Sweet Dreams 1.2
Okay, this is the continuation of the first part of this fic. Hope you enjoy...
(June 27th, 2016) Mazetech Corpfarm #327, San Benito County, California
Alexa rolled over, trying to ignore the incessant ringing of the dataterm alarm. Pulling the covers over her head, she could still hear the sound. Finally giving in, she started getting up, rubbing her sleep filled eyes and bringing the room into its usual focus. Wandering over to the dataterm, Alexa turned off the alarm, enjoying the silence for a second. She checked the screen to see if Ana had replied. She saw the familiar new mail icon at the bottom of the screen. Biting her lip in fear and anticipation, she clicked on the icon pulling up her mail. Interminable seconds passed as the message loaded. Alexa had not even considered that Ana would turn her down, but that was all that was running thru her head. She need not have worried. Her sister had come thru. Now the only thing was to tell her parents her decision.
(June 27th, 2016) ‘Kyr i Vikati’ Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Ana woke the next morning, barely able to move. She ached all over. She edged out of the bed, trying not to wake Dusk. She grabbed a sheet from the floor and wrapped it around herself as she quietly made her way from the room. She went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the toilet seat and buried her face in her hands, crying. It took her a while to gather the courage together to look in the mirror and see how bad it was this time.
Drying her eyes, she stepped up to the cracked mirror that half hung above the broken down sink in the bathroom. She could see reddish purple marks stretching around her neck, reflected a dozen times in the glass slivers. She could see a dozen bruises on her stomach. She looked down to see a line of faint yellowish bruises starting to appear on her thigh from where she hit the ground last night. As she reached down to touch them, she saw more marks on her wrists, matching in color with the ones on her neck. He had been rougher than usual last night. She tried to justify the reasons behind his actions in her mind, maybe he had a tough day, maybe she had acted that dumb yesterday. He claimed he loved her but sometimes she wasn’t sure. Looking herself straight in the eye, she vowed that things would change. She would have to look out for her little sister. She couldn’t let anything happen to Lexa. She wouldn’t, couldn’t let it happen.
Taking out her makeup, she tried to cover the ligature marks on her neck and wrists. To her they were blaringly obvious, but she hoped they would pass by unnoticed. She didn’t need a talking to about her choices. For better or worse, she still loved Dusk, and for better or worse, she couldn’t make herself leave him. Every time she thought about it, she remembered the time that she tried that over a year ago. She hadn’t been able to walk for three weeks. But she resolved herself that she was going to be strong for Lexa. She wasn’t going to let Lexa see this side of her, if she could possibly help it. She just had to make sure that she didn’t do anything wrong, so that Dusk didn’t feel that she needed reeducation. Her mind made up, she raided the food store to bring Dusk his breakfast, a can of Smash and some of the left over pizza from last night.
(June 28th, 2016) San Benez Bus Station, San Benito County, California
Alexa sat on the small wooden bench outside the San Benez station, her ticket clutched in her hand. The talk with her parents had gone better than anticipated. They had simply sat there and listened to her points. They asked her if it was what she wanted to do and she had honestly told them yes. She told them of the Night City that Ana had drawn in so many word pictures in the emails. She spoke mainly to her father, him being the main influence of the family and broke it down to financial terms. She had covered all her bases even before she had even walked into the room. The only point during the conversation that she nearly lost her nerve was when her mother started crying again. Elena started crying because both her babies had left the nest, even though Alexa had not gone anywhere yet. Finally, her father had agreed, not admitting that it would be easier for them to survive with fewer mouths to feed or in a smaller house. He couched it in terms that made it sound that it was time for Alexa to stand on her own two feet, to see what was out there, to follow her own path. Elena seemed to accept that, still not happy about it. In short, it had gone better than she thought it would...
Her eyes were fixed on the horizon as she watched anxiously for the vehicle that would take her to her new life. Plans raced and chased around her overactive imagination, plans for jobs, life, love, forever. A bump on the horizon broke into Alexa’s dreaming. A subtle hint of fear wrapped itself around her spine. All she had to go on was Ana’s letters. Would she fit in? As the dust trail got closer, she had almost talked herself out of going to Night City, but steeling herself, she put those thoughts to the back of her mind. The bus was almost there but was still hidden in a cloud of dust, hints of silver peeking through whenever the wind caught hold of a dusty tendril. A screech of brakes allayed her fears that the bus was going to drive on past. Gathering up the bag that she had packed her few possessions in, she got ready to pass the point of no return.
