Part 3: Daughter of the Shadows
"...As the man was wielding a gun, no charges will be held against
his murderer, but we would appreciate it if someone would come forth and
claim responsability so we can input it to the records." The report faded
from the radio as Seka flicked off the old set. She had found it in the
dump and it was an interesting garnish for her self-created apartment.
The dump held riches. Two ancient rusting cars formed the
walls on three sides, a tin plate made a door on the forth. She had gouged
windows in some places with a crowbar, and had used some old cushions
for furniture. The battery-fueled radio was a suprise, but she scrounged up
money for some batteries to use on it, and as long as they didn't die soon,
Seka could be informed of everything.
She found the bit of food that she had been saving for dinner.
Right about now the Factory would be destroying the dead body of her
uncle, and his bar would be cleared out for something new. Seka smiled
secretivly. She had been taught that fighting was wrong, but the taste of
revenge was sweeter than strictly obeying a guardian's will.
After her meager dinner, Seka went about practicing her knife
skills on the heaps of trash in the junkyard. Crude dummies could be made
from wire, old metal skulls, and various other objects depending on the
size you wanted the dummy to be. Seka built a small army of manequins,
then sliced them up accordinly. Her blade seemed to never dull, and it
whipped through the air like a hawk diving for prey.
"Whatcha doin' there, girly?" Seka glared up at the speaker, a
slim boy with messy black hair and a smirking face. She gestured at him
with her blade.
"I'm practicing. If you wanna laugh at me, you'll be the second
person I've killed in a week." She cartwheeled backwards and sliced through
the PVC spine of another dummy. The boy laughed.
"Second in your life too, eh?" Seka gasped, and reinforced her
glare.
"How did you know? Spying on me, eh?" She leapt up, and
hit the door of an ancient vehicle. The boy sat down lazily on the rusting
heaps.
"Heh, still got a long way to go. The name's Hugo."
"I'm Seka. You probably know that already, don't you?" sneered
Seka. She couldn't afford to seem nice and homely in any case, or she
would lose her unsteady reputation. Hugo seemed to notice this.
"Ahh, ease up. I just came to see who was here. Later, scary
girl." Hugo bounded off over the rubbish.
"Why I oughta....." Seka started, then calmed down. She pushed
the unharmed dummies to the side, and sheathed her blade. She pulled out
a motheaten blanket, and curled up in the darkest corner of her small metal
hut, falling asleep with her hand on the handle of her weapon.
* * * *
Hugo walked the streets, hidden under a cloak. He could vaugely
understand why such a girl would turn to a life of crime. She simply had no
where to run. He had felt that way some time ago, with his brother dead and
his brother's wife a traitor. He had fled, and continued to pursue his dream
of reaching Tiphares, the floating paradise that hung above the Scrapyard
like an alien sun. He would earn the chips it would take for him to reach
the distant heights, no matter how dirty he had to play.
* * * *
Seka woke with the sun the next morning, and checked to make
sure that she hadn't been robbed during the night. Finding everything in
order, she wrapped a cloth over her nose and mouth and put on her old hat.
She journeyed out of the junkyard maze and into the Scrapyard city, where
she planned to find food and money.
Food was easy enough, someone had left a half-eaten meal
hidden behind a telephone booth, probably some junkie had left it there to
finish later. Seka crept away with it into an alley and hastily bolted down the
remaining meal. She tossed the trash carelessly away into the gutter, and
moved back into the sunlight.
Seka kept an eye out for any easy prey. She followed a cyborg
into a restaurant, and when he was not looking, she lunged swiftly from the
shadows and snatched the chips he used to pay for his meal, dashing away
faster. She could hear him complaining back in the building as she ran
back to the dump.
Counting the chips, it was not a big sum, but enough to sustain
her for a while. Seka practiced more on the dummies, and was only
harrassed once more by Hugo. She liked this new life, no restraints, no
boundaries, and the only thing to worry about was the hunter-warriors.
Not too big of a deal in her book. She would keep an eye out anyways.
