Nameless strode forward into the dark winding tunnel, the group following. His mind wandering. The three camp girls had been bought just like him, cheap child labor that once reached maturity, completed other tasks around the camp. This was life on Mars, you either were born with a every commodity and luxury in the big city, or you owned property, or were born as property in the Wastes.
He was used to this reality, so he didn’t feel too sorry for the girls. He had been fortunate to be born a boy, and with a natural skill for violence. Florence had been born with this gift as well. Maybe if Carla, Sammy and Hera had shown some knack for hurting others, they wouldn’t have been forced into service.
The irony did not escape him, however. Two bounty hunters, a bartender, and three ladies of the night, all now equal. Each had belonged to a different rung on the camp totem pole. Nameless and Aj at the top, Julia below them, the guards and merchants below that, Carla, Sammy, and Hera at the very bottom.
This wasn’t unique to Mama Jockus’s camp. If anything, how well they had been treated was a rarity for the Wastes. True there where beatings, and the girls had no say in who rented them out for the night. But they all got fed, and if you were a bounty hunter in Jockus’s camp, you where an asset. It was wise to invest in and treat half decently your assets. Nameless had never truly felt like a slave before, and often he had found himself looking down on others who conducted themselves as such.
Memories ran through Nameless ’s mind, of seeing other camps and how they treated their slaves. Since Mars was in ruins, the only place you would find automated help was in the city. The rest of the planet was ruled by brutal force. Slave markets, spiders, children working in mines and factories. This was typical life for them. Gods help you if you had been born near any remaining deposits of raw material, it was the mines for you.
An odd feeling filled Nameless. What was this, unease? The plight of others had never bothered him. He had always remained indifferent in seeing others suffer from their born station. Why was it his business if others didn’t like their duty? He got to keep portions of the bounties, sleep in his own bed.
But seeing the new girls, and listening to them, something stirred inside of him. Maybe, after all, it wasn’t right to own people? Maybe people did deserve rights. This very notion baffled him, wrestling with everything he knew, and had been taught from a young age.
As they continued on in the dimly lit darkness, Nameless internally struggled with what lay ahead. He had never just wandered off, he had always had a predetermined destination—some target to reach. Even now, fleeing for his life, an odd sense of joy took root. Was this freedom? It dawned on him. Once he sold this vial, he could go anywhere, be anyone, do anything he wanted. So could his comrades.
Everything he had been taught roared against this new train of thought. Nameless felt extremely stupid, his inner monologue turning into a river of self-inflicted insults and determinants. His temples throbbed as a migraine started to form, his reality crashing down around him.
“Maybe they’d still all be alive if you actually paid attention to people in the camp,” that little voice said. Nameless grimaced, his hand tightening on the pistol grip. No. This wasn’t his fault. Was it? The safety of the camp had been his responsibility since he had completed training as a young boy, he was Mama Jockus’s best man.
Mama Jockus! A million fears, doubts, and thoughts drowned him as a wave of emotions hit him harder than a truck. How could she have been so cruel? She beat the camp girls, sold people into slavery, contracted killers, used Nameless and Aj to end lives countless times. But that was okay. It had to be okay. It needed to be okay. All those targets, all those people, they deserved it. She said so.
Mama Jockus had clothed Nameless, fed him, given him everything. She had never mistreated him—sure she did some bad things to people and had sent Nameless after those who deserted the camp, or stole from the camp—but she hadn’t seemed that bad.
As the thoughts ran through Nameless ’s mind, memories came rushing back to him. Entire sections of his childhood that he had forgotten seemed to come pouring out of open trap doors from the basement in his mind.
He started shaking, his hearing going in and out, spots forming in his vision. He began hyperventilating. He dropped the gun, slumping to the ground, and tucked his knees into his chest.
“Put me down,” he faintly heard a female voice say.
Julia came to sit beside him, hugging him with her good arm and resting her head on his shoulder.
“What’s wrong with him?” Hera asked chastising.
“Shut up,” Aj growled. “The guy has been through a lot.”
