Icey veins

Rain pored form the rusted corpse. Greats clear waterfall cascading down its decaying and mangled remains. A broken monument to man rule over the planet now nothing more than a landmark, arising skeleton of metal and wire half buried in ground. ever stretching to the blurred horizon home in the fields of moss and stone that stretched in every direction for miles. on a rare, good day when the rain lost its power and rule over the sky and the weak sun fort its way to the front of the cloud making a mild mist that hugged the ground. the grey wall s of the old city could be seen and unyielding mounting of grey concrete and rusted iron stand proud and tall like the day it was built, nothing more than a mirror inconvenience to the new animal that live in the city. Rising from the ruin be hide the wall towers of smooth stone half crumbled of the years of harsh weather and rain stood like the trunks of old trees and coved the land like a stone fungus. For year, the two landmarks stood the slowly eroding skeleton ever stretching to the city and the towing wall of the old city sat in silences until it was broken by a craven of pilgrim. A log twisting column of man, woman children and baby’s twisting into the horizon slowly trenching through the moss filed looking for a new home. They stopped in wonder at the rotting corpse over many years moss had slowly crept up its waist and vines and plant had sprouted from its open wounds, a man walked forward wrapped in leather coat rain ruining of his body he steered up at the skeleton a spark of hope in his eyes.
A sharp knock came at the sheet metal door, a rhythmic knocking mimicking a song that they had all song as kids. The door slid open, and a rush of cold wet air filed the small shack rain flooded into the room before quickly being held at by the door. To three scavengers stood in the shack rain dripping of their cloths and pooling at their feet.
“I guess group B is not back yet” said the girl pulling of her hood and shaking her hair out of the cloaks fur.
“Guess not” said the oldest scavenger as he pulled of his cloak and run his scared hand through his short grey hair.
The youngest of the scavengers a skin blond hairs boy scrambled to the fire warm himself on the still burning coal.
“They must have only just left for the western block the coal is still warm we probably walked right passed them because of the storm,” said female scavenger
“But why would their leaves when the storm getting at its peak is not going to clear up by at least tomorrow” said the youngest scavenger
“There are probably heading for the western outpost to hold down so when the storm clear they can start their work,” said the female scavenger
“True” mumbled the young scavenger clear not comforted by the answer
“Either way if there not back by night fall, we will radio the western outpost and see if there are there but that as much as we can do until the storm clear,” said the old scavenger
“So” until then we should just rest said the female scavenger
“Yes “the old one said laying his head on the nearest bed.
Night falls quickly in the city the ancient ruin of concrete towers and building creating a twisting maze of stone that trapped the light of the sun and snuffed it out, the massive wall of the city that stretched for mile unbroken and unyielding against the flow of time and the never-ending rain and fog that coved the moss filed and city of the area.
the room was dimly light the sun and vanished behind the wall and with that the last of the sun weak grey raze had when with it. The cabin was not only light by the few lanterns in the corners of the room and the central wood stove with is flicking flame that peaked out form the stove iron bars.
“Don’t you think we should radio the western outpost its go dark there should be there by now,” said the young scavenger
“Very well,” said the older scavenger
He got up from his bed. His old joint crackling and groaning under his weight and slowly walked over to the right of the room where the nearest window was, he sat himself in form of the desk that look through the window and fiddled with contraption a several wide boxes lay horizontally staked in a neat tower with several wire connecting to a makeshift battery and a pair of had phone with a mic hanging loses form the head set. The old scavenger fielded a bit more while listing to the head set and the brought the mic to mouth and spoke.
“This is central outpost Western outpost do you copy” only the hiss of static flowed form the head set that had been turn to max volume so they could all hear. The old scavenger continued to shout into the static void. but no one answered. The evening continued to pass until the dark abysses of night completely coved the cabin and a pitch-black curtain filed the view of the wind the only reminted of the outside world what the pounding of heavy rain drops on the roof like thousands of small fists, begging the occupancies to let them in.
In the height of the hissing static and the lashing of the rain a voices drift through the buzzing sea. The three-scavenger stopped and stared at the now abounded radio. The voices drift through again, the old scavenger leaped at the radio, but it was gone by the scavenger got to the chair.
This loop continued for several hours, a drifting voice would swim out of the static sea and one of the scavengers would scramble to the chair and radio set to make contacted with the lost group but by the time the scavenger was there the voice was gone and replaced with silences.
Then for the last time the whimpering, mumbled, manic mimicry, a twisted versions of the human voices leak like a feted fluid from the headset. The young scavenger leapt to his feet and was halfway to the headset when the full range of the horrific sound made it self-know to the young scavenger. he stopped in fear rooted to the spot like he had gazed into the eye of a basilisk, the malignant sound continued to fill the cabin growing louder the two other scavengers rose from there sleep to stair in fear at the sources of the horrific sound
“What the hell is that” whispered the female scavenger sacred to rises her voices higher than sound in cases of challenge is new rule over the room.
“I do not know it sound like someone speaking but complete gibberish” whispered back the older scavenger.
The female scavenger got and silently shifted her Wight form the cot to the hard cold wooden floor she then carefully walked over the young member of the group. She places a comforting hand on his shoulder, he snapped out of whatever trances the sound hand put him in. A few second later the radio had been switched off and packed in create then with the lid firmly places over it.
“What do we do now the radio is broken, group b has gone mental, or something is spatting gibberish on the other line that sound human but is not” she said her voices starting to rise in volume.
“I don’t to be honest if we leave, we could be leavening group b in trouble and that doesn't sit right but to be honest weather has on the radio freaked me out I want to leave to” he said glancing at the young scavenger.
He sat by the fire a cotton blanked wrapped around him and a cup of sweet leaf in his hands as he sat gazing into the burring coals. His pale faces burring softly form the warm light of the coal and brown wet eye shimmering in the orange light.
“Okay I have an idea of what we can do” said the oldest scavenger rubbing his scruffy bearded.
The morning was crisp and clear. The sky was blue, untouched by clouds and the sun danced between jagged windows and twisting spires of glass and stone. His breath floated in front of him drifting lazily into the frigid air the old scavenger wrapped himself tighter in his cloak and fur, shifted his backpack and gripping is rebar spear he walked to the western outpost. The group had decided to split up the young boy and female scavenger headed back to main gate bases to wait for the next transport and the old scavenger had gone to the western outpost to see what was going on. The walk was uneventful an endless march through ghostly vestiges of a thriving city lay crumbled and defeated under his boot. he continued his march over mountains of broken stone and through valley of steel and glass were sewer and water had carved a siders web of stagnate rives the veins of human body. He shielded his eyes the sun was now glare down on him now, permeating rays cocked him under his many furs and cloak. he stopped staring sight ahead. In the glare of the sun light, he could see the outline of the Western outpost a towering column of timber and metal stuck to the side of an old building. Unlike the central outpost that was in the park region of the city the Western was in the residential side of the city towering apartment block create a maze of ruin and in the center of the zone was the Western outpost.
He suddenly became a were of something in the road a back mass hidden by the failing light of the sun. The old scavenger could out to the thing
“Hello, I am from the scavenger group a located in the park zone I came to check if you are okay”
The thing shifted standing up and rising to its fall Hight. The old scavenger relaxed in the still glaring light as bark human finger now stood in the places of the dark mass
“Hey, mate you okay” said the scavenger taking his hand away from his faces and stepping towards the stranger
“Hey, mate you okay,” said the Stanger
The old scavenger stopped an Icey chill slithered up his spine even in the thick furs and cloak the world went ice cold
“I am sorry” replied the old scavenger suddenly feeling how dry is mouth was
The stranger then took a step closer. He took step back nerves racked his body and he felt so small
“This is group A Western outpost come in” said the stranger mimicking the old scavengers' voices
He took and step back placing both hand on his spear
“What are you” muttered the scavenger
“Hey, mate you okay” it said again cyclizing through voices
It was the old scavenger voices then a female, a young boy, a twenty-year-old man, the leader of group b and then cycled back to his then repeated. Each cycle it took a step closer the volume rises with each step the old scavenger could only stand root to the ground fear paralyzing his body. The sun dropped be hide the wall covering the road in a dark shadow and form the gloom the repeating ng sound of sentences that should not be known spewed out like a broke recoded twisted and glitched every word shift its form it growing bones snapping, leg twisting up wards and the eye that dances upon a dome of blackness its whole body twisted and danced in the shadows a twist martinet dances to an evil tune. It was upon him stand over him is dancing and wide Gring mouth with shifting pearly white teeth it spoke the voices drifting out, the sound of a female shouting to run the cream of fear and a young man crying as he run for his life.

F21 and a few months ago I went in and had a routine blood draw, keep in mind I was a little nervous and not looking forward to having a needle poked into my vein. However after all was said and done, as soon as I got into my vehicle. My face started to feel really icey cold and a wave of extreme nausea overcame me. I also noticed how pale I looked.. thankfully it only lasted 5 minutes and I was fine afterwards.
Is this normal?

Hi,
where do you guys go for guides and talent specs for classes?
​
I know there is icey veins and wowhead but I'm curious. I may make my own spec but a guide will still be useful and a fun read.
I assume there will be best specs for so many scenarios
​
thanks and I'm asking too many questions but thanks for answers. I think this will be last of them :p

Well my friends have been bugging me to try out wow again. Loved the game. Got a little to obsessed with it so I took some time off. Now that I am back after being there for a few weeks in the beginning of dragonflight I have noticed wowhead still has a per raid encounter talent trees and per dungeon. I am interested in simple talent choices. Like I set them for single target and/or aoe etc. I looked at the two classes I like to play, Ret Pally and demo lock.
I have been looking for simple basic talent trees on wow head and icey veines. It appears either I can't find a simple aoe/st or cleave builds? Do they not exist for relearning the game? I am wanting just a simple way to get the best returning experience. I know the game offers u basic build but I am looking for a little more and feel overwhelmed. In fact I have logged in and tried to set up my character and I have zero idea of what talent choices to make.
Wowhead has like what looks like a dozen builds depending on boss or dungeons. I looked at it for my ret spent and hour messing around and logged off. I just went back in the middle of the night and looked at my warlock. The situation looks the same. It has changed so much! I am at this point looking for simple solutions where I can have a decent talent tree without spending 10 to 20 hours looking over websites and/or switching it out constantly. I am super frustrated and would love to just jump into the game. But I also used to understand both classes farelly well. Know it feels like I am starting all over.

i need help with my bowazon. she's now levl 18 and i have consulted websites like icey vein, and kinda understand how to level.
problem is, this is my first ever of this class. when i progress, what should i look out for, equipment wise?
also i'm wondering if it's hard for this class to beat hell? i made myself a goal, to beat hell with every class, and ama is the last saving barb.
sc, ladder. any advice will be appreciated. thanks in advance!

Iv been playing Diablo 3 for a long time..and I decided to make a necromancer even tho I haven’t played many…now normally I progress and finish this season very fast.This season is the worst season Iv ever played though..the sets are garbage and I’m paragon 62 and can’t even progress past T2
Iv been thinking it’s cause I’m playing as a necromancer and I guess I’m not good but Iv already claimed the First 3 chapters of Hedridges gifts..how can I improve my experience with the necromancer..I’m using icey veins for my build but I’m just not feeling confident this season.

