Sweet Dreams 1.3
Apr. 27th, 2004 08:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deannawolThis was wrecking my head all weekend, well that and a few other things, but the next part is done. Not 100% happy with it but well, thats the way it goes...
Be happy I didn't give up, cause my computer at home ate it in a feast of malicious intent! :)
Dusk stood head and shoulders above his girlfriend. His face showed too many years of hard life. A long, jagged scar reached from below one of his piercing brown eyes to just hook under his strong jaw. Blond hair, permagelled into place covered her other eye in 3 bold spikes, the rest stood in place as if he had been recently scared. The look on his face made Alexa wonder what could make this man show fear. His eyes traveled from her face to her feet, taking in even the smallest detail. He slowly let his eyes crawl back up until they were again staring her in the face. His mouth twitched into a smirk that seemed to reflect the bus driver's comments, but in a far more primal sense. Alexa blinked and the expression was gone from his face as if it had never been there. She looked over at Ana. Her sister showed no sign of having seen anything.
Ana seemed to be the antitheses of Dusk, when Alexa watched them together. Ana was weak where Dusk was strong, falling apart where he was totally together, submissive where he was dominant. Something was going on here that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Ana had changed so much since Alexa had seen her last. The long, brown hair that had matched Alexa's current style was cropped short to just below her shoulders, it was bleached blonde but not recently, judging by the dark heritage at the roots. Her face was drawn, with too much makeup plastered on. Reddish purple marks half circled her neck, badly covered by the wrong foundation. Fading bruises in shades of yellows and greens decorated her chest and arms, not quite covered by the top, two sizes too small, that she wore. Black and white striped sweatbands encircled her wrists, not quite covering the fading red marks to be found there. Alexa catalogued the injuries, silently wondering who caused them and if Ana looked this bad, how bad did they look? It must have been one hell of a fight, Alexa thought.
Dusk was herding the girls outside, a hand on each of their lower backs as f steering them. He was prattling on about how happy he and Ana were to have her here. Alexa ignored him, it would mean more coming from her sister, not someone she had only heard of today. Ana had not mentioned him once in any of her letters. Alexa assumed that he must be new. To be honest, Ana wasn't saying much of anything since she had been reacquainted with her sister. Dusk tossed Ana the keys. Reaching the car, he rushed in front of Alexa to open the door. Alexa noticed that as he gripped the door handle, his sleeve rode up to reveal a strange tattoo. It was covered again before Alexa could make out the details. Dusk waited until she had slid into the large front seat before sliding in after her, sandwiching her between himself and Ana.
Alexa shifted uncomfortably in the seat as she was squashed between her sister and Dusk. Their thighs were pressed tightly together. Alexa could see no reason why they were all trying to fit into the front seat, there was a perfectly good back seat sitting empty. She looked over to Ana. She was staring straight ahead. Looking over at Dusk, she found him smiling back at her. He had that smirk again. Excusing himself, Dusk reached down to pick something up from the floor. Straightening back up, she felt his fingers brush up her legs thru the jeans. She was about to say something when he stopped. He had a scuffed plastic AudioVisual card in his hand. Smiling he apologized, using the excuse that there wasn't much room down there. Alexa offered to take the back seat, but Dusk knocked the idea as soon as it left her lips, he claimed that it would be easier to point out the landmarks if they were all in the front. Ana turned the key n the ignition and the car pulled off, starting on its journey through the maze of streets to the home territory of the gang that Alexa would be living with for the foreseeable future.
The bus station disappeared behind them as tall, concrete office blocks stretched towards the sky, blocking it from view. The buildings looked empty, abandoned. Alexa watched men shuffle along, battered coats wrapped around them tightly, bottles wrapped in plastic bags clutched tightly in their hands. She saw blankets moving slightly as bums rolled over, seeking shelter in the doorways of buildings that used to be filled with many different businesses. These buildings now only had occasional bubblegum-popping secretaries watching over non-important offices of forgotten businesses. Dusk pointed out buildings, names floating over Alexa's head. She saw drug deals going down in alleys as they passed, hookers walking the streets looking for the next client, muggings at gunpoint in shady streets. The denizens of the city paying no attention to the happenings, just silently praying that it didn't happen to them. Not getting involved seemed to be less of a suggestion that a way of life.
