Grim Reaper

The rift tossed Avea and Bebop out into something wet and cold. It was shallow enough that Avea was able to find her footing beneath her, standing up waist deep in something that smelled of rotting fish. The rift closed behind them leaving the two of them alone, "oh god" Avea gagged throwing her arm over her nose. "What is it?" Bebop asked, hovering above her head. "Just be thankful you don't have a nose," she said, her eyes watering with the stench. "I can't see," Avea complained her eyes straining to see beyond the shrouded darkness before her. Bebop obliged shining its tiny light ahead revealing a long stretch of murky brown water. "We're in the canal routes," Avea said trudging through the murky water, trying to not inhale through her nose. "In the Core, Crux or Valent?" Bebop asked. The canal routes were the waterways that connected all of the rings together, ebbing and flowing throughout T'alli. A large piece of crushed garbage bobbed out from the beneath the surface. "Valent," they both said. There was no way that the Crux and the Core would dare have polluted trash-filled waterways in their pristine rings. "We have to find Briggs," Avea said.

She was cut off by a siren blaring above her followed by a bright spot light trailing along the canal route heading straight for her. "It's the patrols" Avea gasped. "They're doing a sweep!" Bebop cried. Turning the opposite direction Avea began moving through the water as fast she could, outrunning the blinding light that drew nearer. The guardwatch tended to patrol the main lanes around the canal routes veering away from the inner cities where the more sinister activities occurred. It was a way for the Core Council to assert power in Valent ring, a futile attempt to keep the clan lords in check. So every now and then the patrols picked up individuals for petty crimes; gambling corners, street racing, gang brawls or anything remotely suspicious. Avea swimming in disgusting canal water was definitely suspicious, and if she got taken in by the guardwatch then she couldn't find Briggs.

Waist deep in the polluted water, Avea's leg were starting to cramp dragging herself away from the spotlight that chased her further down the route. Dangerously close, she crouched down low hiding behind the large piles of trash that had clumped together to form small floating islands. The sirens wailing grew closer and she could now hear the officers barking orders from their hovervechs."They're getting closer" Bebop screeched, Avea's eyes scoured over the water trying to find an out. Her eyes landed on a giant floating trash pile, it looked sturdy enough to hold her. Not giving herself time to second guess it, Avea dived hoisting herself onto the pile. The spotlight shined over the trash island and Avea ducked silently praying that she was covered. Her heart pounding when the spotlight stilled on her. She moved a shaky finger to her lips warning Bebop not to make a sound.

The spotlight moved on, and only after the siren wails felt distant enough did Avea slump against the trash in relief. She let herself be carried on the trash raft drifting along the canal way towards the inner cities. Avea sat there shivering with her knees pressed against her chest, and finally unable hold it in any longer she broke down sobbing burying her face into her knees. It was all her fault. Her mother was gone, and now all she could do was sit and wallow in her guilt. She still didn't understand anything that had happened tonight, and had to convince herself over and over again that all of it is real.

Her mother had been lying to her about everything. Avea wanted to be angry with her mother, even wanted to hate her for all the secrets and lies. But every time she tried to summon anger all she felt was her own terror and shame stabbing at her heart like a sharp blade. Despite everything that had been revealed about her mother, and her past Avea just wanted to her here holding her while she drowned in her tears. To stroke her back in the way that always calmed her breathing, and whisper comforting things to her in that soothing voice.

All of that was gone, she was gone.

The cold air chilled her to the bone, and Avea couldn't control the chattering of her teeth or the shivering of her body. Beop stayed close generating enough heat to keep Avea from going numb, the sparks from the bots antennae searing her fingertips to keep her from passing out. Avea eventually stopped crying her eyes clear enough now to see the colourful light reflecting on the surface of the water. Avea's eyes rose from rank waterways to see bright neon signs stacked on the sides of filthy crowded buildings had been built and rebuilt on top of themselves, held together only by the hideous metal piping and electrical wires.

