“Fuck! Are there seriously no more parts left?” Rubeckia yelled, slamming her fists on the counter. The arrangement of gadgets piled up rattled with the impact of her fists, teetering on the edge of falling on the floor. The woman sitting across from her propped her legs up onto the countertop, rolling her eyes and stuffing out her cigarette among the mess of items in front of her. Sparks flew up. She sucked in her teeth.
“I don’t have any- human, dog, whatever. Supply is low right now,” Allison muttered.
“This is a good cause-”
“Can you please shut the fuck up?” Allison snapped, rubbing her eyes. “Colstan doesn’t give a shit about good causes, you know that, Ruby.” Strands of pink hair fell out from her low ponytail with every movement she took. Through the dim lighting of her shop, her green eyes flashed a hint of sympathy before narrowing. “I barely make my rent running this rundown shithole. Noble causes don’t make it here-”
“I’m not taking any of your odd jobs. Find the used parts or suck a bag of dicks,” Rubeckia barked back, folding her arms. Her locks slid behind her shoulders. Allison rolled her eyes.
“Actin’ like people are just dying to dump their used prosthetics to my hand-me-down shit shack in the slums,” she said, picking at her nose. “Y’know I always update you on when I get that stuff. I support the animals, I guess.”
“It’s not enough!” Ruby whined. “Why don’t you advertise, or-”
“You’re fucking pushing your luck here. Come back tomorrow, I’m not in the mood to argue.”
Allison flicked her wrist towards the door, staring right into Rubeckia’s eyes. Despite her temper, Allison had long ago whipped Rubeckia into obedience. With a middle finger and graceful kicking at the ground, Ruby left the shop with a groan. The doorbell rang behind her. Colstan greeted her with the strong smell of urine and two teenagers spray painting genitalia on the building across the street. Once the masterpiece was finished, they made a strategic getaway on pieces of scrap metal resembling hoverboards. She let her eyes drift to the scenery around her.
Cars littered both the streets and the city skyline. An everlasting ring in Rubeckia’s ears helped to dim the noise. A car whirred by mere feet from her head. The forever poignant scent of pure pollution clinged to her lungs.
Scattered cyber tech could be found every few feet, the less fortunate fighting for the scraps. Robotic arms, legs, fragments of bigger body augmentations lay scattered around like dirt on the ground. She looked down to her own arm, wrapped in bandages to hide the metal it was composed of. Without the tips Allison had taught her for modification of old parts, she’d be left with a stub. An arm sold long ago just for a quick buck. She cursed her younger self for her own naivety.
Stifling a yawn, Ruby grabbed the joint that connected her prosthetic to her shoulder. The icy metal zapped her with stray electricity. She winced, then popped it back into place. In her head, she tallied the number of times she’d fixed it in the day: seven. An odd number. A bad day.
With dragging feet and a scowl on her face, she continued on her way, navigating all the twists and turns back to her fourth floor, one bedroom apartment. Her walk involved dodging hoverboards and offering sympathetic glances to those begging for money.
After trudging up creaky stairs, she stared into her door. Red light seared her corneas and verified her identity. Five seconds passed. Then a minute. She banged on the door. It rattled open.
A single room to call home. Kitchen in one corner, bed in the other. Not even her toilet was private, loosely separated by curtains she’d hung up with rusted hooks. In a swift motion she lunged to her bed, pushing her head deep into the pillow. Locs fell free from the hair tie that secured them, the tension in her head easing. She kicked her pants off into the void. Her blanket surrounded her like a cocoon. It was an odd number day. Who needed to brush their teeth or wash their face on such a miserable day?
The clip on her ear began its morning howling. With no recollection of falling asleep, she rolled out of bed, cursing god as she smacked her clip until the alarm turned off. A quick glance in the reflection of her mirror showed the deep set bags drooping underneath her eyes. Would she ever get enough sleep?