Anonymity stalked Night City, stalking its streets by night and day, its fist firmly around the hearts of the people who called Night City home for whatever reason. Neighbors were strangers. People had stopped looking at people's faces as they walked the streets. Other people's business could only lead to trouble for inquiring minds. Questions were as easily answered with gunshots as with answers. However, in a society as capitalistic and mercenary as Night City was, anonymity was fought by one thing… Greed! No matter how much someone didn't want to listen to your life story, you give him or her enough cred and they would be your best friend, for as long as the money lasted. Everyone walked around with an invisible price tag floating above their heads. Everyone had a price and no one waltzed around the fact. They say honest is refreshing, well, you don't get more refreshing than Night City.
Dusk touched her knee directing her attention to a building on her right. Alexa stiffened again as she felt him touch her. He babbled on about some corp or other, her mind was fixated on the fact that he had not moved his hand away. Every so often, Dusk would move his hand a little higher. Alexa watched him from the corner of her eye. Nothing on his face betrayed any ulterior motive for his actions. He seemed to be genuinely excited to be acting like a tour guide.
Dusk caught the looks that Alexa was giving him from the corner of his eye. He was contented to play tour guide for now, teaching this fresh faced girl about his world. He studied her as he pointed out buildings to the left and right. Half the time, he didn't know what they were, but he spun a story just the same. That was his job after all. Dusk was what was known as a fixer. You wanted it, for a nominal percentage of the cost, Dusk could set you up with your desired item. With the job, came the ability to bullshit, to talk a big fight, to convince people that you were better than them. Dusk watched Alexa's face react to the stories he told. He could feel the heat of her thigh thru the palm of the hand resting on her leg. She didn't seem to be objecting to the physical contact. A little maneuvering and she would be his to control, just like her sister. Dusk's mind wandered off on a perverted tangent as his mouth kept talking about Night City's landmarks.
The buildings along the road changed. Instead of the semi-decent condition buildings that they passed closer to the bus station, they were now passing half wrecked buildings. The surroundings changed from neglected city block to city under siege. Buildings with scorch marks, half demolished, their rubble lining the streets became the standard sight along the streets. Brightly colored graffiti showed your position in the city more accurately than the rusted street signs.
Ana listened to Dusk ramble on about famous gun battles and heated debates among legendary personalities in Night City. To hear him talk, one would swear that Morgan Blackhand was his oldest friend, when she knew that the world famous solo wouldn't look twice at Dusk. Ana was biting her lip to hold back laughter that would not be appreciated. Dusk was trying to impress her sister. In the back of her mind, she wondered why. The small voice telling her to be suspicious was drowned out by another voice telling her that he just wanted to impress Alexa.
Dusk remembered when Ana had first joined the gang. She showed the same fresh faces innocence that Alexa now showed. Her hair had been as long as Alexa's, reaching down her back in long brown waves. He took in every detail of the young girl sitting beside him, from her unmade up face, to the subtle hint of perfume that he could smell from her. It would take a while to break her spirit, but what a commodity she would be. As they neared the place they called home, he decided on a plan of action.
Alexa watched the city blocks degrade, hoping that the neighborhood they stopped in was going to be nicer, less combat-wrought than this one. She was starting to grasp that the fact that life in Night City would not be as cozy as she thought it would be. She had bought into the dream that most people bought into, she had bought into it because she wanted to. Her heart fell as the car pulled to a stop in front of an old three-story apartment block. The top corner of the building was missing. Alexa could not even guess at the reason. The top floor windows were missing completely. The steps up to it were covered in rubbish, empty cartons and broken bottles. Dusk squeezed her thigh.
"Welcome to your new home, kid!"
Dusk got out of the battered car, holding the door open for her. She slid out, looking around at her new home. Kids were hanging out on street corners, watching everything but pretending not to. A cat fight was happening just down the street, the under dressed women drawing a crowd of over sexed teenagers, cheering neither woman but hoping for only one result. Shifty drug dealers were trying to look normal but looking too normal to fit in. This was nothing like she had imagined. She bit back tears of disappointment.
She turned back to Dusk and Ana. Dusk was leaning into the car, handing her a cred chip. He leaned further and placing a finger under Ana's chin and placing a kiss on her lips. Ana didn't look overjoyed at the gesture, in fact, an emotion that Alexa couldn't quite catch crossed her sister's face. Ana nodded and started to drive off, waving at Alexa as she pulled off.
