The great golden desert

A lot has changed over the centuries, breakthroughs in technology have advanced drastically over time, increasing human lifespans as well as quality of life. That is... if you have money of course. Plagued by natural disasters that terraformed the planet, many cities were created to withstand the destruction and act as a utopia for mankind however, those who created these cities deemed some to be 'unfit' for their new, better society and left much of the population to die.

Many managed to survive despite the harsh environments, although after many generations it has lead to mutations of the plants, animals and people. After many years the outside of the biggest cities had been named the 'lawless sector' as it quickly became a place without government  and order, a breeding ground for bandits and gunslingers alike. To the very west of this 'lawless sector' lies a grand desert that reaches past the horizon and glitters a golden hue under the scorching sun, like in an old western many sought out to make this grand frontier their new home only to be met with numerous raiders hunting them down for their supplies. It was from this intense environment that the first wave of gunslingers gave rise, some brandished their weapons in protection of their homes and families whilst others fought and killed for their own benefits.

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As the burning sand of the desert is blown across the golden plains we come to focus upon a small barren town, the few inhabitants that are littered around the main road looked on with sunken faces full of fear as a lone stranger makes their way towards the northmost entrance of the town. They walked with a steady pace towards the loudest building nearby where a group could be seen through the windows laughing and drinking away, the stranger wore an old cloak that obscured their face from any curious enough to peek out from their hiding place between the adjacent buildings, leaving only one arm and their lower body exposed a glint of metal can be seen on their hip.
Looking within the noisy building that seemed to be the strangers destination it resembled a mix between a saloon and a more modern bar/club, with neon lights prominent throughout the building highlighting the tables and bar with a deep red glow. A group can be seen to the side gambling away with stacks of credits and other valuables, others are surrounded by multiple glasses and bottles of different coloured liquids laughing loudly with a hazy look in their eyes. Finally towards to back of the bar sat a large man wearing a brown coat over a black vest and white shirt, many golden ornaments decorated his hands and hung lazily over his neck gleaming under the natural light that shot through the windows. The face of the large man resembled that of a boar with two large tusks protruding out of his mouth labelling him as one of the 'inhumans' who after generations of living in this harsh environment have mutated. The beastly man's eyes looked aimlessly towards the ceiling with pupils dilated, the veins in his neck bulging with an unnatural glow as many small containers no bigger than a AAA battery and filled with a murky purple liquid lay on the table in front of him, half appearing to be empty with only a few drops of its former contents inside and the lettering 'L-EX' printed on the side of the vials.

Besides the man lies the body of a woman sprawled out across the floor, like the larger man her veins bulged and glowed an unnatural colour, lifeless eyes stared out across the room towards the entrance as if begging for some divine intervention to come and rescue her from her torment. 'SWISH' the door to the bar bursts open as a silhouetted figure can be seen standing in the entranceway, they briefly scanned the room taking note of all inside before making their way towards the bar where a bartender stood nervously watching from behind the counter. The previous lively atmosphere immediately died down as everyone present watched the stranger move towards the counter and as he sat at one of the empty stools all eyes fell upon the large man at the back of the room, waiting to see his reaction to the sudden appearance. 

"W..W..What can I get for you s..stranger?" asks the man behind the counter, his hair grey and balding at the top as his eyes nervously switched between the stranger and the large man at the back of the room. "....." silence was all he got as a reply as they just sat in place as if waiting for something to happen, on que the large man got up from his position and slowly crept towards the stranger. Stopping behind them the differences in physique became all the more apparent, whilst by no means small the stranger was dwarfed in size as boar like man stood at a whopping 8ft tall making him all the more intimidating, "well look a' this boys" he pivoted his upper body to turn towards all the other patrons of the bar with a mocking tone to his voice, "it looks like we gotta' reel tuff guy on our hands!" A series of mocking laughter came in response but the stranger showed no reaction as they simply remained still.

"Now you may not be aware o' this, but as the one who owns this lil town I've established a few laws that needa' be followed!" As he speaks the lackeys behind him jeer and cheer on as they watch the situation, "HAHA you tell him!", "AWWW looks like they're gunna cry! HAHAHA!", "yeah you tell em' Boris!" at that final remark the strangers head perked up if only a little bit before they tilted their head forward and mumbled something under their breath. "Hwat? cat gotcha tongue or U just needa' drink to work up the nerve, BWAHAHAHAHA!" Turning towards the others present the now named Boris laughs loudly.

During this time the head of the stranger slowly turns around to face the rest of the room, the shadow cast by their hood concealing their face from everyone present.

All except for one woman who lay motionless on the floor...

As the strangers head panned the room their gaze lingered upon her form for but a brief moment longer, taking note of her current condition, of her brown hair and youthful face as well as the numerous marks that littered her body. It was in this moment that her eyes met two amber orbs that gazed back at her from underneath their veil of shadows, she stared with her lifeless eyes slowly beginning filling with hope before the moment ended as quickly as it began and the gaze of the stranger once again faced forwards.

However... something had changed.

"I'm not much for drinking," the laughing suddenly stops as all eyes fall towards the figure of the stranger, who continues to look forwards without moving. "Huh, is that right?" 'SMACK' as soon as he finished those words Boris 'the bad boar' slammed his fist against the counter denting it with his robotic fist, "Those your last words tuff guy?"

'BANG'

No one present was able to register what exactly had happened, all they saw was the aftermath. The stranger had their arm extended upwards, a smoking gun within their grip whilst Boris 'the bad boar', a ruthless man feared by all within a hundred miles for his unmatched strength and brutality fell lifelessly towards the floor. Everything went silent for the longest time, speechless to the fact their leader had just been gunned down in the blink of an eye, "anybody else?" it was only the culprit who was able to find their voice as they turned towards the rest of the bar.

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A long moment had passed since the initial gunshot and the stranger now made his way out of the bar, stepping over pieces of broken glass and the bodies of those who tried to prevent them from leaving. Reaching the doorway they gave one last look back into the building towards the figure of a woman leaning against the far wall of the room, an old cloak covering her form, "...thank..you..." her words were no more than a breathless whisper and they seemed to reach the figure, stopping them just before they stepped foot out the building. They looked back for only a moment before continuing on their path.

The sun was still high into the sky as the stranger walked down the dirt path towards the entrance of the town, many of the inhabitants had come to gaze at them as they left the bar in one piece and even more had their curiosity get the best of them after all the commotion peeking through the open door and broken windows and coming upon the many unconscious or dead bodies. Without their cloak the features of the stranger became apparent to all who watched them exit. Revealed to be a younger man with messy, shoulder length, burning red hair and piercing amber eyes are what stand out to most but if they were to look closer they would take notice of the numerous scars that littered their skin, a tapestry on his skin telling the history of every fight, of every struggle they had faced before this.

Continuing on the townspeople can only watch his steadily retreating figure shrink off into the distance.

'PHEW'   "What a day..."