She tugged her locks back into their signature ponytail. The temptation of going bald pressed into her mind. Her arm popped as she rummaged amongst the floor’s mess for a suitable outfit. A black t-shirt and gray cargo pants pre-covered in dog spit. An outfit.
Outside was all the same as yesterday, simply lighter. Rubeckia walked. And walked. Every now and then her brain would allow itself to unravel a few thoughts, lamenting on what her life has brought her: Happiness? Sadness? Nothingness?
The vague figure of her mother loomed in the back of her head. The words she whispered seemed to barely take form, vying for her to reminisce on them. Bitter words that made her bite the inside of her cheek until it bled. If there was any shred of happiness in her childhood, her mother had surely snuffed it out. Her mind began to calm as she arrived at work.
Right before she stepped in, Rubeckia paused, letting her cheeks warm up and her eyes squint in the stray beams of sunlight peeking through. Four deep breaths were needed before entering.
Today would be okay. More adopters would show up. The medication bills wouldn’t exceed their current amount. Nothing would be perfect, but it would be entirely manageable. It would be an even day.
Humming an old tune, she waved her hands desperately in front of the sensor until it gave way and opened up for her. She trudged towards the front desk. Her smile twisted down. Another post-it note slapped to the front of her computer screen. Another employee was lost to the wind. She crumpled it up and stomped it onto the floor, screaming obscenities until her lungs hurt.
Rubeckia braced herself for another work day alone, a seven pm clock out time fading into a dream.. Her life as a dog rescue owner kicked into action with the beginning morning barks shredding any morsel of quiet. Scoop kibble, clean kennel, hand out medications, take dogs on walks, and give the occasional tour to the wandering soul who inquired to adopt. A small chihuahua found her way home with a young woman while the big dogs bayed and cried for attention. Thirteen dogs dipped down to twelve. Four arm pops. A decent day indeed.
It was sheer determination that pushed her throughout the last staggering hours of the night. It took every ounce of strength in her to not curl up and sleep on the floor. The last few chores were painstakingly finished.
Rubeckia dragged open Willow’s kennel, collapsing beside her. She was a small cocker spaniel mix with a bandaged up stub for a front left leg; and also her favorite. She caressed her ears, feeling the heat from her blood coursing through. No chips.
A dog without cybernetics was as good as dead to most; virtually unadoptable. Broken. It was Rubeckia’s specialty taking these animals in and scraping together money to get them what they needed. She’d modify second hand cyberware to fit these pitiful souls all on her own. Even a perfectly healthy dog required a chip just like she had; how else would it be taught commands? Or have the owner alerted when it needs to use the bathroom? Or anything else in dog ownership? Clearly every good dog needed cybernetics. Just like every good citizen.
Ruby stood up, doing her last nightly sweep of the kennels. Tuna, the corgi, was missing an ear. Bear, a rottweiler mix, was missing an eye. Lily had no back left paw. Sapphire was deaf. The other dogs looked on with empty eyes. And then there was Adrick.
He was her late mother’s dog. She came to sit by Adrick’s side, stroking his plush white fur. A Great Pyrenees. Nothing wrong with him. One hundred percent organic. Even chipped for her convenience. A small sign stating ‘Not for Adoption’ hung in front of his cage.
She’d let her fingers press into tufts of his hair, rolling them around and memorizing the smooth feeling. Adrick was quiet. He often laid still, rising only for his walks and dinner. He would only wag his tail for Rubeckia. A calm, quiet beast. He’d sit when told, patiently wait for food, and go potty in the same corner. Her most well behaved dog.
She hated this dog the most.
The final step of the night was to shut down the computers and double check the security system. Before pressing the power button, she looked up her website; Riley’s Rescues. Her mother’s name. She scrolled through.
The donations remained pitifully low as ever; five dollars in the past week. And five arm pops. No longer a good day. With a quiet goodbye to the sleeping dogs, she left, embracing the cool chill of the night time wind.
A pair of eyes were set on her. She breathed through her teeth.
“What do you want, Vidalia?”
