My name is Rin Wezts. Today was going to be a good day. A really good day but fate had other Ideas. But I guess I should start from the beginning. It was a Friday and today was gonna be a great day for a few reasons. First I was off the hook for my standby I had convinced Martin to take it for me. A stand by shift was practically a death sentence for your whole weekend. I worked for the city of Xulun so I was technically a government worker and that came with some great perks. Healthcare life insurance and a steady job the only shitty part was it was a completely shit job and I mean that in the most literal sense I was a sanitation worker .Xulun was a large city and was the Premier Spaceport City this side of the continent so there was a lot of shit and a lot of shit meant a lot of waste disposal and reclamation. There was always something breaking or entering an alarmed state for one reason or another so you got a lot of calls It was good overtime.
The second was tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. I would get to go down to the systems center and get my neural implant taken out .finally gaining access to magic. I grinned with anticipation. Once the implant was removed and found out what magic I could use I was gonna go straight to the adventurer administration and sign up. I would have to continue working for Xulun city to get enough money for some gear but then I could go out into the waste taking contracts and helping the scattered cities. Adventurers were still government workers albeit with a longer leash. The adventurer administration was a large scale interplanetary work force. It worked closely with a lot of the world governments. The headquarters were located on a space station that roamed from planet to planet. The adventurer administration spilt into planet branches then split further and further down until it reached a city branch
I swung my legs so they were hanging off my bed as I sat up. My feet touched the cold concrete floor it was dark in my room and i would have to fumble around in the dark until i found the on switch for my desk lamp.I stepped through an elaborate maze of my dirty cloths from the night before being too tired from work when i got home to just toss them in my laundry hamper.I eventually made it to my desk and turned the lamp on it showing my old and beaten laptop sitting closed with my mouse connected to it by a thin cord and sitting on top of my laptop was the third and final reason why today was going to be a good day.
I picked up the small white tool. It had a shape similar to the older firearms you would see inside a museum. The grip was a cold hard plastic with little rubber pads and the top half where the slide and the barrel would have been was split down the length a gap large enough for a shirt or even thick set of work pants could fit thru. I unload the cartage it was a oval cylinder labeled repair gel putting it back inside the tool i sat in my computer chair and picked up my dirty pair of work pants.I always had plans to buy more but they just cost so much and i have been buying a new pair every month if i could afford it.However my old pair which would already be full of holes would just ripe even more making them unusable i still had every pair and now that i had this fabric repair gun i planned on fixing them all potentially saving me more money then it cost me to buy the repair gun in the first place.
I patch a few holes in my work pants before the repair gun started to overheat and shut off on its own.I need to get ready for work and leave anyways. I had opened my laptop to watch some guide on how to use the gun and could easily see the time without having to go out into the apartment's common room.”If I rush I could make it to Ms.Lons shop before she opens.” I said to myself Ms.lons was a nice woman and she always liked to hand out food to people who were struggling but it was first come first serve.I quickly put my new to me work pants on and my olive green work shirt tucking it into the waist band.I ran out my room waving my hand to open the doors menu as i rushed out of the apartment.Take the precious seconds it took to open the apartment doors looking menu it was a small window that populated my vision.
[Rin Wezt apartment door 895. Lock (yes) (no)]
I pulled a small flat chip from my pocket. It glowed with magic circuits and I pushed the yes prompt with it and the window disappeared.Turning around i looked out into the sprawling city of Xulun it was a maze of skyscrapers creating large chasms that a lot of vehicles used to move their passengers from building to building going up and down to the many levels of the city.The tops of the buildings where all parks,rich homes,rich stores,and all the government buildings.Below that where the commons where most of Xuluns residents lived,worked,and died never going up or down in the city's little hierarchy or ever leaving the safety of the city in the first place.Below that is where i live old Xulun city being right above the slums it was cheap and someone like me could afford it. The whole city was a shit show but the slums required a security detail for us to even work in and closer to the ground the air became toxic.the whole city was 400 stories tall and that was just to the surface.I leaned over the protective railing and looked up to the space elevator located in the center of the city and rising high piercing the cities bubble like a spear.”One day i will get to ride that Elevator to Xulun Station”
I made it to Ms.Lons in record time and I was actually the first in line that was a first. It was only a few seconds later that Ms.Lons answered. Ms.Lons was an old woman, her hair having fallen out from years of cancer. The only mark of her Survival. If you could call it that. Was her gray skin a side effect of the healing magic used on her.
