Reapers

by Ain Soph

  Edric pulls onto the last road leading toward the Void, and I sigh into his back and close my eyes. We don’t have much farther to go, but I’m exhausted. I haven’t slept since Mori’s, and I need rest. My mind and body feel like they’ve been active without pause and I need a break, if not to sleep, then just to get a hold on myself and regroup. Even when I’m daydreaming, my mind is still filled with thoughts of the Reapers and Project Artian. I wonder what Edric daydreamed about during the ride. Does he daydream? For me, thinking and imagining are my only escapes from reality (even if they’re still nightmares). The books in the Remnant compound help me to dream, but I have no idea what became of the compound after Ulric destroyed the militia. I know that Edric has had his fair share of tragedy, but with it, he seems to thrive. He probably doesn’t have to dream to find contentment in his reality. Edric just lives the life he wants to and is all the happier for it. While I, despite all my efforts not to, seem to be trapped in a cycle of overworking myself and then retreating into a shell. I may currently be traversing the downward spiral of my cycle, but at least it’s not the violent instability I fell into after Lucie’s disappearance- the very reason I stay away from people now.

  Up head, I can faintly make out a city skyline and I tighten my arms around Edric in excitement. Finally, we’re almost there. I’m ready to find Dryden, get something to eat, and take a long nap. I don’t know what we’re going to do once we find Dryden, but right now, I surprisingly don’t care. I’m just focused on taking things one step at a time. How to approach Dryden is still a mystery, though. First and foremost, I know I want to get answers about Isoline. That’s the main reason I want to talk to him anyway. So, I’ll question him about Isoline, the locket, and the neighborhood Isoline showed me- the one he supposedly lived in with her. For all I know, he won’t have answers for anything, but for now, until we actually talk, the possibilities are endless.

  I still fell a pang in my chest when I think of Isoline, but the longer time goes by, the more removed I feel from the situation. Tacking on the new information that Isoline wasn’t even Dryden’s sister, I’m not sure how to feel. Was she a good person who needed help, or a bad guy who was just part of the problem? I don’t know if I’m subconsciously building a wall around my emotions or if I’m truly just that numb to the situation. Since my meeting with Ulric, there’s been a darkness creeping in that I’ve been struggling to hold at bay, and best way to fight it, is to stay numb and block out emotions.

  Edric stops the bike near the outskirts of the city and hops off. I mimic his movements in confusion, “Why are we stopping here? Wouldn’t it make more sense to take the bike into the city?”

  Edric looks at me and sighs, “I’ve only been to a city once, a couple years ago.” My ears perk up to catch every word he’s saying. Maybe this city is where he disappeared to all those years ago. “Regardless of my inexperience here, I’ve heard enough rumors to know that things are a lot different in cities than they are in the countryside and villages. Dryden’s shop is probably going to be on the outskirts anyway because the only people with vehicles are going to be from out of town. It’s usually just mercenaries, leaders, and aristocrats like the ones in the Remnants that have any reason to drive anywhere. But no one in the city owns a vehicle. There’s just no need for it. Setting up shop here is great because it’s a nice, central location, but Dryden’s not going to be getting a lot of business from his neighbors.”

  I’m still confused by Edric’s words, though, and when he starts walking, I pull him back so I can get more answers. “I don’t understand. How does that explain why we’re not taking the bike into the city? We’d look like mercenaries? So what. We are mercenaries.”

  Edric looks at me and bites his bottom lip, something he’s been doing a lot of lately. I’m sure he’s thinking about how to best explain the environment of a city to someone who’s never been there. I feel bad for pressing him so intensely, but I want to know exactly what we’re walking into. “Mercenaries aren’t really respected in cities. There aren’t any militias here, so basically all of us just look like barbarians vying for power. And mercenaries seem more like slave labor than anything- like the leader’s just use us to do their dirty work. Militias and mercenaries are the bad guys out here, and if we want to find Dryden, looking like two mercs who just rolled into town isn’t going to do us any favors. Most likely, Dryden’s shop is set up on a need to know basis. Mechanics really keep to themselves. They don’t want rogues knowing where they are. If we’re ‘acceptable’ mercenaries, then we should already know where his shop is.”

  “So basically we’re just going to look like rogues,” I finish for him.

  “Exactly.”

  I nod my head and gaze over the city, “So we’ll just make ourselves look like weary travelers instead?” Edric nods his head and continues toward the Void. I follow closely behind him and wonder how the city works without militias and mercenaries. I haven’t known any other life. Imagining a place where the concept of a mercenary is so foreign, it’s frightening, intrigues me. I’m not sure how to make it look like I’m a nomad instead of a mercenary, so I try hunching my shoulders slightly to make it seem like I’m less confident and play around with different walking styles, until I catch the eye of Edric who’s biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. I huff at him and resume my normal gait and posture. If Edric isn’t changing anything about himself, then I most likely don’t have to either. I’ll just follow his lead, as I’ve annoying been doing since we embarked on this mission.

