Hhhhhh...Hhk—!
"It hurts... it hurts... please make it stop..."
As the girl opened her grey eyes that were filled with misery and rain looked at the ceiling above her head wrapped in white cloth. her eyes that were unease and blurry looked around the room which was barely lit enough to see clear and saw people on their own beds. The girl tried to move her arm as pain shot through her. This room that fested with death and decay-this clinic which could become her dead bed, she could hear them, the strangers screaming and yelling about something she would not understand until many years later. From her blurry eyes, she could barely see her hands-which were always red as far as she could remember.
There was nothing wrong with her hands though, well that's what the doc'tah always said-though she was young, She knew better than to trust people in this section that she called home. Everyday was a battle for her, having an incurable disease named Óhrin like many others. The strangers who took care of her had said it translated to dirty. Well she didn't know what translated meant nor why she would have a dirty sickness. When she asked more, they said they didn't know but all it did was make her small head spin.
Hahhh...no more painful rock
Right on her wrist was a rock. A dirty rock she called a friend-this little dirty rock was with her since she was younger, it was almost black with a brown color to it. She could feel her blood rush to it every time she was in pain. The doc'tah said it was because her blood was saturated with collapse fluid which didn't mean much to her but all she knew it was bad. The stranger women said everyone's body had collapse fluid in them but being in-
"Siv-luh... uh... the big city thing!" Her eyes lit up as the through escaped her mind. Every nomadic city relied on Óhreinn to work and being in these city made such incurable disease even worse. But if was fine for now as the cute melody continued playing.
"Where...where's that cute...um...melody coming from?" Her eyes unblurred as pure white circles form on her irises-but they were missing a piece and started flickering before going out. "Ack!" She cried as she felt something poke out of her neck. It was the dirty rock once more but the quiet didnt last long before the two stranger who took care for her came rushing towards her with frantic faces and a third person with a black mask came following.
All while the melody played in the background, forever constant in its tune. "You okay?!?" The women picked up the girl and ran while the man punched the masked man all while the girls vision moved up and down in the arms of the women. These two weren't like her at all, they hands where like hers but black and only their fingers, as she looked up towards the women-she saw her eyes which had that white circle with a missing piece. Every time she asked what they were, they always seemed to avoid it with sadder eyes than her own. They had Halos made of black rain that were slanted to one side every so slightly. Heh..they never connect.
As the little girl tried to touch it, it escaped her outstretched hand like water.
Hissshhh
And with a thump, she winced as she hit a door after they took many turns. Both of them shielded their eyes as they went outside before being hit by the heavy rain that started to drench them in coldness and despair.
"RUN! NOW! I'll be there.." The stranger man caught up before the era was lit by the lights as the girls eyes focused on a red spot growing, she tried stretching her arm out but before she could attempt anything-the stranger women ran as her-both of their lives depended on it. The girl looked back as time seemed to slow down as the stranger man was impaled from behind as blood left his mouth before a metal stick was on the side of his head. The girl could feel it-his finale was coming soon and before she knew it, she saw a flash from the metal stick for a split second as time stopped.
Oh how she wished-for all the pain in her body to go away, the strangers took care of her but who would take care of them. She didn't know, not now, now tomorrow, not until she was alone. As she closed her eyes-so did the stranger man who smiled as time resume before a bang was heard as his body hit the cold and wet floor. Another man who's story would be forgotten in the city, nestled in the Barrio de Porte Fiesta where dreams wouldn't come true.
The stranger women didn't stop and would not stop as she held the girl tighter in her arms- she didn't wish to burden the girl so young with Candidate, she couldn't-even if the girl didn't think as her as a mother, even if it was for a selfish and twisted love. It didn't matter though as her time was running out and she knew it.
As she ran out of the alley and into the streets of Section 01-in the city known as Brewster Heights, the country where heavens hell is played upon, it didn't matter if you were rich or poor, infected or not, if you were raised in this country-you would die in this country that ran on drugs and suffering. "Listen, Sera! you may not understand this now-" the woman stranger could not finished her sentence as a few Perros surrounded them. Of course which led to a few unsavory words.
"¡malditos perros! ¿¡No puedes joderte a alguna perra en lugar de ponerte en mi camino!?" The little girl had a small smile as she put her hand on the stranger womens mouth. "ma...l...dito'? Is that like... a special word?"
"OI! i may have the head of a dog and be a K9! But im still a person! Fucking Puta!"
K9's across teraa II have only been around a few hundred years but were the standard guard, but in this country, they maintained what little orde they had via the Crisis Control de Fiesta-but in this case. In this case, everyone works for someone..even the guards and it didn't take long before the clinics little shits covered their rear.
"Sigh..Hand over the girl Linde..you know she's sick and you can't cover the treatment to save her life, so do yourself a favor and hand. Her. Over. NOW!!"
