"Hey." Kiara's voice entered my head. "Hey!"
I emerged from my reverie. A grayish haze surrounded us. Yellowish dust mixed with fog.
"Finally. Put the mask on." She pointed at my face. "The mask."
"Right." I put it on. Surprisingly light.
"Look at me."
A holodisplay appeared beside her. It showed all her information:
Name: Kiara • Class: Aurum—inactive • Type: Android • Age: Unknown
"See? The mask's nanites connect to your nervous system. It'll affect you while you're wearing it. Pay close attention to what I'm about to say." Her voice grew firmer. "We're entering Nobody's Land. If anyone talks to you, ignore them. I listed you as an active Class 1 mercenary." She parked the car. "Let me do the talking, okay?"
I swallowed hard. "All right." My voice sounded strange.
"If everything goes well, we'll get some info on your contract." Her expression darkened. Her eyes, even more incisive. "The seat beside you. Pull it. Simple. Pull up."
I slipped my hand into the gap and lifted the seat easily. My eyes widened. My blood ran cold. What was this? An arsenal. Accessories. Bullets. Explosives.
"Take one. Should be right in front of you. It's loaded."
What was she asking me to do? My heart throbbed in my temples. "I-I…"
"Don't worry. Just protocol. Every mercenary has one." She noticed my despair. "Hey, relax. I'm here. It's part of the disguise. Put it in the holster. On your hip." Kiara winked.
Touching a gun was unimaginable to me. My hands trembled. She said it was only a disguise. And I trusted her. I almost dropped the revolver. Gripped it far too tightly. A connection ran through my nerves.
Hologram: No target • Six rounds loaded • Not cocked
"All weapons connect to the nervous system to make them more efficient to use," Kiara explained naturally.
The weight of it was overwhelming. I searched for the right words. A sea of confusion. "I-I… these things… I want to save lives. Guns only take them."
"I know, I know. It's just for appearances."
My confidence dropped to zero. I blew air through stiff lips. It was only for now. I put it in the holster. Tried to forget the gun was there.
The white mist disappeared. Winds laden with yellowish dust cut through the air. An insane mixture of chemicals, harmful agents, piles of trash, and bones.
Bile rose to my throat. A pile of bodies. Some looked recently dead. I closed my eyes. Burned with the urge to vomit.
"Don't do that."
My tearful eyes met Kiara's. I was about to fall apart. I held back as much as I could.
"Hang in there, okay? Hang on. All right?" She gave me a reassuring smile.
No. It was unbearable. How could anyone endure this? It was too much.
"Hey, relax. It's gonna be okay."
I thought of Maia. Forced the sobs down my throat. She had been there long before, still a child. I had to endure it. I wiped my watery eyes.
"Better?" Her voice, more serene.
"Y-yes. It's all right."
"Okay. Ready?"
"Yes." I tried to sound confident, but probably sounded desperate.
Kiara got out of the car. I followed.
"Stay close," she whispered.
It took me time to adjust to the sight. Hot, swirling winds. Dense yellow clouds. Earthy ground covered in junk. Corrupted adware holograms of firearms and war imagery.
Piles of electronics, from remote, immemorial eras to hundreds of unusable prosthetics, rose many meters above the ground. Among them, stacked upon one another, metalized tents and containers. Hundreds of people made their homes there.
As we advanced, everyone avoided looking at us. Or rather, avoided looking at Kiara. She carried an enormous machine gun on her back. When had she put that on? I was too distracted to think.
We reached the marketplace.
Stalls piled together. Fervent shouts from merchants selling robodevices. Sweaty mercenaries, armed to the teeth, accompanied by fierce animals, glared at anyone who dared look at them. But the most shocking thing…
Armed children.
I looked away, unable to keep watching.
No. I had to look. Maia had been one of them.
We passed a metal stall set up among piles of abandoned implants and devices. A man with sun-weathered skin and gray hair tied in a tight bun held a small silver module. His rough fingers slid over the metal, as though assessing its texture.
"This one's a relic, buddy," he murmured, turning to the buyer. "From before Oceania's dissolution in 2861."
The buyer, a burly mercenary with an angular face, frowned. "Dissolution? You kidding me? Was that when Sydney and Singapore swallowed everything?"
The seller shrugged. "Oh, man, they swallowed what was left. Before that, the megacorporations carved up the entire federation. Governments fell quietly. Ended up replaced by corporate contracts."
He raised the silver module to the light. "This? One of the last independent biochips from that time. Before Moana-Tūmanako took complete control. Now everything coming out of there has tracking, central control. And you can be erased from existence with a remote command."
The buyer huffed. "And why the fuck would I want an old, broken chip?"
The seller smirked. "Because the old ones are free, and that's why they endure."
I swallowed hard.
We stopped before a wide, rusted aluminum door and side walls of compacted trash crates. Relieved to be wearing the mask, I avoided thinking about the smell. What a horrible place. How could it exist?
