Chapter 1:

A Ride Through the Night

The Artificial Lights of R'veno


The lights were so silent, yet the night roared.

A shot rang out, and Rei ducked, veering her motorbike to the right as a blast of neon color hit the concrete wall next to her. Sparks flew, and quickly faded, leaving only a charred black imprint in the stone, but Rei did not stay long enough to pay attention to detail. She leaned forward, over the handlebars of her bike, feeling the wind whipping her clothes back. Just a little farther…

Several bikes came from the other direction, their headlights blinding her as they screeched to a stop, cutting her off. Rei braked, planting her foot on the ground, the pavement threatening to tear off the sole of her shoe.

“Hand over the cargo!” one of the men yelled, pointing a shotgun at her.

Rei reached a hand for the silver case behind her, and considered. The screen inside her helmet showed her analyses of her surroundings, and she glanced around, searching for an escape route.

“Hand it over or we’ll shoot!”

“Fine, just give me ten seconds!” she snapped, her voice distorted by her helmet. She began reaching for the case again, her eyes frantically scanning her surroundings.

“Ten…”

The wall on her left was far too high. There were armed bikes before and behind her, and her pistol wasn’t going to be enough to take them all out. But on her right…

“Five…”

On the right was a park, blocked by trees and bushes and benches and other such scenery. The trees posed a danger, but the shrubbery, they were only bushes… She pulled back, and began to rev up her engines.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing?” The men stopped mid-count, all raising their weapons.

“Later, skaters.” She accelerated, swerving to the right. As the trees came rushing towards her, she realized that, perhaps, this wasn’t the best idea. Too late. Three seconds left…

“Apprehend him!” one of the men shouted.

Too late. It was far too late to stop, to change her mind. She was fully committed. She quickly pulled her front wheel up, and used the park bench to launch herself into the air, flying over the bushes, and landed onto the pavement on the other side. Not as smooth as a ramp, but it did its job.

A couple of shots sounded out, shattering the air around her, but she ducked, veering wildly to the left, the sleeve of her jacket nearly brushing the ground. If she rode straight she could make it right out of the park, and be back in the main part of the city.

She could hear the men shouting behind her, trying to get back on her tail, but she had already gotten a head start, and she quickly sped off onto the streets, losing herself in the traffic.

It seemed that her acceleration wasn’t working as smoothly as it used to, and her wheels felt a little loose. No matter, she would get that checked out later. For now, she had to get rid of those gangsters for good, and make it back to her destination.

She could hear their bikes revving in the distance, and a quick glance in her side mirror showed that they were indeed trying to make it through the sea of traffic. She pressed herself closer to the handlebars, and weaved past several vehicles, heading straight for the intersection. The light hadn’t turned, she couldn’t cross…

Screw that. If she wanted to make it, she could make it. She floored the accelerator, but there was no way to go any faster, so she simply bit her lip and went for it. If she died, she died, and took the cargo with her to a fiery death.

But luck was on her side. She launched herself off a speed bump into the air, and managed to make it through a gap in the flow of traffic, landing on the other side. It was close, though, one misstep, and she would have been dead.

It appeared that the gangsters were not going to follow her, at least, not until the light turned. She had bought herself some time, enough for her to reliably escape, and that was all she needed so she sped on, allowing herself to breathe a sigh of relief.

As Rei arrived back at the bounty shop, a dingy store and curtains pulled over the windows, the walls gray, the roof low and downward-sloped, the night air had quieted to nothing but a hum of vehicles and machines in the background. She parked her bike near the entrance, removing her helmet and shaking out her hair, inhaling a breath of fresh air, well, however fresh it was here in the city, and put on a black cap, pulling the visor low over her face. Time to go claim her bounty.

She picked up the silver case and went inside, placing it on the countertop. “I’m back.”

“Rei, dear. Good to see you.” The shopkeeper gave her a thin smile, and opened the case, analyzing its contents. “Was there any trouble?”

“Oh, plenty,” Rei replied, checking the burns and scrapes she had gathered on her hand. “I’m going to have to bring my bike to the shop later.”

The shopkeeper tsk-tsked, then shut the case. “All seems well. Here’s your payment.”

A couple hundred credits were added to her account. Rei tapped her cap and bid the shopkeeper goodbye, and headed out.

As she mounted her bike again, wondering what to have for dinner, the hair on her arms suddenly stood on end, and a sudden darkness fell over her. She looked up, trying to see what was going on.

All the lights had gone out.

In the absence of neon, a chill wind brushed through the city, and Rei shivered. But then the lights flickered on again, their pink and yellow and green comforting presence illuminating the dirty street again.

Maybe she was just imagining things. Rei shook herself and put her helmet on again, planning a quiet route to head to the bike shop. It was probably nothing. Maybe someone was messing around with the power grid. Who knew.

But still, something uneasy remained in her heart.

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