Without much reason to hope, Lucian walked over to his jumpsuit and reached into the pocket. Relief flooded him as he found his Gatetech cutter, the tool he used the most as an MHS Skinner—a Material Harvester Specialist specialized in dressing monster corpses. His grip around the cutter tightened with resolve and gratitude. He would still be able to work and make money.
A knock came at the door.
Four men stood in the hallway, each dressed in contrast to the trashy environment of the Broken Ring, in full suits and wearing dark sunglasses along with gold chains. The head of the group had blonde, slicked back hair and teeth that were abnormally white.
"Sammy," Lucian acknowledged, his jumpsuit and Gatetech cutter still in his hand, keeping hold of them as if he were terrified either would run away and leave him without a means to make money.
Sammy and the men looked to the cutter oddly before focusing themselves back on Lucian.
“It’s pay day,” Sammy sang with a wide, white smile that hurt Lucian’s eyes to look at.
“I already got paid, Sammy,” Lucian responded, thinking back to Jim handing him his final pay yesterday in the form of cash, cash that was now gone. The loan shark’s question was unable to make sense in his still waking brain.
“Don’t get wise with me, kid,” Sammy warned, his thin lips upturned into a sneer. “Make funny like that again and we’ll see whose laughing last, bitch.”
“Sorry, Sammy. I didn’t mean anything by it. What are you here for again?”
Sammy’s patience wore thin. He placed a hand on Lucian’s shoulder, fingered his sunglasses lower down on the bridge of his nose, and looked Lucian in the eyes.
“Give. Us. The. Money. You. Owe. Us,” Sammy expressed slowly like he were talking to a learning disabled person. “It is the third week of July and you got some coughing up to do. So, you know, cough it up.”
Lucian didn’t make a move to reach for cash or even look for some. He had nothing he could pay them with.
One of the men produced brass knuckles and slid it over his fingers. Another pulled a crowbar from his suit jacket. The sound of cracking knuckles came from the third.
“I hope your silence doesn’t mean what I think it means, Lucian baby. Cuz’ we’re going to have mighty a big problem if it does…”
Lucian bowed his head as if to begin apologizing profusely but instead, knelt low enough to grab his work boots sitting by the door. When he felt he got a hold of them, he suddenly bolted.
“What the fuck?!” Sammy cursed loudly, watching a barefoot Lucian race down the rundown hallway. He looked with rage at the men with him. “Don’t just stand there with your thumbs up your ass. Go get him!”
The three men with Sammy broke out at full speed, their footsteps thudding against the floorboards before their nice dress shoes tapped against the steps on their way down the building. They had to stop in the middle of the chase. There were far too many stairs. They had to watch Lucian get further and further down the concrete staircase, leaving them in his dust.
“We’ll...get you, kid!” yelled one of them tiredly, clutching his knees, bent over and trying to catch his breath.
Lucian had enough time to dress in his jumpsuit and put on his boots before continuing on. He had grown up working in a sweatshop and then became a laborer for five years who worked twelve to fourteen hours a day. He had unbridled stamina like a workhorse.
In the parking lot, Lucian caught sight of Sammy looking at him from his broken apartment window many floors above.
“I’ll get you your money, Sammy!” Lucian promised in a shout.
“You’re dead!” Sammy spat back.
“Alright, Sammy baby. I’ll get you the money. Don’t worry!”
Lucian gave him a thumbs up and began to walk away. He needed to find a safe place and then a job. With so many Monster Gates popping up lately, there was always a demand for MHS workers. He walked along a ragged highway, whole chunks of it missing, holes in it revealing a drop of forty feet onto ruined buildings of the Broken Ring.
Mariachi music hit his ears. Lucian turned around in disbelief. Gabriel had arrived. He pulled next to Lucian and tipped his cowboy hat.
“Need a ride, amigo?” he offered with a smile.
Lucian climbed in gratefully and asked, “What the hell are you doing out here?”
“Ha! I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Got robbed for my tools and all my money I stashed away. Today was the day I was supposed to pay Sammy the interest I owed him. I’m officially screwed.”
“Phew,” Gabriel said, disgruntled, blowing out air, “I’m sorry to hear that, Lucian. Damn. The Broken Ring is full of pendejos, man. As soon as I get this money, I’m taking my family into the Workers’ Ring.”