Dusk turned to face Alexa again, that smirk on his face again. He walked up the steps in front of the apartment block, stepping over a drunk passed out at the top. Alexa hurried after him, not wanting to get left behind in his unfamiliar territory. As soon as she entered the building, she was assaulted by a foul smell of human waste, refuse rotting. She covered her nose as she followed Dusk through the building, up some stairs and along corridors. Eventually, Dusk stopped, opening a battered door. He held it open for her to walk inside.
The room looked more like a warehouse than a room in someone's home. Boxes were stacked as high as possible, until they almost touched the ceiling, recognizable brand names stamped on the side. A small table, two boxes covered with a piece of steel, stood in the middle of the room. Behind it, a couch, beaten up, stuffing falling out from several places, unidentifiable stains added character to the faded floral fabric. A half smashed dataterm stood in the corner, concrete still clinging in broken lumps to the base, where it had once been anchored to the ground. Even from here, Alexa could see that the keyboard was broken, smashed in the center. Totally out of place was the state or the art vidscreen and projector fixed to the ceiling. A piece of chrome plated wizardry in this grotty room. Alexa took note of the manufacturer and compared it with the brand names on the boxes around the room. Sure enough, they had siphoned it off from the stash. Well, certainly beats buying it, she thought to herself.
Dusk invited her to sit on the couch, telling her that Ana had gone to pick up food. He grabbed a complicated looking remote control and flicked on the projector. A low level hum filled the apartment before quieting down again. A ghostly image appeared on the screen, slowly becoming less transparent as it coalesced into a picture. Two anchorwomen sat behind a desk, smiling thru the latest stories of death and destruction to affect the city. Alexa watched fascinated that the city could have so many facets co-existing together, happily ignoring each other.
Alexa felt Dusk sit down beside her. Alexa paid no attention, she was busy taking in all the details the news reporters were telling her. She recognized a few places as locations they had passed along the drive from the bus station. The couch bounced a little as Dusk moved a bit closer. Alexa sidled over a little bit more on the couch, still not paying him much attention. A mugging, murders, body lotteries, Night City culture was fast going over her head. Another move from Dusk. Alexa shuffled down the couch to match him. She felt the arm of the couch pressing against her leg. She couldn't move any further away from Dusk, but Dusk moved closer to her.
"Where you going, honey, I'm just trying to be friendly."
Dusk dropped a hand onto her thigh. Alexa almost jumped out of her seat in order to get away. She tried to look calm as she walked around the room.
"So, how long have you been going out with Ana?" Alexa tried to get his mind off what he was obviously thinking.
"A little over a year."
Dusk left the couch, starting to walk around the room to meet her. Alexa ran a hand along the boxes, reading their labels, trying to think of something else to say, something else to do. She was worried, she wasn't in control anymore. As she racked her brain for some way to get control back, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was spun around until her back was against the boxes. Dusk's arm snapped across her neck, pressing on her windpipe. Alexa grabbed at his arm. It was useless! He was too strong. She felt his arm twist and rise. She was forced up on her toes. It pressed tighter. She dug her nails into his arm. She looked into his eyes, the smirk was back on his face and reflected in his eyes. She struggled against him. She felt his other hand touch her just under his other arm. It slowly snaked down, cupping her right breast through her shirt. His hand traveled a little more, she could feel him grasp the fabric of her top. With a strong tug, the buttons went flying, leaving her covered in just her bra. She had never felt so helpless. As the corners of her vision started to turn dark, she got very scared. Soon, it would be too late to fight. She had to do something now. She could hear Dusk fumbling with his belt buckle.
Alexa kicked out. She did not connect with anything. She kicked out again and again, just before the last smudge of colour left her vision, she felt her leg hit some thing. She didn't particularly care what she hit as long as she hit something. She hit again and again. Her leg slipped on the last stroke and slipped northwards. As she felt solid contact, she felt Dusk's arm slip and she crumpled to the floor. She watched the colour of the room return to normal. Dusk was curled up on the floor, hands buried with his crotch. She struggled to her feet. Pushing off from the boxes, she struggled to run. She was panting hard, trying to get her breath. She moved past Dusk to the door. She suddenly found herself staring at the floor. A hand was wrapped around her ankle. She was being pulled backwards. Her head was dragged backwards. She rolled over. She saw her hair wrapped around Dusk's fist. She swiped her hand at Dusk's face. Her nails caught the side of his face. Her hair slipped out of his hand as it went to his face. She crawled on hands and knees to get away from Dusk. She got to her feet, watching behind her as she flung open the door. She ran down the stairs. Dodging obstacles on her way, all she cared about was getting out of the building. She could hear Dusk's footsteps coming behind her above the pounding of the blood in her ears.
