Cyberpunk 2766AD

Just as the blonde buzz-cut guy grabs onto me Ghost strolls up. Yeah, only Ghost would stroll through all of this destruction, believe me, that’s him all over. Kiara’s a step behind, ready to take Blondie’s head off.

Well, that would fix the headache.

“Come on,” I’m uneasy. We’ve been here far too long and when they come it won’t be with sirens wailing or rescue vehicles. A boy runs past, “We have to get outta here.”

I tug Blondie with me, explaining him quickly to Ghost and Kiara.

“If we can get to a place I know, we can fix him.”

Looking at Blondie’s white face and squinted eyes I add, “…I hope.”

Hustling down the street is tough with Blondie barely able to walk but I get Ghost to support him and Kiara to help and I move everyone along, counting doors and looking for the bolt-hole that I had here years ago. I'm just hoping nobody else has taken up residence there.


It's still here. Breaking the rusty lock is easy and we pull the door shut behind us, the gap between the buildings is a narrow staircase wending upward.

"Sorry, Blondie," I tell the head achy freebooter. "Can you climb? No?" I sit him down on a step and ask Kiara to guard the door and Ghost to do some recon up the steps. I'm thinking they'll be clear, there's plenty of undisturbed dirt and grime here.

"Let's have a look."

 

I stumble from the shadows, already knowing that the bots have given me away to anyone watching. The little things zoom around under my skin seemingly lighting up my arm as they reconstruct the broken limb, they do the same for my left calf. I drag along the recovering limb, hearing the angry buzz of the bots in my head, using my chip against me.

I notice a woman sitting near the ship, she's with someone, but I cannot see him. As I watch her and stumble towards her, I trip over some rubble and fall hard, unable to protect myself as hit the ground.

I hear my voice scream for help as I hit the ground, I know my lips don't move though. They haven't mved in over three years. It's the damned chip in my head.

 

Fox hears the girl fall down and ask for help. She skin seems to be glowing. Fox walks over the the girl and helps her up. Fox's tail dusts off the girls shoulders. "I think you're the last survivor. The three of us should hurry up and get out of here, before the wrong people find the ship crash."

 

The metal flicks against my shoulders as the woman helps me up, the bots go into overdrive as they go after every last little abrasion I received from the fall.

-Hello. I am Dakota Lynne. Are we being approached?- I scan the area aorund us, wsihing I had not lost my gloves, my hands are beginning to glow like lightbulbs.

-Where are we to go?- I finish dusting myself off, wishing they had left me the way I was born.

 

"You have an interesting alt. Well, I guess that people have probably been sent to search for the craft, so anywhere is better than here." The tail points to Fox's left. "We should head that way I guess."

 

Her tail startles me at first, but a girl with glowing skin does not run away from tails. I look to the direction the tai points to.

-Okay. We go.-

The bots have slowly effected my speach pattern as they began to work so hard against my natural klutziness.

-The person with a tail believes that I am weird? I do not understand.-

 

"I didn't way it was wierd, just interesting." Fox, Wraith, and the new girl begin to walk in that direction. Fox looks up and the towering spires that seem to be taller than the clouds. "We should try to the up to the middle section of the city, rather than being in the slums." The armor pieces on her shoulders give a small clack sound as they walk. "By the way, my name is Fox, and this guy is Wraith. What's your name, and what did you do to piss off the coporations?"

 

Wraith. Fox. Remembered. I follw behind them, noting where she points. Her shoulders click to the rythym of her gait.
-Dakota Lynne. I hacked their system. As punishment, they hacked me back. I have a chip in my head that is controlld by my bots. They are the source of my irresescence. I am healing right now.-

I lift my arm up to inspect it, the glowing is subsiding. My leg has all but disappeared into the gloom, the bots having completed their task and now trying to return to their base in spinal cord.

-What have you done?-

 

"I am part of the Black Knights. A group of freedom fighters that are trying to take down some of the major corperations, that like to use the people like slaves. So, your alts for forced on you. That sucks." They pass by some shady uprade shops and pawn shops. The men inside eye the three as they walk by. "Be careful though. Upgrades like ours, would probably sell for a lot of money."

