RULE #16

Don’t panic! Repeat. Do NOT panic!

~ The Scavenger’s Handbook

Grey stepped out of the elevator as soon as the door opened. The brooding silence that had settled was too much for him. It wasn’t enough that he was scared beyond reason by the Warden which had accompanied them, but then Cake had to have a bloody panic attack. By all accounts, he should be dead and that was the only thought occupying his head. Only when he stepped into the lobby of the CEN-building, did he wake up from the walking nightmare that was playing in his mind. He knew that Cake was with him because the girl had been holding the sleeve of his jacket like a lost child. But what he found surprising was the presence of Joshua and Maité.

“Why are you two still here?” Grey asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

“Our destination is at the top of this building,” Joshua answered coldly, making it clear that he was going to hold a grudge.

To emphasise this the brat hit the Scavenger with his shoulder as he pushed past him. If it was anyone else, this would indicate the start of a brawl, but at this point, Grey couldn’t care about how hurt the pubescent teen’s feelings were. Still, out of habit, the middle-aged man shook the finger of his left wrist, to make sure that Cake didn’t do anything stupid.

“Do you remember the case I gave you?” He asked, ignoring the tourists while they boarded the glass elevator which was waiting for them.

“Yep.” Her response was far more subdued than he had expected, but he was willing to choke that to stress.

“Good. Once we’re at the top, give it to me and secure the nearest exit to the stairs.” Grey whispered in her ear as the wide pod sped upwards.

Somehow, he had the feeling that the only reason she wasn’t harmed by the Warden was because Caesar knew that he had given her the portable drive. That said, he was going to be the one to actually connect it, as the AI had instructed, and as he had promised. This was his burden, his sin. Despite everything that had happened, Grey would not push it on Cake. At least, there was a silver lining to taking the elevator and that was that the damn Warden couldn’t follow them in it. The damn thing was messing with his thoughts too much. He had to keep a constant eye on it, to make sure that it wouldn’t suddenly decide to murder him. Of course, this was a foolish notion. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Caesar had sent the death bot to be his guide and bodyguard. The veteran Scavenger had seen how the bloody automata had tracked the movements of the giant spiders.

However, the encounter with the Warden had made one thing very clear to Grey. Despite everything, his first and only thought was about Cake. He hadn’t been worried that he was going to die, he was petrified by the idea that he was going to be responsible for her death. This made him reevaluate his decisions, and he came to the conclusion that he was going to take the easy way out. Shit. Grey had actually planned to murder his adopted daughter in cold blood, instead of trying to correct the mistakes which had led her on this path. Cake wasn’t a monster. He was the monster, for neglecting her for so long. Instead of helping her to correct the faults in her behaviour, and way of thinking, he planned to run away. Still, there was something that bothered him.

Cake’s way of seeing the world, reacting to it, her damn instincts, were like those of an animal. A really smart one, but an animal nonetheless. This was something that Grey had realised during her panic attack when she admitted to not seeing the spider webs when close to them. It made him wonder if she had sensed something the pretend-soldiers he had missed. After all, her first instinct was to protect Joshua, when the two of them got separated. It was done in a rather misguided way, but it didn’t change the meaning behind her actions. Only after leaving the Park did Cake become more aggressive toward them. The issue was that Grey had no clue what the reason might be.

“So, this is Val Roux?” Joshua’s voice made the experienced Scavenger look at the screen above the elevator’s door.

It took him a moment to come to terms with what he was seeing. Short clips were playing on it in a loop, showing real-time images from different Sectors. The one currently playing was from Val Roux according to the label in the upper right corner of the screen.

“There should be a thriving colony somewhere around here, but the Chamber scrapped the idea after the people revolted. Do you think we’ll able to see it here?”

Grey resisted the urge to grab Joshua and slammed his against the reinforced glass of the elevator, crushing it like a boiled egg in the process. The man had kept a relatively cool and level head through a lot of things, he could do it for a little longer.

“Look at it!” He snapped and pointed at the screen attracting the brat’s attention to the images that were playing.

