Her heart jumped in her chest as she raced down the walkway. 'Which way, which way?' She took a sharp right turn and continued to pump her legs, sweat spurting from every pore on her face. Her left hand clutched a very small velvet bag.
Clash! Bang! Came from behind her! She knew she had to hurry. West Rottingdam is a very dangerous place for anyone not marked, also known as a rebel. The KOC, the marked, controls this area of Comar. Vladamir, a General of the KOC army, took the city years ago and left part of his army to make sure the rebels didn't take it back. His men stay perched on top of the clay structures that make up the labrynth. It would be easy for a newcomer to get lost in a place like this on foot but she knew where she was going. Dozens of KOC soldiers lurked from roof top to roof top waiting for a mouse to pounce upon but she was taught to be more silent then a mouse, more silent then even her own shadow.
All of the soldiers have been infected by the Roe and have suffered horribly from painful facial deformities and lacerations as a side effect of the illness. Their bodies have gone into recession now leaving them permanently scarred but also each with their own "gifts". The Roe acts by mutating a humanoids DNA quickly (there haven't been any cases to suggest otherwise) causing the physical body and mind to change radically. The horrible result, in the beginning, left permanent deep tissue scaring for the fortunate; if they lived through the infections. Most of the lucky ones that did manage to survive the changes found themselves with unusual powers. Unmatched strength and agility among the most common side effects of the sickness, also it is whispered among the rebels some can have extraordinary skills that no mere man could posses such as being able to hear through houses; being able to listen to someone's thoughts, control someone's actions, its endless. The illness has gone mostly into remission now which has caused a huge split in the people of Rottingdam. Anyone that has roe, thus far, has become infertile because of the radical changes in the body but most of the original people infected are still alive so no one can tell if you become immortal but the Rebels are looking into it that and so much more. The KOC live in North Rottingdam.
She zig zaged in between the mud pueblo like buildings and homes. Children's toys, having been smashed to bits, sit sadly against the city walls. Her shoes are moccasins, made from treated leather, they help her tread lightly over the sad remains. Cloths lines hung throughout the city with the cloths still on the pins, they waved to her from all corners, filthy from years of neglect. The chill from the air and her surroundings kept her alert and focused. The whole place brought flashes of memories that she had to keep pushed down deep inside or she wouldn't be able to finish her journey, her mission. She was not risking her life for past memories. She had a job to do.
The city is on a hill making navigation through the city extremely tiresome. Her breath came out in puffs. She kept telling herself to breath through her nose and out her mouth but that sometimes didn't happen. The sun had already begun to come up at this point, and she would lose the advantage of the night sky if she didn't move quickly.
Her arms and legs burnt as she pushed past her breaking point. Suddenly she heard a noise and spun pressing her back against one of the walls, a robe hung in front of her concealing her.. Three men hobbled pass her; she waited till they were far enough away to let go of a sigh. Pulling her own gray robe close she took a deep breath and pulled out a piece of paper hidden within her pocket that had lettering on it. It said: right on main street, you need to cross it and continue 3 blocks until you see a little restaurant with a brightly colored sign in front and go inside.
She looked toward the red stained sky and gathered herself breathing deeply. She leaned over to look left then right, her heart pounded under her skin. She tucked the small parcel into her bosom gently and pushed off the wall. She darted out of the comfort of the shadows and into the open alleyway. Swoop! Large monstrous arms grabbed her up from behind and lifted her off the ground. She grabbed its wrists and jerked them forward; hunching her back she hitched up her rear pulling on the huge arms. She lifted with her thick legs and tossed him off crashing into the alley way wall, storming over she shoved her foot down on his neck breaking it with a sick crack. She looked both ways; they had made a lot of noise so she ran till she reached the intersection and darted across it with rogue like speed and agility. Constantly looking at the different nooks and crannies that lined the tightly packed city street, she could finally see the sign from a distance and made a run for it. Getting to the door she looked around for anyone, no one. She thought that odd.
She opened the door and slipped inside. Upon entering, the place smelled terrible and gave her the goose bumps; it seemed abandoned. She walked up and around the counter and down the aisle where the people here use to make homemade noodles and fresh dumplings. The sound of a lid falling to the floor alerted her senses; she crouched down in front of the huge grill and wok station. Her stomach tingled ferociously in her belly makinging her want to pee out of excitement and nervousness but she didnt entertain it. Quickly she darted across the small intersection of walls and began to shimmy her way to where the sound originally came from. Jumping up she looked both ways and went down the hallway; upon reaching each door she'd nudge it open with her foot and then would poke her head in trying to be as careful as she could. Upon reaching the last door she nudged it open to see its contents.
A man sat very still in the dark hunched over some paper work muttering to his self incoherently, parchment paper littered the whole room as well as rats, lots of rats. "Jesus Brian what is with the rats around here? Really they are a sight to see compared to you." She made her way into the room. She knew it was him, the glint from the furnace that burnt in the corner of the room cascaded light upon him and his project. He smelled. Bad.
