Night had crept in fully by the time Youri woke, wrapping the ruined building in a thin, icy stillness. He and Thirty-Five were still lying on the cold floor where exhaustion had dropped them hours before. It was a sharp gust through the broken window, brushing across his face, that dragged him awake. He pushed himself up, shivering hard, his breath rising in white clouds, and looked around. The room was bare — nothing but dust, rubble and scraps of debris. No fabric, no blankets, nothing at all that could keep out the cold.
Rubbing his arms, he slipped quietly out of the room and picked his way over the fallen bricks, searching the ruin for anything that might shield him. He had gone only a few meters when an engine rumbled somewhere in the distance, and he froze. The sound grew louder, approaching fast. He darted behind a cracked concrete pillar just as headlights swept in through the open entrance and lit up the dust in the air. A gray sedan rolled to a stop inside, flooding the place with harsh white light.
The doors opened. Three young men climbed out, mid-twenties, loud and careless. The first had slicked-back brown hair, a black leather jacket and worn jeans. The second was heavier, in a green tracksuit, with messy black hair. The third looked half dead from lack of sleep, with red eyes and nothing on but a thin gray jumper over black pants.
"Hey, Mikey!" the one in the leather jacket barked as they came in. "You sure this stuff hits hard? Four-handed Zells isn't cheap!"
Mikey, the sleepless one, nodded shakily. "Trust me, Sammy. This batch'll blow your mind."
Sammy turned and smacked the one in the tracksuit across the back of the head. "Benny! You idiot! Did you bring the lights?"
Benny blinked slowly. "Uh… oh, crap. I think I forgot."
Sammy smacked him again. "Fucking moron! What are we supposed to do now?"
"Relax," Mikey said, holding up a hand. "Use your phone lights. We won't need them long anyway. Once it kicks in, you won't care."
From his pocket, Mikey took out a small foil pouch, and inside it were three crystal-like stones that glowed a faint purple. He peeled the foil back carefully, and the stones shimmered in the light from their phones. "Benny, get the tubes."
Benny ran back to the car and came back with three glass tubes shaped like little vases, and Mikey set a crystal in each one and lit them with a cheap lighter. The stones began to crackle softly.
Benny stared down into his tube. "Damn. So this is Galley? The stuff that makes your dreams feel real?"
"Yeah," Mikey whispered, grinning. "Get ready to live the best life you'll ever remember."
The three of them breathed in deeply. Purple smoke curled into their mouths, and within a minute they had all collapsed onto the floor, limp and unconscious.
Youri waited behind the pillar. Then he tossed a small stone at Sammy, and nothing happened. He tossed another at Benny, and again nothing. They were out. He crept over to them and found their chests still rising and falling — alive, then, only gone to wherever it was that Galley took people.
Suddenly Thirty-Five came rushing in from behind him with a deep roar, ready to tear into the three men. Youri shot out a hand and caught his wrist.
"No," he whispered. "We need their clothes. You're freezing too… right?"
Thirty-Five paused, and then he nodded once.
They stripped the three of them and left them lying naked on the cold floor. Thirty-Five pulled on the green tracksuit, and Youri took Mikey's gray jumper and black pants, which hung off his thin frame until Thirty-Five tore the sleeves and the legs short to fit him. The leather jacket was enormous on him, but he shrugged it on anyway. More warmth was more warmth.
As they stepped back outside, Thirty-Five spotted the gray sedan and hurried over to it, circling it curiously. As Youri came out behind him the headlights blinked to life. Thirty-Five spun around, startled — and there was Youri, holding up the keys with a grin.
"Do you know how to drive?"
Thirty-Five broke into a wide, crooked smile and let out a triumphant roar.
Before they left, Youri went back inside and laid a note on the floor beside the three sleeping men.
Sorry about the car and the clothes. If we ever meet again, I promise we'll give everything back.
Then he tossed Thirty-Five the keys and they climbed in. Thirty-Five started the engine. The tires shrieked as they lurched out onto the road, fishtailing wildly before they straightened, and the two of them laughed — pure, unfiltered laughter. After everything, after all the cold and all the running, here at last was a moment of freedom.
Thirty-Five drove like someone who had only ever seen driving in theory, swerving, skidding, bouncing over every bump in the road. But the thrill of it drowned out the terror, and before long the neon lights began to glimmer ahead of them and the great skyline of Talion rose into view.
Talion at night was another world entirely, a creature of light and shadow. As the last of the dusk vanished and the city came fully awake, the sky deepened into violet and the stars struggled against the neon glow beneath them. Towering skyscrapers shimmered with cascades of blue, green and red, every surface alive with holographic adverts shouting their silent messages into the dark. Down in the streets the city pulsed. The daytime crowds had gone. In their place were the night-shifters, the drifters and the thrill-seekers, moving beneath the blazing signs of bars, clubs and dens that promised noise, music and escape. Sleek tech lounges hummed with strange new beats and old dive bars slouched in their shadows, clinging to the past.
They drove through all of it until the sedan sputtered, coughed once, and died. Out of fuel.
They left it where it stopped and went on foot. The night district was alive, but it was rotten underneath. Bodies lay scattered along the sidewalks, sleeping or unconscious; in the corners of the alleys, silhouettes traded crumpled bills for small wrapped packages; and women in bright clothes waited beneath the flickering streetlights, watching for customers. One of them — a blonde in a tight black latex dress — stepped out in front of them and took hold of Thirty-Five's hand.
"Well, hey there, handsome," she purred. "Looking for some fun?"
Thirty-Five bared his teeth, ready to bite her, and Youri quickly stepped between them. "Sorry, miss. My friend isn't here for that. We're just looking for somewhere to stay."
The woman narrowed her eyes at him. "And who are you to answer for someone older than you?"
Thirty-Five let out a single, thunderous roar. The woman and every one of her friends scattered at once.
Youri burst out laughing. "Honestly, you should have done that earlier."
Thirty-Five gave a soft, amused growl.
They wandered the district until the first thin ribbons of dawn began to creep across the city, and then, exhausted, they sat down on a metal bench overlooking the street. The sky lightened slowly above them. People moved past like ghosts, and Talion began its long shift back into daytime life.
Youri stared out at the quieting chaos and thought to himself, So… what do we do now?