Moon City

by Benjamin Kane Ethridge

“Look who’s talking,” Dean replied with a well-meaning grin.

  “I’m heading back. I’m fried and tired. We can catch up later today.”

  “Isn’t it almost night? What about the morning—?” Dean stopped himself as he realized what he was saying.

  “Got a while to go before morning. It’s not for hours. Night is very long. You’ll see. Take your Constalife. Follow the dosage.”

  Dean licked his lips, hating every moment of this new assignment. He just wanted to be home with his woman. “Want me to drive you back to your place?”

  “No,” said Rick. “I’m walking. Just head up to your room. I’m sure Limbus left you some files.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.”

  Rick clasped Dean on the shoulder. “Let’s reboot and I’ll call you for a rendezvous later.”

  “Be safe,” said Dean, patting his friend’s hand quickly, feeling a bit awkward for being so sharp earlier.

  “Always,” Rick replied and pulled away, making his way through the tavern to disappear out the front door.

  Chapter 6

  I never made it back to the Deitii corpse in time. The reg police had already collected it and ruined my chances of finishing the meal. So instead of wasting time being angry over that, I continued a different hunt.

  I reached the façade of the mercenary’s apartment building, which housed a series of tinted, oblong black windows in the side of a massive boulder. I held his LIMBUS, INC. business card and took a large sniff of it—of him. Yes, this was the place. I slowly smiled and tucked the card in my back pocket. I checked the fourth floor and one of the windows flashed in my enhanced vision. The ghostly tracer images of the mercenary’s movements through the apartment I saw clearly through the walls. The room at the end of the hall… of course.

  “I would have thought Limbus could afford better accommodations for their contract killers,” I said under my breath.

  I walked to the front entry way and tugged on the double glass doors. They didn’t budge. There was a small guard window set in the stone façade just to the left. The guard behind the glass was busy playing a puzzle game, Returno, which looked like a silver and black boomerang version of Earth’s Rubik’s Cube.

  “Excuse me,” I said to the guard, who looked up at once, annoyed.

  “Yes, can I help you?”

  “I've forgotten my key.”

  “Looks like you've forgotten more than that, buddy.” He sized me up suspiciously. “That door is chip-set. You can't get in unless you've been chipped.”

  “It's my girlfriend's place. It’s my first time visiting. She said she’d leave me a key.”

  He snorted. “You must have the wrong complex.”

  “No, this is it. Maybe I misunderstood her?”

  “She can buzz you in if that’s the case.” His eyes lowered back down to his puzzle for a second.

  “Darn,” I said with a smile. “She's not here. She sent me to get some things from her place.”

  “That’s no problem. She can buzz you in remotely from a phone or computer.”

  I bit my lip momentarily and turned away, trying not to let my frustration affect my mood. “Thank you for your help,” I told him.

  I walked down the street in the blinding sunshine cast down through the open cavern ceiling. This area was extremely sunny, as was everywhere outdoors on Moon City, save for the Midnight Sea on the opposite hemisphere. Large umbrella shade posts were common fixtures constructed by tax dollars, and this street had plenty. I wanted to regroup and figure a way into the apartment complex without too much fuss. I was nearly immortal now, but that didn’t mean I wanted attention and setbacks. I still needed more of the Deitii children.

  I walked to the nearest shade post and ducked underneath the black frond canopy. A skinny, runt of a kid leaned there against the pole. He nodded approval at my seeking shade. At once I knew he was wiser than a lot of other street urchin brats.

  “I get tired of all the light on this moon,” he told me. “The caves are not real dark though, you know? It's like being locked in a closet during the day. I went to the other side of the moon, to the Midnight Sea. Now that was true dark.”

  “Never been there.”

  “You from another system?”

  “Nope,” I said. “Been here all my life.”

  “What? Wow! That's crazy. I'm eleven and I've been to the ocean here like twenty times. Do you live in this complex?” asked the kid. “I’ve been here forever. I didn’t see you move in.”

  Interesting.