“Aw. The soulless killer is having an existential crisis. I feel so bad for him,” she retorted.
“You do realize your friends are the only ones carrying you, right? And we have the map,” Julia said in a low tone, her eyes boring into Hera’s face.
Carla put a hand on Hera’s shoulder as Sammy went over to Nameless.
“I know you’re mad. But he’s not the enemy,” Carla whispered.
“I don’t trust them,” Hera seethed.
“Well guess what, bitch, we don’t trust you,” Julia spat back.
Sammy knelt in front of Nameless.
“Anything I can do?” she asked searchingly. “I have some water left in my canteen.”
She reached behind her and pulled out a small canteen from her belt pouch.
“You sure?” Julia asked hesitantly.
Sammy nodded. Julia took the canteen and held it in front of Nameless.
With a shaky hand, he took the canteen.
“I’m sorry,” Nameless stammered.
Sammy chuckled.
“It’s okay, I get these all the time. We gotcha!” Sammy smiled. Even in the near pitch black, her smile seemed to radiate.
“If we’re going to make it out of here alive, we all need to work together. All right?” Julia asked confidently. She looked at Hera. “Can you not be a vindictive demon for the rest of the trip?”
Hera pursed her lips, a venomous response about to escape her mouth, but Carla’s grip tightened on her shoulder.
“Fine,” she snarled, defeated.
Nameless hung his head, slowly getting the air back in his body.
The group all took a pause, waiting for Nameless to recover.
“How long till we get there? Wherever there is…” Sammy asked kindly.
Nameless held up the map, and gun. AJ came over and took both, using the gun light to look at the map. He paused, his brow furrowed as his eyes scanned the map and the crisscrossing multicolored lines.
“Welp. There are two options. We got a crossroads up ahead, with the right side leading to the mine networks. It’s got shafts that lead down into the chasm, but the main tunnels head toward Oasis. We stick to that, it’s about a day’s walk to the mining hubs. The left side follows the tunnels in the chasm wall, there’ll definitely be some shops or mining clans there.”
“The chasm wall tunnels are too risky. That’s probably the cave system Florence and her goons used to sneak upon us,” Julia said.
“We stick to the right side then,” Nameless grunted.
He put a hand on his right knee, knelt, and stood up.
“You sure you’re good?” Julia asked, also getting up.
“Yeah. How are you feeling?” Nameless asked.
Julia grimaced, her beautiful face pale and faint in the eerie light.
“The chems are still in my system, so the pain isn’t too bad. But they’re gonna wear off soon so I’d appreciate it if we keep moving.”
“I’m fine, too,” Hera said as she rolled her eyes.
Aj and Nameless looked at each other.
“It’s pretty dark down here, Hera. Pretty easy to get lost,” Aj chuckled.
Hera huffed indignantly.
“Let’s get moving,” Nameless said, feeling exhausted already.
Aj picked Julia up after giving the gun and map back to Nameless, so that she could conserve her strength.
The group continued into the pitch black as the gun light swayed back and forth. In the dark, the distance seemed longer than it was, their footsteps echoing in the caves. The group was silent, each person in their own bubble of thought. The tunnel continued downward, and a good amount of time passed until the group came to the crossroads. Sure enough, just as Aj said, there was a left and right choice. Both tunnels looked the same, damp, dark, cold.
“So, left, or right?” Nameless asked the group.
There was silence as they tried to figure which way would be the quickest. The only sound that could be heard was breathing and the distance trickle of water falling from the ceiling.
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“You hear that?” Sammy asked, her eyes glinting with fear.
“Hear what?” Nameless asked.
“Shush,” Sammy said, holding a finger to her pinched lips.
A small, far, distant sound crept into Nameless ’s ears.
“There!” Sammy exclaimed as low as she could.
The sound was getting louder, more distinct.
Footsteps, rapid ones, and low voices. A faint buzzing tickling their ears.
“They’re in the tunnels,” Julia seethed.
Panic set in as the group looked around frantically. Nameless stood there, quietly assessing. The newfound adrenaline pushed all doubts and fears from his mind given the now present danger.
