(This is my entry for Weekly wattpad Contest #58 Contests )
The air smelled like crushed beetroot, the typical smell of South West district. My sneakers were practically blood red due to all the crimson soil which covered the ground. The trees sighed in unison with the wind as I trudged along the beaten path.

That was when my phone rang "What's up, Diana. Where you at?" Chance said through the receiver.

"I'm at South West. Wanna meet?" I asked.

"Damn, right now?" Chance asked. Chance lived in the South West District. It was four in the morning and the sky was a funky shade of vermillion so I could tell why he was reluctant.

"Get your lazy butt in front of your house, we need to take care of something" I said and heard him sigh at the end of the line. I took that as a yes and ended the call.

To get to Chance's house I had to climb over two barbed fences and avoid one security unit. This was the shortcut.

My bag weighed heavy on my shoulder as I swung myself over the first fence. It seemed almost effortless because I had done this so many times.  The second fence was quite high so I had to climb over a nearby purple Francis tree and swift myself from there. And since the security unit was a bunch of middle-aged men in dire need of coffee, it wasn't difficult to get away from there.

I climbed the pipe which ran along the walls of the apartment building, Chance lived in and stopped when I reached his balcony. All it took was a jump to get over to his balcony. 

He opened the door at the exact moment with a sheepish grin on his face. His blonde shoulder length hair were open and wavy and his green eyes were surveying me.

"I don't understand why you can't just take the lift" He said as a way of greeting.

"I like the cardio and besides I like to make my own way" I said, rolling my eyes.

He grinned "And who would happen to know you better than me?". The answer was no one and he knew it.

Chance was the friend I met when I was twelve years old. The same year the West District people took away my parents. Chance was thirteen then, he used to be the boy next door.

When the helicopters came roaring that morning, I was scared. I was a little girl with a head full of golden hair and blue eyes who was peeping through the blinds.

"Dia, let go of the blinds" My father whispered to me. The house was dark, my parents had turned the lights off as soon as the helicopters roared outside.

"But why?" I whined, at that exact moment my mom took me in her arms and hugged me tightly to her chest. They both led me to the basement where we sunk back in the darkness of shadows.

"Don't make a single sound" My father said and we sat like that for an hour. Me, sitting in between my parents with one hand in my father's and the other in my mother's. I was thankful for the dark because I couldn't see their scared faces, if I had I would have found it harder not to cry.

But they came anyway, after one hour our doors were banged open.  We were shaking in anticipation and fear. I refrained from biting my nails.

They entered the basement and my father stood in front of my mother and pushed me behind them. He pleaded and requested them to stop this and spare his wife and kid.

They handcuffed him first and then Mom. My tears and screams didn't stop them. Neither did my pleadings.

I sat in that basement for two days which was when Chance found me. A thirteen year old, handsome boy with a heartwarming grin. He came into the dark basement and took my hand and held me. With my head on his shoulder I cried for the first and last time since my parents were taken away. He held onto me until my sobs subsided and made me drink water.

He gave me food afterwards and then I feel asleep on his shoulders. 

After that, I lived with Chance's friends or as they liked to be called: The Misfits.

Back then, Chance was the leader but at this point I had upped my game and we were all equals. We worked as a vigilante organisation who were on the quest of looking for new kids, giving them shelter, providing them with food and trying to get into West District. 

Chance opened the door in the balcony which led inside. I followed him and entered his living space.

There was ragged looking maroon couch at the centre. Heavy looking computer equipment occupied most of the room.  Leftover takeaway sat unattended on a coffee table in front of the couch. The room was painted turquoise. There was a sleeping bag in the corner. And a door to the bathroom to the left. 

This was the one bedroom and bathroom apartment of Chance Dreamer.

We both sat on the couch and I shoved some of the takeaway into my mouth. It was chicken noodles, straight from Houdini's. I bit back a smile.

"So what's the urgent event?" Chance asked smiling when he saw the mega speed with which I ate the food. 

"Devon found a food station. If we raid it we will have supply for a year" I said and Chance's face lit up with a bright smile.

"That's great, Dia. If we raid it, we can focus on West District more" He said, his eyes twinkling.

"The only problem is that it's in West District" I said and Chance's mouth flew open. I closed it for him.

"On the outskirts but it's high security nonetheless. We will need our best people" I said, inhaling the remnants of the noodles.

Chance looked like he was struggling. His eyes were furrowed in thought. He was biting his bottom lip and his face was still not over the initial shock as his eyes were threatening to fall out of their sockets.

"We have to do it, I guess. We're not ready but we should" He said, finally.

I grinned.

"You know I am up for it. I have been waiting so long for this. To finally kick those assholes' butts" I said and Chance smiled.

"That's the Dia I know. But be more stealthy because there will a lot of security there and if someone's find out, we're dead" He said.

"Got it, Chief" I said, clearing up the takeaway containers. 

"We can called Natalie, Johnson and Ramona. They're the best and of course you and me. You're my best misfit after all" Chance said and I bit back the cheeky grin which was threatening to show.

"Okay, rendezvous at Ape Lights. Bring weapons" I said, as I ran to the balcony and slid down the pipe.

Before I ran into the crimson shadows, I turned to look at a surprise looking Chance staring open-mouthed at me from the balcony.

**************************************
The sky was forest Green now and it blended well with the tall black pine trees which bordered West District.

The growl of our motorbikes was the sole sound in the darkness of the Green night. The wind was picking up and the air smelled of moisture, it was definitely gonna rain.

