Run - A CCRP Novel by BellatriX Is ME

''This article is a wiki backup of the WIP book itself, also available on Scratch. For the article about the book, see Run.''

Prologue
It's amazing what 2000 years of war can do to a civilization.

Only 500,000 of us remain. Yes, the Scourge did a lot of the killing, and so did the PRA - but much of our destruction was our own doing.

Humans as a whole tend to think that being "different" makes you either better or worse.

It's this whole "us and them" mindset that killed millions of people - 90% of all people born here.

We've reached peace at this point, mostly.

But with only 500,000 of us left, it could dissolve into fighting at any moment...

The economy is - finally - growing, but tensions remain high, and my mother's advice is useful for anyone who thinks they have a future here.

Run. Run for your life, and don't turn back.

-

Let me introduce myself. My name is Seyli Toros, and I am 13 years old. "This place" that I'm talking about is my home country, though it wasn't it's own country for many years.

First there was the aforementioned 2000-year-long war, and then the PRA invaded, and we became their slaves.

Now we are the Republic of Nilo-Gordas, but just one look at us shows we have been through a lot.

Take, for instance, the streets of the capital, Nayzagay. You walk through the first few streets and it's like, "oh, alright, these are the slums that make up the suburbs."

But then you keep walking farther in, and it's the same way.

And you just keeep walking, and it's still the same.

The entire town is broken down. Houses such as my own are made of cardboard, tin, and whatever else can be found.

The ground is absolutely covered in trash, disease runs rampant, and everything looks perpetually gray.

At this point, it's just depressing.

Nilo-Gordas does have some powerful allies, though, so things are looking up for the country, economy-wise.

Culturally, though, we don't stand a chance.

The name of our country already reveals a lot: The country is split between two groups, the Nilo and the Gordasi. The Gordasi are their own group simply because they didn't like the emperor at the time, but now nobody cares about some long-dead ruler.

Now all they care about is revenge.

And maybe not even revenge, at this point. It's just mindless fighting.

Endless, ridiculous fighting, and nobody wins.

Like I said, Nilo-Gordas doesn't stand a chance.

All there is to do is... RUN.

Chapter One
"Seyli! The inspectors are coming! Today!" my mother yelled from the back room - the ONLY back room, mind you - of our house.

"The inspectors?" I asked, confused.

"It's a new government initiative - 'Clean up Nayzagay'," she explained, putting it in air quotes as she often did when talking about the new government programs.

They come almost daily, nowadays.

Not that they've done any good...

"Are they going to evict us?" I asked, now scared.

If they were "cleaning" Nayzagay, most likely they'll get rid of half the people here.

At least we keep our house - more like our shack - clean.

"Probably," Mom said matter-of-factly.

Clearly the threat of being evicted was more than I'd thought.

"Are we going to dismantle the house then?"

We'd done it once before, when we decided our neighbors were getting entirely too close. It's easy enough to do since the whole thing is made of sheets of tin. All we do is pack up our sparse belongings and carry the walls with us.

"Only if we really are evicted."

"We probably will be, though," I said.

She shrugged, completely unworried. "We could set up literally anywhere."

How does she not care? I thought, barely hiding the look of both confusion and disgust, which surprised even myself.

"I guess," I said, not believing it myself.

I didn't want to see the house taken out from underneath our feet, so I slipped out of the house quietly, wrapping my threadbare sweater around me.

It didn't smell quite as bad out on the streets today, but the sky was a foreboding gray.

"Where are you, Puzzle?" I muttered, walking down the cobbled road with my arms wrapped around myself. It was remarkably cold.

Puzzle is the name everybody on the street - including the adults, except for his parents - has given my friend.

"Right behind you, Sey," a voice said, surprising me so much I actually jumped.

"Aye, you don't have to be like that!" I told the curly-haired kid - I call him that because he's barely an inch shorter than me - behind me.

He was smirking wildly. I scowled.

There's a reason he's called Puzzle.

He IS one.

I don't think anybody will ever understand him - even me, and I'm his best friend (also his only). Even without being the strange kid he is, he's already an anomaly.

I, myself, am Niloan, but Puzzle is Gordasi - not only that, but Amurrhinian, too.

So, for everybody else, it's strange to see somebody with light skin fraternizing with the naturally dark-skinned Nilo and Gordasi (there is virtually no difference between the two).

His Amurrhinian heritage also lends him dark reddish hair and greenish eyes, more things to set him apart.