“I got a plan, but you have to trust me. All of you,” Nameless said looking directly at Hera. “Follow me.”
He charged down the right tunnel; a manic, dangerous plan forming in his mind. It was risky, downright suicide with two wounded people, but what choice did he have? He pushed forward, keeping his gun light steady at his hip as he jogged forward, the group keeping up.
“What's this plan of yours?” Aj said as quietly as he could.
He said nothing, keeping an eye on the map.
As they jogged, Sammy and Carla struggled to pull Hera along as she hobbled as quickly as she could. Adrenaline was no substitute for food or rest, and the group was feeling the effect of a long day and emotional turmoil. They were being pushed to the breaking point, but they couldn’t stop. With two wounded members and the rest of the able bodies having to help, their speed was hampered. It wouldn’t be long before whoever was pursuing them caught up.
“Just a little further,” Nameless called back, scanning the map.
Where is it? he thought. According to the map, it was close, and his plan could be set into motion. But so far the cave just kept going and going. It was dark and damp and it wouldn’t be long before the gun light went out and they would need to fashion torches.
Who was chasing them? And why? Had Florence figured out the vial’s purpose? Was she in pursuit of Nameless instead of a quest of vengeance on Mama Jockus?
As the group moved forward, their speed decreased slowly. The voices and pursuing footsteps were getting louder. Each member of the group was huffing and puffing, rapidly breathing under the weight of the wounded and the day.
A hole in the left side of the cave appeared in the dim gun light. It was a massive mouth in the wall, a mine cart shaft. Nameless halted in front of it, scanning up and down the long, massive cargo shaft. Several metal cables ran the entire length of the causeway, no doubt what the loading carts used to ascend and descend. Thankfully the cart seemed to be either at the very top, or direct bottom.
Nameless took his leather jacket off, unsheathed his thermal knife, and started cutting long strips of leather from the jacket, two per. He then started passing the strips out to the group.
“What are these for?” Julia asked as AJ set her down.
Nameless didn’t respond, instead simply wrapping the leather strips around his hands.
“You’re joking, right?” she whispered nervously.
“Just hold on as tight as you can to AJ,” he said, handing the last strips to the three girls.
“What are we doing?” Carla asked.
“Your gonna shimmy down the cables. This shaft is used to exchange cargo between the mining and fishing clans. If we get to the bottom of this, we can follow the bottom of the chasm to Oasis. It’ll be out in the open, but we’ll have a better chance down there than in these tunnels.”
“Your joking,” Hera whined.
“Or you can stay up here and die fighting whoever the hell is chasing us!” Nameless roared, his voice echoing down the tunnel. “I’m sick of your shit! I don’t know you, and every single time you open your mouth, I regret saving you just a little bit more!”
His glaring eyes bore into Hera’s wide eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching.
“Guys,” Sammy pleaded, “they’re almost here. I can gag her if you want but she's coming Nameless.”
“Prolly wouldn’t be the first time,” Aj chuckled.
Julia landed a stout kick to Aj’s shin, sending him bounding away on one foot howling in pain.
“You’re a pig you know that?” Julia spat as Aj rubbed his shin with a grimaced face.
Nameless shook his head. “I’ll head down first, clear out anyone at the bottom. Carla will follow me, then Aj with Julia on his back. Hera, use your hands and hook the cable with your good leg, Carla will be right above you. Aj, give Carla your rifle in case they get here before we’re all on the line.”
The group nodded and began fastening the leather strips around their palms, bracing themselves for the long climb down. Aj unslung his rifle and walked over to Carla. He towered over her, even in the dark it was clear he was at least a foot taller than her. He held out the rifle, and the camp girl took it, the weight obviously surprising her as she almost dropped it. Aj chuckled and pointed out the safety with his finger, showing her how to engage and disengage it.
“Point and shoot, darling. It’s a hefty slug of a round, you can’t miss in these tight ass spaces,” Aj said softly.
Carla nodded, her forehead creased, her brown eyes darting as the mechanical light bouncing off her shimmering olive skin.
“I’ve never shot a gun before,” she said quietly.
