State Of Grace

Error: Part 2.0


I had to admire how refined they were. In the open-maw of death, and they didn't even have to fire a single bullet; or at least one aimed at me, anyhow...

But nothing was refined about the creatures that dwelled in the sewer system, that I was now trapped in. Shit, they put warnings up about ten years ago stating that people had gone missing, but now I get to see them up close...my phone automatically tapped into the wireless network connecting the motion detectors, revealing a long set of dotted markers, sillouhetting the sewer lines. I waved my arm, and a pixel turned red on the screen. Good, I know where I am, at least, by proxy... I just need to make sure I don't get eaten alive first.

Faith. In myself, there were no gods in this world of tyranny. I silenced my breathing to naught but a faint whisper, my steps cushioned slowly as I crept along the tunnel, half-crouched, pistol pointed ahead, as if a talisman to protect me against the beasts of the night. Not even the ethereal ungodly screeching, reverberating through the bowels of the city shook my nerve, as I remained poised, elegant, graceful, even. A torch on the Nokia gave me a few metres of ligh-

Shit, what was that?! Something cracked not inches behind me, and I swung around, my facade shattering in the glistening, dank labyrinth...

A person, no, a child, an old one, dressed in black, motioning me to follow. What? Have I gone mad?

The scream grew into a bellowing roar, as a thick, red limb dashed past my vision. Hands shaking, my feet were moving of their own accord, the child seemed unpeturbed, as she reached for something inside a pocket...

Shit! A flare exploded into life, billowing smoke making the fetid air even harder to breathe in. The creature squealed wildly...is it scared? It would make sense...damn, I'm letting fear get the better of me! Can't even think straigh-

Even the child looked terrified when rapid thudding echoed all around us. She began running, brandishing the flare wildly as she did so. Don't slip, please don't slip...

"They're right behind us, where we going?!" I shouted over the cacophany. Wordlessly, she halted her sprint, and began scrutinising the curved wall, nothing appearing out of place... The hell is she looking for?!

"I hope you know what you're doing!" I screamed, kneeling down, taking aim at the tunnel. Shit! I fired rapidly, even the silencer failing to remain quiet in the madness. Anguished squeals, and rhythm of the thudding ceased, I presume they tripped over an injured one of those...things.

A tugging on my shoulder, the girl pointed to a newly formed crevice in the wall, a door! We both bolted, us panting wildly with fear...

"Argh crap!"

A coiled limb was wrapping itself around my leg, a moist trunk of glistening blood-red scaled working it's way up, as I struggled to break free. I threw the phone behind me, reaching for my crowbar, in between firing wildly into the darkness, all semblance of skill eroded by sheer panic...

Then, as if in slow motion, I heard the hissing of the flare grow in intensity as it flew past my vision, blinding me, causing the creature to retract, as a pair of arms dragged me away...I caught a glimpse of its hulking, hunched figure, covered in scaled, with a face that turned towards me, screeching in vain, as the passage was sealed off with a resounding thud.

Once again, in darkness, but at least safe. Or I hope so. I had to find out who this was, who pulled me away from death.

"Who...why did you...how did you even...?"

"Not now, when we get away from here, they can break through steel, when they want to. Your leg okay?" came the reply, a quiet, almost sweet voice. Too sweet for this world.

"Right...sorry, I just have to say...thanks. I'd have died there."

I got up, picking my battered phone up in the process, noticing the motion detectors had disappeared from view. Complete protection against wireless signals! Damn, not many havens like this left anymore...

Trudging along, the tunnel got wider, and at one point, tiles appeared on the ground, easing off my leg, which hobbled me...no climbing for a while, methinks. Shit, I'm going to need to break into the DNA database pretty soo-

"My Mum knows you." the girl spoke. "Your name's Alexa, right?"

My interest was piqued. "...Yes. Wait...No! My god, Sophia sent YOU along? I didn't think she had such connections."

"It's what you learn growing up underground. It's not easy not being able to leave, to see the sky, as you know, because of the curfews. Or the outright ban on people like us going onto the surface. The castes. We all learned about these passages pretty quickly, some people apparently tunnel them in their spare time, this one's pretty good, comes out near where my mum works, which is convenient... You just have to watch out for the creepers...you pissed them off shooting at them."

Already out of my depth. I wished I could be back at a computer, hell, even a terminal, just so I could start breaking things again, weaving through firewalls, hiding from admins, and netcreepers-

"Here, I need to call her, she was expecting you."

Expecting me? That wasn't good; if a subway worker knew about my antics, then surely the reapers would too...

She knocked on a concrete wall, it seemed nothing was happening...

"It's weird growing up down here. All you ever see is huge crowds of people running past, running away from their lives, from the fear, very rarely do you see anyone at night though...We used to play in the subway at night, y'know. Before they properly put surveillance networks about. I hear things about the surface."

Her voice was so matter-of-fact, no time for childhood to have any influence. Graceless, I suppose it was more important to be a fast runner than to be charismatic.

"They have camera's on every street, right? Streets? The things where houses are put at?"

I couldn't quite tell if she was being sarcastic, or dead-pan.

"Yeah, that and curfew patrols. In my case, a helicopter, and some private security contractors. People they hire to make dissidents like me disappear."

"You must've done something to REALLY piss them off then. Mind if I ask what?"

I hesitated. The concrete wall stayed motionless, maybe she didn't knock right. Surely she can know? Yeah, it's pretty much harmless... curiosity, right?

"I was...looking at our history. Not easy to find accurate records of the past. The only ones that are true are found on government databases, which have some of the strongest security in the world. They're also jealously guarded. I made the mistake of downloading some files..." I sighed, before continuing.

"You see, I know how you feel. I was never told about certain things when I was raised, and I watched the world become automatised, the 'antiquated' elements getting phased out...but the thing is, the past, our history holds warnings about the kind of things we're living in now. It taught us kindness, it taught us grace...well to be honest, the way the government operates now is pretty graceful, the way they so quickly responded to me...I just wish it were differen-"

The concrete broke, and a piercing golden light blinded me, as I was introduced to my friend Sophia...