Alexa could not hide her shock as the bus stopped in front of her. It was definitely not what she was expecting. The silver body was a throw back to the busses of the early 2000’s. But that was where the comparison stopped. The battered, old greyhound bus had been drastically changed. A dented metallic skirt surrounded the bus covering the wheels, a metal box, or that was what it looked like, was welded on to the back. Mounted on that box was a gun the like and size of which Alexa had never seen. It was being manned by a guy dressed in armor, including an army style combat helmet. She noticed some slide away patches on the side of the bus, presumably for more gun placements. She walked around to the entrance of the bus, noticing the skirt was shaped into a ram at the front. She wondered, naively, what they could come across in an environment as hostile and deadly as the NorthCal desert.
The doors looked battered as she stood in front of them. Through the grilled windows, she could see the driver moving his large bulk out of his seat. He gave the door a savage kick and it started to creak open. Bellowing down the bus, he started cursing about shoddy workmanship and screwdriver use. Flopping down into his seat, he held out his hand. Alexa fumbled for her ticket before putting it into the driver’s hand. As he examined it, she took in her sweat stained clothing, his ill-fitting door gunner’s jacket, his surly disposition. Alexa’s face was still flushed from the tirade of curses that he had thrown down the bus. She grabbed the ticket from the driver when he was done. As she made her way down the bus, she heard the driver mutter ‘Fresh meat’. She heard a few laughs from various places on the bus, following the sounds she spotted at least three others in similar outfits to the driver. They must have comms, she thought to herself.
The inside of the bus was no less battered and abused than the outside. The few seats that it had were placed wide apart, large guns like the one manned outside the bus, were positioned at various places along the bus. The men who had laughed at the driver’s comments were sitting around a small table playing some card game. They looked like they had done this trip a thousand times and did not seem worried. They were all in better shape than the driver, bunches of muscles bulging out through their t-shirt sleeves, but invisible under the armor vests they wore. While Alexa would not feel safe with these guys, she did believe that they knew what they were doing when it came to their jobs.
She found a seat on her own and shoved her bag under the seat. Looking around the bus again, she decided to keep her penknife in her hand, she wasn’t taking any chances. Settling down in her seat, she turned to look out the grilled window as they pulled off, watching the station disappear behind them, hidden by the dust trail kicked up by the bus. She regretted that her parents could not have been there to see her off, but her father had only enough money to bribe one of the guards to drop her at the station. She would miss them, but she had to think of what was best for them, for her. No turning back now, she thought, regret tingeing her thought.
Looking around the bus, she took in the faces of her fellow passengers, her eyes never lingering long on each face. One face caused her breath to catch in her throat. She couldn’t tear her eyes away. What was he doing on the bus? How dare he share a bus with her after what he did! That last thought echoed inside her head forcing her to realize how irrational she was being, although it was somewhat justified. The focus of her attention must have felt her eyes boring into the side of his face because he turned to face her. He smiled a little. Alexa realized her mistake as she saw him face on. He was nothing like Luka How could she have been so stupid? Her face flushed for the second time since she got on the bus. Turning away from her mistake, she started kicking herself mentally, telling herself that jumping to conclusions would be her downfall. Looking out the window again, she watched the dust fly by, occasionally interspersed by blobs of identifiable color from unidentifiable objects, gone before they could be named. Almost hypnotized by the yellowish brown swirls outside the window, she started nodding off. This time however, her dreams did not carry her to a hopeful future, but to a painful past.
(August 16th, 2015) BioFarms Corpfarm #84, Starling County, Nevada
Rounding the corner, she almost ran into her father and the customer he was talking to.
“Sorry, Papa!” She said breathlessly.
“Lexa, honey, shouldn’t you be in school?” His voice was trying to take on a scolding quality but his eyes were laughing.
As she started her excuse, a force hit her from behind, pushing her into her father again.
“Sorry, Mr. Markov,” the young man’s voice, as breathless as her own was.
“Lexa, Luka, what are we going to do with the pair of you. We shall have to call the truant officer, won’t we John?” turning to the man he had been talking to.
Alexa knew he wouldn’t do it, but Luka’s face fell at the prospect.
“But … But … Really sorry, Sir. Please don’t call Ms. Jones.”
“Ah so you already know her by name, you know that’s a bad sign Luka, but at least now I won’t have to find out her name.”
Luka’s face fell further. Alexa couldn’t hold a straight face any longer and she started laughing. The laughter spread until it infected both Alexei and the other man. Luka looked from Alexa to her father and couldn’t help starting to laugh. Still laughing, Alexei sends them into the office to wait for him to finish off this business deal. The pair headed off, Alexa teasing him goodheartedly about his reaction.
