Chapter One – In Life as In Death
Crucifixus was changing. Although it was a city still gripped by darkness and pestilence, changes were to be found in the wake of Rotti Largo's death. Even in taking steps to ensure none of his ungrateful children were able to control GeneCo after his passing, Rotti's three offspring still stood at the helm of the world's most powerful company.
Amber, now the president and CEO of GeneCo, exuded an authoritative facade but her many changing faces belied her calm exterior. She still had much to prove but she would step on anyone she needed to in achieving her goals. Since his father's death, Luigi Largo's life began to spin faster out of control. Well, according to others that is. The killing sprees he had 'indulged' in during Rotti's rule had become more frequent and much, much darker. He had evolved his style to become indiscriminate, lashing out at random citizens on the street, thrusting a knife or sword straight through their organs. And then there was Pavi. Pavi Largo, although a complete law unto himself even during his father's reign; had managed to remove himself even further from reality. The glass fronted cabinets that lined his private rooms were still filled with the human flesh removed from still warm bodies. But now, these grisly trophies were joined by something wickeder. Alongside the former identities of Pavi's 'girls' lay small canisters and vases containing samples of human hair, hazy bodily fluids and several glazed over eyeballs.
It was safe to say that to any outsider, to any curious onlooker that chose to see; could easily spot the cracks in the seemingly flawless facade of GeneCo if they knew where to look. And GraveRobber was one of those people.
Perched up high on one of the cities outer walls, he had a perfect view of the evening's proceedings. A spectacular party was in progress in the city's main square, devilled shrieks of laughter, of fear and of pleasure rang out below him. Kicking his boots against the heavy stone of the wall, GraveRobber watched as hundreds of citizens flocked through the already gathered throngs of people. He looked beyond these figures though, these 'innocent' bystanders and instead focused of the darkened graveyards and mortuaries beyond. The death toll in the city never fell; GeneCo would always turn a pretty penny from this macabre circle of life. But to GraveRobbers, this also meant big business. In the dirt and dust of the cities underbelly, the dead lay silent. Each corpse a promised goldmine for those who knew how to extract the bounty.
Checking beneath him, GraveRobber let himself slip forward off the wall and landed lightly on scrub brush below. Straightening his coat and pulling the collar closer around his face, he began to make his way around the boarders of the thronging revellers. Clinging deftly to the shadows, he was keen not to be recognised by any of the GeneCo cronies or the Largo family. On more than one occasion, the GraveRobber had been spotted by one of Amber's lackeys and hauled up in front of their boss. That, he remembered, was the last time he had seen her, having gotten what she wanted, Amber had instructed her bodyguards to string him upside down and leave him for the dogs.
The air grew cooler as he reached the entrance to the mausoleum, the path in complete darkness. Burnt out torches lined the moss and creeper strewn walls, but GraveRobber didn't need a light to lead him inside; he'd been here many times before. In-front of him stood a great brass structure, minute detail picked out in peeling gold leaf. These crypts were kept for those with families of money, or for those with a guilty enough conscience to see their departed loved ones treated to a better after life then their waking years.
Running a finger along the raised outline of the corner wall, GraveRobber pushed down until he heard the familiar sound of brick grazing brick. Smiling knowingly, he turned and pressed his shoulder into the wall and felt the stone give under the pressure. Pushing loose several of the large bricks into the mausoleum itself, GraveRobber dusted himself off and lifted himself up through the crawlspace he had created.
It was musty inside; daylight never made it this far inside the structure. It was seen as more fitting to keep the insides dark in honour of the dead. If light was needed for mourning or, any other activities wayward citizens indulged in there; a complex system of candles on different levels lined the walls and could be lit with a single flame. Many of the candles however lay broken and burnt through, it was obvious no-one had visited this crypt in a long time.
Skulls of rats and decayed leaves crunched underfoot as he made his way into the inner sanctum. Cobwebs lay thick on the walls, strung like party streamers throughout the dark corridor. And then he saw it, well; smelt it. People do not believe that death has a scent whereas in reality, it is sharp and distinct. Of course, the type of death suffered affects the odour but the fate that comes to us all will always smell the same.
Nudging aside a number of dusty bodies, GraveRobber found what he was looking for. The body was still wrapped in its transportation plastic, still awaiting its final trip into the depths of the crypt. Taking a knife from his pocket, GraveRobber slid the blade easily through the thin sheeting and pushed it aside. The face that looked up at him was young, not more than twenty GraveRobber reasoned to himself. The empty gaze of her dead eyes saw nothing. An almost content grin bent the corpse's mouth, as if she had welcomed death.
"Death be not proud" GraveRobber breathed, leaning over the fresh body. There were no signs of surgery, no struggle between life and death.
"How did you go my pretty?" his lips were inches from the corpse, breath spreading over the greying skin "How did you cheat this life?"
Not waiting for answer, even if one was forthcoming from the girl laying cold in front of him, GraveRobber laid out his tools on the floor at his feet, inserting a needle into a large syringe.
"Forgive me" GraveRobber breathed as he leant down over the corpse, hovering inches above her pale face. She had been beautiful in life he thought, someone's cherished daughter. Inching forward, GraveRobber placed a kiss on the pale lips of the young girl, lingering for a moment before pulling away. A small noise of amusement escaped his throat as he smiled while inserting the long needle directly into the young girls face. Pulling the syringes plunger back slowly, he saw the neon blue of pure Zydrate trickling slowly in and filling the vial.
Screwing the lid of the vial tightly shut, he held it up to examine the contents. It was pure, the clearness of the blue reflecting onto the walls of the crypt. Pocketing the vial, GraveRobber began to wrap his tools back into the leather sleeve when he noticed something out of the corner of eye. It was flicker in the darkness, maybe even a shadow. Something or someone had passed in front of the candles in the dark hallway. GraveRobber froze as he saw it again, a hand halfway to the knife he kept clasped to his thigh. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to let it come near him. Tucking the pouch of tools away, GraveRobber leant forward and crept silently to the corner of the crypt. He pressed his body flat against the wall and listened. This wasn't one of GeneCo's scouting parties; their guards were loud and obvious, clumsily flattening everything around them. The faint scratching he had heard whispered again from the entrance to the inner chamber, someone was inside with him.
The sound of stone crashing to the ground made him jump, a cloud of dust seeping its way through the air around him. Turning quickly into the chambers corridor, GraveRobber could see a piercing ray of light ahead of him and the shadow of a figure looking up into the tunnel above. He only caught the outline of a face but it was unmistakably female, shadows sitting heavily under her jaw as she looked up into the light. Bending down to pick up a bag at her feet, the sound of clinking glass rang out around the tunnel as she fastened the bag to her back. Looking up the corridor, her gaze met his, a brief smile crossing her lips. GraveRobber felt his breath catch, she was beautiful. But the meeting was to be short-lived and with a wink she was gone, jumping upwards and grabbing hold of the loose stone before hauling herself through the gap. Above him, he heard the muffled sound of hurried footsteps on stone. A final crash echoed through the mausoleum and then silence.
Walking slowly towards the gap in the tunnels ceiling, GraveRobber looked up into the floor above and tried to figure out what the hell had just happened.
Authors Note: Thanks for reading this far, it really means a lot. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if you'd like to see me more; all you need to do is drop me a review and tell me what you thought. Thanks again.