CREGAN ALLEY

AURUS, PRECIDIA - 7:36 PM

Nick’s hands are cuffed behind his back by several golden, glowing threads held together tied by the woman, who is now carrying his guitar case. The three walk through the streets of Aurus, to which Nick appreciates. From the natural light given by the moon, to the lack of hyper-developed gadgets, to the mostly absence of Eternal Drive advertisements, the beauty of Precidia starts to appeal more and more with Nick, though none can match the beauty of the woman guiding him. Partly curious yet partly naive, Nick had agreed to follow the woman in hopes of being able to get to know her better. Was she a demediom? Those golden threads seemed to manifest out of thin air, but perhaps it was the natural light playing tricks on Nick’s eyes. It had been so long since the skyscrapers of Aeternum had always obstructed the moon from sight.

The three arrive at a suburban house, to which the woman unlocks the door. She and the boy step inside as Nick follows suit. The woman begins to turn every light in the living room on as the boy situates himself on the couch and lies down, tired from the running. Nick begins to sit on the couch as well, but the woman redirects him towards the dining room. They both sit on different chairs on opposite sides of the table.

“So, what’s your deal?” she asks. Nick looks at the side towards the boy before answering.

“I sell guns,” Nick answers.

“Guns?” the woman replies as Nick turns his head towards the guitar case. The woman opens it up, revealing a rifle with a broken muzzle accompanied by two bags of ammo from Zack.

“Aw, shit...” Nick mutters to himself.

“What did Zico want with this?” she asks, stunned by the weapon.

“He said he wanted to protect you. From Eternal Drive,” replies Nick.

“Protect m- Oh no…” exclaims the woman disappointedly, as if she had realized something terrible.

“That’s my gun, so it’s my business too, now. He told me E-Drive picked a fight with you. What happened?” asks Nick.

“Don’t push your luck. Only reason I haven’t ratted you out yet is because Zico says you’re a good person.”

“Eh… wouldn’t really say that, but sure. Unfortunately he scammed me; don’t you think I deserve to at least know the reason why?” Nick replies, trying to reason with the woman.

“I…” the woman hesitates to speak any further, unsure if Nick is trustworthy.

“You’re a demediom, right?” Nick questions, taking the woman aback.

“...How’d you know?” she asks. Nick leans over to his side and raises his cuffed hands.

“I’ve been around E-Drive long enough to know that tech like this doesn’t exist. They never arrest people, just murder them in cold blood,” Nick says, remembering the past crimes of Eternal Drive as well as the extrajudicial killings reported in the news.

“...It happened about a month ago. Some of those soldiers came to Aurus and just went and caused chaos,” she explains as Nick listens attentively.

“Two of them went and harassed a friend of mine. She fought back and things started to get physical so I interfered.”

“And you used your powers?”

“I swore that I’d protect the people of Aurus, even if it meant using my inhuman abilities,” she continues, trying to reason with Nick.

“Like a vigilante, huh? Did they die?” asks Nick.

“They didn’t… They were the ones we came by earlier,” the woman sighs disappointedly.

“Demediom serums are only distributed by Eternal Drive. Did you work for them? Or…” Nick continues interrogating the woman.

“I was born with these,” she says, manifesting more golden threads around her fingers before making them dissipate.

“And you never thought about joining Palladium?”

“I prefer a quiet world without demons, thank you,” she replies, content with the lifestyle of Precidia.

“And I'd prefer a world without Eternal Drive, but we can't have nice things in Lavia.”

“Well, it’s easier to blend in here.”

“Easier to get your brains blown out while you sleep at night, too.”

“Not in Precidia. At least before Darren Watts got elected and invited them here...” the woman says, referring to Eternal Drive.

“How about you? Where are you from?”

“Nexos. Aeternum,” Nick answers.

“What do you think about it?”

“Eh, it could be worse…” Nick replies as Zack, Luke and Celeste come to mind. Memories of them working at Neverglow, goofing around the mall and having fun in roadtrips flood Nick’s consciousness. However, those memories are soon replaced by drive-by killings, suicides and brutal fistfights.

“...but it could definitely be better,” he continues. The woman stands up and dissipates Nick’s cuffs as she walks towards the living room. The boy had fallen asleep, to which she carries him upstairs as Nick waits on the couch.

The woman comes back down with a refreshed mind, and asks Nick a question.

“What are you gonna do now?” she asks as Nick starts thinking of ways to spin her question.

“Well, my boss is gonna kill me if I come back empty-handed, especially if he finds out I broke the gun. And he’d spit on my grave if he found out I was almost duped by a child,” Nick says, making the woman smirk.

“It’s money you want, right? How much?”

“Three thousand dies. And please keep better watch over the kid,” answers Nick as the woman’s smile quickly fades away.

“I… We don’t have that kind of money...” says the woman, with Nick feeling greedy and selfish for a moment. However, a deal is a deal.

“...but you can earn that kind of money here,” she continues.

“...Is this some kind of pyramid scheme?” Nick asks, suspicious of the woman.

“No, no. Aurus has been down in the dumps lately because of E-Drive and there’s a lot of people that need help.”

“With what?”

“All kinds of things. Illegal things,” she says, winking and nudging Nick in the elbow.

“Oh god, do you mean carrying out hits on people?” Nick asks, second-guessing the woman’s intentions.

“No, absolutely not! I meant that there’s a lot of business owners who would love a bit of retribution.”

“Retribution?”

“This place used to be thriving, but the earthquake that hit a couple years ago hit us hard and destroyed a lot of infrastructures,” the woman explains.

“Ah, the magnitude nine-point-something one? Yeah, I remember that. Shelves went flying everywhere. I had to spend hours picking up and sorting flowers again.”

“You sell flowers, too?” she asks.

“Yeah. E-Drive’s been pushing everything tech lately, so we grew and maintained our own greenery since you don’t really come by plants anymore.”

“That’s pretty sad… Here it’s the opposite; flowers bloom in every direction, so it’s only tourists that end up supporting my business.”

“And it’s sustainable?” Nick asks as the woman smiles back at him.

“It used to, back when Aurus was a tourist trap. Nowadays it’s barely enough. But like I said, there’s a lot of, let’s say, passionate business owners out there. You know how Eternal Drive owns all the land in South Lavia, right? Well when the earthquake hit, they were quick to take action here.”

“Woah, seriously?” Nick asks, shocked that Eternal Drive helped a community for once.

“Yeah. They were quick to replace those businesses with their own. Even Aurus isn’t safe from their monopolization,” the woman says frustratedly.

“Ah, that makes more sense.” Nick replies, realizing nothing changed.

“It’s disgusting, throwing away lives’ worth of work just like that. You have to wonder at what point is enough enough?” the woman continues explaining.

“That’s awful, but why don’t the business owners just start someplace else?”

“It’s not that easy. After the earthquake, Eternal Drive came and put up several stations here. Everything you do goes through them, including starting businesses that could potentially conflict with theirs.”

“And what would you have me do?” Nick asks as the woman smiles.

“Some of these business owners have already started devising a plan to get their retribution. Including trashing some of the outposts that E-Drive put up here,” the woman says.

“And you want me to carry out the dirty work.”

“Bingo. But don’t worry, you don’t have to do it alone,” the woman replies, stretching out her hand. Nick stretches out his own, and the two shake on their newfound deal.

“Elena. Elena Lune.”

“Nick Altair.”

Elena’s lips curl into a slight smile as Nick feels a sudden wave of nervousness and doubt hit him.

To Be Continued…