Alexa had been working with her father in the store for years. He was the farms supply co-coordinator, which meant that if you wanted anything, you had to go through him. He also had a little sideline of getting stuff that wasn’t officially on any of the catalogs. Alexa enjoyed the work. She enjoyed watching the haggling, the negotiations, the inside joke of charging more that the item was worth. It was a job she could see herself doing, especially seeing as her father let her handle those parts of the business. The farm was getting busier and both Alexa and her father were putting in long hours but as the weeks passed most and more jobs were getting pushed to the side, Alexei was forced to think about hiring a third person. Only one name came to mind, Luka. He helped on and off in the store, he knew the basics of the running of the business. Alexa was the only one not happy about it, but she had to admit that it was mainly personal reasons driving the unhappiness. Luka and Alexa had been going out for a few weeks and while they were happy, she was worried about strains thanks to working together. A few days later, she realized that her fears were totally unfounded. The pair got closer. In her daydreams, she started picturing the wedding, the children, and life together.
One night, about three months after Luka started working for her father, Alexa was walking from her house to the social center. She had a date with Luka. She was passing the warehouse when something caught her attention. She saw a light still on inside. Thinking nothing of it, she took out her keycard and slotted it in the lock. The light flickered green and she pulled out the door. It looked a little creepy in the semi-darkness. She heard a noise. Alexa listened closely. It was little more than a murmur from where she was standing. She quietly made her way towards the noise. As she got closer, it got brighter. She could make out a voice. It was echoey but she knew the voice. Another voice interjected, this one familiar but she was not able to put a name to the voice. Listening closely she could make out the conversation.
“Look, I can’t go a cent under 15 bucks,” Luka’s voice rang out.
“Okay! 15 it is then,” the second voice replied.
“You’re sure the old man won’t find out?”
“Trust me!”
“Trust a thief, that’s a new one!”
Alexa’s face hardened as she realized what was going on. Her beloved boyfriend was stealing from her father and undercutting him. She moved closer and closer, until she could watch unobserved. A handshake and a credchip ended the transaction. She waited, fuming quietly. When only Luka was left, she stepped out, not drawing his attention.
“Good deal, Luka?”
Luka nearly left his skin behind as he jumped in shock at her voice. Alexa watched fear cross his face for a second before he composed himself.
‘Gotta work on that, honeybuns,’ she thought to herself, turning his annoying pet name back at him.
“Yeah, it’s good enough.”
Alexa started to walk towards her boyfriend.
“You must tell me what your secret is, oh wait, selling other people’s stuff!”
The words seemed to sting. Face to face now, Alexa looked him straight in the eye.
“Bastard!”
She brought her hand up as if to slap his face, but at the last minute raked her nails over her cheek. Four paper-thin, red lines appeared on his cheek, swelling slowly. His hand touched his cheek, fingers coming away wet.
“It’s just biz, honeybuns, you know how it is?”
A knew found his crotch. Luka crumpled. Turning on her heel, she called back to him.
“You have an hour to tell my father, or I will.”
As soon as she got out of the building, she nearly collapsed against the side of the building, tears streaming down her face. As soon as she felt able, she ran to a spot that only she knew. When she got to her little cubbyhole, she curled up and simply cried. She was shattered. She had no idea how long she lay there, but eventually she had no more tears to shed. Drying her eyes, she cleaned up her face, using a piece of metal as a mirror. She brushed off her clothes and started to walk home. She was wondering whether Luka had actually gone to her father, or whether she would have to break the bad news to her father. Running through what she was going to say in her head, she rounded the corner of her house. Two unfamiliar cars were parked outside the house. Alexa pushed open the front door.
“… Don’t know what you are talking about.” Her father’s voice sounded irritated.
“We’re not accusing you of anything, Alexei, just letting you know. We’ll need your keycards.”
“Of course! Does that include Alexa’s?”
“If you don’t mind…”
“Alexa, this man needs your keycard to the store!”
Alexa was shocked, how did he know she was there? She took out the card and handed it to her father.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Roberts here is going to be looking into the store’s accounts. He’s had a tip off for illegal trading.”
That had been the start of it. Luka had set her father up to take the fall for his activities. The narrow minded officials followed every breadcrumb that Luka laid out for them. Alexa remembered packing up her belongings and putting them into the back of their car. It was a surprisingly small amount, even for a small family. She remembered the last time she saw Luka’s face. She walked over and looking him right in the eye, told him that if she ever saw him again, he wouldn’t live to see the next day.
She finished off with “This ain’t biz, it’s personal, honeybuns!”
Nothing says Thank You like a 9mm to the back of the head, and even that would be too good for that lousy, two-faced snake.
(June 28th, 2016) Somewhere North of Night City, California
Alexa slowly came awake. Something pulled at her senses. Her eyes flickered open. Sitting right beside her on the seat was the guy that she had mistaken for Luka earlier. He didn’t notice her eyes open, he was distracted by her cleavage. He was panting hard, staring down her top. He was so close that she could smell his fetid breath and see the dandruff flakes in his hair. His hand was on her thigh. He may have been relatively okay from a distance but up close, he turned her stomach.
