Post by Casi on Mar 19, 2007 15:25:27 GMT 10
Okay, here's the sitch. I decided not to put this in my designated fiction section because I didn't actually write this. I adapted it. What follows is my novelization of Fray, the comic book written by Joss Whedon that is the canon future of the Buffyverse. Some members had expressed a desire to read it, but a general dislike of comics, so this is for them. I don't own Fray, nor any of it's characters and since this is just a pinch more against the rules than writing plain old fanfic, I hope you guys won't call Mutant Enemy on me. 
be warned, I don't have a real beta for this one since my bestest beta is reading the comic and I didn't want to spoil her.
If you do enjoy what you've read here, feel free to let me know. I'm setting up a feedback thread for my fiction in general in my section.
Chapter One: Big City Girl
Darkness.
“She is discovered,” rumbled a deep, forbidding voice.
“We’re certain it’s she?” came a hissing reply.
“We are.”
“No one has been called for two thousand years. The signs are dim,” retorted the sibilant voice.
“Never the less, the watchers have found her as well.”
Something shifted restlessly in the darkness.
“The watchers. Lunatics and fools.” The voice hissed in irritation.
“They mean to approach her. To begin the cycle anew,” the first voice ground out roughly.
“That must not be!” its companion snapped angrily.
A moment’s silence…
“Do you fear her?” the first voice rumbled.
“You overstep your bounds,” came the insolent reply. “She must not be intercepted.”
“We have summoned Urkonn.” No note of apology colored the gravely voice. “He will deal with her.”
Another moment passed in silence.
“He had best. For his own sake,” hissed the second voice.
“He’ll not fail. She’s but a mortal.”
“What is she called?” the second voice asked, no emotion betraying its interest.
“Fray.” The first voice rumbled. “Melaka Fray.”
“And she has no idea what is to come.” It was not a question.
“Just a human, among ten billion others. Living out the same dull, pointless existence.” The voice sounded almost bored. “Not the slightest clue that come day’s end she can say goodbye to her quiet life.
***
It had been a bad day. Started bad…stayed that way. Mel had woken up sore from the previous night and more tired than when she had gone to sleep. Every muscle ached and no amount of stretching or massaging could get out all the kinks. Breakfast wasn’t even as much of a pick me up as she’d hoped. She hadn’t found the fingernail till she’d been chewing on it and her mood had not improved. But the real crowning moment had to be the visit with Gunther, forcing her into a job when she was already spent.
Tough one too. In the Uppers.
All that was bad enough…but Ruebrin’s boys, showing up on her grab, well that hadn’t been pleasant.
Mel took a deep breath as her feet left the ground, raising her gun though she knew it was pointless. Gravity was a bitch sometimes and as she toppled over the edge of the building she fired wildly at her attackers, hoping to main, kill…hell she’d take a mild queasiness at this point. Hot electricity shot upwards as she plummeted downwards, but aside from sending a tiny shock through her hand as she squeezed the trigger too hard had no effect whatsoever. Being pushed off a building had not exactly been part of her master plan…but she had to admit…it was kinda fun.
On top of the building, one short, pudgy goon peered over the edge.
“Jesu! You killed her!” he exclaimed, sounding more shocked than the situation seemed to warrant. His companion, on the other hand, was running for the door to the stairwell.
“Not her,” he said simply.
Mel tumbled through the air. The trick was to use every obstacle possible, turning one big drop, into a lot of little ones. The first impact was not ideal. She landed half on top of the hood of a dingy cab zooming by on the fifth level of traffic and her back made a funny crunching sound that she knew wasn’t good. She slid off before the driver even had a chance to register what had just hit him.
The second impact was a bit better. At least she landed on her feet. “Sorry,” she said hastily to its inhabitants of the sporty convertible, though it was futile. The man in the passenger seat knocked her off with hardly a pause, adding one more bruise to the multitude. She grabbed wildly as she fell and caught hold of a TV antenna, barely hanging on without pulling her arm out of socket. But it couldn’t hold her weight and snapped cleanly in half as she struggled to catch her breath.
That was it then. The ground rushed towards her at a very unfriendly speed. Mel braced herself, tried to twist and land on her feet, but it was much too late for that. She smashed into the pavement face first, hardly feeling the pain in the shock of impact.
Ruebrin’s boys reached the street a few minutes later, and Mel still lay still as death on the ground. Her dark blue hair stretched across her face, fading to purple at the tips, hiding was surely a ruined face. She looked like an old rag doll that had been tossed out the window.
“See? You killed her!” exclaimed the fat little thug.
“Not her,” his companion said again.
Without preamble, the taller man grabbed Mel by the arm and hauled her off the ground just a bit. Her eyes were open and foggy, and a smear of blood ran across her face. The corner of her mouth had torn on impact along an old, fine scar that slashed upwards across her cheek.
