Chapter Twenty-One
Bad Friends
Auburn, Seattle
November 7, 2059
5:35 am
The street lamps rolled by Alona's window like an endless line of soul waiting to get into heaven. She counted them. One. Two. Three. Soon they all started to look the same. All nameless faces in a sea of darkness being split by the morning sun. The sun is beautiful over the horizon. It's brilliant rays chase away the darkness like a gallant hunter from olden days. To Alona it means that another day has past. Another day in her life that has become a ironic parody of what it was less than a year ago.
Leslie set next to her. The woman was dead on her feet from a night of hard work. The fourth shift was killer on the legs. Jaxx, a tall young man with a clean shaven head, steered the car through the winding streets. Darrel, who had invited to take Alona home, sat in the passenger seat. Jaxx and Darrel talked briefly through the trip, but their conversation was clouded out by the stereo.
Alona was content to lean against the window and watch the world pass. It was easier to be an observer instead of a participant. From this angle the world was a play. She was the audience. It was the world's job to entertain her. Alona smiled to herself. The whole world was just one big movie set. Occasionally she played an actress in a big scene. The rest of the time she was a bit player watching everything pass by. The world's easier to handle that way.
Alona stretched, working out the stiffness that had built up in her arms. Who would have thought there would be so much traffic at this time of day?
"Mmm, are we there yet, Jaxx? I'm getting tired. I can barely keep my head up." Leslie rubbed her eyes.
"Almost, chica." Jaxx took a sharp right at the next redlight. "We'll be there before you know it."
Alona watched the intersection disappear behind them. Suddenly it didn't feel right. "Hey, Jaxx, are you did you fall asleep or something? You missed my street."
Jaxx exchanged glances with Darrel.
"Jaxx has to pick up something at his place first." Darrel explained, turning around in his seat. "He's girl's been a little cruel to him lately, dropping weird shit off at his doorstep before he comes home."
Jaxx grinned. "Yeah, weird shit."
"He thinks that if he pulls in early he'll catch her in the act."
"Catch her in the act?"
"Yeah," Darrel nodded. "Don't ask me. I don't like knowing about lovers' quarrels."
Alona leaned slightly towards Leslie as Jaxx took another sharp turn down a residential street. One house looked just like the other. It was like someone took a copy machine and made perfect copies of everything and lined them up in neat rows. Alona was impressed as Jaxx pulled into a driveway halfway down.
"Wow, Jaxx, I didn't know you lived here. How can you afford this?"
"I got my ways. Besides, it beats living out in the Barrens."
"Looks like your girl didn't leave any weird shit at your door." Leslie groaned.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. My girl." Jaxx turned the engine off. "She must be in one of her good moods today. I must've done something right. Can't imagine what that could've been."
Jaxx and Darrel exchanged a laugh from some piece of humor that only they shared.
"Why are we stopping?" Alona asked.
Leslie yawned. "I need to get home. I've got to be back at the club tonight."
"Jaxx just wants to make sure that his girl didn't get inside and leave some nasty surprise for him."
Jaxx opened the door, letting in a freezing flush of early morning air. Alona shivered at the new sensation. Leslie screeched as her body warned her of the frigid wind. The early morning hours were notorious for their chill. When Darrel opened his door a new wave reinforced the old, sending shivers down Leslie's spine.
"Come on, girls, get out." Jaxx said as he fumbled for his keys. "Don't stay out here freezing. Come inside, make yourselves at home."
"Oh for crying out loud." Alona moaned as she shoved the seat forward and stepped into the early rays of the sun. "Just take me home. I need to sleep too."
"Yeah," Leslie agreed.
"In a minute." Jaxx unlocked the front door. "I won't take long. Come on inside."
Leslie tugged at her coat and nodded her head at Alona. "Better that freezing to death."
Alona had to agree. Anything was better than standing outside at this time of day. When Jaxx opened the front door Alona and Leslie headed inside. The wind was left forgotten in some other part of their mind as the fresh smell of new carpet filled their noses. Darrel came in last, being a gentleman. He shut the door, locking the maglock behind him.
