"Damn, business is slow tonight, huh?" Cindy grumbled while tapping her feet anxiously.

Cynthia Matthews was a twenty-two-year-old half-elf. She had been on her own ever since her mother died when she was just thirteen. The young woman had managed to survive by almost any means necessary: stumbling in and out of shelters, joining gangs, gambling, and scamming to make ends meet. She never killed, however. She had never even fought another person before. She was mainly just a petty pickpocket and thief. She paid a portion of her illegal earnings to the gangs, in exchange for food and shelter.

Cindy had grown tired of a life of crime and wanted to go legit. Lacking formal education and with limited options, she had decided to invest her questionably earned finances into a new car: the 'Beetle' model. It was the same brand of car that her mother used to drive, that held so many bright childhood memories of her. One of those memories, she would rather not recall. She even got the same color as her mother, the car sporting a shiny black exterior with a brown leather interior.

With a car, Cindy was able to become an Ubear driver. Ubear was a taxi-like service that allowed her to use her own car to ferry passengers to their destinations. The car also doubled as Cindy's living quarters. Though far from ideal, it was a lot better than sleeping on a park bench.

"I need to hurry up and make some cash, dammit. I'm sick of living in this car! This arm could use some maintenance too," Cindy said aloud as she tapped her mechanical right fingers on the steering wheel. She had fallen into the habit of talking to herself. Spending so much time alone in a car would do that to anyone.

Cindy had left her West Coast hometown of Anahym. She wanted nothing more to do with that awful place; she had grown to hate it. She hated the scorching hot weather, the stuck-up elves, the violence, the gangs she was a part of, and the overpriced cost of living that rendered the average person poor. But, the thing Cindy hated most about Anahym, was her mother's awful Elven family. The family that had sold her precious childhood home, where she had spent so much time with her mother. The family that left her out to dry after her mother's passing. However, it was also that same family, that same despicable grandfather, that had also given her a new arm. Cindy gazed down at her mechanical right arm. Contempt and gratitude wrestled for control of her emotions.

"I never want to see any of those bastards ever again!" she growled, her emotional wounds still fresh all those years later.

Cindy eventually wound up in the city of Baldimore, a progressive, bustling city that was gleaming with life. Although she was still homeless and slept in the Beetle most nights, her new line of work gave her a decent flow of income. The shifts for an Ubear driver were long and exhausting. Some nights, the half-elf even worked without rest to secure more finances. She did not mind the taxing work very much, though; she had grown used to sleepless nights and going without food for days. All things considered, her situation now felt like a paradise. She never had anything to her name half as nice as the Beetle.

"Enough reminiscing. Where the fuck are my clients?" she groaned. Cindy waited a few more minutes before giving up that night. "Fuck it. I'll try again tomorrow," she said, starting the engine of her Beetle and driving off.

Cindy wound up in a park next to the lake. The air was cool and the stars shone brightly, so she decided to camp there for the night. She got a blanket out of her trunk and lay comfortably on a grassy plain, gazing up at the stars with curiosity. She went into deep thought, thinking of her dreams and goals when she finally got some financial stability.

"I want to start a family, I think. It doesn't even have to be a husband or kids. It could be... just being surrounded by friends who care for me. We'd all have each other's backs. Hell, we'd even kill for one another. Oh, what am I saying?" Cindy had a somber smile on her face as she gazed at the stars. She saw a shooting star fly by and took the opportunity to make a wish. She closed her eyes shut, then quietly made her request to the heavens. "Make my dreams come true, stupid star."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Cindy continued to talk to herself while cracking open a can of soup, and reading comics on her phone.

"I'm such a fucking moron. I could've just stayed at Elie's place. I don't like bothering her, though. I mean, she's done so much for me, already. She lets me stay there all the time, plus she fixes my arm up for free. I already have a great friend. Maybe asking for more was a bit greedy," Cindy blabbered. "I don't want to be a freeloader to my only friend either," she continued, pulling out an old camera from her bag. "Yeah, I can't complain about this. I've had it way worse. Getting a view like this in Anahym? In your fucking dreams," she said, snapping a picture of the bright, starry sky.