 

"Be careful though. Upgrades like ours, would probably sell for a lot of money."

I heard the woman talking before she made her way to my hiding place in a doorway. There was no way I could get away without being seen, so I stepped out.

"Well it doesn't help that you go around flaunting them in front of the world."

 

I look at the boy who has just stepped from the shadows. His tone offends me, yet, I am scared. I should not be.

-Flaunt? What do I flaunt?-

I turn to him and look him in the eyes, afraid of his intentions.

 

"So kid, do you flaunt your fake leg then? I'm sure these people would be happy to steal it and sell it. What's your name?" says Fox, as she stares at the kid, out the side of her eyes. She thinks to herself "He doesn't seem to have weaponry, but I can't tell if he has anymore enhancements."

 

"That's pretty good if you can tell I have a fake leg through my pants."

It must be the limp I decided. I've really got to work on that. I take a moment to look the woman up and down. She screams "fight" in everything from her clothes to the way she looks at him. It's a good thing she didn't know about my knife and the gun I had tucked into my waistband underneath my shirt. The last thing I noticed is that she had green eyes.

"You're ugly, did you know that? And pretty stupid if you think I don't have any weapons. Cover up that rediciulous tail and you'll stand a much better chance of fitting in.

I hate people with green eyes.

 

His attitude disturbs me.

-You should really curb your attitutde towards your elders. You are very disrespectful.-

I walk closer to my the child, the bots slowly calming down, lessoning the glow of my skin.

-Why do you act so disrespectfully?-

 

"Oh I'm sorry, you're not ugly, just the monkey lady over there. In fact, you're hot."

I shrugged, trying to act calm. This was stupid, I should have just walked past them.

"I'm a kid, I can do whatever I want. You're trying to get up there right," I asked pointing up.

 

"You're not too young to understand that having allies in this place is better than enemies. Yeah, we're trying to get up there. So do you know a way up?" Fox thinks to herself: Man this kid is annoying. I wonder if his family acts like this also.

 

"Ehh, I can get there myself, and I can get you two there, for a price."

 

He has not helped his posisiton. I watch as Fox points in affrimation of the boy's assumpion.

-You have absorbed nothing from my comment. Why do you act like this?-

Before he can answer, I turn to Fox, -Do you actually want him to come with us?-

I feel so robotic, so very robotic. I look down and realize that the bots have all returned to their base, I can no longer see the glow of my skin. A sigh as my thoughts return to normal.

-Eh hem, you two, where are we going?-

 

The last foot of Fox's tail flatens and strikes the door, right above his right shoulder. After impaling the door, it pulls back and stays infront of her. With the end flatened, it looks like a cobra ready to strike. "How about this. You're a freebooter, correct? That means there will be bounty hunters after you aswell. If you prove helpfull, we'll try to make sure you don't get captured or killed. Deal?"

 

I jumped when the lady's tail went through the door. Damn, spies need to stay calm no matter what. I smoothed down the front of my shirt as I think over her offer. To be honest, it wasn't that good, but I needed someone who looked like a grownup to be with me. Nobody trusts a kid who's alone.

"Ok. Let's go find a bus station."

 

-why a bus station? Where are we going?-

The striking tail attached to Fox awes me in how little it scares me. That holding cell changed me. A lot. I frown as I watch the two exchange their ideas. I am confused, and fear I will reamin so.

 

I look at the glowgirl sideways.

"What do you usually do at bus stations? We'll take a bus. I just happen to have some cash, and you know how that's untraceable, right? We better hurry before they start putting the stations under surveliance."

 

"By the way, my name is Fox. She's Dakota, and the guy is called Wraith. We should get moving, so lead on kid." says Fox. She thinks to herself "We need to find an apartment soon or some safehouse soon."

 

I look down the street, then I look the other way. I have no idea where a bus station is. Stupid lady, of course she has to be the kind to make me do all the work. I pick a direction opposite from the crash and start walking.

"This way, and I'm not a kid!"

 

As Fox walks behind the kid she says "Didn't you just tell Dakota that 'I'm a kid, I can do whatever I want.' Though I really don't get why a kid like you was on the shuttle." Fox thinks to herself "I can get what ever I need from this kid, thanks to his pride."