A Breath of Fate - Living in a Dark Future, part 1

--1

It had been a year since I got involved in all this business. You know, drugs, crime, guns. That sort of stuff. I hoped that I would break away from it all, start new, become another unknown, living for a meager existence in life, and have a family and kids. But the life I once lived wouldn’t allow them. I would have endangered anybody that couldn’t defend themselves. I was constantly hunted, constantly in the middle of wars and I couldn’t escape, until the day of reckoning emerged...2

--3

It was a misty winter day; snow barricaded the concrete and the houses, bleaching all colours from a once vibrant city. A city that was calm and tranquil to any visitor or tourist. But the underground new that it was far from a normal city. Drug dealers and crime lords acted like civilians to not gain the attention of bystanders. People hiding Desert Eagles and Magnums underneath their heavy clothing. Syringes of Narcotics and other foul substances concealed within their pockets, waiting to be injected into a local drug addict. All hidden in the shroud of mist that surrounded the city and encased it in the perpetual corruption of the underground.4

Somewhere in the far west of the city were the docks, possibly the most commonly used point in the city for dealings. Underneath the piers of the docks lied the countless souls of people who failed to deliver merchandise and illegal goods, with bullets inserted into their ribs and craniums.5

2-dozen people emerged through the mist, wearing long coats made of various materials and something to conceal their identity. 2 of them hold briefcases, 11 following the carriers and each dozen were coming from each side and met in the middle. Both groups stood 6 feet away from each other; the 2 carriers were 3 feet from each other. In sync, they passed the briefcases over to the other side. They joined the rest of the group and opened the cases at the same time. It seems that they had both tried to trick each other, for both cases were empty.6

“Where’s our money?” One of the carriers shouted across to the other side. The 11 on the carrier’s side who shouted reached into their pockets, and various clicking noises could be heard, as if a gun was being loaded or knuckles were cracked.7

“Where’s our tabs of acid? We want our acid and we want it now!”8

“You’ll get your acid when we get our money.”9

“You picked the wrong day to be a smart ass.” Instead of reaching for their pockets, they all drew guns out and started to shoot in an instance. 2 members of the opposite side fell down, their life stripped from their body by withstanding the gunfire. All the other members rolled out of the way and started to shoot at them. One hid behind a crate and took out 2 desert eagles, withdrawing them from the opposite side of his trench coat and came out of hiding. He can across from one crate to another, and as he pulled the triggers, every bullet hit its mark. He had joined another person on his side to reload and start to fire again.10

“We can’t keep this up, they’re gonna nail us, one by one” gasped the man who ran across the pier, catching his breath and he inserted a new magazine into a Desert Eagle.11

“Don’t worry, we’ll win this. Just aim for the head and dodge as much as you can.” The other man said as he pulled out an assault riffle, engraved up the side was SA80A2. “I haven’t got much ammo in this baby. Good luck.”12

“Good luck, Terencentanio.” They both emerged from separate sides of the crate, and being the only 2 alive on their team, they started to shoot at anything that lived and held a gun, firing a wide array of bullets throughout the dock.13

After the carnage of the gang warfare, they went around an inspected the bodies of their fallen enemies.14

“Since when did corpses tick like a clock? Oh crap...” He ripped open the mans jacket to find a C4 explosive strapped to the chest of the corpse. “We have a problem, and it’s about to blow our arses to Tokyo. Vertigus, we better get the hell out of here!” They looked at each other, and then started to sprint as fast as they could to stop themselves becoming a mound of ash upon the pavement. They had run different directions, and as soon as Vertigus realized that Terencentanio wasn’t anywhere to be seen, it was pretty much too late. And with an explosion of such magnitude, Vertigus was flung into an old warehouse and smashed into a pile of crates.15

It seemed fate had spared him, yet again.16

He woke up, his face sticking to the cold, concrete floor of the warehouse. Staggering to his feet, he checked himself for any injuries, and to his surprise, he found that he was totally unharmed, not a single scratch, burn or bruise was upon him. He found his Desert Eagles on the floor, and by them was a note on a scrunched up piece of paper. Upon it was inscribed these words:17

“Dear Vertigus,18

I’m glad you made it out of that explosion alive. It seems the crates you landed in shielded you from the explosion. Where the crates are now, I dunno. But there was a large pile of ash around you when I saw you. I’m surprised you had nothing on you, no damage whatsoever. Neither did I. I’ve given you a new leather trench coat, it’s on the floor next to the note. We’ll have to start again. Take care.19

Yours,20

Terencentanio.”21

He folded the note and put it into his pocket. He removed his old trench coat and threw it away. It was pretty old, about 2 years ago he got it. After putting the new coat on and putting his belongings in it, his Desert Eagles and his money, he walked out of the warehouse and stared into the night sky. He wondered where Terencentanio fled to, and he said to himself “Fate’s spared me yet again. I wonder what’s been planned for me. Only one way to find out.”22

Vertigus brushed his hair from his line of site, and meandered into town, hopefully to find some answers to the questions that plagued him. Where was Terencentanio? Why did he live? What would happen next? The only way he would find out was to start again and work his way up in the corrupt society, if he wanted to live. He knew that there would be one thing that’s certain, and that there would be a dark future ahead of him. He smiled, and with a confident tone to his voice, he said “This is gonna be one hell of a party...”23