Slipping into my seat I quickly grabbed the ketchup and applied a small bit to the top of my macaroni and cheese. My mother sat across from me, quickly digging into her meal while spouting off her notes for the night.

  “I’ll be working until closing, so you’ll be by yourself tonight. Your lunch for tomorrow is already in the fridge, so you don’t have to worry about that.” She only had about a half dozen bites before looking at her watch and sighing. She gently scraped the rest back into the casserole dish, then stepped over to the sink to quickly rinse off her plate.

  “Did you finish your homework yet?” she asked while she scrubbed.

  “All four subjects,” I confirmed as I slowly chewed through my meal. I’d barely eaten through a third of it before my mother had gotten up.

  “In that case, would you mind stopping by Cooper’s market for me? I haven’t had time to stop by yet, and we need groceries for the rest of the week.” My mother turned, and frowned. “I hate to ask you this, especially with the rumors of a Renegade running around the city, but we’re running low on the staples.”

  “I don’t mind. Besides, Coopers is only a couple blocks away, and I’ll make sure to avoid everyone I don’t recognize,” I agreed, before shoving another forkful of macaroni into my mouth.

  My mother darted over, kissed me on the top of the head, embracing me gently. “My precious girl,” she murmured before shooting back to her feet and rushing towards the door. “I need to go. Grocery list and money are on the table by the door. Have a good night!”

  Before I could even say it back she’d already grabbed her purse and coat and was out the door. Just like usual.

  As soon as she was gone Hairy stuck his head out of my room. “Is she gone?”

  I nodded lightly, my mouth full, but it was enough to get the message across. The cow immediately stepped out, and meandered down the hallway, followed closely by the others.

  “Did I hear correctly? Are we going out?” Angelica asked excitedly.

  “Just to Coopers,” I replied as I scooped up the last of my meal and popped it in my mouth. “We need groceries for the week.”

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Tyberius said disappointedly. I just rolled my eyes.

  Now that my plate was clear, I cleaned the table. Washing and drying my plate, before depositing it in the drying rack next to the sink. The rest of the casserole went into the fridge, along with the condiments.

  Once that was done I leaned close to the tiny window over the sink, and looked out. The sun was going down, bathing everything in warm orange light. “We should get going before it gets too late,” I muttered.

  “If you need help carrying things back, I’ll help you!” Hairy declared.

  “No you won't. You can’t hold anything,” I reminded the cow idly. I might have found it funny, if he hadn't made that joke a thousand times before. No matter how many times I asked him to stop, he didn’t. “Besides, I’m probably only going for the essentials this afternoon.”

  I fished my coat out of the closet, double checked that I had my keys, then swept the grocery money, and list, into my pocket. Stepping into the musty hallway, I waited just long enough for my friends to join me before I closed and locked the door.

  “I thought your landlord said they were going to replace this old, peeling, wallpaper,” Angelica commented as I carefully made my way down the stairs. I paused long enough to look at the ugly beige paper, covered in green fleur-de-lis. Huge sections of it had collapsed, or been torn away, revealing the ugly brick walls behind.

  “They also promised to repair the lifts, and replace the carpet. Five years ago,” I reminded my friend. “They’re never going to follow through with their promises, I don’t know why they even bother making them.”

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  As I descended from the first floor landing, heading back into the lobby, I found Mr. Booker sleeping in a chair beside the door. I had no idea where the old man had found a chair, he must have dragged it out of his apartment so he could stay by the door longer. I just quietly slipped past him, trying my best to avoid waking him.

  As I stepped out onto the steps, pulling my coat tightly around me, Hairy charged forward. Halting at the bottom of the steps, “No Renegades here. We’re clear!”

  “The Renegade could be anywhere in the city,” I huffed. “There’s almost no chance of us running into them in the middle of the street.”

  “Maybe, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious,” Tyberius insisted. “Keep an eye out, and stay away from strangers, just in case. You know what could happen.”

  I stared at the metallic arachnid, bit my lip, and nodded slowly. That was definitely a situation I wanted to avoid. Pulling my coat tightly around me, and with my friends hovering around me protectively, I quickly made my way down the street, heading towards the store.

  Coopers was only a couple blocks over, a tiny corner market that marked the heart of our community. It was the only place for miles that got anything even close to fresh produce, and the prices were reasonable. It was probably the only building not covered with graffiti, instead it had dark green painted wood walls, and neatly stenciled windows.

