The Forge - Spring 2024

Coverby:SamanthaGerken

George Mason University’s premiere speculative fiction literary magazine.

Words from the Chief:

Hey there, nerds and science fiction fans alike! My name is Caleb Davy, and as the all new Editor-in-Chief, I want to welcome you to the fourth print issue of The Forge on behalf of the staff!

To be completely honest, it’s been one heck of a semester, from trying to meet your average 11:59pm deadlines, to becoming the new Editor-in-Chief just two weeks into the semester . It’s been a rollercoaster of responsibilities, but a fun ride nonetheless! Before I get into anything more, I want to thank the the previous Editor-in-Chief, Jude, for being such a huge help with my transition to Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, as well as the other previous and current staff members who help make this issue happen! With that being said, we have a phenomenal lineup of stories for y’all to read this time around, from a heart-wrenching tale in a world filled with the undead, to a cutthroat cyberpunk crime thriller Every story within this issue is sure to be a spectacular page turner from cover to cover complete with breathtaking art pieces from our very own Mason community!

I cannot stress enough that this was an absolute treat to put together, and this experience was made all the more rewarding knowing the fact that our work here at The Forge is now in the hands of readers like you . Once again, I’d like to thank my staff for all their hard work on this year’s issue . But most of all, my gratitude goes out to you, dear reader, for keeping the embers of The Forge burning bright .

May the fire of your passion burn eternal,

Caleb Davy Editor-in-Chief

The Forge Team

Credits

Editor in Chief

Caleb Davy

Managing Editor

Semira Benyam

Art and Design Director

Kristina Mickle

Staff Editors

Caleb Davy

Semira Benyam

Emily Gomez-Adames

Diwita Banerjee

Jess Wiess

Art Team

Kristina Mickle

Charles Elmore

Samantha Gerken

Brooklyn Chavers

Julia Thomas

Nixie Cucu

Palika (DC) Sridurongrit

Special Thanks

Jude Kallista-Fitzpatrick, former Editor-in-Chief

Camellia Au, former Art & Design Director

Grey Copeland, Design Consultant

Student Media Professional Staff

Kathryn Mangus, Director

David Carroll, Associate Director

Jonathan Baumstark, Office Assistant

Faculty Advisor

Jason Hartsel

Night Dive

Jesse Greene

Unkempt

brown hair, sea-green eyes, freckles, and the dirty yellow fishing jacket that he wears for work often occupy my mind while I’m working, but this time it’s because he’s right in front of me . He’s wearing his signature grin, which means he’s planning some strange new activity, and he won’t stop pacing down the aisles so I can’t focus on much besides whatever he’s up to . Just as my shift is ending at the spiffy mart, before I can even take my uniform off, Alex pulls me aside . Alex had been stalking around the store for nearly half an hour since he knew that I can’t talk with him until I’ve clocked out . I’ve never known him to wait long for anything, normally getting what he wants as soon as he can or dropping it to find something else, so I know this must be important to him if he’s still here .

He hurriedly asks me with the frantic grin still on his face, “Hey, you still know how to dive, right?” I recall the few times Alex’s uncle had taken us scuba diving from his fishing boat and I told him that I still remembered . “Good, good, I want to go night diving with you, there was something really cool while we were fishing yesterday .” I had never been diving at night, and I know that it can be difficult unless you are an experienced diver who knows what they’re doing . Alex seems determined however, and

I think it would be easier to go along with his idea than to have him constantly nag me about it for a week

“Fine, when did you want to go?” I turn toward him as I shift out of my apron, ready to head home for the night . I lean forward a bit and tease him, “you do know I’m free for the rest of the weekend, right? I’ve got plenty of time to do whatever you want ” It looks like my hint isn’t being taken . “Let’s go tonight! Meet me by my uncle’s dock at midnight, I’ll be waiting for you!” Full of excitement he quickly waves at me while he darts away before I can say anything else, probably to prepare for his latest scheme . I didn’t really have plans for the night, but I still wanted to spend time with him without being on some random adventure . I picture my sister rolling her eyes at me,

“You couldn’t fall for a smart, sane guy, could you?” Sometimes I wish that I had, but I still want to be with Alex despite all the nonsense he puts me through .

I wasn’t sure if I should bring anything to the dock, so I just showed up expecting Alex to have everything planned out . I see his matted brown hair shine in the moonlight in front of his uncle’s old green and white fishing boat . I notice that the paint is starting to chip away on the old boat, exposing the dark colored wood beneath .

“It’s about time you got here! I was worried you weren’t going to show up .” He should know by now that I’d never let Alex down like that, even if it is for something as harebrained as this, I wish he’d catch on He steps toward me, holding something folded up in a ball, “I didn’t rent you a suit this time, so you can just use my uncle’s .” He holds up a blue and green wetsuit that looks like it would have no business being on any normal sized person . It’s easy for me to forget sometimes how physically large Alex’s uncle is, he’s a six and a half foot tall, three hundred pounds, grizzled old fisherman, but he’s always been one of the nicest people I know, at least to me and Alex . I wonder if I could even fit inside the massive second skin of his uncle without it sliding off, but with Alex’s help, I managed to get the suit on . It’s a little embarrassing for him to be grabbing all over me while I’m in my swimwear, but it feels kind of nice in a weird way too . The suit is finally on, and I probably look more like a sack of potatoes than a scuba diver with how loosely it fits on me, but Alex just smiles and says, “you look perfect!” I can feel myself start to blush as I put the goggles on to hide it from him

“Okay, let’s go, it’s a spot not too far from here, we should make it in about twenty minutes .” I don’t ask if he’s allowed to take the boat out without his uncle, I just let him help me up on the deck and I go to sit on one of the side benches I get lost in thought watching him behind the wheel of the boat, he seems so confident and sure of

himself I keep picturing what it would be like to go out with him like this every day, just enjoying being near each other without having to explore the woods or do science experiments I was so distracted by my own thoughts I didn’t notice him leave the wheel to come sit next to me .

“Okay, let’s put our tanks on, we’re here .” I look around, I can’t see any land, only several buoys in a ring maybe a mile across, with a boat near the far end of them with its lights on, which only now makes me realize that we had been driving here in the dark without me giving it a second thought . “Hey Alex, why didn’t you turn our lights on? Are you sure we’re in the right spot?” He turns toward me with his mischievous grin spread wide on his face, “we aren’t supposed to be here, there are people who told my uncle that this area was off limits while they retrieved something, I bet there’s treasure down there that we can get!” I can hardly believe that Alex would willingly steal from someone, it’s more likely that he’s just interested in the thrill of a treasure hunt than the actual treasure, I think he’d probably give it to the owners afterwards rather than keep it for himself . I just hope we won’t get in too much trouble if we get caught .

We put on the oxygen tanks and Alex puts his goggles on as we waddle to the side of the boat in our big flippers “Do we need a light to see down there?” I ask . “Oh yeah, my uncle only has one diving light, so I brought you a waterproof flashlight .” He hands me a little blue flashlight while we get ready to

dive in Before I can sit down in the proper position his uncle taught me, I see Alex jump straight into the water feet first, and I hurry to fall back to join him .

The water is freezing, and I can barely see a thing before I turn on my flashlight . I see Alex with his big flashlight, looking like he’s holding a megaphone while he lights up all the water around him . He waves at me, and he starts to swim away towards the bottom, but I can’t tell how deep it is, even Alex’s light won’t reach the bottom . I try to keep up with him but he’s a better swimmer than I am, and this suit keeps tugging me back in the cold water, so it isn’t very long before my small light can’t even reach his flippers as he swims down away from me . Why does it always feel like he’s leaving me behind while he does whatever he wants to do? All I wanted was to spend time with him and now I’m swimming in dark, freezing water after the only person I really care about . I keep going for a while and I still don’t see Alex or the bottom, maybe I got disoriented and started going the wrong way . Before I have a chance to check which direction I’m going, my flashlight starts to flicker, and I look down at it as it turns off completely It might have been waterproof, but it probably wasn’t built to handle a scuba dive like this I look around myself, now completely surrounded by the darkness of the ocean I can no longer see anything, even the borders of my mask or my arms in front of me, I check to make sure they’re still there, as if they would have left me like Alex did

I can’t hear anything besides the sounds of my oxygen system, and I can feel my heart pounding against the ice-cold waters I wish Alex was here, I feel like time itself has stopped as I try to take in the empty black sea around me . At least I thought it was empty, as I felt something glide against my leg for a few seconds . I feel paralyzed, I don’t move a muscle as I try to remain calm, I am not alone in these waters, and I have no idea what just touched me . Hopefully, it was just a fish, but of course I’m scared it might be a shark or something . No, it probably wasn’t a shark, it felt long and flexible, almost like a snake, maybe it was an eel? I feel the creature touch me again, this time rubbing itself against my stomach, as I reach out to touch it, I feel that it has some sort of long fins or sails along its body, I also realize just how large it is, the section touching me now is probably close to two feet wide . What kind of eel is like this?

I hold onto it as it slides against me, this time for much longer than when it was just on my leg . I can’t say for sure, but it felt like the thing was at least thirty feet long I start to try and swim towards what I hope is upwards, before I feel something smash into my arm, it feels like someone slammed a car door onto my shoulder as hard as they could, and I scream out into my air tank . I can’t move my arm anymore, it feels like it’s on fire, burning away the cold waters around me I turn to my left arm, but I have no way of knowing what it looks like . I reach out with my other hand to see if I can feel what

happened, but I’m interrupted by the creature moving itself along my body again .

As long as I don’t try to move, maybe it won’t attack me again . I begin to cry into my mask as I feel its long, spiny body swimming, running against my other arm, my calf, and my crotch simultaneously . Why is this happening to me? What does this creature want from me so badly? Is it just toying with me before it eats me? I wish Alex was here, he’s much better in these kinds of situations than I am, always with some crazy plan that I go along with . Oh god, I wish Alex were here, I wish he would just take me away from this monster and spend the rest of his days by my side and never leave me behind again . But Alex wasn’t here, it was just me and the sea serpent caressing me in the darkness .

I don’t know how much more of this I can take; I can feel my feet getting numb from the cold, and my arm is still throbbing in pain while I’m floating blindly with this monster wrapped all around me .

In the midst of feeling its long body touching all parts of my own, I feel it investigating my air tank My panic renews itself as I think of how long I could last without my air tank, in the dark, without being able to move without being crushed . Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, if I’m going to be eaten anyway, drowning first doesn’t sound like the worst situation I feel it starting to ram against my air tank, I can feel the bubbles floating out of the canister I reach out to see which way they are going, and the bubbles are floating away behind

me, marking the direction of the surface before I feel the entire tank get crushed in one motion, slamming me forward away from safety . I held my last breath of air as the creature’s grip loosened after the tank ruptured, probably in shock of the situation .