  Edric and I walk along the sidewalk until we see lights up ahead. We both freeze in shock and awe when we reach the entrance of the city. It’s a complete culture shock for both of us. The Void isn’t in good shape. It’s crumbled and decrepit like the rest of the world, but it’s obvious that the people living in the city do what they can to beautify it. I can see some of the building in, what looks like, mid repair, while others are lit up with solar lights and covered in tin siding the color of warm copper, giving the buildings a cozy glow. Branches hung over openings in the walls and long, velvety curtains hide the people dwelling within them. There are vendors with different salted meats calling out for trades and the streets are packed with people milling between the various stores and homes. Their voices are loud with cheer and energy, a much different sound than the villages surrounding the city. I wonder if they’ve had to contend with any disappearances. Do the people here even know about the Reapers? Are they a threat to them? I immediately envy everything about the city and those lucky enough to live within its limits.

  As mercenaries, we live on the fringes of society, never establishing a permanent home. Even those who try to settle down can never stay in one place too long due to always leaving for the next mission. We’re not a solid part of any community- necessary, but it’s like Edric said, we do the leaders’ dirty work so they don’t have to. And there are not true friendships among us. Mercs are always competing with one another to see who’s best. I remember mercenaries passing through the Remnant compound looking for work, bringing with them elaborate tales of thriving cities and towns far away from the villages. I always thought they were just stories meant to give children hope for a better life. I never thought for one moment that any place could be so serene, not with the Reapers and disappearances always looming overhead. My stomach does a small jump as I’m hit with the excitement that all those stories could be true. All I’ve seen of the world has been darkness, danger, and tragedy. My good memories of the past are overshadowed by the pain I’ve had to endure since my parent’s disappearances. But now, right in front of me, are people laughing, holding hands, and shopping- not just scrounging for supplies, but actual shopping at real stores. I want just a sliver of the happiness they exude.

  I start shifting uncomfortably, though, as I realize how much Edric and I stand out. I’m not sure if we look like mercenaries. We could just seem like new, naive travelers. Regardless, neither of us have the easy going con
fidence and joy of anyone living in the city. No one is openly hostile to us, but whenever people pass by, they make sure to give us a wide berth of space. It’s obvious we’re not from the city, and until we prove that we have no intention of bringing harm upon anyone here, it doesn’t seem like anyone’s going to give us the time of day. I look over at Edric in frustration and he shakes his head at me. We’re finally in the same city as Dryden, but unless we find someone willing to give two outsiders his whereabouts, he’ll be impossible to find.

  “To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self.”

  -Joan Didion

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “I have nothing. It seems like no one with even close to the name Dryden lives in this city.” I drop down next to Edric and let out a frustrated groan.

  “Oh, well, I guess I did a little better than you,” I straighten my back and give Edric a tentative smile, hoping he got at least some tidbit of information we can use. He has much better people skills than I do, so hopefully that means he had much more luck than I did. “Apparently there is a Dryden here, but he’s around thirty five with a bad leg and even worse attitude, which to the absolute delight of the girls who gave me the info, I had to learn about the hard way.” Edric gives a slight shudder before rubbing his chin in an exaggerated manner. I glare at him in frustration, and he responds with a fake sigh. Edric’s supposed to be helping me look for Dryden, but it doesn’t feel like he’s taking any of this seriously. “The girl who told me about Dryden was pretty cute, too. I was so sure she was flirting with me. Now, I’m thinking she was probably just playing on my poor emotions.”

  I sit back on the ground and rest my hands behind me, “Yeah, I’m sure she was flirting, Edric. It couldn’t be that you’re just a tad arrogant, right?” I roll my eyes and groan. Our search is going nowhere. I knew it would be tough to find him because of our status as outsiders, but I didn’t expect to still come up with nothing after spending the entire day searching for him.

  After Edric and I were done taking in the view of city, we decided to split up and ask around to see if we could pinpoint Dryden’s whereabouts. We knew he was in the city, but the Void is massive and the chances of us finding his auto shop by just walking around are slim. I kept the locket with me and showed his picture to the local, asking if they recognized the guy in the photo, and Edric walked around pretending he had a bike that needed a little bit of work done. His plan was a little riskier, because by admitting he had a bike, Edric was basically telling everyone he’s a mercenary, but we figured it was worth a shot. Both of us were met with little to no compliance though. Eventually, I even took a page from Isoline’s book and pretended I was Dryden’s sister. Most people said they didn’t recognize the picture. Others said they never heard the name. A smaller percentage of people just turned their noses at me and said there used to be a Dryden in town, but he left months ago. It’s good Edric and I know for a fact that he’s here, otherwise we probably would have left by now.

  “Do you think maybe Dryden isn’t here anymore? I know that Cassi or whoever said he got a message from him before we left, but we’re coming up with nothing, Lux.” Edric looks at me in doubt but I shake my head in disagreement.