"Did you bring what I need Aigie? I'm so close; I need them to buy the seeds. Come closer let me make sure they are the right ones." Aigie's whole mission was to obtain the seeds; this was the last step. All she had to do was hand over the pearls and they would be her's.
"Oh, ya! Right I have them, they are right here…" She said fumbling embarrassingly around in her bosom. She noticed Brian's back straighten suddenly and he's ears peak with angst. "What's wrong Brian?" She asked.
"Did anyone follow you Aigie? I must know. "His voice was nervous and cracked a bit when he spoke.
"No Brian, I was attacked in an alley several blokes back by some heavy bloke, but I left him there. I made sure to check behind me the whole way so I'm pretty sure I wasn't, but I can't be positive. Why are you so nervous Brian? It's not like it's your first ride." She had stopped messing with the sack in her bosom but merely clutched it. Blood pounded in her ears and her face became hot. The light from a small fire flicked brightly long enough for her to see the side of his face, a liberal amount of dried blood encompassed the side of his face and hair. Dropping her hands, she grasped at her belt where her shooters lay strapped to her black pants cinched at the waist by braided draw strings, the leather was dyed maroon and was braded intricately to hold the shooters in place with specially made knots it was something she had acquired a time before this. It went well with her dark maroon robe. "What's going on Brian?" He knew she was deadly when she was suspicious. She stood in her spot looking at him with worried suspicion.
He began a coughing fit then chuckled nervously his coarse voice getting the better of him, "Nothing is wrong Aigie you are paranoid; I'm just so excited about our research is all, nothing more." He turned his back on her and walked toward his project. "Come over here with that honey I need to check it," She always used to call him that when they were together, now she knew something was wrong… She called him that; he did not call her that. In less then a second she had her shooters in both hands locked and loaded.
"Brian I'm only going to ask you one more time; what's going on?" He was up to something. Flashes of his mind burned through hers; she knew she was being deceived. Her face flushed red. She jerked her head to the right in pain. A man was being beaten in a dark silver room. Two wooden chairs and a table were the décor of the small room. Three men were inside the room; one was shackled to one of the chairs. The man that was shackled was a handsome man with a smug grin on his face. The quiet one stood in the right corner of the room and was tall and very muscular with a bulldog expression if perhaps the dog had gas, really bad gas. The other man was thin and tall towering above the other men in the room. It was him that took the first step toward the prisoner. In a convincing clear crisp voice the man laid pieces of something on the table before the man.
They were release forms. It was for food that was released, on Brian's orders, to the KOC. The men were convinced that the food wasn't just for the KOC, and that the food had been released to the Rebels. On top of the food that was released, the alien's most prized procession, the Mercury Berry, was also released in small quantity.
Brian looked down at the papers and smiled shaking his head telling the men that he knew nothing of the sort. The man knew different and waved his hand toward his burly friend in the corner, the quiet one. The large man walked over to Brian and grabbed him up by the rim of his collar looking at his beautiful face and smiled a twisted grisly smile. Crack! The man slammed his face into Brian's breaking his nose and opening up a cut above his eye. He spit out a large amount of blood onto the floor and table. Wildly he jerked at his restraints hoping something would free him. It was going to be a long night. The small man laughed and waved again. He slammed his face again into Brian's breaking his jaw, a piece of bone protruded from the side of his cheek causing blood to spurt from his face. "Brian," The tall one began leaning over the table and into Brian's face. "Do you remember me?" He leaned down further to Brian's ear dropping down to barely a whisper. Brian's body shook violenty but he maintained his stubborn gruesome stare at his interrogators face. He didn't quiet understand what the man meant until his eyes zoomed in on the skin disorder the tall one had. It was like fresh burnt flesh on the side of his neck that seemed to disappear behind his rustic color tunic. All members of the KOC wear tunics or a maroon or rust color as a way to pay tribute to their Alien masters.
"Cicerill," Brian said pointing at the tall man and with sudden realization of the other man in the rooms name, "Remen, they sent you two to interrogate me?" Brian said in a confused tone. He then erupted in a roar of laughter. "HAHAHAHA," he laughed spraying particles of blood everywhere.
"Yes, now I want to know how you got these items to the rebels and who helped you." Brain laughed heartily again. Gathering a wad of blood in his mouth he hurled it onto Cicerill. It was going to be a long night.
It took a long time for Brian to give her up, she respected that, but he did give her up. She shook her head in disgust. "Brian I would've died before I give up you. I guess your not the type to return the gratitude. I hope to see you when I hold God's hand and walk through the healing light of the sun" She said not even slightly amused.
"What can I say Aigie, I'm sorry." He said his voice quivering a little.
"How long do I have?" It was rhetorical.
"What can I say Aigie," He repeated.
"Nothing," She shot him five times.