  “The chip they gave me stopped working and that guard is being a jerk. He won't let me in.”

  “The chips always work.”

  “Mine must be broken.”

  “They never break,” the stubborn boy insisted.

  I glared at him and he softened. “They're strict here. Like my parents. They're strict too. They wouldn't like me talking to a stranger. They think everybody is dangerous.”

  I folded my arms. “I moved here a day and a half ago,” I told him. “Hey, if you can let me in, I'll go to my place and give you five Ganymede coins. It’s all I have right now.”

  The kid canted his head and narrowed his eyes. “You a pervert or something? Why would you give me so much? That would pay for three star-shuttles to the Midnight Sea.”

  “I have plenty of money. I'm tired and I just want to go to sleep in my apartment, you know?”

  “If you have so much money, why do you live here?”

  I swallowed my impatience. “I have money because I don't spend it on lavish apartments. I don't part with my money easily. If my stupid chip worked, you can bet I wouldn't be handing out money to the likes of you.”

  “No need to get nasty. I'll let you in. Follow me.”

  I walked behind the child, a bit wary and wondering if I just shouldn’t start eliminating every problem here, snuffing out so many flames like this and like that… For all I knew, the mercenary would make his way back here soon. I could smell his wounds, hear his restless heartbeat, and I knew he wasn’t far, but thankfully, his scent was not intensifying, which meant he was staying put somewhere… and what was that astringent odor…? Oh yeah, alcohol… The man was having a drink.

  Good, have a few. Give me some time to find out more about you.

  “You promise you’re going to pay me?” the kid asked, not looking back.

  “I swear to God,” I replied with a snort. “But are you sure you want to spend the money on all those trips? For some dumb ocean? A big, bacteria laden puddle?”

  “It's not dumb,” he replied indignantly. “And I’ve swam it a lot. Never got sick once.”

  “Most kids would use the money on something more valuable.”

  “Like what?” he asked me.

  “Shit if I know. Bubblegum?”

  He scowled over his shoulder. “Don't be condescending.”

  “That’s a big word.”

  The kid stopped and turned to face me. “My mom says that to my dad all the time. He's a mechanical engineer.”

  “That explains it.” I gestured for him to move on and he did, shaking his head.

  We approached the double doors and the guard’s voice promptly piped through the intercom.

  “What are you doing, Carl?” The guard’s voice sounded dry and, if possible, even less warm than before.

  “This is my friend. I’m taking him inside.”

  “Yeah?” The guard looked at me critically. “What happened to your girlfriend, buddy?”

  I bit my lip hard for a second, really considering breaking that window and pulling the stupid man through the broken shards neck-first. “She's a friend of Carl's family,” I explained. “He's bailing her out, since her phone is broken and she can’t leave work to buzz me in. All these questions are really ridiculous. This isn’t a military installation. And you know, I will be reporting this incompetence with the chipsets.”

  “You're the first one it hasn't worked on.”

  We ignored him and
the kid named Carl swiped his wrist in front of the glass doors and they swished open without hesitation. I walked inside the apartment complex at his side, the door briskly shutting behind. The lobby was made of rock and a small waterfall spilled down the centermost wall. Blue strobe lights flashed behind it, making the water appear to move in bizarre, random increments. A stainless steel elevator at the far end of the room pulsed with the blue reflection.

  “What was that stuff about your girlfriend?” the kid asked.

  “A lie. When my chip stopped working, I made up a story in the hopes of him letting him in. I had to stay with it.”

  The kid let out a big laugh. “Fat chance. That guy has nothing else to do. Keeping someone out probably made his day.”

  I made for the elevator. “Sure. I'll meet you back down here.”

  “Oh no, no. I'm going with.”

  I gave him a critical look. “You'd go into a strange man's apartment?”

  “Hell no, but I'll wait in the hallway,” said Carl. “I'm not getting ripped off here.”

  “Smart.” I nodded in genuine approval.

  Great. Little bastard’s like a wad of glue between my fingers.

