Shadowrun: Human Born
Chapter One
Cassandra had a skip in her step as she walked home. Other residents of the neighborhood smiled and waved at her as she went past. Most of the women were in their gardens, tending to their vegetables. Last winter had been hard on their little part of the Human Brigade Territory, and they were doing everything they could to make sure it didn't happen again.
As she approached her house, she saw that her mother wasn't in the front yard. Perhaps she was at a neighbor's house. Cassandra knew that her news could wait, but she was just so excited about it. She had a date, her first ever date!
She went inside and grabbed a piece of bread. It was still warm, so her mom hadn't left too long ago. She munched on it as she went upstairs. She by-passed her room and continued to the third floor of the house. She had to pick out something to wear and she knew that her mom had some pretty neat dresses stored in the trunks.
She didn't bother with the light; the bare bulb didn't really help and was just a drain on energy.
She opened the closest trunk, just across from the stairs, and began to rifle through the contents, the piece of bread held firmly in her mouth. She found some blouse and skirt combinations that would look nice, but they weren't quite what she was looking for. A door shut on the first floor, and Cassandra could hear her mom calling her name.
She took the piece of bread out of her mouth and answered, "In the attic!"
She turned to continue her search, but a sharp pain in her arms stopped her short. Cassandra looked down at them, confused. She hadn't done any heavy lifting today. As she watched, the skin and muscle on her arms rippled, like there were snakes or insects crawling up her limbs. She could feel her muscles stretching. The pain spread from her arms to her torso, legs, and mouth. Even her ears hurt. She screamed as it became too much to bear. Her body slammed against the floor. She didn't even realize she had been falling.
When the pain finally stopped, it took her a few moments to realize that it wasn't there anymore. She opened her eyes and stared at her mother's feet for a moment. She slowly rose to a sitting position.
Her mother screamed, startling Cassandra and making her jump. She stared up at her mother's horrified face. What was going on? Why was her mother staring at her like that?
"No, no, no, no! You weren't supposed to be like my family!" Nichole shrieked.
Cassandra just continued to stare dumbly. Her mother didn't have any other family, at least not that she spoke about. Nichole reached out and slapped Cassandra across the face before she ran down the stairs.
"Kevin! Kevin, get your gun!"
Cassandra held her hand up to where her mother had hit her. Her mother had never slapped her before, not like that. Tears stung her eyes as another wave of pain wracked her body. She fell again. What was happening? Why had her mother been so afraid? The pain was gone, but she didn't get up.
Sobs wracked her body as her father's footfalls thundered through the house. She could hear someone whispering to her, urging her to get up. But the pain, what if the pain came back?
Embrace it, the voice said. Use it, channel it. It means you are still alive.
He was on the floor below her. Cassandra lurched to her feet and staggered to the nearest window. She looked at it dubiously. It had been painted shut years before and no one had been able to open it. It was the same with all of the attic windows. She undid the lock and started lifting. It wouldn't budge. She could hear her father fumbling with the bullets for the gun. Her breathing quickened as she shoved harder against the frame. Another wave of pain surged through her body, but with it came a sense of strength.
The window wiggled in its tracks.
That small movement was enough to give her hope. She shoved harder, banging the heel of her palm into the frame. Finally, the paint cracked and chipped away. Cassandra sighed in relief as she fought it the rest of the way open, the pain subsiding from her limbs.
She poked her head out and looked down, three stories down. The fall wouldn't kill her, but she would be hurting from it. Another wave of the pain. She cried out as she fell against the window. She caught a glimpse of her arms. They looked odd, tinged a slight blue. But that only happened when someone was suffocating or freezing.
The door to the attic burst open, distracting her from her thoughts.
Cassandra looked back. In a matter of seconds, her father was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down the barrel of his shotgun at her. Nichole was standing behind him. Cassandra could see her mother shaking, her face a mask of outrage and fear.
There was no more time to think about it. Cassandra dived out of the window, preparing to roll when she hit the ground. She let herself remain loose, knowing that tightening her muscles would only make the landing worse, not better, and hoping the agony in her body would mask whatever happened when she hit the ground.
Time seemed to slow as she fell. The ground should have been coming at her so much faster. Finally, she felt the first hint of impact and tucked her head as she rolled onto her back and then back up to her feet. It had been too easy, the landing not nearly as hard as it should have been. The voice was there again, telling her to run. Don't think, just run.