  “I think Casimir is a trustworthy source, and I highly doubt people would be so cautious about giving information on some guy who was just passing through. No, these people are his family. Even though he hasn’t been here long, they want to protect him, meaning this place is his home. He’s here, Edric. We just have to keep looking.” I take a deep breath to steel myself and nod my head. I have no idea how we’re going to find Dryden, but I’m determined enough to keep trying. I’ve faced worse odds than this while looking for the Reapers. I need a win, and Dryden’s going to be it for me.

  Edric sighs, “Alright, Lux. I believe you. I don’t care about Casimir’s word, but if you think Dryden’s here, then I’m with you. How do you expect to find him, though? To be honest, I thought things were going to be a lot easier than this. They barely even know this guy. I can’t believe the people here are protecting him so much.”

  I muster up a smile and glance toward Edric, “Your charm didn’t work as well as you thought it would?” Edric grins and shrugs his shoulders, but doesn’t respond. Both of us are busy wracking our brains for ways to find Dryden.

  I’m out of ideas. I didn’t have too many to begin with. I thought the picture would lead me directly to Dryden, so I didn’t make a plan for if it didn’t help us at all. Neither of us know what to do, and it’s a foreign feeling- for both of us. Even when I had dead ends on my search for the Reapers, I would usually just head back to the Remnants to pick up a mission from them. Now though, I don’t have a militia, my home is gone, and there’s no other mission other than finding Dryden.

  I know that as mercenaries, Edric and I have a whole slew of skills we can use to to get the information we need- intimidation tactics, interrogation, even torture. It’s a lawless land and as long we don’t attract too much attention, we can use whatever tools we have at our disposal. I glance at Edric who’s caught up in deep thought. His chin is resting on a balled up fist, and his eyes have a distant look in them, as if he’s focusing on something far away. I doubt he would be any more comfortable than I am using the “usual” mercenary tactics, especially on innocent people.

  “Hey, Edric…” I drift off for a moment before continuing, “What kind of missions do you usually do for the Dagger Corps?”

  Edric looks at me in surprise and shrugs, “Lux, you know I can’t tell you anything about my missions.” I don’t care about the details of his missions. I want to know if he’s ever had to torture anyone. And I know that he can’t tell me much about them, but I still feel irritated when he says it out loud. Maybe it’s because once said we’d tell each other everything, but when he acts like he can’t divulge any details, it feel like Edric’s just rubbing it in my face. Annoying. I glare at him, and Edric bites his lip and searches my face. He’s trying to follow my train of thought. When we were kids, Edric could just look at my expression and immediately know what I was thinking and feeling. I don’t know if he still has that skill after all these years.

  Edric must, because after only a few, short moments, his eyes light up with understanding. “Look, Luxie, if you’re trying to ask if I’m comfortable torturing these people for information, I’m not. That’s not to say there aren’t Dagger Corps mercenaries who don’t do that kind of stuff, but I’m not one of them.” He pauses for a moment before turning to me in slight disbelief, “You didn’t want to...” Edric doesn’t finish his sentence and instead points to a group of people milling around on the street.

  “No! No, no. I just wasn’t sure if you had any experience with extracting information from people. With the Remnants, all of my mission were about searching for objects or literature, and they usually just required sneaking around. And to make things easier, I pretty much had all the information I required from the start.” While I reminisce about my past as a contracted mercenary, I feel Edric shift uncomfortably beside me. “What?” I hold up my hands in question, “What does it matter if I talk about my missions with them? They’re all dead anyway.” My voice takes on a hardened, bitter edge to it and Edric raises his eyebrows in surprise. I probably should hide my emotions better if I don’t want Edric to start worrying about me. That’s the last thing I need.

  Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything about my change in tone and instead focuses on finding Dryden, “Look, Lux, let’s take a break. I saw a library a couple blocks over that has a bunch of pre war books in it. I bet you’d like something like that. Why don’t we head over there for a bit, and after we relax, we can rack our brains for some other plan of action?” Edric cocks his head and raises an eyebrow, waiting for my response.

  “Alright, Edric. Let’s go.” I appreciate his effort in cheering me up, and as I follow behind him, I notice that the people here aren’t avoiding us like they were when we first entered the Vo
id. Still, even though it’s clear that Edric and I aren’t here with violent intent, no one is willing to give up Dryden’s location.

  Edric and I stop outside an ornate building with bent metal pillars holding up its roof and broken stone siding crumbling around its base. The library looks to be in rough shape, but there’s still something irrevocably beautiful about its undeniable history and elegance. Edric grabs my hand and leads me up the stairs through the double door entrance.

  “Now, don’t get lost, kiddo. I’m going to go to the front desk to ask a couple questions about this place,” Edric winks and saunters toward a desk to the left of us where I can just make out a petite brunette slumped at the counter. Her face lights up and she straightens her back when she sees Edric walking her way. I sigh and walk farther into the library. Typical Edric. Always so needy for attention.

  I wander through the shelves and let my eyes rest on multiple volumes of agriculture, history, science, and medicine. Picking up a history book with dark blue binding, I inhale the scent of old books with a smile and crack open the cover. The spine doesn’t see like it’s holding the pages very securely though. Is there a penalty for destroying a library book? If they have real stores, it’s possible that they’d have real jails too.