City of Rain

by Wolf of the Crescent Moon

In the year 2000 at midnite 5,000 people around the world fall into unexplained coma´s. The 5,000 awake in a city´s streets. The city is the size of New York, and it never stops raining here. How will they get home? Can they?

1. Chapter 1: Little Ashley

City of Rain...

Chapter One: Little Ashley...

Michael was in his robe sitting in his chair in his usual room. His three bedroom apartment was currently dark like the expression on Michael´s. The lines under Michael´s eyes were ever growing like a dark grand canyon. They wouldn´t go away and Michael wouldn´t sleep much. He pulled a small chrome rectangular lighter from his robe pocket and then he pulled a cigarette from the box on his windowsill. It was a simple box with a red banner on a white carton. The only word on the box was ¨Cigarettes¨. A plain case that contained plain cigarettes. Michael put the cigarette in his mouth and pulled the switch back on the lighter. It produced a small yellow flame, the only light in the room. The tiny flame met the cigarette and an even small orange glow lit up inches from Michael´s face. He inhaled deeply for tonight was like any other night. He exhaled with a ¨Huuuuuuuuuuha¨ and the smoke flew out.

The room was pretty simple, it was a room with four walls (12 feet by 25 feet), and a ceiling fan. The carpet was extremely thin and a light brown. There were deep brown curtains pulled back and held by a rope. It was dark out and he was twenty stories up. He watched the rain fall in bands that had never ended and never would. He inhaled deeply again and the nicotine kept him company as he watched the rain. It hit the window and ran down it flowing freely only to be evaporated and fall again. Michael knew the rain well for it was all that was here. Rain, buildings, and about 5,000 people.

It is said that Hell is a word all to kind to describe the desolate landscape of this land. After all, everybody remembers earth, they remember how good they had it there. The City of Rain...as it has come to be called is lacking in everything. There is no technology like there was back at home. All the food and supplies is just there, clothes, food, shelter, it is just all there for the taking. There are of course technology for everyday life but no one understands how it runs. There are washing machines and ovens so forth things from everyday life, but there is no electricity. If you turn on a light it will stay on until the bulb burns out...but there are no power lines. Same for gas and water they just appear. Another factor is the amount of rain that falls, it never stops, it never floods either, for as soon as the rain hits the ground it vanishes and goes back to the sky.

Michael took one last puff of his cigarette and put it out in the ash tray on the window sill. The last bit of smoke rising from it reminded him of the pathetic human scum that lived here. They´d give anything for one more anything. He was a detective just trying to scrape out his living with a meager wage going from job to job. His eyes were full of veins since he wouldn´t sleep often, but it just didn´t seem to faze him. He considered lighting up another cigarette to pass the time when the inevitable question hit him. What was the point? There was no going anywhere, he wasn´t even sure time passed here. It´d been 12 years since the ´accident´ so what was time going to change? Nothing, Michael wasn´t even sure what kept him going you couldn´t die very easily here that is what made it worse. Sure jumping off a building ended in death...but since there are no weapons here it is much harder to die. Even cigarettes and alcohol to any extent didn´t faze Michael.

The door to the room opened and the cigarette smoke, and stuffiness just flowed out of the room for a second. The fresh air coming in made its way to Michal´s skin. He didn´t even turn around to see who had come in.

¨I see you are skipping sleep and staying up all night smoking again?¨ an all too familiar voice said with a tone of caring. It was Kim, she was his secretary that got his messages/assignments. She also took care of the apartment and Michael very well.

¨You know me, I don´t like to sleep.¨ Michael said pulling out another cigarette. He had decided to go for another cigarette.

Kim was a caring woman. She was 23, and stood at five foot eight. She had long red hair and often wore it pulled back when she went to bed. She only let it hang loose when she was very worried about something. She walked over and sat down in Michael´s lap. She leaned back against Michael reaching over and grabbing the lit cigarette from his hand. She tossed it into the ash tray and leaned back on Michael. He smelled that she had just showered and she smelled like strawberries.

¨Why did you just make me waste a cigarette?¨ he asked quietly his voice just above a whisper. Just enough to make his vocal cords vibrate slightly. She closed her eyes and reached grabbing his hands and putting them around her stomach.

¨I think I smell better than they do, so I did you a favor and came and sat on you. I´m not moving until tomorrow morning so you might as well go to sleep.¨ she said soothingly.

Michael wanted to take her offer. She´d been very good to him. He´d shown up at the door bloody from a fight or passed out drunk and she always dragged him to his bed and dressed him in clean clothes and let him lay. He pulled her closer so her hair was touching his nose and he said ¨I guess I can sleep just this one night.¨

¨You are going to have to do better than that or I´m outa here.¨ she said flirting with him.