Elijah the elemental boy
Chapter 0: Prequel.
It was a day of summer for Elijah so he woke up and went on a hike, things were never the same that day.
Chapter 1: The start of change.
Elijah woke up on a summer day, he ate breakfast, got everything ready to go on a hike, and asked his dad if they could hike together, his dad, Fuegono, said: “Yes.” and they went on a hike. It was hours, and hours, or at least it felt like it, until they reached a lake. After a few minutes Elijah’s dad said: “We gotta keep on movin’ up.” but Elijah said “Wait I see a handprint on this rock, Maybe it's magical!” As Elijah’s dad said “Ok but I’ll only be here for another minute, ok?” Elijah said: “Ok dad!” As Elijah put his hand on the hand printed rock He felt a cold, cold, wind and Elijah said: Dad why is it so windy? As Elijah’s dad was about to speak, he saw that the grass was dying, turning to snow, and that the hill was turning into a mountain right in front of his eyes, he knew something was up. Elijah started to scream as he was scared, but he also thought: "If I said wind and it turned into a mountain, Will saying plains turn this forest into a grassy plain?” He started to say plains and the forest started to grow a rainbow, turn flat, and go into a wonderland type of look, Elijah was amazed, but it was getting late so they both had to go home. But after that day, Elijah’s dad banned any use of the word fire, even fuego.
​
Elijah woke up and asked dad “Hey fueg- I mean dad, I need you to pack me up for school, his dad said yes. As Elijah took off to school they were learning something that is gonna ruin his first day, elements. But before Elijah went in, he was praying that it wasn’t about nature, but unknown to him, it was too late. Elijah went to his math class, it was long and Elijah hated math but he still decided to do it. After math class he went to language arts. He spoke about books to class and read. He liked to read a lot. After that he went to P.E, his favorite. He liked running and was quite the sporty kid, he imagined riding horses at his break and that was his dream. Then it was social studies, his fear. Ever since he got his powers, changing the world with words. He was scared. As his teacher talked about the earth, he tried to talk her off the subject by saying “Hey, how about we talk about asteroids and the dinosaurs?” As he knew that his powers only work on describing elements and biomes. His teacher said that the kids would have to talk about dinosaurs with plant eaters. He prayed that saying “Grass” “Plants” “Greens” wouldn’t affect anything as it is already Grassy with plants but he wasn’t sure. The teacher talked about old savannahs and pointed to the kid next to Elijah, Kobo the japanese kid. He said, The grass on the ground and leaves on the trees with the apples and other fruits fed the dinosaurs. Then, as the teacher pointed to Elijah, he said “Hey I need to go to the bathroom.” and the teacher said “You may.” Elijah used this time to talk to his dad on the phone by texting. He just said “Run home and go look up the google maps, I will give you the address.” Elijah said “Ok.”
​
As Elijah ran home he saw his friend, “Zach” and talked to him and Zach said “Hey it's pretty windy, don’t you think so?” Zach didn’t know Elijah had powers and Elijah forgot his powers so he said “Yeah, it is pretty windy” and as he said that he remembered and just said to Zach “Hey text me on your phone later, Ok?” And Zach said “Ok” The wind was gusting and was getting heavier and heavier by the minute, Elijah was wondering why the mountains were not appearing but appreciated that. As he got home by running he talked to his dad about what happened. His dad was panicking because the school might suspend him for running away but he was still glad Elijah was out and not showing his own powers. Then his dad got a call from the school after school was over. His social studies teacher was calling. She said “Hello? Ok so I need you to tell me, why is he running out of the school when it wasn’t an emergency.” Elijah’s dad said “It’s personal.” But Elijah’s teacher wasn’t having none of it. She came to his house and then they heard knocking, and dad thought “Maybe it’s mom?” And the social studies teacher started to yell saying “OPEN THE DOOR OR I WILL BREAK IT DOWN!” and dad said “Ok but you will pay for it if you do. The teacher growled, she knew something was up and said “IT WASN’T AN EMERGENCY, NOW OPEN THE DOOR OR I WILL GET THE PRINCIPAL TO COME UP!” Dad said “Ok, do it, I dare you.” and the teacher called the principal willingly knowing Elijah could get suspended.
​
The principal, Gerald, deviously had a smile ready to get Elijah suspended, thinking that Elijah would care. Elijah actually wanted this since he wouldn’t show his powers. And the principal suspended him, not knowing that's what he wanted. He dodged a bullet. But after those 3 days of being suspended were over, Elijah was afraid. It was too late to switch to homeschooling so he had to go to public school. He went to school and was scared. He went class after class but instead of going to social studies, he confusingly went to math wondering what happened? The reason why social studies was canceled is because she got sick. He dodged another bullet that time. He was so glad but it couldn’t last forever. He had no social studies for 3 days but it came back and he was screwed. The teacher was teaching about volcanoes and fire, Elijah said “I have to go to the bathr-” but he got cut off by the teacher, saying “LEARN YOUR GOSH DANG LESSON, I ONLY GET PAID 9 BUCKS AN HOUR!” and he said “Yes ma’am.” he had to get out but he couldn’t, then he had to write about how volcanoes and lava work off of heat. And he had to read it to the class. He said to the teacher “Can you read it to the cla-” And she quickly responded, cutting him off again saying “NO.” So he said “I got powers-” For the third time she cut him off again, saying “NO YOU DON’T, THAT'S FICTIONAL!.” Then he read it and said “Valcanos” Instead. The teacher got angry so much that in fact, she turned her face that looked a little red to tomato red, saying “SAY IT CORRECT THIS TIME!” then he whispered to her “Don’t say I didn’t warn you” and the teacher said “Huh?” He then read “The volcanoes need heat to make magma and in which the magma turns into lava as the volcano erupts.” Then the world turned gray, full of basalt, ash, and lava, the sky turned pitch black. The whole school was screaming and all the teachers were screaming with the students.
​
Elijah quickly said to the teacher, “I’ll explain later but right now I need to turn it back, but I don’t know how!” The teacher said “Where did you get your powers then?” As lava started to explode from a volcano the teacher screamed with Elijah “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” He started to run out to find the rock but the school was breaking and as it was breaking down, a meteoroid hit, blocking the school off for 100 feet wide, luckily it didn’t hit Elijah since it was 3x wider than length. Elijah wanted to get rid of his powers but when he reached the rock, it was gone, so he just said “grassy neighborhood with a great blue sky!.” trying to describe what his neighborhood looked like so it would come back together, and it did! and he ran home safely! But his mom is upset at him after hearing what happened but Elijah started to say “It was the teachers fault for forcing me to say valcano with o instead of an a'' Then she got super mad at the social studies teacher and went up to the teachers house after googling it, she said to the teacher “WHAT DID YOU MAKE MY SON DO!? THAT WAS DANGEROUS! I WAS WONDERING WHAT WAS WRONG!” The teacher replied “I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE POWERS IN THE FIRST PLACE!” and slammed the door in her face. After getting the door slammed in her face, his mom decided to drive back home. His mom had to go to work tomorrow so she went to bed early.
​
Elijah woke up on a school day but asked his dad if he could skip it since he was sick at the time. Elijah also decided to go into the woods but he needed his dads permission again. “Hey dad, can I go into the woods with you? I want to go hunting!” His dad said “Heck yeah!” As they ran into the woods, they forgot their hunting guns, so they had to run back in their house to get them. They ran and crouched and layed down, they waited hours and hours, it even started raining. After hours they saw a bear, they were shaken in fear. They tried to shoot the bear but then they realized they screwed up. They were running in zig zags behind, in front, and side by side by trees. As they were running they knew not to play dead, because the bear would eat them. Mom saw them running barely through the trees. She was scared so much, she peed herself! They were still running and the bear caught up to them, it was a black bear so Elijah hopped on his dads shoulders, waving his arms. and dad stood up on his tippy toes to look taller waving his arms as well. And it worked! The bear ran away in fear.
​
They ran back home quickly but they saw a rainbow as the rain stopped, Elijah and his dad both said “Woah!” They took a picture and showed it to Elijah’s mom on the phone. Then they thought they saw a UFO but it was just a circle shaped cloud. They got home and dad decided “We should go shopping!” As they went shopping at ramget mall they saw something weird, rats were infesting the place. Nobody cleaned it for what it looked like a month. They screamed “AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” They ran out so fast they looked like a cartoon character. They decided to go shopping at Insod shopping. They wanted to bake a cake since it was June 28, Elijah’s birthday. They were shopping for 1 hour getting food. Once they got everything they needed, got out, and drove home they were ready to bake a cake for his birthday. They messed up on some of the ingredients so they had to re-do it, they also made cookies and ice cream sandwiches. After they made all of it, they forgot the candles, this was perfect since Elijah’s dad was going to do a prank on Elijah. Zach came over, so did his little brother. They didn’t know he was sick though. They said they wanted candles on the cake for him. Elijah said no at first since it would take time, but he eventually said yes, and this is where things go wrong. Elijah made a mistake as he said “Time to fire up this lighter and light the candles!” He remembered after he said that so he said “Grassy neighborhood with a blue sky!” Zach was confused why he said that, but Elijah explained afterward. As they sang “Happy birthday” to Elijah, he was now 13. Dad pushed Elijah’s dad into the cake soft, but fast. Elijah’s mom was so scared, she peed herself again! But Elijah was laughing, so was Zach, his brother, and so was his dad. Elijah’s mom went to vomit in the bathroom since she was so scared. But after that, they ate the cake. They were stuffed so much, they were gonna have to go to the bathroom.
​
After going to the bathroom, they almost pooped their pants since they only had 2 bathrooms. It was not over yet! Zach and his brother, Elijah’s dad and mom had to give presents. Zach and his little brother had water guns, but Zach bought another one for Elijah to play with. Elijah’s dad and mother decided to give him what he wanted after years of asking. A puppy! Elijah cried tears of joy and was so happy, he fainted. Don’t worry because he was still breathing. He woke up shortly after and was playing with it for 10 minutes before saying goodbye to Zach and his little brother. He then started to walk the puppy, but since he was sick, it had to be inside. He then was concerned for Zach and his brother, texting Zach and his brother in a group chat, saying “Hey I was sick, if you guys are or are gonna be sick, I'm sorry.” Zach replied “It’s alright, I’m not sick” Elijah was thankful for right now, but was still worrying.
​
After that day, he was no longer sick so he asked his mom if he could walk the dog since she wasn’t at work and she said “Yes.” So as soon as they got ready, they forgot he had school. He got in his mom’s car since he was late to the bus and drove to the school. The school was already closed so he went back home. He walked his dog with his mom, many people gave strange looks. It’s as if they were thinking “Why is this kid not in school?” He decided to continue until he reached a dead end and turned around. It started to rain and they didn’t bring an umbrella, nor a coat. They ran with the dog, the dog was basically dragging them like they were water skiing since it was thundering as well. As they arrived, they heard knocking. Knowing it was the same teacher, they didn’t pay attention to her yelling. It was the afternoon and the dad was cleaning while Elijah and his mom were watching movies, watching movies like “Troy story” It was about a man named Troy and whatever he wrote came to life without him knowing. Elijah and his mom liked it. Then suddenly the teacher busted the door down, destroying it with a giant stick, it was basically a wooden club. She said “WHY ISN’T HE IN SCHOOL!?” But his dad upstairs heard it and Elijah’s mom fainted out of shock. His dad yelling, said “YOU’RE GONNA PAY FOR THE DOOR, AND YOU BETTER PAY FOR THE DISTURBANCE YOU CAUSED ME, HIS MOM, AND ELIJAH!” The teacher replied, yelling “THAT’S NOT MY JOB!” And Elijah’s dad said “YES IT THE HECK IT IS!” Elijah went up as well to her and yelled “YOU DESTROYED OUR DOOR AND YOU CALL IT OUR JOB TO FIX IT!?” The teacher replied, yelling “HERE, KEEP MY GOSH DARN PAYCHECK!” Elijah’s dad said, still yelling “THIS IS 9 BUCKS!” And the teacher replied, still yelling “OH AND YOU SAID MY PAYCHECK, YOU DIDN’T SPECIFY HOW MUCH!” Then this made dad really mad, he yelled back for the final time “YOU BETTER GIVE ME 60 BUCKS!” and the teacher replied, yelling. “FINE, HERE TAKE IT!” and left. Elijah’s dad said to Elijah “I’ll fix it later, anyways wanna go buy some ice cream?” and Elijah replied “Yes please!” as they went to the ice cream shop, he said to the ice cream shop man “Can I have vanilla banana cherry swirl ice cream?” And as soon as he said “Ice.” The world turned into an Antarctic landscape. The ice cream man screamed and quickly made it for him so he could be left alone, he said to Elijah quickly “You don’t have to pay me, also what the heck is going on?” Elijah quickly replied “I got super elemental powers.” and “Grass neighborhood with a blue sky!” and everything went back to normal. Elijah said to the ice cream man, after getting his ice cream “Thanks!” and the ice cream man, scared, said “Y-your welcome.” And dad ate some of his son’s ice cream with him. They were listening to their favorite songs all the way home and his dads was “The oldy townish days” and Elijah’s was “Sugar sweet wrap” After they got home they saw mom sleeping on the couch since it was 7:00 they went to bed but dad got a new door for the broken one.
​
After they went to bed, Elijah was playing “Dragons vs wizards” His favorite game. After he was done, his mom caught him playing and decided to put him to bed but take his game away for the night. After he was awake, he brushed his teeth, brushed his hair, and took a bath he decided to go to school. He quickly realized no kids wanted to hang out with him except Zach. After he was done with math he went to language arts and it was the same thing, every kid was afraid of him and standing in a corner learning instead of being with him. This is where Elijah, the chill and nice kid, snapped. He started to yell saying “WHY AREN’T YOU WANTING TO BE WITH ME!? I WAS NICE TO YOU BEFORE, I JUST DID SOMETHING THAT THE TEACHER MADE ME DO!” That made the kids act worse. Then after P.E he went to social studies and the teacher freaked out on Elijah for playing sad music super loud, saying “BLAH BLAH BLAH, YOU’RE SO SAD HUH!? I’ll MAKE YOU CRY MORE IF YOU DON’T STOP!” Elijah said “Leave me alone” and whispered under his breath “I’ll say it again if you don’t listen.” but the teacher didn’t care. After that was over, it was lunchtime. It was so depressing, people throwing tomatoes like he’s a bad performer. He cried and said something he didn’t know he had. “I wish I could go back home faster.” That made him grow a vine under him and he grabbed on and it broke the ceiling and it took him back home. He learned a new power that day. This made the CIA suspicious of him, but they didn’t do anything yet. He cried to his dad and his dad was super upset at them. He went up to the school and spoke his mind, He said cusses, curses and swears to the principal. Later, the principal expelled Elijah for causing property damage. He had to move to a whole new neighborhood. He sold his house to buy another one in Flint instead of how they used to live in Detroit. Before he went he took a video of him using his powers and showed the principal, Miss Sakura. Miss Sakura was Japanese and believed in the gods of elements. She was super surprised to see that Elijah had the same power as the god of elements or GoE for short. She believed him and let him in the school. The school was a lot nicer that day to him and what he can do with his powers. He went to math that day, it was a lot more simpler, kids were nice to him, it was like a paradise. He even got to pet the pet hamster, this made him happy. He went to language arts, social studies, lunch, recess, and literature. It was so wonderful. Zach even showed up and saw him that day, he moved with Elijah as well. Life was great and stayed great for a couple days, but something happened. Another CIA member saw what happened and what his dad said to the principal. She knows he has special powers and she wants to get rid of his powers. As she spies on the cliff, a kid sees her from below in the school and points to her, saying she’s a stalker, but she sneakily hides away for no other kid to see, and the kid who saw her was Zach. He saw the CIA cap and vest. As he warns Elijah about it, Elijah thinks in his mind “OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, I'M SCREWED!” But yet he stays silent and starts twitching in a corner. Every kid is weirded out by him except Zach. Zach tells him “We gotta hide! There's a city nuclear bunker out there, we just need access!” Elijah just sits there until he stops twitching and says “There’s no point, all my powers cause destruction.” Zach talks him out of it saying “But you are so awesome with your powers!” And Elijah says “Thanks.” Then the CIA burst through the school and Zach tried to run and take Elijah with him but the CIA stopped them in their tracks. After he got taken, he was stuck to a chair with a machine that was gonna forcefully put his hand on the handprint to take his powers away, but I said “Gonna” for a reason. Elijah used his powers by saying “Fire!” and lit the building on fire and it broke apart. He then hid and used his powers to make it go back to normal by saying “Grassy neighborhood with a blue sky!” He ran home, but got lost after his phone dropped out of his pocket into a drain. He went into the woods. Without knowing, he was 30 miles away, and he had to get back fast before the bears come. He ran and ran for hours and hours until he saw a black bear, he froze up so fast that the bear thought he was some sort of "tree stump" because of his arms and legs all over the place and because he had a brown shirt on. The bear was confused but ran off. Then after the bear ran off, he ran and ran till he found a street. There were so many weirdos and strangers there, he was so afraid to take the bus, just in case there was a weirdo on there. After he ran on the sidewalk, someone was following him. He thought it was the CIA, but it was just Zach’s dad. He was now 10 miles away from his house. His dad found him and picked him up but he saw a man in black with binoculars on top of a building watching them. But after that he drove Elijah home. He prays that nothing like this will happen again, but that's not true. He heard knocking on the door again, so he hid himself and Elijah in the basement. As soon as they hid and went downstairs, a CIA worker was in there before them. The CIA worker tied up Elijah but his dad fought back and ended up un-tieing him and tied up the CIA worker with the same rope. The CIA, DEA, FBI and the police went in and broke down the door and took both Elijah and his dad. The CIA didn’t learn what happened before and the same thing happened this time. He used his powers but he took his dad and they used dad’s google maps to get out. The CIA came back outside of their home and said to Elijah and his dad “You can either give the powers up and be free, or work trying to get rid of crime to become free, and you can keep your powers.” Elijah decided he wanted to get rid of crime with his powers. After negotiating with them he decided to go with the police and get rid of crime with his powers. After hopping into a police car, he saw someone speeding and decided to make a rock come out of nowhere in front of it so the car stops by saying “A big little rock!” After that happened, it stopped. Right before it turned, the policeman turned the car in front of the road so it couldn’t drive anymore and had to stop, but it started going in reverse so Elijah said “Another rock!” and it chose where Elijah had Wanted it in his head. The car got stuck since he drove into it in reverse, it broke down and the police were able to catch the person. That was a taste of what he could do with his powers. He then went to Owosso again. He waited for hours, waiting for something to happen. After waiting, as soon as they were gonna leave, a kidnapper took a kid and stuffed him in the trunk and drove off. Elijah said, “A great big hill!” When the hill spawned it got put under the car so it could catch more speed and then the policeman hit the gas right after, they eventually drifted in front of the car and hit the reverse to destroy the other car in front of it so the victim didn’t get hit. Elijah was terrified when he was the passenger, thinking “We might get hit!” But it was a success, the victim never got hit and the kidnapper was arrested. “48 more arrests to go!” the policeman said to Elijah, Elijah replied, saying “48!?” and the policeman said “Yep, it's a lot I know.” After he said that, Elijah realized what he got himself into. He then found out that a robbery was happening, they had waited 4 hours for a crime to be happening. He hit the gas as soon as possible driving to the city bank, Elijah even helped by forcefully putting his hand to the policeman’s foot to gain more speed. They were driving 150 miles an hour, but going at such speeds caused the engine to overheat, they then slowed down so the engine could cool down. They ramed in the bank but luckily nobody was hurt. They ran after getting out of their cars, running and chasing the victim, until Elijah said “Stop running!” to the policeman and used his ice powers by saying “Ice!” and it made the criminal slip. After that he used his powers by saying “Grassy neighborhood with a blue sky!” To turn it to normal again. They then caught the criminal and sent him to prison. 47 more to go. Elijah got driven back home to bed after all of what happened. They later went in a house looking for a serial killer, but everything goes wrong. They go inside the house looking for the serial killer but there’s cats. The pantry, kitchen, living room, and dining room were empty, Elijah went upstairs andddddd, “HAH I CAUGHT YOU, YOU STUPID LITTLE IDIOT! CAN’T ESCAPE FROM ME NOW!” The serial killer caught him from behind. The policeman tried to shoot but he was out of bullets, he knew he had to do something fast. As soon as the police officer was gonna ram and kick the serial killer from behind, the serial killer kicked from behind making the police officer from behind fall down the stairs. The stairs were so high he almost broke a bone. He still had to do something! He called the closest FBI agent who was nearby. One agent nearby was targeting the window with a tranquilizer. The last thing he said before he was tranquilized was “GET READY, 3 2 1 G-” and right before he could do anything, he passed out. He was taken to prison for a sentence of 45 years shortly after. Elijah was so shocked during the moment he almost passed out during the incident. After that he decided to take a break and walk his dog, but he couldn’t take any break. He saw a car speeding, but not only speeding, he was littering, throwing cigarettes out of his window, unknown to Elijah, that car was supposed to pay his littering ticket 6 months ago so he was about to be straight in the prison as fast as he was driving. Elijah called the police to go after him because he couldn’t make rocks or ice considering there were other cars around. 45 more to go. The police officer drove to Elijah and asked Elijah “Where should we go next?” And Elijah said “Detroit” Because he hears a lot of criminals are there. He goes into a supposedly criminal building. As he walked in, the logo on the building blocked him off the police. He ran, trying to push the logo but it was too heavy for him, he had to find another exit. The logo that fell off the building, for some reason had “WATCH” Which unknown to Elijah, stood for “We are the chopping heltmen.” As he ran looking for an exit, a more powerful man walked in, he was 8 feet tall and wide. He was wielding a giant battle axe and it had two sharp edges, on the front and back. Elijah was running as fast as he could, being a little over five foot tall didn’t help him either. The giant heltman said “You can’t outrun me, what if I accidentally swing this battle axe!” He was toying with Elijah, but Elijah replied, while out of breath and running said “Too bad for you, I can fit in this 5 foot door!” But just as Elijah got his hopes up, things came falling down. The heltman chopped open the door and made a giant hole for himself to get to Elijah. Elijah had nowhere else to go. As he was getting to hold Elijah, he was about to throw him 20 feet in the air at 30 miles an hour. But the policeman came, after climbing for about 5 minutes vertically up the building. He jumped on the giant heltman and shocked him with his taser, but that didn’t stop the heltman, He had gotten both the policeman, and Elijah. He threw them through a window at an astounding 50 miles an hour. They fell and almost broke their legs. They had to make a tasing machine to tase him forever. They looked in the trash and the policeman had found his old minigun in the dumpster. He eventually made it taser friendly and a taser reloading system for it after 10 minutes. The heltman was waiting to fight after they finished it. They eventually finished it and had to fight “Heltman” They saw him rip and tear through his own HQ, they knew as soon as he came close enough to use the minigun taser on him. After he came out, they used it. Heltman tried to run but couldn’t. He was now locked in his own place, almost like a prison. After that they walked to Elijah’s house for him to go to bed. But in the morning, Elijah found a note under his pillow under an unknown nickname “S.P” the front of the note said “You shall enjoy your peace and quiet now.” and the back of it said “Give a hand to the weirdest you shall meet.” Then he got up, got ready, and then he sat in the policeman’s car, ready to find criminals. Before they got to town, Elijah saw something the policeman didn’t, he saw a goblin of the forest, it was green with yellow teeth. Elijah was shocked so much, he pointed at it, but the policeman was going too fast to see it. Once they reached town and got out, both saw the goblin, chewing on bricks like potato chips. They were so scared, they locked themselves in the car for what seemed like forever. After that, the police decided to go and tase it. Long story short, he almost got eaten as the policeman was almost outran, running toward the car in fear. Elijah remembered his note and tried to run up to it, but before he could say “You shall enjoy your peace and quiet now.” His hand was quickly chewed on by the goblin and luckily, he survived the bite and ran to the car. He looked at the back and decided to put his hand on the goblins' back, but he had to start running back to the car, multiple times. Finally, when the goblin wasn’t looking, he put his hand gently and stated the phrase written on the note. It worked! The guy who was a goblin said “Holy snickerdoodle! I feel terrible for what I did to you, I’m sorry.” And Elijah took the apology happily. He asked the mysterious person, “Where did you live and what's your name?” And the mysterious person said “I lived in” and started whispering his address but after he said that, Elijah was shocked. Back when Elijah was younger at the age of 12, on his birthday, he asked his neighbor, “Can you come over to my party?” And there was no answer, and it stayed silent for years on end. Then the mysterious person said “I’m Seth, Seth Paige.” And Elijah asked Seth, “Did you write this letter?” And showed him the letter, Elijah was surprised again to say "Yes.” and then he asked Seth again, saying “How did you become a goblin.” And Seth said “Once upon the time in 2020, I found a rock, I found a rock that had a handprint on it, I, being little thought, (I should put my hand in it!) And everything changed for the worst, I went to the doctor because my mom thought I was sick, but I was more than sick, I was growing long and sharp clawed shaped fingernails, I brushed my teeth everyday, but that day I found the rock and beyond, they were yellow, a bright yellow. Not a single doctor could figure out what was wrong with me. I will try to remember this correctly, I was a goblin that ate bricks on buildings, like what you saw of me earlier.” and then said “You should be careful of rocks like that, you're lucky you got powers cause I, I turned into a goblin.” And then Elijah asked Seth the last question, “Will you join me in stopping criminals.” Seth was confused about why he had to do that, but decided to give it a shot. But after that, Seth said “Can we just go to bed early” and Elijah replied, saying “Yes! I am so tired.” And they went to bed, but Elijah decided to go to the woods. After going on a hike for 30 minutes, he saw a deer but it ran off, he actually saw 5 in total. He saw 6 butterflies too! After he was heading back, he saw a statue, It looked like a golem from an anime. It had its hand out with a flower, so Elijah decided to take the pretty red rose and give something back, a dandelion. Elijah had no idea how the rose flower was not dead and how he never saw the “Golem.” Before. He had to run since he had to go back to his policeman’s car because he had to stop crime. But as they were driving, Elijah saw the same golem, waving with a delightful smile on its face. Elijah was a little frightened, yet was happy for some reason.” Elijah saw a vandalizer while the policeman was driving, Elijah said “Stop the car!” And after that, Elijah ran after the person vandalizing into the underground subway. He ran and ran into the train tracks and after a bit of running for a minute or two, the train started up and separated them. The vandalizer ran the same way he came in, but the policeman was there but the vandalizer had a pair of “Jumping shoes” And he jumped and held onto the railing and climbed over going into the train. Elijah saw his silhouette and jumped onto the train the same way the vandalizer did, after that he went into the cabin and ran and jumped onto the vandalizer. But Elijah couldn’t do anything since he didn’t have handcuffs. He dragged him instead and hopped off the train with the vandalizer. He almost rolled on the ground since the train was going backwards. After hopping off, he ran to the police officer, dragging the vandalizer on the ground. They shortly arrested the vandalizer after. Elijah met Zach on the street after arresting the vandalizer and decided to talk to him, saying to Zach “Hey what you’ve been up to?” And Zach started saying “I know this seems impossible, but I've got a time traveling watch!” Elijah said “Can I go in the future and see what it looks like?” Zach said, “Ok but don’t affect anything too much or talk to anybody else in there. After I say 1, hop in the portal with me?” Elijah replied, saying “Alright!” And after they counted down and hopped in. They ended up under a bridge with holograms and robots saying stuff like “Hello, I want to exchange your virtual dollars for holographic money. Elijah walked away with Zach saying, “Was it like this before I went in? Because I don’t like it here.” And Zach said “Yeah, I don’t like it either, but it was like this before. Anyways, time to time travel back to the present!” The portal spawned, but Elijah couldn’t go in fast enough and it disappeared. Elijah was stuck. Zach was spawning in back to the present, he was scared so much he was stuttering like wildfire “Is-s-s-s he-s o-o-ok?” And scared he was. He went in the future so fast and he teleported onto a skyscraper on the edge, he clumsily dropped his watch as it already came off because he was fidgeting it so much because he was scared. He had to do something, and what he did was parkour on the edge of windows and slide down to the ground on a pipe. He got it but it was broken. Instead of going to a normal repair shop, he had to go find an antique shop and repair it. A robot worker said “You’re gonna have to pay for that, you know?” and Zach said “I NEED TO GO AND GET OUT OF HERE, I’M FROM A DIFFERENT TIMELINE FROM YOU, AND WITHOUT IT ME AND MY FRIEND WILL BE STUCK!” And the robot said “Ok, as long as it's an emergency, I’ll allow it!” As Zach ran out and waved, the robot waved back. Now we cut to Elijah, Elijah is now adventuring in the sidewalk of the street seeing glowing sign after sign, Elijah was scared to walk alone but knew if he didn't move, he couldn't find Zach, and while adventuring, gets captured from behind, you guessed it, Heltman. In the future he put his mind and turned it into a usb and now, look identical to human Heltman. Make Elijah be taken into Heltman’s casino and as he is taking him on his back, make Heltman say “Some people call me the devil of the casino. I take luck seriously and I know you won’t be getting luck anytime soon! MWAHAHAHA!” And Heltman was wielding a lonsdaleite stick for the battle axe, which is the strongest material on earth, and the blade for the battle axe made out of osmium, being the densest material on earth for the blade. Elijah was screwed, he was tied to a chair with full-grain leather material rope. with again, a chair made out of osmium like the battle axe blade. Elijah after being tied up in the chair says “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?” and Heltman says “You gotta take this deal, I will give you another sidekick and that sidekick is me.” Elijah says “NO! WHY WOULD !?” and then after he said that, Heltman took out his battle axe and as soon as he swung, Elijah rolled the chair over and it cut the rope and chair on accident. Elijah ran and then after running through a short hallway and searching empty drawers, he found a screwdriver! He ran and ran and ran and then he saw it, a vent! He knew what to do, he tried to screw the screws out, but then he realized it was a toy one. Elijah now knew that he was set up to fail. He was wondering something, where is Heltman? He busted through the wall behind Elijah. As he got picked up by the 8 foot tall robot Heltman, he got thrown to the exit doors, Elijah tried to go out but it was locked, Elijah was now screwed even more. He ran to door after door, all of it was locked. Elijah ran to the way he came from and then, Elijah saw a wall come down under it, Elijah tried to roll under, but couldn’t. Heltman said, “I planned this all out, you fell right into my hands. Goodbye” Elijah was wondering in his head, “Why is nobody here?” But no matter what, he tried to think calmly, but couldn’t. He hid and ran under the giant cloth table, but he saw Heltmans battle axe slowly crawl to himself. He crawled as fast as he could, trying to get out. Then he saw another one. Elijah looked the other way, and yep, he saw the older battle axe and new battle axe crawling and crawling, Then he saw the shadow of Heltman and he lifted the table, then he said to Elijah, “You are dumb, you know what I got?” Elijah was scared, “What was he gonna pull out of his pocket?” It was Zach’s time traveling watch his grandpa gave him before he passed.” Heltman walked to the vent and Zach was pulled out of the vent that was locked up like pulling a drawer. Zach said “STOP HOLDING ME, YOU LEECH! AND YOU BETTER GIVE ME THE WATCH, OR ELSE.” After Zach said that, Heltman laughed in his face. Zach barely reached the watch and put it back to the present. But then, Elijah was teleported in a grain field at night. He recognized the grain field, unknown to him, he was in “The street of North Delaney road in Michigan.''but didn’t know where to go. Later he saw a wolf sign, and that’s when he knew he messed up. Zach was teleported 25.7 miles away from Flint in “The North Beach street in the village of Bancroft." Elijah goes to look out and find where he is, but he sees a wolf so he lays down in the tall grain. The wolf had a nametag of him walking by, “Grim Reaper” He was so scared but as the wolf walked by, he crawled away but the wolf heard him and started howling. Elijah closed his eyes and then felt the most pain in his life, and opened his eyes and his leg almost got chewed off, until Heltman appeared out of the woods, saying “Wohohohe! I thought you weren’t alive and that one of my members of “WATCH” really did it to you! But I guess not. Come on team “WATCH” It’s time to roll!” As the wolves were running away from Heltman, scared most at the least, Elijah found a dead bird carcass and threw it on Heltman. They were coming back, hungry more than ever! Elijah ran and the adrenaline was pumping through Elijah’s veins so much, His legs went numb super fast. He was running so fast and he made a wrong yet right move, he went into the forest, and what he didn’t know at the time, is that he was going to Bancroft, where Zach is. And what little he did know, is more creatures like bears and more wolves. When Elijah was safe, he used leaves as wrap and mud to stop blood. He held that on his leg for a while, then he was gonna do something that could be dangerous, summoning a large chunk of ice, because it could either make the whole world turn icey and it would tell people where he is when he turns it back because the ice would melt back to him last which would be showing his location. Or it could summon what he wanted, a large chunk of ice. It was a gamble, a dangerous one at that. He said ice and it summoned a large chunk of ice to put with the mud wrapped in leaves to help his leg. He also found poisonous honeydew which seemed useless, but it made all the difference. He used it to stick the leave wrap on his leg so he didn’t have to hold it with his hand. Him without the honeydew made him unable to move because he had to hold it with his hand and made him prey to predators.

