Snow Mine Shaft and retrieve a book. A book tagged with all the names of those who could help me. A blind father was one thing, but a blind father who knew how to protect his daughter when he was on the wrong side of the war - now that was something I'd always admired. 

I scanned the street looking for anything familiar. I needed a way to escape, if they found out who I was, they'd kill me on the spot. Stupid me had been swept up in the advance three towns back, caught trying to get supplies, but most of those who walked in front and behind me were from the suburb after mine. I should've stayed up North, in the bush, but my stupid mind thought supplies, and supplies only. Screw the bush tucker.

When the war came through, most of us joined the rebellion. We proudly wore their arm banners like the world would somehow be good again, but boy was I wrong about that. The People's War, as it was dubbed, was nothing short of a full-scale revolt. History class taught me that. 

My own capture wasn't all that delightful either and I cursed under my breath at the memory. Why couldn't I have been more careful? Why couldn't Ellie Young be more of a soldier instead of a scared wimp who cleaned up after everyone?

I shook my head. I suppose it was more unexpected than anything, but as I let the stale leaves crush under my feet, I couldn't help but feel the hairs on my neck prickle at the whole demise everyone was destined to. The wind swept the remaining loose overgrowth into a slight swell across the deserted street and the shell casings of buildings towered high above me, disappearing into a creepy grey cloud. Graffiti covered the empty apartment building exteriors, and rubbish lay across their doors, spewing itself out onto the asphalt. The trees were bare and twig-like, twisting their way up into the grey oasis above them. They contrasted the sky, making the street feel ever so haunting.

Mist accompanied the grey oasis today, and it hung in cold clouds above our heads. A droplet ran down my neck, making me shiver at its touch. The occasional cough could be heard from somewhere along the line, and rolls of breath billowed out from our cracked lips as we walked. My nose began to run. Wiping it away, I noticed the reflection of a Drone siting in the air above me.

I was once told the Drones were strong enough to take down a fully-grown male bear, and I could certainly imagine such technology taking down a large creature like that, if it could do so to a human. Considering they were only the size of a large bowling ball, and their exterior was painted in a polished white, they exhumed that type of aurora. A high definition camera was built into one end of the Drone, and a drop hatch was situated underneath it. It emitted a blue scanner through the camera, which videotaped the environment below. They looked as though you could pluck them out of the sky and comfortably stuff them into a backpack without thinking twice about it. 

Just before the war, they'd gone rogue, shooting people left, right and centre. For some reason I can only remember a time when the technology was failing. This new placid technology was unheard of in my lifetime; they were always unreliable and unpredictable. After all, I was lucky enough to survive an attack by one, my brother, however, wasn't. A glitch in the Drones had rendered them useless to the police force, and they became an official state enemy.