¨I wouldn´t want that...not one...bit...¨ Michael said drifting off to sleep. She slowly got up and opened the window and tossed the carton of cigarettes down onto the street below. She then closed the window and wheeled the chair to Michael´s bed where she dragged him off his chair and under the covers. She then climbed in herself and put her arm on Michael´s chest. She could remember telling Michael that she loved him, time after time, and he´d reply with the same thing over and over. ¨I love you too...but love can´t exist in Hell so let´s just promise to be together forever instead...¨ The line wasn´t at all original but she smiled every time he said it and went about her chores. Michael was easily fifteen years her senior...but she fell in love with him on that day they met...

As she slept she dreamt of the day that she and Michael met. She was in the streets of an alley. She was cold and wet and trying to hid from thugs who wanted to rape her. There is no justice in the City of Rain but she wanted to escape so badly. Even if escape prolonged her death and exit of this world she just wanted to be away from those god-awful men. They knocked over a trash can that she was hiding behind and the leader of the three was a tall bald man. He picked up by what little rags of clothing she had and he flung her. She didn´t have the strength to fight back, nor the will too. He threw her to the ground and she landed with a thud in a puddle soaking her even more. She started to cry again and another man a tall scrawny man wearing some torn overalls had ripped off her pants. She was in nothing but her underwear and small white tank top now. Along with her pants her last bit of hope had been ripped off her.

The third man slapped her and yelled at her for running away. The tall scrawny man threw her back onto the ground. Her head hit first as the back started to bleed. The third man was about to pounce on her when something strange happened. The cement where she lay moved! It carried her backwards to a new man she couldn´t see well. He had a cigarette in his mouth and his right eye was shining. The gang members drew some broken pieces of pipe and they ran at him. He simply braced himself and spread his legs and arms like he was going to catch a bull by the horns.

The rain was falling like usual and it clouded her vision as she wanted badly to watch but she was fading form consciousness. She was cold and shivered, she was covered in trash, mud, and soot. You couldn´t tell she had red hair as it was covered in mud and trash. She was in her underwear and a small white tank top. She just wanted some place dry to die quietly. Michael was the man that saved her and before the three men raped her. As the men ran at Michael he brought his hands in grunting and the two light posts nearby bent down and wrapped around the back two men! He then stomped his foot and the sewer lid in front of him formed into a giant spike the size of a Christmas tree. The metal plate shot up and quickly going up from the man´s digestive track all the wall through his skull. Blood splattered everywhere but landed in the water so it washed away into a nearby sewer grate.

As the other two men screamed for mercy and meaningless apologies, Michael quickly looked at one who was apologizing slightly slower than the other and instead making excuses. One such was,

¨It was dark man! We didn´t know who she was!¨

This made Michael angry as he walked over and jerked the mans pants off. He saw a pair of boxers which he also ripped off. He then lifted his right hand to his mouth and pulled out the cigarette he´d been smoking. He pushed it in on the man in a spot that would hurt the most. The man screamed bloody murder before Michael made an open palm hand and then crunched it to a fist. As he did such both light posts squeezed tighter and tighter on the men. They screamed until the bloody end when their heads literally popped off. The carnage would make anyone throw up, but in this world it was just life...or rather the end of it. The lungs and the whole respiratory system had come up through the throat and now came spewing out like a squeezed hot pocket. It wasn´t until later she found out how Michael did all that. He is a ¨user¨ a special group of people that when they came here found they had the power to change things around them...the only rules they had with their abilities was they couldn´t change the rain even if they wanted to.

Michael then walked over to Kim and leaned down asking if she was hurt. She was shivering but tried to answer

¨Mmm-my ll—e-leg is br-br-brok-broken...¨ she managed to stammer.

¨It´s ok, they are dead and won´t do any more harm to you. I´m going to get you back to my place and call a doctor. Then we´ll get you anything you want ok?¨ Michael said in a reassuring tone. He picked her up with his arms and carried her that way all the way home. He had changed a trash can lid into an umbrella for her to hold as they walked home.

¨Wh-wh-why di-did y-y-you--¨ Michael quietly said

¨Don´t waste your strength talking. I´ve seen many things here, this place fits every religions description of Hell. I just decided that since I had the power to change something, I would change the outcome of that situation you were in. Besides, I´ve been looking for a secretary so don´t get all sentimental on me.¨ he said. She fell unconscious after that and didn´t remember anything until he got her home, bandaged up, and nursed her back to health.

