It was a cold morning, a heavy blanket of mist dusted the streets. The eerie silence only enhancing the hazy glow of the streetlights struggling to pierce the fog, like a lone lantern aboard a ship in the night sea. Clouds of steam permiated the air with every breath of the few people who were out from the comforting shelter of their homes or lack thereof. Rundown buildings and graffiti adorned the sides of the trash riddled and cracked pathways. The road was void of traffic save for a few burnt out wrecks dotting the curbside and the dim alleys emitting orange glows of smokey fires smouldering in their drums.
"Fuck why does it have to be so cold and when will this fog piss off" muttered a younger street tramp as he edged closer to the fire as he rubbed his hands together, almost seeming as he would catch light himself should he get any closer.
Hearing the grumblings of the younger one a gruff voice resounded from a nearby stair;
"Hahahaha you're new here aren't ye, that 'fog' if you call it that, never leaves only gets a little lighter, its a haze created by the uppers so they dont have to look at us down here on the ground". smoke hung in the air above the head of the man whose beard was long and tattered a poorly hand rolled cigarette hung loosely from his lip as he exhaled another cloud of smoke.
As the younger one began to turn to look a rumbling sound began to echo off the walls and the ground shake, within seconds the atmosphere had become darker as lights went out from building windows and people on the street ducked into dark alcoves or ran back inside. The young one was startled by this scene and subconsciously began taking a few steps towards the end of the alley where the empty street resounded the noise loudest just as he was about to near the corner of the building he was roughly grabbed from behind and dragged into a small shanty lean-to, a rough hand covering his mouth the old man from before had a serious glint in his eye and he uttered in a low voice.
"stay down and shut up if you dont want to die". the moment those words left his lips the rumbling had reached its cruscendo, a steel cup on a shelf shook rattling towards the edge, as it was about to fall the old man swiftly moved and grabbed it clutching it to his chest...
The shaking continued as bright lights filled the alleys cold metal glistening as it hovered past. A loud crash broke the tense atmosphere causing both trembling men to almost jump out of their own skin quietly rushed to peek out of the gaps of the make shift wall of the shanty. It was then they saw it, suspended in the air a gloss black rectangular vehicle the size of a garbage truck with a turret mounted on the top the front section agressivley sloped into a wedge shape. Rapid scuffling then ensued as another man outside was struggling to get up after falling over a trashcan in a frantic panic, froze as he was illuminated by a bright light followed by a sound like an electric motor powering up the turret emitting red and blue lights simultaneously.
The next second a brilliant light flashed with the sound of a quack, one their eyesight returned to normal the spot where the man had been was empty apart from the scorch marks that now featured on the pavement. Aside from the rumbling and swirling air pressure, no one dared utter a sound even the the mice stopped scurrying about out of fear. A metallic voice eminated from the flying vehicle. "all denizens of the lower realm are to adhere to the subjugatiors code 1485-7 curfew between the hours of 10:00 and 06:00 hours, failure to comply will result in immediate subjugation".
It was at that moment a high pitched roar could be heard from a ways off rapidly getting louder, a banshees cry like sound reverberated as it came closer faster than most could comprehend. The young one recognised the sound and clenched his fist while the subjugatiors craft moved its spotlights forward the turret powering up again as the noise rapidly grew, an instant later the turret fired with the same quack sound and a bright light emitted from its barrel piercing the fog as a two white demon like lights appeared before it, white streak flashed past directly under the subjugatiors craft swooshing behind it faster than one could blink and disappeared into the fog with a red glow emenating from behind it swallowed by the fog moments later. The subjugatiors craft abruptly about faced and took off in pursuit leaving those to heave a sigh of relief as the rumbling faded.....