Ticket to Freedom

On a cold November evening, is where our story unfolds. In a city as big as Detroit but as small as a common village of gossips, thieves, and whores. It was named Zirchonia, after the fake crystals used in jewelry cases in supermarkets. Growing up, Trinity loved to look at all the pretty rings and dreamed of the day when she could buy one of her own. Only she probably wouldn't stop there since it's been so long since she had something pretty in her possession. Although the name gave the allure of beauty, the physical place was far from anything beautiful. 102

Zirchonia was the place the Higher Counsel sentenced misdemeanor criminals, bankrupt families, and other ne'er do wells that were deemed unsavory to society. Simply put, the city was a maze of urban suburbs. Complete with crooked cops and deadly kingpins. The counsel wasn't too keen on the last two but what government is aware of what their citizens do behind closed doors? After all what they didn't know couldn't hurt us and what they did know they would no doubt show no mercy for. It's weather favored the cold and wet seasons with the shortest summer on record being a total of 5 days.

Since the Counsel passed the law mandating children to live out any remaining debt from their parents' otherwise untimely demise. Trinity was sentenced to serve the remainder of her parents debt in this wasteland. She was tougher than she looked but the hours dragged on to days and the days to weeks etc. As a martial artist, she found herself training with every weapon she got her hands on for several hours a day. As a child, her role models were Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. At 30 her hobby has been proven more than useful. After a year in Zirchonia she grew bored and began to train with unsuspecting items like grocery carts, doors, bungee cords and stripper poles.

Trinity gave the appearance of a boyish girl in her awkward years. Her being a perpetual tomboy didn't appease her peers either. Fighting her former years of low self esteem, she tended to dress more provocative. Tonight, she wore a black lace corset with blue undertones and a matching garter belt. However, she would hide it under a long, black with silver lining trench coat. The corset was bulletproof and her fishnets were cut resistant. Still, it managed to give her unwanted attention when she would work night shift. "At least this is better than training alone", she thought as she slaughtered a group of traveling rapists. She didn't kill often but they deserved it.

Walking toward her car she thought she saw someone hiding by her back tire. Upon close inspection she realized it was just a black army sized duffle bag. Thinking it was one of her employees' she decided to take it home where it would be safe. As she drove home she wondered which employee it belonged to. Since none of them were in the army or in a cartel it was a real toss up. She would wait to see what clues were inside the bag, inside the safety of her duplex 5 blocks away. Some gangs liked to play initiation games in the area and she'd had enough excitement for one night.

Or so she thought, opening the bag the moment she got home to find more cash than she had ever seen in her life. As the initial shock wore off, she began to look for more clues and found a little black book. She cautiously opened the the book and turned to the first page.

"Dearest Trinity,

You probably won't understand why this happened but it's not your job to make sense of our death. It is your job to continue living the best life you can under the circumstances. We are sorry to give you our debts as we couldn't keep up on payments and didn't see a way out for us as a family. We admit we weren't perfect but we love you and only wanted the best because that's what you deserve.

We know you probably have more questions but always remember your training and trust no one. Everything isn't as it seems as you have probably guessed by now. We wanted to leave you this money to give you your ticket to freedom. We are happy to inform you that your sentence is now paid in full which is why it's only 20k in cash. We hope you can live to forgive us or just live each day as your last.

-All our love,

Mom and Dad"

Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes as her brain processed what the words read. She was finally free! They had paid off the remaining debt and she was free to go explore a land outside of this Godforsaken place. She wiped the tears that fell down her face and began to pack as much as she thought she would need. Completing that task she knew it would be wiser to travel during the day. So she laid down to sleep on her bed one final time before she started on her epic adventure.

To be continued...