From: Spaceman <meehcaheeh@hotmail.com> Subject: [PW!] The first... Date: Friday, November 26, 1999 6:45 AM Hello This is my first PW! post. Hopefully, it isn't too bad. ----- Warm, decaying wind wound its way around the empty streets. A thick, squat fog of pollutants hung over The City, stifling the air. In the industrial sector it was worse, steam hissing from dank drains and cracked pipes, carpeting the cracked asphalt and concrete. Factories, never sleeping, continued to churn out pollutants for the sake of a floundering economy. The City was dying a slow death, rotting from within. The cracked steel and concrete structures that were the factories dominated this sector, bound loosely by wayward roads and paths, imposing.With the fog in, there was no way to see how high they stabbed into the sky. The only sound was of things trying not to be heard, in the darkness. Weak fluorescent lights spilt their sickly glow onto the streets, in a desperate attempt to keep the darkness at bay, where ominous shapes shifted in silence. In the distance, frantic footsteps slapping on the cracked concrete, pierced the restless silence. Kei knew he was going to die. Slumping against the warm bricks, sweat dripped from his temples and forehead, stinging his eyes. He hurt. He needed to sleep. The adrenalin was the only thing keeping him functioning, his persistent stomach sending stabbing reminders of its neglect. Under the safety of the night, Kei sighted grid coordinates stamped onto a metal plate on an adjacent building. Four more klicks until he was there. Why! But he knew why. Because if he stays, Kei knows that he is living on borrowed time. To escape to somewhere, anywhere was his answer. So, at two hours past the government imposed curfew, when the patrol retreated back to their safe houses, when cut throats, brain addicts, and things that have never seen the light come out to play, Kei is here. In the black heart of the evil that roamed. His breath returning in ragged gaps, pulse pounding in his temples, Kei pushed himself of the crumbling wall. In his left hand was Sting, his crudely fashioned pistol, battered, with three quarters of the muzzle sawn off. Its six chambers were full, waiting. A crude holster, clipped onto the side of his jeans, held Mor, his silent partner of death. About half a metre long, clumps of skull, hair and blood hung on the battered lead pipe. A crude handle had been welded onto it, bound with a synthetic leather, stained with sweat. Play for long enough, and you end up with some nice toys. For you to live, to survive, meant that others didn;t. Simple enough. Stretching, Kei silently restarted his trek, wearing the darkness like the familiar garment that it was. From deep inside the shadows, something hissed. They could smell him. Suddenly, the things that lurked stopped being so careful about not being heard. Instinctively, Kei's hand cocked the pistol. A deep, rumbling growl undulated from behind him, primal and pained. Kei wasn't the only person here that was in need of a meal. Kei stopped, spread legged and roared into the night. "Fuck it." It was on. Towards his goal Kei ran, screams of indignation, pleasure and pain bore into his skull, urging him to run faster until he could run no more. Another stamped metal plate flashed by. Two klicks. And then he could hear it. The gentle sounds of the sea, waiting, lapping against the concrete harbor. How long had it been... And then the road ended. Sinister buildings crowded together, a small, dimly lit passage his only choice. Damn. He knew they would be waiting, eager to break open his skull and feed upon his warm, succulent brain. Tentatively, Kei edged further into the passage. He was right. A thing, blanketed in an industrial overcoat, hulked at the end. Waiting. Kei wasn't sure whether it was alive or conscious, until he took another step forward. It's bone white skull, deep ridged and devoid of hair, decaying, tilted upwards to meet Kei's eyes. Deep shadows fell over its eye sockets, his mouth a toothy maw, an absolute sacrilege of humanity.Sniffing the air deeply with a misshapen stubbed nose, it opened its grinning mouth, a black tongue extended, quivering. Suddenly Kei knew, almost too late. Leaping into the air, kicking back against the wall, he flew backwards to meet the grating asphalt as a smaller thing, sharp, sprang from the shadows, ready to tear him apart. Screaming with rage, it met the wall with hideous grace, ready to spring again. By now, Kei had Sting ready, squeezing off two rounds as the thing sailed through the air, seeking his neck. Two head shots. Narrowly avoiding the vicious talons as it crashed beside him, Kei sprang to his feet. Smoking craters pocket the creature's skull, whimpering, teeth and claws snapping in fear and pain. Crashing his boot through the ruined skull, Kei ended it, ripe