I kill people.

A name appears and I act without questioning it. The quest is always right.

These people were once part of something terrible and I am now the villain in their stories.

But villain or not, I couldn’t leave these two in the back of that storage unit.

“He’s dead, you can leave,” I said, leaving my voice at a near whisper and sticking to the shadows of the unit. The boys weren’t shackled, but whatever Oscar was doing had been enough to keep them stuck in place.

I sighed, tempering my voice a bit. They were scared and I was a dark figure covered in blood with a white mask covering my face. For all I knew, they’d heard or seen parts of fight.

“Guys,” I said, still quiet but softer this time, “I’m not here to hurt you, but I also can’t take you with me. All I know is that you can’t stay here. Who knows what other people are staying here or were with Oscar. You need to leave.”

One boy looked at the other for confidence as they stayed huddled together in their corner. But the more I spoke, the more their shivering stopped as they realized I wasn’t there to do them harm.

It took a couple minutes of waiting, but the first boy stood up, prompting the second boy to do the same. He stepped away from the wall and I walked out into the moon-lit hallway as well, looking back to see that they were following behind.

“Do you have somewhere to go or someone waiting for you?” I asked. The first boy looked no older than me. And though the one at the front was a bit pudgier, the bruising and dirt along their bodies made it clear that they’d been heavily mistreated.

The older boy shook his head, but looked more resolute in his answers as we walked outside and he saw Oscar face planted on the floor.

“The exit is that way,” I pointed, “But I recommend waiting until the sun comes up to walk around in this area. You should be able to leave through the front door. Do you know anything about the city?”

“Yes, we were staying in the – “ the boy started to answer.

“No, I don’t need to know the details. If you need help, go to the City Hall. I’ve heard they have places for orphans and kids to be safe. Wait a couple hours towards the front of the building, then head there. They should keep you safe.”

The boy seemed eager to ask more questions, but I didn’t hear them as I jogged to the exit. I made sure the door could be opened, then ran out into the fresher air.

Away from the boys. Away from my latest target. And away from another thing that could distract me from the quest.

*****

I quickly found my backpack and changed out of the black clothes and mask. The fluff of the large sweater felt heavenly as I crept out of the skin-tight clothing. My mind kept thinking back to the orphaned boys in the storage unit, but I pushed those thoughts away.

There were people out there willing to help and save the weak and helpless. That wasn’t me. I had enough of my own trauma to worry about.

I stuffed the clothes into my pack and quickly jogged back towards what I was calling my hideaway house. An abandoned house near the City Hall where I could leave my backpack, I’d realized the place was vital after some people at City Hall started trying to make their way into my provided room.

Now, the dorms at City Hall weren’t some five-star hotel with maids coming to clean our rooms every day, but I’d been taken aback by the lack of privacy. They’d come to check if I was okay, but it was too easy. They’d been told off several times, but I couldn’t risk being found out by another straying eye while I was off battling a dungeon.

So, I chose to keep my mask in another place altogether, picking it up before every target kill. Now it was just a race against the sun as I tried to sneak in before people started their day.

Oscar had taken longer than expected and I almost didn’t make it back in time, as I passed by several market clerks readying for the day and people started to litter the streets. Thankfully, it was still only the earliest of crowds and I rounded to the back of the house, checking and seeing only one person on a bike turning the corner.

The windows were poorly boarded, while the brick was worn and weathered. Inside had been made near inhabitable by the scores of people that had made their way through the building in search for easy food and shelter. Since it was so close to downtown, it had been an easy place to scavenge, but no one lived there now as people focused on more habitable housing for all the displaced people.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Walking to the back of the house, the rising sun was a bit of a pain, but I jogged to the side of the rotting deck and moved aside some of the latticed wood to expose my hiding spot. Other than a few rats that had once called this place home, I felt confident no one would go looking underneath the deck. Placing my bag inside and making sure everything was covered up again, I hopped over a fence in the back and made my way towards City Hall.

It wasn’t home, but it was the closest real shower and the best sleeping option I had, for now.

*****

The city hall was the same as it’d been all those months ago when I’d first come here with Chen. The ‘TORONTO’ sign was still toppled over, and someone had even gotten to the second ‘O’, leaving only three letters behind. The city of ‘TOT’ had a nice ring to it.

I walked up the stairs and wasn’t even surprised to see the leeches complaining to guards at the front of the building already. They’d recently changed the rules, asking the ‘protesters’ to stay outside the front of the building behind a barricade. They were an eye sore for those trying to make their way inside, but at least they were out of the way. Compromises.