  I followed Carl to the elevator and the door parted automatically. We got in and I pushed the button for the fourth floor. We rode up quietly. When the doors opened, we stepped into the hall. The mercenary’s reek made me dizzy as I directed my attention to the door at the end of the hallway. Briefly it flashed silver across my vision. I had to get rid of this damned kid or he’d know I was breaking in.

  “So which is yours?” he asked.

  I dropped my hand on his bony shoulder. “I'm so sorry. I forgot.”

  He backed away suspiciously from my touch. “Forgot what?”

  I patted my pants pocket and rattled the change inside. “Been a long day and I'm so absent-minded. I put some of those coins in my pocket this morning. Sorry for making you come up here for nothing.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled forth the promised coins. I’d been saving them since childhood and there were plenty more where that came from. I had no vices, so I hardly had need for much. Carl watched me spill the coins into his outstretched hand, where they rang musically.

  “Quite a payday,” he mused. “I don't even think my dad brings this much home.”

  I offered him an impatient smile.

  Carl turned halfway from me. “Yeah, the C.P. kind of screws Dad that way. He says they do it to all their engineers.”

  In that moment, I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear the slurping sound of my own guts spilling to the tile floor. “What... did you say?”

  Carl was still intent on his haul and only slightly looked up from the shining currency in his palm. “They screw their engineers.”

  “No,” I said with a swallow. “Where does your dad work?

  “The Commerce Polity. Why?”

  I had to get control of myself. Revenge was a petty feeling and I wasn’t petty. I was more than this. More than anyone, anywhere.

  “Nothing,” I replied. “Never mind. Here take one more.”

  I extended out one more coin, and Carl reached forward to retrieve it. I couldn’t stop what happened next. My hand closed around his and I saw his mouth open to scream. I pushed my other hand over his mouth to silence him and force him against the wall. I could feel engorged blood vessels and a drumming heart inside the child’s body. They were pulsing, pounding. I heard their terrible beating and picked up on every neuron firing as silvery snaps across his young brain. Just from their electrical recipes, I could distinguish the memories there. I saw a quick montage of flashbacks from Carl’s life: his obsessive-compulsive father scolding him about his laundry basket being too full, his mother crying because she burnt something in the oven and Carl lovingly hugging her in response, his bullying by other kids at Moon City Primary School. All the times spent alone in the enduring sunlight, wanting darkness, wanting peace. Many tears. The words, almost hypnotic to my sensibilities, crossing his lips and his thoughts: THERE IS NO GOD. THERE IS NO GOD.

  I couldn’t believe it.

  Tears actually lifted in my eyes and spilled from the corners.

  “You... don't believe in me?” I asked him, not understanding the level of heartbreak from the idea. Carl struggled to escape but my hold was powerful enough to secure a few grown men.

  “I'm GOD reborn,” I told him with a measure of sadness. “Didn't you know that? Couldn’t you tell?”

  Carl bit down on my finger and blood promptly spilled through his teeth. I didn’t budge and hardly felt it. Dread filled his little brown eyes.

  “Of course you don't believe in me.” I couldn’t contain my wrath. “You are spawned from the C.P.'s ilk. You. All of you. Walking, talking trash.”

  Carl shook his head violently, trying to tear my finger off. It wouldn’t go. It hardly bled anymore, it was healing so quickly. I pulled him forward and slammed him back against the cavern wall. “You really don't believe in me, do you? You wouldn't ever love me, even though I'd watch over you. I'd make sure you were never alone in the endless sunlight again. Tell me you love me. Prove it and I'll always love you too.”

  I slipped my hand around Carl’s throat. He was quiet but locked eyes with me.

  “I love you.”

  “You don't mean it,” I said back.

  Carl squeaked. “I do.”

  “Bullshit…”

  The young boy began to sob. “I love you, but you're hurting me.”

  Saline crept into my nostrils from his tears, from his terror, and I realized I’d lost control. My frenzy subsided and sanity restored itself—or had I finally been sane for the first time? I wasn’t so sure yet. I released my hold on the child, and I cleared my throat shamefully.