“I’ll get up innnaminnn….” she mumbled incoherently. “Erin, the alarms still….wazzzgoinon?” And then she blinked. The fogginess disappeared and she snapped to awareness almost instantaneously.
The taller man hauled Mel up into the air. Her feet dangled almost a foot above the ground. She’d tangled with him before…one of Ruebrin’s regulars. Don, she thought his name might be. He was a pump. He’d been so riddled with steroids, electric tissue enhancements, and genetic meddling that he was practically invulnerable.
“Just give us the grab,” Don said calmly, as though tossing girls off of buildings was something he did every day. And it probably was. “Don’t make a scene.”
Almost invulnerable…almost. Mel struck for his knee first. No amount of tampering could take away all a man’s weaknesses, and he toppled predictably. The other goon made a grab for her, but Mel punched him hard right in the eye. She was tired, and weaker from the fall than she wanted either of them to know, but her punch still had more power than anyone generally expected. She gave Don a good shot to the groin just to make sure he was out of commission. And then she remembered. The short guy…he had had a gun.
Mel reached wildly for her holster. Her gun had been in her hand when she jumped. Her eyes raked the ground wildly and she saw it a few feet away. Diving wildly, she grabbed it up and spun just in time to see the barrel of a gun pointing right at her forehead. Her own gun was pointed at her assailant, and her hand did not shake. For a split second, there was silence.
“Well. It appears we have a standoff,” said the fat little man, as sweat rolled off his forehead in rivers.
A standoff? Hell with that.
Mel pulled the trigger without thought to the recourse. These guys, they were always all talk. He didn’t even try to shoot her in retaliation. As electricity sizzled in the air between him, the little man howled in agony, clutching his face.
“Oh my god! My eyes! You’ve killed me!” He rolled about pathetically on the ground. Mel almost felt sorry for him. She crouched down over his huddled form.
“I didn’t kill you, I gave you a message,” she said, condescendingly. “Tell Ruebrin to keep his claws off Gunther’s grab.”
“I can’t see!” moaned the man pathetically, and Mel rolled her eyes.
“Hey! Pay attention! Gunther works the west side. Ruebrin starts pushing, there’s going to be a war. You ready for war? Haddyn’s a big district. Everybody sticks to themselves, everybody gets happy. If not…” But Mel didn’t finish her thought. A car had come into view trundling above them on the first level of traffic. Without pausing to think, she leapt into the air and grabbed onto the undercarriage. Hitching a free ride was so much easier when the drivers didn’t know you were there. She left Ruebrin’s lackey sobbing on the ground without a backward glance.
***
Mel’s temper had not improved as she strode into Gunther’s office. The tiny little man who opened the door for her scowled menacingly.
”You’re late,” he barked by way of a greeting.
“You’re fat,” Mel responded, not even bothering to look at him.
The office was pitch dark. “He’ll be a minute,” the drone informed her before slamming the door, taking the last of the light with him. Mel hated waiting. She hated it even more when she’d just nearly killed herself for the man. But with Gunther, one thing could always been counted on. He liked to make an entrance.
The lights switched on all at once and Mel looked down. The floor of the office was made of clear glass over top of a water filled room beneath it. Gunther floated in the middle, staring up at her. As far as Radies go, he wasn’t that bad. So many people had been mutated by the sun’s rays or by their parents, everyone had pretty much gotten used to living in a sideshow.
Gunther was one of the more unfortunate ones. Mel had once seen a picture of a Mermaid in a children’s picture book and she supposed, with a little imagination, Gunther could be seen as something like that. He certainly had the tail. But that was really where the similarities ended. His skin was a dark purple, and his fingers were webbed. Stray tendrils of flesh extended down his arms and from his face, giving him the over all appearance of a rather vicious cat fish. And yet, even floating beneath her, he seemed to fill the room with his presence. When he spoke, his voice came through a small speaker box set into the wall.
“Melahhhhhka. At lassst you are here,” he said in his watery voice. It was deep and, despite the slightly sibilant nature of his speech, comforting. A guy with a voice like that couldn’t be all bad. “I was beginning to worry.”
“Yeah, right. When the two guys were trying to kill me, I was kinda worried too,” Mel replied a tad icily. She liked Gunther. She did. He was a much better boss than some of the other’s she’d worked for. Besides…he was funny. But she couldn’t let that cloud the issue of the moment. “You didn’t tell me Ruebrin was after this thing. Put me on a pretty icy patch.” She knelt down on the glass and pulled her prize out of a pocket in her cargo pants. It was a green amulet on a gold chain. Looking at it, it didn’t look all that impressive. But Mel had long since give up any hope of understanding what went through rich people’s minds.
