Èryuè 1st 250X Cont.

"Song..."

"Damn it!" Prasong snarled, wheeling round to the other boy. "He promised JJ - The Ringmaster said he'd be putting me in full charge of the Dust runs before the end of this year's quarter!"

"Why the hell would you want to be in charge of the Dust runs?" JJ drawled lazily, squinting up at the darkened sky as if assessing the probability of rain.

He sighed and looked back down, shrugging at Prasong, "It's the most risky job there is. Everyone knows you're one of the Ringmaster's favourites - he probably just wants to keep you out of danger..."

Prasong barked a grim laugh and spat at the blackened pavement, "He made me feel like he was..."

"Grooming you to be part of the Circus' inner command?" JJ cocked his head. "Who says he still isn't? Most likely he just wants to toughen you up first."

"You've never been to the fighting rings JJ..." Prasong groaned, "I don't know what the hell he's thinking. We're both going to end up dead."

JJ snorted a laugh before rolling his eyes, "I don't get your problem Song, this is a golden opportunity as far as I can see. Fighting's where all the money is for people like us - no more lugging Stardust through Polis zones with Droids on our tails." JJ shot him a sly grin, "Hey - how come you're not this dark and depressing with everyone else?"

"Huh?" Prasong snapped distractedly at him.

"You've always got cutesy smiles and batted eyelashes for every other guy in the Polis, how come I get the whole 'we're both gonna end up dead' routine?"

"Because I don't count on needing you for anything," Prasong growled, stalking forwards into the street.

"Ouch!" JJ laughed. "Is that all we are to you? Rungs in some kind of ladder?"

"You're the ones that put me at the bottom," Prasong retorted angrily. He hadn't got time for JJ's 'charming' street urchin routine today and it was already getting late, the sky would soon be full of Droids on the lookout for any kind of illegal activity.

They had been a lot more active in the past week as it was election month coming up. Each Droid type was sponsored by a different governmental party, pre-election season was competition time to see who could beat each other's statistics on quashing the Polis' persistent drug problem.

"We need to get back before the increase," Prasong muttered as they began their way through the city streets. He kept his eyes focussed on the road but noticed JJ pausing every so often beside him, his gaze drifting upwards.

Prasong glanced at him and wondered how different Darhan Polis was to Podolsk. Here, flashing neon billboards clung to towering skyscrapers, advertising everything from brothels to toothpaste.

Below the great heights of the skyline lay smaller, ramshackle buildings of brick and rendered concrete, housing takeaways, pawn shops, opium dens and tea houses.

Tram lines criss-crossed the roads while hand-pulled rickshaws swerved and dodged pedestrians, their thin wheels clattering against cobbles. Laser displays playing commercials on a loop were stuck to their metal sides with cable ties. The more displays - the more credit compensation the rickshaw's owner received.

Despite the smothering grey blanket of the pollution and smog the city was still awash with electric colours.

"Do you hear that?" Prasong asked, stopping suddenly on the sidewalk. They were about ten feet away from the Sigma / Tau zone divide and he was positive he could make out the metallic fizzing hum of overhead Droids.

"We're not carrying any Dust," JJ said quickly, as if reading Prasong’s mind, "if we get scanned nothing will show up."

"It will also show up that neither of us are chipped," Prasong replied.

"No one was chipped back in Darhan," JJ murmured.

"Darhan isn't a military capital," Prasong said, glancing upwards to see if he could spot anything through the clouds of smog. "Everyone here is I.D. chipped, or should be."

"Unless a gang removes it," JJ supplied.

"Or you're an illegal inter-Poleis immigrant," Prasong responded, giving him a pointed look. "Now be quiet so I can try and listen."

JJ huffed but obliged as the two of them drew back into the shadowed mouth of an alleyway. There was nothing unusual in their sightlines yet, just the general crowds milling about their late afternoon business. Beggars lining the shop fronts, rattling metal cans of change.

"There!" JJ exclaimed suddenly. Prasong jerked his head back down to street level where he caught sight of a dark haired boy streaking across the road opposite them.