“Excuse me!” She tried to get his attention.
He looked up. She shivered as she saw the trail of drool running down his chin. He had a manic look in his eye.
“Hello, Darlin’,” he answered, eyes never leaving her chest.
“Would you mind moving your hand and getting the hell outta my seat?” Alexa tried to stay calm.
“It’s a free country, I can sit where I want, darlin’,” his voice made her shiver in fear.
Hiding the penknife in her hand, she extended one of the blades. It wasn’t very big, but she hoped it would be big enough. Wrapping her hand around it, she braced herself for what she was going to do.
“Well, why don’t we make this trip more interesting.” Alexa hoped that her intentions weren’t showing through her voice.
“That’s more like it, darlin’!”
She slowly ran her hand up his leg, pretending to be interested. Reaching the junction of his thighs, she pressed the knife up against his trousers. She was lucky that he wasn’t wearing jeans. She felt the knife tip pop through the fabric. He must have noticed it too, cause he changed his focus. He was now looking down. Alexa calmly informed him that she had a knife at his crotch and if he still wanted use of his equipment then he should retake his seat on the other side of the bus and keep the hell away from her. Alexa watched him back away fast, falling from the seat when he reached the edge.
“Psycho bitch,” he yelled at her, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Pervert,” she called back. “Pick on someone legal!”
After they got over the surprise entertainment, a few smiles and small laughs were noticeable, before they returned to their duties. Alexa settled back down in her seat. She was very careful not to fall asleep again on the bus.
Sometime later, she was disturbed by the armored men. They had put aside their card game and were now putting on heavy armor jackets. They walked over to the gun placements and slid the metal covers off. She watched as each of the guns were pushed forward so that the noses were outside the bus. Alexa was puzzled.
“What’s going on?” she asked the closest guard.
“Coming into Night City, getting ready for it.”
Alexa must have looked puzzled, because the guard just laughed.
“Wow, you really are fresh meat. Hope you wise up real fast baby, for your own sake.”
Alexa looked out the window. The dust had settled, they were on a real road again. Ruined buildings were passed by the bus. A hint of silver caught her eye. The guard opened fire as the first bullet hit the side of the bus. Coming out of everywhere, there were motorcycles, each of the guys on them had at least a shotgun or a machine gun. Riding with one hand on the motorbikes handlebars and one of the trigger, they attacked the bus. The fight was loud, noisy but short. Alexa watched as the .50 cal bullets made short work of bikes, arms, legs, heads. She had never seen such violence. What made it worse was that the guys on the bus were roaring at the drivers of the motorbikes, and cheering when another one went down.
The motorbike gang stopped giving chase after about 15 minutes and 17 members went down. Pulling the guns back inside, the bus rumbled on. The guards were exchanging high fives and comparing kill totals. Alexa was shocked. This was nothing like the world that Ana had described. It was vicious, it was brutal, it was inhuman. She started thinking that it was a mistake to come here.
The smell of gunfire still lingered in the bus as they pulled into Night City station. Gathering her stuff together, she joined the pushing queue trying to get off the bus as quickly as possible. As her foot touched the ground, she took in her surroundings. The station was a plexiglass and plastacrete disaster, its architectural style dating back to the early 1990’s when angular design was in style. It looked to be propping itself up by two unstable pillars. Inside rows upon rows of lockers stretched as far as the eye could want to see. People pushed past each other with no regard for their fellow person, each in a rush to get to some unknown destination. She got off the bus and started walking towards the heart of the building. She kept looking for her sister while taking in every thing around her.
Ana was standing overshadowed by Dusk when she caught sight of her sister. She looked a little dusty, disheveled but good. Her brown hair was caught up in a pony tails and she was dressed in faded denim jeans and a white shirt. She had a single bag on her back. She looked overwhelmed by the whole place. Ana felt really guilty about all the emails that she sent to Lexa telling her how great Night City was. Lexa would soon find out that Night City could be the closest thing to Hell on Earth. Nodding to Dusk, they started walking over to Alexa.
Alexa was staring around her when she heard her sister’s voice behind her. Turning, she went straight into the open arms of her sister. She had not seen Ana for over a year. Hugging her tightly, even with her eyes closed, she noticed that her sister had lost a lot of weight, maybe a little too much. Opening her eyes, she noticed the makeup covered marks on her sisters neck. She wondered what had happened to Ana. She suddenly noticed the hulking guy to the side. She held onto Ana as she turned to face him.
“Lexa, this is Dusk, my boyfriend. Dusk, this is my sister, Alexa.”