“And what exactly are we discussing?” Gunther asked, and edge to his voice. He was clearly not impressed by her tone.
“Hazard pay,” Mel said with force. “I don’t think you dealt me fair.” And she left it at that. Details and justifications would only sound like the whining of a petulant child.
“Don’t haggle with me, Melaka. It’s beneath you,” Gunther chided.
“So are you,” Mel said irritably. “And there’s no way you’re getting this for seventy Coi.”
Mel knew she probably shouldn’t push it. She’d seen what had happened to guys who pissed Gunther off. But she knew that this trinket was worth half a Sil at least. Besides, she’d risked death for it.
“Alright,” she sighed. “This time’s a…”
“I’ll give you three Sil for it,” Gunther interrupted her.
Mel blinked. Then she blinked again. Stay calm, she thought. Must stay calm.
“Alright,” she said forcefully, hoping the tremble in her knees was just her imagination. “But I’m not letting you off that cheap next time.”
“Of course not,” Gunther said. He sounded ever so slightly amused.
“It’s just cause I like you,” Mel justified.
“I understand.” He couldn’t smile. His face wasn’t built for it. But it sure as hell sounded like he was smiling.
“Okay then.” Mel set the amulet on a side table. “I don’t mind a tough grab, Gunther. Always good for a fight.” She rolled her shoulders a bit and turned to go. “I just wish you’d let me know.”
“And I wish,” Gunther gargled through the speaker box, “just once, that you would come to see me in a skirt.”
***
It didn’t feel right. Mel stroked the three cool, silver rings around her wrist. They were heavy and reassuring, but she still couldn’t figure out why he’d given them to her. She had three months wages on her wrist. Three months for a morning’s work. It just didn’t make sense. Gunther wasn’t exactly the sentimental type. Mel might have been his best runner, but she was still just a runner. So why the big bonus? Was it a contract, to bind her to him? Make sure she didn’t stray? Or something else…the opposite maybe. Some kind of severance pay?
Mel walked sulkily down a side alleyway, feeling much lower than her she should have, what with her sudden wealth. She’d at least be able to pick up something decent to eat for a change…
A sound behind her brought her up short. From behind a large dumpster, several hulking figures reached for her. Lurks…she hated lurks. Their faces were deformed, giving them a feral, beastly look. Their teeth were sharp and menacing, and the growled like wild animals. Mel knew she should move. She knew she should run or fight or do something. But she couldn’t move. She couldn’t move one step.
“Stay where you are,” an amplified voice rang through the darkness. A searchlight flooded the alley and the lurks cowered. With a snarl of rage, they sank back into the shadows.
“Melaka Fray. Stand down and offer submission.”
Damn, Mel thought. Squinting against the light, she saw the squad car hovering just over head. It must have been waiting for her to come out of Gunther’s. She sighed and crossed her arms, waiting.
The squad car settled down awkwardly in the tight alleyway and a tall, professional looking woman stepped out. Her blond hair whipped behind her head in the wind of the car’s engine.
“Hello Officer,” Mel said tonelessly.
“What are you doing?” the woman barked.
“Standing down and offering submission,” Mel groused moodily. “What does it look like?”
“Who were your friends?” the female officer asked, casting a look in the darkness beyond the headlights to where the lurks had disappeared.
“I don’t have any friends around here,” Mel retorted pointedly.
“Not even Gunther?” the officer asked with a little smile.
“Is that why you’re here?” Mel asked, sounding more shrill than she liked. “He’s got no record, I’m allowed to associate—“
“I’m here because of a robbery,” the officer interrupted quietly. Mel snapped her mouth shut. “Ancient amulet, taken from the wall safe of a senator,” the woman elaborated. “His tracking monitors were all dismantled, but someone who looks just exactly like you was seem fleeing….um…falling from the scene.” She waited, but Mel remained silent. “Care to comment?”
“I got nothing to say,” Mel snapped. “I didn’t take the senator’s omelet.”
“And you didn’t sell it to Gunther?” the officer asked.
“Cause I didn’t have it. Right.” Mel rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically.
“That’s a lot of money you’re wearing,” the woman asked after a moment, eyeing the heavy silver rings on Mel’s wrist.
“You looking for a bribe?” Mel asked with a laugh. “I didn’t think you dealt in solid anymore. Strictly credits in the uppers isn’t that right? I mean, now that you’ve made sergeant, you must be tasting the good life, all that stuff you never—“
“For god’s sake, Mel, stop it,” the woman said quietly.
Mel turned her back. “I didn’t come here bugging you, all right? You wanna put me in jail that’s you’re—“
“I’m trying to keep you out of jail,” the officer interrupted.
“Well you know what, Erin? I really don’t want your help.” Mel began walking away, not looking back.
“We’re not kids anymore,” the woman, Erin, said.
