From time immemorial, humanity has fought against creatures of darkness and destruction, the creatures of Grimm.
Armed with the energy of mystical Dust and silver weapons, the Hunters stood guard over mankind.
But in the new era of industry and high technology, all this is about to change...
Chapter 1
Something was moving in the twilight of the forest.
Sunlight barely made its way through the lush treetops. Bright spots lay too rarely on the dusty asphalt of the old road. Much more along the way are squirmed frightening black streaks created by the cover of the branches.
The wheels kicked up the road dust with a tense roar. The bus increased speed, a pattern of contrasting light and dark spots quickly sliding along the sloping roof. The car belonged to the intercity line. It was an old model, rectangular in shape, with smooth edges and a lobed crew cabin, it looked like a loaf of factory bread. Round headlights and an oval, slightly elongated radiator mesh gave the bus a comical appearance, as if it was always surprised by something. The yellow and scarlet paint had long since faded, but the side lines of gilding sparkled as if polished, setting off the colors of the native Haven. All transport windows are cut across with sheets of armored blinds.
"This is Vale-Fort line number five, I repeat, we need a counter escort, confirmed contact with the Grimm! Come in!"
The mechanic pressed the corresponding button. There was no answer, just like five minutes ago. The driver shook his head with annoyance, without taking his eyes off the road outside the window.
"You just dropped a hefty fine on us both, now the Grimm better show up!"
"By the Light, bite your tongue," the mechanic snapped. "What should we do then, huh?"
Transport's team consisted of only two people, a mechanic and a driver. This seemed sufficient for simple travel on a safe, frequently patrolled highway. But the road was blocked, the checkpoint allowed only some cars through, the rest moved to the roundabout roads.
This road was once quite important for Vale, leading to one of the central agricultural forts in the area. But about forty years ago, railroads were laid there, and now communication was done mainly by trains. And with the traffic of passengers and goods leaving, regular patrols of outriders left the road.
The twilight hanging among the trees along the road seemed increasingly gloomy. The mechanic reached for the door under the dashboard of the car.
"What the?.. Are you crazy?" the driver snapped at him. "Don't you dare take out the weapon!"
"If a pack attacks us, we won't have time," the colleague answered sharply, fishing out the keys to the reinforced locker. "I'm not going to wait for some giant to topple us."
"You really are crazy..." the driver muttered.
The intercity transports' crew was nervous. The driver increased speed, causing the engines to growl disapprovingly. Then he clicked with some button to the side. Along all the windows of the passenger compartment, strips of armor slowly, languidly closed. There was an alarming murmur among the people.
Passengers didn't even suspect about the conversations in the cabin; the door was tightly shut. They were scared enough as it is. Many have used the line to Vale many times, the route was reliable, and attacks were unheard of here, just a couple of kilometers from the haven! When the bus suddenly turned onto one of the old roads, many looked around in surprise, trying to catch the expression on the faces of their neighbors. The old path was unkempt, there were no outriders cars nearby, there were no other cars at all. Many peered restlessly into the alarming twilight among the trees – what was it there? Does something seem to be moving?
When the window armor closed, it only reinforced the impression that things were going south and they were no longer safe – just ten kilometers from Vale! The best haven on the planet! The bus was full of ordinary people, workers and farmers, there were no outriders, no keepers, or even soldiers among them. And most definitely there were no hunters...
A woman with a child in her arms tried to stop shaking. The last thing she needed was for the child to wake up and start crying, sensing the mother's anxiety. She took a deep breath and glanced at the seat next to her, closer to the window. There a figure snored peacefully, wrapped in a shapeless cloak. He certainly doesn't care about anything... yet.
"This is the Vale Fort line number five." The mechanic's voice clearly told that he considered the radio useless. "I repeat we need a counter escort. We have a contact... What the...?"
Sharply cutting himself, he, without even turning off the radio, leaned against the window. The driver followed his gaze. Off to the side, among the tree trunks, among the black strokes of cover filled branches and rare spots of light between them, there moved... they.
Grimm. Three – or five? Lean creatures that look like dogs or wolves with long tails that seem to fly through the air, and thin paws. They seemed almost graceful, as if gliding through the darkness of a dense forest, moving with ease through the dense undergrowth. But the people in the car had no desire to admire the deadly grace of their enemy.
The creatures of Grimm have come to kill them! People. And they easily maintained the pace with the car going at full speed!
"Contact with Grimm, by the Light!" the mechanic barked. "Contact with Grimm! We need help, damn you! Vale, answer!
