Sector 13.
I ran.
The city blurred past me.
Neon signs buzzed in the rain. Drunks stumbled in alleyways.
I ignored them all.
My heart wasn't pounding from the running. It was pounding from fear.
Maya.
Is she safe?
Is she alive?
I reached the Black Market.
It was a maze of rusted shipping containers and illegal stalls.
The smell of fried synth-meat and ozone hung in the air.
I pulled my hood low.
I couldn't just burst in.
If Jiro had guards, I'd be dead before I reached the door.
I crept toward the clinic.
It was a converted cargo container at the end of the market.
The sign above the door flickered: "DOC JIRO - CLINIC & PARTS".
The lights were on inside.
I heard voices.
I pressed my ear against the cold metal wall.
"Is the girl stable?" a deep voice asked. It sounded like gravel.
"She's fine," Jiro's mechanical voice replied. "I gave her the sedative. She won't wake up for hours."
"Good," the deep voice said. "The Captain wants her moved tonight. Her levels are spiking. If we harvest her now, we can get a Level 4 Core out of her chest."
My blood froze.
Harvest?
Level 4 Core?
They weren't treating her.
They were farming her.
Maya wasn't sick. She was a product.
And they were waiting for her to ripen so they could cut her open.
Rage.
White-hot rage flooded my vision.
I gripped the hilt of Zev. The leather wrapping burned away instantly, revealing the glowing red blade.
[Break the door,] Zev commanded. [Slaughter them.]
"No," I whispered. "That's too quick."
I walked to the front door.
I didn't kick it.
I knocked.
Knock. Knock.
Polite. Like a customer.
The voices inside stopped.
"Who is it?" Jiro called out. He sounded annoyed.
"It's Ren," I said. My voice was calm. Terrifyingly calm. "I have the package."
Silence.
Then, footsteps.
The slide-window opened. Jiro's robotic eye peered out.
He looked surprised.
"Ren? You're... alive?"
He quickly corrected himself.
"I mean... you're back early. Did you find Kael?"
"Yeah," I said. "He's waiting for you at the Pit. He said he found something big. He needs your help to carry it."
Jiro hesitated. He scanned me.
He saw the mud. He saw the rain.
But I was hiding the sword behind my back.
Greed won over suspicion.
"Fine. Come in."
The locks clicked. Clank. Hiss.
The door opened.
I stepped inside.
The clinic smelled of antiseptic and rust.
Jiro stood behind the counter. His mechanical claw tapped on the metal surface.
In the corner, a massive Shark-man sat on a crate. He was eating a raw fish.
He looked up at me, his yellow eyes narrowing.
"Who's the runt?" the Shark-man grunted.
"Just a runner," Jiro said. "So, Ren. Where is the item?"
I looked at the curtain in the back. The ward where Maya slept.
"Is she okay?" I asked.
"She's sleeping," Jiro waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about her. Worry about my payment. Did Kael send the credits?"
I looked at Jiro.
Old. Half-metal. Pathetic.
For years, I thought he was a savior. I thanked him every time he gave me a discount. I cleaned his floors to pay off debt.
And the whole time, he was looking at my sister like she was a pig to be slaughtered.
"Kael didn't send credits," I said softly.
I brought my hand out from behind my back.
The massive black sword slammed onto the floor.
THUD.
The concrete cracked under its weight.
The red vein on the blade pulsed, lighting up the room with a bloody glow.
Jiro's cigar fell out of his mouth.
The Shark-man stood up, dropping his fish.
"What the hell is that?" the Shark-man growled. "That's a cursed weapon!"
Jiro's face went pale.
"Ren... where did you get that?"
I looked him in the eye.
"Kael gave it to me," I lied. "Right before I put it through his heart."
Jiro flinched. "You... you killed him?"
"And now," I raised the sword. It felt light as a feather. "I'm going to kill you."
"Get him!" Jiro screamed, diving behind the counter. "Kill him, Razor!"
The Shark-man, Razor, roared.
He was big. Bigger than the ones at the Pit.
He pulled a massive serrated machete from his belt.
"Stupid kid! You think a fancy sword makes you a fighter?"
He charged.
He swung the machete down.
It was a heavy, clumsy strike.
[Slow,] Zev whispered.
I stepped in.
I didn't block. I didn't dodge.
I met his strike head-on.
CLANG!
My crystal blade hit his steel machete.
There was no contest.
The steel shattered. Shards of metal flew everywhere.
Razor's eyes went wide.
"My sword...?"
I spun.
SLASH.
I cut through his thick blue hide. Through his ribs. Through his heart.
Razor gasped.
He looked down at the red line across his chest.
"How..."
He collapsed. Dead.
One hit.
I was getting stronger. Or Zev was getting hungrier.
I didn't celebrate.
I walked toward the counter.
Jiro popped up.
His mechanical arm transformed. The claw retracted, replaced by a rotary saw.
Whirrrr.
"Stay back!" Jiro shrieked. "I'll cut you to pieces!"
He lunged at me. The saw spun dangerously fast.
I didn't even raise my sword.
I caught his mechanical wrist with my bare left hand.
GRIND.
The saw sparked against my skin, but my grip held. My strength was monstrous now.
Jiro stared at me in horror. "You... you're not human..."
"No," I said. "I'm a brother."
I squeezed.
CRUNCH.
Metal twisted. Wires sparked.
I crushed his mechanical arm like a soda can.
"AHHHHH!" Jiro screamed, falling to his knees.
I kicked him in the chest.
He flew back, crashing into a shelf of glass jars.
