If We Fail

  Maxx sighed, leaning back against the cold brick wall. He flicked the end of his cigarette, the ash falling to the ground. The sun had gone down nearly an hour ago, the only light coming from the street lamps. Every few minutes a car would go by, giving the blond a sliver of hope that he was actually going to get to work tonight, but each time the car would continue down the road, leaving him with a feeling of both relief and disappointment. He sighed as yet another car drove by, deciding to give up for the night and head home.

Tossing the butt of his cigarette onto the ground, he snuffed it out with his boot before beginning his long walk back to his apartment building. He could hear gunshots in the distance, a sound not uncommon around the city, especially the West side which was closest to the Bomb Zones.

The Bomb Zones were the barren areas between gang territories and cities. It was where most of the gang wars and duels took place. They were littered with hidden traps and mines. Nearly invisible ditches we're dug for gang members to duck into during gun fights or bombings.

The cities were filled with citizens and rebels. The difference between them were citizens followed the laws of the unjust, corrupted government that had basically lost control of its own country. Rebels wanted nothing to do with the fascist government, and in the beginning, they were forced out of their apartments and homes. Eventually, though, they began to build their own houses and businesses, some even managing to get by living in abandoned buildings. They struggled to live, but they managed and took over almost half of the cities.

  L.A. (and California in general) however, suffered an enormous split. Most of them became rebels and pushed almost all of the citizens out of the state. After this split took place, several groups of radical rebels created gangs, some even becoming large enough to create mafias.

Maxx walked by a brick wall covered with missing person and wanted posters. Most of them were years old, forgotten and faded. He walked for a few more minutes, finally making it to the worn-down building in which he resided. He dug his key out of his pocket and slid it into the keyhole under the doorknob. He had to shove the door a bit with his shoulder in order to get it to open, but once he was inside he closed the door and locked it once more. Collapsing onto his bare mattress, he kicked his shoes off and took in how good it felt to finally lie down after a whole afternoon of standing at a corner. His stomach growled loudly at him, and he sighed.
"Fine... I'll eat." Maxx pushed himself up begrudgingly before making his way over to his fridge and pulling some microwaveable maceroni and cheese from the freezer. He threw it into the microwave - which he had to hit a few times to get to work - before going back to his bed and curling in on himself.
  He passed out before he could eat.

A/N - Ayyo! Finally, this is starting lmao Sorry this is short, I wanted to save the good stuff for the next couple of chapters. I'm excited that this is starting even though I don't write as much as I did and school is starting soon (the 7th for me). But I'm gonna try.