“Rin, you got here early.” Her voice was feeble but had a light feminine sound to it.
“ I hope it isn't too much of a bother Ms.Lons this might be the last time i eat your carne burrito.I’ll be a big adventurer soon.” Ms.Lons gasped and gave me a big smile.
“That's right, tomorrow is the big day.” I nodded and Ms.Lons turned around grabbing a thick object wrapped in tin foil.
“Thats a lot bigger than normal.” A grunt came from behind me
“Come on Rin you know why it's bigger then normal” I whipped my head around to look at the new man. It was Peter; he had the biggest dumbest grin on his face obscured by his raggedy hood.
“Peter!” I yelled and gave him a big hug. He tried to push me off but he was too weak. He settled for grumbaling.
“Rin let me go, you know I hate being touched.” I ignored him, holding him for a long moment.Before letting him go.
“Its been a month since I last saw you. Just let me have the moment.” Ms.Lons chuckled while standing inside the doorway. Peter was an old adventurer; he was only a city rank but he was close to becoming Megalopolis rank; he never told me what happened and why he had gotten so weak.
“It is good to see you Rin. Now run off to work.”
“Yeah I should get going;Thank you Ms.Lons” I turned to the elderly woman and gave her a hug before running off heading deeper into the city.
It took about an hour to get to work.The whole locker room was a buzz with activity
“Wezt! Perfect timing.” The night foremen he was a short man, maybe only five feet tall hair in a ponytail down to his hips he was an ork-halfling his skin was white with a tint of green showing his ork heritage muscle pushed against his skin.
“Boss, what's going on here?” I walked over to my locker and swapped out my shoes for a pair of boots.
“There was a chlorine leak detected in containment zone two hundred-A. We sent a crew in to find it about an hour ago.” Two hundred-A that was right above the slums it was one of the oldest containment zones in the city.
“We lost contact then?” I didn't give him a chance to finish talking. He didn't skip a beat nodding to me.
“I need you to suit up.Get your level A envirosuit and S.C.B.A we level in ten.” I groaned internally not being able to use magic meant I had to use some ancient technology. At least these suits weren't the bulky mess they used to be but they were still miserable to use.Once I had my level A and S.C.B.A on I had one of the other guys in case the oxygen tank. This wasn't my normal crew so i didn’t know anyone however i knew they had to be good people. Anyone willingly going into a dangerous situation without knowing anything was a good person in my book.Once I had everything I needed I walked up to the gathering group of men doing a mental check. S.C.B.A with a full oxygen tank check, Level A is sealed up check.I moved my fingers nimbally across all my tools counting each one before my fingers settled on my maglock winch.I gripped the handle tight as the night foremen gave us the route and we headed out.Everyone pulled out there own winch as we approached the canyon that was the space between buildings, we had ran through hallway after hallway until we came out into a courtyard a large light shined down giving life to a tree and the grass around it.The courtyard opened up in a rectangle to open air small kids were testing their courage at the edge trying to pear over, with no safety rail the kids could easily slip on the wet concrete and fall the two hundred and forty five floors down to the surface of the planet .A woman probably the mother of one of the kids came out of a family home hallway and yelled at them to get away. These kids and that woman would probably never leave the old Xulun.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
I placed my maglock on the power line that scaled up the side of the building and started descending down. We were going to have to jump once we reached a no fly zone. It wasn't long before we were all leaping across the chasm falling at an angle, the floors speeding past us, floor two-hundred and forty then floor two thirty-five,two thirty,two twenty five,two twenty,two fifteen. This was a rush. The most exciting part of the job was that there were no safeties put in place for us and one mistake would send us speeding to the planet's surface. With everyone having some affinity for magic there was no real risk. Someone with wind affinity could simply push themselves with wind to the