A near-polar climate had eventually set the tone as the day drew to a close. The select few citizens still out and about included those who smiled at the damp, frozen texture of soft snowflakes falling into the palms of their hands, but also those driven by dubious intentions, taking advantage of the veil of white to disguise their deeds and actions. Sounds of banging, quarrels, and occasional maniacal laughter echoed from one street corner to another, their source never quite clear, an echo of the risk and instability weighing on all survivors in these parts, yet these sounds were spaced out throughout the hours of the day so that a supernatural stillness reigned more often than the slightest rustle of footsteps on the sidewalks.
Further on, we are treated to a view of the city’s docks, overlooking murky and nebulous waters punctuated by a few ships in a state of disrepair just as dire as the rest of the neighborhood. A few laborers and tradesmen came and went, their arms laden with crates, but in a corner of the harbor, surrounded by modest structures, Liberi and Koncel successfully located the criminals they were searching for... Now they just had to find a way to get closer without endangering the captives.
The waves slapped against the rotting pilings beneath the platforms, their dull rhythm blending with the rattle of dice across a warped table and the low hum of half-hearted arguments. Someone cursed over a bad hand, someone else laughed too loud, and in the corner, a lookout leaned by the cracked window, watching the docks with bored suspicion. "Man, no one can get in touch with the dudes at the warehouse anymore. Two times now we've had these outages. Fuck this!" A smoking guy complained, booting an empty can on the ground. Somebody replied to him with sternness, "The boss's instructions are to stay calm and not let anything catch you off guard. Stop bitching about technical issues."
"Yeah, and on top of that, these prisoners are super valuable—we pay bounties to groups like ours to get help with the trafficking, but word is that anyone who messes up just disappears without a trace..."
"Oh maaan we're so screwed..."
•
•
Enarky had shown up alongside the two mercenaries at the edge of the camp. They kept their distance, keeping a careful watch to size up the territory.
Enarky: “Um... Do you guys even know where they are?”
Koncel: “What...? Were you really serious when you said you'd come beat up some bandits?”
Enarky: “I... I mostly said I wouldn't bother you guys, so chill out—”
Liberi: “Koncel, got a plan?”
Koncel: “I don’t see our goal anywhere at ground level… We’ll try to stack the odds in our favor. We have to do this stealthily, even if we don’t have much room to maneuver. Liberi, take care of the guys upstairs and secure the prisoners so I can take out the guys on the ground without having to hide. Then we’ll get everyone down safely.”
Enarky: “Um... Do you guys even know where they are?”
Koncel: “What...? Were you really serious when you said you'd come beat up some bandits?”
Enarky: “I... I mostly said I wouldn't bother you guys, so chill out—”
Liberi: “Koncel, got a plan?”
Koncel: “I don’t see our goal anywhere at ground level… We’ll try to stack the odds in our favor. We have to do this stealthily, even if we don’t have much room to maneuver. Liberi, take care of the guys upstairs and secure the prisoners so I can take out the guys on the ground without having to hide. Then we’ll get everyone down safely.”
Enarky: “How is he getting anyone in the upper floors without getting spotted by these bastards down here?"
Koncel: "Seriously, why are you asking questions?"
Unanswered, Enarky took a backward step at a sudden, sharp gesture from Liberi, who was taking off his hoodie right in front of him. He kept wearing only his denim shorts... For a second time, Enarky saw the ribcage, the spine, the shoulder blades, the arms, and the rest of a human skeleton's torso—completely exposed and coal-black—which was the true appearance of this sinister humanoid’s body.
“H... Huh?” He stood there speechless, unsettled, but mainly puzzled as ever. Liberi wrapped the sleeves of his hoodie so that it hung around his waist.
Liberi: “My body has special properties when it comes into contact with shadows and darkness. I can become almost invisible by blending into dark corners; I’m the stealthiest when it comes to this kind of tactic."
The young man gave a nod, his eyes still marking him as equally impressed, “Uh-uh, uh-uh, not bad. So that's why you were naked when I first saw you, eh.”
Liberi: “All right, now I imagine you can play the nanny with him here, Koncel. You can go wild as soon as I give you the signal through the earpiece.”
Koncel: “The nanny?”
Liberi immediately sprang into action...
Liberi: “My body has special properties when it comes into contact with shadows and darkness. I can become almost invisible by blending into dark corners; I’m the stealthiest when it comes to this kind of tactic."
The young man gave a nod, his eyes still marking him as equally impressed, “Uh-uh, uh-uh, not bad. So that's why you were naked when I first saw you, eh.”