The ground next to her feet exploded, sending dirt showering down on her. Cassandra screamed as she flinched away. Her father was at the window, taking aim for the next shot. Not knowing what else to do, she listened to the voice. She ran from their back yard and around to the front of the house.
The closest exit was three miles away, but the wall that surrounded their community was only half a mile. She hoped that whatever miracle had saved her from the pain of the fall would get her over the wall. She ran down the street, heading east.
People stopped as she went by, staring at her in stunned silence.
"Stop her!" Kevin yelled from the front door. "She's done something to Cassandra!"
She had to fight back tears, fight back the urge to yell out, "I'm Cassandra! Me! I'm your daughter!" She had to conserve her energy. Tears would only block her vision from possible dangers. More pain, this time in her legs. She stumbled, vocalizing her agony, but didn't stop.
She could hear more people yelling behind her. Her neighbors and friends had joined in the chase. The shouting got the attention of those ahead of them. She skidded to a stop as a line of people came at her from the east. She looked to the group behind her. They slowed as they approached.
Cassandra's mind raced as she tried to find an escape. The group in the east had blocked off the wall. To the north, the voice said. Go north.
She looked at the house on the north. It was one of the abandoned ones, and one that had a tree right next to the north-eastern corner of the wall.
The jeering groups were getting closer. She could see their eyes twinkle with excitement. Some had baseball bats, others had picked up branches and whatever else they could find. She took a deep breath as the two groups closed in on her. Then, she darted into the northern house.
The inside of it had been gutted, anything reusable taken out. There were holes in some of the walls, giving her a clear track for the back of the house. She ran, diving through the smaller holes like they were twice as big. She could hear the others howling through the house behind her. None of them were as agile as her.
She was behind the house, the tree just a few yards away. She sprinted for it, leaping for the lower branches. She thought she might fall short, or not be able to jump high enough, but she easily grabbed the lowest branch and swung herself up onto it.
She scrambled up through the tree. The crowd had gathered below, throwing their improvised weapons at her as they shouted. She was level with the top of the wall. She jumped the short distance between tree and concrete. There was nothing to climb down the other side. She couldn't run along the top of the wall, they would pick her off with a gun. She would have to jump.
She scanned the street below her. It was cracked, ruined from lack of care. Debris and rubble were piled underneath her. It wouldn't be a pretty landing on grass like last time. A branch struck her in the back of her head, making the decision for her. She started to fall towards the street, and there wasn't time to correct her landing posture.
Just like with the house, time seemed to stop. Her fall slowed down and when she landed, it was gently. She could feel herself almost ease onto the rubble pile. She took a second to marvel at how that was possible, but a shot rang out from behind the wall. They were alerting the perimeter guard.
Cassandra scrambled to her feet and started running. She didn't know where she was going, she didn't care. She just had to get away from the Human Brigade, her home. She lost track of time. Her limbs started to ache and the excruciating pains were becoming more frequent and lasting longer. But she didn't stop. She couldn't. She ran down streets at random, dodging into alleys if she thought anyone had seen her.
Finally, after what felt an eternity, she slowed down in an alley. The sky was getting dark and she was exhausted. Her vision blurred in and out as she wove down the back way. The garbage on the street beckoned to her, offering her a soft place to rest her head.
She gave in and collapsed amongst food wrappers and various other pieces of trash. She lay there for a moment, then heard the very distinct growl of a hound. Her blurry eyes could make out the red ones of a hell hound stalking towards her. There were two more behind it.
Cassandra tried to get up, to move, but she was too tired. She had just run a marathon and felt like it. The hounds bared their teeth as they closed in on their prey. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Maybe it was for the best. At least the pain would end.
Blasts resounded through the alley. Something hot and sticky splattered across her face. She opened her eyes. The hell hounds were gone. A couple of men stood over her, their tusks gleaming brightly against the dark tattoos on their faces.
"Hey, kid, you okay?" one of them asked. It sounded like he was at the end of a very long tunnel.
"Man, she looks like hell. We should take her back to Mama."
The other man grunted as he picked her up. She tried to protest, but her cry came out as a weak moan. Everything was getting fuzzy as they carried her down the alley. The last thing she saw was someone opening a van door.
