A Sunrise To Another Day

The stars began to fade, and Rei rose and left. Haze was with Boston; he would take care of him. Even if Haze died tonight, she would not be there to see. For all she knew, they were still lying there on the grassy field, waiting for the stars to rise again.

But her job here was done, and she was dismissed. In a single night, everything had changed. Even though she had thought that it would all stay the same, working odd jobs, eating ramen, staying by herself and out of trouble, everything had been destroyed in an instant. Destroyed, and on its way to be rebuilt again…

All because the lights went out.

And what now? What would the people do? Perhaps the government would command the power system to be repaired, and the scientists and engineers would develop new ways to light up the city. Crime would be rampant, but that, too, would cease, and the people would be left with a mess of broken glass and charred buildings under the daylight sun. People would realize the underlying problems that was rotting the city from within, all out in the open to see, like when fire had burned a house, revealing the maggots inside the walls. And then, perhaps, the people would change. And those in the underworld, like Rei, could begin to live normal lives again.

Once upon a time, Rei had held her parents’ hands as they crossed the street, swinging her feet in the air, and her sister had wanted a turn too, but never got the chance, because soon they were distracted by all the pretty lanterns hanging on the other side. And when Rei looked back on those days of laughter, she felt bitter inside, because she knew that she could never return to those times. She was forced to restart her life then, but because she had nothing, she could only descend deeper into hell.

And now, she was forced to restart her life again, even though there wasn’t much she had lost. But this time, she had resources that she had made from the blood on her hands, and she could start her ascent to heaven, or somewhere better than this pit in R’veno.

And all of this, was thanks to Haze.

The wind in her hair, the open road before her, the peach-colored sky as the sun began to rise… Whenever she saw sunrises these days it had always been obscured by the city’s skyline, and it had been a sign that she had stayed up too late on a job again.

But now? She felt free, freer than she ever did before, soaring down the highway with a pair of wings. Though alarms sounded in the distance from the direction of the city, she was no longer frightened or worried. Everything seemed so much brighter in the daytime and the fresh air.

Maybe she could find a new job, perhaps doing deliveries or something in a village far away, by the sea. She could make trips to and from the city with this stolen bike of hers, bringing food and packages to villagers in the small towns nearby. Perhaps she could settle down, too, in a quiet place, a little house where nobody would bother her. Lighting candles, just for fun…

She wouldn’t have to pick up her pistol again. Not on purpose, anyways. She wouldn’t have to kill for a living anymore.

As she veered around a bend, she was reminded of her ride last evening, on her last job into town, trying to throw off gang members while not losing her cargo. How long ago that seemed to be! Even though only a night had passed in between…

She sure hoped that Calix was all right. She could use another drink at his bar, for sure. Or another drink in general… Her stomach growled, and she was reminded that perhaps a proper meal and rest was what she needed, instead of more alcohol. Shame. Living off of spirits in the night seemed the way to go…

And she laughed, because that notion was stupid, and for sure hangovers were the worst thing to wake up to, especially if she had another job lined up for herself that day. She couldn’t ride her motorbike then, could she?

All this, and she was still thinking about drinks. Some things never did change, did they? In the middle of a gunfight or a bike chase she would be thinking about her dinner for the night, and then what kind of alcohol she would have afterwards. Some might find it distracting, but she found that it motivated her to keep on fighting, so that she could reach her end reward, even if it was nothing more than a bowl of ramen.

For some reason she really wanted to bring Calix to that ramen place she liked. Not right now; it probably wasn’t open, but some other time, when they could come back here as normal people…

R’veno was right up ahead, and she pulled onto the ramp that headed down to it. The alarms were louder here, but her ears had already grown accustomed to them. All the people… She saw many walking along the sides of the highway, trying to go someplace better, presumably. She slowed, checking the fuel gauge on her bike. Only a little below half, surprisingly. There would probably be a charging station along the road to the next city; it wasn’t like she could charge here in R’veno anyway.

And up ahead, there was Calix, sitting upon a stone fence. There was ash on his face but he looked refreshed, quite tired, but there was contentment in his eyes. Seeing her approach, he raised a hand and waved, and she waved back.

“You ready to get out of here, Bartender Boy?” she asked.

“Of course.” He hopped down from his perch and climbed on the bike behind her. “Where to?”

“I suppose we’ll find out soon,” she replied, revving the engine. “All right, then! Shall we?”

He smiled. “Go for it, Rei.”

And so they left R’veno behind, and set out to face another day.