This was the inner city.

Avea leapt off her raft clawing her way out of the canal. Drenched from head to toe, bearing a striking resemblance to a gutter rat. Her dark hair was stuck to the side of her face, the grime and water dripping off her skin and the stench on her clothes making her retch. She needed to get into some dry clothes. Her eyes scoured the slanted buildings and landed on a clothing line hanging off a small veranda high above the ground. The metal piping crawled across the building, making it easier to climb. The weight of Avea's soaked clothes threatened to pull her down and her hands kept slipping from the rusty pipeline. Scaling buildings were second nature to her, so it didn't faze her to be so high off the ground, preferring to explore the inner cities from the heights of rooftops anyway. Avea crawled passed an open window and heard her stomach growl loudly at the smell of cooking meat and hot stew that wafted out to her. God when was the last time she'd eaten? She shook her head trying to forget the glorious smell and wiped the saliva drooling from her mouth. Keeping her concentration fixed on those dry clothes swinging back and forth silently taunting her. The pipeline stopped beside the veranda an arms width away. Avea steadied herself before leaping from the rusty pipeline, arms stretched out reaching for the base of the veranda. Her fingers gripped the grated metal edge and Avea cursed in surprise when the veranda creaked loudly dipping lopsidedly.

Her body dangled off the edge, she had to act quickly, the metal screeched as it dipped further to the side clearly in agreement. Swinging her legs over the side and rolling onto her stomach as quietly as possible to not wake the tenants. Whose loud snores rattled the wind shutters, a combination of both snorting and whistling that blended together in a horridly offkey tune. "Come on" Avea murmured picking the huge flimsy pieces of clothing off the line. She picked off the pair of pants holding out the waist line that had to be at least five times her size. "Good luck fitting into those," Bebop said. Avea glared at the bot, peeling off the layers of wet clothing. Bebop flew across the line throwing various pieces of clothing at her. A sock, vest, shoe, jacket, pants and various random pieces. She chucked on the vest and jacket, tearing the sleeves of her shirt and roll up her pants that drooped slightly at the hips. "Much better," Avea said pleased to be out of those sticky wet clothes that now hung on the clothing line."You look ridiculous," Bebop said, when Avea finished looping a makeshift belt around her waist. "Well its all I got," she shrugged. The sound of the loud offkey snoring suddenly stopped, and was followed by a stirring grunt and heavy shuffling. Avea scampered back up the pipeline to the rooftop, not wanting to get caught stealing. She had much better grip now that she had changed into dry clothes climbing up the pipe much less resistance.

Finally she reached the rooftop, standing on the edge staring out at the Valent ring as she had done so many times before. Only this time she didn't see colourful land of broken dreams and unseen horrors, all she saw was an endless maze that curved round into a ring. There were three main cities within the inner city of the Valent ring. The Negotium, the business sector, where the brokers, dealers, and traffickers mingled in the trading posts and workshops on the lanes. The ideal place for shady dealings, crooked recruitments and shifting alliances. The Oblectatio, the entertainment sector, where the performers, prostitutes and players did their rounds in the flourishing hub of commercial arcades, recital halls and pleasure houses. That was the most populated district of the Valent ring. Avea turned to look down the other end, seeing the grey filtered light that made the streets look awfully grim, as though all colour had been drained into the corroded gutters. The Peccatrix. The gritty underbelly of the Valent ring where the drug trade thrived, the slums overflowed and toxic waste filled the sewers. And unfortunately for Avea where Barnaby Briggs decided to conduct his business.

"Find Briggs," Those were her mother's words. Barnaby Briggs was one of the most feared men in T'alli. A hired debt collector that struck fear in even the most ruthless of thugs. His robotic eyes, three lenses on each eye, committed every customer to memory as he hunted down every unpaid debt. From the stories that Avea had been told everyone eventually paid whether with the intended currency or with their life. So why did her mum send her to find him? And better yet what did he know that was so valuable?