He clicked the button and, without waiting for an answer, turned to the weapons cabinet.
"Only ten kilometers left..." the driver began unconvincingly.
The lock clicked and the mechanic stood up, holding two semi-automatic shotguns in his hands. The weapon matched the transport: angular, second-hand and unsightly. But it looks quite serviceable.
"And what do you propose?" the driver said angrily. "We don't know how many there are!"
The mechanic silently clicked cartridges, loading the weapon.
"What, stop the car and make a circle-stand? Two of us?"
The colleague put down one shotgun and started working on the second.
"Or are you going to give out a call to the passengers? If we had soldiers on board, they would already be knocking on the door!" the driver snorted angrily. "We have only one way, add gas."
A large overhead wrench was fastened to the driver's seat in a special mount, which was used to turn the nuts on the wheels. The mechanic, still in gloomy silence, unfastened the wrench, put it on the floor further away and fastened the shotgun in.
"Weapon mounts are supposed to be kept free," he said dryly.
"And you're the one who put it there!"
"I know."
He stood up and turned to the door to the salon, weapon in his hands.
"Don't bother," the driver said with resign. "What's the point in it? You will only be scaring people... Maybe that's why they came...
"We don't know why the Grimm are coming," the mechanic answered gloomily. "Don't you read scientific journals?"
He grabbed the door handle and...
A powerful blow shook the body of the vehicle, it seemed as if someone had thrown a bag of potatoes at the wall of the bus. Or a weighty creature crashed into him with acceleration. The mechanic could barely stand on his feet in surprise, grabbing the back of his chair.
Frightened screams were heard in the cabin. The driver pressed the pedal again, causing the engines to roar. To his horror, a red light immediately flashed on the dashboard.
"Oh screw you..." he drawled.
"I knew it," the mechanic breathed out. "The camera can't stand it any longer, we'll burn the coils! Don't you dare to push anymore!"
"So what then, huh?"
"Don't even think about it, it wasn't enough for us to stand firm here! The radio is dead, you realized it yourself! We only have four guns on board and a bunch of civilians who..."
There was a demanding knock on the door.
"Of course..." the mechanic muttered.
"Just tell them it's just..."
"Yes, I know what to say!"
He sharply opened the doors.
"Please remain calm, everything is under control, passengers should not leave their seats while the vehicle is moving."
The memorized words were put in front like a cardboard shield – the false illusion of hope that everything was actually under control. The stranger in the cloak lowered his hand. The mechanic froze in surprise. He was expecting a small crowd just outside the door, angry cries of alarm from frightened passengers. But there was only a man in a cloak with a hood. The passengers behind him sat in their seats, looking at the stranger with slight bewilderment.
"Hello." The voice from under the hood was thin and melodic. "I wanted to know what's going on? "
The hood fell over her shoulders, revealing even in the half-light of the dark salon a pile of short tousled black hair with reddish tips.
"I mean I already understand what's going on," the girl said calmly, "but I'd like to know how many there are. Maybe we should just stop so I can get rid of them?"
The mechanic, slightly taken aback at first, came to his senses.
"Stopping along the way without a reason is prohibited, miss, you should know this, and..."
"Yes, I know. It's just that if there is only a couple of Grimm, I can get rid of them in a minute."
The beautiful face looked almost childish, with an open gaze of silver eyes. She looked like a teenager, fifteen years old at most! But she said it with stunning normality. The mechanic raised his eyebrows in shock at this statement. Then he frowned.
"Miss, return to your seat. This is not some kind of game..."
The bus shook again. Then again. The passengers finally burst into exclamations of alarm, and many stood up.
The girl turned around sharply and raised her hands in front of her:
"Calm down!" The almost childish voice suddenly became demanding and loud. "Everything will be fine! I'm a hunter."
A minute ago, at the first hit, the girl said the same thing, knocking down the first wave of panic. The statement had an effect again. The passengers, although with mistrust on their faces, sat back down. The mechanic rubbed his head under his cap in surprise.
"Hunter? Miss, we'd know if we had a hunter on board."
The girl simply shrugged under her baggy cloak.
"So you didn't know."
The engines roared again, with a hint of despair.
"Excuse me..."
The girl busily squeezed past the mechanic into the cabin, so deftly that he didn't even have time to hold her up.
"Scuse me, but I think we need to slow down," she spoke to the driver." You don't want to get stuck in the middle of the forest, filed with Grimm, do you? I take it the radio is faulty?"