I swim as fast as I can after the last bit of air that was left in the tank, trying desperately to reach the boat that I know is somewhere above me . I feel the creature grab the end of my flipper, and I try to take it off before I am quickly surrounded by the serpent’s body yet again, and I thought this must be it, I can’t go any further . What might have been my final thoughts are interrupted, as suddenly, a white light shines above me, the first light I had seen in what felt like forever, and I see the full extent of the creature that had plagued me on my dark journey . Its face was just inches in front of my own, I wonder for how long it was staring at me, its head looked almost like a horse’s, with a long jaw housing several long teeth but only in the front, coming together to resemble two meat tenderizers almost like buck teeth Its skin was pale, like the color of a foggy day, it had four red sails that spread from its head down its entire body like the layout of the letter X, and I couldn’t even see the end of its body, a writhing mass of length lied below and around me, it must have been close to a hundred feet long As the light shines down on us, its olive-green eyes start to narrow into slits like a snake’s, it opens its long mouth and lets out a hissing noise, as it recoils away from the surface down into the

deep I feel someone’s strong arm around me as I’m carried upward away from the beast . Did Alex come back for me?

No, not Alex, this was an adult, as I look around the surface, still in the dead of night, I see the boat that was far off before now right ahead of me, I cough up the stale air I was holding and gasp to get my first breaths of freedom . I look at the side of the boat, on its front it’s labeled ‘United States Biological Anomaly Division: Marine Containment 4’ . I’m taken onto the boat where I see another man standing next to Alex, who has an uncommonly sullen look on his face . Alex looks up to see me being dragged into the boat with him, he relaxes for a moment, seemingly relieved until he looks down at my arm, his rugged, freckled face turning white and his normally grinning lips starting to quiver . I looked down too and see that my left shoulder was practically crushed and I can’t see the rest of my arm, no doubt this was from the massive mashing teeth of that monster I can still feel my heart pounding against my wetsuit, like it might break out of my chest, I’m not sure that it will ever stop until it finally starts to slow down, and I start to black out as Alex catches me, I look up weakly to see Alex calling for help as I close my eyes, I guess he really cares about me after all .

I wake up in a room that might have been mistaken for one you’d find in a hospital, if it wasn’t for all the official looking men buzzing around the hallway . I look over to see Alex slumped over in a chair, his eyes are red as

though he had been crying, I’ve never seen him like this, he’s always been so strong spirited, never letting anything bring him down, but now he was in a state of weakness that he would never let anyone see . Except I can see it, and I know that I’m the cause of his worry . I feel guilty for the strange pride it brings me to be the only thing I’ve ever seen him so serious about . I wonder how long he’s been at my bedside, waiting for me to wake up .

I reach out and hold his hand, they are the chafed, strong hands of a fisherman, but right now to me they feel more like the soft, scared hands of a child . I sit and smile watching him as I hold his hand for a while before he wakes up . Wearily he looks over at me and suddenly the brightness returns to his freckled face, he tries to give me a half smile and asks if I’m feeling okay I squeeze his hand and smile back, “never felt better .” He blushes a little, he’s so cute when he turns red, I wish I got to see it more often . “Just don’t leave me behind next time ” He begins to stammer out apologies, “I-I’m sorry, I promise I’ll never go too far ahead of you again, I’ll stay right here with you as long as you need ” I try to mimic his signature mischievous grin, “how about forever?” He looks a little confused, “You’re okay with being with me for that long?” “I would love nothing more ” The smile on his face turns so he now looks genuinely happy . “O-okay, then I can do that for you ” I never thought I’d see the day, for as long as I’d known him, Alex was never the kind of person anyone

could pin down doing any one thing, always bouncing from one adventure to the next, the only things constant were me and his uncle

We are interrupted by a man dressed in a lab-coat as he enters my room holding a clipboard, “hello, I’m taking care of your wound while you recover here, and now that you are awake, I would also like to ask you some questions about what you encountered the other night if that’s alright .” I sat up in my bed and realized from the shape of the bandages on my shoulder that I would no longer have a left arm . Memories of panic from that cold night in the sea come rushing back to me as I explain as much as I could about the beast’s appearance and actions, and the lab-coat man begins furiously running a pen against his clipboard as I relived the entire night The man stands for another minute while he continues scribbling down his notes until he eventually finishes recording whatever details he thought were of use “Thank you very much for telling me that, I know it must have been difficult, but we can use this information to help capture the creature, so it causes no more harm . Is there anything else that comes to mind about the creature?” As I hold his hand and look over into Alex’s sea-green eyes, I smile, finally able to spend my life with the boy I’ve loved for a long time . “For a monster, it’s not the worst wingman . ”

Art by: Charles Elmore

Killers and Queens

Jesse Greene

Bandits

or skeptids, I think to myself, who would arrive first? Peering out from the sandbank I keep my eyes locked to the lone metal wagon ahead of me, the only thing visible to break up the endless blue desert . Surely the occupants would have known that even rough terrain vehicles like the one they’ve chosen can’t move well over the fine sand, especially one as heavy looking as this one . They’re obviously from off-world, probably another aspiring merchant seeking to make profit off the rich cobalt dunes After roughly an hour of stalking the silver quarry, I get my answer when I see three bandits riding past the dunes on their mag-bikes, the electricity crackling beneath them as they quickly approach the sealed carriage, I get Colly ready to fire .

It doesn’t seem like the bandits are armed with anything worth worrying about, one wielding a cheap model of thermic blaster and the other two with less than that, only holding large crude blades, amateurs . I wait for the guards to spring forth from the cabin, as there aren’t any external weapons on these crafts, but as the bandits begin haphazardly shooting at the large metal door it becomes more apparent that there isn’t anyone to defend the wagon after all, which means all that opposes me and it’s

contents was three exposed, barely armed thugs . All I have to do is wait for them to figure out how to open the carriage door, an easy task for Colly, but I choose to wait longer for the ruffians to do it themselves

Eventually giving up on overpowering the door, the three start hacking and shooting at whatever parts seem exposed on the craft . In their haphazard attempt to open the doors, one of them happens to strike what seems to be a coolant pipe and manages to cut it open, letting the sealed cabin slowly cook from the heat of the vehicle’s own engine Though judging from their continued random attacks they likely didn’t realize the significance of such an action .

Roughly fifteen minutes after slashing the coolant, the stumped bandits are plotting amongst themselves on how to get inside the vehicle before they are interrupted when the cabin door opens without them touching it . I now see a well-dressed, portly man gasping out the side of the wagon, completely drenched in sweat . The three bandits don’t take long to seize their opportunity, and one begins holding the man at knifepoint while the second swings open the door . Inside I don’t see anything valuable, just some clothing cases and another boiled occupant, a past out woman in a fine blue dress, probably ruined by her body moisture .

The assumed leader of the three, wielding his blaster pistol, eyes her form greedily, his intentions plain as day I line up Colly on him first, as he’s the only potential threat of the group, and I don’t approve of his choice of romance . The only thing of value to be gained in this situation is the merchant’s trust, so I stay the bandit’s execution until the pressure is at its maximum, the bandit enters the cabin, tears off the woman’s dress, and positions himself above her, but I hold my fire until the merchant cries out for the brigand to stop

His prayers are answered, as half of the assailant’s brain explodes out to coat the cabin walls in deep crimson . I frown, I was aiming for the center of his head but must not have calibrated well enough . But before the other two have a chance to process what just happened to their dirty compatriot, I detonate both of them perfectly from the neck up, as I normally aim to do .

The now red spattered man begins sobbing, then looking around until his eyes train on me, a lone black silhouette against the empty desert, my face is covered and my coattails are swaying just above the blue sands as I begin walking toward the scene of carnage I helped create . I help him to his feet and ask him in the most sympathetic voice I can muster, in an effort to gain his trust, “are you alright? Those men didn’t hurt you did they, I came as soon as I heard the screams .” I gamble that the man isn’t thinking clearly enough to question my timing or that I didn’t investigate the obvious

blaster fire, and it seems I was right, when he begins to stammer out his answer . “W-w-we were on our way to an event I was invited to, but we seem to have landed in the wrong spot and got attacked,” he looks like he may cry while he says it . “This world isn’t a kind one, and it looks like it was the end for your carriage here . What kind of event convinced you to come here?” He pulls out a coordinate pad which I immediately recognize the location of, as I had already spent countless nights scouting it for weaknesses . “The leader of this planet is hosting a fundraiser gathering to promote the wellbeing of her people .”

“Emissary Rynthia? She’s not exactly our leader, and she never lets anyone into her biodome that doesn’t work for her or have biolocked access,” I explain . “You mean these things?” Sure enough, the man produces two of the biolock cards used for getting past the dome’s security, and I’m even more shocked to see that he hasn’t imprinted them yet If I can get my hands on them, I may finally have a way inside of Rynthia’s glass fortress I put on my best poker face and restrain myself from jumping at them directly

“You really don’t need to risk your life just for a fancy party,” and the man agrees, “I was only going because my wife wanted a short vacation ” He looks towards the woman still lying in the cabin, sweaty, bloody, and dress torn, the man begins to tear up a little and does his best not to cry outright . I grab him by the shoulders, “I’ll get you out of here

and off this planet, I know a ship station about forty kilos from here that will take you back to wherever you launched from We’ll take the bikes that the bandits used and I’ll lead you there, it should only take a few hours if we don’t stop .” I fasten the still asleep woman to one of the bikes, and connect my lead bike to the other two .

We began making our way towards the ship station, true to my word, trying to avoid conversation with the man attached behind me, and he had no problems with that arrangement . Before we arrive however, his wife finally comes back to life, and finding herself half naked, covered in blood, and strapped to a bike being led by a stranger over endless blue sands, immediately starts to scream for help . I slow down the magbikes and untie the woman, who briefly tries to run away until her husband calls out to her, “Get back here and sit down, this man saved our lives and is taking us back to a place where we can get off this terrible planet ” She slowly walks back to her bike, trying to cover her sensitive areas, by her look of panic and confusion, she clearly wants someone to explain what happened leading to this situation, but between my cold returning stare and her husband who refused to look at her, she decided it was better not to ask, and remained silent the rest of the way

I make sure to avoid any nearby skeptid nests and we don’t run into any more bandits either, so we arrive at the ship port in no worse condition than when we started the

trip, which was an admittedly low bar We receive the stares of many gawkers on the way to a credit terminal, between my two blood covered, ragged followers, and myself in my long black trench-coat and black-brimmed hat, we were probably the highlight of the day for anyone looking for something interesting at the shipyard . The man accesses his credit account to withdraw funds for passage on a rather small luxury ship, and turns to ask me how much I would like as a reward . I shake my head, “I wouldn’t want to cause you any more trouble than you’ve already experienced here, but if you’re leaving anyways, would it be alright if I took those biolock activators off your hands? I would hate to let them go to waste .” My real goal is now finally within reach, and I didn’t have to build a bounty on my head to get it . “Ten thousand it is, and you can have those keycards too .” I didn’t expect him to pay me credits anyways, but the look on his face makes me know that I shouldn’t refuse, still though, such an amount was more than most people here would see in a year, so it was certainly generous of him .