A week later she had woken up before him. She got up and using her crutches she found by the bed, she went into the kitchen. A blinking clock read 10:00 A.M. and he was still in bed. So she made him breakfast a plate of hash browns and sausage. She took it to him in bed and he woke up smelling it.

¨Thank you for saving my life...I owe you my life. You said you were looking for a secretary and I´ll gladly fill that position if you´ll also let me be your housekeeper. This place is a dump!¨ She said smiling and laughing for the first time. Michael never smiles but he looked her in the eye not touching the food.

¨Is something wrong?¨ she asked.

¨Yeah...I´d like you to eat them with me...¨ he said making room on his bed. She blushed but climbed on and got a spare fork and ate them with him. Since then she´d been taking care of him, and she´d fallen in love him. It is a known fact that there has not been one marriage since everyone woke up in the city streets soaked in rain...but it´s also a fact that she´d like to have the first marriage with Michael...she didn´t care if she was here or back on earth as long as she was with him.

Her dream of how they met ended as she heard a hatch open and an envelope slide down and hit the floor. It had been 8 hours since they had went to bed and Michael should sleep in but he made her promise him one thing. If a job came, she was to alert him no matter what time it was. She grabbed the vanilla envelope and took it to the bed hesitating to give it to him. He awoke as if by some psycic force.

¨I have a job?¨ he asked.

¨Promise you won´t leave until you´ve at least had a cup of coffee.¨

¨Just please prepare it while I scan the file.¨ he said tearing open the envelope. As he ran his fingers over the paper envelope he got a paper cut. He put the finger in his mouth while he used his other hand to finish tearing the envelope. He pulled the paper out and read the contents aloud to himself.

¨Missing persons case...missing 2 days. Just two days and I´m already getting this, person must be a high paying client...sixteen year old female name ashley...five foot...shoulder length curly pink hair...goodness pink...reward is 8,000 dollars if she´s alive...¨

Kim came in with a white mug streaming. It was warm and felt good against her cold hands. The room was not particularly cold but her hands were always a little chilled when she woke up. Michael took the cut with a near silent ¨Thanks.¨ then he went back to browsing the file. He had the mug grabbed by the sides and not the handle. It felt especially good against his worn out hands. He raised the mug to his mouth and took a nice long sip of coffee. Kim always added a little bit of cinnamon to the coffee to make it, in her words ¨Christmasy¨ just a little cheer to this dark depressing world. It

didn´t make much difference to Michael, but he appreciated the effort. As the coffee went from the mug to his mouth it was nice and warm and woke Michael up. It went down his throat heating it up and giving him his voice back he lost for a few minutes until he fully woke up.

He finished the cup of coffee and got dressed. He wore a plain white T-Shirt and jeans with the knees torn out. Over this he wore the oldest most worn out trench coat. It was long enough to drag on the ground and old enough to fall to pieces but he insisted on wearing it. He walked over to the hamper dropping his night attire in. His night attire was simply his robe and a pair of boxer briefs. It made a phumph as it hit the other clothes. He walked into the kitchen putting the mug into the sink and Kim asked him

¨Are you sure you can´t wait for some pancakes?¨ Michael merely shook his head and put on his hat which was just as worn as his trench coat. It was wrinkled down the center on top and had a hole on the side patched with a gray patch he had crudely sewn on. He turned and looked at Kim, who had the words ´I will wait forever for you to return´ written in her eyes, and cleared his throat to say ¨This case won´t take long. If you want to, we can go out to eat for a late lunch when I return.¨ he said. She quickly lit up in a smile and squealed

¨Re-really?! Us? You and me go out to lunch?¨

Michael shifted his weight and said ¨You are an adult, if you don´t wanna go with me you certainly don´t have to.¨

Kim quickly shook her head and made a sad expression ¨No! I would love to go with you. I am just overjoyed that you would consider us going to lunch together. I love you so much but you just...never seem to respond sometimes.¨ she said wiping some tears as she closed her eyes and smiled.

Michael sighed and said ¨I love you too...but love can´t exist in Hell so let´s just promise to be together forever instead...¨

Kim smiled and closed her eyes to reach behind her and put her hair into a ponytail, as she did so she said ¨One day I´ll make you drop everything but the first four words. Until that day, like any other day I´ll wait for you.¨ she said lowering her hands and holding her hands together over her apron.

