As Ryne continued his approach, Hank's mischievous grin spread wider across his face.
Cupping his hands over his mouth, Ryne called out.
"Hank!" he shouted, his voice carrying itself on the evening wind. "What's up? Been enjoying the view?"
"Hey! Just taking in the sights, you know. Fracture has its charm. You know what I mean, right?"
Hank hopped down from the ledge and landed with a loud thud. He stretched his legs and then his arms.
Not half as graceful as he planned, Ryne thought.
Hank towered over him, a giant among the mousey malnourished inhabitants of Fracture. In a place where securing food and shelter was a daily battle, Hank stood out not just for his height but for his imposing presence. With his strength, there was never a shortage of paid work for him, and he happily accepted payment in food and art supplies.
Like most of the residents here, his clothes were in tatters, unfit for anyone. His tight brown shirt, stained and frayed at the edges, barely clung to his broad shoulders, and his pants left much of his legs exposed. His long brown hair was tied into a messy bun—part of a ritual he completed before going on one of his adventures.
"In a way, I suppose it does..." Ryne mumbled, gazing over the unkempt and downtrodden buildings around them.
"Well, I've never been to Nova City like you..."
"You wouldn't like it there. Art isn't expressed physically like it is in Fracture," Ryne said, eyeing the usual paint-stained backpack slung over Hank's shoulders.
"That doesn't mean they wouldn't appreciate it! But the food has to be amazing, though, right?" Hank's eyes gleamed as he licked his lips.
"Yeah, I guess? It's also a lot more expensive." Ryne gripped his wrist.
I can't be buying anything over in Nova, anyway. I have to save it all, he thought.
"Oh. Well, let's stop talking about food before I get hungry. I've discovered a new spot for us to leave our mark!" Hank declared, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.
"You mean for you to leave your mark, right? I'm shit at tagging." Ryne sighed.
"You really are. Pretty good at drawing those stick figures, though!" Hank imitated drawing simple shapes in the air and laughed before tapping Ryne lightly on the back as if to console his lack of artistic talent.
"Shut up..." Ryne muttered under his breath.
"Well, this one's up to you, since I can't do it safely by myself."
"What do you mean by safely? Is it hard to get to?"
"Well, not just that. It's in the Buster's territory."
"The Busters, huh?" Ryne said.
A rag-tag group of deviants that called themselves a gang. Being caught on their turf meant you joined them, or they beat you to a pulp.
"Yeah, and the path is quite difficult."
"Well, I do like a challenge..." Ryne's muscles tensed in anticipation.
"That's why I'm asking you."
"Yeah, okay. Fine! Let's do it! We'll just keep it a secret from the other Circuit Breakers."
"Obviously..." Hank sighed. "We don't need to be helping Maira at the scrap dumps for a week, or cleaning the apartment, or anything like that again," Hank said.
Ryne joined him for a second sigh as they reflected on the last few punishments Brad and Robert, the pseudo-leaders of their group, gave them.
"Let's go, then," Ryne said, stretching his legs.
"You don't want to say hello to everyone? It's been days since we've seen you."
"That's because I've been at work every day that I'm not at school. It's okay, I'll see everyone when we come back."
Hank gave a sombre glance over at the building behind them and tightened the straps of his backpack.
Hank's love for graffiti art always fueled his desire to find new canvases to express himself, and his infectious passion ignited a flame of excitement within Ryne more often than not. But even if Ryne couldn't express his imagination like Hank could, his joy came from expressing himself physically through parkour.
Together, they veered off from their usual path, away from the apartment complex, and toward the neglected corners of Fracture. With their parkour skills honed over the years, they effortlessly maneuvered through the maze-like streets. The decaying buildings became their playground, their canvas of exploration. Up, across, and over the structures they moved, their bodies flowing in sync with the urban landscape.
Hank led the way, his movements fluid and confident, yet slower than Ryne's usual speed. Ryne followed closely behind, his pace deliberately slowed to match Hank's rhythm. The two became a seamless duo, yin and yang of creativity and discipline. As they traversed the rooftops and leapt from ledge to ledge, Ryne marvelled at the forgotten beauty of Fracture.
Hank was right. There really is a beauty about this place. Something that not even the view of Nova City from right beneath the clouds can match.
The worn-out structures, even though they struggled beneath the weight of two teenagers, held strong and maintained resilience against neglect and time. The light from the sunset swept over the buildings, creating a fiery glow. The wind flicked through Ryne's hair as they moved, and he smiled. His heart raced as his body fell into a comfortable rhythm, contrast to the anxiety flooding his system.
"Remember when we met?" Ryne asked Hank. "It wasn't far from here."
"When you stopped me from tagging one of the Busters' buildings and prevented me from becoming one of their new playthings? Yeah, of course, I remember that. How could I forget?" Hank laughed awkwardly.
Hank, as he said, wandered into Buster territory after he spotted a gigantic library. His idea was to spray paint a giant book with teeth trying to eat someone alive.
Luckily, Ryne had seen him enter and he and Brad tracked him down just as Hank met with some Busters outside of the library.
"I'd only been in the group for a few months at that point. You were lucky we were out practicing parkour, or who knows what would have happened!"
"I would have survived, and one way or another, we'd have met. Friendship like ours is meant to happen."
"Going soft on me, are you, you sentimental idiot?" Ryne retorted, attempting to hide his flustered expression with insults.
"Whatever. I thought it was a nice moment," Hank muttered.
"Don't worry, it was nice. And now, here we are, purposely choosing to enter the Busters' territory. Your stupidity has definitely rubbed off on me." Ryne laughed as Hank's expression grew more frustrated.
After continuing over the crumbling buildings, Hank stopped his advance. On the ground beneath them, a line of barricades separated one part of the Fracture from the rest. Cobbled together from scrapped mechanical shells, pieces of concrete, and wood.
The robotic faces of the shells seemed to protest against their bodies being used that way, but their power supplies has long-since been removed.
Buster Territory.