We entered.
An enclosed space. Doors opened on both sides. Shops sold nanotechnological items and nanobioimplants. Most were outdated versions.
Hundreds crowded bars and virtual reality rooms. Casino holograms flashed in vibrant shades. Pixelated money flew through the air. Excited shouts. Fights with machines. Shrill slot machines. At the entrance, a holosign read:
NO ROBOTIC TRADES ACCEPTED.
E-COINS ONLY.
INSIST AT YOUR OWN RISK.
In the virtual reality area, players had tubes connected to their mouths and private parts. I blinked, perplexed. What on earth was this? Was the addiction so severe that they ate and emptied their bowels through tubes? Brown liquid passed through one of them. My question was answered. I turned away, frozen. Gross.
At the other entrance, two Class 8 mercenaries holding machine guns assessed us.
"Who you wanna talk to, pal?" The high-pitched voice addressed Kiara.
"Cron."
"In his usual corner. Y'know… on that throne."
His companion laughed.
"Here for the thirteen-million contract, right?" A broad grin. Missing teeth.
"You're the second inactive Aurum to show up today."
Kiara grunted. Sounded uninterested.
"Know who the first one was?"
The other mercenary elbowed him.
He kept laughing.
"Whatever," Kiara said impatiently. "Move."
Both obeyed at once.
I followed her.
Behind us, a whisper: "Think he's still doing it. What about you? Wanna bet? An arm?"
The voices echoed all the way. We simply kept going.
We passed a bar. Three doors. Kiara entered the second.
We crossed a dark corridor. Sticky greenish liquid ran down the walls.
Reached another bar.
A woman slept with a gun in her hands. A guy followed us with his eyes.
A gigantic man sat on a golden toilet. Probably two meters tall. Strong, tattooed arms. A belly like a tank. His mask displayed a painted shark's mouth. Two tubes connected to a tank on his back. Reddish liquid glowed inside. Shoulder-length blond hair. Dangerous blue eyes. Yet there was something… strangely friendly about him.
Cron • Mercenary leader • Cyborg • 42 cycles
Below him, on the floor, a pair knelt before him. An android without arms and a young woman; blood spattered in front of them. My gaze darted to Cron's bloodied hands. The hatred in his eyes.
My heart pumped despair through my veins. I wanted to close my eyes, but remembered where I was. Kept my posture straight. What the fuck was this?
"Kiara." His voice thundered. Small stones on the floor vibrated.
"Cron."
"To what do I owe this honor?"
"You know."
"Of course, of course. The contract. First, how about a little help?" He raised an eyebrow and adjusted himself on the grotesque throne. "Got a dilemma here. See these little shits? Trying to decide whether I shoot her in the head and him in his fucking chest." Cron laughed scornfully. His deep laughter sent shivers down my back. "…or take them to the chamber. Yeah, that chamber."
"Depends what they did." Kiara shrugged, as though it were a casual discussion.
"Tsk. They stole my child. My baby. My little pig."
My muscles stiffened. What…?
"Those fuckers took Maláni's mask off. He died." His voice wavered into a low lament. Contradicted his crazed gaze.
"Maláni was old. You prolonged his life for too long. They did you a favor."
Cron struck the metal wall. Metal echoed through my entire body. "So what?! He was MY pig! The person who gave him to me is dead. He was one of a kind!" His lunatic eyes widened.
I suppressed a shudder.
"What the fuck? Buy another one." Kiara kept pace with his madness.
What kind of insane conversation was this?!
Cron stopped and looked from side to side. "Better than some shitty advice. You suggesting the shoot?"
"Yeah. Shoot."
Shoot? What…?
The colossal man stood far too quickly and drew his gun.
BANG! He shot the android in the chest. The bullet tearing through metal echoed.
I dug my nails into my palms. Held the trembling deep in my bones. My heart hammering in my temples. I knew. The android's core had been destroyed, the core containing his essence. His entire existence… reduced to nothing. Forever. Impossible even to recover the data.
Cron descended the steps and approached us. A dark cloud came with him.
I wanted to retreat, but stayed still. I had to hold my ground before that terrifying presence.
"Who's this?"
"My apprentice."
"Apprentice?" Cron raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "How about our little mercenary gets a lesson?" He held out his hand. Balanced the gun on his fingertips. "Shoot that little shit over there." Cron bent over me. Probed my soul.
I held my breath. Every muscle taut. Struggled to face his fierce gaze.
"She's my apprentice," Kiara intervened.
"Is she? Let's see how much she's learned." His eyes smiled maliciously.
"Cron!" Kiara bellowed.
"C'mon, darling. Show us what you can do."
I swallowed hard. Saliva struggled down my throat. A hot shiver traveled slowly along my spine. Slow. Dragging.