Alona whistled. Jaxx had a really nice place. A big open room in the house. A basement. Even washer and dryer. Not to mention furniture. Nice furniture at that. Who would have thought that Jaxx actually had taste? Alona rubbed her hand along a real wood end table. Nightsky and Alona's apartment paled in comparison. It suddenly annoyed her that Nightsky was bringing home six digit credsticks and had drek for furnishings. Alona never saw more than a fraction of that in the money he gave to her. The rest Nightsky funneled away to 'business expenses. Alona swore that he bought a new coat every week. Not coats the everyday citizen would wear. She tried one on once. It was heavy with armor plating and stiff as a board. Nightsky paid upwards of two-thousand nuyen for each one. For that price that should at least be comfortable.
"Wiz, Jaxx," Leslie said as she settled on a couch covered in real leather. "You're place rocks. Where'd you get the money for this?"
"I'm a good money manager." He answered.
"Anyone want a drink?" Darrel was fishing liquor bottles out of a cabinet.
Alona looked at the sun which just barely peaked over the horizon. "This early?"
"Why not?"
Leslie shrugged. "Sure, I'll take one."
"What's your poison?"
"Anything will do."
"Jaxx has some good Sixth World Crown."
"I'll take that."
Alona looked around. "Where did Jaxx go anyway."
"Bedroom I think." Darrel poured Leslie a mix of Crown with a generic soft drink. "Sure I can't interest you in anything, Alona?"
"I'm sure."
"It'll help you sleep."
"I'm fine, Darrel."
Leslie took a sip of her drink. "Hey, this is really good."
"Not like that watered down drek at the club, is it?" Darrel grinned.
"No, it's a lot better! Where does Jaxx get this stuff."
"He has his ways. That's why I like to hangout here."
Leslie put her hand to her head as she took another sip. She walked to the middle of the living room, swaying slight. Her eyes took on an unfocused glaze as she waved her glass around. "Hey, this IS GOOD! Come on, Alona, try some."
Alona's lip turned up. "No thanks."
"You sure, Alona?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Stop bugging me about it."
Leslie moaned. "Taste so good. It's the real thing. Mmmm, I love it."
"Here, let me put on some music. It's too quiet in here."
Darrel grabbed the remote to Jaxx's stereo system. A slow, sensual song kicked on. Alona recognized it. 'I'm not with you' by Firing Blanks. The lead singer was a gorgeous elf. Her piercing and erotic voice filled every lyric with a piece of herself. It spoke of love lost, filled with pain and anguish. Alona was brought intp the song for a moment. Smooth and pleading. The need to say things to someone that couldn't be said. She found herself wondering why she thought the song spoke directly to her.
Was it Nightsky? Was that the reason the song seemed to speak with her?
No, of course not. Nightsky was a cold-blooded murderer with no interest in anything other than himself. Lost in his own world of made up shadows. Yet there was something about him that nagged at Alona's thoughts. Something kind underneath all that bent up pain and baggage.
Leslie was also getting into the song. Her body moving in sync with the music. Occasionally she took a drink from her glass. Her legs swayed as the song reached its climax, screaming out for all the loss and pain in the world, then dying down into the chorus of pleading voices from the beautiful elfish vocalist. Sleep was long forgotten for her. All she wanted was to keep this moment. To keep this song. And to have another drink as its euphoric effect filled her senses and bent them to something she was more willing to accept.
Alona was caught up in Leslie that she almost didn't notice Jaxx come out of the bedroom. The young man had a focused look to him. Like someone who knew what he wanted. Someone who knew exactly what he was doing. Alona recognized that look. It was one Nightsky sported often. He was so focused in what he wanted. Nothing would stop him. He would carry on whatever path he chose even if it meant his own life. Alona longed for that feeling. To have the will to carry on in whatever path she chose. Not to be watched or guarded by others, but to be free.