I take my filled pouch of hundred credit coins, and watch the two launch off to whatever station or planet they came here from, now to find the perfect partner for this two man operation The coordinate pad the rich man had shown me referenced the eighteenth, likely the date of the gathering, so I had three days to gather all the supplies I needed, the hardest to find was sure to be

my plus one, needing to be someone who was capable and looking less out of place at a party than I would, which isn’t saying much Four taverns later and only taking one day, I find one, a young Asian girl with no visible scars aside from the effects of the sand, and a robotic arm . Her physique suggested she might work at a tavern or be a merchant’s wife, but her demeanor and large rifle suggested otherwise . I don’t even finish my approach before she warns me, “don’t even think of it, I’m perfectly happy alone and I definitely won’t go for someone as old and weird as you .” Besides my silver hair reaching down to my shoulders, and my frayed eyes, no other part of me is visible, all covered by my black clothing, but she still recognized me all the same . “I’m here to offer you a proposition,” I slightly expose my coin pouch, now knowing she can see it even across the room . “I don’t sell myself either, there’s plenty of girls with less wits than me you can stalk for .” I finish walking towards her regardless, she engages her rifle but doesn’t aim it at me, staring me in the half of my wrinkled face that’s visible “I don’t desire you for sex, but I have need of your body and skills for a job ”

She thinks for a moment, with her human hand reaching to her chin, the robotic one still holding the rifle, “explain it to me upstairs, I have a room we can use if you aren’t bullshitting me .” I follow her up to her room, normally rented just so people can sleep together away from prying eyes, so there are no windows and

a sealing door which lets out no sound The door hisses closed behind me, while she moves to sit on the only bed in the room and starts to undo her hair, as if I wasn’t in the room and she was getting ready for bed “So tell me, what’s this job where you need me to do it? I’m guessing I’ll be someone’s wife? Or do you just like pretty girls at your side?” She must get requests like these often . “I’m raiding the biodome .”

This pauses her from continuing her nighttime routine, as she was in the middle of unfastening her chest-piece, she looks at me like I just insulted her, hands still behind her back, “are you stupid or something? I thought you old guys knew a thing or two around here, no one can take the biodome without a small army .” I pull out the unactivated biolock imprinters, “we don’t need one if we have these .” She knows exactly what I’m holding, and just how valuable they are around here . She quickly finishes getting undressed, and offers the other side of the bed to me I refuse, instead opting for the blue armchair for the night, as this is likely a ploy to take my coin and my keys once we’re both unarmed thanks to her mechanical limb, I wonder how many times she’s done this . We both look at each-other while she tries different positions and noises to change my mind, before she eventually sighs, defeated, “could you at least take off that ridiculous coat and let me see your face?” I suppose it’s only fair, considering she has already exposed herself to me completely, I undo my bandana, and pull my

arms from the long sleeves of my trenchcoat to reveal the glowing green scars that wrap all throughout my body

Her eyes widened, “holy crap, did you fight a whole nest of skeptids? I’ve never seen that much scarring on someone who wasn’t dead the next day .” “The nest wasn’t an issue for me, it was the queen .” I gingerly touch one of the mint colored crevasses on my cracked, gray arms, more faded than the last time I saw them . “How did you get away?” She seems genuinely interested now, no longer treating me as a potential target . “I didn’t, their queen tore me to shreds, and let me go, I’ve been like this ever since .” “I didn’t even know skeptids had queens, I thought they were all just mindless killing machines .” I recall the fateful trip I had to take to avoid the colony’s police force, I figured I would fare better against the bugs . I try to explain the power of what I encountered that day, “while the normal insects are only a few feet long wielding tough cobalt skin, sharp claws, and wicked green venom all throughout their body, the queen is as large as ten, and tougher than a whole nest, with armor so thick even Colly couldn’t pierce it, and so I ended up the loser in that battle . And not every nest has one either, there’s only one queen on the whole planet at a time, so I was really just unlucky that day ”

Skeptids normally don’t die of age, just subsisting off of the glowing fungus beneath the sands, and the blue desert itself, forever, but the queen was special, she was

intelligent, and needed to grow a new queen whenever she grew close to end of her life, but I don’t tell her that “So what’s your name, anyway? I think I’ll join you on your crazy heist after all ” Looks like she wasn’t planning on helping me to start, but at least I won’t be taking on the mission alone . “You can call me Zyth .” “Clarissa, haven’t met a Zyth before, not sure if I will again .” She rolls over in bed, and I get ready for the night as well . Clarissa wakes up and looks at me multiple times throughout the night, probably not used to sharing a room despite her earlier act, she must be waiting for me to fall asleep, though I don’t think she’d betray me if I did . Eventually morning comes, and she seems more tired now than when she started the night, while I haven’t moved at all and get my coat on, ready for the next day .

I start with picking out our clothes for the incursion, switching my once pure black, now azure dust covered ten-gallon hat and trench-coat for a new coat-tailed tuxedo and a black top hat, keeping my bandana the same . For Clarissa, we pick out a blue lacy flower dress, with earrings and high heels Looking at her now, she might pass even for a councilor’s trophy wife

She’s smiling and giggling while she spins and poses in front of the store mirror, the outfits only cost just over a thousand credits, which I couldn’t have afforded without the rich man’s generosity after all, so I silently thank him for helping me achieve my goal yet again . I spend another hundred on a handheld cryostasis chamber, used for

Art by: Samantha Gerkin

transporting specific materials, I then pay another three hundred for it to be modified with a hidden chamber . I hand Clarissa the rest of my credits and instruct her to find a carriage for us to arrive in, which leaves her more excited than when she got to choose her clothing . I tell her to wait for me back at the tavern we slept at the night before, while I have to go and fill my new canister .

I return the morning of the heist, seeing a new vehicle in front with Clarissa sleeping inside of it, mouth open, still in the dress we bought the day before . It’s a bright orange little craft, with huge wheels covered in long treads meant to gain more traction on the fine blue sand, it’s a bit of an eyesore contrasted to the cobalt sand lying around it, but I guess that’s the criteria for us to appear wealthy enough to belong at this fundraiser . I rap against the door, startling Clarissa awake, probably from the only sleep she had in days “Oh, it’s you, I decided to stay with the wagon just to make sure no one stole it ” While it is possible someone would be brash enough to steal a cart from the middle of town, I think she was just happy relishing the taste of luxury, even if it is in the form of the ugliest car I’ve ever seen She unlatches the door for me, and I place the canister between us “Took you long enough to fill that thing anyway, what’s in it?” I tell her she’ll find out later

We begin activating the biolock keys to our genetic fingerprints at the same time, and Clarissa pulls up her name almost instantly, reading: Clarissa M Barnes and showing her

picture Mine however, is taking much longer, with Clarissa eager to see my information as well, the card seems to be thinking while a small circle spins on its screen, eventually, it pulls up my

name as well: Walkeen G Zythers and shows a much healthier picture of myself, I would have been confused too, trying to match my past to my present . With identification in tow, we head across the desert towards Rynthia’s biodome, a large circular structure composed of steel and glass almost a meter thick, and crawling with guards at all hours . I sense the structure even before it’s visible, as if I can feel its location from all the time I had spent imagining how to break in .

As we pull up to the entrance, a security guard stops us, “please show us your biolock cards and we can let you through ” The guard looks at our cards for a moment, then looks back at the two of us, and back to the cards, “are you sure this is your card, sir? Could you lower your mask so I can properly identify you?” I’m about to oblige him as I don’t see many options besides exposing the green scars around my neck and mouth, but Clarissa stops me, “oh honey, I told you not to get all that surgery right before the big party, now remember I won’t let you take off that mask until it’s healed, I only married you for your looks, after all ” I guess that means Clarissa is the wealthy one and I’m the trophy, I still look rather handsome on my id card anyway, I can work with this . I turn to the guard and try to act cheerful when I tell

him, “sorry, I’m more scared of the wife than security .” He sighs, “alright, well I’ll need to search your vehicle since I can’t properly identify you .”

He rummages around for a bit, looking for any hidden contraband onboard, but there is nothing except the canister by our feet, he starts trying to open it before I warn him, “careful, that jar is full of skeptid eggs, I wanted to offer them to lady Rynthia for her science experiments, I heard she’s been doing all sorts of tests on them .” The guard looks me in the eyes, trying to gauge me, “I don’t know where you heard that, those tests are top planetary secrets .” “I have many sources for information,” I explain to him . He opens the jar anyways, and sure enough, his eyes widen as his face is covered in the green light of the skeptid eggs . He quickly seals the container, and hands it back to me, as nearby skeptids can sense when their eggs aren’t where they should, and will stop at practically nothing to get them back “I haven’t seen eggs that glow that much before, they must be special, I’ll let the science team know you’re heading there ” He seems nervous, but these very special eggs won’t alert any skeptids unless they are broken, not that he needs to know that . We are finally let through, and as soon as we’re out of earshot of the guards and the valet taking our cart away, Clarissa punches me in the arm, luckily not with her robotic fist Under her breath, she whispers, “are you crazy? What are you doing with skeptid eggs? Are you trying to get yourself

killed?” I speak to her very calmly after, “they are extremely important for my mission, I needed to gain access to their science department .” She sighs, knowing that half of the valuables in this place would just be the tools that the government uses .

We mingle around a grand ballroom type area filled with several wealthy or prominent people . I recognize some diplomats and generals in the crowd, there are several gourmet dishes laid out and waiters running around the room . Clarissa is chatting up several of the men at the party, and some of the women too, no doubt scheming for their pocketbooks behind closed doors . I sense that their science department would be below the rest of the structure, but I cannot locate the entrance from the room we’re in . It’s likely connected to the central garden that’s filled with alien plants and some animals, which the biodome was named after

Eventually, one of the staff appears on a balcony over our room, “Emissary Rynthia would like all of you to please enter this way to the garden, where she will address the meaning of this fundraiser .” Entering the garden without being alone makes sneaking around it much easier, and we enter as a crowd of well-dressed people trampling on alien dirt . Rynthia is standing on a raised platform in the center of the green and brown garden, much different than the empty blue fields just outside . Rynthia is a dark-skinned politician, and her outfit is a tight white gown made

from some sort of rubber or latex, with a stripe down the middle in the same shade of cobalt blue as the rest of the planet, she appears rather attractive for a government agent

“As you all heard from the invitation, this fundraiser will be to raise the wellbeing of the people on planet Skeptar-1 . As some of you may already know, this planet is plagued by lawlessness after the first colonists couldn’t gather the cobalt that lies all over this planet . The reason why is because the only creature native to this planet was hostile to all other life, and there is no doubt that is how it became the apex predator here . After the wealthier colonists left off the planet, the only ones left were those who could not escape, and desperation became the law of the land . In order for peace and prosperity to come to Skeptar-1, we must first pacify its natives, and with the science being done here at this facility, we have discovered that the creatures can be killed with red phosphorus . With your help, we can create enough weapons and hire enough people that we can cleanse this planet and let operations continue here .”