"Drive slower!" The undisputed scaredy cat of our group, Jonathan Riley shouted at me.

I honestly blatantly  refused to be the one who drove Jonathan but since Chance said I was the only one who could handle him, I had to.

I regretted my decision for the hundredth time that night as Jonathan held onto my waist for dear life and screamed.

"Shut it! We're getting close" I shouted back at him and his screaming turned into whimpers. 

Next to me, Chance drove with Ramona on the backseat. And Natalie drove solo cause she didn't like people getting into her personal space.

We were all armed with guns, knifes, laser guns, a metal melter and the likes of those.

I would be lying if I said we weren't anxious.  Beside me Jonathan was shaking. As we drove I could hear Chance sighing and Natalie was singing softly to herself, which was her technique to wade off a panic attack. 

I on the other hand was swearing under my breath, classic me I guess.

Finally the trees subsided into a clearing and we stopped our bikes. There was tall tree right next to where we stopped.

"Climb it and give us a overview" Chance whispered to me and I happily obliged.

I gripped the lower branches and lifted myself up, careful to step on a strong branch. Soon enough I was high up where I could see everything in front of me and was  hidden by the shade of the leaves.

There was a large grey building, split into different sections. There were two entry gates manned with guards and bound by a electric fence.

I slid down the trunk of the tree and placed my feet back on the ground. Chance was looking at me expectantly.

"Underground" was all I said  in reply and he understood.  We had the blueprints of this place according to which there was a sewer crate near the trees which led into the building. 

It wasn't hard to locate the lid, it was hidden behind a few black trees. Chance and I lifted the lid. It was heavy even for me.

When we were done, I peered into the hole and immediately the pungent smell of sewage entered my lungs. I didn't even blink while Chance covered his nose in disgust.

Silently, Ramona handed us black masks from her bag. These masks were like the surgical marks and only covered our mouths and nose. I tightened my gloves and reloaded my guns.

"Ready" I asked, looking at the others. Everyone nodded and Jonathan gulped audibly.

I made my way down the ladder which led into the dark sewer. The stench was strong and persisting and I tried to ignore it to the best of my abilities.

The gang of misfits followed. Jonathan stumbled and shook wotj fright every now and then but we made it unscathed. 

I could hear the water running down the pipes. Water splattered as our feet wade through it. Little mice screeched somewhere in the distance. 

We continued on and on till we found an opening.  Silently, we opened it as noiselessly as we could and entered the interior of the building.  The sewer opened inside the fenced compound at the very back of it.

We got out of the sewer and carefully closed the lid behind us.

I nodded at everyone else. It was the time to split into groups. Jonathan thankfully went with Ramona this time while Chance took my side.

Natalie wandered off alone.

"So, partner. We hit the back area right?" He asked, looking at the small entrance which led inside a section of a building.

"Yep" I said, pulling out my guns. Now, armed we both slid open the glass door and went inside the room.

It was painted a dizzying neon green. And the furniture which mainly included tables and chairs was neon pink. I blinked until my eyes got used to the unusual blast of color.

This must be the cafeteria.

I turned to look at Chance and he pointed to a door at the end of the room. Food Storage must be right next to the cafeteria after all.

Our silent footsteps led us to the door and Chance opened it slightly to take a peek.

"Two guards" he announced and I nodded towards my gun. I wanted to take care of them.

He looked slightly worried but motioned me to go ahead.
I opened the door with my guns in my hands, ready to shoot when the guards turned back and I just couldn't. 

I stood there with both guns in my hands and looked at their emotionless faces. There stood my mother and father in neon yellow security suits looking at me without blinking.

"Mom" I whispered but she just picked up her gun and positioned it in front of me. I couldn't move. I found myself looking at them, thinking if any of this was real. I pulled off my mask and looked expectantly at my parents. Their robotic expression didn't even budge and I felt my heart sink.

And then....she pressed the trigger. I could tell the bullet would hit me and in my happiness and shock, I was ready but then all at once it happened.

The door slid open behind me, Chance jumped in front of me and pushed me away. I hit the door and my scream was stifled by my back hitting the door.

"CHANCE!" I shouted. I watched everything happen, the bullet coming in contact with his chest. Blood flowing down his favorite black hoodie. His eyes closing and his body falling limp on the floor.

He didn't move, didn't struggle. He just died.

I couldn't get up. I felt numb. I couldn't process what happened.

I felt my parents or whoever they were now picking me up. I felt them turning over me over and then trying to insert a chip into my neck.

I didn't fight, I didn't protest. I was the reason Chance was dead. I was weak and I couldn't save him. The only assurance was that now the pain would go away. I saw him fall a rho us and times again and again in my mind and then for the first time since my parents were taken away, I cried.

I cried because I had lost the boy I loved.

The Chance who stayed by my side when no one was there, who stayed hungry just so I could have food, who fought on the streets for years just to feed his friends. The Chance who was educated enough to have a nice job and forget about us but gave it all just to be with us, who trained me and taught me to fight for myself.  The Chance who made me who I was, who made me love him and who loved me in return: He was gone

As the chip buzzed to life at the back of my neck, all the feelings faded away. I wasn't Dia anymore.

But there was a deep sinking heartbeat somewhere in my chest telling me, no matter who I became I would love him forever.

                       ****************

A/N: This was originally a story about a person's parent leaving them and the person ending up with their crush at a party. But as I started writing versions of this and changing the mood, it evolved into this.