And, unfortunately for him, being "different" isn't a good thing around here.

Especially here in the capital, already so surrounded by the increasing divisiveness of politics.

But aaaanyway...

"But it's fun," he whined.

"Shut up," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Only for you it is. I'm probably about to be evicted, and this is how you treat me!" I huffed.

"It's not like I knew you were being evicted!" he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Well now you do. So, any last words?" I asked, dropping all pretense of utter annoyance - I wasn't really mad, I just liked to argue.

"Yeah. Move your house closer to mine."

In all honesty, getting evicted around here is nearly impossible, as anyone with a shack like mine (read: everyone) can just move down the street without a problem.

But then the government finds you again, and again - and then you have to move out of the city entirely.

You leave your friends, your family - if they're even still alive - and if you come back, you better have money for a real house.

Otherwise, you'll have to leave again.

At that point, it's best to flee- flee north, preferably, into the most prosperous nation in the world, the GUE, the Great National Empire.

The contrast is apparent the exact moment you cross the border.

Maybe I will run.

Heaven knows I'd have a better future out there.

Chapter Two
While I had been occupied by my own thoughts, Puzzle had taken it upon himself to disappear into thin air.

What a nice friend HE is.

Grumbling under my breath, I began to walk back to my own shack - sorry, house - but then I heard shouts.

"Hey, little girl, where is your house? Or as you as homeless as the rest of these?" somebody jeered, presumably at me.

"Little girl? Who's callin' me little?" I yelled back angrily. "I am 13 years old, thank you very much!"

13 years old, 5"5', and with an attitude larger than the continent I'm on itself, according to most.

"You're not an adult, so you're little. Now get back in your house, missy," the same man who'd spoken before said.

"Why?" I demanded.

"We need all residents present at the houses when we inspect. Now get inside."

Oh no. THESE are the inspectors. And they're guaranteed to kick us ALL out.

Whole neighborhood's going to be deathly empty after today.

"I'm baaack," I told my mom, stepping into my shack (I still refuse to call it a house).

"Good. Inspectors are coming in 5 minutes, so you better clean up."

Grumbling, I walked to the back room to make my bed, put up my clothes, tidy everything up as much as I could...

And then without even announcing their arrival, the inspectors stepped in.

"Another of these shacks? Is there not a single actual house in this whole town?"

"Probably not," I muttered, stepping into the front "room."

"And here's your rebellious little young lady," the leader said, flashing a crooked-toothed wicked-looking grin.

I scowled. "All I did was simply BE on the street. And that's being 'rebellious' now?"

"It is when you're supposed to be present for the inspection."

"What if  I'm not the person who technically owns the house? You yourself said I was a minor."

"I don't care."

But he didn't say anything else, and pushed past my mom, giving the house one quick glance.

ONE.

Then he handed a paper to my mom with a wicked grin and walked right out.

"By the order of the Zariff of the Republic of Nilo-Gordas, you are hereby evicted to help Clean Up Nayzagay..."

I didn't even finish reading what it said. Angrily, I tore the ridiculous piece of paper into tiny pieces, throwing them out the doorway at the inspector's back.

He didn't even flinch.

Within an hour, we were all packed up and ready to get out of there - to where, though, I have no idea.

My pack was slung over my shoulder and I was carrying a few sheets of tin - the walls of my bedroom.

Amazing how one's BEDROOM can be so portable.

As if by some undecided signal, we began walking down the street, for the final time, in the direction that seemed to be unofficially decided as "north."

North, the land of far more opportunity.

As we continued walking, we noticed more and more people joining us - among them, the Longoriases, Puzzle's family.

The entire neighborhood, only it wasn't much of a neighborhood anymore, since we didn't have houses.

So much for cleaning up Nayzagay. At this point, they're just getting rid of it.

Chapter Three
Today we passed through yet another town that looked just as miserable as our old one.

The only difference was that it was significantly smaller, but the people and their houses looked just as worn.

Maybe we looked even more so, though, as we'd been traveling for a week and none of us have, er, done much for our personal hygiene.

As we continued walking, everybody looked more and more beat up and exhausted.

The thought struck me as we hit even more rocky ground: some of us might not make it.

I didn't realize I had started to walk more and more slowly until I stopped dead in my tracks and realized everyone else had.

But what shocked me the most was what had made everybody stop.

In front of us, on a small hill, stood an absolutely ginormous contraption I'd only ever heard about from those who came from outside of Nilo-Gordas.