“You know I didn’t mean to-”
“Spit it the fuck out.”
Rubeckia met Vidalia’s eyes. Her long white hair seemed to almost touch the ground, drifting in the slight breeze. Her outfit was the same as it had been for years: a black latex bodysuit and a bright red jacket to cover herself with. Fashion as venomous as her personality, and eyes that had lured her throughout her school years, had her groveling for mercy. Eyes tinged red. There was a time she loved those eyes.
Vidalia sighed, running her thin pale fingers through her similarly ghostly hair. Her facial features were sharp.
“I see you’re still running this shit shack,” Vidalia spat, twirling a cigarette in her hand. “Sorry. I, uh, didn’t mean to leave you. Shit happened.”
“Cut the fucking excuses. I don’t give a fuck why you left; all that matters is you did,” Her voice cracked. Rubeckia turned away. Vidalia stepped closer.
“You know my… dad has debts,” Vidalia sighed, inching her way closer. “The collectors were banging on his door, they would’ve had him dead. I had to go home… work for a bit.”
“Mmm. Work.” Rubeckia grit her teeth. “Fuckin’ bounty chaser-”
“I get paid for what I do,” Vidalia cornered her towards the wall, her lips twisting in anger. “Cleaning up dog shit doesn’t fucking pay bills, Ruby! Am I supposed to hate my family just because you hate yours? I wasn’t gonna leave my fucking dad stranded. I made my money, and I saved him. That was me. Nobody else! And now I’m back. I can help you.”
“...why?” Rubeckia pushed her away from her, storming down the street. “There’s no point comin’ back.”
Vidalia jogged after her.
“One year of work!” she yelled, catching up to meet Rubeckia’s pace. “One year of work, and you’ll be able to run this joint for the rest of your life!”
“Bullshit. I’m not hurtin’ nobody again-”
“Listen to me!”
Despite every single rational thought telling her to keep walking, to ignore the desperate pleas of a wounded animal, Rubeckia still found herself stopping, turning to meet Vidalia’s pitiful stare.
“They’re short right now, and we need more hunters. Experienced hunters,” Vidalia started, slowly taking Rubeckia’s hand. “No killing. A ten thousand dollar bonus for every ten people you catch from the boss himself.”
“Not enough,” Ruby mumbled, her voice softening.
“But isn’t that better than slumming it out here? Living paycheck to paycheck?”
“It’s illegal. I’m not riskin’ myself again.”
“Nobody fucking cares what the bottom feeders of Colstan do. You know this.”
“Lia… I can’t.”
“Ruby, please. Just one year. I won’t ever, ever leave you again, even after it’s over… okay, part time! Keep this fuckin’ rescue or whatever. You, you were her daughter-”
“Why is everything always about my mom?”
Ruby wanted to yell, but her voice was quiet. She stared down at her feet, shuffling in the cold. It left her feeling like death to know she’d be following her mother’s footsteps again. She gazed back at the shelter, and her mind wandered to her run down apartment. Money was far more tempting than the devil itself could ever be.
“Ruby, you’re not her,” Lia whispered, dragging Ruby into a hug. Ruby kept her eyes on the ground. Each breath she took was shakier than the last.
“No killing?”
“No killing.”
Rubeckia’s hands tugged at the bottom of her shirt. Everytime she tried to look away, her eyes fell back onto Vidalia. She grinded her teeth together as her foot tapped against the ground.
“...I fucking hate you.”
“...I know.”
The words between them were ugly, yet Ruby still shared such gentle moments with her, carefully grasping her hand and walking by Vidalia’s side. The clouds seemed to clear for this exact moment, allowing the faded moonlight to illuminate the path before them. Each step carried more and more weight. Rubeckia closed her eyes, clinging to Vidalia’s arm. Even through every embittered memory they shared, her warmth was a familiar comfort. One she hadn’t felt in a long time. Vidalia drew her back to her apartment, and Ruby was entwined with her once again.
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