In fact, ever since moving in, I was learning every day that running a city after the System was a balancing act. I rarely saw Milly anymore, as she was always busy putting out one fire or another. Even Norman was a busy man, rarely joining teams to go dungeon diving or doing their challenge dungeons with them, but there were often other things to do in a city of… millions?

The prospect of millions still living in Tot seemed unlikely, but with the number of people arriving from other cities all the time, I wouldn’t have been surprised if we’d surpassed a million again.

Still, I might not have seen Norman or Milly as often, but that didn’t mean they didn’t keep me busy. Placed on several dungeon teams to determine ‘compatibility,’ I was often out fighting dungeons daily. Plus, I sometimes trained and sparred with a few of those teammates. Again, to create comradery with my possible teammates. Supposedly.

It was all I could bear, and more than once I’d almost gone back on my agreements altogether. Chen kept herself busy, but those were the times I needed her the most. Often it meant calming me down after one of the idiot teammates said something stupid or tried to press too hard.

Hence the compromise.

I compromised by not sticking a dagger in their eye socket whenever they asked me about my life before City Hall.

They compromised by keeping their distance.

And while my role in it all was complicated and frustrating, Milly often assured me that they had bigger plans for me. Plans that she said I wasn’t ready to hear yet, whenever she pulled herself away from paperwork and running a city.

I exhaled and felt the fire in my throat leave with it. I could feel my face turning hot and my mind going hazy as I let my frustrations take over. The ever-busy main lobby calmed me some. Preparing to take on another day of refugees and lost souls, everyone in that room was there to help.

And though I didn’t love being part of their process, I couldn’t fault Milly or the rest of the City leaders for trying to recover.

I’d gone through the front door hoping to see Milly, and got lucky as I saw her huddled with a group of people beside one of the main counters. I walked over to our benevolent City Owner and stood to the side as I waited for them to stop their chat.

That didn’t take long as Milly smiled, then said goodbye and good luck to the group. I rushed to her side after.

“Claire,” she said, noticing me, even as she already had her head into her next set of papers.

“Amelia,” I answered. She hated being called that.

Milly stopped walking and looked up at me, “I’m busy, Claire. Someone attacked one of the north-east markets over the weekend and we’ve got to go start investigating. What do you need?”

“Any news on those plans of yours? I feel like I’ve kept up my side of the bargain so far,” I said, staring down at her.

“You’ve been doing the same thing as before, Clare: fighting dungeons. Now you’re just doing it with teams of our choosing. While it’s appreciated, you know that isn’t the bulk of our bargain. When I have more details to share, I will, but Norman believes you’re not ready yet.”

She started walking again. I followed after her, not done yet.

“When will that be?”

“I won’t say soon but know that I want it to happen soon. Norman believes you aren’t ready yet.”

“Ready for what? How the fuck can I know if I’m ready if you don’t tell me what for!” I answered, tired and frustrated by the circular statements.

Milly stopped again, looking both at me and the people around us now watching our conversation.

“Claire, he’s looking for you to stop being so selfish. Multiple different teams, and despite all our efforts, you don’t seem to work well with most of them. Prove to Norman that you can work with others and he’ll likely believe you’re ready. I want your help, but I can’t do this alone. I need you to try, Claire. Without that small measure of effort, you’re left taking on those white ranked dungeons. Which is a waste for both the city and for our teams.”

“I didn’t ask to work with any of those people.” I muttered, but Milly ignored me.

“I’ve answered your question, can I please go now, Claire? I truly am very busy.”

“Fine, one last thing,” I started to whisper, “I was out west last night and I came across a couple of boys stuck in a storage unit. I told them to find their way to City Hall, but it’s a far walk. If you leave quick enough, you might catch them. It was Apple storage up Dundas past Dufferin mall. The front door is red, and they were in unit 143. They’re probably not there anymore, but who knows what else you’ll find…”

Milly was paying closer attention now. “And can you tell me what or who else we might expect to find?” She asked, pointedly. At least she had the grace to whisper this time.

“I didn’t check the other storage units; you should take a look just in case. Quick, quick, Milly, they’ve probably already started walking and who knows what type of people might find them at this time of day.” I started walking towards the stairs to my room.

I heard Milly huff behind me, likely happy to help but annoyed at another thing to add to the list. I probably wasn’t helping her attitude much either. Milly didn’t follow me as she called over an aid and added another task for her team. Milly was a good person, I’d seen that firsthand. My standards weren’t high, but I knew she’d take care of it properly.

And with that, I can now sleep.