Everybody knew that Briggs conducted his business in the Peccatrix, a merchants and thieves paradise, where anything is for sale and everything is stolen. The worst of the Valent thugs dwelled down there, and that included a couple of the Skull-daggers who came to get their fix. She would have to tread carefully, Avea made her way down past the lower districts, leaping from rooftop to rooftop like she was being carried by the wind. There were only a couple of hours left before dawn, she had to find Briggs before then.

She walked along the high wires above the cities lanes and streets, without so much as a misstep. The pungent rotten-egg smell of sewage and chemicals made Avea's eyes water, letting her know that she'd made it to center of Peccatrix. The abandoned buildings had spray paint sprawled all over, along with flyers from the council that had been covered in extremely vulgar images. She stood on the high wire watching the people who looked more like corpses than actually humans shuffle up and down the street. Thick chem-fumes slithered through the alley between crowded abandoned industrial buildings. A couple of them wore gas masks so they didn't breathe in any toxic fumes. However, a lot of civilians who dwelled in this region of Peccatrix had grown used to breathing in the fumes, and it had turned their skin sickly pale. Avea tied a loose piece of cloth around her mouth leaving only her eyes looking out over the crowd for any sign of Briggs.

Perched high above she could see all the different types of poisons, elixirs, dodgy explosives, ammunitions, and stolen mechanical limbs being traded at the stalls. There were so many more disturbing collectables being sold. In fact Avea was fairly certain that those were fingers being sold in jars by an elderly woman in an eye patch and a large mechanical arm. "How will be find Briggs?" Bebop asked. As if summoned Avea heard the clinking from down the street, she wasn't the only one. All the individuals loitering the streets and those behind the stalls scurried into dark corners out of sight taking their merchandise with them. Avea tiptoed across the wiring onto a nearby rooftop crouching low. The clinking sound grew louder and a shadow appeared on the side of the building. Avea held her breath seeing a man appear at the end of the street, dressed in a long leather trench coat and boots with metal buckles. The leather strap wrapped across his body had small black pouches hanging from it, filled with coins that made the clinking noise with every step. The lens three on each eye had a red glare resembling a spiders. Avea and Bebop ducked lower careful not to draw any attention to themselves.

The man had a hunched and dishevelled appearance, but everyone knew that the clinking of those coins meant that the Barnaby Briggs was on the prowl. "There he is," Avea murmerd, as Briggs strolled down the street whistling to himself. The tune low and eerie, making it seem like Briggs were walking through a ghost town trying to ward off lost souls. Avea tried not to panic seeing black smudges on his boots silently praying that those smudges were dirt and not dried blood. How exactly was she supposed to approach one of the most dangerous debt collectors in the Valent? She also couldn't be seen or she'd risk the Skulldaggers coming after her. No she'd have to wait until Briggs was alone before she could confront him. Balancing on the high wires Avea tracked Briggs all the way through Peccatrix as he did his rounds, and it didn't take long for her to become certain that the smudges were dried blood.

Remaining out of sight, Avea and Bebop watched the debt collector disappear into dark corners and abandoned buildings, and listened to the pleading screams of pain come out. The leather pouches that were fastened around Brigg's chest got fuller as the sound of jostling coins became louder. Avea knew she was running out of time when the sky began to turn blood red, the first signs of dawn rising. Briggs continued to whistle too, despite the blood that stained his knuckles and shoes. They'd have to catch him off guard if they were to stand any chance of getting her mother back. Avea knelt down grabbing a sharp piece of metal pipe. "What are you going to do with that?! Bebop exclaimed, seeing Avea clutching the weapon to her chest. "I don't know threaten him?" It sounded ridiculous even to her. "With what? Dying of laughter?" Bebop quipped. Bebop was right, even if she got the drop on Briggs she'd seen him bludgeon every class of deadly in the Valent from corrupt merchers to cheating clan lords to the desperate junkies. She didn't think Briggs was gonna spare her because she appeared to be an innocent little girl. That kind of behaviour would only deter Briggs from answering her questions. He may be feared in the Valent, but Barnaby Briggs was the same as any other Valent civilian, doing anything to avoid the unwanted attention of the core council. If she was going to demand answers from Barnaby Briggs, then she had to be intimidating enough to catch his attention. Avea saw a discarded gas mask buried under broken glass bottles, and a semblance of a plan began to form. "So how are we going to corner Briggs?" Bebop asked again.