There were two Droids following closely above the boy and shortly afterwards a couple of armed cops also came into view, shouting orders frantically at each other.

"What do you think he's done?" JJ frowned. "He's got real live police after him."

Prasong shrugged, "Does it matter? He's occupying the Droids for the time being."

They jogged forwards, aware of distant sirens gaining in volume - signalling that the Droid increase hour was coming up soon. This also meant that they only had about twenty minutes to get back to the Xi zone where the Circus resided.

"Look at what he's wearing!" JJ nudged Prasong’s shoulder as he pointed at the kid, disappearing round the bend of the street with the police still in hot pursuit.

"A blue tunic," Prasong replied, he tried to make his voice sound as casual as possible but his mouth felt dry.

"That's Asylum wear," JJ exclaimed energetically, "someone's escaped - could be a helixed!"

"I'm aware," Prasong snapped irritably whilst scowling at JJ, "are you going to rubber-neck all day or are we going to make it back in time for the show tonight?"

"Fine, fine," JJ grumbled, "but seriously - you're prettier when you smile."

"I already spend enough of my time rearranging my body to please others," Prasong replied drily.

"Jeez Little Doll - you're really in a bad mood today."

"Don't call me that," Prasong growled, "and just remember I'm the one that got you put on the Dust Runs. Without me you'd still be working in the sewers for rat meat and broth."

"Trust me I'll never forget," JJ shuddered, “alright Songbird, you lead the way,” he gave an exaggerated bow as Prasong plunged into another dark alleyway.

The streets of the Polis were a labyrinth that Prasong had spent the last eighteen years learning like the back of his hand. He felt at home in the shadowed alleys that fanned out like stretching bronchioles through the choking lung of a smog filled city, pulsing with the wheezing and stuttering breaths of a population encased in ribs of synthetic brick.

Prasong froze again. The Droids were nearby, as were the cops. He could hear the telltale clicking of a bullet chamber being loaded and electric motors whirring up to full function.

"Damn," Prasong cursed, turning round to find another way through, when suddenly a speeding blue blur emerged from round the corner and hurtled into them.

The dark haired kid from earlier collided into Prasong in a pile of sprawled limbs. Prasong groaned before moving to roughly push the small body off of his own, his hands scraping the thick material of the boy’s tunic.

"It's the escaped patient!" JJ cried out, sounding far more amused than he really should have been, considering the impending arrival of Droids to the alleyway.

Prasong sat up angrily, his head had already been hurting and now it had been bashed against the cobbled street floor.

He glanced over at his unwitting assailant. The boy looked to be about thirteen or fourteen and he was indeed wearing the standardised uniform of an inmate at the Polis Asylum.

"Please," he croaked hoarsely, "they'll take me back."

Prasong frowned at the boy for a moment, his eyes locking with his, pleading and a bright crystal blue. He focused on the rings of stark white, identifying the boy as a helixed. With a start, Prasong opened his mouth to say something but JJ abruptly hauled him up by the shoulder.

"Droids!" JJ shouted, jerking Prasong backwards as one of the mechanised drones whirred into the alleyway.

"Run!" Prasong hissed, before the three of them turned to sprint back out onto the main street. The commotion seemed to have drawn a crowd and the boy's recognizable clothing incited a few panicked shouts.

Suddenly, there was a strangled scream from just behind them and Prasong whipped round to see the boy face down on the floor, his arm outstretched and his fingers scratching at the concrete.

"Stasis?" JJ shouted questioningly as the two of them skidded to a halt. The younger kid had obviously been hit with some kind of chemical assault.

"No," Prasong gritted out, slamming his hand against JJ's chest to prevent the other boy from running back. "Stasis doesn't work on helixed - must be something else. There's nothing we can do now."

As he shouted, the police appeared in the fray, their guns drawn. "We need to get out of here," Prasong gripped JJ's arm tighter, "JJ - now."

The other boy tore his eyes away from the scene in front of him to look back at Prasong.

"They've got him JJ, just leave it," Prasong insisted, louder this time before JJ reluctantly nodded and they turned to run.