That barb hit home. Mel spun, truly angry. “Which means big sister doesn’t get to run my life! I can take care of myself!”
“Last I checked,” Erin said, ice in her voice, “you weren’t very good at taking care of anyone.”
Mel stood rooted to the spot, shock and hurt playing out in equal measure on her face. And then, quietly…. “You bitch.” She turned and stormed away in long angry strides.
“Mel…” her sister tried apologetically, but Mel didn’t stop. She didn’t even look back.
***
History of the world: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. As Mel wended her way home, the streets became dirtier and more unkempt. The closer she got to the water, the thicker the population seemed to grow. And there, at the end of one winding, broken street, was Versi, the biggest warren in Haddyn. If you were down on your luck, or looking to hide, this was the place. A lot of drifters came through—guys in and out in a week, usually on their way to somewhere better. As, for example, the grave. Versi was the kind of place the kids in the Uppers had never even read about. It wasn’t save, and it wasn’t clean. But it was home.
“Mel!” came a high pitched squeal of glee.
“Hey, Loo,” Mel replied with a smile. A small girl came running towards her. Her body was bone thin, her legs looking like twigs holding her up. She only had one arm. The other extended approximately one foot from the shoulder and ended in a smooth stump, where it had apparently given up and stopped growing. Her face was lit with delight at the sight of Mel coming home, bringing a sparkle to the cloudy eyes. The world hadn’t exactly been kind the small girl, but it was clear that she didn’t really think so.
“Mel! We were playing Toxo and I caught the bottle three times and Jujie said I had a big butt and there was a man that came but I said I never heard of you and I had ham for lunch and the man said you got chosen and he had a bald head and Leon pulled my hair!” She said all this at breakneck speed.
“Okay, Rocketmouth,” Mel said patiently, crouching down to look the child in the face. “What happened? There was a guy?
“Did you bring me a treat?” Loo asked. But instead of waiting for a response, she leapt right in. “Mommy said you got drunk last night and had a fight with three men but I was asleep in my bed already then.”
Someone behind them said “Excuse me…” but Mel ignored them.
“Folks couldn’t afford your meds, huh?” she said with a sigh. “Try to focus, Loo, a man came and—“
“Miss Fray?” came the voice again.
“I caught the bottle the most of anyone and that man is there,” Loo supplied happily.
“Melaka Fray?” the little man asked. He was, indeed, bald And short. He was short in the way of a Radie, with the stunted look of something kept too long in a dark little room. He was also, inexplicably, soaking. Mel looked at him, wide eyed.
“But I didn’t know who you were is what I told him!” Loo rocketed on, oblivious.
“What do you want?” Mel asked hesitantly, rising to her feet. Loo watched with interest, her attention focusing for the first time in hours.
“You…” he began. His voice rasped as though it hadn’t been used in a very long time. “You are the chosen one…I am not worthy to come before you…you will save us…” Mel had heard the insane babblings of the more unfortunate before. They usually weren’t pointed at here, though.
“Okay,” she said coolly, “I think you might maybe have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Man smells,” Loo said suddenly, making a face.
The man in question took a shuddering step forward. “You will protect us. End the scourge…”
“Mister…” Mel reached out one hand, feeling sorry for the man, “You’re, uh…kinda wet there.”
“Man smells,” Loo said again.
“You will cleanse us all,” the man continued, pulling a match from his pocket.
“Man smells,” Loo said yet again as he struck the match with his thumb. And then Mel knew what it was he smelled like. He smelled like gas.
The match seemed to fall in slow motion. It hit the small puddle that had formed at the short man’s feet and he blazed like a torch within seconds.
“…you will cleans us with fire!” he yelled through the flames that engulfed him.
Mel had often thought that there were points in life when you just have to give up. A man lights himself in fire in front of her and, though she doesn’t know him and could care less about him, he’s now a part of her life because he forced his flaming ass into it. There comes a point when you can’t shut shit like that out for the simple reason that it won’t let you. The man lit himself on fire and, predictably, began to pinwheel around in agony. His howls were blood curdling.
Mel grabbed a ragged blanket that had previously served as someone’s door. She supposed they could sacrifice it. The whole warren would go up unless she did something that she really didn’t want to. With a force like a Mack truck, Mel hit the man, separating herself from him with the thing scrap of fabric and calling herself twelve types of fool. Together, they plunged over the side of street into the water of the river. It smelled horrible. Mostly sewage, garbage, and god only knew what else, it was not exactly the high point of her day.
As she dragged herself up over the concrete lip, Mel cast a glance back over her shoulder. The man floated face down in the greenish, rainbow slicked surface of the water. She resisted the urge to spit on him.
Giving Loo a reassuring smile that did not reach her eyes, Mel turned towards home. She’d had enough. She couldn’t let these things get to her. She would just take a bath, crawl into bed, and do her best to forget everything. After all, it had been a pretty bad day, but at least it was over.