"We're going to get his attention."

Quietly sliding down one of the buildings landing silently on the street, hood over her head and spray canisters in hand, she left a message for Briggs. Sprawled in large red letters across the side of the building.

Meet me at Irongate

Grim Reaper

Grim Reaper, the name given to all debt collectors. A message to Barnaby Briggs. She sent Bebop back to the abandoned stalls to pick up any trinkets had not been swept up in the hurried retreat. Avea climbed back on the rooftops keeping a watchful eye on Briggs, until Bebop came back. "Did you get everything?" Bebop dropped the objects, a couple of defective grenades, veils of salts, strips of corrosive metals and a meek handful of gun power. "This was all that was left?" Avea asked staring down at her short supply. "Yes unless you want some dismembered body parts?" "No I can make it work." The sky still remained a crimson red, but the cracks of dawn were beginning show across the skyline. They mixed the salts and added a pinch of gunpowder, then delicately poured the amounts into shells of the grenades. Back in the outskirts resourcing and rebuilding had always been a means of survival, and a skill that Avea had become rather adept at. All she could think about now was that this plan had to work, and she wouldn't let up until Briggs had told her everything he knew about her mother. "Show time,"Avea said, watching Barnaby Briggs exit the building to see her message. The debt collector didn't react to the ominous message, instead parting his lips to whistle that eerie ghostly melody and turned down towards Irongate. An old broken down jailhouse that sat just off the Peccatrix, down more towards the Clausum sector. Avea needed a location that Briggs couldn't easily escape, and though the building was in ruins some of the lockdown precautions were still active. She had to get Briggs alone in order to corner him long enough to get information.

She slipped in through the hole in the rooftop. Sliding down onto the steel beams, that hung from large metal chains right in the center of the prison. She covered her face with the gas mask, and tucked the grenades into her vest pockets. They'd agreed to fashion one of the grenades into a warning flare, a signal to Bebop to haul her out if things turned dire. Avea knew that Bebop was pissed to have to remain out of sight near the lock mechanisms. If she wanted answers she needed to take control. She heard the clinking, and stood tall positioning herself on the steel beam that hung in the very center of the prison H-block. The cells stacked ontop of eachother towered behind her, and the rays of red light streamed in through the hole in the ceiling directly onto Avea giving her the look of an avenging angel. "So dramatic" Bebop muttered hiding behind her. "Just do your job," Avea whispered.

"Grim Reaper," Avea bellowed her voice came out hard grating edge through the gas mask. Barnaby Briggs sauntered into the middle of the ground floor. The robotic lens on his eyes zooming in and out no doubt trying to use his facial recognition to identify her. "Kid you're either extremely brave or extremely stupid," Briggs said, in a husky southern drawl. There was a loud thud of the jail doors slamming shut, and the screeching of the of the bolts locking into place. Briggs leaned back staring up at Avea with a amused smirk on his scraggly bearded face, "alright stupid it is." "I need answers," Avea said refusing to be intimidated by Briggs unflinching demeanor. "Need you say, well that implies your desperate and I sure do love negotiating with a desperate soul." "This is not a negotiation! Do you know Celia Maxwell?!" Avea said, the metal chains holding her up creaked loudly. Briggs stood there silent for a beat, "that name don't mean jack to me kid."

