Fire raged around Wes as screams of terror and pain reached his ears the scene in front of him unfolded slowly people running faces a blur people shoving and pushing as they tried to escape a ever looming reaper, a fate that never stopped chasing after life. Wes watched as bullets flew and people dropped, their life leaking out of their wounds as sick and sad as it was he couldn't look away. Wes felt himself moving without his command as he walked forward towards the overcoming tide of soldiers rushing forward exterminating anyone and everyone in their path. Yelling at people to stop and loud shots ringing out piecing and drowning out the sobs and shouts of the dying and the mourning and still Wes's body pushed forward till he came to a small opening where a lone boy sat beside a young woman maybe in her mid 30s the boy didn't budge or try to run almost as if he was content with dying. The woman lay in front of him blood flowed out from wounds like water trying to escape a bursting dam. She didn't cry out or cuss, just slowly reached up to the young boy as her hand landed on his face. Wes looked down now feeling a hand on his face as he took the place of the boy. "We-ss the woman moaned as blood coughed out of her mouth in between breaths "please Wes live you need to live and find… find your..`` Her eyes grew dark as her life left them, her hand dropping from his face to the ground as Wes opened his eyes, fluttering open to stare at the ceiling of his and his sister's small apartment. He was home in his bed "the same dream again" he muttered. What was his mom going to tell him? He dreamed this same dream at least once every couple of weeks and never got closer to understanding it.

Wes got up throwing on a pair of black cargo pants from his floor and old red t-shirt that featured a logo of Johnny Silverhand, an old edge runner that went missing after taking out a corpo tower in Nightcity, one of the first cities to fall to no government strictly running under corpo control. He moved out of his room looking back at it. It was a tiny compartment off the main room big enough to hold his bed and a few posters, featuring a poster of silverhand and his band and another showing the moon landing. Talks were that they were making progress on actually having permanent residency on the moon instead of just being a tour attraction which made him curious. He moved over to a small cut out of the apartment where the bathroom was located. He quickly looked in the mirror as he ran his hand through his black hair tussling it into a practiced mess. He scanned his face spotting a small gash still visible above his left eye from the run in a few nights ago with the poachers. Upon seeing this his mind wandered back to that night the corpos, the attack on him, and lastly Lilli holding a shotgun blasting his attacker. How did she know how to operate the gun or even better question how did she handle it with no prior weapons training. He hadn't brought that night up since they had returned to Luton 3 nights ago, not that he thought she would tell him anyway.

Wes exited the bathroom heading into the main room. It was small with a couch and small TV set in the middle with a small dining room and kitchen off to the side. It looked much like every other apartment in the city, at least the poor ones. As he entered the main area he spotted Lilli sitting on the couch, legs stretched in front of her as she wore a pair of cargo boots and black shorts stretched down to the top of her knees. Her once destroyed arm now was replaced by a shiny new chrome, a much needed upgrade as she put it. She looked up from her tablet as he entered "Hey good morning breakfast is light promise I'll buy food when I get paid my eddies." She called out before turning back to whatever she was reading. Wes didn't mind that he wasn't feeling that hungry anyway after his lack of sleep from his recurring nightmare. He made his way to the kitchen, opening the fridge as he grabbed a jug of milk, drinking it straight from the gallon before putting it back.

Wes looked over at Lilli "Hey um about the other ni…" He trailed off not knowing where to go with his sentence "What?" She replied almost lost. Wes wasn't even sure she had heard anything he had said. "Never mind I gotta go, gonna be late love you." He said heading for the door. "Love you too, have a good day." She called back as he exited the apartment.

The apartment was on the 18th floor of a 38 floor building and he turned left heading for the elevator. The hallway was dirty trash spewed along it as he passed junkies passed out on the floor on either side. The one side of the hall was a balcony allowing him to see across the hall and down further. The halls all looked similar to the one he currently walked as he passed two guys doing what he assumed as a drug deal. He finally made it to the elevator entering it as he pressed for ground floor as the elevator shook indicating that it was descending.

The doors slid open as he stepped off heading for the front door of the apartment building. To his right there was a loud ruckus as a man with a dragon tattoo on his face and more chrome then Wes had ever seen banged loudly on a apartment door "open up you fucking bitch." He screamed out. Wes looked at him for a few moments before moving on Just another day in Luton he thought as he moved toward the door heading for the city.

The streets outside were much the same. People slept on the sidewalks as trash piled about the city. On the corner a puppet solicited passers by trying to earn a quick eddie. Wes moved down the familiar road that he walked almost daily. Passing back alleys were screams and loud machines buzzed as back alley ripper docs equipped people with illegal mods. Without the right equipment modding hurt like hell as Wes shivered at a violent scream coming from a well known black market clinic.

Wes hurried along towards the train car as he climbed on board watching as it rose being lifted on tracks much like a Rollercoaster as he cruised the rundown apartment buildings changed to tall skyscrapers shiny and crisp incomparable to the dull and filthy buildings he had just left. Here med squads and police squads patrolled frequently protecting those with money and power and damming the poor to fend for themselves. It was this way as long as he remembered the rich were well provided for while the poor waged war on each other for survival.

Wes exited the train near the main hub heading towards his school, a small building nestled in a small courtyard nothing too prestigious , just a common school nothing like the advanced corpo schools that were starting to pop up. Wes entered the building taking his seat as he sat back grabbing his brain dance visor for class as his classmates all conversed in small groups whispering and talking laughing. Wes looked on as always being a quiet person he never really made friends with anyone he always just blended into the background as if he was if he was invisible to the world.