¨Come back safely.¨ she said smiling. Michael nodded then opened the door and walked down to the stairs. The hallway was narrow but he and Kim were the only people in the building. It was a 30 story apartment building he had claimed and only he and Kim used it. He began his slow descent down the stairs thinking of how to begin finding the missing Ashley...Eight gran was much cash for a measly return job... As he passed a window he looked outside to see something he knew was coming...rain. He finally made it to the bottom floor. The tiles greeted him by squeaking under his shoes. He wore simple brown slip ons he had found in a store. They stayed on his feet good. He walked down the open lobby which was all large white tile. He didn´t mind it but one day figured that it would either be red with blood or black with paint.

As Michael walked out into the rain it welcomed him with it´s wetness. Michael walked down the sidewalk not seeing another soul until he got to a familiar alley. The smell of damp human greeted Michael´s nostrils as he snorted. He didn´t so much care for the smell, it wasn´t all that different from wet dog but he didn´t mind that either. He walked up to a man with a burlap sack behind him and greasy black hair. The man looked like a filthy hobo. He had the option of cleaning up by taking an apartment and clothes but he didn´t. He looked up at Michael and said.

¨Long time no see compadre.¨ The man smiled and opened the sack and tossed Michael a pack of cigarettes.

¨Double dose of nicotene the way you like it. So cowboy, you here to try some good drugs or you sticking to the wimpy cigarettes?¨

¨They get the job done.¨ Michael said lighting up one instantly.

¨Right, so what do you want? You don´t say anything unless there is something else you want.¨

¨I´m guessing it´s Rez today right?¨

¨Correct, now what can I do ya for?¨ Rez said in a mexican accent.

Michael new Rez suffered from multiple personality disorder so he always had to be cautious and ask who was out first. Rez was a sleezy drug dealer who didn´t do drugs, he just sold them. Zer was the other half, he was a gentlemen and would always clean up then stroll the city picking up information or making observations. The rain hitting the nearby dumpster made a clang sound as Michael leaned against the wall taking a puff on his cigarette.

¨I´m looking for a girl. She´d be shorter and have pink hair.¨

¨I see...still doing grubby detective work, pink hair rings a bell. The Red Fan Gang had a girl with pink hair a night ago.¨

¨Is she still alive?¨

¨I dunno, they have a pot making operation going on about a block down. It´s an entrance that goes down into a basement, they make the pot out right in front of everyone obviously since there is no law here. Be careful, if you use your abilities on them they have a bodyguard who also has those abilities.¨

Michael looked up at the sky wondering if this was worth it. He did need the 8,000 for food bills so he decided to go with it.

¨I´ll just kill him. Who is it?¨ Michael asked casually

Rez shifted his weight and coughed. ¨It´s...Cane...¨

Michael slapped his hand over his face. ¨Oh dang it! Cane?! Jeez he´s a pain in the butt to fight.¨ Michael slumped down to the ground for a second to reconsider his decisions. Cane was not a person he liked to get involved with. Their last confrontation had left him bloodied up and bruised for days. Kim had begged him not to do battle with Cane again. Cane had lost the last fight but he always put up a good fight and was constantly improving. Michael also remembered the most dangerous thing about Cane...he was also a user. Michael´s face was showing an expression of confusion, one of being caught between two choices. The rain continued to fall and Michael was getting unnecessarily wet. Rez looked at him and sighed. He kneeled down next to Michael and said ¨Look, if you´re tight on money I´ll loan you some. I mean your lady doesn´t like you to fight. Especially if it is Cane...how much is the reward?¨

Michael shook his head sending the accumulating rain drops all over. He stood up and the light hit his eyes revealing flames of determination.

¨I have been here twelve years and I have never lost a fight. I´ve backed down or avoided fights but I have never lost. I´m going to their hideout and if Cane attacks I WILL defend myself.¨ Michael said grabbing his collar of his trench coat and popping his neck. He looked to Rez and handed him 100.00 dollars. He then scoffed and said ¨Your info isn´t free, not to mention your loans are killer on interest rates. I wouldn´t trust them for a second.¨ Michael said.

¨Hey, I was just offering and helping out a friend in need that´s all.¨ Rez said laughing and coughing. His cough revealed a little blood but he didn´t seem fazed by it. He took a drink of his alcohol and laughed some more. Michael turned to leave, he was in no hurry to get to the hideout...but he needed to hurry or the girl might be dead.

Running down the sidewalk, the puddles Michael ran through splashed up on him soaking the bottom of his coat and his jeans even more. He finally made it to the stairs that lead underground. He was huffing, it had been a while since he had ran or fought.

¨Alright, I´m going down there and I´m not coming out without a body...or a corpse.¨ Michael said taking one last deep breath. He descended down the stairs. He walked a good couple flights when the smell of pot hit him.