Smiling, Dusk welcomed her. “Welcome to the City, kid.”
(June 27th, 2016) Mazetech Corpfarm #327, San Benito County, California
Alexa rolled over, trying to ignore the incessant ringing of the dataterm alarm. Pulling the covers over her head, she could still hear the sound. Finally giving in, she started getting up, rubbing her sleep filled eyes and bringing the room into its usual focus. Wandering over to the dataterm, Alexa turned off the alarm, enjoying the silence for a second. She checked the screen to see if Ana had replied. She saw the familiar new mail icon at the bottom of the screen. Biting her lip in fear and anticipation, she clicked on the icon pulling up her mail. Interminable seconds passed as the message loaded. Alexa had not even considered that Ana would turn her down, but that was all that was running thru her head. She need not have worried. Her sister had come thru. Now the only thing was to tell her parents her decision.
(June 27th, 2016) ‘Kyr i Vikati’ Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Ana woke the next morning, barely able to move. She ached all over. She edged out of the bed, trying not to wake Dusk. She grabbed a sheet from the floor and wrapped it around herself as she quietly made her way from the room. She went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the toilet seat and buried her face in her hands, crying. It took her a while to gather the courage together to look in the mirror and see how bad it was this time.
Drying her eyes, she stepped up to the cracked mirror that half hung above the broken down sink in the bathroom. She could see reddish purple marks stretching around her neck, reflected a dozen times in the glass slivers. She could see a dozen bruises on her stomach. She looked down to see a line of faint yellowish bruises starting to appear on her thigh from where she hit the ground last night. As she reached down to touch them, she saw more marks on her wrists, matching in color with the ones on her neck. He had been rougher than usual last night. She tried to justify the reasons behind his actions in her mind, maybe he had a tough day, maybe she had acted that dumb yesterday. He claimed he loved her but sometimes she wasn’t sure. Looking herself straight in the eye, she vowed that things would change. She would have to look out for her little sister. She couldn’t let anything happen to Lexa. She wouldn’t, couldn’t let it happen.
Taking out her makeup, she tried to cover the ligature marks on her neck and wrists. To her they were blaringly obvious, but she hoped they would pass by unnoticed. She didn’t need a talking to about her choices. For better or worse, she still loved Dusk, and for better or worse, she couldn’t make herself leave him. Every time she thought about it, she remembered the time that she tried that over a year ago. She hadn’t been able to walk for three weeks. But she resolved herself that she was going to be strong for Lexa. She wasn’t going to let Lexa see this side of her, if she could possibly help it. She just had to make sure that she didn’t do anything wrong, so that Dusk didn’t feel that she needed reeducation. Her mind made up, she raided the food store to bring Dusk his breakfast, a can of Smash and some of the left over pizza from last night.
(June 28th, 2016) San Benez Bus Station, San Benito County, California
Alexa sat on the small wooden bench outside the San Benez station, her ticket clutched in her hand. The talk with her parents had gone better than anticipated. They had simply sat there and listened to her points. They asked her if it was what she wanted to do and she had honestly told them yes. She told them of the Night City that Ana had drawn in so many word pictures in the emails. She spoke mainly to her father, him being the main influence of the family and broke it down to financial terms. She had covered all her bases even before she had even walked into the room. The only point during the conversation that she nearly lost her nerve was when her mother started crying again. Elena started crying because both her babies had left the nest, even though Alexa had not gone anywhere yet. Finally, her father had agreed, not admitting that it would be easier for them to survive with fewer mouths to feed or in a smaller house. He couched it in terms that made it sound that it was time for Alexa to stand on her own two feet, to see what was out there, to follow her own path. Elena seemed to accept that, still not happy about it. In short, it had gone better than she thought it would...
Her eyes were fixed on the horizon as she watched anxiously for the vehicle that would take her to her new life. Plans raced and chased around her overactive imagination, plans for jobs, life, love, forever. A bump on the horizon broke into Alexa’s dreaming. A subtle hint of fear wrapped itself around her spine. All she had to go on was Ana’s letters. Would she fit in? As the dust trail got closer, she had almost talked herself out of going to Night City, but steeling herself, she put those thoughts to the back of her mind. The bus was almost there but was still hidden in a cloud of dust, hints of silver peeking through whenever the wind caught hold of a dusty tendril. A screech of brakes allayed her fears that the bus was going to drive on past. Gathering up the bag that she had packed her few possessions in, she got ready to pass the point of no return.