  Pausing at the line of produce boxes sitting outside the store, just under the windows, I picked through the remnants. They were filled early in the day, and by this time there were only dregs left.

  I once asked Cooper why he didn’t keep the produce inside, or at least monitor it for thieves, and he told me ‘The people around here are trustworthy enough. Besides, if someone was desperate enough to steal a tomato, they can have it.’

  Despite being late, I still managed to find a couple passable tomatoes and onions in the mix, depositing them into one of the provided paper bags, before heading inside.

  Cooper was sweeping up the place, like usual. The rotund old man honestly reminded me of the stereotypical image of Santa, but without the beard or hair. He always had a smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eye. He nodded towards me as I stepped inside. “Evening Tamara, get stuck with the shopping again?”

  “As always,” I grumbled as I dug out the shopping list and grabbed a little plastic shopping basket. “Only need a couple essentials today. Any news?”

  “The Henderson boys were picked up by the police, throwing rocks at windows again. They never seem to learn. Oh, and there’s a bulletin out for a Renegade Empowered person within the city.”

  I paused, “I’ve heard, but the authorities don’t have a fucking clue where they are. The alert is for the entire city.”

  “That’s true. Apparently someone left the [Enclave1] enclave with a day pass. They knocked out their escort, then disappeared into the city.”

  “Sounds like a violent asshole,” I muttered. I started moving further into the store, but Cooper stopped me.

  “Speaking of Empowered, aren’t you coming up on your test soon? Isn’t it mandatory for the children of Empowered people?”

  I scrunched up my nose in disgust. Talking about Empowered and Renegades, then jumping right into asking me when my next test was, sounded an awful lot like Cooper was accusing me of something. He probably was just trying to be cautious, considering the alert that was out, but I didn’t appreciate him questioning me like that.

  “I was tested a couple months ago, I’ll need to go back the week before week before my sixteenth birthday,” I grumbled defensively, before pulling away from the old man. “I’d like to talk more, but I really need to get everything and head home before it gets dark. Excuse me.”

  I took advantage of the space to quickly back away and slip down the nearest isle. I was done with this conversation anyways.

  Once I was alone again I took a couple deep breaths, to get my emotions under control. Hairy gently pet me on the head, and Angelica embraced me, which helped. Only when I was calm again, did I unfold the shopping list and start wandering down the small aisles, slowly filling my basket with what we needed.

  Coopers wasn’t that big, just eight small aisles filled with goods. It was large enough to carry all the essentials, but small enough that Cooper could make due with old fashion security mirrors instead of cameras. I was just picking up the last few items on the list, from the dairy aisle, when suddenly Hairy froze. “Time to leave!” he growled.

  I bolted upright and glanced in the way he was looking, but couldn’t see anything. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  As I asked a thin weedy man rounded the end of the aisle, he was shaking and sweating profusely, like a junky on detox. Despite looking like every other strung out druggie, something about him felt wrong. Tyberius rattled like a jar of old keys, and Angelica hissed. “Renegade.”

  My eyes went wide, and I took a step back. The man stared at me strangely for a moment, but then turned to browse the cheeses, ignoring me.

  “You need to leave Tammers, now!” Hairy yelled, placing himself between myself and the man.” I nodded slightly, turned and started making my way towards the end of the aisle, fighting the urge to break into a run the entire time.

  Renegades were dangerous, and would do anything to stay out of the enclaves, so I couldn’t let the man know I was on to him. Unfortunately he was between me and the front of the store, so I had to take the long way around. I just had to pretend nothing was wrong until I made it out of sight, sprint back and warn Cooper.

  I only managed to make it about half way when I heard Angelica whisper. “Oh no.”

  A chill went down my spine, and I glanced back towards the man. I could see reality pulsing around him. Once. Twice. The third time it ripped open. Beyond the tear in the world I could see an alien world, full of strange flora and fauna.

  The man screamed, and made a run for it, but before he even made it two steps something shot out of the rift and struck him in the back. It looked like a decaying scarab, with a brilliant iridescent purple shell full of holes that dripped pus. The dog sized creature hissed once, then clamped down, dragging the man back towards the portal, still screaming.

  As I watched, frozen in horror, dozens of the little creatures poured out of the rift, scattering around the store.

  Hairy growled, putting himself between me and the portal, while Angelica threatened any monster that wandered close with her electrical charged tendrils. Tyberius on the other hand lowered himself right down next to me and yelled. “This is not the time to freeze up Tam, it’s a rupture! Run!”

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