Cindy woke up the next morning bright and early. Her black tank top was wrinkly, and her fuzzy brown hair was a mess. Her left shoulder was itchy, probably from the bugs invading her privacy as she slept. She struggled to get a good scratch in. Unfortunately, her right arm was not designed that meticulously. She tended to avoid looking at that shoulder. The tattooed brand from her life in a gang was still ever-present, and she could not wash it away.

"Reminiscing this early? I really need to stop," she said, grabbing her phone while enjoying the warm morning sun. "Still pretty early, but let's see if I can earn some bread."

She retreated to her car to wait for Ubear clients. She slathered deodorant on her armpits and ate a bowl of instant oats for breakfast. A life of luxury indeed. After about thirty minutes, the half-elf finally received a job. The Ubear app rang softly in her Beetle, over the sounds of pop tunes playing on the radio.

"Finally," she breathed heavily, starting the engine of her car. "Almost there, Cindy. You'll have enough money for an apartment soon."

"This city is so nice."

Cindy had only been living in Baldimore for a year, but she had already fallen in love with the place. The weather was perfect; she loved the cold winters and mild summers. She adored the diverse cuisine and restaurants, as well as the architecture. Something about the city, just made her feel right at home. A beautiful city full of endless possibilities was all she could see.

"The elves are much friendlier, not stuck up at all. The ogres are less... brutish as well. Humans are humans, no matter where you go."

As she made her way to pick up her client, Cindy enjoyed the cool autumn breeze from her Beetle, her hand waving freely through the car's open window. It was a perfect temperature for September, as she watched the yellow leaves scatter through the air.

"Why is it exactly, that everyone seems much nicer here? Just better government, perhaps?"

Both Anahym and Baldimore were governed by elves, but the similarities between the two cities stopped there. The people of Baldimore were mostly peaceful and mild-tempered. Elves, humans, and ogres coexisted peacefully there. The elves in Anahym were pompous and acted as if they were gods. Looking at them the wrong way often triggered them to lash out if someone was of another race. Ogres were especially targeted, often being jailed for the smallest of offenses. Their natural strength was overwhelming compared to humans and elves, so it was no coincidence. The humans in Anahym avoided the blow of the elves' prejudice by sucking up to them. Halfies like Cindy were considered the lowest of the low. She had to be extra careful in her criminal endeavors there. Anahym was a region of intolerance, with a hierarchy that would probably never change. Cindy did not even take the time to glance in her rearview as she finally left that place behind. It was a new beginning for her; a chance to be a better person, just like her mother would have wanted.

"What more could I ask for? This place rocks in comparison."

Cindy portrayed a bright smile as she made her way into Downtown Baldimore, not knowing what fate had in store for her.

"You gotta be shitting me," Cindy said, a slight cold sweat coming over her.

The destination Cindy's phone had guided her to, was a massive building in Downtown Baldimore. It measured in at almost six hundred feet, with slick and shiny reinforced steel. That building had been completed not long after Cindy first arrived in the city. The organization that the building housed soon gained notoriety and praise for their efforts to keep the people safe and the streets clean, a job that the police had previously performed none too well. When the 'Warden of the State' Elanor Frost, passed a law that made assassination legal in Baldimore, crime rates in the city diminished drastically. The building that towered above Cindy was home to the assassination headquarters, known as "The Family Incorporated."

"I knew about the business, but I never expected to ever come here! Why in the fuck would assassins need Ubear drivers? Don't they have limos and fancy cars to chauffeur them around? Fuck this. No amount of money is worth my life. I'll just cancel."

Cindy was holding her phone, her hands trembling while trying to cancel the assignment. Her unsteady hands caused the phone to slip between her fingers, lost in the abyss under her car seat. She could not finish canceling the job before a young man in a clean black suit knocked on the window of her Beetle car. She rolled the window down halfway.

"Are you my ride?" the young man asked.

"Y-yes! Where can I take you, sir?"