Alexa could not hide her shock as the bus stopped in front of her. It was definitely not what she was expecting. The silver body was a throw back to the busses of the early 2000’s. But that was where the comparison stopped. The battered, old greyhound bus had been drastically changed. A dented metallic skirt surrounded the bus covering the wheels, a metal box, or that was what it looked like, was welded on to the back. Mounted on that box was a gun the like and size of which Alexa had never seen. It was being manned by a guy dressed in armor, including an army style combat helmet. She noticed some slide away patches on the side of the bus, presumably for more gun placements. She walked around to the entrance of the bus, noticing the skirt was shaped into a ram at the front. She wondered, naively, what they could come across in an environment as hostile and deadly as the NorthCal desert.
The doors looked battered as she stood in front of them. Through the grilled windows, she could see the driver moving his large bulk out of his seat. He gave the door a savage kick and it started to creak open. Bellowing down the bus, he started cursing about shoddy workmanship and screwdriver use. Flopping down into his seat, he held out his hand. Alexa fumbled for her ticket before putting it into the driver’s hand. As he examined it, she took in her sweat stained clothing, his ill-fitting door gunner’s jacket, his surly disposition. Alexa’s face was still flushed from the tirade of curses that he had thrown down the bus. She grabbed the ticket from the driver when he was done. As she made her way down the bus, she heard the driver mutter ‘Fresh meat’. She heard a few laughs from various places on the bus, following the sounds she spotted at least three others in similar outfits to the driver. They must have comms, she thought to herself.
The inside of the bus was no less battered and abused than the outside. The few seats that it had were placed wide apart, large guns like the one manned outside the bus, were positioned at various places along the bus. The men who had laughed at the driver’s comments were sitting around a small table playing some card game. They looked like they had done this trip a thousand times and did not seem worried. They were all in better shape than the driver, bunches of muscles bulging out through their t-shirt sleeves, but invisible under the armor vests they wore. While Alexa would not feel safe with these guys, she did believe that they knew what they were doing when it came to their jobs.
She found a seat on her own and shoved her bag under the seat. Looking around the bus again, she decided to keep her penknife in her hand, she wasn’t taking any chances. Settling down in her seat, she turned to look out the grilled window as they pulled off, watching the station disappear behind them, hidden by the dust trail kicked up by the bus. She regretted that her parents could not have been there to see her off, but her father had only enough money to bribe one of the guards to drop her at the station. She would miss them, but she had to think of what was best for them, for her. No turning back now, she thought, regret tingeing her thought.
Looking around the bus, she took in the faces of her fellow passengers, her eyes never lingering long on each face. One face caused her breath to catch in her throat. She couldn’t tear her eyes away. What was he doing on the bus? How dare he share a bus with her after what he did! That last thought echoed inside her head forcing her to realize how irrational she was being, although it was somewhat justified. The focus of her attention must have felt her eyes boring into the side of his face because he turned to face her. He smiled a little. Alexa realized her mistake as she saw him face on. He was nothing like Luka How could she have been so stupid? Her face flushed for the second time since she got on the bus. Turning away from her mistake, she started kicking herself mentally, telling herself that jumping to conclusions would be her downfall. Looking out the window again, she watched the dust fly by, occasionally interspersed by blobs of identifiable color from unidentifiable objects, gone before they could be named. Almost hypnotized by the yellowish brown swirls outside the window, she started nodding off. This time however, her dreams did not carry her to a hopeful future, but to a painful past.
(August 16th, 2015) BioFarms Corpfarm #84, Starling County, Nevada
Rounding the corner, she almost ran into her father and the customer he was talking to.
“Sorry, Papa!” She said breathlessly.
“Lexa, honey, shouldn’t you be in school?” His voice was trying to take on a scolding quality but his eyes were laughing.
As she started her excuse, a force hit her from behind, pushing her into her father again.
“Sorry, Mr. Markov,” the young man’s voice, as breathless as her own was.
“Lexa, Luka, what are we going to do with the pair of you. We shall have to call the truant officer, won’t we John?” turning to the man he had been talking to.
Alexa knew he wouldn’t do it, but Luka’s face fell at the prospect.
“But … But … Really sorry, Sir. Please don’t call Ms. Jones.”
“Ah so you already know her by name, you know that’s a bad sign Luka, but at least now I won’t have to find out her name.”
Luka’s face fell further. Alexa couldn’t hold a straight face any longer and she started laughing. The laughter spread until it infected both Alexei and the other man. Luka looked from Alexa to her father and couldn’t help starting to laugh. Still laughing, Alexei sends them into the office to wait for him to finish off this business deal. The pair headed off, Alexa teasing him goodheartedly about his reaction.