other end of the chasm, if you had any of the other two energos elements, fire or light you could create a burst of magic to help push you. The argos elements water, earth, and darkness required more skill but the end result would be the same. I didn't have magic yet. The neural implant used prevented any one under the age of eighteen from accessing the system. Ever since magic first appeared during the cataclysm the planetary governments used their powers to prevent another disaster. Most planets became overrun with newly forming monster megacities like Xulun where no exception to the destruction. Seeing more city wide disasters harm it from the newly formed magic using. Most adults were able to understand their new power and use it to help defend the old city from the newly formed monsters. The children on the other hand did not and could not control their new powers leading to whole city blocks burning and seeing a level of destruction only seen in the empty corpse of a city after war. The planetary governments all came up with a similar solution. Shutting down or blocking the part of the brain that allowed humans to access their.
“Oh fuck shit.” I screamed as I smacked against the wall of the two hundredth floor just below some safety railing scrambling. I tried to grab the rail however my fingers slipped off the sleek metal and I was falling even further. I could see a power line not too far from me, reaching out with the maglock in the open position I tried to grab onto it. Once the magnetic winch was close to the power line it closed around it. I gripped the emergency brake slowing down to the stop. My heart pounding, I turned the winch on and it started dragging me up. It was hard to breathe inside this S.C.B.A and wanted nothing more than to rip it off my face. But I knew better. By the time I made it back up to the two hundredth floor the rest of the crew was waiting. Checking over their tools and checking the oxygen in their tanks. I did the same seeing I still had at least an hour of oxygen left. I sighed and the Foremen walked up.
“Rin are you okay we all saw you smack into the wall, heard it too.” I nodded
“Yeah just a little sore and I used up an hour of my oxygen.” It wasn't unusual to run out of air faster than what the tanks were rated for; however, losing an hour after only 15 minutes was a big deal.” I never understood why we have to put these on in the yard. It feels like it would be better if the tanks were placed around the city.” The short man nodded his agreement.
“It used to be like that years ago when I first started working, The people from the slums would come up into old Xulun and steal them so the city changed their Stander operating procedure. I can call for someone to bring spare tanks.” The foremen turned around and started shouting orders we were only ten minutes away and it was all hallways from here.
After weaving through the building we made it to containment zone two hundred-A. It was a thick steel door leading to a single ladder we all lined up single file climbing down the ladder. Opposite the ladder were amber lights that bathed us in an orange light. Once at the bottom we all sprang into action. All five of us spread out in this large room. Personal light spells flickered into existence and floated to the top giving us decent light to work with. The room was dense with a chlorine fog, the yellowish-green color made my skin crawl. I turned down a row of five ton cylinders closely inspecting each one to see if they were leaking. I knew I was supposed to be looking for the lost crew but if I could find the leak while looking for them I might get a bonus and a bonus means another coin closer to getting adventuring gear. A muffled scream came from across the room; it wasn't a scream of surprise you would hear when finding a dead body. The scream sounded painful. I grabbed my communications chip and placed my thumb on the toggle.
“Rin Wezt safety call in ident RW” I recited the protocol used to confirm your safety just as the others started calling in. I vaguely listened to each man call out their identification. Only four including myself reported in. My food thumped against a soft mound that was just laying in the center of the corridor. I knelt down to get a better look; steeling myself. It was five men all piled atop one another naked save for scraps of cloth that used to be their envirosuit. There flesh was rent by large bestial claw.