brains and tissue spilling onto the asphalt. Sting was still hungry; wanted more death. By now, the other thing was laughing, wheezing and convoluted. Bringing the pistol to bear down on the abhorrent humanoid, Kei fired. It gasped, not understanding. Slipping the pistol into a pocket, Kei unsheathed Mor, a hollow, ringing sound of death. A scream of rage and defiance, a reassurance of its power burst from the monster. Springing to its feet, it began to pace towards Kei, hissing. Kei smiled, grinding the tip of Mor against the alley wall, initiating a little game of death. Suddenly they were in range and it brought a hulking fist down onto Kei, his urge to break Kei open oozing off in waves. Stepping into an offensive stance, Kei swung upwards, two handed, in an effort to parry. Something in its arm snapped, its hand hanging limply. Then, Kei swung downwards in a diagonal arc meeting the creatures skull with a satisfying crunch. From there, it was easy. Dancing in and out of the creature's frenzied attacks, Kei delivered death, slowly, sparingly. Kicking out its kneecap with his heel, it toppled towards the brick wall, slumping towards the ground. "Hmm. As much as I'd like to break you open, I kind of need your head." Fumbling in his pockets, Kei found an extra shell. Following an ancient rule, he always left a bullet for himself. Arsenic tabs were too expensive these days. While the pitiful thing whimpered, Kei replenished Sting with luxurious care and indifference. Slowly, he took aim at the back of the neck. The blast pierced the air only momentarily, Kei's ears ringing. Stepping on its head, Kei reached for the thin stiletto blade, snug in his right boot. "Stop twitching. You're dead, remember." It didn't take too long to sever the head, the blade being very good at its job. Carefully, Kei picked it up, fingers spread wide, and rolled it further along the alley. He thought about pillaging the body, but decided against it. He was tired. Jumping over the body in an attempt to avoid the spreading ichor pools of blood, he stopped to collect the head, jaw still twitching, continuing on his way. The harbor. Too tired to notice the surroundings, Kei found a sheltered corner under the light. Wearily, bones aching he slumped against the wall. Wedging the head with a brick against a nearby wall, he sighed, feeling old. Sixteen and still not dead. Sleep. Kei awoke in the morning to the bright sky, a barrage of smells intruding his nostrils, nauseating. And a metre above the ground.A Machoke, growling with bored, aggravated contempt, shook the pinned figure with one monstrous hand, muscles bulging. The pain in Kei's shoulder was unbearable, pins and needles engulfing his numb arm. Meeting the Machoke's stare, he swiftly reached for the chain attached to its power belt, slightly pulling on it with casual menace. Smiling grimly, the Machoke gave a satisfied grunt and dropped Kei, before heading back to its labors. After taking two steps, it quickly swiveled on the balls of its feet, smacking Kei with an open palm, sending Kei crashing to the ground, in pain. Grunting again, it padded off. Reaching for sting, Kei realized that one would not be enough. Besides, he needed it for himself, and he like that Machoke. It understood. Bracing himself, Kei painfully rose to his feet, staggering momentarily. Remembering the head, he grabbed it by the soft spots behind its ears. Nearby, was the harbor master's quarters; a squat, sodden grey concrete structure. Peering through a fogged window, he saw to people half-playing a game of cards. Carefully, he found the heavy iron door, swung it open and entered. Instantly, he found himself the target of two separate pistols, bearing upon him with disdain. "Hi." "Interesting in dying? We need some more meat." Kei hadn't made a new friend with the harbor master. "Hmm... not today, friend." "I want you to leave now, unless that's for me." Walking over to the low table, Kei carefully placed the still warm skull. Both men slowly lowered their weapons, not wanting to stain the floor. The harbor master squinted at this creature, once possibly human. "Hmm, brain addict. Worth a few creds, but that's not what you want." "No, it isn't." "You want to leave?" "Anywhere." "Deal. Except, I don't see the difference from dying on the streets here than anywhere else." "I do." "You sleep with the 'Chokes." "Ok." Rising from their chairs, the harbor master and his assistant stood in front of the ragged youth. The assistant pushed him towards the open door, a cold wind whistling by. "Looks like I got someone to push around." "When did you eat last?" "Yesterday." The assistant pushed Kei again, roughly. "Eat after work." Silently, Kei exited. "Where am I going?" "Lavender Town, to unload our processed steel." Pokémon island. He was free. ----- Well, there it is. I have a WG to post, soon...