The Scrap Yard was the most dangerous neighborhood in the Undercity. I'd always made a point to avoid it. Rumors claimed that in the old world it was a covert military bunker, disguised as an automated junk yard. Crushed cars and sheets of compressed scrap had been piled nearly to the underbelly of the streets. Sniper dens were seamlessly laced into the wall's design, dozens of barrels protruding in a foreboding fashion. It was impenetrable. A hell of a first gig for Marcus.
"I take it, this is it?" Marcus sighed, pushing a recently purchased soy-cart.
"What gave it away? The snipers? Or the wall of scrap metal?" I chuckled.
Marcus shook his head, muttering a string of curses beneath his breath. He was anxious. I'd seen it before, he'd try to play it off like the plan was bogus. But, we both knew the truth.
"And you think that this is going to be enough to get us in?" he asked, gesturing to the cart.
"I sure hope so. It doesn't look like we've got much choice otherwise."
"Is ten grand really worth this, Trav? I mean, sure, they said they'd help us, but what good is a bunch of people who can't even hold a gun? Remy said so himself, all of their warriors are dead."
"Look, if you're scared, just say you're scared, and give me the soy-cart. I don't have time for this."
"Fine. Let's go."
A pair of guards, that looked more like gangers than security professionals, sat perched in front of the Scrap Yard's sole entrance. I did my best not to flinch as one of the two approached, waving an automatic rifle. Her partner stood back, ready to lay down cover fire.
"What's in the cart, Waster?" She asked, motioning with her rifle, indicating for me to open it.
"Fried soy, steamed rice, and the cheapest condiments on the market, ma'am," I said, praying I was right.
I lifted the lid. Steam rose from a field of steaming soy-cubes, seasoned ever so slightly. The guard snatched a cube, chewing it with a suspicious glare. Her eyes never left mine.
"You just gonna eat all my product before I get a chance to offload it, lady? That was three creds you just snarfed!"
"Everybody pays some form of tax to enter. Be grateful yours was so insignificant. Now, get out of my sight, Waster. And don't even think about causing trouble inside the walls. The snipers will cut you down before you ever have a chance to even consider doing something crazy."
Marcus stared in shock as I wheeled the cart through the gates.
"Something wrong with your partner?" The guard asked.
"He's got a thing for ladies in uniform."
Marcus blushed and the guard shook her head, turning an icey glare upon him.
Square shacks were scattered about the Scrap-Yard, welded from repurposed plasteel. The streets were filled with denizens of the Undercity, clad in tattered rags and an overabundance of ammo belts. There were possibly more munitions in the Scrap Yard alone than could be found in the entirety of the Sprawl. The citizens lived to flaunt their steel, any chance they got.
In the distance, a small complex of interwoven apartments sat, a gathering of Harvesters loitering outside. Our target. I'd recognize the bulky, black body armor and chain-swords anywhere. As much as I would have liked to, killing our way in wasn't an option. We were outmatched.
"You think there's a back door?" Marcus asked.
"There's gotta be. No way they run their business out of the front. Too much traffic."
"Would anyone care down here? Besides, their foot soldiers are posted up outside. Wouldn't that be as much of a tell?"
"Not necessarily. Harvester compounds are common targets for angry loved ones; more than once they've been run up on by groups of civvies, hoisting pitchforks and torches. But the Harvesters aren't dumb, and they've got plenty of friends, anyone who regularly gets rid of bodies, really. So they like to have their goons posted up in front of other gangs' ops. Low level misdirection at it's most mediocre."
"So what you're saying is, we might be about to break into an unrelated gang's hideout, looking for someone who isn't even there?"
"No. No way. Remy said his men tracked her here, and I'm not seeing any other options. This has to be it."
"So you're guessing?" Marcus sighed.
"Kind of, but it's an educated guess. Don't worry, I've done this a thousand times. Exfiltration missions are cake, worse comes to worse, we kill our way out."
"We're outmatched, Trav. I can see that, so I know that you can. They outnumber us and outgun us, there's no chance of us fighting our way out, we'll have to sneak out."
"We'll try to sneak out, but I think you're forgetting something: right now the people in that building are cattle. But if we break their chains? Well, those cattle might turn into lions. Especially if they can outfit themselves with their captors' gear."
"Sounds like a longshot to me, Trav. We need a backup plan, something to default to if shit goes down. I brought a half dozen flash-bangs. We should be able to cover our escape with 'em if needed."
"Just wheel the cart around for a little bit, keep up our disguise; I'll find a way in."
"Look, Trav, I'm sick of you treating me like a kid. Sure, I haven't seen action since the wastes, but I know what I'm doing. Now, I'm not going to repeat myself again: we need a backup plan. You got something up your sleeve here, or are we just working with the flashbangs?"
"I have a couple frags. If we time our tosses right, we'll be able to get out of the complex, but it's escaping the neighborhood that I'm worried about. Those snipers could shred us like nothing."
"So we stay low and make sure we zig when we need to, and zag when we need to."
"Sounds easy, doesn't it? Make sure you remember that when the lead starts flying."
My grafts catalyzed for the first time in days. I'd almost forgotten the rush, the euphoria that came with it all. The strength and speed-- it was almost overwhelming. An alley called my name; the perfect place to ditch the 'street vendor' outfit. I could feel the bone spikes itching to tear through my skin. The adrenaline hit me like a twenty pound sledge, my senses amplified a thousand fold as they synchronized with Zippers.
The alleys lead me straight to the complex's
backdoor, just as I'd hoped. Graffitied clusters of Merc's Cant guided the way through a winding path of refuse and poverty. I dashed behind a dumpster. Two poorly disguised guards lounged out front in street clothes, playing a hand of cards and smoking Vita-Cigs.
Bone spikes hurtled through the air, ripping through their throats simultaneously. A wet squelch shattered the silence. I suppose that was the one thing I liked about organ leggers: you didn't have to feel bad about killing them. The dumpster seemed a fitting grave, after I stripped the creds from their pockets.
"I'm in," I commed to Marcus.
"How? What am I supposed to do with this soy-kart?"
"Don't worry about the details, I'm sending you my location. Be subtle, snipers will be watching you. The alleys should offer a bit of cover."
"On my way."
Anxiety crept in as I waited behind the dumpsters. The Harvesters were one thing, but the snipers up top? Well, that was a whole other layer of danger. Hopefully, Marcus would be careful. I doubted that they'd hesitate to shoot a stranger for suspicious actions alone. What little I'd heard of the Scrap-Yard's politics was far from generous.
"This is it, unguar-" Marcus paused, eyes shifting to the bloodstains, "I see. What'd you do with the bodies?"
"Put 'em where they belong," I said, motioning to the dumpster.
"Alright, what's our entry plan?" he asked, feeding a soy-cube to Zipper.
This was it: my chance to teach.
"That's the thing: anything could be waiting behind those doors. Usually it'd be a processing center, but Harvesters aren't known for their predictability. It could be trapped, for all we know. Something nasty in a cage that opens if the door cracks without authorization, you know?"
"Have you... Have you actually seen that? Or is this just speculation?"
"Once, yeah. They had this croc, bigger than I've ever seen, way faster than he should've been. I think they had him dosed up on something. But either way, the point is, it's a crapshoot. We won't be able to make any sort of solid plan until we're inside, and by then we'll be too crunched for time. So I recommend we find the captives, free 'em and hope we can find.. what was her name?"
"Natalie."
"Right, so free the captives, hope Natalie isn't already spare parts, and get out."
"You make it sound easy," Marcus sighed.
"That's how this business works: you make a loose plan and improvise your way to success. Adaptability is key," I groaned, bone spikes tearing through my flesh, achieving full catalyzation.
We took a point at either side of the door. This was it: Marcus' first gig. Time to find out if he had what it took, or if he'd crumble under pressure.
The door flew open. Silence. We synchronized our movements, breaching the door in tandem.
I wasn't ready for what awaited. Rows of victims hung lethargically from meat hooks, blotches of red fungi growing from their wounds.There must have been dozens of them. Dead littered their ranks. Buckets beneath their feet caught pools of bodily fluids, mold coagulating among the revolting concoction. The stench of curdled blood suffused the air. I'd been in my fair share of chop shops, but nothing like this.
"What the hell is this?" Marcus asked.
"The source of our problems, if I had to guess."
I carefully prodded a victim. Nothing. No response, almost no pulse. She was freezing.
"Looks like we've got some questions for the owners. There has to be more prisoners, this can't be it: the hooks are at capacity, and some of these people are already dead," I said.
Marcus nodded.
I passed through a sea of living-corpses, gently twitching as I brushed them aside. My stomach churned violently. And then I heard it: a hollow moan that triggered a chorus of lethargic wailing. It was deafening. I turned back to Marcus, motioning to follow as I raced forward.
Gunfire cut through the wall of flesh. A horde of Harvesters burst through the door, taking point in tight formation. I couldn't help but grin. As much as I hated to admit it, this was the only time I really felt alive. Nothing could beat the rush-- kill or be killed.
I weaved through the corpses, crashing into the open. By the time they reacted, it was already too late; my bone hooks had already plummeted deep into the shoulders of a guard.
I hauled him back into the forest of corpses.
The Harvesters followed. The sounds of their footsteps diverged, fanning out across the room. A growl rumbled, and my eyes shot to Marcus--the hands of the dead clasped around his face, pulling him into the moaning horde. No. Not today. Rage painted my vision, adrenaline coursing through my veins like heroin. I lived for this.
Bone blades sliced through the grasping arms like wheat in a field. There was almost no blood, instead clumps of red fungi scattered across the floor. Marcus dropped to his feet, drawing four swords in unison.
"Six on the left, eight on the right. They're closing in quick, they must be using radar," Marcus whispered.
"I'll go right, you go left. Hit 'em quick and keep moving, keep 'em on their feet," I muttered before darting into the fray.
Bullets tore into my abdomen as I closed the distance, weaving wildly. I followed the muzzle fire. Our eyes met. Bullets tore above my head, clipping through the air as I pounced. He only struggled for a moment. My blades drank his life-force in vast swaths, ebbing into my own.
My wounds closed.
A corpse hurtled through the air, crashing into a pair of guards, knocking them to the floor. Their partners loosed a hail of lead, embedding a half dozen rounds in my left arm. I tried to move it, to no avail. One arm would have to do. I raced forward, leaving a trail of blood in my wake.
Daggers tore into my arm as I passed, a hanging corpse digging its elongated nails into my tricep. Flesh tore. No time to stop, keep moving or go down, no other options. I ducked beneath the bulk of another volley, a slew of bullets catching in my shoulder. Finally, my blades found purchase, decapitating the shooter.
"I think that's enough,Travis, wouldn't ya say?"
I'd recognize that voice anywhere: Cletus.