Most of the people in the crowd seem enthusiastic, after all, this planet is made almost entirely of cobalt and it would be extremely cheap to gather it if the skeptids weren’t a constant threat I find a door that looks like it leads underground, that must be where the lab is located I sneak inside without any trouble, as there were very few guards on the interior of the dome,

but before the door can close behind me, someone catches it .

“Not so fast ” I turned to see who was behind me . “You didn’t think you’d have all the fun without me right?” Clarissa closes the door, looking at me with a sly grin, I thought she was busy with the deep pocketed group in the garden . “I am going to take something very valuable from this facility, and it’s going to get violent .”

I undo the hidden layer of the canister on the bottom, and slide it open to retrieve my weapon . Clarissa looks at it for a moment, “what are you going to do, scan them to death?” My weapon does look similar to a merchant’s transaction scanner, which I’ve taken advantage of in the past during surprise inspections . “This is Colly, she fires clusters of unstable ions that I can determine the distance of before they explode,” I explain . Colly is a one-of-a-kind prototype that got scrapped for being too difficult and dangerous to use . As it’s not a normal projectile, Colly’s ion bursts leave no laser trail, but I have to manually turn a dial to determine the distance before they explode, making her simultaneously the perfect weapon for an assassin, and for someone who likes a challenge, I used to be both .

We make our way down a set of stairs which lead to a sterile looking white hallway, we get to the end of it and see several different tests being run on skeptids, in the center of the room is a large green egg with several tubes and sensors all around it . Some scientists are in the room, and one

of them asks if I’m the one with the strange eggs . I nod, opening my canister to reveal the brighter than normal skeptid eggs, the scientists eagerly gather around me to view their new plaything I turn to Clarissa, “Now .” She looks a little confused, so I move my eyes to the scientist closest to her, she understands .

One blow from Clarissa’s cybernetic arm is all it took to snap the researcher’s neck, while the other four in the room watch in horror as she moves to grab her second one . The rest start to run, but I stop the two who are on their way to a panic button, the last is still standing in shock of the situation before his head is bent backwards into his spine by a robotic hand . “Good job, now we can finish this .” I take the canister filled with eggs, and I empty it, smashing all of them against the ground . “What the hell are you doing?” My partner asks, more confused than angry . “I needed room, this is all part of the plan . ”

I disconnect the various wires attached to the large egg in the center of the room, and place it in my canister instead . “Let’s go, before things get bad ” She looks at me even more confused than before, “what do you mean, you stopped them from alerting the guards .” I pull my mask down, showing the green etchings in my face, when I turn to her, “they didn’t alert the guards, but I did .” She doesn’t understand what I mean yet, but she will . “Shouldn’t we take some of this other stuff? Is that egg really so valuable?” I speak to her one last time, “it’s worth more than my life ”

Suddenly, a slight rumbling can be felt all around us, we exit back to the garden area where we can hear blaster fire and a horrific scratching noise . Clarissa looks up with the rest of the guests at the glass dome now being covered in the green glow of skeptids with their blue shells and claws scraping against the surface . I keep walking to the exit as the scratching gets louder and the blasters stop firing . Clarissa runs over and screams at me over the cries of the guests and the noise of the bugs, “did you do this? Is that what those eggs were for? How the hell do you think we’re getting out of here now?”

I don’t say a word, and keep heading through the ballroom area to the front entrance, where two guards are waiting to see if the doors will hold . I already know that they will, even the skeptids can’t breach walls this thick, that’s why they needed me .

The two guards immediately fall to the ground, red circles on their shoulders where their heads should be . Clarissa pleads with me one last time but I can’t even pay attention to her words, now so close to achieving my goal I open the large metal door, and the bugs start flowing in, weaving around me, careful not to disturb the new queen, Clarissa is not as fortunate, as I turn to see her swept away by the hoard of sharp, toxic creatures, her face showing excruciating pain, I wonder if more from the acid or betrayal .

I make my way back to the queen, her form practically falling apart after all this time Making those special eggs for me

may have been her last act of good for the hive . I produce her heir from the jar I had carried, and she collapses, finally with no need to keep holding onto life . I had fulfilled my purpose for the hive as well, and as she breathes her last, my dead gray skin begins to fall away, exposing no blood beneath . I sit and spend my last moments holding onto the massive egg, it cracks open, and the new queen is born as I let my human remains turn to dust around her, the perfect ruler for this blue desert world .

The End

Thomas Malinovskaya

Thefirst breath is always the worst

Soil and dust and occasionally beetles flooding down her throat . No matter how often she does this, her lungs always try to expel the foreign matter, never remembering that there’s nowhere for it to go . There’s no air down here . If she wants air, she has to climb out .

She knows this, but her body forgets every time . She has to force her hands up through the topsoil, feeling for free space . It’s a shallow grave, but it still feels like forever until she can scrape the dust off of her face, lean onto her side, and vomit out the dirt . She tries not to notice it wriggling as she heaves . It scrapes the inside of her throat and scratches against the back of her gums . She’ll need to brush her teeth after this .

It takes her another few minutes of just breathing, eyes still covered by dirt, until she can sit up . Her body always forgets that, every time It’s still alive She’s still alive She wipes the dirt out of her eyes .

He’s there, sitting in his folding chair a few feet away . His hiking boots are caked in the same dirt as her scalp Jeans tucked into them . Flannel . Sleeves rolled up . She scans his body, familiar as it is, from the bottom to the top of his head . Scant facial hair that comes from not shaving often enough rather than being a deliberate choice . She finally

meets his eyes . Brown . They crinkle at the corners as he meets her gaze .

“Hey, kiddo,” he says, almost a whisper .

“Hey, Dad,” she rasps out .

It sounds more like a screech than a voice, but he smiles anyway .

—

Charlie’s been with her dad for a while now . He says it’s been just over five years . She doesn’t think about the time before, so she might as well have known him forever . He tells her she’s about thirteen now .

He likes talking and she likes listening to him talk, usually as he lifts her out of the grave and carries her out to the truck He tells her she’s thirteen and her name’s Charlie Woods and he’s sorry He likes repeating that he’s sorry as he gets the water jug out She

shuts her eyes as the water runs in dirty streams down her face and touches one thumb to her chest in the sign of ‘it’s okay’ .

“I’m sorry ”

I’m okay .

“I’m so sorry, babe ”

I’m okay .

“There you go, you’re gorgeous again ” He swipes a rag over her face, leaving a blank halo of ‘clean’ while her shaved scalp and neck are still grimy .

She grins

He grins back “Let’s get you out of those clothes .”

—

An hour later, she has his flannel against her bare skin She’s bundled herself into a ball leaning against the passenger’s-side door . Her temple’s pressed against the cool glass . If she closes one eye, she can watch the countryside pass by . It’s the hour before dawn and everything is gray .

They just passed the border into California . There’s no trees out . It’s all dusty . Dad says it’s always been dusty like that, even before everything ended . He gets sad in some of the other places . When they were North, in Washington, he left the truck and stood for a while staring at the mud . “There used to be trees there,” he said . “So many trees, Charlie . You can’t even imagine .”

She couldn’t, but she tried to make him happy .

She tries to imagine it now . That dust cloud is a tree . That cloud is a big, tall tree . The dust turns into leaves The yellow becomes green and brown .

Dad puts one of their last remaining cassettes into the slot . The Doors start playing She hums along

“We’re stopping soon,” he says . “Meeting Sam and the others ”

She doesn’t stop humming as she drops her head into a nod

“He said they’d bring some food . How long’s it been since we had barbecue, huh?”

It’s been a while . He knows it has . But he’s not really expecting a reply This is how

most of their conversations go He talks and she doesn’t really need to respond . It’s comforting She lets his words cover her along with the flannel and watches the trees while The Doors sing about the end (my only friend, the end) .

It’s dusk (slightly darker gray sky) by the time they arrive at the agreed upon campsite . The others are already there . Charlie sees Sam, Dad’s oldest friend . Black skin and cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes as he leans back in his seat . There’s Jacob . Dusty hair,

blue eyes . And there’s a new guy that Charlie doesn’t recognize . He looks lanky, like his joints haven’t finished forming all the way . And young . He’s maybe a few years older than her . She lets Dad climb out of the truck first . Sam and Jacob yell greetings to him, so she can slip out of her side’s door relatively unnoticed . That’s how they prefer it, she’s learned . No matter how many times Dad says she’s gorgeous, strangers get scared when they look at her

She knows why . Dark circles under her eyes Pallid skin Scars all over Stubble of hair along her head . Teeth that are perpetually dirty And she’s tiny for her age, and her teeth are too sharp, and the way she walks around barefoot is creepy, and, and, and . It’s easier to sulk in the shadows .

Dad goes to greet the men Hands clasp, shoulders are thumped . He sits down by the fire It’s already got something frying over it . Despite herself, Charlie steps closer . It smells like meat She’s starved for meat

As soon as the firelight hits her face, though, she remembers why she stays in the shadows because the new kid gasps and goes for his gun .

Sam and Dad both yell, twin “No”s ringing out across the dark, but they’re drowned out by the gunshot .

Charlie gets thrown backwards . Shotgun, she registers . Buckshot . It hit her in the chest, with enough bullets sprayed out to cover most of her top half . There’s a hole in the middle of her body . That’s not supposed to be there . She’s in shock, laying with her face

pressed against the dirt and, instead of pain that she knows she should be feeling, she just feels a deep sense of wrongness .

There’s a hole in her that isn’t supposed to be there . Big, calloused hands flip her over and she’s staring up into Dad’s face . “Baby?” he asks, cupping her face . “Baby, you with me?”

She opens her mouth and comes out with a wet gurgle .

“Goddamnit,” he whispers, turning over his shoulder to yell at the fire . “Goddamnit, I just dug her up!”

She can feel blood running down her chin This isn’t bad It feels like it’ll be quick Sam’s gravelly voice says, “I’m sorry, Jim . He didn’t know better ”

“Yeah, well, you should’ve told him!”

“I did He’s a trigger-happy dumbass ”

“Tell him he can dig the goddamn grave . Shovel his own shit ”

Then, there’s a younger voice, breaking, “What the fuck is that thing!?” “That’s my

daughter, so you shut your goddamn mouth! You’ve done enough .” The last thing Charlie hears before the sky goes black is the boy crying, “That’s a fucking monster, man .” —

Dirt . Beetles . Air . Dad was waiting for her in a folding chair . Routines are comforting . He washes her off, for the second time in as many days . Behind him, Sam and the others are gathered around the remains of the fire .

It’s morning . She missed the barbecue . Once she’s washed and changed, Dad walks her over to the others .

“Okay,” he says . His jaw is set . He looks straight at the kid . “This is Charlie . She’s my kid .”

She waves, awkwardly .

“Danny,” the kid mutters . She almost doesn’t hear him . He’s staring at his feet . She notices his shotgun is now firmly strapped over Sam’s shoulder .

“Didn’t catch that,” Dad says .

“Danny,” he repeats, louder . His eyes flicker up, meet Charlie’s, and then flicker back down .

She forgets just how scared people can get . Most of the ones who make a big fuss about it don’t get a chance to do it for very long before she kills them . She hasn’t met a person she’s just supposed to talk to in a while .