"Really Eduardo!? You know fuck well what i am!" The stranger women was Linde who took care of the little girl and had a not so pretty expression. "¡Maldita sea, es porque sé quién eres!..I know what you are Linde! You think i want to! I know because you are me!"
Eduardo knew the truth of both of them, what they once were and what they once stood for before they had reached this country.
The rain didn't make it any easier either, both sides were tense as weapons were pointed, a mix of Arms, Drivers and Melee-all aimed at Linde and the little girl named Seraniti. All it needed was one spark, one twitch, one-
"Bang. Hehe" and it started with Seraniti saying the magic word and pointing with her finger. And all in one second the area was lit up like the New Year. Linde quickly threw her in the sky as Seraniti tired eyes opened in shock as she grabbed onto a light pol as her feet pointed towards the Eye in the sky.
"Pretty.." She turned her eyes down which was staring in the eye to Linde as she was about to snap her finger which made Seraniti have an uncomfortable feeling as she covered her ears and eyes for but a brief second as she heard a muffled Snk! And just as she opened her eyes and put down her hands as grabbed the pol again as she floated upside down-she saw many bad people cover their ears as they yelled incoherently. And so a chance came through for them.
"Whoa! What was that, Linde?! Can you teach me? Please? Pretty please?!" Linde quickly did a pulling motion as Seraniti floated back in her arms. Linde then blew on seraniti damp hair as the weather seemed to follow the mood of the little girl. But who are we kidding-Linde then once again ran as Linde pulled out a thing-this was opaque like a mirror out of a shower. She then passed it to the girl. "Call the first person okay?"
Boo. What happened to the melody?
They continued as someone answered and a face popped in, "What? Can't ya see i'm busy running a business?" Linde then entered a small shop and had a small pit stop before continuing their run. "Fu-cough..it's Eduardo again, and the thing we talked about before." It didn't take long before they caught up on a few things.
"Mmm-you're lucky you managed to reach her on time or else her organs would have been harvested for who knows what. " Linde sighed deeply as Seraniti was eating a bowl of warm soup as she took off the cloth around seraniti's head.
"So—could ya pick us up? And I guess we have to explain to little Sera here too." They continued talking before a car rolled up towards their location. By then—the guards had decreased the number of guards looking for them as the first few rays of light hit the city. Seraniti was fast asleep as they entered the the car finally arrived.
As the car moved through the ruined streets, the faint hum of the engine was the only sound for a while. Linde stared out of the window, her expression unreadable, though her fingers fidgeted slightly against the seat. Seraniti stirred, her head resting lightly on Linde's arm. The driver broke the silence first, his voice gruff but curious. "You still running from ghosts, Linde?"
Linde glanced at him, her lips tightening. "Aren't we all?" she replied. "The only difference is how fast they catch up."
He chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "Still. Can't imagine you thought things would get this bad."
"I didn't," Linde admitted quietly. She looked down at Seraniti's sleeping face, smoothing the damp hair away from her forehead. "But it's not about me anymore."
The driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror, his eyes softening slightly. "Kid's lucky to have you. Not many would stick their neck out like this."
"Lucky?" Linde's voice held a bitter edge. "If she's lucky, she'll live long enough to hate me for it."
A silence fell, heavy and contemplative, as the car rolled over uneven streets. Eventually, the driver sighed.
"You want advice, Linde?" When she didn't reply, he continued anyway. "You're doing what you can. That's all anyone can do in this hellhole. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Linde gave a slight nod, her gaze drifting back to the window. "Appreciate it. But advice won't stop the clock."
The driver grunted in agreement, focusing on the road ahead. The ruins of the city loomed around them like silent witnesses to their flight, a stark reminder of the world they were trying to survive.
"Will he make it to the other side?" She asked the driver ever so politely.
"No..His spirit body is damaged beyond any help-not even putting him in an IDOL will save his consciousness, even Priests from Yamatai can't help...after all we're all Monsta anyway." The person in question was getting his brain splatter picked up from the cold floor which has seen many different faces throughout its time, and all Linde could do was let tears roll from her check to the floor. It took a while before they reached Section 02 of the city where Elk was waiting for them. They stopped before a small residential district which was connect to the underground residential layer which is common in most countries of Terra II.
"Alright-lemme see...Oi! Tell Elk were here yeah?..Mmm okay we'll be here. Bye-bye"
As the man finished calling a guard, the gate towards the district was opened as they took the ramp towards the underground layer-In the common era, most cities had areas where natural light could pass through and if you took one took a wrong step, you would die from the fall or at best need a pair of new legs countasy of transplants.
Either way they took the road towards Elk's residency as people walked about their day, some were shopping, going to work or being searched.