Aj and Nameless stared at her.
“How?” Aj asked incredulously.
“Me neither,” Sammy defended.
“That’s cuz she’s a pampered city girl,” Hera said in a low viscous tone. “Leave me up here, I’ll take care of them,”
Carla’s face contorted, her eyes scanning Hera as she gripped the rifle harder. She backed away, as Hera tried grabbing the rifle.
The voices and steps were extremely near now, almost within flashlight view.
“Let’s go!” Nameless commanded.
He jumped onto the cable, his protected palms catching the greased steel cables, his feet hooking around it as an anchor. He let off the pressure with his hands and went barreling into the darkness, his stomach staying back where he started.
As he flew down the cable in the pitch black, the air whipping his hair about, he could hear the screams and cheers of his friends as each one made one or the other starting their descent. Down and down they went, easily covering dozens of feet.
Finally, after what must have been fifty feet, Nameless could see light at the end of the shaft in between his hooked boots. He began tightening his grip, slowing his descent. Heat began crawling through the leather as it made a whirring sound. The ground came racing to meet him just as the leather gave out and the greased steel started to contact his palms.
Nameless hit the ground with bent knees, immediately getting off the cable. Luckily the cable car was at the top of the shaft, so his boots only hit the steel plate of the shaft base. He held his hand up, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight coming from the cave entrance.
He stepped aside as everyone came down the cable, jumping to the side and gazing up to see the next to come down. As each member came down to the bottom, he counted and made sure they weren’t injured.
Soon Carla came down the cable, the rifle slung on her back.
“Did you have to shoot any of ‘em?” Aj asked curiously. “No, didn’t even have to take a shot. It was dark but I couldn’t hear or see anybody chasing us. The footsteps just got really faint.” Carla responded.
“Huh,” Nameless said. They should have caught up with her, why would they slow down or not come near? Was this a trap?
“Stay close, everybody. Let’s get moving,” Nameless said.
The bottom of the shaft was a loading dock, with not much to take in. A few tables and lights hanging from the ceiling, a decrepit generator in the corner, and a pully/lever console by the base of the cable.
Directly in front of the group was the cave entrance, beyond that was the bottom of the chasm.
The group stayed close, alert, and ready for a fight despite the exhaustion. They edged out of the cave into the very bottom of the chasm.
The chasm was gigantic, stretching to the left and right like a giant mouth of Mars itself. The orange, jagged rocks stuck out from both walls. At the bottom of the chasm was an extremely dirty and polluted river, barely a camp wide.
Outside the cargo bay was a makeshift pier, with metal and plastic platforms that crafts could dock at. The pier was easily half a mile long, with twenty boats docked. The boats were refurbished Fishing Clan Oasis boats, with gun turrets, all the fishing cranes and nets removed.
What was odd, was the silence. Not a single soul could be seen as the group emerged into the sunlight, atop the docks.
“They really snuck up on us with fishing boats,” Julia sighed.
“Some of 'em, yeah, my position got overrun when Florence swooped in with all those hovercraft,” Aj retorted.
“We saw a lot of bikes and trucks, too,” Carla said, Sammy nodding.
Nameless chuckled, everyone’s wide eyes turning to him, several people twitching or jumping.
“It took an entire army to beat us. And we’re still alive, with the vial,” Nameless chuckled triumphantly. “Let’s check for sentries. There’s got to be food and medicine here, too. Let’s stock up, grab a boat, and get the hell out of here.”
The group nodded and made their own individual ways to different boats as Julia and Hera sat down on some plastic chairs.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!” A thunderous voice boomed over the dock announcement speakers. The friends clasped their ears as feedback static screeched from the speakers built into the cave walls above them.
The feedback disappeared as the operator adjusted the microphone.
“Hold it right there!” the voice said again, this time much smaller, and normal sounding; the mysterious person’s voice still boosted and filtered. Nameless and Aj drew their weapons scanning the boats and chasm walls, looking for the speaker.
“I have a bomb!”
Hera laughed loudly. “Are you serious?” she cackled.