Formaldehyde and preserved organs spilled all over him.
He tried to crawl away, slipping on the mess.
"Ren! Wait! I can explain! It wasn't my idea! It was Arlong! Captain Arlong made me do it!"
I stepped on his chest, pinning him to the floor.
I pointed the tip of Zev at his human eye.
"Start talking," I growled. "What is wrong with Maya?"
Jiro sobbed.
"She... she's a reactor! She has a rare mutation. Her body produces pure Mana. It accumulates in her heart!"
He coughed blood.
"If we extract it, it's worth millions! The Captain... he wanted to harvest it tonight! I was just following orders!"
"You poisoned her," I accused. "You gave her medicine that made her sick."
"It wasn't poison!" Jiro cried. "It was fertilizer! The 'Blue Lotus' accelerates the mana growth! It makes the Core bigger!"
My vision turned red.
Fertilizer.
He was treating my sister like a crop.
For years.
Every time I thanked him for the medicine... I was thanking him for killing her faster.
"You sick bastard," I whispered.
[Kill him,] Zev urged. [Peel his skin off.]
"Please!" Jiro begged. "I can fix her! I have the antidote! I can stop the growth! Just let me live!"
I hesitated.
Antidote?
If I killed him, would I lose the cure?
"Where is it?" I demanded.
"Safe! In the safe!" He pointed to a metal box under the counter. "Code is 4491! Take it! Just let me go!"
I kept my foot on his chest.
I reached over and punched the code into the safe.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.
It opened.
Inside, there was a single vial of clear liquid. And a stack of credit chips.
I took the vial.
I looked at it. It glowed faintly.
I looked back at Jiro.
He was smiling. A relieved, pathetic smile.
"See? I helped you. Now we're even, right? You take the girl, I leave town. Everyone wins."
I looked at the vial. Then at Jiro.
"Even?" I asked.
I uncorked the vial.
I poured the liquid onto the floor.
Jiro's eyes bulged. "What... what are you doing?! That's the only dose!"
"Oops," I said. "Slipped."
"YOU CRAZY BASTARD!" Jiro screamed. "SHE'LL DIE WITHOUT THAT!"
"No," I said coldly. "She won't die. Because I'm going to find a better doctor. A real doctor."
I raised the sword.
"But you? You don't get to be a doctor anymore."
"Wait! REN! NO!"
STAB.
I drove the sword through his throat.
His scream was cut short.
His mechanical eye flickered and went dark.
Jiro was dead.
I pulled the sword out.
I felt nothing. No remorse.
Just the satisfaction of taking out the trash.
[Good,] Zev purred. [The rat is dead.]
I ran to the back curtain.
I tore it open.
"Maya!"
She was there.
Lying on the cot.
She looked pale. Sweat beaded on her forehead.
But she was breathing.
I checked her pulse. It was fast, erratic. The 'fertilizer' was working. Her heart was trying to explode.
"Ren...?"
She opened her eyes. They were glowing faintly blue.
"It hurts... Ren... my chest..."
"I know," I whispered, scooping her up in my arms. She was so light. Like a feather. "I've got you. We're leaving."
"Where...?"
"Anywhere but here."
I kicked the back door open.
The rain hit us instantly.
I wrapped my cloak around her.
I had to get out of the Black Market.
If Arlong was coming for the harvest, he would be here soon.
I sprinted into the alleyway.
I needed a hideout. Somewhere safe.
But then, a siren wailed.
WOOP. WOOP. WOOP.
Red lights flashed over the entire market.
A voice boomed over the loudspeakers.
"LOCKDOWN INITIATED. SEAL ALL EXITS. BY ORDER OF CAPTAIN ARLONG."
I cursed.
They knew.
Someone must have triggered a silent alarm. Or maybe Razor had a heart-monitor that alerted the squad.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the main street.
Lots of them.
"Find the boy! Find the girl!" a voice roared.
It was Arlong.
I recognized that voice from Jiro's description. Gravel and cruelty.
I was trapped.
Front gate: Blocked.
Back gate: Blocked.
I was carrying a dying girl in one arm and a massive sword in the other.
And an entire squad of elite Shark-men was hunting me.
[Ren,] Zev said. His voice was serious. [You cannot run holding her. You are too slow.]
"I'm not leaving her!" I snarled.
[Then put her down,] Zev said. [Hide her. And fight.]
I looked around.
We were in a narrow alley filled with dumpsters.
There was an old ventilation shaft near the ground. Small. Tight.
"Maya," I whispered. "I need you to hide in there. Can you do that?"
Maya nodded weakly. She was terrified, but she trusted me.
I slid the grate open. I helped her crawl inside.
"Stay quiet. Cover your ears. No matter what you hear, don't come out until I say my name. Okay?"
"Ren... come back," she cried softly.
"I promise."
I closed the grate. I piled trash bags in front of it to hide it.
I stood up.
I walked back to the main street.
I stood under a flickering neon light.
I stabbed Zev into the concrete.
I waited.
The footsteps got closer.
Shadows appeared at the end of the street.
Five... ten... fifteen Shark-men.
And in the center, a massive figure towering over them all.
Captain Arlong.
He wore a coat made of shark skin. He held a jagged cutlass the size of a door.
He saw me.
He smiled. A nightmare smile full of teeth.
"There you are," Arlong boomed. "The little rat who killed my doctor."
I gripped the hilt of Zev.
I smiled back.
"Hello, fish-face."
[Ready?] Zev asked.
"Ready."
[Then let's make some sushi.]