When she met Sam, he gripped his beer until his knuckles turned white and his voice got a bit strained, but otherwise he was fine Jacob started muttering some words of a prayer Nothing like this, though Maybe it’s

because Danny’s so young

“He’s too young,” Dad mutters, echoing her thoughts “Shouldn’t be doing this ” She pulls on his sleeve and holds a finger to her chin, signing

“I know you’re thirteen, baby . You’re just so much more mature than this dipshit .” “Enough,” Sam says . His voice is soft, but it gets Dad to stop talking . Danny, who had his mouth open to retort, closes it . Sam nods, in approval . “Now then . We’re all here and mostly in one piece . Let’s go over the plan .”

—

The plan is always more or less the same . They find a settlement that’s doing as well as anyone can, in these times . (The settlement is in the area Dad says San Francisco used to be . It’s mostly swamp, but they have access to some water they’ve been boiling for salt, Danny says . Apparently he used to live there before they kicked him out . Charlie doesn’t ask why .)

One of them, usually Sam, gets their T-shirt on a stick that functions as a white flag and approaches the settlement . Sometimes they’ll send someone out to talk If they do and they agree to let Sam and the others come in and share their resources for a bit, the plan ends there . If they don’t agree or they don’t send anyone out at all or, occasionally, if they try to shoot Sam (white flag or not, Sam stands out of rifle range for these negotiations . He’s shown Charlie the bullet scars on his shoulders and let her run her fingers over them, gently He’s learned that lesson the

hard way, he said She likes Sam), that’s where Charlie comes in .

The San Francisco settlement doesn’t send anybody out . Sam waits for an hour before he heads back to the rest of them He shrugs, but there’s a faint smile on his face . Charlie grins and runs to the truck to get her Hi Vis .

The vest is torn up and battered from her five years using it, but it works for its intended purpose . The remaining neon yellow draws the light, making her extremely visible to anyone with a flashlight . (This is why they wait until dark for this part of the plan . Dad says that makes it more effective .) The vest comes down to about her knees, hanging on her like a dress . Dad says she looks gorgeous . Danny looks anywhere but at her . Jacob prays . And then dark comes .

Dad kisses her on her forehead, once, and gestures towards the settlement . They’ve built up a brick wall on the outskirts of where Danny says Golden Gate Park should be . Charlie walks through the remains of the city Big buildings collapsed into the street like animal carcasses . Graffiti drawings on brick walls; women in colorful head scarves that have gotten faded over time, strange green aliens with big heads, A’s in circles

Someone’s written “this is the end” over and over in red

Charlie starts to hum The Doors song again as she approaches the brick wall There’s a gate, and barbed wire on top .

“Halt!” someone on a makeshift guard tower yells . “Stop right there!” And then a flashlight hits the Hi Vis and the guard starts

screaming

Charlie used to be really bad at this part . When Dad first took her on a job, a few weeks after he got her, she stood where he put her, in front of settlement walls, and she cried . She sobbed for Dad to come get her out of there as the settlement’s guards shot her full of holes .

She’s older now .

The guard starts screaming and she breaks into a run . Bare feet slapping the surface of the asphalt . She gets a running start and makes her way up the wall . It’s about ten feet tall . Amateur hour, Sam would say .

The barbed wire barely gives her pause . She launches herself off the edge of the wall and onto the guard, sending both of them flying off the tower to the ground below . He’s shot her maybe eight times by now . They land hard enough she hears his spine break below her . She bites his jugular anyway . Dad says that’s part of the effect .

She looks up, letting the blood drip down her chin . Floodlights hit her face . There’s more screaming

She knows Dad and the others are right behind her While she’s drawing the fire, Danny will get his rifle and Jacob will get his semi-automatic and Sam will get the army sawed-off and they’ll get their “siege towers” (metal fold-out ladders) up to the wall And from there, it’s ducks in a barrel, Dad says . (Dad will stay back and wait to scoop her up once the fire’s burned out .)

It’s a pretty big settlement Maybe a

hundred people (She counts the bodies, after .) She gets shot a couple dozen times and kills a couple dozen Once the others have mounted their siege towers and gotten it over with, she just lays on the floor, breathing while she still can . She can’t quite see the stars because of all the smoke, but she looks at the sky anyway .

And then the sky gets replaced by Dad’s face as he leans down to scoop her up in his arms . “You still with me, kiddo?”

She wheezes out something that’s supposed to be a ‘yes’ .

“You’re a tank, baby . Wish half the army guys had been as good as you .” She smiles . She can feel the dried blood on her chin crack as she does . “Sam’s setting up a campfire . Does that sound nice, baby? We’re just gonna sit and wait now . I know it hurts, but it’s gonna be over in a sec, okay?”

Yeah . She knows . Her top half feels like it’s been torn open . Maybe because it has been . She tries to focus on just being there, on just being alive She’s dead weight as Dad sits down in his chair with her in his lap, tucks her head into the crook of his neck, and rocks her back and forth .

She curls a fist into his flannel shirt and waits . She doesn’t pay attention to the voices of the others (the screaming in her chest is too loud for that), but she hears Sam say, “God bless Charlie ”

Danny mutters, “You shouldn’t have named it It’s not a person ”

Dad hums . “Charlie’s a good name for a good girl ”

“Didn’t you used to have a dog named Charlie?” Jacob asks .

“She was a good girl too ”

Charlie keeps wheezing in and out for another hour before she finally dies —

This time, when she wakes up, her pinky finger gone blue .

She doesn’t think much of it, at first . She doesn’t even notice it until Sam asks her about it, halfway through the morning, with a frown . She shrugs . He forces a smile, but there’s something behind his eyes that she can’t really name .

Maybe that’s why she doesn’t tell Dad .

—

The settlement had started growing its own crops . It had some sort of water purifying system, too . They’d even gotten some of the toilets working again, a rare luxury . So, of course, Dad decides they’ll stay there for a while .

Which means that, for the first time in a while, Charlie’s alone to do whatever she wants The first few days, she climbs up to the top of the wall and runs down the length of it She spends a solid hour in the makeshift garden, staring at the little trees and trying to imagine what they’d be like all grown up . She helps Jacob pile all the bodies into a pit and dances around while he lights them on fire .

The next morning, her other pinky’s blue, too . Following some half-formed suspicion, she pulls the blanket off of her feet Her toes are blue .

She runs out to where the men are

preparing breakfast and sticks her hands out to Dad .

He takes them, turning them over His frown deepens when she shows him her feet He looks over at Sam with an unspoken question .

Sam sighs . “We knew something like this could happen, Jim . You shouldn’t have taken her in the first place . We don’t know what they did to her back at that lab–” Charlie hears the word ‘lab’ and then she doesn’t hear anything at all for a while as her brain starts playing gentle TV static .

When she comes to, it’s evening and the fire’s out .

It only gets worse as the weeks go on . Pretty soon, all ten of her fingers are blue and turning purple . Her stomach gets hard, like there’s a lump where her guts should be . She starts vomiting up food . Her teeth feel loose . So do her fingernails .

She’s always been skinny but now, she starts bloating

And then, a month in, her skin starts coming off

Charlie’s no stranger to pain, but this hurts She stuffs her shirt into her mouth and spends days in bed trying not to hear the animal moans that come out of her own mouth as the skin of her hands turns black and comes off completely Like a glove Flies have been following her around for a while now and she doesn’t have the strength to scare them off anymore .

Where’s Dad? she thinks, through the haze

of pain Where is he?

It’s Jacob, not Dad, who comes to visit her . He gets a rag to wipe her face She’s barely aware of him until he starts talking . It’s hard to hear him over her wailing, but she’s powerless to stop it .

“You know what the Torah is?” he asks . She screams . “No, I’d guess not…it’s basically a really old story . You like stories, Charlie?”

Charlie tries to nod . She wills herself to stop screaming, but her throat keeps making the noises anyway .

She always thought Jacob merely tolerated her presence, but now, he sits with his back against her bed (she claimed one of the settlement’s abandoned twin beds) and he talks .

He tells her that once upon a time, there was a man named Abraham . He really wanted a son and one day, God gave him one . Abraham named him Isaac . (Charlie’s not clear on who God is, but Jacob says he’s the person who made everything, so she takes his word for it . She imagines the whole story, over her pain Abraham has an unshaved face and wears a flannel . Isaac has sunken eyes and pallid skin )

Abraham loved his son and was happier than anything until one day, when Isaac was a teenager, God spoke to Abraham and told him to bring Isaac to the top of a mountain and slit his throat as a sacrifice to God . Abraham cried and asked God not to tell him to do this, but God insisted . Jacob pauses, here Then he sighs and

keeps going

Abraham took his son and told him they’d be going to make a sacrifice Isaac was a good Jewish boy and didn’t question his father, so he followed him up to the top of the mountain, where Abraham tackled him, tied him up, and got ready to kill him .

Charlie can see this part . The yellow hill, the knife glinting in the sun, and Isaac . Poor Isaac, who can’t understand what he did wrong because he didn’t do anything to deserve this and his dad’s supposed to love him .

An angel flew down and grabbed Abraham’s arm to stop him and said he passed God’s test of his faith .

The moral is supposed to be that the Lord can give and take away .

Abraham untied his son and they lived happily ever after .

Charlie wishes she had the words to ask how Isaac could ever have trusted his dad after that . Did he flinch every time Abraham took up a knife to cook? Did he avoid higher ground? Did he hate God, after that, even if he wouldn’t have admitted it even to himself?

Jacob rubs a hand over her shaved scalp and leaves, but Charlie keeps thinking about the story .

Because sacrificing your child is wrong, no matter how good the cause . (But that’s not what Dad’s doing, because she can’t die )

Except she’s dying now, isn’t she?

(But he didn’t know that would happen She’s always come back .)

That doesn’t mean she didn’t feel pain

(Does pain matter when there’s no permanent damage done?)

Yes Pain matters Her pain matters On some level, she knows this . Her pain is still pain

(“But–”)

He named her after his dog .

Her screaming doesn’t have anything to do with her hands decomposing, then . —

The pain abates when her whole hands have gone black . It’s still there, but it’s like getting shot . She can handle the pain of getting shot any day .

She walks outside the house and finds the settlement empty .

The sky is gray . The sun is up . There’s no trace of Dad and the others except the remains of the fire .

For a second, she thinks she must have missed something . She stumbles around, looking for them everywhere . It doesn’t take her long to cover the whole perimeter . Their trucks are gone .

They left her there to die

She vaults over the wall and starts walking through the city until she reaches the highway headed South . There’s no question in her mind of coming after them There’s no anger, either . Just static .

After an hour of walking, a raccoon starts walking parallel to her . She stops and stares at it It stares back She crouches down and holds out her hand to it .

It comes closer, sniffs, and licks at it She smiles .

Then, it bites down on her fingers with a

crunch

She’s about to pull her hand away and scream when she realizes it doesn’t hurt The flesh is dead .

She sits on the dusty highway and lets the raccoon eat her hand, petting it with her other one .