"I don't know what's wrong with the radio," the driver snapped. "What else do you want from me, we only have one chance, rush out to the Wall early! And who are you anyway?"
"I'm a hunter," the girl repeated calmly. "And I want you to slow down the bus, I've never worked at that speed. And how many are there?"
She stepped out between the seats and stared out the window. The Grimm slid ominously around the bus, already openly walking on the road.
"Oh, at least ten..."
"Hunter?" the driver was surprised. "I didn't think that a hunter was coming with us..."
"If you are a hunter, miss," his colleague intervened, "then why didn't you register when buying a ticket?"
"That is not compulsory," the girl said evenly.
"And it requires a license, eh?" the driver astutely noted.
"That too." She said unabashedly, and also added: "They're trying to get in through the roof, if you slow down, I'll..."
"What?!"
The mechanic rushed into the compartment and, looking at the ceiling, groaned angrily:
"Well, of course!"
The ventilation hatches were both slightly open! They were so panicked that they forgot about the most basics precautions. He rushed to the hatch and grabbed the handle.
"No, no, no!"
The girl was next to him again, grabbing his hand:
"Open this one and close the other one. It's better if we don't risk opening the doors, I'll just take a position on the roof."
"I can't believe my ears..." the mechanic groaned. "Are you still talking about this? I won't let the child..."
"I'm not a child," the girl interrupted calmly, but with obvious anger." I'm a hunter. So let me do my job, mister!"
And she suddenly jumped, deftly grabbing the edge of the hatch with her hands. Then she easily pulled herself up, examining the locks.
"Open the locks and step away."
She jumped to the floor.
"You know how to open locks, right?"
Unexpected business-like, almost dismissive tone rubbed him the wrong way. The mechanic hesitated for a second, deciding whether to just whack the little brat over the head and kick her back into the seat. But if she really is a hunter, this will not end well...
"If you are a hunter," he suddenly caught up, "then where is your focus?"
The girl chuckled and a thin hand appeared from under her cloak, clutching a silver cross.
"I won't transform the weapon inside, it's too big," the girl said with a note of superiority.
The bus shook again. Amidst the alarming murmur, a distinct sob was heard, followed by the irritating cry of a child. The woman, next to whom the unexpected hunter was sitting, with a doomed face began to rock her offspring.
"Aghh, Grimm tear you!"
The mechanic looked around, rubbing the back of his head. Then he quickly went into the cabin.
"What is it?"
He ignored the driver's question and, grabbing the keys to lock the hatch, rushed back out. The girl calmly waited until he stood on the chair and removed the locks. Then he pushed the hatch out.
"I don't know what you're up to..." the mechanic said, jumping to the floor, "but try..."
Without any movement, the figure in front of him suddenly evaporated with a slight "wursht", leaving for a moment a cloud of reddish streaks, similar to falling petals.
"...not to die," he finished in shock.
He expected anything from the child... but this beat it all. The girl was a full-fledged semblance user. The cloak fell through the hatch. The man looked up swiftly. The hunter made a good-natured grin.
"I'm too good to die."
She pointedly put out her hand with a cross – and the silver metal flowed as if alive, turning into a weapon.
The girl stood up on the roof to her full height, the wind ruffled her already tousled black hair and the hem of her dark pleated plaid skirt. She was short and lean, wearing a light brown jumper with a pattern – red flowers wrapped around her slender figure, ending in the area of the modest chest.
"Well then, Ruby," she said nasally, "your first mission..."
The bus was flying through a pattern of light and shadow, kicking up clouds of dust behind it. And all around lean Grimm was gliding on the old asphalt of the road and along the overgrown roadsides. They maintained the pace with ease, huddling around like a pack of predators around hunted game.
The focus in the girl's hand turned into a long pump-action shotgun. She skillfully raised her weapon – and the very first shot sent one of the creatures of Grimm tumbling.
"Awesome! Dust powder is worth it."
There was a strange low sound, like a short, low growl from somewhere far away. Except it was coming from the Grimm, easily blocking the roar of the engines. The enemy noticed her.
The Grimm scattered, raising their dark elongated muzzles upward. The huntress accurately fired a couple of charges at the other Grimm, but the third creature dodged, falling slightly behind the group.
The bus was rocked by new impacts. Ruby dropped to her knee, she was unused to keep her balance on a vehicle going so fast. But the roof of the bus was conveniently covered with corrugation, just for such a case, apparently. Immediately jumping to her feet, the girl stepped to the side and took out two more with a series of shots.