Nameless held back a smile as he called out, “Show yourself!”
“No! Go back from wherever it is you came from!”
Aj shook his head. “Is this guy serious?” he asked Nameless, who only shrugged.
“I’m serious! I’ll … I’ll blow you up!”
Julia got up and started walking toward the boats, her good arm up.
“We’re not going to hurt you, buddy. Why don’t you come out and we can talk?” Nameless yelled
“You’re not with them?”
“With whom?” Nameless called out.
“The mean people who took my boats!”
“Nope. Those people tried killing us. The mean people who took your boats are our enemies, which kinda makes you, our friend! Why don’t you come out, all right? My name is, uh, well you can call me Nameless. That’s Aj, that’s Julia, and those girls are Sammy, Carla, and, uh, Hera yeah!” Nameless called out.
“N-n-n-n-nameless -s-s-s-s?” The mysterious person distantly asked, the voice sounding much, much younger now, as if called by a child far away. It almost sounded like a very young boy.
“Yup,” Nameless called.
The microphone clicked off, and movement could be seen from the boat directly in front of them. It was a red and black vessel, with a gold trident crudely spray-painted on the front with massive machine gun turrets adorning the sides.
In the center of the boat was a square-shaped metal cabin, with ballistic windows and radar amentia. A hatch on the side opened, and an oddly shaped person crawled out.
“Oh, my goddess. Put your weapons down, put them down! It’s a spider,” Julia gasped as she started jogging toward the seeming little boy who was climbing down the side of the boat. With six arms and two legs.
“What the hell is that thing?” Hera shrieked as the spider shambled to them.
“It’s a factory spider! Why do you have to be so rude?” Julia called back.
“I know what a fucking spider is, I was being sarcastic,” Hera spat.
The group slowly approached the spider.
The spider was a small, skinny, bald ten-year-old boy of Earth Japanese descent, with two normal arms and legs. The horrific part of that was the other limbs were metal, and crudely attached to his skeleton with simplistic surgery. The little boy twirled his metal limbs, his metallic fingers clacking together as he stood hunched over, his scared face aimed towards the dirt, his eyes scanning and blinking rapidly at them.
Something inside Nameless snapped. This was wrong, horribly wrong. He was so young, more machine than human now. What if that had been him?
“W-who are y-y-y-y-you?” the spider asked nervously, his small, contorted body leaning forward, his eyes nervously studying the new people.
Nameless took a knee, pity overwhelming him.
Julia knelt beside Nameless, her eyes wide. “Hey, buddy, it's okay. We’re not going to hurt you, all right? What’s your name?” she asked kindly.
“S-s-s-s-s-spider. C-captain, s-s-s-s-s-s-”
“Urgh, we get it! Which one of these rust buckets is yours?” Hera interrupted.
The spider cringed, hunching his shoulder, and clasping three sets of hands together as he retreated backward.
Without saying a word, Julia bolted upright, grabbed Hera by the throat with her good arm, and dragged her back behind the pier as Carla hastily followed, her face beat red.
“Is that your boat, Captain Spider?” Sammy asked gently.
The little boy nodded, his scared beady eyes studying Sammy’s face.
“Do you sail for one of the fishing clans?” Nameless asked loudly as the muffled sounds of thuds and whimpering started echoing from behind the pier.
Spider nodded again.
“T-t-t-the clan m-mosscrow b-bought me from-m-m-m the c-city. T-t-then the m-mean people bought … bought me and, and, and m-my boat f-for the big, b-big attack.”
Nameless smiled a genuine smile. “Well, Captain Spider, it just so happens we recently became free. Wanna come with us? You won’t have a master ever again so long as you’re with us.”
“R-really?” he asked, still hunched, his hands clasped together as his eyes looked upward to Nameless with a small glint of hope.
“Really,” Nameless said, holding out his hand.
Spider nervously studied the hand like a trapped animal, then slowly extended out his right hands. His human hand shook the Nameless Bounty Hunter’s hand while the metal ones clasped the outside of the handshake.
“T-t-thank you,” he said, small tears forming in his eyes.