Jaxx came up behind Leslie and wrapped his arms around her. Leslie tilted her head back at his touch. A warmth filled her like nothing she had experienced before. She went slack in his arms as his eyes, hard and unblinking, held her close. Alona smiled. They looked so perfect together. Like Romeo and Juliet. Together for eternity. Why couldn't she have that?
Then she noticed the hypodermic needle in his hand.
Alona's eyes went wide as dinner plates. Jaxx jammed the needle into Leslie's upper thigh. His fingers pushed whatever noxious cocktail was in the syringe into her bloodstream. Leslie jerked and flailed her arms wildly. Alona jumped to her feet and screamed.
"Fuck!" Jaxx glared at Darrel. "You didn't give her anything to drink?!"
"She refused and you're early!"
Leslie went limp.
"What the hell is going on here!" Alona's heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. It beat so hard she felt it would pop right her chest and scurry across the floor.
She bolted for the door. Her legs bounding away on Jaxx's hardwood floor. Darrel grabbed her as she rounded the kitchen corner. His arms folded tight around her last. The air was forced out as he flung her around, holding her tightly by the shoulders. She struggled against his grip. Fighting and biting and kicking and kneeing until her muscles and her soul screamed for relief.
Leslie's body hit the floor.
"Hold still! It'll be over in a second."
Jaxx came at her with a fresh syringe in his hand.
"NO!" Alona screamed. "Get the hell away from me!"
Jaxx stabbed with his hand. The needle scraped her arm. She felt the coarse end run along her skin. The pricking, pulling sensation pulled at the flesh. She fought, twisting out of the way. The needle smashed into the wall, bending it awkwardly as Jaxx pressed the contents with all his might.
"Shit!"
"What the fuck!" Darrel yelled as he struggled to control Alona.
"I missed!"
"Get another needle!"
"That was the last batch!"
"Fuck!"
"Fuck!"
"Let me go!"
"Knock her the fuck out!"
"Get away!"
A fist smashed against Alona's cheek. She whirled around till her head banged off the wall. The numbing pain seemed almost surreal as Darrel was on top of her before she knew what happened. She clawed for his eyes, digging a nail deep into his nose. Another knocked the air right out of her. "Carry a gun", Nightsky had always told her. It seemed like a stupid idea at the time. Right now she would welcome one.
Ironically when the last blow came she didn't feel anything at all. No pain, no ache of bruised flesh. Only the sudden ending of all sensation.
It was some time later when Alona's senses returned to her. When she did she found herself in a place halfway between the world she lived in and hell. This purgatory of existence ate at every fiber of her being. It was wet, cold, and utterly miserable. She and this place were very much the same as she shivered against the chill in the air. There was the sound of running water. Was she below ground now?
There are other sounds. Sounds that make the skin crawl. Sick, hacking sounds of slippery wet things being pulled apart. The faint snapping of something organic stretching to its limits before breaking. Alona tries to look around the dark corner to see, but finds her wrist handcuffed to a pipe. She pulls at it, getting every inch she can as her elfin eyes pull shapes out of the darkness. The sight she sees triggers a vomiting sensation from deep within. Jaxx and Darrel and a third man stand over a table lite by a blinding flourescent light. The third man works cruelly with surgical instruments. Blood pours from the table, making a sound not unlike that of running water, as it splatters on the filthy floor. Through the horrific seen Alona can see the pale blond hair at the head of the table. It is mattered and twisted with blood and gore.
Leslie's hair.
Alona jerks back, feeling the dread and fear well up inside her. Frantically she pulls against the handcuffs. Thoughts of escape and freedom race through her mind. Fate doesn't give her the reprieve she seeks. There is nothing to break her bonds.
Overwhelmed with fear she jerks against the pipe holding her to this prison. Laughs emanate from the other side of purgatory, mocking her in her futile attempts. It only strengths her resolve. she pulled with all her might, summoning strength from her body with all the power of her will.
The pipe broke.
Alona yanked the handcuff around its edge. A feeling suddenly overwhelmed her.
Freedom!
"Did you hear something?" A voice rang out.