Liberi: “All right, now I imagine you can play the nanny with him here, Koncel. You can go wild as soon as I give you the signal through the earpiece.”
Koncel: “The nanny?”
Liberi immediately sprang into action...
Enarky: "..."
Koncel shut his eyes and let a long sigh escape, rubbing two fingers along his forehead. Enarky, feeling still a little sore in the ribs, shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed to wait here with this big guy when it was all just a silly whim on his part.
Koncel never looked at him, more focused on checking out the enemies’ movements in the center of the deck. But Enarky had been dying to ask his question for a while now... “H-hey. How come you let me tag along like I just did?” Koncel didn’t turn to respond, but simply said, “It’s Liberi.”
The boy obviously didn’t get it. “Wait, what?”
Koncel: “It was Liberi who suggested you come fight.”
Enarky: “Y-yeah, sort of, but… Why, though? And why didn’t you see any problem with it? You guys are pros, right? You don’t want any obstacles in your way, especially since I’m not even on your list…”
Koncel: “Listen.”
The mercenary swung on his heel to look Enarky straight in the eye, towering over him at 6’2”, “If you realize how lucky you are to be here, you should keep your questions to yourself. But at least, if I can’t tell you why I followed Liberi on this one, I can tell you this instead: When I’m working, I often deal with civilians who beg for my help. And even though I tend to prioritize getting the job done, I’m not insensitive to the consequences of certain… oversights.”
The boy obviously didn’t get it. “Wait, what?”
Koncel: “It was Liberi who suggested you come fight.”
Enarky: “Y-yeah, sort of, but… Why, though? And why didn’t you see any problem with it? You guys are pros, right? You don’t want any obstacles in your way, especially since I’m not even on your list…”
Koncel: “Listen.”
The mercenary swung on his heel to look Enarky straight in the eye, towering over him at 6’2”, “If you realize how lucky you are to be here, you should keep your questions to yourself. But at least, if I can’t tell you why I followed Liberi on this one, I can tell you this instead: When I’m working, I often deal with civilians who beg for my help. And even though I tend to prioritize getting the job done, I’m not insensitive to the consequences of certain… oversights.”
Enarky would only cast him an intrigued glare, seeming to faintly notice a hint of remorse in his eyes. Oversights? The boy wondered if the meaning behind the mercenary's words could lead him to change his mind if he knew. Maybe he would just go away and look for a ticket home as soon as possible. Nevertheless, Koncel smiled gently and returned to spying from under cover without saying anything more.
•
•
Slash!
Now, there goes the Essoculus creature. With sharp and merciless strokes of his reliable knife, he had swiftly made his way past the first floor of the rudimentary infrastructure, where the slow decay of the harbor had gathered: dampness creeping up the wood, metal flaking into orange dust, crates and barrels piled in loose, uneven stacks, and the faint, stubborn smell of fish that no amount of time seemed capable of washing away. But now, in addition to this tangle, blood, running across the floor and smeared on the walls. Liberi was impossible to see or hear, but he knew to act slower than hastily, just enough to not get cornered in a dead end.
Now, there goes the Essoculus creature. With sharp and merciless strokes of his reliable knife, he had swiftly made his way past the first floor of the rudimentary infrastructure, where the slow decay of the harbor had gathered: dampness creeping up the wood, metal flaking into orange dust, crates and barrels piled in loose, uneven stacks, and the faint, stubborn smell of fish that no amount of time seemed capable of washing away. But now, in addition to this tangle, blood, running across the floor and smeared on the walls. Liberi was impossible to see or hear, but he knew to act slower than hastily, just enough to not get cornered in a dead end.
He was certain the victims weren't much further away; the second floor, surely. But advancing closer without being noticed, with too few cover spots and too much light, would prove to be a trickier task...
"All right, the transport team has finished getting everything ready. Those lovely fellas will be transferred in 15 minutes." On the second floor, this henchman equipped with a walkie-talkie made a few steps into a booth framed by a large, mostly broken control panel and lined with glass windows offering a misty view of the rest of the docks. He was speaking to a stockier man, more imposing both in terms of his attire as well as the rifle he held at arm’s length like a walking stick.
"You ommitted the part that really matters. My money. Is it on its way?"
"Oh, uh, y-yes, of course—they mentioned that the requested amount was ready, too."
"Now we're speaking business..."
"Y-yeah, totally, boss...! Nobody got on our backs!" Another, scaredy-cat henchman said with a toothy grin.
"Looks like you guys haven't quit pissing your pants. Just because those drunks at the warehouse aren't showing any signs of life doesn't mean the plan's off track, but I don't expect second-rate goons like you to show any practical sense."