  “I'm sorry. I—I was in the Ganymede wars,” I lied, “and sometimes I see things that aren't there. I go a little crazy. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to harm you.”

  Carl rubbed his throat. “I'm okay. It's okay.”

  I took a step away from him, and he took the opportunity to bolt down the hall.

  “Hey! Kid! Come back! I said I was sorry!”

  He pushed the elevator button. I started after him. “Stop!”

  “You're too young to have fought in that war. I'm calling the regional police!” he yelled.

  I sprinted hard. The elevator opened and Carl jumped inside, pressing buttons. I reached out for him. The door pinched the tips of my fingers and I withdrew my hand with a growl of frustration. I wagged my hand for a second, the combination of Carl’s and the elevator’s bite finally reminding me about pain.

  “Shit!” I whispered.

  There was no time. I turned quickly and charged down the hall. As I approached the last door, I pulled free my bone knife. I took a long breath before reaching for the mercenary’s door.

  * * *

  It took some time to get into the apartment. Time I didn’t have. I stared inside the mechanical tumblers and sprocket innards, impatient and panicked. Lifting my X-ray sight, I scanned the room, but saw only outlines—my hold on the power had faded significantly—usually I would have more consistency with my abilities, but when I was in starvation mode it flipped on and off like a sputtering power plant, coming to life and then dying again from moment to moment. Until I had a full meal again this would be how it would be. Then I could sustain myself for weeks, for the digestion of Deitii DNA caused exponential growth in power and sustainability. The mercenary who slept in this apartment had denied me that and caused a large bump in the road to my destiny.

  I fought harder to see more inside. A man like this might have set traps.

  Beads of blood formed at the corners of my eyes.

  “Shit,” I muttered, wiping it away. I couldn’t wait long. The regional police were probably on their way. I put my knife in my tunic pocket and considered the pad where the resident swiped his wrist for entry. This was a simpler locking mechanism than the front doors downstairs—the metal catch, which I
could plainly see, was only an eighth inch thick. I’d broken bricks with my sight before, alone in my apartment, late at night, lonely, but loving on my new power. That was after a full meal and less than an hour or so. I’d spent so much today and was running on empty.

  You have to, I told myself. You made it this far.

  I pressed my teeth into my lower lip and stared at the catch inside the door, looking at every atom at its center—then I narrowed my eyes, focusing harder until the atoms began wiggling and struggling to escape my vision—they needed to make room for the path I forged through them. Many of them reconnected stubbornly, but I kept on, until I heard a loud snap inside the door…

  That wasn’t what hurt me though.

  It was keeping the small piece of metal separated, in suspension, and not letting it shatter. The whole point here was to enter the apartment undetected. I could have just punched through the door, but then the mercenary would know I’d been here and what good would that do me?

  No.

  I had to reunite the atoms, and that meant after I pushed the door open with the toe of my shoe, I had to account for every atom that had been displaced. Taking them all into my frail mind, I shut my eyes and drew them together. I ignored the blood rushing from my nose, eyes, and beneath my fingernails.

  A louder snap.

  The door shuttered in its frame.

  I sighed.

  I tasted my bloody vomit.

  There was no time to regain myself. I slumped briefly in the threshold and used the bottom of my tunic to wipe away the blood from my face. I was woozy and stumbled into the apartment, heeling the door closed behind me.

  The apartment was a simple one-bedroom, one-small kitchen, one-living room, one-bathroom-type deal—not too different from where I spent most of my time downtown. All the furnishings were drab grays and browns. A can of baked beans sat on the kitchen counter with a spoon inside. An empty Tres Exis bottle accompanied it.

  “So this is where a Limbus assassin hangs his hat. You woke up here today, thinking about killing me... Didn't you?” I moved into the kitchen area and promptly began opening drawers, mumbling through my search, “Screw that. Screw that. Screw that. Screw this.”