Alexa had been working with her father in the store for years. He was the farms supply co-coordinator, which meant that if you wanted anything, you had to go through him. He also had a little sideline of getting stuff that wasn’t officially on any of the catalogs. Alexa enjoyed the work. She enjoyed watching the haggling, the negotiations, the inside joke of charging more that the item was worth. It was a job she could see herself doing, especially seeing as her father let her handle those parts of the business. The farm was getting busier and both Alexa and her father were putting in long hours but as the weeks passed most and more jobs were getting pushed to the side, Alexei was forced to think about hiring a third person. Only one name came to mind, Luka. He helped on and off in the store, he knew the basics of the running of the business. Alexa was the only one not happy about it, but she had to admit that it was mainly personal reasons driving the unhappiness. Luka and Alexa had been going out for a few weeks and while they were happy, she was worried about strains thanks to working together. A few days later, she realized that her fears were totally unfounded. The pair got closer. In her daydreams, she started picturing the wedding, the children, and life together.
One night, about three months after Luka started working for her father, Alexa was walking from her house to the social center. She had a date with Luka. She was passing the warehouse when something caught her attention. She saw a light still on inside. Thinking nothing of it, she took out her keycard and slotted it in the lock. The light flickered green and she pulled out the door. It looked a little creepy in the semi-darkness. She heard a noise. Alexa listened closely. It was little more than a murmur from where she was standing. She quietly made her way towards the noise. As she got closer, it got brighter. She could make out a voice. It was echoey but she knew the voice. Another voice interjected, this one familiar but she was not able to put a name to the voice. Listening closely she could make out the conversation.
“Look, I can’t go a cent under 15 bucks,” Luka’s voice rang out.
“Okay! 15 it is then,” the second voice replied.
“You’re sure the old man won’t find out?”
“Trust me!”
“Trust a thief, that’s a new one!”
Alexa’s face hardened as she realized what was going on. Her beloved boyfriend was stealing from her father and undercutting him. She moved closer and closer, until she could watch unobserved. A handshake and a credchip ended the transaction. She waited, fuming quietly. When only Luka was left, she stepped out, not drawing his attention.
“Good deal, Luka?”
Luka nearly left his skin behind as he jumped in shock at her voice. Alexa watched fear cross his face for a second before he composed himself.
‘Gotta work on that, honeybuns,’ she thought to herself, turning his annoying pet name back at him.
“Yeah, it’s good enough.”
Alexa started to walk towards her boyfriend.
“You must tell me what your secret is, oh wait, selling other people’s stuff!”
The words seemed to sting. Face to face now, Alexa looked him straight in the eye.
“Bastard!”
She brought her hand up as if to slap his face, but at the last minute raked her nails over her cheek. Four paper-thin, red lines appeared on his cheek, swelling slowly. His hand touched his cheek, fingers coming away wet.
“It’s just biz, honeybuns, you know how it is?”
A knew found his crotch. Luka crumpled. Turning on her heel, she called back to him.
“You have an hour to tell my father, or I will.”
As soon as she got out of the building, she nearly collapsed against the side of the building, tears streaming down her face. As soon as she felt able, she ran to a spot that only she knew. When she got to her little cubbyhole, she curled up and simply cried. She was shattered. She had no idea how long she lay there, but eventually she had no more tears to shed. Drying her eyes, she cleaned up her face, using a piece of metal as a mirror. She brushed off her clothes and started to walk home. She was wondering whether Luka had actually gone to her father, or whether she would have to break the bad news to her father. Running through what she was going to say in her head, she rounded the corner of her house. Two unfamiliar cars were parked outside the house. Alexa pushed open the front door.
“… Don’t know what you are talking about.” Her father’s voice sounded irritated.
“We’re not accusing you of anything, Alexei, just letting you know. We’ll need your keycards.”
“Of course! Does that include Alexa’s?”
“If you don’t mind…”
“Alexa, this man needs your keycard to the store!”
Alexa was shocked, how did he know she was there? She took out the card and handed it to her father.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Roberts here is going to be looking into the store’s accounts. He’s had a tip off for illegal trading.”
That had been the start of it. Luka had set her father up to take the fall for his activities. The narrow minded officials followed every breadcrumb that Luka laid out for them. Alexa remembered packing up her belongings and putting them into the back of their car. It was a surprisingly small amount, even for a small family. She remembered the last time she saw Luka’s face. She walked over and looking him right in the eye, told him that if she ever saw him again, he wouldn’t live to see the next day.
She finished off with “This ain’t biz, it’s personal, honeybuns!”
Nothing says Thank You like a 9mm to the back of the head, and even that would be too good for that lousy, two-faced snake.
(June 28th, 2016) Somewhere North of Night City, California
Alexa slowly came awake. Something pulled at her senses. Her eyes flickered open. Sitting right beside her on the seat was the guy that she had mistaken for Luka earlier. He didn’t notice her eyes open, he was distracted by her cleavage. He was panting hard, staring down her top. He was so close that she could smell his fetid breath and see the dandruff flakes in his hair. His hand was on her thigh. He may have been relatively okay from a distance but up close, he turned her stomach.