His laid back demeanor remained unflinching, but Avea had felt the slight shift in Brigg's stance. He was lying. "You're lying.What is your relation to Celia Maxwell?" Avea brought her hand to her jacket reaching for a grenade. "Careful now you don't wanna go making me angry," Briggs was giving her a warning, a chance to retreat. Cracking his hunched back so he stood straighter, his lens staring her down and his arms hung by his sides. A fighting stance. The humorous laid back man was gone, and a cold hard killer had emerged in its place. This is the real Barnaby Briggs, the man who beat men bloody for a couple of lousy coins. Avea curled her hands into fists, she had to find out the truth to get her mother back, a truth that only Barnaby Briggs knew. "Celia Maxwell, who is she?!" Avea screamed, grabbing a grenade from her jacket and throwing it furiously at the debt collector. Briggs ducked the grenade that blasted into a ball of green fire. His lenses lingering on the grenade shells that crackled and fizzled rolling on the ground.

"You are playing a dangerous game kid...but I'll play."

Briggs threw out his left arm that had been replaced by a horrific torture device. Briggs was infamous in the Valent for two things; his lack of allegiance to anyone but his own cause and the 'corpsemaker' device on his arm that had many deadly weapons lodged inside. His enemies could never predict how they were going to be taken down at the hand of Barnaby Briggs. The device spun and clicked, Avea ran across the steel beam jumping down onto a lower beam. This steel beam wasn't as stable swinging wildly to the side it almost throwing her off.

A long spiked whip shot out, Briggs swung it over his head like a cowboy. Avea launched another grenade at him, this one containing a stronger concentration of ammunition. The shell erupted into a blue ball of fire, blasting apart closer to Brigg's head, throwing him off balance. The spiked whip cracked against the steel beam, Avea jumped onto the hanging metal chain swinging herself over Briggs onto the rusty railing in front of the cells. The whip wrapped it sharp metal spikes around the hanging steel beam and ripped it from the ceiling. The steel beam fell to the ground with a deafening 'BOOM.' Briggs trained those glaring red lenses onto her. "Celia Maxwell is she an informant of yours? Did she share anything with you about her past?" Avea asked again. Briggs threw the whip over his head, more aggressively aiming for her. Avea jumped over the rust railing seconds before Briggs pulled it off its hinges. A splitting screech bounced off the walls of the jailhouse, before the entire railing fell to the ground. At this rate he was going to tear down what was left of the jailhouse.

Avea ran along the cells circling Briggs from high above, she reached for another grendse. She only had five shots left."Who sent you?" Briggs gravelly voice called out. Avea heard clicking noises, "that doesn't matter, I only want the information" she said. "Information always has a price," Briggs said. She didn't trust Briggs enough to reveal her identity to him, remaining unseen was vital to survival in the Valent. A speared arrow shot into the column right above her head, Briggs had switched out the whip for a crossbow. The arrow started beeping, Avea jumped over the grated balcony swinging onto the dangling metal chain. The cells behind her blew up their barred doors flying off the hinges.

Avea hugged the metal chain squeezing her eyes shut, feeling the debris blowing past her back. Her ears were ringing and all she could hear was her heart thundering in her chest. "You're not the only one who enjoys a light show kid," Briggs said, watching her swing above him. Avea could hear the chain creak in resistance, unable to hold her weight. Avea threw another grenade, she'd used a lot more phosphorus in this one causing it erupt in a blinding pink flash right in front of Briggs. Covering his lens in a pink foam solution, Briggs faltered slightly wiping the solution from his lens. Giving Avea enough time to shoot the red flare signal to Bebop, who began to heave the chain upwards, but the weak link in the chain snapped off. Avea's body slammed to the ground, her face landed right in front of that putrid drain. She gagged smelling the strong stench of blood.

One shot left.