"Take your seats please." A small plump woman said as she waddled her way into the room heading to the small oval table like desk at the front. She sighed loudly as she began to lay out her brain dance as she scanned the room. "Where is ?" She asked as Wes spoke up. "Um right here madam." He said, puzzled. "Oh sorry I looked right over you." He sighed as someone nearby whispered "Not surprising I forget he even existed." Causing another student to snicker a bit too loudly. "Quite." The woman yelled as she programmed the brain dance the class would be using today. "Okay let's get started."

The day drug on treating to never end as Wes felt himself slipping into boredom he saw his sister's beat up picture from a few nights ago flash into his mind. I'll talk to her tonight and tell her what's going on. I'll help her just like she's always helped me. He thought as a bell rang out pulling him out of his head, singling that school was finally at an end.

Wes caught the train slipping in as the doors closed as he placed himself in the back watching out the window as the car began to lift and fly off. He settled in, letting his mind wander as he waited for his destination as he fixed his eyes on a reflection of a girl behind him. She was a few inches shorter than him with a narrow face and long flowing straight black hair. Her eyes had a faint purple glow to them. She was thin with slender metal arms that she held crossed over her torso. She wore a black almost sleek dressy shirt with a bright yellow pattern of hexagons down the left side and a pair of black pants that seemed almost too big for her small frame that flared out near her shoes which were a pair of black and white sneakers. Her skin was a dark tan in comparison to his pasty white he guessed she was Hispanic just off the deep tan of it. He studied her, not seeming to be able to remove his eyes from her. Something just drew him in finding her to be a beauty he thought impossible in a city that showed such ugliness. As he stole a glance back he found his eyes meeting hers as he quickly turned back to the window as his face grew hot in embarrassment at being caught. As he glanced at her reflection she was gone. He turned back to confirm she had moved and saw what the window had shown him to be true, sighing as he continued his ride back towards home.

The sun was low, a sign that the day was nearing its end and the moon loomed on the horizon like an animal stalking prey. Wes made his way slowly down the street he had been walking around for a while now not wanting to head home right away thinking of how to bring up his feelings to his sister. He turned down a dark alley heading down it when he noticed movement up ahead he scanned his surroundings using his eyes catching a glimpse of someone running down another alley to the left. That's weird he thought as he picked up the pace trying to keep up with the figure. As he turned the corner he stopped suddenly as he felt a gun shove into his stomach, in front of him stood the girl from the train her eyes glowed deep as she gave him a grimace look. "Uh.." he opened his mouth as he looked at her his mind grew blank as he shut his mouth again. Smooth Morris he thought as she stared at him he shifted his gaze as he grew hot, glimpsing at her from the side of his eye. She was still staring him down, her expression giving nothing away as he felt his face growing hotter. "Why are you following me?" she spoke, finally breaking the silence that seemed to have loomed forever. Her voice was quiet and soft but it had a determination behind it. "Following?" Wes mused confused as the words left his mouth he felt his legs be swept from beneath him as he landed square on his back the air leaving his lungs as he looked up as his attacker placed her sneaker square on his chest and the gun in his face. "Don't play dumb. I saw you on the train earlier, now you're in this alley and chasing after me." she stated as her metal hand cocked her gun causing Wes to gulp loudly. "I-I wasn't following you. I promise I just noticed you in this alley a minute ago." he stammered, his voice breaking as he tried to explain his predicament.

"Liar.. okay i'll just flatline you since you won't tell me." she stated almost lazily as she gave a half shrug as she pointed the gun in his face so close he stared at the black barrel of his death. He shut his eyes tightly as he waited for the end to come. Silence followed as he kept his eyes shut. Is this death? Maybe it didn"t hurt? he thought. One way to find out he peeked out of his eyes squinting she stood over him studying him as he lay perfectly still before her. "Uh.. not that I mind but I thought that you were going well um." he moved his hand across his throat to apply death instead of saying it. At this he swore he saw a slight smile gone too fast for him to be sure. "You working for the Poachers?" she asked, causing Wes to be dumbfounded for the 2nd time in this interaction. "The Poachers?" he said questionly, earning him a swift kick in his side.

"OW '' he yelled out as her sneaker hit him in the rib hard he reached to the spot holding it. "Shut up and answer my question!" she hushly barked obviously trying to keep the interaction from being heard. "No no" he wheezed out between his lips as he tried to catch his breath from the kick. "I'm not working for the Poachers, I'm a student, I swear." He moaned out, finally catching enough breath to form a full sentence. He grew silent not kaning how she would react to that but heard a slight giggle come from her as he turned to look at her. It was hard to believe someone so petite was so tough and so frightening. She looked down at him and extended her hand down to him as he reached up cautiously to grab it. She helped to his feet as he dusted himself off from the dirt and grime that coated the streets in the slums. "I'm sorry." she mused her quiet voice shifting back in from the furiosity she had just had in it. Wes focused on his clothes had to strain to even hear her as he replied "No no its okay i shouldnt of started to run after you, dumb move on my part." She looked down the alley and back to him grabbing his hand in hers. "Come on." he heard her as she felt her pulling him further down the alley "H-eyy" he replied as he felt himself stumbling after her.

She led him through the alley weaving through it like she had done it everyday. Soon he found himself near the edge of the city on a cliff looking out towards the plains, the sky lit by stars as the sun's last few rays were disappearing. Wes looked at the beautiful scene in front of him as his hand rested in hers "Where are we?" he mused as he looked out. She said nothing while looking out as she slowly stretched her arm out pointing out as Wes followed her arm and finger his breath caught in his throat as he saw cars speeding towards Lunton. "Poachers."