The Scavenger didn’t need to look to see the blackened husks of buildings and streets covered in thick layers of soot. Or the magma churning the wide cracks which split the landscape. Even now he could smell the choking toxic clouds which blanketed the ground. He could taste the ashes carried by the howling winds, and he could hear the screams of the Burned Men and grotesque bells of the Flesh Tailors. But even those monsters kept their distance from the University of Val Roux. That place belonged to the Children of the Apocalypse now.

“Surrounded by ruin, this place stands out like an infected wound! There is no life in Val Roux!” Refusing to remember anymore, Grey put a bullet into the screen.

The elevator pod came to a halt and a chime announced that they had reached their destination. Anxious to escape his dark memories, the Scavenger forced the doors of the elevator open and stepped into the ruined top floor. The roof had long collapsed, leaving a skeletal reminder of what its shape must have been along the few remaining pieces of walls. Thankfully the steel structure holding the massive dishes and antennas was intact. Though, reaching the control terminal two stories up was going to be a challenge.

“What makes you say that? You’ve not been there, so how could you possibly know?”

Joshua’s refusal to end the conversation was starting to push Grey over the limits of how much he was going to tolerate. He tried his hardest not to put a bullet through the brat’s skull as he turned around and slammed him against the elevator wall.

“Five years! Five fucking years, I spent alone in that god-forsaken place, in silence. Surrounded by the burned remains of the dead, wondering if I should give up. If I should end my life. At first, I wanted vengeance and after hunting down the last few remaining spectres that had destroyed my home, I realised it would solve nothing. No matter how much is spilt, the dead will never come back to life.”

Grey took a deep breath, trying in vain to regain some control. “In time, I also realised that there is no point in holding a grudge against Axion. Despite everything your people did, it is futile to blame children for something that happened thirty years ago. But if you insist, I can reconsider. Am I clear?”

Before Joshua could respond, the speakers in his helmet came to life. If the middle-aged man hadn’t been this close, he would never have heard the orders that were issued through them. But since the gas mask covering his face was almost buried inside the tourist’s helmet, he could clearly make out each word that the gruff elderly voice spoke.

“Master Sergeant. The situation on Axion has changed dramatically. You are hereby ordered to terminate the Scavenger serving as your guide and return to HQ as quickly as possible.”

Grey saw Joshua’s face change in vivid detail. Gone was the confused boy, in its place was the cold emotionless expression of a killer. For the first since meeting the pretend-soldiers, the Scavenger realised that the brat was far stronger than he appeared. Using his legs, Joshua pushed him away, throwing him on his back. Dropping to the ground, the tourist immediately aimed his rifle and fired. Luckily for Grey, the weapon refused to ignite. Not willing to waste this chance, the Scavenger scrambled for his revolver. The weapon had fallen a little to the side and it would take him precious seconds to reach it, but it was faster than trying to untangle his AK-24C from the straps of his backpack.

Grabbing the handgun with his right hand, he turned to the side and fired. However, his awkward position and the stiffness of the limb caused by the wound there, made his shots go wild. He cursed under his breath as Joshua dropped the laser rifle and pulled out the handgun Cake had given him. Grey felt each of the bullets impacting his vest as he tried to sprint for cover. And then he felt the telling sting as two of them went into his arm followed closely by another in his shoulder. Grinding his teeth, the veteran fired on the run, hitting Axion’s soldier in the chest. The armour he was wearing splintered, but it served its purpose, protecting the bastard from the round.

Unfazed, Joshua squeezed the trigger again. Fresh pain blossomed in Grey’s left leg and he tumbled to the ground losing his balance. As he tried to stand up, another one hit him in the side, just under the ribs. Dazed and bleeding, he fell on his back. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cake charging at the tourist with a wild scream. The blade of her machete died in Maité’s blood. He wasn’t sure how and when the mutant girl had killed the second brat, and he didn’t really care. However, he could see that there was a significant distance between his adopted daughter and Joshua. She would never make it to Joshua before he could fire.