The static in her head is getting steadily louder . —

It takes her two days to reach them . She walks into their camp at dusk . Sam’s the first one to see her . He mutters a curse and goes for his rifle .

She stops just within the range of the firelight and opens her mouth to scream . It comes out more like a wheezing roar .

Dad gets up, hands out . “Hey now,” he says . “Don’t be like that, baby .” “You left me,” she rasps .

“We didn’t know if you’d make it . I love you, you know I would have– Jesus, Charlie, what happened to your hand?” His brows furrow, like he’s worried He is worried He’s worried about her .

She takes a step closer to him, more from instinct than anything else . She barely has time to see his eyes flicker behind her to focus on something else before Danny hits the back of her head with a shovel

The asphalt tastes familiar . She tries to move her arms and legs, but can’t get anything other than a twitch out of them .

“Did you have to do that?” Jacob asks His voice is toneless .

“What, going soft in your old age?” Dad

says “She was useful and she was a sweet kid, but look at her . Something’s been eating her, for fuck’s sake ”

“Told ya we should have used a coffin .”

Danny

“Yeah, yeah .” Dad sighs . He sounds like he’s standing directly over her now . “Let’s give her a proper grave one last time . I doubt she’ll be able to crawl out at all, in this state .” Charlie tries to tilt her head to look at Jacob . She tries to tell him that she understands now . She understands how Isaac felt as Dad lifts her up and puts her in a wooden box and nails the lid shut .

If she still had fingernails, she would have scraped them raw on the coffin lid . As it is, she smashes the stumps of her hands into it until she can hear bones snapping and then she smashes them some more until the lid splinters out and soil comes flooding in . And then she climbs .

There’s beetles and dirt and air and she’s still alive

She’s alive and she’s pissed .

—

It should be harder to track them . They should be better at this (amateur hour) Part of Charlie’s brain says that they’ve always been this incompetent They’re no better than other gangs of half-baked raiders kicked out of their settlements The only thing setting them apart from the less fortunate was her They needed her more than she needed them .

And even now, even rotten enough for them

to cast her out like an expired can of food, she can still give them hell . She finds their camp, following tire tracks It’s the usual shit: three trucks in a rough circle around a fire She crawls under Dad’s It used to be hers, too . (It still is . Maybe they’ll take her back after–) That doesn’t matter anymore . All that matters is anger .

Isaac grabs his father’s wrist because an angel isn’t coming to save him .

There’s a noise, far in the distance . Charlie cocks her head to listen a second before the men around the fire notice it . It sounds like engines . Sam’s on his feet first, waving a hand for Dad and Jacob to join him . Danny starts to stand, but Dad shoves him back down . “Stay here,” he says, short . “Watch our shit . We’ll be back .”

“I can come with you–”

Dad smacks him, once, across the face . How many times has he done that to Charlie? Backhand . The way you smack a dog that’s misbehaving . Not even a person . From where she’s sitting, she can see the hurt, betrayal, and finally horror in Danny’s eyes Realization that he’s the bottom of the pecking order now that he’s gotten rid of her .

Dad points a finger in his face “Do as you’re told . ”

She watches, intent Maybe Danny will say no . Maybe he’s too brash and angry to fall for this kind of shit the way she had So, so easily . And then he nods, once . And the moment’s over The tension’s released He’s accepted his place .

Dad nods back and they head out Rifle

Semi-automatic Sawed-off Off to hunt

Danny waits until they’re out of sight before he gets up and yells, once, pure frustration He kicks the rusted bucket he was sitting on . It flies across the campsite, pointless like his anger .

He sits back down, head in his hands . What’s he thinking about? The fact that he abandoned his settlement for a bunch of assholes who treat him like shit? That he let these same people light up everyone he knew back home? How many people are dead because of him? How many of those fifty were his family? A girlfriend? Boyfriend? Who did he kill over some old grudge? Were all those bridges really ready to be burned?

Charlie waits for his breathing to grow steady before she crawls out from under the truck . He looks up . His eyes are red . The look she sees there is more resignation than anything . That’s kinda funny . The first time he saw her, he was scared shitless and she wasn’t even gonna hurt him back then . He should definitely be scared now and yet, all she sees is nothing . They both know how this is gonna go

The stillness only lasts a second before he lunges for his rifle and she pushes off the ground, launching herself at him .

He screams They roll He tries to get his forearm in between them and she bites it . The screaming gets louder

She’s calm . She’s never been calmer . This is what she was made for This is what they trained her to do . The price of her father’s love was being a weapon and she’s earned

that love over and over in the past five years She earns it now .

Danny thrashes like a frightened animal, screaming out curse after curse, but words won’t stop her as she gets her teeth in his jugular . Blood is warm across her face and tastes like iron . It’s comforting in its familiarity .

She draws back to look at his face . Danny’s opening his mouth, again and again, but nothing comes out but a wet gurgle . She knows how that feels . That’s how she felt when he killed her, the first time . “It’s okay,” she whispers . “You’ll get used to it .” He doesn’t deserve her kindness, selfish, cruel bastard that he is (but maybe he had a Dad who taught him how to kill and held him in his arms when he was hurt and he’s really not that much older than her and maybe now, now, he’ll understand what pain is really like, maybe–) It doesn’t take her long to dig a grave . —

“Charlie?”

She looks up from where she’s sitting in front of a fresh mound of earth Sam hisses out a curse and gets his gun trained on her . Jacob meets her gaze There’s something not unlike Danny’s resignation there . He knew how this was gonna go, too He set all this in motion . She wonders if he’s proud of himself . And then Dad She looks up at his body, like she always does, like she always has . Boots Khakis Flannel Unshaved face And his eyes . There’s nothing but fear in those eyes

Art by: Palika (DC) Sridurongrit

For the first time in what she knows of her life, Dad’s scared of her . He’s watched her tear out hundreds of throats, get shot hundreds of times and keep going . He held her as she died at other people’s hands and told her that he loved her . This is the first time he’s been forced to see exactly what she is . If she’s a dog, she’s just gone feral . If she’s a little kid (and isn’t she?), she’s simply had enough .

He’s watched her violence, but he’s always pointed the business end of it towards other people . Now, he sees her as she is . He’s staring down the barrel of something he made and he realizes there’s nothing stopping her from killing him like she’s killed Danny .

And part of her wants to apologize . She wants to cry and beg and be a little kid, like she did the first time he put her in front of a rifle (the first time he let her die) . If she starts crying, maybe he’ll still forgive her . Maybe everything can still be normal . She can wash the

blood off and put on a shirt that’s too big and listen to a song about the end as she pretends her world’s not ending .

Except she can see him as he is now And he looks like a coward .

How long has she been stronger than him? Was there ever a time when she wasn’t? The thing that was stopping her from hurting him before was a thin film of love . So the real question is, does she love him now? This man who’s gotten her killed often enough that pain stopped having meaning, that let

someone bury her so she’d crawl her way out through solid wood, that tossed her aside as soon as she showed signs of not being useful anymore?

“Charlie,” he repeats His voice is shaky “What are you doing?”

He’s so very scared . She smiles and feels the dried blood on her chin crack . She rasps, “I’m waiting for him to wake up . ”

Roninpunk: Shadow Winter

Caleb Davy

Mysteady exhale turns into a thick frozen mist as I stand atop a random skyscraper in the Orwell sector of Orion city . Dots of icy slush descend gracefully onto my right gauntlet and sleeve, instantly evaporating against the pitch black lambskincarbon fiber-mesh The downpour is lighter than yesterday, a change I don’t seem to mind . My right gauntlet hisses open at my non-verbal request revealing the first layer of a trinity of hira shurikens loaded inside, closing after half a second . A faint warble pings from my left, light patter crunching against the snow . I remain unfazed, knowing full well the identity of my intruder .

“It still eludes me to this day on why and how you insist on meditating in the cold .” The masculine bass tone overlaps flawlessly with the minute hiccup in speech pattern, nearly rendering the error nonexistent . Nevertheless, the grandmaster’s authority over the Oni Assassins carries over regardless of medium .

My gaze seldom breaks from the snowsmothered landscape . The small mountains of white blanketing the various tops of skyscrapers and the streets below, massive sheets of thick ice layered over countless neon billboards rendering its light to a blurry, dull hue “Mother nature has a way of purifying things in the season of decay, even

the artificial ” I rise from my kneed position, turning to face my superior: a slender, middle aged man adorned in his navy blue traditional kimono and kasa .

“It’s reminiscent of Osaka, no?”

“Indeed it is .”

“What is required of me, Grandmaster?”

The grandmaster reaches for my right shoulder, flickering slightly when making contact, fracturing the illusion of his genuine presence for half a millisecond

“You’re needed back at base, Shiroji . A briefing on tonight’s assignment ”

I pace slowly through the grandmaster’s hologram, circling back to my original position at the skyscraper’s edge .

“What eludes me, Grandmaster, is why Vapor wasn’t tasked with tonight’s assignment?”

“Though the reputation of the Oni’s “Head of Infiltration” does indeed precede him, his methods are unsavory to say the least .”

“Then I assume tonight requires a blade with more precision?”

“Precisely . ”

“Hm . We ex-Yakuza aren’t known for subtlety .”

“Speaking of .” The Grandmaster conjures up a small cube which then enlarges into a full size map of the sectors of Orion . My eyes narrow as the projection hones in on

a building out of thousands, careening past many inhabitants only slowing to a halt on a projection of a man, his face blurred

“We’ve been running reconnaissance via a few shinobi in the Butler sector, more specifically, the Babel district .”

“Is that-?” I motion to the blurred figure,

“A member of Neo Black Dragon, though only Kobun in rank .”

My fist and jaw clench in unison, my visage hardening beneath the veil of my hood at the sight of the man’s true face . The cold steel of his katana still cleaves through the flesh of my back, sending a vile chill down my spine . The small screams of two innocent souls echo in my mind . The pungent aroma of ashes and burnt flesh violates the inside of my nostrils .

“Kenji Nakamura . I take it you know him well . ”

“Yes .”

“Then I trust you can exude a great measure of self control when you encounter him?”

“Yes . ”

“Good Reports indicate Nakamura is set to appear at the Darwin Annual Cyberware Gala at the Noles building in under a few hours . Security will be high, as will the status of every attendee This is more than your standard black-tie event . Discretion is a top priority ”

“Understood .” Facing the roof, I prepare to dive, when the Grandmaster teleports in front of me .

“I’m not finished We’ve gotten intel on a

new piece of loyware also set to make an appearance, untested by Darwin, which means buyers from the black market may also be in attendance . For all we know, Black Dragon themselves could be a buyer; which would explain Nakamura being there .”

“This new cyberware have a name?” I fold my arms .

“Garasu-ka: Glass house .” A small projection of a tear shaped device slowly rotates before me, a golden vial of Night Shift at its center . “A simple concoction at face value, but when matched with the human genome-”

“Complete metahumanization, given that the user has the appropriate cybernetics .”

