Rose of Anarchy
Disclaimer: I do not own Dishonored. Dishonored is owned by Arkane Studios.
Years before the rat plague ...
"Ey." Manx said scoldingly, cuffing him over the head. "Are you listening at all?"
He raised his chin defiantly. "Of course I was, you're just too stupid to realize that people can still hear what you're saying even while looking off somewhere."
Manx snored, and his face held that smirk like he wasn't affected at all. It moved him to trust the other boy and admire the way he exerted with untouchable confidence.
"Says the kid that hasn't been out here in the allies that long. You're a lot less observant than everyone else around here."
"True." He felt himself whisper quietly, his small arms wrapping around his legs, but then his face knotted up when he realized he had admitted it. Manx snickered, making him feel worse.
"Here, Clueless, I'll show ya something then. Follow me." The older boy got up with his clothes ratty and dark brown hair messy. He knew he would start to look like that after a couple weeks.
He got up and dusted of his jeans, before following him down the alleyway. From his time spent with him he had already learned a lot about survival on Dunwall's streets. What places to dart to if an overseer was patrolling by, how to hide under boxes or carriages, or inside hedges. He was small, and Manx said that was useful. He could fit in small spaces no one would think to look, or crawl in through a petite window to steal money and food.
The boys ducked around a corner and stalked on their knees till they slid under a pile of crates. "Wait, Manx, why are we going in the Hatter's territory?" He whispered.
"Shh." Manx said, gesturing with his finger on his cracked lips. "Now see those blokes over there?" He pointed with his chin at two gang members who were cornering another one with a flopping hat. One was a big, muscular guy with a crossbow, and the other had an ear that looked like it had been chewed up by a dog.
"Watch what's gonna happen."
He didn't say anything and shrunk timidly behind the older boy, who looked intrigued. He just felt scared and wound his fingers into his curly red hair tugging on it to try and calm himself down.
"Traitor! You wretched traitor!" The hatter with the bitten ear shouted, and then he smacked the cornered guy across the face.
"Marvin, I'm not! What do you think I bloody did?" The cornered guy groaned as the guy called Marvin grabbed his shirt collar and slammed his head against a wall, knocking off that floppy hat.
"Selling the information on our routes to those overseer dogs that work for the Empress!"
"No way!" The cornered guy spat. "If of anything, it's you that's doing that and blaming it on me!"
Marvin sneered and kicked him in the ribs. Manx let out a gasp as the boy's heard a crack. The cornered guy crumpled, and as Marvin came in closer for another blow, there was a glint of silver in the sunlight as the cornered guy swiped across his throat in an uppercut.
Marvin curled and gripped his throat, spilling out blood from his mouth. The big guy, who had been quiet, immediately shot the cornered guy with the crossbow. He fell dead, and Marvin sank to the ground, pools spilling out from his neck and soaking through his clothes.
Manx turned around and whispered in his ear. "This is where I come in. Now watch and learn."
He pulled a rusty barber's knife out of his trousers and sauntered up behind the big guy. It was that cat-like ability of his movements that gave him his name on the streets. He didn't know what his name was before that, just that the older boy didn't want to be called anything else.
He held his breath, terrified, but just as the guy turned around Manx position the knife and stabbed straight down into his neck, before taking it out and repeating the action again. The large gang member let out a strangled cry, and then slumped in a lifeless heap of flesh.
He knelt in his hiding place, stunned, and he could hear how the air ringed from the quietness. Manx stood still, as almost in a trance for a second as he looked down at the body, but then he spun back around on his heel and the arrogant smirk was back, his chin tilted high. You don't have to hide anymore you know."
Manx walked over and stuck out his hand. Blood dripped from it. He paused, debating whether to take it, before tentatively sticking out his hand and curling his fingers around the other's. The blood felt wet. "D-do you think those hatters have money on their bodies?" It was hard for his voice to come out.
"Of course. Now you're thinking like you got to."
Rosemary fell to her knees and trembled, her mind and body coming back into themselves. She blew out a breath, trying to get a grip over her thoughts. That had been the second rat. It hadn't lasted any longer, it had been the same amount of time.
When she felt around the confinement, she realized the door above was made of wooden planks. She had run her fingers along the creases between the boards and started trying to budge between them with the heel of her dress shoe. However, the boards had been too tightly built together. She was trapped.
