Chapter 1Clocking Out
The air was filled with the sound of an alarm, blaring as it told all nearby workers of the incoming giant mining drill. The miners had worked for nearly several weeks, attempting to find traces of an iron ore vein. And after many long and back-breaking hours, the workers had finally found what appeared to be the biggest vein that the Sprawl had ever seen within Titan.
"All right boys!" Yelled the overseer, "You heard the alarm, pack it up and move yer asses outta the way!" Immediately after being ordered so, every miner picked up whatever equipment they had and moved out of the way of the drill. One worker, however, was taking longer than the rest.
"Briggs!" Hollered the overseer towards the lone miner. "Get movin', before ya get shredded!" The lone miner, however, seemed to not acknowledge the overseer's advice, and continued with his leisurely pace. Getting impatient, the overseer leapt down from his platform, and stormed over to his subordinate.
"Did ya hear me, Briggs?" Snapped the overseer, grabbing a hold of the worker's jacket.
"Heard you fine, sir." He growled in response.
"What's takin' ya so long then?" Snarled the overseer, releasing Briggs.
"I dunno sir." He replied, turning to face his superior. Briggs, stood at an imposing height of six-foot-four, which made him tower over his superior. What was even more imposing, was his cybernetic left arm.
"Well then get yer ass movin'!" Snapped the overseer. "And take that damn hood off! Yer gonna get yerself killed 'cus it's obstructing yer vision." Briggs huffed as his superior stomped off, and then picked up his mining equipment before following after him.
"I'll take this hood off when I damn well please…sir…" He grumbled to himself.
Briggs rested his mining equipment, which consisted of a large hand-drill, goggles, and a stasis unit. He then turned and walked to a set of lockers, stopping at one towards the very end, with a nameplate that read: Clayton Briggs.
Clayton, or Clay as he preferred, opened his locker. Inside, were various pictures of family, women, a few Marine mementos, and a symbol of Unitology. Clay, was a some-what devoted Unitologist, who had faith, but was not overly obsessed with the idea of "One Body, One Mind, One People". He instead chose to worship his own way, and to hell with others thought.
He was also a retired Marine, who had been received many rewards for his valor, but at the cost of his left arm. He sighed as he rubbed the smooth metal plating that covered the inner workings of his cybernetic arm, before disconnecting it from his rig. The arm fell limp as he set it upon the bench next to him. He then removed his mining jacket-rig, then grabbed his dark blue hooded sweatshirt rig. As he put the rig on, he heard the tell-tale sound of the health meter upon his back filling up as the rig synched to his nervous system. As he pulled his hood over his head, he heard footsteps behind him.
"Ay, yo Clay!" Shouted the masculine voice behind him. Clay turned around and saw his friend, Louis Vilx.
"What's happenin' Vilx?" He asked, re-attaching the robotic limb to his shoulder and rig.
"Not much man." He replied cheerfully, while staring at the metal limb. "I gotta say, no matter how much I see that, it still freaks me out."
"You come here to stare, or do you have something else for me?" He asked curtly.
"Yeah," Replied Louis, "Me and the boys are heading out for drinks. You wanna join us?"
"No." Answered Clay, stepping over the bench. "I think ima just head on home. Tired. You guys go, have a good time."
"Sure thing." Said Louis, who then reached out and placed his hand upon Clay's right shoulder. "Take it easy tonight, eh killer?" Clay chuckled and nodded before he departed from the locker room.
"Can't do much else." He grumbled to himself.
Clay placed his hand upon the palm scanner outside his apartment. Or rather, his brother's apartment. His brother, Danny, had been kind enough to let Clay stay at his home, whilst he got back on his feet. Danny even helped get Clay the mining job, and though the hours were terrible, the pay was decent, so Clay had no reason to complain.
"Danny?" He called out, with no reply. He was about to call again, until he saw the note upon the fridge.
"Clay, went to the church. I was told there was a big event coming up, and didn't wanna miss out. I know you aren't a big fan of the church itself, so I didn't invite you. Don't wait up, pizza place's number is on the counter, and I renewed our tab. Help yourself to a beer or two, and I should see you when I get home around 10:30-sih.
See ya later, Danny."
Clay smiled. Danny was always the more religious of the two of them, and never missed a day of church, but he also never let his brother down. Danny was a good man, a bit overzealous with the church, but a good man none-the-less.
Clay crumpled the letter up and tossed it in the garbage before reaching for the phone.
"Pepperoni Pizza it is." He thought to himself. As he began to dial the number for the restaurant, the phone rang in his hand. A little surprised, he lifted the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Danny?" Asked a feminine voice, with a slight Russian accent, asked on the other end of the line. Clay chuckled.
"Hello Anastasia."
"Oh, Clay." Replied Anastasia. "I'm sorry, I don't know how I thought you were Danny. Is he home?"
"It's fine, Ana," Answered Clay, "And no, he is not. He left for some Unitology Church event. Said he'd be back by around 10:30-ish."
"Ugh. Dammit." She said on the other end, "He always does this. He never tells me when he is going to that damned church."
"Maybe he doesn't think you're interested." Said Clay, opening the fridge and grabbing a beer.