Suddenly another feeling overwhelmed her.
Panic!
She scrambled to her feet, scrapping her knees on the coarse floor. She darted across this halfway point between life and death. Her eyes locked onto a heavy metal door. It took all her will not to look back. Not to see the butchered corpse of Leslie. Not to see the others scrambling after her.
Alona slammed into the heavy metal doors at full speed. There was a sharp tinge of pain as her wrists pressed hard against their surfaces. The doors didn't budge for a terrifying moment. When they gave way a brief feeling of relief flooded her before charging through the gates of life. Footfalls of the damned were not far behind.
The fresh, yet diseased air of the sprawls fills her lungs. Where is this place? The streets can't be those of Seattle. They are empty. The buildings are crumbling. Everything looks the same. Which way to go? It doesn't matter. Pick a random direction and run. Run until legs burn with fire and lungs burst from exertion. The damned are not far behind. She can hear the stomping footsteps echoing in her mind. The only solution is to keep running.
Thoughts of what the damned will do to her if caught push her further and further. It's the only thing she can think of to do, but that won't solve her problems.
Then she spots a telecom on the corner.
Meredith Neighborhood
Renton, Seattle UCAS
8:00 pm
Nightsky stretched the stiffness out of his arms and legs. Sleep had been just what he needed clear his mind. The sun was low in the sky now. It's light slipped in through the safehouse's high windows. It had been a while since he had seen the sun so early. The warmth of its rays was a welcome blessing.
The team had returned to the safehouse half passed two in the morning. Shortly after that Lenny and Shard left again to purchase some kind of magical items that the mage required. The rest of the team was affforded a few hours rest. That's what most of them were still doing. Nightsky tried to be quiet in gathering his things before leaving the room. He did not want to wake Tart who was still sound sleep in the corner. As he walked down the narrow hallway he could hear the snoring from Riggs as the dwarf counted sheep in his makeshift hammock. Further down the hall Lenny was fast asleep. He had recently had a sleep regulator installed and would be awake before long. Shard had just shut the door to a utility room at the end of the hall. The magician had converted the room for the purposes of working her magics. She would be in there for most of the day while working her arcane arts.
Something pushed Nightsky to stop halfway down the corridor. He glanced to his right. There Gideon slept on an old mattress laid on the floor. The ork's machine pistol lay at his side. Even though his stomach cramped with hunger, Nightsky felt something holding himself here. The ork was completely vulnerable. He was unarmed. He didn't expect anything. Some dark thing pushed at Nightsky's thoughts.
He took a step into Gideon's room. The ork's chest rose slightly as he breathed. Nightsky watched with a detached eye. Ideas of betrayal and revenge entered his thoughts. To kill. To take back what was stolen. To crave a life that could have been if only a few people had made slightly different choices. To live again as a normal person.
Nightsky pulled the sword from its sheath. Briefly, he had forgotten picking it up in the first place. The morning sunlight danced off the slightly curved blade. He felt a personal connection when holding the blade in his hand. Almost like his very soul was being channeled into its edge. It wouldn't take much in the ork's frail form. A simple slice would open his insides up. Briefly his muscles tensed, seeking position for the blow that begged to come.
Then he stopped. As if he suddenly grabbed a hold of his thoughts and the consequences of his actions for the first time. The blade was still in hand. It begged for that one pure moment. Not understanding why it was being denied.
Was it wrong to deny?
A buzzing from inside his jacket drew his attention. It was his cellphone. One that he had recently purchased, but found that he rarely used. He quickly stepped outside the ork's room and put the tiny device to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Nightsky?" It was Alona. Her voice was frantic. "Help me!?"
"Alona? What is wrong?"
"They're after me!"
"Who is?"
"Darrel! Jaxx! They're going to kill me!"
"Where are you?"
There was no reply. There was, however, a loud clanking sound like a telecom receiver being dropped. Nightsky called her name again to no avail. He frowned, sheathing the sword. That would have to wait until later. He jogged down the hall and roused Tart.
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