Mustering all his remaining strength and praying for a miracle, Grey forced his arm to move and pulled the trigger one last time. Before his vision turned dark, the Scavenger saw the red cloud the high-calibre bullet created as it went through Joshua’s neck. He let the heavy revolver drop from his hand and smiled behind his gas mask, content with the thought that at least Cake was going to be safe.

Konrad sat at his desk, his back turned to the door of his home, as he observed the fires raging throughout Axion. This was the end. He knew it, the Council knew it. Damn it all, the people rioting on the streets knew it. The only difference was that Konrad knew exactly what that end meant. To the ravenous crowd, it might look like they’ve achieved what the hardliners had wanted for years – rule of the people, change of the system. For the bloody idiots of the Council, who cowered in the besieged Building of Representatives, it meant either public execution or life in prison. Few might even think that they could remain as Representatives, but those would be in the minority and only the younger ones that had been relegated to the back benches, where their voices would never be heard. They were all wrong. This was the end of Axion, the end of the last bastion of civilisation.

His gamble, their last hope, had failed spectacularly. Soon, everyone would learn the horrible truth. But most importantly, the angry masses would learn that Dr Varan’s Cybernetic Reclamation Project had failed miserably, after Caesar had erased the servers, leaving nothing but ash in its path. There was no alternative, not anymore, and the masses would rightfully blame Konrad. Not that it would matter, he thought as he glanced at his father’s gun resting on the edge of the desk. For a moment he entertained the idea of running to the surface, becoming a farmer and spending his life with Nikky in relative happiness. It couldn’t be that hard, after all the people of Véi Dron were doing it for two generations and were surviving. More than that, they produced extra which Axion greedily took, despite it being insufficient to feed its citizens. Even now, those hardy souls of the Safe Zone emerged from their hiding places and were stoically rebuilding Véi Dron.

Konrad had to give credit to Caesar. The efficiency with which the AI had dismantled Axion when it learned about the Representatives’ true intentions, was astonishing. Even now it played the various faction of the floating-city against one another. He envied how meticulously thorough it was in making sure that there would be nothing left remaining of the society Axion had forged and carefully nursed for generations. A part of him had hoped that they would have some time before the machine enacted its plans. Time in which to prepare and lessen the coming blow. Too late the Lord Chancellor realised that the AI had begun its work the moment their conversation ended. Sure, it might have taken a week or two more for the riots and violence to escalate beyond what the Ministry of Order could contain, but with all the Enforcers sent to the surface, there was almost no one to oppose the violent crowd. Still, Caesar’s words troubled Konrad’s mind and he feared that if he dared to reach the conclusion they were pointing to, he would have to admit that this result was all his fault and there was no one else to blame.

Absentmindedly, he ran his fingers through Nikky’s hair while she slept in his lap. Thankfully the sedative had taken effect before the fires had started and she was spared the terrible view. At the same time, Konrad regrated putting his daughter to sleep, before he had the chance to explain everything to her. Not that she would understand, but perhaps one day she might be able to forgive him. It was the only thing he could do, to spare her from being torn apart by the bloodthirsty crowd. That, he would never allow to transpire, not after he had failed to protect Jean, even if it meant that Nikky would hate him for all her life. At least he could take solace in the knowledge that she would have a life to hate him with. And from the bottom of his heart, Konrad hoped that it would be a long and peaceful one.

The door of his home hissed as it opened, interrupting his thoughts. There was no point in reaching for the gun since there was only one person the automata guarding the entrance would allow to enter, and the indicator on his station showed that the heavily armed robots were active.

“Lord Chancellor,” Elisa’s voice sounded hollow as she stopped at a respectful distance from his desk. From only those two words, Konrad could imagine that she felt uncomfortable being here.

“How is the hand, Elly?” He asked quietly as he scooped Nikky in his arms and stood from his chair. “The prosthetic is working as intended, I hope.”

“Yes, thank you for asking,” the Sergeant replied stiffly.