"Yes, but I have told him I am willing to be so if he wants." Clay chuckled to himself. Anastasia was Danny's girlfriend, and had been so for two years. She had no interest in Unitology what-so-ever, but loved Danny none-the-less.
"I don't think he wants you to change yourself so greatly for him." Said Clay, taking a sip of the beer, "After all, to be a Unitologist takes a lot of work and effort. To completely convert to the religion would take years. It's a lot to take in."
"Yes," She replied, "But I love him. And I want his world and mine to co-exist perfectly. If he loves this religion so much, what kind of lover would I be to not give it a chance?"
"Touché." Smirked Clay. "But in all honesty, you don't try Unitology. You gotta live it. I am a Unitologist, but not as devout as Danny, so I am labeled a false worshiper."
"Couldn't I be like you then?" Laughed Anastasia.
"I doubt Danny would like that." Laughed Clay. "Believe me, he loves you the way you are, and doesn't want you to change."
"I know." She replied, "Thank you Clay. So how is work lately?"
"Not bad." Answered Clay, taking another drink of his beer, "Boss is a dick, but I can't change that. Pay is good, and I got a place to stay. So I ain't complainin'."
"That is good to hear. Listen, I am sorry, but I have to leave. The hospital has just paged, and I have to go in."
"Oh, but it's your day off." Jested Clay.
"I know." Laughed Ana is reply, "But duty calls. If Danny calls, tell him where I am at, will you?"
"Can do Ana. Be careful."
"Thank you Clay, and I will." Said Ana before hanging up. Clay sighed before he dialed the number for the pizza place.
"Maybe a meat-lovers." He said to himself while he placed the phone near his ear.
Clay stirred as he laid upon the couch in his room. He thought he had heard a loud crash. Groaning, he rose to his feet, tossing the empty pizza box to the side. There was another loud crash, this time coming from the kitchen.
"Who's there?" Called Clay as he made his way through the apartment. Another crash. This time, in the living room.
"Burglars…" Thought Clay, grabbing a baseball bat that was leaning against the wall. Clay rounded the corner, and saw a man standing in front of the living room window.
"Mr. Williams?" He asked apprehensively, lowering his bat. Mr. Williams was the occupant of the apartment next to Danny's. He was a middle-aged man, who worked as a taxi driver.
As Clay neared the unresponsive man, Mr. Williams turned around. To Clay's surprise, his mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth, and his eyes were a sickening pure white color.
"Mr. Williams?" Asked a dumbfounded Clay. Without warning, Mr. Williams let out a blood curdling screech, and charged towards Clay, arms raised.
"What the fuck?!" Yelled Clay as Williams tackled him to the ground. "Get the fuck off of me!" Williams didn't listen, instead, he leaned closer. He was trying to BITE Clay, who was using his right arm to push Williams back. Williams, however, seemed to have enhanced strength, as he was able to lean in closer and closer. Clay's arm was beginning to shake, and he feared he wouldn't be able to hold his attacker back much longer.
Suddenly, Clay remembered he still had a free arm. While it didn't hold the bat, it was more than capable of pushing Williams off of him, and then some. With a growl, Clay brought his metallic fist straight into Williams temple, sending the deranged man crashing into the kitchen counter. Williams wasn't moving, and Clay thought he had killed him.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" He whispered to himself as he rose to his feet. "I had no choice…he was trying to kill me!" As Clay was pondering what to do, he heard an inhuman groan. Turning around, Clay saw that Williams had now risen to his feet, with a massive indent in the left side of his head.
"You gotta be shitting me…" Said Clay as Williams charged again. This time however, Clay wasn't taken by surprise. Clay quickly ducked under the charging man's arms, and delivered a roundhouse straight into Williams jaw. To Clay's horror, the jaw had flown completely off. Even worse, Williams seemed unfazed, and he charged again.
Clay was running out of ideas, and Williams' seemed to be working for him still. Without thinking, Clay thrust his robotic fist directly into Williams' face, but surprisingly, Clay's fist went straight through Williams' skull, and soon his body went limp. Clay was breathing heavily as the lifeless corpse slowly slid off of his arm, and he soon felt himself keel over and vomit.
This was insane. Just a few hours ago, Clay was coming home from a normal day at work, now he had just killed a man. It had been a long time since he had done that, and he had forgotten what it felt like to kill a man. It didn't feel good.
Gasping, Clay rose to his feet, and stumbled over to the phone. He then dialed his brother's number, but to his shock, the line was dead.
"Fuck!" He yelled, tossing the phone aside. He then gazed out the window, and was horrified. Outside his apartment complex, buildings were ablaze, and there was widespread chaos everywhere he looked. "I gotta find Danny…"
Clay charged into his room, grabbing his sweatshirt rig, pulled the hood up, then reached into his dresser, pulling out a pistol, The Rivet M900, a high powered handgun that he was allowed to keep as a memento from his time in the Marines. He then stormed outside the apartment, placing the Pistol in the back of his pants.
"Danny, I'm coming."
Hey Guys! I know i haven't updated my other stories, but i had this one rattling in my head for awhile, and wanted to bang it out. Tell me what you think via reviews, and i will see you guys later!
Cheers, Chayse_Man