The projection blips away with the closing of the Grandmaster’s fist . I watch from behind as he turns his gaze to the ashen wolf gray skies, the snow falling through his kasa . “Now then, on the matter of your attire for the evening,”

A soft rumble from above reaches just within earshot, when a black titanium crate freefalls to our position on the roof . I step forward with cautious confidence as the crate subtlety splits the concrete on impact . The lid slides open horizontally to reveal a pair of neatly folded dark fabrics with a white button-down shirt sandwiched between the two layers . my gloved fingers gently run over the matte-black silk, being put at ease by every inch of the seemingly luxurious texture Even through the charcoal stench that so often accompanied the winter chill, the suit’s elegance could be inhaled, tasted

even

“This is… .” My eyes widen at my own potential guess on what this mystery material may be

“Vicuna . As I said, this is more than your runof-the-mill high-class gathering As a Shinobi, you must fully dedicate yourself to the lifestyle of your target ”

My awestruck reaction to the suit is suddenly halted by the familiar glimmer of the polished obsidian and gold pin crafted in the shape of a dragon . “All of yourself .” the Grandmaster notes my death stare .

My grip on the pin hardens as does my visage once more upon closer inspection of the craftsmanship . An admittedly fine work of polished stone and real gold for men who soil their hands in the blood of many .

“How long has it been?” his face softens, a flawless mimicry of warm pity in his eyes .

“Sometimes years . Sometimes days .”

“You must cast all of that aside now, for tonight you are Ishikawa Danzo, acting chief financial consultant for the Black Dragon Yakuza .” With two quick taps to my temple, I awaken my Biosynth’s A .I ., scanning then replicating each layer and individual strand of the Vicuna via the lenses within my pupils . “And when the time is right-”

“I will do what must be done .”

The top layer of the crate’s internals shift back to reveal the final two pieces of my Oni uniform: a titanium clad Oni-mask, the top half being a slim tinted visor, and my signature double edged glaive The hilt connecting the twin blades remains cool to the touch, masking the weapon’s temperature in the night air’s chill I

keep a firm grip as it gently twirls in my hands, reacquainting myself with its weight before collapsing it on my back Lukewarm steel greets my fingers as they brush past the ornate patterns that make up the mask’s set of demon fangs . The mask’s internals cushion every part of my face as the visor flares to life with a neon cyan glint .

The A I silently runs a full diagnostic in the right hand corner while my gaze returns to the Grandmaster, instinctively, I take a knee before him .

“Shiroji Akiyama, Alias: Komodo . Head Assassin of the Oni Clan,” the grandmaster locks eyes with me, my head remains bowed . “You are to gather further intel on the Neo Black Dragon Yakuza and their involvement with this event . Discretion must be prioritized above all else, meaning no harm must come to any unnecessary parties . In the case of Kenji Nakamura and any others who may obstruct you in your objective, grant them the mercy of an eternal rest . Death to the Dragon .”

I graciously rise, proceeding to the roof’s edge once more .“It shall be done, Grandmaster . Death to the Dragon .” All the muscles in my body loosen, rendering me completely vulnerable to the brisk mid-winter air My body falls forward, gradually gaining speed as I make my descent off the side of the gargantuan skyscraper . Every shade of neon blurs, the falling snow like small daggers plinking against my mask, the wind a muffled howl in my ears The mask’s A I briefly beeps twice, monotonously reading out the latest report:

“Diagnostic complete: All systems fully

operational ”

My feet find the skyscraper’s glossy obsidian surface, my freefall becoming a full sprint downward, still several feet above street level With the assistance of Nightshit in my implanted synthesizer known as my Seed, I launch myself off of the building mid-sprint The air falls deathly silent for the passing seconds that feel like minutes, my muscles void of all tension as if I’m flying in slow-motion . I deploy the grapple line hidden in my wrist, sinking its hook into the brick and plaster just a few buildings ahead . Gravity yanks me from the air to the chosen area, once landed with a roll, the line detaches; retracting back to my wrist and I again break into a full sprint across the rooftops .

***

The most common preconceived notion on the topic of the Butler sector is the idea that it wears the facade of an average district quite well . However, it’s the surrounding neon hues that cast a superior fluorescence, the constant cacophony of haughty laughter, and the soprano of clinking glasses of the Babel District that scotches such delusions The symphony of wealth comes well within earshot as I lie in wait perched on the roof across from the Noles building . The overwhelming fragrance of Dior and amber floods my nostrils, my uniform morphing into my Vicuna masquerade To think I once called this home chills my bones, to know I’ve returned freezes me in place Only for a moment I leap down the fire escape and make a swift yet tranquil

exit out of the alley, to both avoid wandering gazes and any further suspicion . I find a place amongst the many esteemed guests of tonight’s event and glance via my Biosynth at the various pins clipped to each breast pocket Each and every one a gold or silver insignia belonging to the hydra head of one of the largest cyberware conglomerates in the world: Stormzai, Darwin, and Comsograd The genuine professionalism on the many gazes blurs the line between comrade and competitor, and as the hologram of my false face projecting from my pin gets the approval from security, further granting my entry, the line between legitimate businessman and white collar criminal is made all the more invisible .

The polished marble of the ballroom floor captures the reserved awe of my visage as I slowly wade past gowns and suits in various shades of black and white . My eyes retain their stoic ferocity, trained on the backsides of slender figures swaying to and fro, some of whom peer back at me with faces coated in gold, their cybernetics unabashedly intertwined with their skin making their appearance a resplendent oddity . The Biosynth A .I . scrutinizes the passing faces, each name being briefly highlighted in a growing list of every attendee, some of the waiters I vaguely recognize, high quality tech vendors, street named “druids,” con-men, high-ranked gang members, all faces I’d drag into an alley and shank without question once in the name of the Black Dragon . I unconsciously filter out

the meaningless chatter, deciphering for a low pitch Japanese speech pattern, yet lo and behold, as if fate itself set the scene, at the center of the atrium is the towering white-suited frame of the dragon himself . My Biosynth auto broadcasts the conversation, allowing me to fade into the camouflage of the passing crowd

“Cosmograd’s latest drone reached the limits of interplanetary space just last week ”

Deep, smooth, with small traces of an Osakan accent It’s him

“I wouldn’t worry too much, with all of Russia’s technological efforts highly concentrated on space travel, comes the guarantee that a majority of the world’s attention remains on Stormzai .”

An authoritative feminine tone, a possible partner or even coworker . I gently weave out of the passing crowd, finally putting faces to tones of voice . Nakamura’s ocean eyes slightly narrow in my direction, a businesslike smile slowly spreading on his face . Noting my steps, I slow my pace; cautious not to threaten any hint of hostility with my presence .

“Glad you could join us, Mr… .” Nakamura extends a hand for me to shake, his subtle pearly white grin disturbingly inviting .

“Danzo . Ishikawa Danzo, your financial consultant for tonight’s event .” his warm grip briefly interlocks with mine, for the halfsecond we lock eyes, I feel the air shift in an unsettling direction .

“A pleasure Mr Danzo,” he releases, placing his hands behind his back . “Ah, how

rude of me . Ishikawa, I’d like you to meet our latest business partner, Ilanza Weevers, head of security and warden of Arachnus Corrections ”

The faint clicking of heels to my left draws my attention to a slim-thick woman adorned in white with silver accents . A delicate hand extends for me to shake,

“Greetings, Mr Danzo .” I meet her voidlike gaze, her silver mascara making her demeanor all the more glacial, though her glossed lips somehow form half a smile

“I had no idea Arachnus offered private security ’’ A bit of genuine surprise slips through my calculated yet casual attempt at a leading conversation Though law enforcement being in league with criminal organizations is rarely unheard of, an elite metahuman task force such as Arachnus doing business with Black Dragon of all people is rather strange to say the least .

“With the unveiling of new Nightshift variants, Darwin wants to ensure that the best is there to safeguard such innovations from the likes of any rogue metahumans .”

“I see…” My eyes find the balcony above seeing a pair of Eradica MK IV sniper rifles in the hands of their corresponding armored guards . Discretion is indeed paramount above all else . I clear my throat, motioning back to Nakamura . “Sir, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to review any potential cyberware the Black Dragon intends on investing in for tonight’s auction .”

“Yes of course ” Nakamura nods, summoning an Arachnus enforcer in full

silver weighted plate armor to his right side . “Another time then, Ilanza .” She nods without a word

As the gentle elegance of classic piano fades along with the chatter of the unassuming, I ease myself into a reluctant comfort pacing alongside Nakamura . I try to force my eyes elsewhere, the dark burgundy hexagonal pattern on the walls and floors, the flickering neon bulbs above, but every other second, my eyes fixate on the sway of his white suit jacket . With a blink, my eyes deceive me, momentarily seeing his white suit stained red . Then again, what blood stains his hands that hasn’t already stained mine?

“I must say, what has transpired in the last few years is truly fascinating .” My eyes dart up to the side of his face, his gaze is fixated ahead, not bothering to glance in my direction .

“Sir?” I force myself to muster up some genuine interest

“Who would have known that the human genome was capable of such astounding feats? All it required was a little push from 25th century tech ”

“I take it you’re referring to Nightshift?”

“Ah, very perceptive, Danzo Though I bet none could perceive that the Americans would be the ones to innovate in such a feat ”

“No, I suppose not .” My gaze returns to the sway of his suit jacket, the passing bulbs gleaming off of the Off-white hue traps me in a state of near hypnosis, when

an unfamiliar shimmer from Nakamura’s right hand catches my eye . I mentally pause, being wary of the frequent illusions of light and the naked eye . I make note of the neon bulbs above, fixated on every detail when we pass through the light . With each passing bulb, the glimmer once again reveals itself .

My Biosyth discreetly awakens through my pupils running a brief diagnostic when the object comes into frame:

“ Cyberware Identified: Garasu-Ka Alloy Composition: Carbon fiber, silicon, titanium . Night Shift variant: unknown Manufacturer: unknown .”

With Garasu ka being eliminated from the pool of cyberware set to appear at tonight’s auction, let alone a majority of its schematics being a complete mystery, the sides of my temple begin to softly throb, pondering on the pieces of this enigmatic puzzle that is the true intentions of every major player in tonight’s event: Arachnus, Black Dragon, Darwin, all household names under one roof . Grand figureheads of opposing moral cornerstones of society sharing wine, on the surface at least, but regardless of allegiances; all of this to what end?

“Alas .” Nakamura sucks his teeth, the sudden remark snatches my thoughts from conspiracy . “When in Rome, as the Ambrosian phrase goes, though the Black Dragon code must never be cast atray: In the land of sheep, seldom forget that you come from wolves .”

The enforcer stops a few feet in front of a large door, before Nakamura steps

forward, punching in a set of numbers into a holographic keypad . The door dissolves revealing a large vacant atrium enveloped in intense neon . I slowly step through the doorway before noticing several multichrome vials neatly aligned in rows along the narrow walls .