The Scrap Yard was the most dangerous neighborhood in the Undercity. I'd always made a point to avoid it. Rumors claimed that in the old world it was a covert military bunker, disguised as an automated junk yard. Crushed cars and sheets of compressed scrap had been piled nearly to the underbelly of the streets. Sniper dens were seamlessly laced into the wall's design, dozens of barrels protruding in a foreboding fashion. It was impenetrable. A hell of a first gig for Marcus.
"I take it, this is it?" Marcus sighed, pushing a recently purchased soy-cart.
"What gave it away? The snipers? Or the wall of scrap metal?" I chuckled.
Marcus shook his head, muttering a string of curses beneath his breath. He was anxious. I'd seen it before, he'd try to play it off like the plan was bogus. But, we both knew the truth.
"And you think that this is going to be enough to get us in?" he asked, gesturing to the cart.
"I sure hope so. It doesn't look like we've got much choice otherwise."
"Is ten grand really worth this, Trav? I mean, sure, they said they'd help us, but what good is a bunch of people who can't even hold a gun? Remy said so himself, all of their warriors are dead."
"Look, if you're scared, just say you're scared, and give me the soy-cart. I don't have time for this."
"Fine. Let's go."
A pair of guards, that looked more like gangers than security professionals, sat perched in front of the Scrap Yard's sole entrance. I did my best not to flinch as one of the two approached, waving an automatic rifle. Her partner stood back, ready to lay down cover fire.
"What's in the cart, Waster?" She asked, motioning with her rifle, indicating for me to open it.
"Fried soy, steamed rice, and the cheapest condiments on the market, ma'am," I said, praying I was right.
I lifted the lid. Steam rose from a field of steaming soy-cubes, seasoned ever so slightly. The guard snatched a cube, chewing it with a suspicious glare. Her eyes never left mine.
"You just gonna eat all my product before I get a chance to offload it, lady? That was three creds you just snarfed!"
"Everybody pays some form of tax to enter. Be grateful yours was so insignificant. Now, get out of my sight, Waster. And don't even think about causing trouble inside the walls. The snipers will cut you down before you ever have a chance to even consider doing something crazy."
Marcus stared in shock as I wheeled the cart through the gates.
"Something wrong with your partner?" The guard asked.
"He's got a thing for ladies in uniform."
Marcus blushed and the guard shook her head, turning an icey glare upon him.
Square shacks were scattered about the Scrap-Yard, welded from repurposed plasteel. The streets were filled with denizens of the Undercity, clad in tattered rags and an overabundance of ammo belts. There were possibly more munitions in the Scrap Yard alone than could be found in the entirety of the Sprawl. The citizens lived to flaunt their steel, any chance they got.
In the distance, a small complex of interwoven apartments sat, a gathering of Harvesters loitering outside. Our target. I'd recognize the bulky, black body armor and chain-swords anywhere. As much as I would have liked to, killing our way in wasn't an option. We were outmatched.
"You think there's a back door?" Marcus asked.
"There's gotta be. No way they run their business out of the front. Too much traffic."
"Would anyone care down here? Besides, their foot soldiers are posted up outside. Wouldn't that be as much of a tell?"
"Not necessarily. Harvester compounds are common targets for angry loved ones; more than once they've been run up on by groups of civvies, hoisting pitchforks and torches. But the Harvesters aren't dumb, and they've got plenty of friends, anyone who regularly gets rid of bodies, really. So they like to have their goons posted up in front of other gangs' ops. Low level misdirection at it's most mediocre."
"So what you're saying is, we might be about to break into an unrelated gang's hideout, looking for someone who isn't even there?"
"No. No way. Remy said his men tracked her here, and I'm not seeing any other options. This has to be it."
"So you're guessing?" Marcus sighed.
"Kind of, but it's an educated guess. Don't worry, I've done this a thousand times. Exfiltration missions are cake, worse comes to worse, we kill our way out."
"We're outmatched, Trav. I can see that, so I know that you can. They outnumber us and outgun us, there's no chance of us fighting our way out, we'll have to sneak out."
"We'll try to sneak out, but I think you're forgetting something: right now the people in that building are cattle. But if we break their chains? Well, those cattle might turn into lions. Especially if they can outfit themselves with their captors' gear."
"Sounds like a longshot to me, Trav. We need a backup plan, something to default to if shit goes down. I brought a half dozen flash-bangs. We should be able to cover our escape with 'em if needed."
"Just wheel the cart around for a little bit, keep up our disguise; I'll find a way in."
"Look, Trav, I'm sick of you treating me like a kid. Sure, I haven't seen action since the wastes, but I know what I'm doing. Now, I'm not going to repeat myself again: we need a backup plan. You got something up your sleeve here, or are we just working with the flashbangs?"
"I have a couple frags. If we time our tosses right, we'll be able to get out of the complex, but it's escaping the neighborhood that I'm worried about. Those snipers could shred us like nothing."
"So we stay low and make sure we zig when we need to, and zag when we need to."
"Sounds easy, doesn't it? Make sure you remember that when the lead starts flying."
My grafts catalyzed for the first time in days. I'd almost forgotten the rush, the euphoria that came with it all. The strength and speed-- it was almost overwhelming. An alley called my name; the perfect place to ditch the 'street vendor' outfit. I could feel the bone spikes itching to tear through my skin. The adrenaline hit me like a twenty pound sledge, my senses amplified a thousand fold as they synchronized with Zippers.
The alleys lead me straight to the complex's
backdoor, just as I'd hoped. Graffitied clusters of Merc's Cant guided the way through a winding path of refuse and poverty. I dashed behind a dumpster. Two poorly disguised guards lounged out front in street clothes, playing a hand of cards and smoking Vita-Cigs.
Bone spikes hurtled through the air, ripping through their throats simultaneously. A wet squelch shattered the silence. I suppose that was the one thing I liked about organ leggers: you didn't have to feel bad about killing them. The dumpster seemed a fitting grave, after I stripped the creds from their pockets.
"I'm in," I commed to Marcus.
"How? What am I supposed to do with this soy-kart?"
"Don't worry about the details, I'm sending you my location. Be subtle, snipers will be watching you. The alleys should offer a bit of cover."
"On my way."
Anxiety crept in as I waited behind the dumpsters. The Harvesters were one thing, but the snipers up top? Well, that was a whole other layer of danger. Hopefully, Marcus would be careful. I doubted that they'd hesitate to shoot a stranger for suspicious actions alone. What little I'd heard of the Scrap-Yard's politics was far from generous.
"This is it, unguar-" Marcus paused, eyes shifting to the bloodstains, "I see. What'd you do with the bodies?"
"Put 'em where they belong," I said, motioning to the dumpster.
"Alright, what's our entry plan?" he asked, feeding a soy-cube to Zipper.
This was it: my chance to teach.
"That's the thing: anything could be waiting behind those doors. Usually it'd be a processing center, but Harvesters aren't known for their predictability. It could be trapped, for all we know. Something nasty in a cage that opens if the door cracks without authorization, you know?"
"Have you... Have you actually seen that? Or is this just speculation?"
"Once, yeah. They had this croc, bigger than I've ever seen, way faster than he should've been. I think they had him dosed up on something. But either way, the point is, it's a crapshoot. We won't be able to make any sort of solid plan until we're inside, and by then we'll be too crunched for time. So I recommend we find the captives, free 'em and hope we can find.. what was her name?"
"Natalie."
"Right, so free the captives, hope Natalie isn't already spare parts, and get out."
"You make it sound easy," Marcus sighed.
"That's how this business works: you make a loose plan and improvise your way to success. Adaptability is key," I groaned, bone spikes tearing through my flesh, achieving full catalyzation.
We took a point at either side of the door. This was it: Marcus' first gig. Time to find out if he had what it took, or if he'd crumble under pressure.
The door flew open. Silence. We synchronized our movements, breaching the door in tandem.
I wasn't ready for what awaited. Rows of victims hung lethargically from meat hooks, blotches of red fungi growing from their wounds.There must have been dozens of them. Dead littered their ranks. Buckets beneath their feet caught pools of bodily fluids, mold coagulating among the revolting concoction. The stench of curdled blood suffused the air. I'd been in my fair share of chop shops, but nothing like this.
"What the hell is this?" Marcus asked.
"The source of our problems, if I had to guess."
I carefully prodded a victim. Nothing. No response, almost no pulse. She was freezing.
"Looks like we've got some questions for the owners. There has to be more prisoners, this can't be it: the hooks are at capacity, and some of these people are already dead," I said.
Marcus nodded.
I passed through a sea of living-corpses, gently twitching as I brushed them aside. My stomach churned violently. And then I heard it: a hollow moan that triggered a chorus of lethargic wailing. It was deafening. I turned back to Marcus, motioning to follow as I raced forward.
Gunfire cut through the wall of flesh. A horde of Harvesters burst through the door, taking point in tight formation. I couldn't help but grin. As much as I hated to admit it, this was the only time I really felt alive. Nothing could beat the rush-- kill or be killed.
I weaved through the corpses, crashing into the open. By the time they reacted, it was already too late; my bone hooks had already plummeted deep into the shoulders of a guard.
I hauled him back into the forest of corpses.
The Harvesters followed. The sounds of their footsteps diverged, fanning out across the room. A growl rumbled, and my eyes shot to Marcus--the hands of the dead clasped around his face, pulling him into the moaning horde. No. Not today. Rage painted my vision, adrenaline coursing through my veins like heroin. I lived for this.
Bone blades sliced through the grasping arms like wheat in a field. There was almost no blood, instead clumps of red fungi scattered across the floor. Marcus dropped to his feet, drawing four swords in unison.
"Six on the left, eight on the right. They're closing in quick, they must be using radar," Marcus whispered.
"I'll go right, you go left. Hit 'em quick and keep moving, keep 'em on their feet," I muttered before darting into the fray.
Bullets tore into my abdomen as I closed the distance, weaving wildly. I followed the muzzle fire. Our eyes met. Bullets tore above my head, clipping through the air as I pounced. He only struggled for a moment. My blades drank his life-force in vast swaths, ebbing into my own.
My wounds closed.
A corpse hurtled through the air, crashing into a pair of guards, knocking them to the floor. Their partners loosed a hail of lead, embedding a half dozen rounds in my left arm. I tried to move it, to no avail. One arm would have to do. I raced forward, leaving a trail of blood in my wake.
Daggers tore into my arm as I passed, a hanging corpse digging its elongated nails into my tricep. Flesh tore. No time to stop, keep moving or go down, no other options. I ducked beneath the bulk of another volley, a slew of bullets catching in my shoulder. Finally, my blades found purchase, decapitating the shooter.
"I think that's enough,Travis, wouldn't ya say?"
I'd recognize that voice anywhere: Cletus.