As Mel opened the door to her small, one room apartment, she sighed in relief. It was good to be home. She did not see the creature that lurked in the darkness waiting for her.
be warned, I don't have a real beta for this one since my bestest beta is reading the comic and I didn't want to spoil her.
If you do enjoy what you've read here, feel free to let me know. I'm setting up a feedback thread for my fiction in general in my section.
Chapter One: Big City Girl
Darkness.
“She is discovered,” rumbled a deep, forbidding voice.
“We’re certain it’s she?” came a hissing reply.
“We are.”
“No one has been called for two thousand years. The signs are dim,” retorted the sibilant voice.
“Never the less, the watchers have found her as well.”
Something shifted restlessly in the darkness.
“The watchers. Lunatics and fools.” The voice hissed in irritation.
“They mean to approach her. To begin the cycle anew,” the first voice ground out roughly.
“That must not be!” its companion snapped angrily.
A moment’s silence…
“Do you fear her?” the first voice rumbled.
“You overstep your bounds,” came the insolent reply. “She must not be intercepted.”
“We have summoned Urkonn.” No note of apology colored the gravely voice. “He will deal with her.”
Another moment passed in silence.
“He had best. For his own sake,” hissed the second voice.
“He’ll not fail. She’s but a mortal.”
“What is she called?” the second voice asked, no emotion betraying its interest.
“Fray.” The first voice rumbled. “Melaka Fray.”
“And she has no idea what is to come.” It was not a question.
“Just a human, among ten billion others. Living out the same dull, pointless existence.” The voice sounded almost bored. “Not the slightest clue that come day’s end she can say goodbye to her quiet life.
***
It had been a bad day. Started bad…stayed that way. Mel had woken up sore from the previous night and more tired than when she had gone to sleep. Every muscle ached and no amount of stretching or massaging could get out all the kinks. Breakfast wasn’t even as much of a pick me up as she’d hoped. She hadn’t found the fingernail till she’d been chewing on it and her mood had not improved. But the real crowning moment had to be the visit with Gunther, forcing her into a job when she was already spent.
Tough one too. In the Uppers.
All that was bad enough…but Ruebrin’s boys, showing up on her grab, well that hadn’t been pleasant.
Mel took a deep breath as her feet left the ground, raising her gun though she knew it was pointless. Gravity was a bitch sometimes and as she toppled over the edge of the building she fired wildly at her attackers, hoping to main, kill…hell she’d take a mild queasiness at this point. Hot electricity shot upwards as she plummeted downwards, but aside from sending a tiny shock through her hand as she squeezed the trigger too hard had no effect whatsoever. Being pushed off a building had not exactly been part of her master plan…but she had to admit…it was kinda fun.
On top of the building, one short, pudgy goon peered over the edge.
“Jesu! You killed her!” he exclaimed, sounding more shocked than the situation seemed to warrant. His companion, on the other hand, was running for the door to the stairwell.
“Not her,” he said simply.
Mel tumbled through the air. The trick was to use every obstacle possible, turning one big drop, into a lot of little ones. The first impact was not ideal. She landed half on top of the hood of a dingy cab zooming by on the fifth level of traffic and her back made a funny crunching sound that she knew wasn’t good. She slid off before the driver even had a chance to register what had just hit him.
The second impact was a bit better. At least she landed on her feet. “Sorry,” she said hastily to its inhabitants of the sporty convertible, though it was futile. The man in the passenger seat knocked her off with hardly a pause, adding one more bruise to the multitude. She grabbed wildly as she fell and caught hold of a TV antenna, barely hanging on without pulling her arm out of socket. But it couldn’t hold her weight and snapped cleanly in half as she struggled to catch her breath.
That was it then. The ground rushed towards her at a very unfriendly speed. Mel braced herself, tried to twist and land on her feet, but it was much too late for that. She smashed into the pavement face first, hardly feeling the pain in the shock of impact.
Ruebrin’s boys reached the street a few minutes later, and Mel still lay still as death on the ground. Her dark blue hair stretched across her face, fading to purple at the tips, hiding was surely a ruined face. She looked like an old rag doll that had been tossed out the window.
“See? You killed her!” exclaimed the fat little thug.
“Not her,” his companion said again.
Without preamble, the taller man grabbed Mel by the arm and hauled her off the ground just a bit. Her eyes were open and foggy, and a smear of blood ran across her face. The corner of her mouth had torn on impact along an old, fine scar that slashed upwards across her cheek.
“I’ll get up innnaminnn….” she mumbled incoherently. “Erin, the alarms still….wazzzgoinon?” And then she blinked. The fogginess disappeared and she snapped to awareness almost instantaneously.