"But... Boss. The rumors, you know. A couple of our guys are saying it's a bad idea to associate with those sketchy scientists, even if it elevates you to a capo in the Graleman family..."
With a flicker of his wrist, the boss menacingly levelled the barrel of his rifle at the author of such a comment, who whimpered in fear, “It’s not your place to lecture me on the risks of the job, you little country bumpkin. Get ready to welcome the truck. We’re done with these lunatics.”
Things were starting to happen, and Liberi had overheard the conversation in the shadows of a doorway. —the last one separating him from this section of the site. One room, the booth, and then some kind of storage closet. Any further progress would require coming face to face with the bandits; the victims were right beyond this point, probably locked up in that box room. The Essoculus had narrowed his eyes, eventually catching sight of a specific detail a few feet away from him.
In the following moments...
"W-what the hell is happening?" The boss raised his gaze to the booth's ceiling lights, suddenly flickering and dimming. Throughout the whole camp, the other gang members were all taken aback by an unannounced power outage. The tight corridors were bathed in darkness, with only the cold oceanfront dusk filtering in as light. This has happened before, though not exactly here.
A barely perceivable, rapid motion swept through the corners of the room. Nobody suspected it.
Boss: "Get that repaired!"
In a flash, the two henchmen rushed out of the booth and headed frantically toward the electrical generator in the room. After a series of frantic checks, however, they found no apparent malfunction.
“H-huh...? That's weird, it's not responding...! Doesn't look like there's been any break-in, but the equipment's down...!”
“It's probably just a temporary glitch...!”
The boss let out a roarsound like a storm, and wasted no time heading to check the other rooms and the floor below.
Boss: "Get that repaired!"
In a flash, the two henchmen rushed out of the booth and headed frantically toward the electrical generator in the room. After a series of frantic checks, however, they found no apparent malfunction.
“H-huh...? That's weird, it's not responding...! Doesn't look like there's been any break-in, but the equipment's down...!”
“It's probably just a temporary glitch...!”
The boss let out a roarsound like a storm, and wasted no time heading to check the other rooms and the floor below.
"I mean, it's not like it's a big deal, right...? We're not here to stay—"
Outside, Koncel was the next to notice what was happening. “Oh, looks like he’s at it again. Nice move.” As he prepared to receive that very signal, he finally had the presence of mind to turn around and check on Enarky—
“...”
But Enarky was no longer in sight.
With his vision even more impaired by his bloodshot eye and the dim light, Enarky had slipped away on his own, impatient, without anyone knowing, circling the platform in search of the one thing that seemed to obsess him... I have to find a weapon. I have to do it. Today is the day I’m capable... of regaining control.
“...”
But Enarky was no longer in sight.
With his vision even more impaired by his bloodshot eye and the dim light, Enarky had slipped away on his own, impatient, without anyone knowing, circling the platform in search of the one thing that seemed to obsess him... I have to find a weapon. I have to do it. Today is the day I’m capable... of regaining control.
He slipped through. He found himself in a utility area partitioned off by wooden planks and makeshift pieces of steel sheets. Very little light, very little clear thinking, but he noticed a faint glint of something on the floor. His breathing was anything but steady, his body still weak; he crouched down with difficulty and realized that not only was it a firearm, but that it belonged to a bloodied corpse whose throat had been cleanly severed.
"The hell do you think you're doing here?"
He felt his stomach churn and his ears start to ring. He was so paralyzed with fear that he didn't even stand up, just glanced over his shoulder.
One of the bandits was looking down at him. “You the one who did this?”
One of the bandits was looking down at him. “You the one who did this?”
°
The gang leader had barely set out on his way down to give orders and investigate the incident when he, too, came unsurprisingly upon the lacerated corpses of his men, their still-fresh blood illuminated by his flashlight.
He had no choice; he had to turn back. An intrusion had occurred, and his bounty was, after all, truly at stake. He hurried back, retracing his steps, determined to prevent the enemy from seizing the prisoners. But he still hadn’t fully reckoned with the threat, and when he found the now-lifeless bodies of both men he had exchanged words with earlier, he identified the culprit without a shadow of a doubt.
He had no choice; he had to turn back. An intrusion had occurred, and his bounty was, after all, truly at stake. He hurried back, retracing his steps, determined to prevent the enemy from seizing the prisoners. But he still hadn’t fully reckoned with the threat, and when he found the now-lifeless bodies of both men he had exchanged words with earlier, he identified the culprit without a shadow of a doubt.
to be continued...
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