The Scrap Yard was the most dangerous neighborhood in the Undercity. I'd always made a point to avoid it. Rumors claimed that in the old world it was a covert military bunker, disguised as an automated junk yard. Crushed cars and sheets of compressed scrap had been piled nearly to the underbelly of the streets. Sniper dens were seamlessly laced into the wall's design, dozens of barrels protruding in a foreboding fashion. It was impenetrable. A hell of a first gig for Marcus.
"I take it, this is it?" Marcus sighed, pushing a recently purchased soy-cart.
"What gave it away? The snipers? Or the wall of scrap metal?" I chuckled.
Marcus shook his head, muttering a string of curses beneath his breath. He was anxious. I'd seen it before, he'd try to play it off like the plan was bogus. But, we both knew the truth.
"And you think that this is going to be enough to get us in?" he asked, gesturing to the cart.
"I sure hope so. It doesn't look like we've got much choice otherwise."
"Is ten grand really worth this, Trav? I mean, sure, they said they'd help us, but what good is a bunch of people who can't even hold a gun? Remy said so himself, all of their warriors are dead."
"Look, if you're scared, just say you're scared, and give me the soy-cart. I don't have time for this."
"Fine. Let's go."
A pair of guards, that looked more like gangers than security professionals, sat perched in front of the Scrap Yard's sole entrance. I did my best not to flinch as one of the two approached, waving an automatic rifle. Her partner stood back, ready to lay down cover fire.
"What's in the cart, Waster?" She asked, motioning with her rifle, indicating for me to open it.
"Fried soy, steamed rice, and the cheapest condiments on the market, ma'am," I said, praying I was right.
I lifted the lid. Steam rose from a field of steaming soy-cubes, seasoned ever so slightly. The guard snatched a cube, chewing it with a suspicious glare. Her eyes never left mine.
"You just gonna eat all my product before I get a chance to offload it, lady? That was three creds you just snarfed!"
"Everybody pays some form of tax to enter. Be grateful yours was so insignificant. Now, get out of my sight, Waster. And don't even think about causing trouble inside the walls. The snipers will cut you down before you ever have a chance to even consider doing something crazy."
Marcus stared in shock as I wheeled the cart through the gates.
"Something wrong with your partner?" The guard asked.
"He's got a thing for ladies in uniform."
Marcus blushed and the guard shook her head, turning an icey glare upon him.
Square shacks were scattered about the Scrap-Yard, welded from repurposed plasteel. The streets were filled with denizens of the Undercity, clad in tattered rags and an overabundance of ammo belts. There were possibly more munitions in the Scrap Yard alone than could be found in the entirety of the Sprawl. The citizens lived to flaunt their steel, any chance they got.
In the distance, a small complex of interwoven apartments sat, a gathering of Harvesters loitering outside. Our target. I'd recognize the bulky, black body armor and chain-swords anywhere. As much as I would have liked to, killing our way in wasn't an option. We were outmatched.
"You think there's a back door?" Marcus asked.
"There's gotta be. No way they run their business out of the front. Too much traffic."
"Would anyone care down here? Besides, their foot soldiers are posted up outside. Wouldn't that be as much of a tell?"
"Not necessarily. Harvester compounds are common targets for angry loved ones; more than once they've been run up on by groups of civvies, hoisting pitchforks and torches. But the Harvesters aren't dumb, and they've got plenty of friends, anyone who regularly gets rid of bodies, really. So they like to have their goons posted up in front of other gangs' ops. Low level misdirection at it's most mediocre."
"So what you're saying is, we might be about to break into an unrelated gang's hideout, looking for someone who isn't even there?"
"No. No way. Remy said his men tracked her here, and I'm not seeing any other options. This has to be it."
"So you're guessing?" Marcus sighed.
"Kind of, but it's an educated guess. Don't worry, I've done this a thousand times. Exfiltration missions are cake, worse comes to worse, we kill our way out."
"We're outmatched, Trav. I can see that, so I know that you can. They outnumber us and outgun us, there's no chance of us fighting our way out, we'll have to sneak out."
"We'll try to sneak out, but I think you're forgetting something: right now the people in that building are cattle. But if we break their chains? Well, those cattle might turn into lions. Especially if they can outfit themselves with their captors' gear."
"Sounds like a longshot to me, Trav. We need a backup plan, something to default to if shit goes down. I brought a half dozen flash-bangs. We should be able to cover our escape with 'em if needed."
"Just wheel the cart around for a little bit, keep up our disguise; I'll find a way in."
"Look, Trav, I'm sick of you treating me like a kid. Sure, I haven't seen action since the wastes, but I know what I'm doing. Now, I'm not going to repeat myself again: we need a backup plan. You got something up your sleeve here, or are we just working with the flashbangs?"
"I have a couple frags. If we time our tosses right, we'll be able to get out of the complex, but it's escaping the neighborhood that I'm worried about. Those snipers could shred us like nothing."
"So we stay low and make sure we zig when we need to, and zag when we need to."
"Sounds easy, doesn't it? Make sure you remember that when the lead starts flying."
My grafts catalyzed for the first time in days. I'd almost forgotten the rush, the euphoria that came with it all. The strength and speed-- it was almost overwhelming. An alley called my name; the perfect place to ditch the 'street vendor' outfit. I could feel the bone spikes itching to tear through my skin. The adrenaline hit me like a twenty pound sledge, my senses amplified a thousand fold as they synchronized with Zippers.
The alleys lead me straight to the complex's
backdoor, just as I'd hoped. Graffitied clusters of Merc's Cant guided the way through a winding path of refuse and poverty. I dashed behind a dumpster. Two poorly disguised guards lounged out front in street clothes, playing a hand of cards and smoking Vita-Cigs.
Bone spikes hurtled through the air, ripping through their throats simultaneously. A wet squelch shattered the silence. I suppose that was the one thing I liked about organ leggers: you didn't have to feel bad about killing them. The dumpster seemed a fitting grave, after I stripped the creds from their pockets.
"I'm in," I commed to Marcus.
"How? What am I supposed to do with this soy-kart?"
"Don't worry about the details, I'm sending you my location. Be subtle, snipers will be watching you. The alleys should offer a bit of cover."
"On my way."
Anxiety crept in as I waited behind the dumpsters. The Harvesters were one thing, but the snipers up top? Well, that was a whole other layer of danger. Hopefully, Marcus would be careful. I doubted that they'd hesitate to shoot a stranger for suspicious actions alone. What little I'd heard of the Scrap-Yard's politics was far from generous.
"This is it, unguar-" Marcus paused, eyes shifting to the bloodstains, "I see. What'd you do with the bodies?"
"Put 'em where they belong," I said, motioning to the dumpster.
"Alright, what's our entry plan?" he asked, feeding a soy-cube to Zipper.
This was it: my chance to teach.
"That's the thing: anything could be waiting behind those doors. Usually it'd be a processing center, but Harvesters aren't known for their predictability. It could be trapped, for all we know. Something nasty in a cage that opens if the door cracks without authorization, you know?"
"Have you... Have you actually seen that? Or is this just speculation?"
"Once, yeah. They had this croc, bigger than I've ever seen, way faster than he should've been. I think they had him dosed up on something. But either way, the point is, it's a crapshoot. We won't be able to make any sort of solid plan until we're inside, and by then we'll be too crunched for time. So I recommend we find the captives, free 'em and hope we can find.. what was her name?"
"Natalie."
"Right, so free the captives, hope Natalie isn't already spare parts, and get out."
"You make it sound easy," Marcus sighed.
"That's how this business works: you make a loose plan and improvise your way to success. Adaptability is key," I groaned, bone spikes tearing through my flesh, achieving full catalyzation.
We took a point at either side of the door. This was it: Marcus' first gig. Time to find out if he had what it took, or if he'd crumble under pressure.
The door flew open. Silence. We synchronized our movements, breaching the door in tandem.
I wasn't ready for what awaited. Rows of victims hung lethargically from meat hooks, blotches of red fungi growing from their wounds.There must have been dozens of them. Dead littered their ranks. Buckets beneath their feet caught pools of bodily fluids, mold coagulating among the revolting concoction. The stench of curdled blood suffused the air. I'd been in my fair share of chop shops, but nothing like this.
"What the hell is this?" Marcus asked.
"The source of our problems, if I had to guess."
I carefully prodded a victim. Nothing. No response, almost no pulse. She was freezing.
"Looks like we've got some questions for the owners. There has to be more prisoners, this can't be it: the hooks are at capacity, and some of these people are already dead," I said.
Marcus nodded.
I passed through a sea of living-corpses, gently twitching as I brushed them aside. My stomach churned violently. And then I heard it: a hollow moan that triggered a chorus of lethargic wailing. It was deafening. I turned back to Marcus, motioning to follow as I raced forward.
Gunfire cut through the wall of flesh. A horde of Harvesters burst through the door, taking point in tight formation. I couldn't help but grin. As much as I hated to admit it, this was the only time I really felt alive. Nothing could beat the rush-- kill or be killed.
I weaved through the corpses, crashing into the open. By the time they reacted, it was already too late; my bone hooks had already plummeted deep into the shoulders of a guard.
I hauled him back into the forest of corpses.
The Harvesters followed. The sounds of their footsteps diverged, fanning out across the room. A growl rumbled, and my eyes shot to Marcus--the hands of the dead clasped around his face, pulling him into the moaning horde. No. Not today. Rage painted my vision, adrenaline coursing through my veins like heroin. I lived for this.
Bone blades sliced through the grasping arms like wheat in a field. There was almost no blood, instead clumps of red fungi scattered across the floor. Marcus dropped to his feet, drawing four swords in unison.
"Six on the left, eight on the right. They're closing in quick, they must be using radar," Marcus whispered.
"I'll go right, you go left. Hit 'em quick and keep moving, keep 'em on their feet," I muttered before darting into the fray.
Bullets tore into my abdomen as I closed the distance, weaving wildly. I followed the muzzle fire. Our eyes met. Bullets tore above my head, clipping through the air as I pounced. He only struggled for a moment. My blades drank his life-force in vast swaths, ebbing into my own.
My wounds closed.
A corpse hurtled through the air, crashing into a pair of guards, knocking them to the floor. Their partners loosed a hail of lead, embedding a half dozen rounds in my left arm. I tried to move it, to no avail. One arm would have to do. I raced forward, leaving a trail of blood in my wake.
Daggers tore into my arm as I passed, a hanging corpse digging its elongated nails into my tricep. Flesh tore. No time to stop, keep moving or go down, no other options. I ducked beneath the bulk of another volley, a slew of bullets catching in my shoulder. Finally, my blades found purchase, decapitating the shooter.
"I think that's enough,Travis, wouldn't ya say?"
I'd recognize that voice anywhere: Cletus.