The taller man hauled Mel up into the air. Her feet dangled almost a foot above the ground. She’d tangled with him before…one of Ruebrin’s regulars. Don, she thought his name might be. He was a pump. He’d been so riddled with steroids, electric tissue enhancements, and genetic meddling that he was practically invulnerable.
“Just give us the grab,” Don said calmly, as though tossing girls off of buildings was something he did every day. And it probably was. “Don’t make a scene.”
Almost invulnerable…almost. Mel struck for his knee first. No amount of tampering could take away all a man’s weaknesses, and he toppled predictably. The other goon made a grab for her, but Mel punched him hard right in the eye. She was tired, and weaker from the fall than she wanted either of them to know, but her punch still had more power than anyone generally expected. She gave Don a good shot to the groin just to make sure he was out of commission. And then she remembered. The short guy…he had had a gun.
Mel reached wildly for her holster. Her gun had been in her hand when she jumped. Her eyes raked the ground wildly and she saw it a few feet away. Diving wildly, she grabbed it up and spun just in time to see the barrel of a gun pointing right at her forehead. Her own gun was pointed at her assailant, and her hand did not shake. For a split second, there was silence.
“Well. It appears we have a standoff,” said the fat little man, as sweat rolled off his forehead in rivers.
A standoff? Hell with that.
Mel pulled the trigger without thought to the recourse. These guys, they were always all talk. He didn’t even try to shoot her in retaliation. As electricity sizzled in the air between him, the little man howled in agony, clutching his face.
“Oh my god! My eyes! You’ve killed me!” He rolled about pathetically on the ground. Mel almost felt sorry for him. She crouched down over his huddled form.
“I didn’t kill you, I gave you a message,” she said, condescendingly. “Tell Ruebrin to keep his claws off Gunther’s grab.”
“I can’t see!” moaned the man pathetically, and Mel rolled her eyes.
“Hey! Pay attention! Gunther works the west side. Ruebrin starts pushing, there’s going to be a war. You ready for war? Haddyn’s a big district. Everybody sticks to themselves, everybody gets happy. If not…” But Mel didn’t finish her thought. A car had come into view trundling above them on the first level of traffic. Without pausing to think, she leapt into the air and grabbed onto the undercarriage. Hitching a free ride was so much easier when the drivers didn’t know you were there. She left Ruebrin’s lackey sobbing on the ground without a backward glance.
***
Mel’s temper had not improved as she strode into Gunther’s office. The tiny little man who opened the door for her scowled menacingly.
”You’re late,” he barked by way of a greeting.
“You’re fat,” Mel responded, not even bothering to look at him.
The office was pitch dark. “He’ll be a minute,” the drone informed her before slamming the door, taking the last of the light with him. Mel hated waiting. She hated it even more when she’d just nearly killed herself for the man. But with Gunther, one thing could always been counted on. He liked to make an entrance.
The lights switched on all at once and Mel looked down. The floor of the office was made of clear glass over top of a water filled room beneath it. Gunther floated in the middle, staring up at her. As far as Radies go, he wasn’t that bad. So many people had been mutated by the sun’s rays or by their parents, everyone had pretty much gotten used to living in a sideshow.
Gunther was one of the more unfortunate ones. Mel had once seen a picture of a Mermaid in a children’s picture book and she supposed, with a little imagination, Gunther could be seen as something like that. He certainly had the tail. But that was really where the similarities ended. His skin was a dark purple, and his fingers were webbed. Stray tendrils of flesh extended down his arms and from his face, giving him the over all appearance of a rather vicious cat fish. And yet, even floating beneath her, he seemed to fill the room with his presence. When he spoke, his voice came through a small speaker box set into the wall.
“Melahhhhhka. At lassst you are here,” he said in his watery voice. It was deep and, despite the slightly sibilant nature of his speech, comforting. A guy with a voice like that couldn’t be all bad. “I was beginning to worry.”
“Yeah, right. When the two guys were trying to kill me, I was kinda worried too,” Mel replied a tad icily. She liked Gunther. She did. He was a much better boss than some of the other’s she’d worked for. Besides…he was funny. But she couldn’t let that cloud the issue of the moment. “You didn’t tell me Ruebrin was after this thing. Put me on a pretty icy patch.” She knelt down on the glass and pulled her prize out of a pocket in her cargo pants. It was a green amulet on a gold chain. Looking at it, it didn’t look all that impressive. But Mel had long since give up any hope of understanding what went through rich people’s minds.
“And what exactly are we discussing?” Gunther asked, and edge to his voice. He was clearly not impressed by her tone.
“Hazard pay,” Mel said with force. “I don’t think you dealt me fair.” And she left it at that. Details and justifications would only sound like the whining of a petulant child.
“Don’t haggle with me, Melaka. It’s beneath you,” Gunther chided.