How the young woman had covered the distance between Véi Dron and Axion in just a couple of hours was a mystery to him. However, if Konrad had to guess, he would have to say that it involved Caesar and the small army of drones it had activated in Sector 2. Regardless of that, the fact that the surviving members of Obsidian were still loyal to him was not wasted on the Lord Chancellor. He had told her everything, without sparing the details and without twisting the truth. Elisa deserved as much after everything she had suffered through because of him.

Now that he looked at her, Konrad could see that she wasn’t the same girl they had sent to the surface. Sure, it was Elisa, but she was changed not only because of the simple cybernetic wrist reflecting the sunset. The change was most evident in her eyes and the stern yet slack expression on her face. It could definitely put John-Poul to shame, if not for the empty gaze. The thought of General Fontain being torn apart by the murderous crowd was enough to put a weak passing smile on his face.

Although Elisa was looking at him, Konrad could tell that she was looking through him, her mind having remained down on the surface. And there was also the way her right hand hovered near the archaic pistol dangling from her belt. Taken from the folks at Véi Dron most likely. Along with her scarred and battered armour, she looked very much the spitting image of a veteran survivor. A true Scavenger.

“Elisa,” Konrad felt his throat tighten and his voice shook, “I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need, Lord Chancellor,” the girl, no, the woman in front of him waved the apology away. “We understood why you did what you did to us, and we have forgiven you for it.”

“There are no words which can begin to express my atonement for what was done to you and the others,” he forced a weak smile on his face, just to push back away the tears. “What I’m apologising for now is because of the burden I’ll be placing on your shoulders.”

With trembling hands, he passed Nikky into Elisa’s arms. This one action drained all the energy he had, and Konrad stumbled back into the chair behind his desk. He held to the edge of the plastic surface in order to hide the shaking of his hands, but alas, he couldn’t remain silent to do the same for the pain in his voice.

“Take care of her… When you can… Try explain that what I do now, I do it for her…”

“Are you sure about this, Lord Chancellor? The surface is not a kind place.” The lack of protest took Konrad by surprise.

He had expected that Elisa would plead with him to reconsider. A part of him was happy that she didn’t, because if she had, his certainty that he was doing the right thing would have crumbled. Too many of Konrad’s choices had proven to be the wrong ones. No, he shook his head forcing the thought away, now is not the time to doubt yourself.

“There is no future for her here,” he managed to squeeze the words through the lump in his throat. “At least, down there she might have a chance… Besides, she will have you, Mike and Heather.”

“I doubt Mike and Heather will be leaving Véi Dron any time soon. I have other plans.” Elisa cut him off.

“Yes…” He nodded understandingly, and although it felt pointless, Konrad felt obliged to give her one final warning. “The Scavenger, Grey is a dangerous man. Far more dangerous than you think, especially now that he is under Caesar’s protection.”

“Trust me, Lord Chancellor. I know what he is capable of.” the hardness with which she spoke left no room for debate on that topic. “All I want is to find my brother if he is alive. And bury him if not. The last thing I would wish for is to cross paths with Grey.”

“Here,” Konrad pushed his authentication card towards Elisa, “this will grant you access to the emergency escape pod on the locked floor of the elevator. It’s loaded with supplies, meds and a leg prosthetic for Heather. It might not be to size, but it should be better than anything they have at Véi Dron. There are also some clothes for Nikky and a detailed map of Sector 7 with the area from where Joshua’s last message originated marked on it.”

“Thank you, Lord Chancellor,” Elisa nodded and left with the sleeping Nikky in her arms.

Konrad closed his eyes and screamed silently into the palms of his hands. Now, he had lost everything. He turned the chair around, facing the burning streets of Axion once more, letting the tears roll down his cheeks. At this very moment he understood how his father must have felt and as he picked up the gun, he wondered if his old man would have done anything differently.

Finishing his drink in one large gulp, Konrad de Dragon, last Lord Chancellor of Axion, squeezed the trigger.