They must be making pot to sell. Rez won´t mind if I shut them down because that´ll lessen his competition. The red fan gang was a small group of eight men but they were all body builders so I´ve got to watch it. I´ll only defend, I won´t attack right away... Michael thought.

The front of Michael´s foot hit the cement floor first and made a light tap echoing off the walls. There was a dim light from above, the room had three small lights total each hanging from a thin wire. The men were busy packaging the pot when they noticed him. ¨Who the heck are you?!¨ one said as they all stared at him. Michael made his way deeper into the room, it was all cement everywhere. It was about 30 by 50 feet total and Michael was making himself aware of the dimensions in the event he had to fight.

¨I´m looking for a girl with pink hair. Answers to the name Ashley.¨ Michael said his voice echoing off the walls and fading into the darkness that was the men´s hearts. He started to sweat as the men laughed. A bead of sweat formed at the base of his hair and fell down to his collar of his trench coat. The men looked at other and whispered. Michael picked up everything...

¨Yeah she was fun...¨

¨Oh she begged and I liked that. It´s sexy when they beg...¨

¨Heh heh heh...¨

Michael was getting mad now. He controlled his anger but asserted his position and intentions by raising his voice slightly.

¨Where is she? She has pink hair and answers to the name Ashley.¨

¨You are one stupid detective you know? You come down here without any money, no drugs, no body guards and you ask the questions? I don´t think so, you see she did answer to the call Ashley once...heh heh heh...now she answers to the grim reaper only. So I´ll don´t know if it´s the fumes of the pot or what but I am feeling generous. You go ahead and head back up those stairs and tell your client to shove it. Then get a job at a restaurant. That will pay the bills.¨ the assumed leader said. He stood at seven feet and Michael assumed he weighed 230 pounds. He was ripped too, his muscles were bulging since he wore no shirt.

¨I´ve no intention of taking your offer. Just give me her corpse and I´ll leave nice and quiet like.¨ Michael said showing no sign of backing down.

The men had gone back to working but the boss tossed down his bag and frowned. He walked right up to Michael who stood at ease.

¨Now I didn´t hear please. Again I make note of the fact you bring no money, drugs, or bodyguards and you still make orders. You should have taken my offer. You want her corpse? It´s over in that bag by the pot, if you want to try and get it.¨ Michael didn´t see Cane anywhere, but he didn´t think that he would assume Cane was gone. He started to walk towards the bag but before he made it past the boss he had to duck because the boss produced a hammer and swung horizontally at Michael.

Michael ducked just missing the hammer and he sumer salted forward. In an amazing form of acrobatics he then put his hands flat to the ground and spread his legs horizontally and spun fast. His legs caught the boss behind the knee cap dead legging him. The boss fell to his knees and Michael got up and punches him hard to the left cheek. The man flew into the wall and fell to the ground. He got up swearing and wiping the blood from his face.

¨You shouldn´t have done that you maggot!¨ he yelled raising the hammer about to bring it done vertically. Michael saw this coming and quickly uttered

¨I relieve you from this Hell into the Hell of the afterlife in the realm of Satan.¨ He made a T shape with his body and brought his fists in grunting as they met. From the opposite wall a rectangle the size of the boss´ head extended at amazing speed. It smashed his head into the other wall closest to Michael. As it smashed a sickening CACK! was heard and blood splattered on Michael´s face and clothes.

The other men looked a little worried now. One said

¨Take her! We´re sorry! We were just looking for a good time! I swear it!¨ They weren´t tossing him the bag so Michael figured that they were faking. A wisp of wind warned him of the attack that was about to take place. His eyes widened and out of the corner to daggers flew towards Michael´s head.

Weapons don´t exist naturally in this world, it´s another user! Do I manipulate the ground to form a shield?! No! It´s to close I have to dodge it! These thoughts flew through Michael´s head as he moved to the right hitting the wall. The daggers flew by cutting small bits of hair. They flew onward and caught a man from the gang in the arm.

¨What the freak is wrong with you?! You missed!¨ the man yelled jerking it out.

A voice appeared as a large figure appeared from the darkness. Michael made out his eyes because one of the light bulbs shined and reflected from them. Michael saw the little gleam that showed up on the eyeball.

¨Hey Michael, it´s been a while. I see you killed the man who hired me.¨ Cane said walking further into the light.