She burst through the outer doors of the building. She tripped over the drunk sitting out front and found herself watching the ground come up to meet her. She rolled down the steps. She put a hand on the ground to push herself up, but it wouldn't take her weight and she crashed down again, holding her arm in agony.
There had to be someone around to help. Someone had to be watching. Please let someone be watching…
A hand wrapped it around her hair pulling her up, arching her backwards. A second hand wrapped around her throat. She was being dragged upwards to stand on her feet. Dusk moved off, not allowing her enough time to actually get to her feet. Her feet dragged behind her as she struggled to get her footing. Her hands were wrapped around the hand in her hair. She dug her nails in, dragging them through his skin. Dusk stopped dragging her long enough to slap her, hard, across the face. Alexa tasted the metallic twang of blood in her mouth. Tears rolled down her face.
Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!
"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Her voice rose from a whisper to a scream.
She started beating at Dusk with one of her fists. She had to get away. But how?
"Dusk!" A voice shouted out behind them.
Dusk ignored it, continuing to drag her up the stairs.
"Johnny!" The voice shouted out again.
Dusk stopped, turning, dragging Alexa with him. Alexa lifted her head to look at where the voice was coming from. A guy stood in the middle of the street, his hands in the pockets of his red and black leather pants. He looked at Dusk from over his mirrorshades. Standing beside him was another man, this one much younger, dressed in torn, black jeans and a battered T-shirt showing one of the more famous Chromatic Rock bands.
"I don't think the girl want's to go with you, Johnny." The voice was calm and smooth.
"This ain't your business, Rage. Stay out of it!" Dusk snarled back.
"So, who's the girl, Johnny? Haven't seen her around before."
"This is none of your business." Dusk's voice turned into a scream.
The guy in mirrorshades moved closer, sauntering up at his leisure.
"Let her go, Johnny!" The calm voice, Rage, took on a hard edge. "I said to let her go. I'm not going to ask again."
Alexa dropped as he released her hair. She fell to the ground. A sharp pain ran up her arm. She looked at her palm and found a large piece of glass protruding from it. She pulled it out. Looking at the ground, she found it covered in pieces of shattered glass. Just to her left, she saw a long sliver. She moved slowly to wrap her hand around it. The blood from her palm made it slippery and hard to hold onto. She gripped tighter. She looked up at him. He was still talking to the second guy, or arguing.
She took a deep breath and drove the glass into his leg. He screamed. His leg buckled but he didn't go down. She hit out, striking it again, driving it in deeper. Dusk buckled and his knee crashed down on the step. Alexa got to her feet. She took the opportunity to kick him, again and again. She caught him in the jaw, snapping his head to the side. Dusk dropped. Dusk slid down the steps, coming to rest with his body on the bottom step. She didn't care whether he was dead or knocked out. She collapsed to her knees on the steps. She was drained totally. She started sobbing, kneeling, propped up against the small wall at the side of the steps. At the corner of her vision she notices the two guys walking towards her. She searched around for another piece of glass. Wrapping her hand around it, she got herself ready for whatever was going to happen.
The guy with the mirrorshades walked over and pushed Dusk with the toe of his boot. Dusk didn't move. He looked up at Alexa. Her long brown hair was hanging over her face in disarray. Her formerly white shirt hung open. Blood from her split lip stained her shirt. Dried blood was splattered over her chest. Her hand was split open from the glass and she didn't know if she had the strength to get up. Alexa watched as he smiled. She examined his smile for any hint of anything that shouldn't be there.
"Nice job, girl. You handled it well. I'm impressed! I'm Rage. And you are…?" He left it hanging.
"Alexa Markov." She was very wary of this apparently, good-natured stranger.
"Well, Alexa, what do you say we get you cleaned up?"
He held out a hand, waiting to help her up. Something about him made her want to trust him. She took the hand, letting him help her up. Just as he let go, she buckled again. She felt his arm snap around her waist holding her up. He caught one of her arms and draped it around his shoulder.
"First rule of the combat zone: Learn who to trust and who to avoid! It's a horrible rule, but you sure learned it today, Alexa. Just don't forget it."