Hello,
Reading the patch notes and it specifies the guardian skin, but none of the feral skins. Icey veins doesnt list it as a reward on their patch notes and wowhead's guide says that you cant get the feral tints. Is it just unobtainable now? Kind of hoping that they aren't because agatha sucks.

I pulled my coat closer around me. It was bitterly cold that evening, even in the desolate parking garage. I glanced over at my sister, Ruby.
"You ok? Cold?"
"Of course not. I'm fine!" She smiled softly at me. It's amazing she can still smile. The last few days had been a whirl wind of emotions.
I drove behind my parents and sister on our way to my grandparents. I watched as the car skid and slid along the icey road, stopping only after it went on its side and into a deep ditch. I thought I lost everything. But I somehow, miraculously, didn't lose Ruby.
We both arrived at the elevator door, soon we would be home. I could try to suffer through another fitful night of sleep.
I clicked the button, calling the elevator and stepping on with Ruby in toe. I clicked the button for the 8th floor.
It was just shy of 3 A.M. I expected to go straight to floor 8, but we came to a stop two floors up. I glanced up, and I froze. The man that looked back at me was the picture of intimidation.
A shaved head, tattered jean jacket, prison tattoos everywhere except his face, and a dangerous scowl to boot.
I looked down quickly, trying hard to focus on the spot between my feet. He stepped on, leaning against the wall opposite me. He jabbed the 12th floor and grumbled under his breathe.
I dared to glance at him sideways, and he was... Staring at me. It was a weird stare. I shivered, and shifted my gaze quickly.
He chuckled, looking away. Ruby piped up, as carefree and casual as ever. "This guy is a real weirdo huh? Nice jean jacket."
My heart began pounding in my ears. It felt like it almost stopped when the fella looked at me again. I could feel him, staring, unblinking. I glance his way once more, ice filling my veins. He looked irritated, moreso than he was when he embarked.
"And look at his head, hehe. It's so smooth. I bet I could brush my hair while looking in it." Ruby chortled. She was always so rambunctious.
I took to looking straight ahead. Staring at the ground makes you look like an easy target. Right? I should be more confident, act like he doesn't even bug me.
The man grumbled something I couldn't quite hear. We were almost there now, just another two floors and we'll be home. Safe in my bed. My palms sweat, I almost want to hold my breathe, like I'm going through a tunnel.
"And those tattoos! What prison do you think he got those in?"
Suddenly the man rounded on me. I started, staring at him wide eyed. He looked furious.
"Can you control your friend's fucking mouth, before I control it for her?" He motions to Ruby.
My jaw drops. What? That doesn't make any sense. He can....
"Y-You can see her too?"

I Have a level 70 Havoc DH. I am gear level 381, have mythic and raid gear. I ran the raid last night and we got to raz. The whole time I am 9th and 10th on the dps meter and I can't figure out why. Honestly I read demon hunter are supposed to get monster damage. I am running a rotation from icey veins. My average is 20k dps and others in the raid are hitting 50k, 40k, 30k. I read about my class all day and practice on test dummies. I can't seem to figure it out.
Luckily my raid guild are a bunch of cool ass dudes and aren't sweating the growing pains, however razegeth is a massive dps check and I know I I am holding everyone back.
Anyone have any insight into what I can do better?

I am struggling so hard this week to keep my group alive, with that one debuff that won't go away unless you heal above 90% or whatever, combined with other AOE ones, if my group gets hit with AOE from the mobs ontop of it, we're dead. I pop everything and go OOM almost every single boss fight.
What are you guys doing to get through it? What spec are you running? Right now I'm on unlimited hots from icey veins.

As the title states. My friend and I are trying to play but don’t understand the exact mechanics and are also unsure if it still works. The Icey Veins site updated recently says it does give exp but an older post on bnet says it doesn’t.
We are confused on if it works and the mechanics. Thank you!

The changes are pointless. Everyone will go cookie cutter builds and will have 0 diversity. Icey veins builds is what everyone will use I bet!!!!!
I cant see anyone making fun builds for older content or wow stuff.
Plus devs have used all their time on these and made less engaging content.

Hi all, love seeing the loot drops and rolls. Trying to get my feet off the ground here. Getting past my first noob wall was beating normal and making my first runeword(stealth). Now I have a blizzsorc and hammerdin, both stuck in Act 2 on NM, Both around lvl 50. They both are kind of just getting smashed in the palace cellars. I have them both geared with best stuff I’ve found so far. My highest rune is Io. I’ve been following icey veins builds for both. Is there certain Runewords I should be using? Do I need to grind some more of places I’ve already been? Should my merc be dressed a certain way by now? I’m playing online, on switch, not ladder yet. Any help would be cool.

Is there a proper guide out there for all classes and the best skills to use for situational items? Something that shows in depth stuff would be helpful in understanding how this skill goes with this passive and item etc. Like icey veins kinda guide. Haha