BANG! The gunshot's blast deafened me. I blinked. Regretted it immediately.
Cron stopped smiling. Watched me curiously. Put away the gun. "Kiara, you're a killjoy."
Blood spread across the floor.
Bile rose. Locked my throat. Burned. I fought with all my strength to keep from vomiting. My eyes watered. I wanted to cry. Wanted to collapse to the floor. But I stopped myself. Chained my emotions. Every part of me ached with the urge to scream. To run out of there. But I planted my feet firmly on the ground.
"Whatever. Problem solved."
"Yeah. The thirteen-million contract, right?"
"Yes. The terms?"
"They've already paid half. They want the target alive. The meeting's at Iron Ruins." He picked dirt from his nails. Just another business deal. "Same old thing. Easy target. The Aurums will be called in if it's changed to ultra-hard. You'll have to wait if you want that contract."
Easy.
I was an easy target? I was dismayed. What did that mean? That they could take me at any moment?
"To terminate it?" Kiara's question cut through the air. Changed the atmosphere.
Cron raised his head and furrowed his brow. "Terminate it?"
I discreetly followed his gaze. The woman who had been asleep opened one attentive eye. The man was looking our way too.
"Talk to the Matriarch or the Patriarch."
Kiara clenched her teeth. "Shit. Talk to them?"
I lowered my eyes. How could they act as though nothing had happened? As though taking a life were as ordinary as breathing? My palms hurt from clenching them so hard. I bit my lip fiercely, unable to process what had just happened.
The mercenary clicked his tongue. In an unexpected gesture, he took us by the shoulders. Our feet moved against our will.
"All right, all right. I'll walk you out." His bloodied hand was heavy. Warm. Half-open wounds marked his sooty skin. The crust had a strange firmness, as though metal lined the inside.
We passed the two mercenaries.
One asked, "Hey, Cron. Had you finished when Kiara showed up?"
"Oh, no. She finished for me."
Behind us, the two spoke:
"You owe me an arm."
"What the fuck do you want an arm for? You've already got two, you animal."
"Because I wanna be like Five-Armed John."
"Five-Armed John's a legend. You're just a piece of shit."
Their voices fell behind us.
Cron slowed his pace.
We reached the marketplace.
"Your car. Where is it?" he whispered.
Kiara pointed.
We walked over.
Cron released us and folded his arms. "Look, you know the respect I have for you. And for Maia," he emphasized. For the first time, he sounded like more than a mocking mercenary. There was a different weight there. "I've repaid the favor I owed her."
Silence hung. For a moment, he seemed like more than the colossal Cron, the mercenary leader. Something in his eyes changed. "I offered her everything I owed her." His voice came out a little lower. "Even in death, she appears in my dreams." He tightened his fingers. An uncharacteristic gesture for his intimidating posture. "Finally, I'll sleep in peace."
Or was he trying to convince himself of that?
"It was the only favor I owed anyone." He pointed at me. "I know. She's the contract's target."
"Cron…"
"I know. You know. She's no mercenary. I can recognize someone from Zenith. You did well. She looks passable. Enough to fool those suckers." He gestured. "Why do you wanna protect her? Lucky you came to me. If you'd talked to Trix or Denden, things would be very different. Now go on your way. I'll pretend I don't know you. It's all I can do."
Kiara seemed more relaxed. "You know it'll take more than that to repay Maia's favor."
He closed his eyes and pressed his hands together in prayer. "Maia, wherever you are, leave my dreams alone." He sighed. "One more thing. That guy… the one who came here. Be careful." Cron turned his back on us.
The weight in my lungs grew. Breath trapped. Heart tight. Everything inside me raced.
Cron disappeared. Took with him the immense pressure weighing on me.
I broke down crying.
Kiara's eyes widened.
All I could do was cry. Tears ran like a waterfall. I cried for the pile of bodies. For the families. For the children at their mercy. For the android. For the girl. I had done nothing. Could I have done anything? Damn it. A girl. To think of what Maia had endured… my heart broke once more.
Warmth cradled me. Kiara hugged me and murmured softly, "Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm here."
I returned the embrace and buried my head in her shoulder. Even surrounded by a desolate landscape, I felt I could trust her.
She stroked my hair. "It's all right now."
"I want to throw up," I said between sobs.
"Let's get outta here."
In the car, Kiara handed me a bag.
I took off the mask. Vomited and cried. Cried and vomited. A cruel helplessness lodged deep within me. I lay on the seat. Fetal position. Soaked it with tears. Stared into the void.
Kiara drove.
After a long time, I calmed down. Noticed my empty stomach.
"Hang on a little longer. We're almost there."
I rubbed my swollen eyes, unsure whether I could bear to continue. How had Maia managed? "A-almost where?"
Kiara looked in the rearview mirror. "Netheria."
The name sounded strange. Heavy. It concealed something I was still unprepared to know.