I live on the outskirts of Altressa, the City of Vainglory, except there's nothing glorious about the Outskirts. Towering, steel walls separated us slum dwellers from the true city, keeping us in what we called the Outskirts, or some called the City of Scars. It was a place known for eating itself alive, and for good reason.
There was no government, no institutions, no law enforcement or emergency services. The streets were run by violent gangs, the alleys littered with the dregs of society, the abandoned buildings filled with squatters. I was considered lucky, living in what we called Blocks.
These were big, concrete squares of dozens of flats that operated like small communities, little villages in the sprawling mess of the Outskirts. The people who lived there were Tenants and they each paid tribute to the Landlord, who was typically a user of a rank higher than Knight, and the Landlord would then use the money to pay off nearby gangs and secure basic amenities such as electricity and running water. Whilst also keeping a tidy sum for himself, of course.
These Blocks were built close to the city walls, and typically the closer you got to the walls, the less impoverished the Outskirts were, save a few exceptions.
The underground fight club I had just exited was in the middle of the Outskirts, close enough that I could walk home, but not close enough to avoid company.
A short, little weasel of a man was approaching me, slipping through the crowd like the experienced slime ball he was. He barely reached my shoulders and had less of a presence than a mouse. Which was often a bonus in the Outskirts, it didn't matter how much bigger his enemies were if he stabbed them in the back.
He called himself Slick, and was a known gang member, a member of the Crystal Syndicate, and he wanted me to work for him. What exactly he wanted from me, he wouldn't say until I accepted the offer but he promise that the Syndicate would 'take care of me.'
I'd never been that desperate before, but after everything that happened the offer was getting more tempting. I and Ma were falling behind in our Tributes and this prize money would barely keep us afloat.
"Hey, Hark! Congrats on the win."
"Cheers, Slick."
"Heard you got a tidy little prize, it's hard money that, there are easier ways to earn, y'know?"
"Eh, the guy hit like a truck but he had poor technique, it was easy money."
"Even so its hardly enough to live as a Tenant, you'll fall behind on Tributes eventually. I could help with that, I'd cover the Tributes, plus bonuses. I could even send your Ma to a therapist, Kings know she needs it."
Silently, I placed a firm hand on his shoulder, then glared down at the slimy little man.
"Listen, Slick, how about you keep my Ma's name out of your mouth, maybe worry about yourself a bit. I have your number, you've made this offer before, if I want to take you up on it I'll call."
I let go of the weasel and started walking off, as the man shouted at my back.
"You're not as big as you think you are, Hark, you've got no one on your side, keep walking down this path and the city will swallow you whole!"
Kings be damned, I hated that little rat, but I really needed that money. Sighing in resignation for the third time that day I decided I would go over my options at home, see what else I could do to pay Tribute.
***
I quietly opened the door to my apartment, hoping Ma would be asleep by now. No such luck, I could already see the kitchen light on. I kicked my dirt shoes off and walked, our flat wasn't small, it had two bedrooms and enough room for all four of us.
Now that there was only two of us, it felt large and empty. It was like looking at something not quite human, you could just tell something was off, there was an undeniable sense of uncanniness.
I walked into the kitchen and plates full of cold, uneaten meals, piled up on the table. Dishes filled the sink and Ma was working away at the stove, cooking up something else to add to the pile of wasted money.
"Hey Ma, what you doing?"
She spun around in shock, then grew a massive smile as she recognized my face and said, "Regan, you're home! I hope you had a good night out, I'm just cooking some food for your Da, he's running late and I want the food to be warm."
"Da's not coming home, remember? Him and Faye, they're both gone."
"Who's Faye?"
"What do you mean? She's your daughter, my sister."
"Don't be silly, Regan, you don't have a sister, I would know if you did."
I blinked. Speechless, I stared at her, then with a blank face I said, "Its late Ma, you should get to bed, I'll wait for Da."
***
Thirty minutes and a lot of hassle later, Ma was finally in bed. I didn't want to agree with Slick on anything but maybe she really did need a therapist.
I dejectedly glanced around the kitchen at the hundreds of credits worth of wasted food money. With the prize money I had enough to pay Tribute but we wouldn't be able to afford food after this.
I took out an old flip phone, there were far more advanced devices out there but only gang leaders, high ranking users and people on the other side of the wall could afford them, and shot off a short and simple text to Slick.
'I'm in.'
Barely thirty seconds later, Slick responded.
'Meet me here 11pm tmrw'
Below he sent me an address, which I responded to with a simple confirmation, then I flipped the phone shut.
"Looks like I'm working for a bloody weasel. Was it really that hard to look both ways when crossing the road, Da? They.didn't even show me Faye's body. Just because you had to drag her across the road at the wrong damn time!"
In a sudden fit of range, I grabbed the most recent of Ma's plates of food and flung into the wall, the plate shattered with a horrible, grating noise and mashed potatoes fell to the ground in a messy heap.
I stared at the mess with twitching eyes, my fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
This world would really be so much easier if I could punch all my problems in the face like Big Dave.
"Maybe I'm going mad too, Ma."