LINKS - Chapter 22 - Debris
In the vast expanse between New Burleigh and Red Rock city, night was a time of silence and stillness. Animals crept through the scrub, darting from shadow to shadow, while insects chirped their songs into the darkness. The heat of the day faded away, sending most scurrying to their nests and hiding places.
Down in one of the low valleys, the silence was shattered for a moment by a loud screech. An Azure Windlaw, a small dragon like creature, swooped down from sky and pounced upon a rat as it tried to dart across the gap cut by a set of railway tracks. In an instant the rat’s cries were silenced as the predator dug its claws and large beak into its prey.
So engrossed was the Windlaw in its meal, it didn’t notice the ground beginning to shake, nor the clattering rumble that was approaching. Then, like bolt of lightning, a bright beam of light sliced through the darkness as a train burst out of the dark, rounding one of the valley’s corners. The Windlaw shrieked, taking to the sky, its meal forgotten as the titanic metal beast continued the plunge through the desert night.
At the rear of the train, the slave carriage rattled and and rolled back and forth. Little thought had been given to the comfort of its occupants, and so every bump and jutter was keenly felt.
Azee’s hands shook a little as she reached out to take the tin of water being offered to her by a porter. He was human, an older gentleman with a kindly smile on his face, though of course Azee knew well not to trust any sort of surface kindness. But it had been hours since she’d last been given any water, and her mouth felt as if it were full of sawdust.
The moment she had the tin in her hands, Azee gulped down the water as quickly as she could. She almost purred at the blissful feeling of the cool water going down her throat. The memory of the stifling heat of the afternoon still made her skin tingle, but least the night air was mercifully cool.
“There you go,” the man said, smiling as Azee drank. “Good girl.” He reached out a hand and gently scratched Azee between the ears. Normally such a gesture would have embarrassed Azee, but she was far too thirsty to care.
As she finished her drink, Azee raised her eyes and looked at the man. “May I please have some more,” she asked, bracing herself for a barrage of unkind words.
“Course you can.” The porter took the tin and refilled it from a bucket at his feet. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” Azee said quietly.
“Poor devils, musta been hot in here.” the porter mused, glancing around as Azee drank.
“You could open the doors, that’d get a breeze going,” grumbled the large male sitting across the row from Azee.
“Probably would at that, but I’m afraid I ain’t got that kinda clout.” The porter shrug. “Sorry laddy.”
Finishing the water, Azee handed the cup back. “Thank you.”
The man nodded and smiled, before making his way down the center row, passing out water to the other slaves.
With her thirst at least partially satisfied, Azee shuffled back towards the wall, curling up into a ball as much as she was able.
Azee had never felt comfortable amongst other slaves. Back at the ranch many of them had been jealous of her relationship with Luke, thinking of her as some sort of traitor. More than once, Chara had stood between her and another slave, one eager to take out their anger or frustration on Azee.
She pulled her legs up closer to her body. ‘It’s not like I could tell him no… He was the master’s son, I couldn’t just refuse. What would have been done to me, or to Chara?’
She’d been friends with Luke for as long as she could remember. He would often take her out of the fields after his lessons were finished and they would go swimming, fishing, or exploring.
As the years had gone by, Azee had found it harder and harder to connect with her own people. She still had friends, like Keeli and Fray, and she still did what she could to try and convince Luke to improve the lives of the other slaves. But despite all that, more and more she felt like a stranger among her own kind. Even Sinda, as kind as he had been, had seemed almost a little envious of the life Azee had lived. She had certainly had an easier time of it than he had had…
‘Would I even want it to change?’
The traitorous thought made Azee’s breath catch in her chest. It was as if all the voices of all the slaves that had ever shot her a dirty look, or berated her for being the master’s ‘pet’, rang in her ears.
‘You chose luxury over your own kind. You weren’t forced, you liked it, you liked his attention, you liked not having to work in the hot sun. Every time you saw him coming towards the field, your tail would start to wag.’
“Shut up!” Azee snarled aloud, slapping the sides of her head and pulling at her ears.
“Hey runt, you crazy or what?” Asked the male on the other side of the carriage, glancing at Azee.
“Sorry…” Azee shrank back against the wall.
As the male settled back into his own sitting position, Azee reached up and gently touched the purple length of fabric she still wore around her neck.
‘What if Luke is right… what if I am… taking what I have for granted, what if I am acting spoiled.’
The fur on her back bristled as she gritted her teeth at the thought.
‘No! That’s not true!’
A loud ‘clank’ rang out through the carriage as the door at the front end slid open. A trio of humans, two men and one woman, stepped into the carriage. Azee’s breath caught in her throat as she noted the red armbands around the human’s upper arms. Each armband bore the Insignia of the Order of the Crimson Gift, the division of the Lord’s Holy Order that dealt with the breeding, welfare, and culling of slaves.
The porter looked up from his task and then bowed as the agents stepped into the carriage.
“Good evening my lady, gentlemen.”
“Higgins,” the woman at the front of the trio nodded. “Everything alright?”
“Aye ma’am, well behaved lot this time.”
“We’ll see about that.” She gestured over her shoulder to her two compatriots. “Right, let’s see what they have for us.”
“Why do we always get stuck with this shit work.” complained one of the agents, a tall, gaunt man with a leather-bound book in his hands.
“Cause you can’t keep your damned mouth shut, that’s why.” the second male agent grumbled, holding his nose.
“Let’s just get this done.” The female agent commanded. “The faster we’re done ‘ere, the sooner we can get a bite to eat.”
The two men nodded and began making their way down the car. As they passed the various slaves, they bent down to examine the tags wrapped around their collars, checking for Order insignia. Two of the agents called out details, while the final one made notes in his book.
“Number two one nine eight nine. Male… Lutrine type… age nineteen… damage to right eye… This one is debris.”
“Got a good one here. Number seventeen seventeen four. Female, feline type, age twenty three, minimal damage,” the woman called out. The feline let out a low growl, which was swiftly followed by the loud snap of a leather strap and yowl of pain. “Shut up you damned cat.”
Azee shrank back against the wall as the Order agents drew closer and closer.
“Ten four three ten. Lapine, male… This one is no good, mark him as debris.”
“Gotta a good one ‘ere. Three one six twenty eight. Canine, female, good strong limbs, good candidate for alpha.”
“Lord help us this one is missing an arm! Is this really the best they could find?”
“Just mark it as debris and move on.”
Azee shivered as one of the agents reached her spot.
“Chin up,” the woman ordered. Before Azee had a chance to raise her chin, the agent stepped forwards and grabbed hold of her collar. Azee gasped in surprise as she was dragged forward, nearly off her feet. With only detached interest, the Agent took hold of the small silver tag.
“Red Rock to New Burleigh…slave transfer from Windhill to Johnsburg. Ain’t one of ours.”
Letting go of the tag, the Agent roughly grabbed hold of Azee’s muzzle, examining her. It took every ounce of self control Azee had to not bite the woman’s hand.
“Lucky you, you’d have been debris for sure, scrawny little thing like you.” She used her thumb to push up Azee’s lip and reveal her canines. “Good teeth though.”
“Leave her be,” the second agent commanded, finishing his examination of the male sitting across from Azee. “Got enough to do without wasting time.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry this along. I hate being round these bloody animals.”
Releasing her grip on Azee’s muzzle, the agent got back to her feet and moved on.
Before Azee could catch her breath, she heard a voice crying out from behind her.
“No! Please! I can fight! I’m not debris! Please, I can fight!”
Azee turned to see a lapine youth a few spots behind her frantically pleading with the order agent with the book. The lapine had a splint tied around one of his ankles.
“I can fight, please! I’m not debris! It’s just a sprain, it’ll heal!”
The desperation in the man’s voice made Azee’s skin crawl. She’d heard fear before, the pleas of slaves as they awaited some form of punishment or another. The lapines cries were something else, a deep, desperate terror that filled Azee with dread.
The agent seemed utterly unperturbed by the man’s desperate pleas, marking notes in his book. “No luck kid. We don’t need alphas that can’t fight.”
“I just need a few days and it’ll heal! I’m begging you, please!” The lapine lunged forward and grabbed the agent’s leg. “I’m not debris, please!”
“Oi, get off!” The Agent barked, pulling his leg free of the lapine’s grasp. Before the lapine could grab him again, the agent lashed out, driving the heel of his boot between the man’s eyes.
The lapine youth cried out in agony and fell onto his back. Frantically he clambered back to his feet before the Order agent could move on.
“No!”
With all of his strength, the lapine lunged at the agent, the force of his desperate charge tearing the mounting ring from the wall with a splintering crack.
“Don’t!” Azee cried out before she was able to stop herself.
The agent holding the book was surprised, and took a step backwards, before the lapine slammed into him. The book spiralled out of his hand and tumbled to the floor, as did the agent a moment later..
With a shouted curse, the female agent surged forward to aid her comrade. She drew a weapon hanging from her belt, a long metal rod with a glowing rune at one end and a thick leather strap on the other.
Before the lapine could react or defend himself, the female agent drove the end of the rod tipped with the rune into his stomach. A bright light, followed by a loud ‘snap’ rang out and the lapine fell heavily to the floor, sobbing in agony as his limbs twitched.
Azee flinched, her breath catching in her chest. She recognized the weapons the Order Agents were using. Officially they were called ‘penitent staves’ but the overseers nicknamed them ‘tickle sticks’. Though she was fortunate enough to have never felt the touch of one of them herself, Azee had seen what the rods did to their victims, leaving them in agony for hours. Even after the initial pain had faded, the staves would leave behind ugly, weeping burns upon their victims’ skin. Luke had banned them from the Ranch the day he took charge, much to Comb’s chagrin.
“Tennet, you alright?” the female agent demanded, shocking the lapine again and eliciting a fresh round of cries. The smell of burnt fur and flesh filled the air as thin tendrils of smoke rose from the lapines body.
“Yeah yeah, I’m fine.” the man replied as he brushed off his pants, his nose wrinkling at the various bits of filth that now stained his clothes. “Stupid thing just startled me is all.” The agent swore as he bent down and picked up his book. “Dammit all… it’s bloody filthy now!”
Still twitching violently, the lapine reached out towards the agent as he tried to brush the filth off the crumpled pages. “I’m… not… please…”
Tennet drew his own stave and drove the rune tipped end into the lapine’s back, eliciting a new, even louder, shriek of pain.
Flipping the rod around in his hand, the agent began striking the lapine with the long, leather strap. The slave carriage was quickly filled with the sounds of miserable whimpering and crying, mixed in with the cruel crack of the leather against flesh.
Only a few metres away, across from Azee, the yelling and screaming had awoken a babe, curled up in his mother’s arms. Confused and alarmed by the frightening noises and sounds of pain, the child began to wail, despite the desperate attempts by his mother to quiet him.
Tennet delivered one last vicious strike on the broken and bleeding lapine, before turning to the mother and her crying child.
“Hey! Shut that thing up!”
“Hey, Tennet, calm down,” the female agent said, reaching out a hand. “Take a moment before-”
“Shut up Giselle!” Tennet knocked the female agent’s arm away and stalked forward. “I’ve had it with these bloody animals!”
The terrified mother curled up to protect her child as Tennet drew up in front of her.
“I said, Shut! It! Up!”
“I’m sorry sir, I’m trying sir.” The woman whimpered, frantically trying to calm the frightened child.
“Tennet, leave them alone.” The female agent snapped.
“You gonna report me?” Tennet rounded on his colleague. “No? Then piss off!”
Turning back to the terrified pelts in front of him, Tennet slapped his rod against his palm. “I’ll give you both something to cry about.”
Just before Tennet could strike the woman and her child, Azee clambered to her feet. “Stop it!”
Aside from the infant’s cries, an awful silence fell over the carriage. Azee’s mouth immediately went dry, her heart thundering in her chest, as the agent slowly turned towards her.
​
***
​
“Another sir?”
“Hmmm?”
“Another whiskey, sir?”
Luke looked up, meeting the eyes of the canine server who was peering down at him. Luke sat at a small table near the back of the dining car, as far away from anyone else as he could get.
“We have other beverages sir, if you prefer, including a rather excellent variety of ales from-.”
“No, whiskey will be fine,” Luke interrupted, raising a hand. “I’ll have a double, Portmans ten twenty four, neat.”
“Yes, of course sir.” The server turned to leave, before looking back at Luke. “Sir, I don’t mean to disturb you further but…”
“What is it?”
The canine’s gaze darted to the table, where Luke’s gun sat next to his hand.
“Well sir… weapons are of course permitted, but the establishment would ask that they remain holstered at all times.”
“Establishment?” Luke glanced around at the bar carriage. “Did you seriously just refer to this as an ‘establishment’.”
Slightly taken aback, the Canine raised his eyebrows a little. “Again sir, I don’t mean to intrude. But… the bartender did ask me to tell you to holster your weapon.”
With a low grumble Luke reached down to his belt, unclipped the holster and placed it onto the table.
“There-” Luke shoved his gun into the holster, “-done. Satisfied?”
The canine shifted from foot to foot for a moment, clearly hesitant to push the matter further.
Deciding it wasn’t worth the potential headache, the canine bowed his head. “Yes sir, thank you sir.”
As the server padded off, Luke leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. The bar car was a relic of a bygone era, a replica of the best high class taphouses the capital city had to offer some fifty years ago. Elegant lines of gold stretched across the vibrant green marble ceiling, like the ribs of some vast beast. Fans, carved from imported mahogany and coated in gold leaf, adorned the walls and were inlaid in the white tiled floor. Golden pots, sculpted into the shapes of holy warriors, were filled with once colourful faux plants of silk and bamboo, now faded and slightly tattered by time.
Turning back to his table, Luke picked up his nearly empty glass. The amber liquid swirled around the bottom of the elegantly curved crystal, distorting his reflection.
No matter how much he tried to relax, Luke felt a squeezing sensation in his chest. In the back of his mind smouldered an urge to throw something, anything, across the room. He needed to do something, yet nothing held the slightest appeal. Even the alcohol wasn’t helping.
‘I wish Azee was here’
The thought made his chest tighten further.
“What in damnation are you?” Luke asked his own reflection. “I’m talking to you, Luke Windhill, just what are you? Some lovesick child, or a Windhill?”
He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “You knew what she was, didn’t you? You know what they are like, how they act. She saw a handsome pelt and she took him to bed, it’s what they do. And what do you do, mope around, drink, and let the…. bloody witch get under your skin.”
His undulating reflection offered no reply.
“Did you think that if you dressed her up, taught her to read, treated her well, someday she’d just… wake up as a human? That all those subhuman drives and instincts would just… disappear?”
Luke leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ugly ceiling.
“What am I thinking? I am a Windhill… I have a job to do and a family to protect. Lord’s strength… what would Alice think…”
Despite himself Luke chuckled as he brought the glass to his lips. “Well… that would certainly be one way to break off the bloody engagement.”
Downing the last sip, Luke set the glass aside and instead began drumming his fingers on the handle of his gun. The once pristine metal was dented and scratched, not surprising considering Luke had thrown it from the top of Chess’ tower. The fine ivory inlay on the handle was cracked and badly chipped.
‘I’ll have to get that fixed…’ Luke sighed to himself as he carefully ran his thumb over the sharp edge.
“One last thing Windhill, before you go.”
“That-That’s my gun! How did you find it?”
“Xia has excellent eyes. You are fortunate it did not land in one of the pools.”
“Well… thank you for finding it.”
“Do not thank me Windhill. I would never normally give someone such a wretched gift as a gun. But there is someone that you want to protect, and despite all the evil you have done, I trust-”
Luke paused, his thoughts invaded by a strange feeling that drifted through his mind like a scrap of cloth on the wind. His skin tingled, goosebumps crawling up his arms as his heart felt as if it had skipped a beat.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Luke shook his head. “What the-
“Your whisky sir.”
Luke looked up sharply at the canine server, who stood across the table from him.
“Wh-what?”
“Your whiskey?”
“Yes of course. Just… set it down.”
With a nod the server delicately placed an obnoxiously fancy crystal coaster in front of Luke, followed by a silk doily. Then, with a delicate flourish, the canine set his drink down.
“Thank you.” Luke nodded, taking up the glass.
“My pleasure, sir.”
As the server bowed and departed, Luke took a sip of his whisky.
“Protect her. How in the Lord’s name am I supposed to protect her? Does she come and talk to me about Chara? No. Does she tell me when her collar starts to fail? No, she hides it. Does she trust me to forgive her after she hit me? No. Instead she runs off and gets the witch.”
The table shuddered as Luke set his drink down hard.
“Trust her… how can I trust her? She’s stabbed me in the back at every turn!”
Luke’s voice was loud enough that several patrons at other tables glanced over, but he didn’t care.
“By the Lord, it’s worse than that... Every single time I trust her to make her own decisions she-”
Again Luke felt his train of thought derailed as the strange feeling slid through his consciousness again. Like a tuft of cotton on the wind, the feeling seemed to evade any attempt to focus upon it.
Then it struck him, he’d felt this sensation only once before, on the plateau back in Flinton valley, when Azee had been set upon by the Order agents.
In an instant Luke got to his feet, tossing a few bills onto the table and grabbing hold of his pistol. Without a word, Luke left the bar car, breaking into a sprint towards the slave carriages at the back of the train.
​
***
​
Azee’s ears pressed against her head and she shrank back against the wall as the Order agent advanced on her.
“What did you just say to me?” the man demanded through gritted teeth.
“I-it’s just a child. Y-you don’t n-need to-”
“Are you telling me my business, pelt?”
“N-no…”
“I think you are.” The agent approached, raising the runic tip of his staff and pointing it at Azee. “You calling me a liar, pelt?”