"Hm…"
More Grimm jumped out of the forest, just a few, but the girl knew that there were more of them. Grimm was always more numerous than what you've bargained for. She hastily aimed to the side and...
A sharp blow occurred almost simultaneously with the roar of the engines, which increased their speed. Ruby fell awkwardly to her knee, knocked down by inertia of the vehicle.
"Oh dammit!"
The huntress hurriedly rushed to the hatch. There was no mechanic, she lay down on her stomach and hung down:
"HEY! I told you to slow down!"
There was an unintelligible answer to her shouting. Ruby raised her ear, puzzled, then shouted again:
"Just slow down, that's all! I'll figure it out myself, but you'll throw me off if you gonna gas like crazy!
She promptly stood up, and another blow to the body of the car dropped her again to her knee.
"Light damn it!"
Obviously, the driving man was not going to listen to her. Well, nothing can be done there, she needed to thin out the flock...
Usually her boots thundered even on simple asphalt, and on the steel roof of a bus much more so, but now the roar of the engine drowned out even that. Ruby jumped to her right side and took aim...
The Grimm jumped out at her from the side like a living ink stain, she barely had time to dodge the sidewise swing of the razor sharp claws.
"Oh? You've come to play face to face?"
Grimm stood on the roof, about the height of a girl's waist. Like a big dog, made of something black and fluid, shrouded in pure darkness. Ruby fearlessly looked into the slanting white eyes of the monster.
The creature rushed forward – and a crushing kick threw it back. A shod boot slammed into the Grimm's chest, knocking it over onto the roof of the bus. The huntress raised her already shape-changing weapon.
In a rushing kaleidoscope of light and shadow, a silver semicircle of a sharpened blade flashed.
The scythe fell like a punishment from higher powers, cutting into the metal under the Grimm. The creature twitched convulsively and fell, black smoke splashed out of the massive wound.
Snatching the weapon from her body, Ruby grabbed it with both hands and swung it in a low stance, as if she was planning to cut something down. The target fell heavily onto the roof of the bus – the scythe flashed at the same moment, cutting its thin paws. There was a short squeal of Grimm, just as distorted and strange, like a sound coming from afar. Inertia turned the girl around, but that was exactly what was needed – she kicked the crippled creature off, turning to face a new opponent.
The Grimm began to climb onto the bus, jumping as they ran, as if an invisible force was carrying them through the air. Or maybe the thin paws were simply very strong. The first creature of Grimm rushed to attack and Rose swept it away with a wide swing, cutting off its head with precision. She turned around again as if in a dance and, grabbing the weapon with one hand, swung her scythe again, reaching with outer edge the other Grimm's muzzle. The creature jumped back with a squeal and tumbled under the car's wheel. The bus shook, not as much as before.
The two Grimm who had just climbed up in the back of the bus hesitated. The scythe changed and turned into a shotgun again. Ruby grinned.
There was a dry click.
"Oh no."
She forgot to reload the gun.
"What a fool!"
The Grimm jumped on her together, planning to crush her.
"Gyaaah!"
Dodging the claws from the side, she almost jumped off the roof. With a miraculous half-turn, the girl crashed the shaft of her scythe that appeared in her hand into the claw-filled paws of the Grimm. The huntress was strong and resilient, but even she groaned from the pressure of the monster. Grimm pressed her into the roof, crushing her under him and... a powerful kick sent her somersaulting over the victim.
Ruby rolled away from the attack of the first creature and briefly stabbed with her scythe like a spear, the double-edged blade hit the creature, causing it to jump back. But the huntress did not allow the Grimm to get away; a short step and a wide swing cut off the Grimm's paws. With a splash of dark smoke, the monster took off on a short flight onto the asphalt.
The second Grimm was right above her again, its mouth open – too close for her long weapon. Jaws snapped right next to her dark hair. Ruby riskily stood on one leg, sharply stamping the other into the monster. scythe gracefully went behind the Grimm's neck – and the girl strongly pushed the monster away. Her blade was never screeching, but now Rose felt it tear through black flesh – or whatever the Grimm had – and scrape against the steel of her boot. The monster's head flopped onto the roof, the body followed to... slide away, falling into the open hatch.
"Oh!"
Frightened screams ring out from the bus. Ruby hurriedly looked inside.
"Everything is fine, it's already dead, everything is ok! Sorry!" she added awkwardly.
The idea of closing the hatch came to mind... The girl didn't have time to mull it over when the bus shook again and the engines roared quite desperately.
