Rising to Fall

Chapter 2-2

The Capital's gates open the next morning at 7am on the dot. Instantly, people begin to walk in and out, going about their daily business. Andy is driving the horses today, and from his position on top of the cart he can see above those moving in and out of the Capital. To his right, he notices Commander Joseph dressed in the same clothes as everyone else, pushing a handcart which is loaded with what looks like hand-carved household items. But underneath, Andy knows that it's packed with food supplies and blankets. All this Andy sees in a glance as he urges the horses forward, ignoring the small group of Sky Army recruits that are evacuating the city.

It was agreed that the graffiti shouldn't start until several of the recruits were out of the Capital and that it also shouldn't be in the centre, but rather start on the outskirts of the Capital. Adam suspects that that is where most of the hiding recruits will be. And so, two nights after the first group left, Andy slips down into the Sky Army caverns and meets with ten others in the office. Several members of the Army had collected black clothes and cloths with which the men can disguise themselves with. They swiftly put on the black items which cover their bodies to their ankles and wrists and also covers their face, leaving their nose and eyes open.

"Two spray cans each for now," David says quietly. "I'm not sure how many I'll be able to smuggle out from work."

"Use it sparingly," Adam adds. "Go in teams of 2." He pulls the black cloth over his mouth and grabs two cans.

Two by two, they sneak out of the various escapes from the Sky Army caverns. Adam and his partner, an energetic young red-headed man by the name of Liam (although everyone just calls him Bluey), head for the east of the Capital. They jog silently to the outskirts of the Capital, staying in the shadows and pressing themselves against the wall when someone happens to pass by.

Upon reaching the east, Adam wordlessly points out one of the walls to Bluey and Bluey nods, moving to it. Adam moves to a second wall, uncapping his can and shaking it, trying to muffle the metallic sound of the ball inside hitting the can as best as he could. He starts spraying on the wall, writing in big, thick letters. It takes him a few minutes to write the words and then he steps back, smiling behind his mask. Painted in big yellow letters on the wall, slightly leaning down on the right, are the words SKY ARMY LIVES. He can't wait for the squids to find that tomorrow morning.

Bluey had finished painting a similar slogan on a neighbouring wall and they both swiftly move on, deeper into the poorer section. Each pick another wall, a little further away from each other. This time, Adam chooses his message very carefully. He writes on the wall SKY ARMY UNITE and messily underlines the 'K', the 'A' and the 'NITE'. He hopes that if any recruits see it, they will know what it meant. He also hopes that anyone else who sees it would be clueless.

They both move on again, this time to the left, heading north. The shadow of a small dog passes them and they both fade into the shadows as another two figures, both girls, also slip past. One glances down the road but doesn't appear to notice them. Adam and Bluey pause for a moment, making sure that neither of the girls comes back, and then silently dart forward, looking for another target. They find the back of a fairly large house with a completely blank back wall that is only slightly crumbling. Bluey pulls his mask down from his mouth and whispers in Adam's ear.

"Can we draw our badge?" he asks. "Please?"

"Do you know how much paint that would take?" Adam asks, also pulling down his mask.

"But it would be awesome! And everyone would be able to see it if we drew it big!"

Adam sighs. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but okay. Let's do it."

They both get to work. They only have yellow spray cans, no purple ones, so they do the best they can. The result is fairly sloppy, but recognisable to anyone who has seen the badge before. They both admire it for a moment, then Adam taps Bluey's shoulder.

"Better keep moving, gotta paint more slogans," he whispers before pulling his mask back up.

They move on, defacing wall after wall with their yellow spray cans and slogans of resistance. The more Adam paints, the more excited he gets. They are finally doing something, something worthwhile. Sure, it's highly dangerous, but that isn't new. Simply being present here is dangerous. Why haven't they done this before? Deep down, Adam knows why, and he feels a twinge of grief and regret stab at him for a moment before fading.

Finally, just under two hours later, with their cans almost completely empty, Adam and Bluey head to the nearest access tunnel and slip down to the Sky Army caverns. As soon as they enter the main area of the base, Adam takes off his mask, grinning like a madman. He has yellow paint all over his hands and he makes a mental note to remind everyone to wash off all the paint.

One night down, only around 9 or so more to go.

Well, that was a lot closer than I would have liked. I'm gonna have to have a long talk with Fury about book-jumping just to look for her dog........