I shot through the immense storm sewer underneath Central Ardour. I was moving so fast, the water underneath me rippled as if I was piloting an aircraft over it. My exoskeleton’s GPS was telling me that the client was at the end of a tunnel that branched towards West Ardour, the industrial sector.

The sound of splashing echoed through the tunnel. I shot a glance down at the GPS. The client was moving towards me. I darted my eyes back up. Illuminated by the light on my helmet was a vast canal of storm water. I watched as the dark river began to undulate. The v-shaped waves drove through the murky water in a direct path towards me.

Before I could move, a long shape sprang out of the water. I saw the glimmer of shining fangs and golden eyes filled with malice.

A hulking figure sped into my field of vision. Something large wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me backwards. In front of me, I watched the gargantuan twisting shape crash against the wall of the storm drain and splash into the water. Cracks formed in the concrete where the client had collided with the drain.

Snapping my head down, I saw I was being gripped by a large robotic hand. Even in my suit, I could feel the chill emanating from its metallic digits.

Below me, I could see bubbles forming on the surface of the flowing storm water.

“Don’t move, I need to make you colder. It uses body heat to detect movement.”

Hearing Mateo’s voice, I felt my breath catch in my throat.

“Where’s Suzuka?”

“Above us, she couldn’t get her aircraft down here. I lost contact with Belladonna after one of the tunnels collapsed. HQ said they were sending a team to get her out.”

My heart sank into my stomach as I realised that Mateo was still unaware of the replacement counsellor’s death. Although I hated to lie to my teammate, I could understand why HQ had kept him in the dark and why I had been told to avoid mentioning it to him. It would more than likely affect his performance as a protector if he knew one of his team had been killed.

“Who is this?” I ask softly, gazing down at the dark water.

“Dr. Haziq Teong. Level two choleric, waxing.”

I could feel my waist growing uncomfortably cold and I let out an involuntary shiver.

“C-catalyst?” I asked, feeling my teeth chatter.

“He transformed after watching a patient die. Be careful Maggie, this client is out for blood.”

I could picture the doctor hunched over the body of his patient, overcome with frustration and fury. Taking in a hissing breath, I turned on my external speaker.

“Haziq, can you hear me?”

I was met with silence. Even the rising bubbles had ceased. I thought for a moment and then turned to face the cockpit where the protector was seated.

“I’m going under the water.”

“Maggie, you won’t stay cold if you go under.” Mateo warned me.

“I need to talk to the client. Please release me.”

I heard Mateo sigh as the mechanical hand loosened around me.

“If your heartrate goes over your panic threshold, I’m coming for you.”

I gave a small nod. Activating the subterranean mode on my exoskeleton, I dove under the water.

I was shocked by how deep the storm pipe was. From where I was swimming, there was a good couple of metres of water below me. My beam of light caught the sight of a huge black serpent at the bottom of the storm drain. Its pink tongue darted out at regular intervals. I wondered if the client could sense me, even underwater.

“Haziq, are you there?”

My voice echoed, amplified by the external speaker and the water.

“I swear by Apollo Healer, by Asclepius, by Hygieia, by Panacea, and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture.”

Although my own voice was slightly muffled, the client’s reply came back crystal clear. The serpent’s voice was deep and haunting with an echo that sounded as though it was in a cathedral. It continued to speak, delivering an oath that I was all too familiar with. It was a piece of ancient text that many clients with a medical background spoke of or recited. I waited for Haziq to finish. As I did, I noticed the snake starting to rear the top of its body up and face towards me. It curled into an s-position, its head flattening.

“…I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially abusing the bodies of man or woman…”

I was no snake handler, but I knew an aggressive stance when I saw one.

“Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not-”

Without warning, the serpent launched itself at me. I triggered the boosters on the soles of my exoskeleton and quickly jerked myself away. Thanks to the power contained within my suit and the water’s drag on the client, I was able to escape the snake’s lunge with a few seconds to spare.

As the black serpent slithered around to face me, I contacted Mateo.

“Can you chill the water?” I asked.

“There’s too much for it to be effective Maggie.”

“How about the client?”

Mateo paused.

“If he gets close enough, I can.”

Watching the snake coil its body, I hovered my fingers over the pressure point on my palm. If Mateo did not time this well enough, I’d most likely be dead like Belladonna. The serpent flickered its tongue at me, its beady yellow eyes glaring at me.

“I am a killer, that is all I will ever be.”