"Damn it all!"
She hurriedly picked up the hatch and overturned it when the bus shook again. Standing up, she saw the reason.
At least a dozen Grimm ran towards the bus head-on.
"Oh, no, no, no, no!"
Ruby rushed forward, boots clattering on the roof of the vehicle. She fell on her stomach on the roof of the cabin and banged on the glass.
"No, wait, you will turn over the bus!"
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the white face of the driver and the twisted in a scream face of the mechanic. Then the bus loudly crashed into the Grimm on the road, burying a couple under the wheels and knocking down everyone else like bowling pins.
It seemed like the whole world had turned upside down. It took Ruby a second to realize that she was still spread-eagled on the roof... but the roof was tilting dangerously to the side!
Out of pure instinct, the girl bounced to her feet and desperately jumped up, bending her knees forcefully. Heeled boots slammed into the roof, making a crash as loud as a Grimm's blows.
And thanks to this effort – or maybe it didn't do anything? – the bus still stood on its wheels. Unfortunately, the engines did not sound encouraging at all. The speed of the vehicle began to decrease sharply. Rose leaned dangerously onto the cockpit window:
"Stop! STOP!"
It was hard to tell whether the crew heard her or not; they were too busy shouting at each other. But the bus slowed down. The Grimm also slowed down, knowingly surrounding it from all sides.
There was a smell of burning in the air. Rose looked around, only to see a noticeable black cloud rising from the right side of the bus. Probably one of the engines.
Having shaped the shotgun, Ruby clutched it under her armpit and ran her hand over the thin, wide bracelet on her left hand–her charging plate. Handling cartridges with the agile fingers, she loaded the weapon.
The vehicle, with few jerks, awkwardly stopped in place, as if an exhausted animal had finally given up, unable to continue the race. The Grimm was purposefully gathering around, unperturbed by the losses. There were still plenty of them. Several rattled their claws on the roof behind Rose. The girl looked around absentmindedly and moved away from the edge.
Then she took a short run and jumped.
The mechanic was already aiming right through the front glass in panic when the huntress simply crushed the first Grimm in front of the bus in the landing like a dry branch.
The Grimm on the side made an awkward lunge, but Ruby simply spun around, letting it pass, and kicked one in front of her, carelessly clearing the way. The Grimm leaned forward – a wide swing of the scythe made them retreat, the slowest one was hit in the face with a blade and let out a short squeal. The scythe turned into a silver circle, raising dust from the asphalt, then gradually slowed down and gracefully went behind Rose's back.
The Grimm grumbled lowly as they crouched to the ground. The girl slowly arched her whole body with a grin, like a coil, spring to the point of breaking...
As if darkness had come to life, the Grimm rushed at the huntress, the scythe evaporated – the next moment Rose took off, crashing into the darkness that enveloped her, shrouded in strokes of silver. The ferocious blows of the blade cut through paws and heads, pierced dark flesh like butter, without slowing down one bit.
The momentum of the first attack turned Ruby around several times, she almost crashed into the attacking jaws, but managed to dodge, receiving an elbow to the head and the Grimm squealed. Then steel crossed her neck. Another Grimm received a short poke in the chest with a shaft, then a blow to the head with the back of a scythe, another creature was hit with a wide swing.
The bus crew watched as a crowd of Grimm were unable to even get close to the girl. She seemed to be dancing around raging monsters. Without much finesse or grace, but deadly and swift. One swing again hit the two, and as she was flying, the girl sharply shot herself forward and her scythe crashed into the head of the Grimm who had jumped too close. One creature passed low and tried to get her leg, but it bit into the void, and its head was instantly pinned to the ground by a shoed boot. Ruby, in a turn, stood on the enemy, crushing him into the ground, and swung high, cutting through the Grimm in a jump, then in a turn, she hit low again, cutting off three legs of the other two Grimm.
The enemy was advancing. A wide swing cleared the way to the right, but the Grimm rise up from behind. Ruby jumped back and almost crashed into her low-lying opponent. The mouth closed on her leg... and snapped on nothing. Crimson petals appeared behind the Grimm, and the scythe sank into the creature's back. Fiercely pursing her lips, the huntress disappeared into the air again, and sideways swing fell from a scarlet cloud at the Grimm a couple of meters from the place where she had just stood. Grimm collapsed, cut in half, and Ruby aimed straight at the bus.
Driver and mechanic simultaneously jerked as the gun burst out with flame three times. A pair of Grimm, missing paws and heads, slid down the windshield.