¨You were behind that oddly place tapestry. That figures, you waited to see if I was hostile, this shows that you obviously weren´t going to fight unless you had to. That´s why you waited correct?¨ Michael asked

Cane shifted his weight to his back leg and scoffed. ¨You think you´re pretty slick coming up with little explanations to make yourself feel more assured aren´t you? I waited because I was ordered to you idiot. I have no fear of you or anyone. However if my boss died I was ordered to kill whoever did it. He paid me in advance you see.¨

¨Yeah, those hookers he offered you must have made you pretty happy for you take a deal like that.¨ Michael said with a dry irritated tone.

¨My transactions are none of your business, however it is your business to know that I´m going to have to kill you now for a revenge payment as part of my contract.¨ Cane said getting into position to charge Michael. The men behind Michael chuckled and he heard one say, ¨Oh he is in for it now. This guy may be a user but Cane will obliterate him.¨

The silence that followed seemed to be eternal as Michael started to sweat even more now. His eyes detected movement as Cane rushed him running his hands along the wall to make spikes shoot out next to Michael. Lucky for Michael he detected this a fraction of a second early and did a back flip landing on his hands and then coming down and laying flat on the floor. Dozens of spikes flew overhead. One made a slit in Michael´s trench coat. Another slit the back of Michael´s neck slightly. Cane continued his charge now grunting as he pulled a medieval style broad sword from the wall. He leapt up into the air and put his feet on the hand guard and drove downward aimed at Michael´s neck. Anticipating where he would aim, Michael slapped the ground with his right palm making a round pole like extension from the opposite wall shoot out and tip the sword slightly to the right. Michael turned his head sideways to catch a gleam of light reflecting from the broad sword as it stabbed the ground an inch to the right of his eyes.

Michael thought of his next option. He could slither cement up to the hilt of the sword rendering it useless, but that would be impossible as a rule of manipulation stated that an object could not be manipulated if it was touching another user. The force of the two user´s would contradict canceling any effect. Geez, he just had to fight. Cane is faster and stronger than me and his reaction time is to fast for projectiles so that leaves out long range tactics.

I´ve simply got to get him in hand to hand combat. Michael thought rolling away from the blade and Cane. ¨Whats the matter? Getting cold feet and running away already? You made it clear that you want the girl and that is why you killed the boss instead of running away. You and I both know that you could have rolled backwards and run up the stairs and gotten away. Instead you struck back making your position to get the girl back known to the gang and myself.¨

¨I will not leave without that corpse. It´s worth eight gran to me. You don´t scare me either. Last chance Cane. You lose every fight we have and you know it. Back off now or I WILL kill you this time.¨ Michael said.

Cane obviously ignored the warning as he fell flat back against the wall and slapped his palms against it with a little WHAP. A two large blades extended at Michael´s waist level and currently 5 feet apart. They came inward making a scissor effect on Michael. Michael stamped his feet and rose two cylinders of concrete out of the ground to block the scissors.

¨Very good keeping your hands on them and making good use of the rule of manipulation that states-¨ he was cut off by Michael slamming his fists against the wall behind him shooting out the blades at Cane. He then ran forward quickly, shielded from attack by the blades. The light from the blades reflected back on Michael´s eyes revealing his fiery determination. Michael leapt into the air and did a summer salt coming down with his leg extended to deliver a kick to Cane.

Grunting and working quickly Cane dodged left doing a cartwheel. The blades cut cleanly through the wall going all the way in so no part stuck out. Michael came down kicking air and instead kicked off the wall that the blades hit in. He flew back eight feet and landed on flat on his feet. He was panting as it had been a while since he had fought. He didn´t want to use ´it´ though unless he absolutely had to. Though Cane was a user he couldn´t summon ´it´ for some odd reason. However, he was just as deadly without using ´it´. Cane leapt sideways flipping and throwing the broad sword at Michael. As soon as his hands met the ground four long spike extensions from the walls surrounding Michael shot out. The spike extensions came from where each wall met the other in the crevasses.

Quickly calculating the odds of his options Michael made his choice realizing the broad sword was slower than the spikes. He drew his arms in slipping out his trench coat and ran forward. The spike like extensions met each other stabbing through Michael´s coat.

Kim is going to hate sewing that... Michael thought. He clasped the broad sword flat palmed and stopped it. He tossed it behind him and said

¨Come on Cane, stop this. There is no point in continuing. Why is this contract so important to you?¨ Michael said panting.

¨It is simple, one: I hate you and want you dead, and two: I was paid quite well.¨ Cane replied charging forward at Michael. Before Michael could react Cane had shot forward and landed a good punch in Michael´s gut. Michael quickly folded and spit out saliva. Cane then made contact with Michael´s right cheek pushing Michael sideways. For a final in the combo he grabbed

Michael´s leg and flung Michael to the ground.

