DYSTOPIA | BOOK 2 of Death of the Future Series

TEN

RICKY

Ricky would be lying if he said he didn't feel scared. His heart was racing against his chest. He took a step, moving from underneath one shadow to the next. He held his breath. Exhaling slowly as he took another step, he stopped to press his back against the bark of a tree whenever he thought he heard something.

He looked around, peeking out from his hiding spot. There wasn't anyone else here. Shoving away the urge to crouch down to the forest floor and calm down, he scanned the area, spotting another spot he could move to.

As long as he was quiet and kept to the dark, he would make it.

Luck was in his favour for the fact that this forest was dense with trees, most of them were high in the sky to block majority of the sunlight that would've lit the area for miles otherwise. There weren't any bushes for any Officials to hide in. Which meant he didn't have a place to hide properly, either.

After Min Seo had spotted one of the Officials roaming around the area they were in, Michael had suggested to keep close together and move to the darkest parts of the forest, areas that had more shadows than light. As far as Ricky knew, they had only spotted one man. But when there was one, there should be others.

After a few times of this running and hiding under the darkest parts of the forest, Michael had an insane idea of breaking them up. Ricky had wanted to protest but when he heard his mother agree, he knew then — they had done this before.

They would know what was the best action.

And that was a reality check for Ricky.

He had no idea how to become a leader.

They did.

Why had Dae Hee chosen him out of all people to lead the Uprising?

The bitter taste of defeat crawled up his throat.

He shook his head out of his thoughts.

Now that everyone was separated from him, heading their own way, following different routes to get to their final base, Ricky was all alone in this mission of survival.

He hoped his mother would get there safely.

Ricky forced himself to concentrate, following the pattern of hiding and running at any chance he got. It was only when the sun started to set had he realised how long he had been stalking through the forest floor. He knew, rationally, he should find a place to stay for the night. He even looked up to the branches of the tree, wondering if he could get away sleeping on it.

He quickly dismissed that idea not wanting to add additional risks to his already fleeting safety.

He decided to keep moving instead.

By the time he couldn't see anything in front of him, he knew he had to give in to his body's need to rest. He looked around the place he was at, listening closely for anything before he deemed that he was probably — hopefully — far enough from that Official.

He made a mental note to make sure he was on the right track to the base come morning.

For now, he sat down on the forest ground, leaning his back against one of the trees. He grabbed the bags that he was carrying, placing them on his lap. He opened the flaps, looking through the items before he found the emergency food stash.

There wasn't much in them. Just a couple of energy bars. And the remaining water in one of the flasks.

The other flask was probably with Min Jae.