A train.

This was our way out of this miserable country.

The only question was: how do we get on? Each car was sealed shut by a giant latch that looked impossible to reach.

But then, Puzzle, puzzle that he is, scrambled up the side of the train, unhinged the latch, and jumped off.

"Anybody care to come inside?" Puzzle yelled.

The door slowly rumbled open, revealing a giant empty space, perfect for whoever dared to go inside, into wherever the train would take us.

I was the first to jump.

I took a running leap towards it, sliding across the floor of the car as I jumped in. Puzzle hit the floor the second I did.

"Nice new house, isn't it? Better than the old shack, at the very least," Puz said, smirking.

I shrugged. "True. It's temporary, though. Very temporary."

"Says who?" Puzzle asked with a wicked grin.

I rolled my eyes but I was smiling.

This was our ticket out of here, and we may be out by the end of the day.

I couldn't wait until the train started moving.

More people began getting into the train car, but it remained remarkably empty.

And it kept getting darker and darker outside...

Still, the train didn't move.

And then lights appeared outside.

Somebody - I couldn't see who, it was pretty much pitch-black by now - moved to close the car door, keeping it open only by the smallest crack.

The lights were getting closer now, and we could see that it was a group of about 8 people, holding lanterns.

They were shouting at everybody still outside - among them my mother, and Puzzle's as well.

Through the crack in the train car's door, I could see what looked like the leader brandishing something at them.

The rest seemed to be holding back the rest of the crowd.

Understanding dawned on me as I saw my mother at the head of the crowd.

They're taking her away. Not just her, but everyone else who wasn't on the train.

The same thought seemed to hit whoever was closest to the door, as it slammed shut within moments of my realization.

No turning back now. Either we stay on the train and let it take us to Fictia, or we have the psychopaths outside capture us.

Our choice, though it's not much of one.

---

Finally, finally, FINALLY, the train began to move with a lurch so hard the sheets of tin I'd been carrying skidded across the ground, scattering everywhere.

A sheet I'd thought was only one turned out to be two, and in between them something was slid in the ridges of the corrugated material.

I picked it up, holding it up to the light of Daneese Bayros's (one of my - former - neighbors) lantern.

"No way," I breathed.

"What is it, Sey?" Puzzle asked.

"A sword. An old one, by the looks of it."

"Where'd you get it from? The train?"

"No. It was stuck between some of the walls of my shack, for who knows how long," I told him, examining the sword from every angle.

How did I get so lucky as to have this weapon?

Maybe we're not in such deep water as I'd thought.

Or maybe we are, who knows.

I stuffed the sword into my pack, slinging the whole thing over my shoulder.

"I'd say it's about time we see where we're going," I said, walking to the door. "You, whoever you are keeping the door closed, I think it's time to open it. I'd reckon we're safe now."

The door opened a crack, letting in a sliver of light, and as the train rumbled on, faster and faster, it opened more and more until it was fully open, showing the empty, dark countryside.

I leaned my head - and the rest of me, as well - out of the train car. There was something so satisfying about feeling the wind on my face.

Looking down, I saw the ground - mixed rock, sand, and greenish shrubs - rushing beneath my feet.

I looked up again, seeing the forests in the distance getting closer and closer.

Those forests mark the beginning of the border between Nilo-Gordas and Fictia.

They rushed closer and closer, and soon I could see each individual leaf.

Or maybe I was the one rushing closer, not them.

Rushing closer and closer, faster and faster...

Closer to the future.

Chapter Four
Apart from the rumbling of the train on the tracks, it was deathly silent.

Maybe that had something to do with how it was the middle of the night.

Not that I could sleep.

Leaning against the doorframe of the car, I simply stared out at the countryside as it rushed continually by.

I didn't realize it had gotten darker and darker until the moon was completely invisible, covered by clouds.

That in and of itself was a rarity in such a dry, dry country.

Apparently not so dry up north, though...

Without warning, it begin to rain - wet, sticky sheets of endless water, falling from the sky.

It was kind of peaceful, to be honest.

Me, alone out in the rain - well, sort of - with nothing and no one to bother me.

But then, it decided to thunder. Loudly.

VERY bright lightning forked across the sky, adding to the suddenly ominous mood.

Throughout the train car, everyone stirred, though it seemed not many woke up.

I gripped the strap of my pack tightly, as if anticipating something coming at me - though why, I can't be sure.

Glancing outside again, I noticed something on the roof of the car in front of ours.