“The Workers’ Ring?” Lucian echoed, “How the hell are you going to do that?” New DC was made up of several rings and the further a resident moved inward, the better off they were. The Workers’ Ring was the next ring over, filled with most of the people from New DC and was heaven compared to the Broken Ring slums.
“Today is either the devil’s day or God will bless me. It’s make or break, amigo. I’m going to the Wild Gate today, the one I told you about.”
“You’re still doing that?!”
“Not only will I be able to afford my daughter’s medicine, I’ll be able to rent a place in one of those solid blocks in the Workers’ Rings. I just need to survive the gate and con hacer esto, ya estoy bien. I’ll be good, God willing.”
Gabriel then formed a cross on his body, a silent prayer.
“Ah, man,” Lucian said, sighing with disbelief and disappointment. He would rather Gabriel not go and remained living.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
“You should come with, amigo,” Gabriel offered. “It’s big money, man. The Scavs working the gate are a small guild trying to become official Wardens but they’re poor like us. They’re also giving us thirty percent of the profit.”
Lucian’s eyes widened and his head snapped to face Gabriel in reaction to his words.
“Thirty percent?!” Lucian sputtered, his body tensing up. As regular MHS workers, they only received single digit percentages in profit from the Monster Gate materials they harvested and that needed to be divided up with the whole company as well.
“Vamos, let’s go,” Gabriel urged then grinned. “If you, the best Skinner in New DC, comes along, we’d get the work done safely and quick as a beetle pisses.”
Lucian slew his hesitance and fear of the Wasteland. An opportunity like this never came around twice. Thirty percent profit of any Monster Gate haul would get him into the Workers’ Ring let alone Gabriel and a family of four.
“Drive,” Lucian urged, waving Gabriel onward with a hand. “I’m going to the Workers’ Ring too. Nothing will stop me. We’ll rip this Monster Gate apart and sell off every last piece of it.”
Grinning, Gabriel pulled down his cowboy hat firmly, turned up the radio, and stepped on the gas.
They left New DC through the city’s eastern gate. Lucian breathed in and out to calm himself. At night, New DC’s gates would close and wouldn’t open until the next morning—a fearful prospect. He was familiar with ways for reentering, but wandering around at the nighttime posed significant risks.
The Wasteland appeared on the horizon. A shattered skyline came into view first, jutting out in different directions like misshapen teeth—the ghostly bones of old America. The cracked and broken road of a highway underneath them caused their vehicle to shudder uncontrollably. Lucian tried not to look but couldn’t help but turn to see movement among the war torn buildings, shadows moving within, pairs of eyes glowing and watching them.
Lucian nearly soiled himself as a two-headed griffon landed on a rooftop of a nearby blackened record store, the beast’s tail in the form of a snake. Rustling paper sounded as Lucian flipped through his Monster Guide to see the creature was named by Anointed as a Proud Chimera.
Beside him, Gabriel nearly lost control of the wheel, frightened by the sudden emergence by the monster that could easily pick up his truck. Lucian had to calm and guide him with his voice to smooth out the vehicle’s swerving and continue forward.
The Proud Chimera shook its feathers and lowered its head to rest. The snake that formed its tail slithered over to the roof edge of the burned shop, Gabriel’s truck reflecting in its bright yellow eyes.
Gabriel couldn’t stop cursing, his eyes unblinking, nervous sweat running down his body and wetting the shirt under his jumpsuit. Only after they passed the wreckage that had once been a city did he finally relax.
An hour later, they arrived at a dilapidated superstore with a melted face of a bee mascot on its storefront. Inside, between destroyed aisles, they walked to the back of the store and through a door labeled “Employees.” Gabriel wore his jumpsuit, tool belt, and cowboy hat since he wasn’t allowed to wear it when with the Working Ant Company and always fancied it on his head. Lucian only had his jumpsuit, boots with no socks, and a single Gatetech cutter.
Twenty faces in what used to be a break room with collapsed and ancient furniture, turned their heads to watch Lucian and Gabriel step through the door. Immediately five people stood out to Lucian, people dressed as fantasy characters with armor and robes—the Anointed Scavs. However, they didn’t look at all like Scavs. They had decent gear for Anointed and seemed earnest, honest.
The other fifteen people in the room wore differing color jumpsuits with Gatetech tools hanging from their belts, Lucian’s fellow MHS workers.
“Welcome!” greeted a rather handsome man with a wide chin, smiling. He was a bulky figure covered in muscle, anyone with eyes able to recognize his well-built physique despite the heavy armor covering him.