Be happy I didn't give up, cause my computer at home ate it in a feast of malicious intent! :)
Dusk stood head and shoulders above his girlfriend. His face showed too many years of hard life. A long, jagged scar reached from below one of his piercing brown eyes to just hook under his strong jaw. Blond hair, permagelled into place covered her other eye in 3 bold spikes, the rest stood in place as if he had been recently scared. The look on his face made Alexa wonder what could make this man show fear. His eyes traveled from her face to her feet, taking in even the smallest detail. He slowly let his eyes crawl back up until they were again staring her in the face. His mouth twitched into a smirk that seemed to reflect the bus driver's comments, but in a far more primal sense. Alexa blinked and the expression was gone from his face as if it had never been there. She looked over at Ana. Her sister showed no sign of having seen anything.
Ana seemed to be the antitheses of Dusk, when Alexa watched them together. Ana was weak where Dusk was strong, falling apart where he was totally together, submissive where he was dominant. Something was going on here that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Ana had changed so much since Alexa had seen her last. The long, brown hair that had matched Alexa's current style was cropped short to just below her shoulders, it was bleached blonde but not recently, judging by the dark heritage at the roots. Her face was drawn, with too much makeup plastered on. Reddish purple marks half circled her neck, badly covered by the wrong foundation. Fading bruises in shades of yellows and greens decorated her chest and arms, not quite covered by the top, two sizes too small, that she wore. Black and white striped sweatbands encircled her wrists, not quite covering the fading red marks to be found there. Alexa catalogued the injuries, silently wondering who caused them and if Ana looked this bad, how bad did they look? It must have been one hell of a fight, Alexa thought.
Dusk was herding the girls outside, a hand on each of their lower backs as f steering them. He was prattling on about how happy he and Ana were to have her here. Alexa ignored him, it would mean more coming from her sister, not someone she had only heard of today. Ana had not mentioned him once in any of her letters. Alexa assumed that he must be new. To be honest, Ana wasn't saying much of anything since she had been reacquainted with her sister. Dusk tossed Ana the keys. Reaching the car, he rushed in front of Alexa to open the door. Alexa noticed that as he gripped the door handle, his sleeve rode up to reveal a strange tattoo. It was covered again before Alexa could make out the details. Dusk waited until she had slid into the large front seat before sliding in after her, sandwiching her between himself and Ana.
Alexa shifted uncomfortably in the seat as she was squashed between her sister and Dusk. Their thighs were pressed tightly together. Alexa could see no reason why they were all trying to fit into the front seat, there was a perfectly good back seat sitting empty. She looked over to Ana. She was staring straight ahead. Looking over at Dusk, she found him smiling back at her. He had that smirk again. Excusing himself, Dusk reached down to pick something up from the floor. Straightening back up, she felt his fingers brush up her legs thru the jeans. She was about to say something when he stopped. He had a scuffed plastic AudioVisual card in his hand. Smiling he apologized, using the excuse that there wasn't much room down there. Alexa offered to take the back seat, but Dusk knocked the idea as soon as it left her lips, he claimed that it would be easier to point out the landmarks if they were all in the front. Ana turned the key n the ignition and the car pulled off, starting on its journey through the maze of streets to the home territory of the gang that Alexa would be living with for the foreseeable future.
The bus station disappeared behind them as tall, concrete office blocks stretched towards the sky, blocking it from view. The buildings looked empty, abandoned. Alexa watched men shuffle along, battered coats wrapped around them tightly, bottles wrapped in plastic bags clutched tightly in their hands. She saw blankets moving slightly as bums rolled over, seeking shelter in the doorways of buildings that used to be filled with many different businesses. These buildings now only had occasional bubblegum-popping secretaries watching over non-important offices of forgotten businesses. Dusk pointed out buildings, names floating over Alexa's head. She saw drug deals going down in alleys as they passed, hookers walking the streets looking for the next client, muggings at gunpoint in shady streets. The denizens of the city paying no attention to the happenings, just silently praying that it didn't happen to them. Not getting involved seemed to be less of a suggestion that a way of life.
Anonymity stalked Night City, stalking its streets by night and day, its fist firmly around the hearts of the people who called Night City home for whatever reason. Neighbors were strangers. People had stopped looking at people's faces as they walked the streets. Other people's business could only lead to trouble for inquiring minds. Questions were as easily answered with gunshots as with answers. However, in a society as capitalistic and mercenary as Night City was, anonymity was fought by one thing… Greed! No matter how much someone didn't want to listen to your life story, you give him or her enough cred and they would be your best friend, for as long as the money lasted. Everyone walked around with an invisible price tag floating above their heads. Everyone had a price and no one waltzed around the fact. They say honest is refreshing, well, you don't get more refreshing than Night City.