“So are you,” Mel said irritably. “And there’s no way you’re getting this for seventy Coi.”
Mel knew she probably shouldn’t push it. She’d seen what had happened to guys who pissed Gunther off. But she knew that this trinket was worth half a Sil at least. Besides, she’d risked death for it.
“Alright,” she sighed. “This time’s a…”
“I’ll give you three Sil for it,” Gunther interrupted her.
Mel blinked. Then she blinked again. Stay calm, she thought. Must stay calm.
“Alright,” she said forcefully, hoping the tremble in her knees was just her imagination. “But I’m not letting you off that cheap next time.”
“Of course not,” Gunther said. He sounded ever so slightly amused.
“It’s just cause I like you,” Mel justified.
“I understand.” He couldn’t smile. His face wasn’t built for it. But it sure as hell sounded like he was smiling.
“Okay then.” Mel set the amulet on a side table. “I don’t mind a tough grab, Gunther. Always good for a fight.” She rolled her shoulders a bit and turned to go. “I just wish you’d let me know.”
“And I wish,” Gunther gargled through the speaker box, “just once, that you would come to see me in a skirt.”
***
It didn’t feel right. Mel stroked the three cool, silver rings around her wrist. They were heavy and reassuring, but she still couldn’t figure out why he’d given them to her. She had three months wages on her wrist. Three months for a morning’s work. It just didn’t make sense. Gunther wasn’t exactly the sentimental type. Mel might have been his best runner, but she was still just a runner. So why the big bonus? Was it a contract, to bind her to him? Make sure she didn’t stray? Or something else…the opposite maybe. Some kind of severance pay?
Mel walked sulkily down a side alleyway, feeling much lower than her she should have, what with her sudden wealth. She’d at least be able to pick up something decent to eat for a change…
A sound behind her brought her up short. From behind a large dumpster, several hulking figures reached for her. Lurks…she hated lurks. Their faces were deformed, giving them a feral, beastly look. Their teeth were sharp and menacing, and the growled like wild animals. Mel knew she should move. She knew she should run or fight or do something. But she couldn’t move. She couldn’t move one step.
“Stay where you are,” an amplified voice rang through the darkness. A searchlight flooded the alley and the lurks cowered. With a snarl of rage, they sank back into the shadows.
“Melaka Fray. Stand down and offer submission.”
Damn, Mel thought. Squinting against the light, she saw the squad car hovering just over head. It must have been waiting for her to come out of Gunther’s. She sighed and crossed her arms, waiting.
The squad car settled down awkwardly in the tight alleyway and a tall, professional looking woman stepped out. Her blond hair whipped behind her head in the wind of the car’s engine.
“Hello Officer,” Mel said tonelessly.
“What are you doing?” the woman barked.
“Standing down and offering submission,” Mel groused moodily. “What does it look like?”
“Who were your friends?” the female officer asked, casting a look in the darkness beyond the headlights to where the lurks had disappeared.
“I don’t have any friends around here,” Mel retorted pointedly.
“Not even Gunther?” the officer asked with a little smile.
“Is that why you’re here?” Mel asked, sounding more shrill than she liked. “He’s got no record, I’m allowed to associate—“
“I’m here because of a robbery,” the officer interrupted quietly. Mel snapped her mouth shut. “Ancient amulet, taken from the wall safe of a senator,” the woman elaborated. “His tracking monitors were all dismantled, but someone who looks just exactly like you was seem fleeing….um…falling from the scene.” She waited, but Mel remained silent. “Care to comment?”
“I got nothing to say,” Mel snapped. “I didn’t take the senator’s omelet.”
“And you didn’t sell it to Gunther?” the officer asked.
“Cause I didn’t have it. Right.” Mel rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically.
“That’s a lot of money you’re wearing,” the woman asked after a moment, eyeing the heavy silver rings on Mel’s wrist.
“You looking for a bribe?” Mel asked with a laugh. “I didn’t think you dealt in solid anymore. Strictly credits in the uppers isn’t that right? I mean, now that you’ve made sergeant, you must be tasting the good life, all that stuff you never—“
“For god’s sake, Mel, stop it,” the woman said quietly.
Mel turned her back. “I didn’t come here bugging you, all right? You wanna put me in jail that’s you’re—“
“I’m trying to keep you out of jail,” the officer interrupted.
“Well you know what, Erin? I really don’t want your help.” Mel began walking away, not looking back.
“We’re not kids anymore,” the woman, Erin, said.
That barb hit home. Mel spun, truly angry. “Which means big sister doesn’t get to run my life! I can take care of myself!”
“Last I checked,” Erin said, ice in her voice, “you weren’t very good at taking care of anyone.”