That clicking noise again, Avea tried scrambling to her feet ignoring the pain throbbing at her side. Her hand reached for the last grenade, but something latched around her body tying her arms to her sides so she couldn't move. "Who. Sent. You?" Briggs snarled stalking closer to her. The gas mask covered her face, hiding her from him. That deadly device clicked again. Avea nearly sobbed when she saw a large chainsaw jut out of the arm device. This deranged psycho was gonna hack her up into pieces, no wonder he had so much blood on him. "The light side of the moon." She gasped before turning her head to the side. It was a risk, speaking those words that her mother had told her mere moments before being snatched. She had to know if Briggs was in on her mother's secret, if he was one of them. The loud buzzing stopped inches from her face.Brigg's right hand tore her gas mask off, his lens taking in her tangled knotted hair and grimy face. There was a brief moment where Brigg's lens stilled, as though afraid Avea's face might change.

"I'll be damned your hers" he whispered, but Avea's eyes darted to the very large chainsaw still attached to his arm. Briggs followed her eyes, "never can be too careful," he said and the blade disappeared into the 'corpsemaker' with a series of clicks. Avea's restraints shot back into the arm device as well, releasing her. A shaky sigh of relief escaped her lips, she didn't get up from the ground staring up at Barnaby Briggs. "So you do know my mother," she said.

"Asking questions is dangerous kid, your mama never tell you that." Countless times. "No," Avea said, lying was the same as breathing in the Valent. She should've known that Briggs would rather saw her in half than admit to knowing anything her mother. "Those words you spoke, haven't heard them in a long time." "Are you one of them?" The words were out before she could stop them. Barnaby Briggs stared at her then let out a laugh that sounded similar to a squealing pig, almost keeling over with laughter. "I can promise you kid I ain't one of em," they stared at each other and Briggs laughter faded until a tense silence settled between them. "She's gone" Avea said. Briggs nodded, "so it didn't work then" he murmured under his breath. "She told me to come to you, that you'd tell me truth." Briggs turned to face her now, so close that Avea could see her haggard reflection in those lenses. "The truth ain't always what we want it to be," Briggs said.

Avea had, had enough "who is she?"

There was a wail of a siren, and bright spotlights shining through the shattered windows. Bebop came flying in through the hole in the roof, "I got your signal, V the guardwatch are coming.""Bebop that wasn't the plan" Avea hissed, "you were supposed to pull me out first!" Of course all the ceiling chains now lay on the stained prison floor, from Briggs violent attack leaving her with no way to get the roof. "Amateurs" Briggs chuckled turning away to walk to the far reaches of the jailhouse.

Avea trailed closely behind."These are my streets kid" Briggs said, standing in the tiny cell that had black mold growing out of the walls, a gross toilet drilled into the mouldy walls and a rotting bed shoved in the corner."I know my way out of every hole," Briggs said, extending out his left arm the clicking of the mechanical part sounded until a large drill shot out. "Are you kidding me?! How many things fit in that arm?" Avea said, "you ask too many questions" Briggs grumbled facing the side wall. Avea was about to protest, but the brazen brrrrrrrrap of the drill interrupted her. Tearing into the mouldy cell walls to reveal a massive hole that had been dug into a dripping pipe. Its width wide enough for a body to crawl through, "off you go" Briggs said nodding to pipe opening, and Avea panicked mentally weighing her options. She could stay behind to find another way out and risk getting arrested her, or trust the most wanted criminal in the Valent and possibly be murdered. The sound of the guardwatch on the outside shoving against the bolted doors to get inside echoed loudly. She had to make a decision now. Briggs saw the indecisiveness in Avea's eyes, "you want the truth, it's this way." Briggs didn't look back to her before disappearing down the pipe leaving Avea alone in the cell. She knew he was right. As the guardwatch officers broke in through the front entrance they found no one inside. Only the aftermath of a very violent fight, and they let out a string of vulgar curses knowing that they wouldn't be getting their cut tonight.

Avea crawled through the pipeline, ignoring the pains and aches that jolted through her body in protest. For the first that night she finally felt the heaviness in her heart lighten.

She was finally going to discover the truth.