Dusk touched her knee directing her attention to a building on her right. Alexa stiffened again as she felt him touch her. He babbled on about some corp or other, her mind was fixated on the fact that he had not moved his hand away. Every so often, Dusk would move his hand a little higher. Alexa watched him from the corner of her eye. Nothing on his face betrayed any ulterior motive for his actions. He seemed to be genuinely excited to be acting like a tour guide.
Dusk caught the looks that Alexa was giving him from the corner of his eye. He was contented to play tour guide for now, teaching this fresh faced girl about his world. He studied her as he pointed out buildings to the left and right. Half the time, he didn't know what they were, but he spun a story just the same. That was his job after all. Dusk was what was known as a fixer. You wanted it, for a nominal percentage of the cost, Dusk could set you up with your desired item. With the job, came the ability to bullshit, to talk a big fight, to convince people that you were better than them. Dusk watched Alexa's face react to the stories he told. He could feel the heat of her thigh thru the palm of the hand resting on her leg. She didn't seem to be objecting to the physical contact. A little maneuvering and she would be his to control, just like her sister. Dusk's mind wandered off on a perverted tangent as his mouth kept talking about Night City's landmarks.
The buildings along the road changed. Instead of the semi-decent condition buildings that they passed closer to the bus station, they were now passing half wrecked buildings. The surroundings changed from neglected city block to city under siege. Buildings with scorch marks, half demolished, their rubble lining the streets became the standard sight along the streets. Brightly colored graffiti showed your position in the city more accurately than the rusted street signs.
Ana listened to Dusk ramble on about famous gun battles and heated debates among legendary personalities in Night City. To hear him talk, one would swear that Morgan Blackhand was his oldest friend, when she knew that the world famous solo wouldn't look twice at Dusk. Ana was biting her lip to hold back laughter that would not be appreciated. Dusk was trying to impress her sister. In the back of her mind, she wondered why. The small voice telling her to be suspicious was drowned out by another voice telling her that he just wanted to impress Alexa.
Dusk remembered when Ana had first joined the gang. She showed the same fresh faces innocence that Alexa now showed. Her hair had been as long as Alexa's, reaching down her back in long brown waves. He took in every detail of the young girl sitting beside him, from her unmade up face, to the subtle hint of perfume that he could smell from her. It would take a while to break her spirit, but what a commodity she would be. As they neared the place they called home, he decided on a plan of action.
Alexa watched the city blocks degrade, hoping that the neighborhood they stopped in was going to be nicer, less combat-wrought than this one. She was starting to grasp that the fact that life in Night City would not be as cozy as she thought it would be. She had bought into the dream that most people bought into, she had bought into it because she wanted to. Her heart fell as the car pulled to a stop in front of an old three-story apartment block. The top corner of the building was missing. Alexa could not even guess at the reason. The top floor windows were missing completely. The steps up to it were covered in rubbish, empty cartons and broken bottles. Dusk squeezed her thigh.
"Welcome to your new home, kid!"
Dusk got out of the battered car, holding the door open for her. She slid out, looking around at her new home. Kids were hanging out on street corners, watching everything but pretending not to. A cat fight was happening just down the street, the under dressed women drawing a crowd of over sexed teenagers, cheering neither woman but hoping for only one result. Shifty drug dealers were trying to look normal but looking too normal to fit in. This was nothing like she had imagined. She bit back tears of disappointment.
She turned back to Dusk and Ana. Dusk was leaning into the car, handing her a cred chip. He leaned further and placing a finger under Ana's chin and placing a kiss on her lips. Ana didn't look overjoyed at the gesture, in fact, an emotion that Alexa couldn't quite catch crossed her sister's face. Ana nodded and started to drive off, waving at Alexa as she pulled off.
Dusk turned to face Alexa again, that smirk on his face again. He walked up the steps in front of the apartment block, stepping over a drunk passed out at the top. Alexa hurried after him, not wanting to get left behind in his unfamiliar territory. As soon as she entered the building, she was assaulted by a foul smell of human waste, refuse rotting. She covered her nose as she followed Dusk through the building, up some stairs and along corridors. Eventually, Dusk stopped, opening a battered door. He held it open for her to walk inside.