The Grimm rushed at the hunter from behind, gaping mouth and paws outspread, in a suicidal leap. Rose turned around briefly – the barrel of the shotgun with a dull crunch entered a couple of palms in length.
"I don't like you."
A shot blew the Grimm to pieces. Ruby shook her hands off with disgust.
"It's rude to attack a girl without asking."
Silence suddenly fell over the battlefield. Usually on the forest road one would hear the serene singing of birds hidden in the branches, but with all this mess with a Grimm, even the insects hastily evacuated. Now the observers could only hear the sound of blood in their ears – from all this adrenaline. Rose looked around with purpose.
"Well... I think that's all," she said, then make a loud breath: "Huuuf... This is more intense than hunting by yourself..."
The girl threw her scythe over the shoulder like some kind of stick and stretched with pleasure. She was surrounded by a grayish haze of defeated Grimm slowly melting into the air.
The crew finally came to their senses. The driver slumped back in his seat, scratching the back of his head. The mechanic leaned on the dashboard.
"Yeeah," the driver drawled. "I thought we were done for."
"If only someone hadn't been burning our engines," the mechanic muttered. "Speaking of engines..."
Soon both of them, armed with guns and a bag of tools both, carefully exited the bus. The passengers slowly calmed down, the mother managed to soothe the frightened child. Ruby walked among the remains of her work, busily poking at them with a silver spear.
"Hey, this is…" the driver began but stopped.
"What?"
"I thought... Well, you had a scythe, didn't you?"
The girl grinned.
"A hunter has many tools."
She changed her focus to the shotgun and raised it triumphantly in front of her.
"Ta-da! I have a gun!"
The girl spun around herself, as if in a dance, making her skirt splash over her hips, and hummed several melodic notes. But now the frivolous tone didn't fooled nobody. The crew members couldn't help but chuckle.
"We noticed... Is it safe here? I mean, it seems like it's quiet, but..."
The forest was still drowning in contrasting strokes of light and shadow. Who knows what could be hiding in the darkness of the wilderness...
The huntress shrugged absentmindedly.
"Even so, I'm not even injured yet. So everything will be fine."
Mentioning of the injuries immediately reminded the men that this was still a young girl. Almost a child. But they remained silent. The pile of dead Grimm spoke for itself – even if it gradually dissolved into oblivion. Went back to where the beasts came from.
A checking of the engine showed that it had indeed burned out. The tinkering took some time, but the crew, with joint efforts, managed to bypass the problem. Huntress ware pacing on the roof of the car, watching the forest closely. Passengers were chatting and exchanging opinions. Some complained, others were just trying to understand what happened. A couple of men became spirited enough to step outside with offering of help, and soon the bus started to growl again. Somewhat lopsided, but not as desperate as before.
"The dust chamber is not damaged, so that's a plus..." mechanic muttered. "The charge in the circuit still remains?"
"No, everything is fine," driver answered. "Well, all things considered... Hey, try the radio again."
"Well, yeah, I bet now that it's all over with..." his colleague muttered gloomily, taking the radio from the fastening.
When the dispatcher from Haven responded to his first request, he suppressed an angry curse. After a short report on the attack, woman on the other side of the call answered, dumbfounded:
"But... we didn't receive any calls from you! Are you sure your equipment is not malfunctioning?"
Having suppressed the multi-leveled structure of his verbal opinion about the radio operators, their company and the Vail police force, the mechanic once again repeated the report according to the protocol.
"We will send you an escort," was the final answer.
Looking outside, the mechanic called:
"Miss Huntress! Come back to the salon, we're leaving.
"I want to stay on top."
The answer came from above his head, causing him to gasp in fear. He looked up, the girl was looking at him standing on the roof, leaning dangerously.
"Not supposed to do it like that..."
"Oh, come on, I think I deserved a little special treatment."
The mechanic paused, curling his lips skeptically.
"I've never been to Vale!" the girl blurted out. "I really want to see the Wall! Here is the best view."
The man chuckled and waved his hand.
"Okay, whatever you say, but I'll have to take you down when we get to the city. I mean, I don't even know how the outriders will react when they see you..."
The girl simply shrugged it off and stepped away. Soon the bus set off again along the forest road, cutting through a pattern of light and shadow. Heading to the safety of Vale, the largest Haven on the planet.
Author's note:
I hope you enjoyed the story. I'm not a native English speaker so this text is a translation, please leave a comment if my prose is weird and/or noticeably wrong.