The snake’s hissing words lingered in my mind like a guilty thought. Seconds later, the serpent launched itself at me, mouth wide open. Two huge metal hands plunged into the water and gripped the client around its midsection.

The snake began to thrash about furiously, causing the water to sway and splash. Mateo’s cooling ducts hissed in the dark river. I waited. Slowly, the serpent’s struggling began to die down as its body grew still.

“Haziq, are you there?” I asked, floating over to the client’s side.

“I will…kill you…” The snake hissed as it attempted to bare its fangs at me.

“Why do you want to hurt me?”

“I’m a murderer. I refused to operate on him because he was a client.”

“Haziq, I can see that-”

The snake rolled its head back sluggishly.

“Look at me. This is karmic retribution. I am being punished for my crime.”

Despite being placed into a dormant state, I could see the client was still becoming agitated. The tip of the snake’s tail was starting to flicker about.

“Haziq, let’s take a second to talk about this.”

The serpent relaxed in the automaton’s hands and I heard it let out a small sigh.

“I’m done with talking.”

From nowhere, the black snake’s form began to shine brightly. Even with my visor up, I still found myself instinctively wincing. The protector must have done the same, as with one almighty heave, the client wrenched out of Mateo’s grasp. It slithered its body towards the wall it had collided with not too long ago. The crack had been slowly webbing down the grey wall of the storm drain. Contracting its body of muscles, the snake shot forward and struck the damaged wall with its head. I heard what sounded like clapping thunder above me.

Mateo scooped me up in one of the automaton’s hands and jumped backwards. Debris began raining down on the spot I had just been swimming in.

“The client!” I shouted, struggling to get out of the protector’s firm grip even with black spots in my eyes.

With his free hand, Mateo shot a net out towards the snake. Using the last of its strength, the black serpent slithered deep into water, avoiding the shining mesh. Chunks of the concrete storm drain fell from the ceiling and into the water, creating crashing waves of storm water. Mateo flew us to the dead end of the storm drain. He refused to let go of me.

“It’s not safe Maggie, and you know it.” Mateo murmured, loosening his grip on me ever so slightly.

He was right. Giving in, I watched chunks of debris smash into the water directly where the client had been. In less than a minute, the entire storm drain was blocked. There was little chance that Haziq had survived that, even after transforming.

I closed my eyes. How many people have I failed now? How many lives have I ended? Why was I still doing this? Why?

“You can’t save everyone.” Mateo said to me through the intercom. “He was a quitter.”

I hated that term. How it became an official DOPD term is beyond me. It must have been a decision from someone in administration.

“Would you call a person who commits suicide a quitter?” I murmured, trying my hardest to control my anger. “What about a victim of domestic violence who doesn’t leave? Are they a quitter?”

“You did all you could.” Mateo replied in his soft, comforting tone. “In the end, it was his decision to give in. Not every client is strong enough to do this.”

Pushing all negative thoughts to the back of my head, I floated to the other end of the tunnel and called headquarters. No matter how badly I wanted to go, there was no way we were leaving until the debris had been cleared.

“HQ says they’ll have us out in an hour or two.” I said to Mateo.

“What? How long?”

I repeated what I had told him.

“No, no I have to get out of here now.”

The protector sounded alarmed and it made my heart skip a beat. Was he upset about being around the deceased client? No, he was never this concerned about clients, unless he was certain he knew them.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“No, no it’s fine.” He lied. “I’ll be fine.”

I could hear him quietly swearing to himself over the intercom.

“Maggie, I’m sorry. Fuck, I’m sorry.”

I flew up to the cockpit of his automaton to get a better look at him. Through the windshield, I could see the protector was covered in sweat. He gazed at me with wide eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

“Mateo, what’s wrong.”

It came out as more of a demand than a question. Over the intercom, I heard the unmistakable sound of a phone vibrating. He wasn’t answering it. It did not take me long to figure out it was an alarm. A reminder. A warning.

My body suddenly went cold, and I shivered once again. Unlike before, I wasn’t trembling because a machine was blasting me with a cooling unit. It was because of a realisation that was dawning on me, one I should have come to sooner.

“Maggie, I forgot to take it this morning.” Mateo whispered through clenched teeth. “I was late. I forgot. I’m supposed to have another one now. There’s none left.”

It was only now I realised the protector had something scrunched in his hand. It was a silver pill packet with all the blisters burst open. Even with every blister empty, I could still make out the unmistakable ‘V’ printed on the packet.

With his intense dark eyes, Mateo gave me a pleading look.

“Help me, please. I don’t want to transform again.”