The rune on the end of Tennet’s rod cast a haunting blue glow upon Azee’s trembling form as he loomed over her.
“Tennet, that one ain’t one of ours! Leave it alone!”
“I ain’t gonna damage it.” The Tennet’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at Azee. “Just gonna teach it a lesson.”
“I- I’m s-sorry…” Azee whimpered, shrinking back against the wall as much as she could.
“Not yet you ain’t.”
As the Agent drew up in front of her, a strange feeling came over Azee. Though her heart was racing, her blood roaring in her ears, a powerful sense of indignation and righteous anger welled up in her chest.
Her hands clenched, her teeth gritted, Azee met the Agent’s gaze directly.
"You are a coward."
The words froze Tennet in place, the tip of his rod inches from Azees chest. Despite the fear that was obvious in her trembling arms and legs, Azee’s voice was sharp and clear. She wasn’t posing a question, or lodging an insult. This wasn’t a desperate, terrified outburst, but a fact, spoken with the same confidence with which one might observe that the sky was blue.
Tennet took an unconscious step backwards as the pelt glared at him, her red eyes locked on his own. He’d dealt with hundreds of slaves, thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands over his career. Pelts of all ages and types had argued, begged or pleaded with him. He’d even had pelts try and bite him, or shoot him an insult as they were led up to the gallows, their imminent demise granting them a strange sort of desperate bravery. But here, there was no fear, no loathing, no desperate anger, but simply, cold, contempt.
‘What am I doing!?’ Azee’s mind screamed at her. But something else, something far stronger pushed her forward. Here, in a filthy slave carriage, with a chain pulling on her fur, her chest still hurting from the rough treatment by the porter, thirsty, tired, hungry, frightened, and thoroughly humiliated, Azee had finally had enough,
“Coward,” Azee spat, slowly pulling herself to her feet taking a step forward.
For a few moments, every single person in the carriage held their breath, their eyes locked on the exchange. Even the other agents simply stood and stared.
And then, the moment passed.
A loud crack filled the slave carriage as Tennet swung his stave, striking Azee in the jaw. She stumbled back, dropping to her knees, clutching at her muzzle.
With almost desperate viciousness, Tennet struck Azee again, driving her to the floor.
“You stupid, mangy, uselss pelt!” Tennet howled as he swung his rod again and again. “Say that again! Go on, say it again!”
“Tennet!” Giselle, the female agent, called out as she surged forwards. “Tennet, stand down!”
Azee wanted to yelp and howl in pain as the metal rob pummelled her body. But no matter how hard Tennet struck her, Azee refused to make a sound. He could kill her for all she cared, she was not going to cry out.
But Azee’s resistance only enraged Tennet further. Delivering a final, savage blow to her back, Tennet paused for a moment and pressed his thumb against a small rune on the handle of his stave. A series of glowing lines grew outwards from beneath his thumb, coiling up the length of the stave until they converged on the glowing rune at the tip. The rune crackled as the colour shifted from a pale blue to an emerald green.
“Tennet don’t!” Giselle barked, grabbing the hilt of Tennet’s rod. “That’ll kill it!”
Wrenching his weapon free from his comrade’s grip, Tennet savagely drove the glowing rune into Azee’s back.
Agony unlike anything Azee had ever felt roared through her. Even with her eyes closed her world exploded with searing white light. Every muscle in her body convulsed and burned, every fibre of fur felt as if it were being pulled from her skin.
Despite the almost overwhelming pain, a part of Azee’s mind still rang clear.
‘Not a sound!’
Amongst the maelstrom of burning and suffering, Azee heard, though her brain didn’t register it, the sound of a gunshot. All of a sudden the pain stopped and she collapsed to the floor, fighting for breath. Through the haze she picked out a familiar voice.
“I said back away!” Luke roared as he strode forward, keeping his gun aimed at Tennet. “Get away from her, now!”
Tennet gripped his aching wrist as he glared up at Luke. His stave lay a few metres away, knocked clear of his grip by Luke’s first shot and sparking erratically.
“What do you think you are doing?!” Giselle demanded, placing herself between Luke and Tennet. “We are Agents of the Lord’s Holy Order!”
“I don’t give a damn,” Luke snarled, keeping his gun raised. “That pelt belongs to me!”
“What he means, is that that pelt belongs to the Windhill and Johnsburg families!” Eloise snapped, stepping out from behind Luke, her own pistols raised. She was dressed in her sleeping clothes, a nightgown and a long cotton robe. “I am sure you can understand why we can’t allow you to damage her further.”
Without another word Luke stormed forwards, keeping his gun aimed at Tennet. Despite the whisky sloshing around in his head, Luke’s aim was steady. Most business between the great families in Halcyon was conducted over a bottle of alcohol. It was a tradition, and considered both a demonstration of wealth, and of constitution. With the aid of his father Luke had taught himself to resist some of the effects.
Giselle moved to place herself between Luke and Tennet. She left her pistol in its holster, but kept a hold of her stave.
“The pelt was acting without respect, and we have authority here,” she said evenly, meeting Luke’s enraged glare with her own icey gaze.
“She’s a pelt, what do you expect?”
“For her to obey the bloody rules!” Tennet snapped. “And to know when to keep her sub-human mouth shut!”
“I am aware that Az- that she has been spoiled,” Luke shot back. “But she is still property of the Windhill family.”
Trying to defuse the situation, Giselle spoke in a far more even tone. “I understand that-”
“Then you understand that I cannot, and will not, allow you to damage her!” Luke stepped a little closer. “You do know what happens to people who stand in the way of the Windhill family, don’t you?”
Azee shook her head, trying to clear the buzzing in her ears as Luke and the female agent spoke. Every muscle in her body ached, every square inch of skin itched, and it felt as if someone had reached into her gut and twisted her stomach.
As she shifted, trying to raise herself up onto her knees, she felt someone grab her arm and pull her to her feet.
Blinking blearily, Azee raised her head and looked up at Luke. His face was twisted in anger, but even in her confusion she could see something else beneath the surface. She had not seen such murderous rage on his face in a long time.
“I’m taking her with me. File a complaint if you want, but I refuse to risk Windhill property any further.”
“The canon forbids it!” Giselle replied sharply.
“Show me the verse.”
“Chapter four, verse ten, the non-human shall not-”
“The non-human shall not sit amongst those that chart the path,” Luke interrupted. “Their voices shall be made silent as the course is plotted, for they shall lead us astray.”
“That’s right.”
“And you do realise this is a train?” Luke snarled. “Unless I am mistaken, no ‘course’ is being plotted. I find it hard to imagine that having her in my cabin will prevent us from reaching New Burleigh.”
“Your cabin?”
“Yes, my cabin.” Luke’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t have master Windhill’s property getting damaged in an ‘accident’ between here and New Burleigh”
Luke’s words were too much for Tennet, who surged to his feet, his hand flashing to his gun. “You dare-”
All around the carriage the various slaves ducked and covered their heads in anticipation of a battle, many whimpering or whining in terror.
“Enough!” Giselle grabbed Tennet’s wrist.
Peering at the woman, Azee could tell she was very annoyed. However, Luke’s bearing, and the mention of the Windhill name seemed to have cowed her somewhat. The Order of the Crimson Gift was the largest of the Order divisions, but also the least powerful. The Windhill name may have lessened in its importance in the years since the death of Luke’s father, but it was unlikely that the Crimson Gift would risk getting on their bad side.
“The pelt will need to be secured.” Giselle said at last.
Tennet looked back at his comrade. “Are you serious?! You’re going to-”
“And we will be filling a report with chapter headquarters,” Giselle continued, ignoring Tennet’s outburst. “Your employer may well end up having to pay a fine for this.”
“What, has the Order not met its quota for the year?” Eloise asked, raising an eyebrow as she ever-so-slightly lowered her guns.
“We follow the Lord’s canon.” Giselle replied.
“As do we.” Luke grumbled in reply. “Do not worry, the pelt will learn her lesson, I will see to it.”
“I hope so. Next time, it may well end up being culled.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, come-” Luke pulled on Azee’s arm a little more roughly than she had expected, “-we’re leaving.”
“I-” Azee stopped herself from complaining and instead bowed her head.
With all the balance she could muster, Azee followed Luke out of the slave carriage, stumbling over the doorframe.
Eloise stayed for a few extra moments, keeping an eye on the order agents. As the door slammed behind Luke and Azee, she slid her guns back into her sleeves and departed with a curt nod.
​
***
​
Azee struggled to keep her footing as Luke dragged her down the hallway of one of the bronze class sleeping carriages. It felt as if she were drunk, though unlike the few occasions of celebration allowed to the slaves, or the moments spent in front of a fire with Luke and a bottle or two, there was no pleasantness to this sensation.
“Just… give me a moment,” Azee gasped, her throat raw and scratchy.
Luke didn’t even turn to look at her as he threw open the carriage’s rear door and pulled her through.
Azee winced as Luke tightened his grip, dragging her across the catwalk between two cars. “Ow… Luke, you’re hurting me!”
“Stop complaining.”
Unable to resist Luke’s temporarily superior strength, Azee stumbled along behind him through several more cars, before finally arriving at the silver class section of the train. A well-to-do couple gasped, first in indignation, then in shock as Luke dragged Azee past them.
As Azee was dragged past she heard the woman gasp: “A pelt, allowed up here? Madness!”
Finally arriving at his cabin, Luke threw open the door and shoved Azee inside.
Azee fell to her knees as Luke slammed the door behind him
“What is wrong with you?!” Azee’s teeth flashed as she spun around glared up at Luke. “Don’t you-”
The cabin echoed with the sound of Luke’s hand colliding hard against Azee’s cheek and muzzle.
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you!” Luke’s hand bunched into fists as he glared down at Azee. “You couldn’t just sit still and do as you were told for one day?!”
Azee stared, wide eyed, up at Luke, her whole body shaking. She’d been whipped, beaten, had her hands scalded with hot water, her tail pulled, and she’d been shot, but not one of those wounds felt as painful, or as deep, as the hurt spreading out from her cheek.
“Y-you hit me…”
“Damn right I did! You’re acting like a bloody fool!”
Hot tears welled up in Azee’s eyes. Never, in her entire life, had Luke hit her in anger.
“He… he was… he was going to hurt a child!”
“I don’t care!”
Azee’s eyes widened. “How can you say-”
“The only pelt I give a damn about is you!”
Azee’s ears pressed flat against her head. “Well, you certainly have a fucked up way of showing it.”
Something in Luke’s mind snapped, his mind torn apart by a wave of rage and frustration.
“You stupid, little fool!” Luke rolled up the sleeves of his shirt as he advanced on Azee. “You’ve been asking for this lesson for a long time now!”
Azee instinctually recoiled in fear as Luke bore down upon her.
At that moment, the cabin door slammed open with such force it fractured the glass window. Before either Luke or Azee could react, Eloise stepped forwards, gripping Luke’s right shoulder and spinning him around.
A sickening crack rang out as Eloise drove her forehead into Luke’s nose. As he stumbled backwards, coughing raggedly from his own blood, Eloise swept forward, her robe billowing out behind her like a stormcloud.
Luke felt the air rush from his lungs as Eloise drove her left fist into his stomach, just below his rib cage. He swung at Eloise with his own fist, guided more by anger than any sort of strategy.
Her movements a blur, Eloise blocked Luke’s clumsy blow and followed up with one of her own, striking him in the jaw. Using the momentum of her own punch, Eloise seized hold of the front of Luke’s shirt and flipped him over her shoulder. Luke hit the floor hard and lay there, dazed, winded, and bleeding,
“Are you alright?” Eloise asked, glancing back at Azee.
Azee nodded, her heart thundering in her chest and her ears filled with the sound of her blood rushing. “Y-yes.”
“Good.” Eloise looked back at Luke. “And as for you…”
As Luke tried to sit up, he felt a sudden flush of pain from his groin.
“Now you listen here…” Eloise leaned closer, her foot pressing down harder with every passing second. “If you ever threaten to beat Azee again, I will kill you. Do you understand?”
Luke started to protest, but his words turned into groans as Eloise pushed down harder with her foot.
“I asked if you understood.”
“Yes.” Luke moaned.
“Good.” Eloise released her foot and hauled Luke to his feet by the front of his shirt. “Now, I think you should leave.” She jerked her head towards the door. “Go get something for that nose.”
Before Luke could argue, he caught sight of Azee, still huddled on the floor, looking up at him with angry, pain filled eyes. Luke’s shoulders slumped and his words of defiance died in his throat.
Blood still dripping from his nose, Luke turned towards the door. He paused for a moment and looked back.
“Azee… I’m-”
“Get out,” Eloise snapped, placing herself between Azee and Luke. “Now.”
Slowly Luke turned back towards the door and stepped out into the hallway. The door slammed shut behind him, followed by the shade and the sound of the bolt sliding home.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Luke set off back towards the bar car.
​
***
​
Testing to make certain the door was latched tight, Eloise turned back to Azee. “There, that should keep him out.”
Still shaking from head to toe, Azee pulled herself to her feet. “Th-thank you."
“Did he hurt you at all?”
“I…” Azee looked down at her arm, before shaking her head. “No worse than that order agent did.”
“Good.” Eloise gestured for Azee to turn around. “Let’s see that burn mark.”
Azee turned towards the window, and soon felt Eloise combing through the fur on her back. She hissed as Eloise touched the place where the Agent’s stave had scorched her flesh.
“What did it feel like when he shocked you?” Eloise asked, gently touching around the patch of burned hair and singed skin.
“I… I don’t know how to describe it.” Azee couldn’t stop herself from shivering. “I just… lost all control of my body.” As she spoke, a powerful wave of despair and grief rolled through her.
“Hmm…” Eloise peered again at the skin around the burn. She noted a collection of tiny light blue lines tracing Azee’s veins around the area. Before her eyes, the colour faded and the lines disappeared.
“Well, it could have been a great deal worse, you’re lucky that-” Eloise paused as Azee’s shoulders started to shake. “Azee?”
Gently Eloise turned Azee around. Her cheeks were matted from tears as she fought hard not to cry.
“I-I’m s-sorry.” Azee whimpered.
“Oh Azee…” Eloise gently guided her towards one of the couches. As soon as she sat down, Azee buried her muzzle in Eloise’s lap and began to sob uncontrollably.
Uncertain of what to do, Eloise began awkwardly stroking Azee’s back. “There there… It’s alright now..”
“He’s n-never h-hit me b-before. All we’ve b-been through, and-and never...”
“I know sweet one, it’s alright.” Eloise continued to stroke Azee’s hair and back. “He was being very, very stupid.”
“I… I can’t take this anymore.” Azee whimpered, her hand bunching up Eloise’s dress. “I’m s-so scared…”
“I know.”
“I c-can’t t-take it anymore. I… I’d rather be dead!”
“Shhh… you don’t mean that.”
“I do!” Azee looked up at Eloise, barely able to speak through her sobbing. “I… I can’t…. I can’t b-be a s-slave again! I d-don’t w-want to, I can’t!” Again she buried her head in Eloise’s lap. “Please…. Please don’t make me.”
With a smile warmer than she thought herself capable of, Eloise pulled Azee against her and gently rocked her back and forth.
“It’s alright… I promise you, you won’t be a slave again. I will never let that happen.”
***
“I can’t believe we’re letting them go.” Tennet snarled, shoving his gun back in it’s holster and pulling his arm free of Giselle’s grip as Eloise left the slave carriage. “That little pelt bitch called me a coward!”
“As you were preparing to torture a woman and a baby.” The third order agent replied dryly. “Frankly, she had a point.”
“You want some of that too?” Tennet barked. “Cause Lord help me, if you wanna fight I’m just about ready to-”
“Tennet, Morris, that’s enough!” Giselle snapped, rounding on her comrades. “Let’s just get this bloody job done and get some damned sleep.”
As Tennet took up his soiled book once more, Morris stepped up beside Giselle.
“Did you notice anything strange about what just happened,” Morris asked, keeping his voice as low as he could.
“You mean about that man protecting that pelt?”
“That… and the fact that Tennet hit her with his stun rod at full power.” He gestured at the lapine, who was still struggling to even get to his knees. “Just look at that one, Tennet didn’t hit him with half as much as he belted that canine with. I’ve seen ursines get their heads scrambled from a shock that strong. It’s a miracle she’s still alive, let alone able to get to her feet.”
Giselle glanced over at Tennet as he set about writing down the details of another slave. “Maybe his rod needs recharging.”
“You ever known Tennet to let his rod’s charge get low?”
“No…” Giselle frowned. “So, what is it you are suggesting?”
Morris lowered his voice again. “There are those rumours, about pelts who can-”
“Those are rumours, nothing more!”
Giselle’s tone silenced Morris in an instant. A few curious slaves glanced over at the two agents, but recoiled as Giselle shot them a threatening glare.
“You bums plan to help or not?” Tennet called out. “Still have another car of these beasts to go through you know!”
“You know full well what the chantry thinks of those rumours, and those that spread them.” Giselle hissed, grabbing Morris by the arm and dragging him with her.
“I know, I know, just seemed strange is all.”
“We’ll just have to be sure to report it.” Giselle looked over her shoulder. “That whole encounter seemed strange to me.”
Morris nodded in agreement, before both he and Giselle returned to their work.
​
***
​
End of Part 22
Special thanks to my Patrons: Dowel-Rod, Tokamak, ArcaniA20, Technic_Bot, Kapłan Sekty Pieczarek, Dbail & K’vofe!
And Special thanks to K’vofe for his stellar editing work.

The rallying of the sword , the shriek of rockets , the heroism of the day Hail the matyr who died in the volley against the bastard occupier Nay our tribute shall be paid no more to the traitors who lie buried in caviar and vodka and turnips We fight to deliver our people from the evils of social and political perversion , we will be free from this nerotic poison that locks itself into the very soul and being of the people with an icey cold running through its veins Deliver us oh my god ! Give us rifles and heroism to challenge the rotten tyrants and dictatorial rule that lays bare upon on land by foregin agents and assassins Deliver us oh my god ! Give us a struggle , give us a war , give us bloodied flag to raise over the forts and towns as our forefathers did upon the evil empire for as did comrades and brothers from Argentina to Mexico Deliver us oh my god ! We fight for our future and defiance of our enemies both Yankee and Ivan Deliver us oh dear lord, when will we be free of occupation from the powers to have a future as to live to choose for ourselves. Give us deliverance give us freedom give us liberation from this international theft and Imperialistic occupation by blood and bullet for one final great struggle

Should I run clay golem or insight iron golem? Icey veins is saying to max out clay golem but I’m not sure.