Chereads / Grafted / Chapter 15 - Tragedy

Chapter 15 - Tragedy

A woman with short blonde hair and blind glasses walks up to the HighSpire gate.

"Hault, state your business." A tall squared man approaches the woman holding a spear and rifle.

"I just wanna take a look around." The woman lowers the glasses and opens her eyes.

Her piercing gaze causes the man to freeze. His skin turns gray and stiff, until he becomes fully petrified, a statue. All the other guards raise their weapons, but fear halts their actions. She gazes into each of their widened eyes, turning them to stone.

"I'll just let myself in, thank you." The blonde woman's fingers turn into blades.

She's able to puncture the cement walls and climb up them.

She puts her glasses back on and begins walking around the city. She stands at the entrance to an alley as a man bumps into her, as he walks into the alley the woman completely stops.

"Easiest cash of my life." The man places her wallet in a bag before stepping up to a door.

As he touches the door knob his arm falls apart, already shredded to ribbons. He drops and begins to scream in agony, until his throat is slit, causing him to be unable to make a sound.

"You missed some." The blonde woman stands over him holding out several more wallets in blade-like fingers.

He quivers in fear, unable to understand what's happening. The woman's fingers return to normal as she pulls down her glasses. He becomes a stone figure atop a pool of blood.

"Now I've got plenty of money. what else shall I do?" The woman wanders the streets again.

She stops noticing a bar. She takes a seat at the bar next to some blue surfer dude and his huge buddy that can barely fit in his shirt as they down a gallon of alcohol each. Paying no mind to these strangers, she focuses on the voices around.

"The young master's kindness knows no limit." An older woman chats with a friend.

"Indeed, with him taking control after his father, the city will have a promising future. And his actions have rubbed off on his father, causing him to be a kinder leader as well." This woman thinks fondly of the young master.

"Bingo." The blonde woman leaves the bar.

She steps out in the street to see people investigating the stone man in the alley. She turns and runs off.

Young Master Steven had always been a kind soul, his mother taught him like that, sadly she died due to the illness that left her bedridden for most of his life. His father was never close, and his mother's passing didn't help bridge the gap. He kept on the path his mother set, and his father noticed. In recent years the pair have spent good time together, bonding.

"Son, however you rule, don't be like me and let sorrow cloud your judgment. Be the man your mother made." They share a hug before heading off for the night.

"Thanks dad." He enters a room darkened by the night.

The young master prepares for his slumber and writes some notes in a journal, when he turns around the blonde haired woman stands before him. He cries out in terror, alerting the guards. They attempt to break in, but to no avail. By the time they managed to enter the young master had been brutally killed, the sight was horrific and disheartening. The assailant is unknown, but they easily discerned the one who did this was grafted. When the leader learned of what took place he declared every grafted to be hunted down and imprisoned until the criminal is found.

Hundreds of armed soldiers scour the city like an agitated wasp nest. Outside the walls hulking machines track down anything with monster DNA. One such machine locates the gang's base and makes its approach.