"...As the man was wielding a gun, no charges will be held against
his murderer, but we would appreciate it if someone would come forth and
claim responsability so we can input it to the records." The report faded
from the radio as Seka flicked off the old set. She had found it in the
dump and it was an interesting garnish for her self-created apartment.
The dump held riches. Two ancient rusting cars formed the
walls on three sides, a tin plate made a door on the forth. She had gouged
windows in some places with a crowbar, and had used some old cushions
for furniture. The battery-fueled radio was a suprise, but she scrounged up
money for some batteries to use on it, and as long as they didn't die soon,
Seka could be informed of everything.
She found the bit of food that she had been saving for dinner.
Right about now the Factory would be destroying the dead body of her
uncle, and his bar would be cleared out for something new. Seka smiled
secretivly. She had been taught that fighting was wrong, but the taste of
revenge was sweeter than strictly obeying a guardian's will.
After her meager dinner, Seka went about practicing her knife
skills on the heaps of trash in the junkyard. Crude dummies could be made
from wire, old metal skulls, and various other objects depending on the
size you wanted the dummy to be. Seka built a small army of manequins,
then sliced them up accordinly. Her blade seemed to never dull, and it
whipped through the air like a hawk diving for prey.
"Whatcha doin' there, girly?" Seka glared up at the speaker, a
slim boy with messy black hair and a smirking face. She gestured at him
with her blade.
"I'm practicing. If you wanna laugh at me, you'll be the second
person I've killed in a week." She cartwheeled backwards and sliced through
the PVC spine of another dummy. The boy laughed.
"Second in your life too, eh?" Seka gasped, and reinforced her
glare.
"How did you know? Spying on me, eh?" She leapt up, and
hit the door of an ancient vehicle. The boy sat down lazily on the rusting
heaps.
"Heh, still got a long way to go. The name's Hugo."
"I'm Seka. You probably know that already, don't you?" sneered
Seka. She couldn't afford to seem nice and homely in any case, or she
would lose her unsteady reputation. Hugo seemed to notice this.
"Ahh, ease up. I just came to see who was here. Later, scary
girl." Hugo bounded off over the rubbish.
"Why I oughta....." Seka started, then calmed down. She pushed
the unharmed dummies to the side, and sheathed her blade. She pulled out
a motheaten blanket, and curled up in the darkest corner of her small metal
hut, falling asleep with her hand on the handle of her weapon.
* * * *
Hugo walked the streets, hidden under a cloak. He could vaugely
understand why such a girl would turn to a life of crime. She simply had no
where to run. He had felt that way some time ago, with his brother dead and
his brother's wife a traitor. He had fled, and continued to pursue his dream
of reaching Tiphares, the floating paradise that hung above the Scrapyard
like an alien sun. He would earn the chips it would take for him to reach
the distant heights, no matter how dirty he had to play.
* * * *
Seka woke with the sun the next morning, and checked to make
sure that she hadn't been robbed during the night. Finding everything in
order, she wrapped a cloth over her nose and mouth and put on her old hat.
She journeyed out of the junkyard maze and into the Scrapyard city, where
she planned to find food and money.
Food was easy enough, someone had left a half-eaten meal
hidden behind a telephone booth, probably some junkie had left it there to
finish later. Seka crept away with it into an alley and hastily bolted down the
remaining meal. She tossed the trash carelessly away into the gutter, and
moved back into the sunlight.
Seka kept an eye out for any easy prey. She followed a cyborg
into a restaurant, and when he was not looking, she lunged swiftly from the
shadows and snatched the chips he used to pay for his meal, dashing away
faster. She could hear him complaining back in the building as she ran
back to the dump.
Counting the chips, it was not a big sum, but enough to sustain
her for a while. Seka practiced more on the dummies, and was only
harrassed once more by Hugo. She liked this new life, no restraints, no
boundaries, and the only thing to worry about was the hunter-warriors.
Not too big of a deal in her book. She would keep an eye out anyways.