The room looked more like a warehouse than a room in someone's home. Boxes were stacked as high as possible, until they almost touched the ceiling, recognizable brand names stamped on the side. A small table, two boxes covered with a piece of steel, stood in the middle of the room. Behind it, a couch, beaten up, stuffing falling out from several places, unidentifiable stains added character to the faded floral fabric. A half smashed dataterm stood in the corner, concrete still clinging in broken lumps to the base, where it had once been anchored to the ground. Even from here, Alexa could see that the keyboard was broken, smashed in the center. Totally out of place was the state or the art vidscreen and projector fixed to the ceiling. A piece of chrome plated wizardry in this grotty room. Alexa took note of the manufacturer and compared it with the brand names on the boxes around the room. Sure enough, they had siphoned it off from the stash. Well, certainly beats buying it, she thought to herself.
Dusk invited her to sit on the couch, telling her that Ana had gone to pick up food. He grabbed a complicated looking remote control and flicked on the projector. A low level hum filled the apartment before quieting down again. A ghostly image appeared on the screen, slowly becoming less transparent as it coalesced into a picture. Two anchorwomen sat behind a desk, smiling thru the latest stories of death and destruction to affect the city. Alexa watched fascinated that the city could have so many facets co-existing together, happily ignoring each other.
Alexa felt Dusk sit down beside her. Alexa paid no attention, she was busy taking in all the details the news reporters were telling her. She recognized a few places as locations they had passed along the drive from the bus station. The couch bounced a little as Dusk moved a bit closer. Alexa sidled over a little bit more on the couch, still not paying him much attention. A mugging, murders, body lotteries, Night City culture was fast going over her head. Another move from Dusk. Alexa shuffled down the couch to match him. She felt the arm of the couch pressing against her leg. She couldn't move any further away from Dusk, but Dusk moved closer to her.
"Where you going, honey, I'm just trying to be friendly."
Dusk dropped a hand onto her thigh. Alexa almost jumped out of her seat in order to get away. She tried to look calm as she walked around the room.
"So, how long have you been going out with Ana?" Alexa tried to get his mind off what he was obviously thinking.
"A little over a year."
Dusk left the couch, starting to walk around the room to meet her. Alexa ran a hand along the boxes, reading their labels, trying to think of something else to say, something else to do. She was worried, she wasn't in control anymore. As she racked her brain for some way to get control back, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was spun around until her back was against the boxes. Dusk's arm snapped across her neck, pressing on her windpipe. Alexa grabbed at his arm. It was useless! He was too strong. She felt his arm twist and rise. She was forced up on her toes. It pressed tighter. She dug her nails into his arm. She looked into his eyes, the smirk was back on his face and reflected in his eyes. She struggled against him. She felt his other hand touch her just under his other arm. It slowly snaked down, cupping her right breast through her shirt. His hand traveled a little more, she could feel him grasp the fabric of her top. With a strong tug, the buttons went flying, leaving her covered in just her bra. She had never felt so helpless. As the corners of her vision started to turn dark, she got very scared. Soon, it would be too late to fight. She had to do something now. She could hear Dusk fumbling with his belt buckle.
Alexa kicked out. She did not connect with anything. She kicked out again and again, just before the last smudge of colour left her vision, she felt her leg hit some thing. She didn't particularly care what she hit as long as she hit something. She hit again and again. Her leg slipped on the last stroke and slipped northwards. As she felt solid contact, she felt Dusk's arm slip and she crumpled to the floor. She watched the colour of the room return to normal. Dusk was curled up on the floor, hands buried with his crotch. She struggled to her feet. Pushing off from the boxes, she struggled to run. She was panting hard, trying to get her breath. She moved past Dusk to the door. She suddenly found herself staring at the floor. A hand was wrapped around her ankle. She was being pulled backwards. Her head was dragged backwards. She rolled over. She saw her hair wrapped around Dusk's fist. She swiped her hand at Dusk's face. Her nails caught the side of his face. Her hair slipped out of his hand as it went to his face. She crawled on hands and knees to get away from Dusk. She got to her feet, watching behind her as she flung open the door. She ran down the stairs. Dodging obstacles on her way, all she cared about was getting out of the building. She could hear Dusk's footsteps coming behind her above the pounding of the blood in her ears.
She burst through the outer doors of the building. She tripped over the drunk sitting out front and found herself watching the ground come up to meet her. She rolled down the steps. She put a hand on the ground to push herself up, but it wouldn't take her weight and she crashed down again, holding her arm in agony.