Afterwords, she had sunk back down to the concrete, wondering how long she would have to rest between using her power. That would be the only way out. If she could just get a good enough control over it, maybe she could run out as a rat if one of the masked men opened up the confinement. Or perhaps even, posses one of them.
No. The thought of killing someone made her sick. The rat thing was her best option.
She tried a third time, scurrying around, chewing a bit at the wood with sharp teeth. But as she left she felt nauseous. Hopefully the other rats would devour the dead ones. If no one actually came, they would make the place smell horrible. Not that it didn't already have the scent of that sewage, which was only amplified when sniffed through the rat.
She leaned back, and sighed, resting for a moment. Nathaniel and Alyssa. Would she ever get back? Would she miss college when it started? Would she see her niece born? What about her grandparents? Her face felt wet and droplets rolled down her cheeks. She let out another sigh, this one shaky as her chest tightened with despair.
What were the odds of really getting back? She didn't even know how she got to this world. Would she even make it long enough to start searching for answers?
"God," Rosemary felt herself saying out loud in a raspy voice. "If you really exist, if you know how I got here, please; please let me make it back. Please help me survive."
She lifted her hand and ran the other one over the mark. For now though, she could only listen quietly and wait. If someone came, she would have to be ready for it.
The hold was cold, and he felt the presence of another whaler approach. He let out a seething sigh and ran a hand through his hair. If Thomas were the one to open the hatch right now he wasn't sure if he would loose it and kill the damned fool on sight. The man was too up on his high-horse for being leader's bitch.
He sat up and hobbled to his feet, his muscles stiff from being a sitting position for likely over twenty-four hours. When he heard the metal bar being moved on the hatch, he had to cover his eyes with his hand as bright morning light flooded in. "Argh!" He growled out thought clenched teeth, rubbing his face.
It was Chester, his face tired and aged, and brown hair messy without his mask. "Alexsander, you're out now. Also, Thomas wants you right now."
Alexsander stiffened, trying to control his fuming breath, and stalked grudgingly out of the hold. The last thing he wanted was to spend more time in there. "What, I don't even get to eat something first?"
Chester unfastened his canteen from inside his coat. "I have water here. It's been boiled, so it's clean."
Alexsander huffed. Chester pushed it into his chest. "Do as I say and take it, or I wont offer it to you at any time in the future."
He hesitated, but with another shove from Chester he took it, gulping down the liquid as droplets trickled from his jaw. He re-caught his breath afterwords and gave the canteen back.
"Now let's go." Chester said, gesturing with his hand. He followed, a headache and nausea coming over him now that he was actually moving. He just wanted to eat bread and go to sleep somewhere warm.
Chester turned the corner. That wasn't right. "Wait, how come were not heading out?" Alexsander said, stopping. That was the way to the other confinements. What was Chester trying to pull?
"Thomas said to retrieve the girl as well. You will be assisting with her assessment."
He froze, and then broke out snickering. "What some kind of test for her because she's afraid of me? He saw how weak she was, so what does he really expect of her?" His voice was on edge, and he ran a hand through his curly red hair in agitation.
Chester quieted him by raising his hand.
They arrived at the hold the girl was staying in. Chester passed him a mask, and put one on himself. Then he moved the bar holding it in place.
They detected it a second before it happened. A rat darted quickly out of the hold, scurrying past their feet. It ran up the wall, and through a crack to the roof of the building.
"Well, she figured out possession without a rune." Chester said calmly, and then he blinked out to chase her. Alexsander did as well, and he reached the roof in time to see the girl leave the rat's body. Chester gripped both her arms behind her, and held her in place. The girl screamed, and tried to use possession on him, but she had run out of energy.
Chester laughed heartily. "Pretty daring for you to try and escape. But are these rat scratches on your wrist?" the girl looked away and he turned her around. "Are they?"
"Yes." the girl said quietly. Chester glanced at him. "Alexsander, go get vial of elixir. We've killed off a lot of plague rats, but I don't know about the one that scratched her."
The girl's eyes widened and she started to shake at his name. It made him feel slightly powerful. "On it." He said, his grin restored to his face beneath the mask.
I have noticed the quality and style of my writing varies. I really need to sit down and improve it.
School and homework annoyingly eats up a lot of my time, but this story has some followers already and it's not fair on my part if I don't update, so I'll put in more effort to do so from now on.