Dirk got back up, his head still spinning from the dive into the web, he prepared himself for a long night out. For a moment, he considered what he might need tonight. So far it promised to be a long one. He packed his coat's pockets with the essentials; his recorder, mini coil cannon, personal emergency beacon, and his flask. He put on his thin bulletproof vest, pulled a fresh shirt and jumper over it, slipped into his coat, flung his bag over his shoulder, grabbed his hat and shakily stepped down the staircase and out.

The Night was taking over the city, like a sickness steaming from the gutters, pushing the last of dusks gloomy light up the streets and over the tips of the city. And behind it ran the river, wide in calm dark silence framed by a glittering red band where the shadows of the skyline ended and the abandoned part of the city on the other side of its shore shone in the red of the day’s last breath of sunlight. In its stead rose the cutting shine of LED street lights, bright and jagged like tiny stars lost in the rugged canyons of the old five-story buildings and black tarred streets. In the past, it had been an impressive display of a wealth and confidence acquired, maintained and build upon over centuries with a power to humble whoever walked its streets, as if it meant to say; We were here, and we ruled this place and made it best, as we could and saw fit, down to the last brick in the most petty corner of unimportance, because we are worthy.

Now it smelled of piss, and the once gleaming white plaster and stucco was eroded, crumbling from decades of neglect, acidic rain and black smoke, spotted with wild greenery pushing its roots into the cracks. It had always been a fight; civilization against nature. Only now, nature was winning and what remained of civility was hanging in the ropes taking a beating and waiting for the standing eight count to save it and allow a chance for recovery.

Dirk paid it no mind, as he glanced around, looking for signs of danger, before he moved out of the safety of his door. A stranger loitering in the dark of an alley, conflict between rival street gangs, irradiated clouds hanging above ready to unleash their terrifying miniature nuclear bombs of water droplets. It was dangerous business just to be about at night, but he found nothing that would suggest an immediate retreat to the safety of his office. Still, he looked hard, and part of him wanted nothing more than a reason not to go out again. He straightened himself and started walking, the sound of his metal reinforced boots clicking on the cobblestones echoing in the street canyon, announcing his presence like a bell. The thought of travellers hanging bells around their necks and singing from the top of their lungs to deter and warn bears and mountain lions in the old, wild forests of the world before the collapse, and his, not quite intentional, copying of their strategy, amused him. It seemed an appropriate allegory, law of the jungle, baby.

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Dirk wasn’t afraid of what the night could throw at him, but not having to deal with the bullshit of the common riff-raff roughshod was an added bonus to having really solid shoes that could, in a pinch, kick holes into brick walls, and more importantly and much more easily, doors. His clicking and clanging gait carried him toward the livelier parts of the city, past the bars and clubs and across the old streets that used to carry hundreds of cars at any given time, but now felt the touch of rubber rimmed wheels only on special occasion - Rubber, another convenience that had become scarce, along energy, clean air and drinkable water and plenty of other things. It had proven hard to find suitable alternatives to Hevea Brasiliensis. Synthetic rubber just wasn’t competitive and depended on oil, which itself had become far too valuable to pour it into non-recyclable throwaway articles. A serious attempt had been made to make use of genetically enhanced dandelions, which had yielded adequate results in terms of quality, but failed to reach economic viability. For a while, people had just salvaged and repurposed the seemingly endless supply, but that time had passed, and even the electric cars have mostly disappeared with the global industry.

People walked, and the city had rediscovered that it had once been designed for pedestrians. Their world had become bigger, distance regained its awe, while the few settlements that humanity still managed to maintain had become much smaller, with space at a premium. Yet, at the same time, the new-found need for density had the city’s streets filled with the ordinary, everyday struggle of people just trying to make a living. Dirk, considered himself to be somewhat of a loner, but he still enjoyed the buzz of the nightlife from time to time. It was indeed a beautiful night.