Michael groaned and shook for a second coughing up blood. ¨I did always win in physical strength, speed, and stamina though. I don´t know how you always managed to barely win.¨ Cane said

Michael had a bad headache now. The room was blurry as he squinted trying to make sense of something.

¨Looks like I win this one.¨ Cane said quietly stamping his foot and making a spike fly down from the ceiling at Michael´s heart. What happened next was to fast for even Cane to comprehend and react to in time...

In an instant Michael had summoned his ´it´ and rose spinning to cut the spike in half with it. He then kicked the top half of the spike at amazing speed. It shot up and cut Cane across the cheek. With a little blood flowing out Cane wiped his cheek. ¨There it is...your weapon. For some reason, every user with the exception of me is able to summon a special weapon that they can´t alter. It is suited to them and is unique to them. These weapons can´t be copied or manipulated.¨ Cane said crossing his arms.

¨CANE! I DON´T CARE WHAT SPEECHES YOU MAKE OR WHAT YOU SAY! I WILL NOT LOSE!¨ Michael shouted. He charged forward revealing his lance that was about 6 feet long total. The blade part of the lance was itself only one and a half feet long but deadly sharp. Cane raised a fist and lowered it sharply bringing down a column to block Michael´s charge. The lance was engulfed in an orange aura and it cut through the pillar as Michael flipped and spun bringing down the lance to cut Cane open vertically. Cane fell back against the wall. After he did so a vertical tear in his shirt appeared.

¨This was a favorite of mine...¨ Cane muttered

¨It doesn´t matter, go back to where you got it, you know everything reappears over night in this city.¨ Michael said landing and delivering a kick to Cane´s face. He didn´t seem fazed and instead reached behind him and pulled a dagger from the wall. He punched forward with his other hand and Michael blocked it vertically with his lance. Cane responded even faster time wrapping his arm around the lance and bringing in the dagger to stab Michael. Michael bent back, but not far enough as the dagger cut into him right under his left lung.

He grunted and Cane took advantage of the opportunity to make another punch to Michael´s forehead. He flew back dropping his lance with disapeared with a POOF and a small cloud of smoke. Flying parallel to the ground Michael saw Cane running after him in slow motion. He summoned his lance again but it was much harder on him. He had hit his limit. His stamina was failing him, he had manipulated too much and his body was wearing down. Cane saw this and ran even faster. Michael concentrated on aiming for Cane´s head but couldn´t focus clearly for being so exhausted. The end of the lance shot forward at blinding speed revealing it´s hidden ability to Cane. Connected by a thick bar of orange energy the lance shot forward at blinding speed. Cane did not see it coming until it hit him. Instead of going through his head it made contact and cut through Cane´s left shoulder about four inches down into it. It pushed him back into the opposite wall slamming his body into it.

Cane groaned as he hit and slowly crumpled to the floor. Michael himself dropped the lance and fell to the floor landing on his back. He slowly faded from consciousness but remained slightly awake. Cane slowly pulled the lance from his shoulder groaning loudly the whole time. He dropped it to the floor and it disappeared with another POOF. He grabbed his shoulder which was bleeding profusely and he got up grunting. Cane walked limped over to Michael and groaned loudly as he snapped his fingers and the ceiling dropped a very small dagger into his hands. ¨I kept waiting for you to display a hidden ability with that weapon. It is said that every user´s weapon has a hidden ability or two. Some change...shape...others...you get the point. I guess you chose a good time to reveal that one...however, I just have to lean down and...slit your throat now and I win...¨ Cane said smiling.

Michael had a little bit of fight left in him but he felt like he had no stamina left. Still he looked up and saw his victory trump card.

¨Gee, those pants...look...loose on...you.¨ Michael said quietly. At the one moment that no part of Cane was touching the pants Michael shot his hand forward manipulating the pants and making two thin spikes shoot through his thigh´s both the left and right. Cane collapsed cursing the entire way down before hitting the ground and falling unconscious.

¨Pressure...point...¨ Michael said. He knew he had to get up, he had used the last bit of his energy to manipulate those pants but somehow he slowly got up. The men were gone, they must had ran out, but they took the pot with them. Michael limped over to the body bag and confirmed Ashley was in it. He unzipped it and saw a bruised face with a broken jaw bone. Her pink hair was covered in blood and sweat.