Mel stood rooted to the spot, shock and hurt playing out in equal measure on her face. And then, quietly…. “You bitch.” She turned and stormed away in long angry strides.
“Mel…” her sister tried apologetically, but Mel didn’t stop. She didn’t even look back.
***
History of the world: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. As Mel wended her way home, the streets became dirtier and more unkempt. The closer she got to the water, the thicker the population seemed to grow. And there, at the end of one winding, broken street, was Versi, the biggest warren in Haddyn. If you were down on your luck, or looking to hide, this was the place. A lot of drifters came through—guys in and out in a week, usually on their way to somewhere better. As, for example, the grave. Versi was the kind of place the kids in the Uppers had never even read about. It wasn’t save, and it wasn’t clean. But it was home.
“Mel!” came a high pitched squeal of glee.
“Hey, Loo,” Mel replied with a smile. A small girl came running towards her. Her body was bone thin, her legs looking like twigs holding her up. She only had one arm. The other extended approximately one foot from the shoulder and ended in a smooth stump, where it had apparently given up and stopped growing. Her face was lit with delight at the sight of Mel coming home, bringing a sparkle to the cloudy eyes. The world hadn’t exactly been kind the small girl, but it was clear that she didn’t really think so.
“Mel! We were playing Toxo and I caught the bottle three times and Jujie said I had a big butt and there was a man that came but I said I never heard of you and I had ham for lunch and the man said you got chosen and he had a bald head and Leon pulled my hair!” She said all this at breakneck speed.
“Okay, Rocketmouth,” Mel said patiently, crouching down to look the child in the face. “What happened? There was a guy?
“Did you bring me a treat?” Loo asked. But instead of waiting for a response, she leapt right in. “Mommy said you got drunk last night and had a fight with three men but I was asleep in my bed already then.”
Someone behind them said “Excuse me…” but Mel ignored them.
“Folks couldn’t afford your meds, huh?” she said with a sigh. “Try to focus, Loo, a man came and—“
“Miss Fray?” came the voice again.
“I caught the bottle the most of anyone and that man is there,” Loo supplied happily.
“Melaka Fray?” the little man asked. He was, indeed, bald And short. He was short in the way of a Radie, with the stunted look of something kept too long in a dark little room. He was also, inexplicably, soaking. Mel looked at him, wide eyed.
“But I didn’t know who you were is what I told him!” Loo rocketed on, oblivious.
“What do you want?” Mel asked hesitantly, rising to her feet. Loo watched with interest, her attention focusing for the first time in hours.
“You…” he began. His voice rasped as though it hadn’t been used in a very long time. “You are the chosen one…I am not worthy to come before you…you will save us…” Mel had heard the insane babblings of the more unfortunate before. They usually weren’t pointed at here, though.
“Okay,” she said coolly, “I think you might maybe have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Man smells,” Loo said suddenly, making a face.
The man in question took a shuddering step forward. “You will protect us. End the scourge…”
“Mister…” Mel reached out one hand, feeling sorry for the man, “You’re, uh…kinda wet there.”
“Man smells,” Loo said again.
“You will cleanse us all,” the man continued, pulling a match from his pocket.
“Man smells,” Loo said yet again as he struck the match with his thumb. And then Mel knew what it was he smelled like. He smelled like gas.
The match seemed to fall in slow motion. It hit the small puddle that had formed at the short man’s feet and he blazed like a torch within seconds.
“…you will cleans us with fire!” he yelled through the flames that engulfed him.
Mel had often thought that there were points in life when you just have to give up. A man lights himself in fire in front of her and, though she doesn’t know him and could care less about him, he’s now a part of her life because he forced his flaming ass into it. There comes a point when you can’t shut shit like that out for the simple reason that it won’t let you. The man lit himself on fire and, predictably, began to pinwheel around in agony. His howls were blood curdling.
Mel grabbed a ragged blanket that had previously served as someone’s door. She supposed they could sacrifice it. The whole warren would go up unless she did something that she really didn’t want to. With a force like a Mack truck, Mel hit the man, separating herself from him with the thing scrap of fabric and calling herself twelve types of fool. Together, they plunged over the side of street into the water of the river. It smelled horrible. Mostly sewage, garbage, and god only knew what else, it was not exactly the high point of her day.
As she dragged herself up over the concrete lip, Mel cast a glance back over her shoulder. The man floated face down in the greenish, rainbow slicked surface of the water. She resisted the urge to spit on him.
Giving Loo a reassuring smile that did not reach her eyes, Mel turned towards home. She’d had enough. She couldn’t let these things get to her. She would just take a bath, crawl into bed, and do her best to forget everything. After all, it had been a pretty bad day, but at least it was over.
As Mel opened the door to her small, one room apartment, she sighed in relief. It was good to be home. She did not see the creature that lurked in the darkness waiting for her.