Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Guy ❯ Chapter 4

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Several months has passed since John Roberts, aka Failboat, officially became a Bad Guy. He and the others were now working in one of the many radioactive mines on the Male homeworld. Workers here went without any protection, and none of them lasted more than two years. There deaths were all slow and painful, and some of them killed themselves to end it sooner. Jones, however, did receive protection in the form of a rad suit. He was a citizen, after all, and too valuable to lose.

John knew it would only be a matter of months before he himself felt the effects of the radiation. Neutron was spared any of this; Imperial soldiers stabbed him to death with bayonets while getting in some target practice. Underpants wasn't coping as well with the mine's effects, and it seemed he would be dead within a year. He was now in near-constant pain, but officials simply mocked his suffering.

Bad Guys weren't the only ones sent here to die. John noticed the workforce also consisted of a large number of criminals and traitors. "Treason," naturally, was anything said or done that the government didn't like. There was also a growing number of Female POWs, and for the first time he found himself wondering if the Empire really had the Females' best interests in mind. He saw one of them collapse, only to be promptly executed by a soldier.

This went on for another week before Underpants turned up dead. It was later announced that he was killed in a tragic accident. Everyone knew the truth, though, that he had killed himself to end his agony. John realized at this point that he had nothing further to gain from submitting to the Empire. He swore he would leave, and anyone else who wanted out was free to join him. He would wait until he was free before making any further decisions.

That night, John woke up some of the other workers, and they began their escape. As an Imperial captain, he used to warn his crew against complacency, but now he was taking advantage of it. Many of them were sick from radiation exposure, which slowed them down somewhat. Still, he was fairly certain they could get out without incident.

"Going somewhere, Failboat?" said Jones, who was standing guard at checkpoint. "And here I was, getting attached to you and everything."

The others couldn't help laughing at the name given to John.

"Well, sir," said John, "as much as I'd love to stay and help the Empire with my cheap labor, I'm afraid the outdoors are calling me. So if you'll excuse me..."

"Go back, all of you, and I may be willing to overlook this."

John and the other kept going foward.

"Get the hell back inside!" Jones repeated. "NOW!"

"Screw it," a Female POW said, "he's not backing down."

John reluctantly agreed. He gave the signal, and everyone rushed Jones with the intent of knocking him out. Before they could get to him, though, he was able to reach a control panel and sound an alarm. Their escape was no longer a secret.

"Of all the things that could happen," John said. "Well, no sense trying to sneak now. Run as fast as you can! From here on it's everyone for himself!" He ran from the mine as fast as his legs would carry him. He lost track of how long he ended up running; all he knew was his mind-numbing fear of being recaptured. At this point, though, being executed would almost be an act of mercy. There was nothing left for him anywhere in the Empire.

Fortunately, he somehow managed to elude anyone who might've been sent after him. He found himself in a forest in the middle of nowhere. He collapsed next to one of the trees and slept all night.

John woke up the next morning, and the first thing he did was look around to make sure soldiers hadn't caught up with him. He wasn't taking any chances, though, and as soon as he was fully awake he started running again. Along the way he was fortunate enough to meet some campers who were kind enough to give him a meal and some new clothes. They obviously didn't realize he was a Bad Guy, and he was content to let them stay ignorant.

After another hour or so of running, he stopped at some woods to rest a bit. He saw a sign identifying the area as an Imperial Park. His first instinct was to start running again, but then he noticed there were hardly any police or soldiers around. Besides, he figured no one would recognize him on sight. So he decided he'd rest here for a while.

It was then that it finally hit him; he was now an Enemy of the Empire. The worst part was that he didn't care. In fact, he somehow felt more free than he ever had as a citizen.