Michael felt nausea fill him as he zipped the bag and slung it over his shoulder. ¨She is just another victim, hopefully, if there is such a thing, she is in a better place.¨ Michael uttered limping towards the steps. The room was splattered with some blood now. The heavy smell of pot still lingered as Michael left. As he climbed the stairs slowly the smell of dampness hit him. He pulled out the file from his trench coat he had recovered. He had put it back on holes and all. He read the address and walked that way. Odd enough there are street signs here...they have the most casual names as well it´s almost as if humans were here at some point...or this place was created by an omnipotent deity as a Hell... Michael thought to himself dragging the body bag. His left eye he kept closed because his face was swelling from the punches he took. He was also bent slightly as he walked from the shot to the gut he took.

¨Here...we are...¨ Michael uttered knocking on the door. It was one of those town houses build between two tall buildings. It was three stories tall as a woman answered the door. She was kind of pudgy and looked heavy set. Micheal brought forth the body bag and said,

¨Delivery...¨

The woman looked at him as if it some kind of joke but then quickly sobered up to the thought of a dead daughter.

¨No...please...no no no no no no no!¨ the woman said breaking down into tears and unzipping the bag to reveal Ashley´s bruised and beaten face. She cradled the body bag instantly and and rocked back and forth sobbing.

¨No, no no no no no.¨ she kept chanting quietly as if to bring her back to life.

¨Ma´am she´s dead. The red fan gang probably drugged her, then kidnapped her, and raped her, then beat her to death. She was in that bag when I found her.¨ Michael said. The woman stopped rocking and slowly climbed to her feet still cradling the body.

¨Did...sob..you kill the men that did this to her?¨ the woman asked.

¨They had a body guard that was a user...as you can see.¨ Michael said showing her his wounds.

¨I killed the gang leader but during the fight with the bodyguard the others got away.¨

The woman broke into a whole new set of tears and between sobs asked ¨How much do you charge for revenge killings?¨

¨I don´t do revenge killings, I simply do recovery of information or people/items. You´ll have to hire a bodyguard for those services.¨

¨YOU´RE A COWARD! YOU FOUGHT A USER! A USER JUST TO LET THE OTHERS GET AWAY! AND YOU REFUSE TO TAKE PAYMENT FOR REVENGE KILLINGS?! IF YOU KILLED A USER YOU CAN KILL A FEW MORE GANG MEMBERS! COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVE THEIR HEADS!¨ The woman yelled trying to shut the door. Michael caught his foot in the door and shoved it open making the woman stumbled back and fall on her butt.

¨Ma´am I´m here for my payment. You said 8,000. I went through an awful lot to get this corpse. Now get me my money please.¨ Michael said. She produced a bundle of cash and threw it at him.

¨Take it and leave me be you stupid coward!¨

Michael counted the money to make sure all 8,000 was there.

¨I can´t say that I am sorry for you loss, well because I have seen it to much before...I can only say, stay safe. This is a dangerous world.¨ The woman grabbed a book from her book case and threw it at Michael. He grabbed the door slamming it shut. He heard a WHUMP on the other side. He walked very slowly home. He finally made it to his building and walked through the rotating door. He feet squeaked as he dragged one leg across the tile floor of the lobby. As his feet made contact with each step Michael cursed the fact that there were no elevators in this city. The rain clicked on the windows as he walked by them up the stairs. It took a total of fifteen minutes for him to climb the 28 stories to his floor. He was beyond exhausted and his mind was on ´auto pilot´ as he now was on all fours slowly crawling to his door. He stood up and the blood rushed to his head making him dizzy. He fell on the door with a THUNK and a minute later Kim opened it. He fell into her arms covered in blood, water, and exhaustion. He was two seconds from falling unconscious and he knew this so he uttered ¨I am sorry, I can´t take... you out to a late lunch... Can we reschedule for whatever meal is up when I... wake up?¨ Michael uttered falling into unconsciousness.

Kim held him close to her and took off his coat and saw the blood and holes ¨I gues you will want that sewed, and cleaned. I see you are cut...I´ll have to stitch that up...and you´ll want a clean robe as well to lay in bed with. I will get it done, and we´ll postpone lunch until you wake up, but only because I am madly in love with you. You know where you would be without me hon?¨ she asked silently and knowing she wouldn´t get a response.

She dragged him to the bed and clothed him in a robe. She then pulled back the covers and covered him up. ¨Good night, at least one good thing came from this case, you are getting some well deserved and needed sleep.¨ she said closing her eyes and silently giggling. She loved this part, he was asleep and she got take care of him and watch over him...like an angel. She wasn´t an angel because she was only human.

¨I´ll settle for lover instead of angel.¨ she said kissing him.