There had to be someone around to help. Someone had to be watching. Please let someone be watching…
A hand wrapped it around her hair pulling her up, arching her backwards. A second hand wrapped around her throat. She was being dragged upwards to stand on her feet. Dusk moved off, not allowing her enough time to actually get to her feet. Her feet dragged behind her as she struggled to get her footing. Her hands were wrapped around the hand in her hair. She dug her nails in, dragging them through his skin. Dusk stopped dragging her long enough to slap her, hard, across the face. Alexa tasted the metallic twang of blood in her mouth. Tears rolled down her face.
Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!
"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Her voice rose from a whisper to a scream.
She started beating at Dusk with one of her fists. She had to get away. But how?
"Dusk!" A voice shouted out behind them.
Dusk ignored it, continuing to drag her up the stairs.
"Johnny!" The voice shouted out again.
Dusk stopped, turning, dragging Alexa with him. Alexa lifted her head to look at where the voice was coming from. A guy stood in the middle of the street, his hands in the pockets of his red and black leather pants. He looked at Dusk from over his mirrorshades. Standing beside him was another man, this one much younger, dressed in torn, black jeans and a battered T-shirt showing one of the more famous Chromatic Rock bands.
"I don't think the girl want's to go with you, Johnny." The voice was calm and smooth.
"This ain't your business, Rage. Stay out of it!" Dusk snarled back.
"So, who's the girl, Johnny? Haven't seen her around before."
"This is none of your business." Dusk's voice turned into a scream.
The guy in mirrorshades moved closer, sauntering up at his leisure.
"Let her go, Johnny!" The calm voice, Rage, took on a hard edge. "I said to let her go. I'm not going to ask again."
Alexa dropped as he released her hair. She fell to the ground. A sharp pain ran up her arm. She looked at her palm and found a large piece of glass protruding from it. She pulled it out. Looking at the ground, she found it covered in pieces of shattered glass. Just to her left, she saw a long sliver. She moved slowly to wrap her hand around it. The blood from her palm made it slippery and hard to hold onto. She gripped tighter. She looked up at him. He was still talking to the second guy, or arguing.
She took a deep breath and drove the glass into his leg. He screamed. His leg buckled but he didn't go down. She hit out, striking it again, driving it in deeper. Dusk buckled and his knee crashed down on the step. Alexa got to her feet. She took the opportunity to kick him, again and again. She caught him in the jaw, snapping his head to the side. Dusk dropped. Dusk slid down the steps, coming to rest with his body on the bottom step. She didn't care whether he was dead or knocked out. She collapsed to her knees on the steps. She was drained totally. She started sobbing, kneeling, propped up against the small wall at the side of the steps. At the corner of her vision she notices the two guys walking towards her. She searched around for another piece of glass. Wrapping her hand around it, she got herself ready for whatever was going to happen.
The guy with the mirrorshades walked over and pushed Dusk with the toe of his boot. Dusk didn't move. He looked up at Alexa. Her long brown hair was hanging over her face in disarray. Her formerly white shirt hung open. Blood from her split lip stained her shirt. Dried blood was splattered over her chest. Her hand was split open from the glass and she didn't know if she had the strength to get up. Alexa watched as he smiled. She examined his smile for any hint of anything that shouldn't be there.
"Nice job, girl. You handled it well. I'm impressed! I'm Rage. And you are…?" He left it hanging.
"Alexa Markov." She was very wary of this apparently, good-natured stranger.
"Well, Alexa, what do you say we get you cleaned up?"
He held out a hand, waiting to help her up. Something about him made her want to trust him. She took the hand, letting him help her up. Just as he let go, she buckled again. She felt his arm snap around her waist holding her up. He caught one of her arms and draped it around his shoulder.
"First rule of the combat zone: Learn who to trust and who to avoid! It's a horrible rule, but you sure learned it today, Alexa. Just don't forget it."
Cool!
Date: 2004-04-27 02:21 am (UTC)I'm really impressed - but tell me, who's Rage?
Re: Cool!
Date: 2004-04-27 02:52 am (UTC)*grin* That's Rage.
Real name: Brian Petrovich
Role: Solo
He's the nice guy who intervened and distracted Dusk. *grin* Not going to say a lot on him, cause he's gonna be important for the next little while.
Incidentally, Standing beside him was another man, this one much younger, dressed in torn, black jeans and a battered T-shirt showing one of the more famous Chromatic Rock bands.
Thats Kern, his little (6.5 ft tall) brother! (Real Name: Peter) :)
no subject
Date: 2004-04-27 06:36 pm (UTC)Intresting.....