No, not something - someone.

I stiffened. What if we'd been found?

Then we'd really be in trouble.

I sat straight up, pulling the sword from my pack.

I didn't really know how to use it, but I figured it was simple enough.

Just whack it at your attacker, right?

I had the sudden sense that Puzzle was right beside me, waiting for me to make a move.

I elbowed him and he yelped, making it clear it was him.

"Have you looked outside at all?" I hissed. "There's somebody on the roof."

"Somebody? Why?"

"How am I supposed to know? They're just THERE, terrifyingly enough."

"Ah, give me a break," Puzzle said, slapping my arm. "I was asleep anyway. I'm awake now, though."

Lightning shot across the sky again, highlighting the sillhuette of the person on the roof.

Thunder roared through the air, erasing any doubts about Puzzle's - or my, for that matter - state of awakeness.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Puzzle asked matter-of-factly.

"Good question," I said, gripping my sword tightly. "Do you want to stay on this train or not?"

"Duh, I want to stay on the train."

"Then either we hide, or get rid of this person."

"Dang, bro. You're gonna slice 'em to bits, aren't you," Puzzle said, sounding the slightest bit worried.

"Yup," I replied, smirking.

"You sure that's the best idea? Seems a bit harsh."

"Are you really surprised, though? We've already come so far. Why let ourselves be turned back now?" I stood up, holding the sword up to the dim light. It was remarkably light and fit perfectly into my hand. I slashed it experimentally at the air.

It made a satisfying SWISH through the air, and the way it glittered in the dim light made me feel, indeed, maybe the slightest bit manic.

Maybe Puzzle's right, I am taking this too seriously.

But, I've also lost my home, and I'm too far into my journey to look back.

So I tossed my pack on the floor, tied back my hair in a futile attempt to get it out of my face, and leaned out of the car.

"I know you're there," I called.

"I know you're there as well," a raspy voice called back.

"What do you want from me?"

The wind and rain carried my voice in entirely too many directions.

"This is my train, little girl. What do you think?"

The voice had taken on a taunting tone, and I was reminded, suddenly, of those inspectors back at home in Nayzagay.

A shiver of fear ran down my spine at the memory.

"This is my train, child. I want you all off - or you'll have to pay for boarding."

"None of us have money, idiot," I said coldly - seriously, I was freezing.

"Then get off."

"No. I AM going to Fictia, and you are NOT stopping me, or any of us here." I raised the sword threateningly.

I swore I could HEAR him stiffen.

"So be it," he growled, and jumped into the compartment.

That's when I noticed what he was holding.

It looked like a gun - but not quite a gun.

It had the barrel of the gun, and a trigger... but that was about it.

It looked... broken. Not very effective.

But he lined up the barrel of the gun with my eye, and fired.

I ducked just in time, and a bullet lodged into the wall of the car.

No longer hesitant, I charged forward, sword held out. He ducked, but the blade still nicked his shoulder.

"Little girl..." he snarled.

"Not little," I told him, standing above him with the sword held to his neck. "13."

He held up the gun.

I pressed the sword closer to his neck.

Without warning he fired and I reared back just in time - but now we were back to square one.

I ran at him again, but when he pointed the gun at me this time I ducked and ran at the wall, pushing off at the last second, and slid across the

floor, the edge of the sword grazing his arm.

"HEY YOU!" Puzzle yelled from somewhere across the car. "IF YOU KILL ANY OF US, YOU'RE GOOD AS DEAD AS WELL!"

Puzzle - ridiculous, friendly, short little Puzzle - reared out of the shadows, jumping on TOP of the attacker, and wrapped both hands around his throat.

Eyes wide, I watched as both tried to fight each other off, but both seemed unable to do so.

"C'mon, Puz," I muttered under my breath, slowly creeping closer to the attacker.

The moment Puzzle got him on the ground, I pounced, slicing the sword across the attacker's back- not enough to truly hurt him, but enough to get his attention - and get him off our case.

"What do you WANT, you insolent children?" he roared.

"Everything and nothing. A better future than what we've been given."

"Kids these days," he muttered. "If your only hope is getting on this rickety old train, then you have no future."

For a second, I may have believed him. Heaven knows we've reached the point of no return, but none of us really know where we're going.

But then again, maybe that's the entire point.

"You're wrong," I told him, putting my sword back in my pack. "Our future isn't something that's been given to us, neither does it have anything to do with our circumstances."

"Our future is what we make of it."