“Whoa,” Gabriel awed, leaning toward Lucian and whispering, “He looks like a real life super hero, don’t you think?”
Overhearing him, the handsome man let out a hearty laugh.
“Flattery will get you everywhere with me, friend!” He said with a wink at Gabriel. “First off, thank you for showing up. I’m sure you both know why we’re here. I’m Vance,” he gestured to the other Anointed behind him, “and this is my team. Vivian—attack type Anointed, Doug—healing type, Yol—attack type, Jess—support type, and myself—a defense type.”
He unsheathed his sword and showed his shield, both seeming crystalized by some kind of magenta colored mineral, wanting to prove the worth of his group by presenting quality items.
“Our gear is made from modified Heartbreak crystal,” he carried on, “and though we are only starting out as Scavs, we hope to one day build this ragtag team of rambunctious dreamers into a respectable guild. I hope you all will help us make this into a successful venture and in the future,” he gave them a meaningful look, “maybe we’ll make you official hires of a new MHS company—founding members, if you’re lucky.”
The MHS workers exchanged excited looks but the elevating mood halted when Lucian asked, “Modified Heartbreak crystal?” He focused on the crystal facets of their weapons, noticing a tinge of green. “Modified with Jagged Bark?”
Lucian heard an exasperated and annoyed sigh coming from the other MHS workers and saw with chagrin, Mort was also here.
The wide chinned man, Vance, smiled warily and responded to Lucian, “It seems we have ourselves an expert.” Mort looked on with immense satisfaction to see Lucian be called out for being a know-it-all.
“Jagged Bark,” Lucian went on, “is good for bows but not for melee or magic equipment, though it still remains able to kill monsters.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Lucian fell silent seeing irritation cross Vance’s eyes before disappearing, replaced with cold indifference. However, the rest of the Scav team looked at him like a pest, thinking Lucian as a normal human was overreaching past his station in questioning anything about them—the Anointed.
“Let’s head in?” Lucian prompted, forcing a smile. He didn’t mean to say anything negative. He just couldn’t help but rattle off what he’s researched and seen by watching Anointed work over the years.
Lucian allowed everyone to move through another door before following them after.
Next to him, Gabriel asked in disbelief, “Lucian, what are you doing? Why’d you stick your neck out like that?”
“I’m sorry,” Lucian apologized, shaking his head, “But Jagged Bark isn’t good for melee since it lacks foundational fortitude. Heartbreak crystal is also better for magic items than anything else.”
“Stop, Lucian! We’re about to become founding members of a new MHS company and you want to talk about their stuff? Come on, man. We’re going to run the show from now on. We’ll let other suckers harvest Monster Gate materials for us and let them stink like monster shit instead of us. We’re going to be big timers!”
Lucian nodded along, but he wasn’t enthused. New DC had a saying, “You either screw someone over or get screwed yourself.” Unlike Gabriel who grew up in a mega city in the south, Lucian had lived in New DC all his life. A cynical doubt always lingered in him thanks to his upbringing.
In a warehouse at the back of the store, a blue Monster Gate shone light in every direction, shining on the rusted, inoperable forklifts and rotten pallets that lay about in the warehouse. Vance turned to address the now seventeen MHS workers.
He began, “I think we’re going to do things differently from the norm to save time. Now, hear me out. We’re all going to go in at the same time.” Lucian and the others instinctively winced. Normal humans couldn’t harm a monster and would instantly die if a monster landed a full hit against a vulnerable part of their body. That was why MHS started their work only after the monster threat had been neutralized.
“After slaying the monsters,” he continued, “we’ll hold back for you all to harvest materials from the corpses. We won’t let anything get past us. Believe in us.”
“We believe in you, Anointed!” Mort was the first to agree and with enthusiasm.
Surprising Lucian, Gabriel stepped up and urged the other workers, “Come on, guys. Vance and the other Anointed are already giving us a sweet deal. The least we can do is meet them half way.”
The others looked to one another and began to come around to the idea.
“We won’t abandon you guys,” Vance promised with a winning smile. “We have a lot riding on this too. Our gear was not cheap and scavenging for this gate was not easy. We aren’t here for half-measures.”
The MHS workers began to nod more ardently, all but one.
“Why did you choose a Moderate Threat Level Monster Gate?” Lucian asked, eyeing the swirling blue energy of the gate with worry. The building enthusiasm stalled as everyone turned to look at him.
Vance’s smile shrank as the other Anointed rolled their eyes.