“Everyone flee! It's a skreen sending emergency notifications out. A large adult skreen has been sited inside chlorine containment zone two hundred-A! I repeat a large adult skreen has been sited inside chlorine containment zone two hundred-A!”
“There is a second one boss.” I said as I watched the large bipedal insect approach me. An adult skreen stand at just over seven feet tall, there human like arms end in three long mantis arm like claws,Its head was mostly a mouth with pincers that unfolded themselves from inside, their eyes were large ovals that covered more than half their head wrapping around the side almost to the back.I could feel my heart rate pick up skreen where fast if one had there sites on you there was no out running it. breathing started to hurt as the oxygen tank constantly pushed air back into my face making me feel suffocated. The skreen began to chitter, its mandibles unfolding and clicking together as if in excitement. Today was not a good day.
“Rin, do not fight the skreen run, you don't stand a chance!” I did want to run. I wanted nothing more than to run.
“I'm sorry boss, I think my chance to run took off without me.” My voice was shaky, a lump stuck in my throat. A second set of chittering came from behind me followed by a loud thump
“Rin so help me god.” I couldn't hear what the foremen said after that the skreen leaped at my swiping with its long mantis-like claws. I dived hitting my shoulder against the 5 ton cylinder with a clang pain spiked through my brain I pulled my foot long adjustable wrench out from its holster at my side and swung deflecting the skreens attack into the tank behind me liquid chlorine started to pour out and turn into even more gas. I scrambled to my feet and tried to run down the corridor of tanks, however the second skreen cut me off. My eye level was at what would be its chin. The monster screamed and green viscus liquid spit out splattering against my envirosuit. I quickly smacked it upside the head with my wrench using every ounce of strength I had.Crunch. I broke one of the outstretched mandables. I went to swing again trying to hit it while it was off balance but searing pain burned my skin. Spots on my arms and chest burned. I looked down and saw the green liquid had melted my old envirosuit and work clothes. The chlorine gas clung to my sweat and reacted, burning more and more of my body as it seeped in from the newly formed holes. I didn't have time to be in pain. I felt a tingle in my brain and dropped to the floor a pair of claws slicing through the air above me. A foot came down and I rolled out of the way. The pain was blinding and my vision felt like it was closing in. I kicked at the closest skreen with a pop pain flared through my knee I had felt the skreens leg crunch under my foot. I dodged another attack from the still standing skreen and managed to stand myself up, putting the downed monster between me and the other skreen. Focus on the injured one turn this from a one versus two into a one on one .I hit the downed skreen with my wrench in the head. The uninjured skreen attacked again. I tried to dodge the attack again but it was a faint and the skreens left set of close rocketed towards straightening out to their full length impaling me in the arm. I screamed.
“You fucking piece of shit!” My whole body tingled the injured skreen stood up half its head caved in a murky white leaking from its body.I felt an intense strength form as I gripped the uninjured’s wrist and squeezed twisting my body violently causing the skreen to move with me smashing it into the already injured monster. The monsters wrist felt like a can being crushed in my hands and with a sharp jerk. I ripped the fucking thing off pulling the mantis like claws out of my arm, the monster reeled back in pain and I used that precious moment to attack. The sides of my vision were red and it was as if the only thing I could see was my fist hitting the skreen over and over and over until its head was nothing but a messy pulp of flesh and white murky liquid. Claws came at my head and I ducked, weaving my body inside the monster reach and delivering two quick jabs to its thorax before spinning around it and wrapping my arm around its neck and pulled. The whole head came off the body falling limp to the ground my S.C.B.A was screaming, oxygen levels were dangerously low. With the fight over the adrenaline or whatever gave me that strength was wearing off and I was getting very tired. My skin burned and my lungs were on fire I was gasping for air as I reached the ladder there was a thick rope hanging in front of it now a maglock connection on the end I connected my maglock; I gave the rope two tugs before latching the maglock to my belt I was slowly pulled up losing consciousness at some point.