“As promised .” Nakamura calls from behind me, standing adjacent to the enforcer . “Darwin and the Americans may have the innovation, but as they will soon find that innovation does not always equate to an advantage . Tonight, the Darwin Conglomerate slogan will apply in our favor: today, evolved .” Nakamura turns to leave with the enforcer in tow, before turning to me one last time . “I have other matters to attend to, I will send an enforcer for you when we are ready to begin .” The soft patter of his footsteps grows distant before I call after him .

“Nakamura .” I successfully suppress the frozen ire of my voice, though some of it slips, seeping through my gaze at the open doorway, he doubles back, looking me dead in the eyes “It would also be wise to remember that though we are wolves, we are very much still mortal men ” Though I can feel words have not fallen on deaf ears, they are met with a patronizing chuckle

“Such profound wisdom, Mr Danzo . It’s quite a shame we couldn’t have you in a more prominent role within our ranks . ”

I cautiously stalk down the aisle of the multichrome narrow corridor, subconsciously scanning each and every vial of Night Shift as I pass, My field of vision becoming a wall of dozens upon dozens of numerical sequences . I rapidly process each sequence without a single thought,

I am automatically aware of what each sequence decodes to . The first few dozen rows are widely used metahuman abilities: flight, super speed, telekinesis, all variants registered by Darwin and securely sealed in their corresponding seed . As I venture deeper, every other sequence line blinks red with an alarming chirp, before long my whole field of vision is bathed in bright crimson . I stop short of one sequence in particular, genuinely taking the time to decipher the code . The A .I reads it aloud,

“Night Shift variant identified: N-31743 . Moniker: Astra .”

I proceed to expand the hologram to further analyze the feats of the following variant:

“Analysis complete . Night Shift feature Identified: Void conjuration, Gravity manipulation .”

My eyes glare intensely at crimson lettering taking a half step back at the potential implications of the variant’s mere presence Given the attempt of genome synthesization, would the host even survive cyberization? Hastily turning away, I decipher another code expanding its corresponding hologram to full size .

“Night Shift variant identified: N-30240

Moniker: Tyrant Analysis complete Night Shift feature identified: Grand-scale telepathy, Neurological dominance ”

The name given alone was explanatory . Black Dragon could seize control of the world’s governments in minutes . I burst into a walking sprint towards the exit, subconsciously pulling up the messaging screen projected by my Biosynth . With one quick scroll upwards, my eyes land on Vapor’s contact .

K: “Vapor, this is Komodo . Update on Operation: The circumstances were underestimated . Requesting immediate assistance .”

V: “Asking for help, are we?

K: “This isn’t a game, Jinchi . Darwin’s gala isn’t hosting buyers of the black market, its ground-zero for illegal shift, this IS the black market . Requesting a small squadron of blade-level Oni . ”

V: “Request denied . ”

K: “JINCHI . ”

V: “A deep cover shinobi is already in play Sorry Ro-Ro, them’s just the rules .”

Five minutes with no reply always meant the decision was higher up and final . A curse escapes from under my breath, before I can reach for the door, it immediately dissolves to reveal an Arachnus enforcer blocking my path . All eight lenses of his helmet beam down on me with a harsh scarlet glint

“Mr Nakamura requests your presence in the arena ” The enforcer leaves with the correct assumption that I follow him down the hall

The crescendo of a roaring crowd mutes my steps as I enter through the double mahogany doors to the arena . Rows upon rows are filled with a sea of the one percent raving at the evening’s spectacle . Though all seem to be filled with adrenaline, I scan for the stoic visage that mirrors my own, I find him in the fifth row .

“Quite eventful for an auction .” I find my seat next to Nakamura, not even bothering to notice if he even hears me .

“Oh, this isn’t tonight’s main event, merely a showcase before any cyberware purchase is made .”

I avert my eyes to the front to see two women facing off in a massive cage in what can only be described as a death match . The shorter one with a black bob cut emanates with a fierce jade aura before dropping kicking her opponent into the side of the ring, cratering the wall

“I’m sure you’ve heard of tonight’s contenders ” Nakamura motions to the ring “The blonde one in the crater is Mallory Evans, you may know her by her street name “Morningstar .”

At the mention of her name, Morningstar rises from her crater, positioning herself in an unorthodox battle stance Metallic whip-like tendrils slither from her wrist . She lashes wildly at both sides of her opponent The other woman instantly side steps both incoming attacks She then closes the

distance between the two before delivering a hard elbow to the gut followed by an uppercut to the jaw The green aura flashes with each attack . I scan the mystery fighter through the lenses in my hazel pupils

“Night Shift variant identified: N-2634”

Night Shift feature: Unknown .”

“I’m a bit unclear on the other one’s abilities .” my eyes fixate on the jade aura fighter in black . Her strikes are quick and focused, a flawless balance of momentum and impact . If exposed at the right moment, a glass cannon at worst, but an unrelenting machine at best .

“Ah, that one there is Ava Alvarez . She has the ability to weaponize her own adrenaline . The more the adrenaline, the stronger the attack, hence the green flare, a type of kinetic if you will . It’s one of the newer untested variants .”

“Street name?”

“They call her “Rushdown” . Both Alvarez and Evans are classified as wanted vigilantes in multiple sectors, both were also promised a reduced sentence . ”

Morningstar coils her whips around Rushdown’s wrist, sending a violent shock pulsing through her body Rushdown pulls her in, landing an upward knee to the gut . Both fighters crash back to the ground with Rushdown still holding the advantage . She then proceeds to land a series of savage blows to Morningstar’s head, cracking her mask’s face plate as well as her own bones in her knuckles . “I guess now we’ll see which one earns it ” Nakamura nods in approval

of the near fatal blow, raising a shot glass to his lips . I watch as the ice in the glass stays in place while the last bit of bourbon slides towards his mouth .

“These untested variants…” I keep my eyes on my own glass, watching as the cubes slowly shrink in the amber liquid, “The cybernetics to keep the Night Shift effects stabilized would be far from cost efficient, let alone aggressive on the body .”

“The price of progress and power is a high one, but not of concern to the Black Dragon .”

Nakamura ocean eyes freeze over, turning into daggers as they pierce into my gaze .

“Besides, being the kind of man you are, I thought you of all people would be unfazed by all the blood and carnage involved with the process .” His glacial stare freezes the blood in my veins as I slowly rise to my feet, stalking me as I move to the aisle . I make my way towards the arena’s exit, noticing a pair of enforcers slowly move from their stations, advancing in my direction .

The muffled EDM from the arena barely reaches my ears from the restroom sink, my knuckles pale from gripping the sink with an unreasonable amount of force All the puzzle pieces in my thoughts slowly click together with each calming breath

Not one guest is here by accident in what is now a metahuman-cybernetic trafficking ring: Darwin supplies the tech with the front of a simple auction, Arachnus supplies

the bodies via prisoner transfer, and Black Dragon comes with the money to make their underworld go round I slow my breaths to a steady pace, barely noticing my dark and unkempt ponytailed hair and beard as well as the two Arachnus enforcers on my right and left . My brown pupils turn a bright cyan as I then project a mental hologram of my next few moves . In the event that my left attacker pulls the volt rod strapped on his left thigh, I’ll counter with my right wrist gauntlet, disarm, and dismantle . The simulation plays out as expected . The left enforcer pulls his volt rod, swinging for my head . The electricity crackles against the steel of my right wrist gauntlet . I fired a shuriken into his left wrist . pinning him to the sink . His screams of agony are cut short as my left palm sends another shuriken through the left side of his temple . As his body drops, the click and rising hum of a pulse rifle reaches my ears just in time . I duck and weave under the first two bolts, knocking away the gun with a windmill kick and sending the second enforcer crashing through a stall I land a few feet in front of him, firing a shuriken to his head . The fight concludes with my steady exhale, recentering my thoughts . Before I can make it to the door, radio static echoes through the bathroom .

“All units, all units An intruder has been identified in the east wing restroom . I repeat: An intruder has been spotted in the east wing restroom . All available units converge .”

The thought of discretion leaves me with

the heavy patter of over a dozen boots growing closer to my location . I roll up my sleeves, my wrist gauntlets hissing open I reload them with a subtle tense of my wrist . The moment they close, I reach behind me for my double edged glaive; hugging the wall adjacent to the door . My Biosynth scans at least a dozen men on the other side of the wall while several rising hums of a dozen rifles are right within earshot . I slow my breaths, closing my eyes to clearly see a holographic projection of the best exit strategy . The moment they force the door ajar, I bradish both blades of my glaive performing a cyclone maneuver, allowing me to break through the cluster .

“BREACH! BREACH!” The force of over a dozen enforcers slam the door open . Seconds into the impact, I take a crouching tiger stance and blitz through the small horde at inhumane speed . Both ends of myWWWwW glaive find a place in each and every enforcer cutting them all down in several swift rotations I re-enter my stance, hearing shouts from over my shoulder . I peer to see over a dozen more men crowd the wide enough hallway .

“ON THE GROUND NOW! DON’T MOVE!”

With my Vicuna leather suit stained with the blood of fresh corpses, I re-adorne myself in my assassin attire fit for another slaughter, my Oni mask folding over my face . With the new projection of this fight etched in my mind, I face my targets, wiping the old blood off my glaive with a twirl

“Let’s dance, little lambs ” A barrage of rifle bolts careens past me as I accelerate at full speed toward the first man and the front of the horde . I speed past him, letting my blade run through his rifle I redirect my momentum back to the first man launching myself off of him . While in the air, I cut him down with the other end finding its place in the chest of another . I land with a series of slashes, cutting each man left and right . As I make my way to the back of the horde, An enforcer unleashes a set of razor pincers from his back, each one trying to skewer me from all sides . I parry each incoming strike, finally thrusting my blade into his foot bringing him to his knees . I end him with a swift cut across the throat . I look up to find all my attacks now laid to rest, when I feel the edge of a razor at the back of my neck .

“And here you were reminding me of mortal men .” It’s Nakamura, with some sort of blade at my Seed . “It must’ve been pretty dehumanizing playing the part of one of us again, huh ShirojI? Though it couldn’t have been all bad reclaiming your former title of “The Butcher ” To think this all started with a pair of twin suns .”

At the words “Twin suns”, my body goes limp as I fall to the floor paralyzed .

Art of The Forge

Art by: Kristina Mickle

Art by: Brooklyn Chavers

Art by: Julia Thomas

Art by: Nixie Cucu

ART COLORING PAGE

Gazing into the stars by Kristina Mickle

The Forge Endures...

From the imaginative minds of students across campus, The Forge literary magazine contains all aspects of adventure, emotion, and mystery within the genres of science-fiction and specualtive fantasy .

In this collection of microfiction, short stories, and art by student creators at George Mason University, readers can expect to delve into lush, awe-inspiring worlds across all ages of time . The Forge offers a full experience for all lovers of science-fiction and fantasy literature, offering spectacular writing with engaging world-building .

It is the goal of The Forge to give writers, readers, editors, and artists who have fallen in love with science-fiction and specualtive fantasy a platform to express their passion for these two genres . With each flip of a page, this collection serves as an escape from all things grounded by our world .

Follow the journey of The Forge: forge.studentmedia.gmu.edu

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