Cake pushed Joshua’s body off the ledge with a savage cry as she buried her machete deep into his chest. She would have loved to make him suffer before killing him, however, the tourist was already as good as dead by the time she reached him. He deserved a far worse fate for trying to take the man she loved away from her. Sparing only a moment to make sure that the lifeless body was swallowed by the dark abyss below, Cake picked herself up and sprinted towards Grey.

He was hurt, she had seen the bullets create several clouds of red mist as they hit him. But he kept standing up every time. Damn it, he had even saved just now with that shot. He could not be dead. That was not allowed! He was Grey! Fucking Grey, damn it!

With tears clouding her vision, she slid next to the motionless man. All the girl could see was the blood slowly gathering under him. This was a nightmare. There was so much of it…

“No…” Cake cried out and franticly started padding the Scavenger, searching for the straps of the bulletproof vest. “Shit! Fuck! Where is it…”

What did Grey keep saying? It was about those crazy rules of his. Don’t go crazy or something like that. Which one was it again? Rule something.

“Come on, Grey,” Cake begged with a trembling voice and curled her hands into fists, the nails biting into her palms. She wanted to hit something, but all she could do was place them gently on his chest. “Damn it, Grey! Which fucking rule was it?”

Doubling down over his chest, the girl rocked softly as she sobbed. This was wrong. They had done everything right. The Wardens had failed to put him down. It was not right that it was someone like Joshua that got him in the end. She should have killed that bitch Maité faster. But she was tougher than she looked. Instead, she had allowed this to happen. Grey was strong enough to go on without her. Cake was not, she only thought she was his equal, but she was not. She understood that now. Just as she understood that what she felt towards him wasn’t love. At least not in the way she initially thought. She loved him with all her heart, and that would never change. However, it was a childish attempt meant to get his attention so that he would never leave her behind.

“Come, dad! I can’t lose you! Not like this!” Her words were starting to choke her, as she struggled to breathe.

Suddenly, she froze, startled by the quiet heartbeat she had felt. He wasn’t dead yet. With some effort, her trembling hands removed the gas mask from his face and her sobs turned into a maniacal chuckle as she saw Grey inhale deeply. Fearing she might break him; Cake ran the tips of her fingers on the side of his face and kissed him.

“Fuck you, Grey! Don’t scare me like that!” The girl murmured and pressed her forehead against his. “You hear me?”

“Is it over?” The man asked through laboured breaths.

“Yeh… We got him…” Cake helped Grey sit and lean against the broken wall painted with his blood. “It’s over…It’s just me and you now…” She couldn’t let go, nor could she speak. All the girl could do was keep hugging him, too afraid to look at his wounds.

“I’m getting old.” He spoke after a moment, giving her a new dose of hope that she had a few more moments with him. “Couldn’t dodge in time… It’s the first time… you’ve called me dad…”

“Mhm…”

“Hey, Cake, could you… do me a favour and move to my right side? The left one… is a bit sore…” Grey’s chuckle turned into a cough, but he still smiled at her.

Returning the gesture, she pushed back and wiped the tears from her eyes with the palms of her hand. Preparing herself, she finally dared to look at the mess that the Scavenger was. It took her a moment and a few confused blinks to comprehend what she was seeing. There were three holes in Grey’s arm and shoulder. A bullet had pierced the side of his stomach and another had hit his left leg. Although serious, his injuries were not deadly.

Unable to control her emotions, Cake did what she always did when she was but a small child. Carefully she moved to his right and sat next to him with knees pressed against her chest. Grey caught her by surprise by wrapping his arm around her shoulder. The man pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her head.

“Like you said… Now it’s just me and you, out here, where we belong, sweety… Away from all the insanity…”

The girl pressed against him and closed her eyes. Her sobbing finally stopped and she felt contempt to stay in his arms and feel his warmth.

“Hey, Cake…” He rocked her shoulder gently. “If you don’t stop the bleeding, I am going to die.”

Cake jumped like a startled animal and with a hand pressed against her mouth, she yelled.

“Oh, shit!”