“Excuse me!” She tried to get his attention.
He looked up. She shivered as she saw the trail of drool running down his chin. He had a manic look in his eye.
“Hello, Darlin’,” he answered, eyes never leaving her chest.
“Would you mind moving your hand and getting the hell outta my seat?” Alexa tried to stay calm.
“It’s a free country, I can sit where I want, darlin’,” his voice made her shiver in fear.
Hiding the penknife in her hand, she extended one of the blades. It wasn’t very big, but she hoped it would be big enough. Wrapping her hand around it, she braced herself for what she was going to do.
“Well, why don’t we make this trip more interesting.” Alexa hoped that her intentions weren’t showing through her voice.
“That’s more like it, darlin’!”
She slowly ran her hand up his leg, pretending to be interested. Reaching the junction of his thighs, she pressed the knife up against his trousers. She was lucky that he wasn’t wearing jeans. She felt the knife tip pop through the fabric. He must have noticed it too, cause he changed his focus. He was now looking down. Alexa calmly informed him that she had a knife at his crotch and if he still wanted use of his equipment then he should retake his seat on the other side of the bus and keep the hell away from her. Alexa watched him back away fast, falling from the seat when he reached the edge.
“Psycho bitch,” he yelled at her, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Pervert,” she called back. “Pick on someone legal!”
After they got over the surprise entertainment, a few smiles and small laughs were noticeable, before they returned to their duties. Alexa settled back down in her seat. She was very careful not to fall asleep again on the bus.
Sometime later, she was disturbed by the armored men. They had put aside their card game and were now putting on heavy armor jackets. They walked over to the gun placements and slid the metal covers off. She watched as each of the guns were pushed forward so that the noses were outside the bus. Alexa was puzzled.
“What’s going on?” she asked the closest guard.
“Coming into Night City, getting ready for it.”
Alexa must have looked puzzled, because the guard just laughed.
“Wow, you really are fresh meat. Hope you wise up real fast baby, for your own sake.”
Alexa looked out the window. The dust had settled, they were on a real road again. Ruined buildings were passed by the bus. A hint of silver caught her eye. The guard opened fire as the first bullet hit the side of the bus. Coming out of everywhere, there were motorcycles, each of the guys on them had at least a shotgun or a machine gun. Riding with one hand on the motorbikes handlebars and one of the trigger, they attacked the bus. The fight was loud, noisy but short. Alexa watched as the .50 cal bullets made short work of bikes, arms, legs, heads. She had never seen such violence. What made it worse was that the guys on the bus were roaring at the drivers of the motorbikes, and cheering when another one went down.
The motorbike gang stopped giving chase after about 15 minutes and 17 members went down. Pulling the guns back inside, the bus rumbled on. The guards were exchanging high fives and comparing kill totals. Alexa was shocked. This was nothing like the world that Ana had described. It was vicious, it was brutal, it was inhuman. She started thinking that it was a mistake to come here.
The smell of gunfire still lingered in the bus as they pulled into Night City station. Gathering her stuff together, she joined the pushing queue trying to get off the bus as quickly as possible. As her foot touched the ground, she took in her surroundings. The station was a plexiglass and plastacrete disaster, its architectural style dating back to the early 1990’s when angular design was in style. It looked to be propping itself up by two unstable pillars. Inside rows upon rows of lockers stretched as far as the eye could want to see. People pushed past each other with no regard for their fellow person, each in a rush to get to some unknown destination. She got off the bus and started walking towards the heart of the building. She kept looking for her sister while taking in every thing around her.
Ana was standing overshadowed by Dusk when she caught sight of her sister. She looked a little dusty, disheveled but good. Her brown hair was caught up in a pony tails and she was dressed in faded denim jeans and a white shirt. She had a single bag on her back. She looked overwhelmed by the whole place. Ana felt really guilty about all the emails that she sent to Lexa telling her how great Night City was. Lexa would soon find out that Night City could be the closest thing to Hell on Earth. Nodding to Dusk, they started walking over to Alexa.
Alexa was staring around her when she heard her sister’s voice behind her. Turning, she went straight into the open arms of her sister. She had not seen Ana for over a year. Hugging her tightly, even with her eyes closed, she noticed that her sister had lost a lot of weight, maybe a little too much. Opening her eyes, she noticed the makeup covered marks on her sisters neck. She wondered what had happened to Ana. She suddenly noticed the hulking guy to the side. She held onto Ana as she turned to face him.
“Lexa, this is Dusk, my boyfriend. Dusk, this is my sister, Alexa.”
Smiling, Dusk welcomed her. “Welcome to the City, kid.”