• In a world filled with so little hope; there is so much for us to protest. Do we do this out of strength of mind? Rebellion? Or the ever-needing urge to be in control? I have my theories; but then again I have my fears as well. Though some say I am fearless; I speak only to shadows that whisper back something interesting to me; my demise. I find shadows are men in clouded places in their lives, or women too greased up to see that their whore is showing. I live by my own standards; in a world where chaos is welcome. In a place with no to little aspirations, where only I seem to find the significance in the little things. But I guess that's life, isn't it? Dealing with our surroundings and being tested on by the gods, or the mechanical fated arms of death. Death was once thought to look skeletal being with a dark robe and a menacing grin, with glowing yellow eyes. Or so it's told, now we imagine death as a giant machine picking out humans and sucking them in. Their eyes still yellow or green, sometimes red but their teeth are razor sharp and the menacing grin turned to the flicker of metal chunks. Death is a thing that has no will of its own; death is now a creation of man and we decide who lives. A natural death is as common happiness; and who truly attains it? We'll never know. If the radiation and the sickness doesn't kill us, guns and pipes and remnants of our past will. But as for a silly aspiration; mine is to enjoy a simple ice cream; before my time is come and gone. My dream will come true. What's yours?

    I miss you.


    She smiled as she high lighted the entirety of her little note and turned it into code to float daintily through space and time itself. Gun shots going off behind her, and shouting. Her eyes scanned over to the other window open, almost done know and it would be time to book.

    "DEE! What the blazin' hell is takin' so long?!" Rex was ducking behind the corner and reloading, a stick in his mouth with smoke billowing from it burned with amber as he turned to fire another clip.

    "Well seein' as I was admiring' your pretty face I got a little distracted." was her response as he pulled back and gave her a dull glare; his face was marred, and covered in bumps and gashes from battle wounds. He stopped noticing he was no longer lit and threw his arms up.

    "These fella's can't hit no damn broad side of a ship and somehow can get my damn smoker-stick!" Dee chuckled and turned around at a small beep, she quickly grabbed an ejecting disk, and with one swift kick her boot embedded into the computer and sparked up.

    "Let's go!" she reached around Rex to grab one of his many firearms in which he responded "Dang nabbit, Dee! Use your own fire power!" but he knew was to no avail. She had no chance to even look at her enemy as she fired and ducked the other direction. Rex following behind her and shouting profanities at every turn point. She just had to find the right tunnel..

    "s**t!" she almost stabbed Vies as he grabbed her and pulled her into a small duck-in and shoved he down a slanted pipe. She slid down to reach the bottom shortly before Rex and Vies as they slammed a giant iron door closed with about thirty locks and a giant bar stapled across. Dee pulled out a small flip phone and checked it before putting it back into her pocket.

    "What in hell you keep checkin for? That thing ain't never gonna work." Rex eyed her and pulled out another stick to light up.

    "Was making sure my game was still saved." Cell phones were a thing of the past, but Dee kept hers she found in a junker awhile back, fixed it up and hacked into it. She tells everyone she just likes the games on it; it's good entertainment for when Rex and Creane started to argue and Vies was either egging them on or cleaning his weapons.

    Dee smiled at this and pulled out the disk; it was small, and encased in purple plastic, a square disk only slightly bigger than her thumbnail. "Well boys, another job well done and another payday." she smirked and admired her work for a moment before looking up. "That reminds me, Vies did you and Creane get your bounty?" Vies nodded as he turned to a series of tunnels and headed down one.

    "I'm headed back to base, I'll see ya after you two collect." he waved his hand and Rex gave Dee a slight look.

    "What crawled up his spitoon and died?" Dee just shook her head and let out her arms she had no idea either but was sure something happened.

    "Let's just go collect, Hardy will be waitin' on this. He was expecting us about fifteen minutes ago." Rex nodded as they turned to head out.



    Hardy's place was an older building that had been updated through out the years, he's always trying to get his hands on new data to for some 'break through' he keeps talking about. Whatever, he pays her and that's what matters. The door was already open, means he's growing impatient. That grumpy a** old man never knew when to shut up. Entering was a bit of a hassle, crawling through a small opening between two boards and animals running up to greet her and Rex. Dee shielded her eyes as a bright light shined into her eyes; Rex again cursed and stumbled behind her.

    "You're late." A deep growl came from behind a metal desk. Hardy had a rasping voice that sounded like a mixture of a predators growl and a sickly boy. An awkward combination that Dee couldn't resist to make fun of.

    "Well, if you aren't the most charming squid to crawl onto land." Dee smiled and moved the spot light out of the way and leaned over the desk. He glanced down and quickly back up to her face, she stared at him for a moment and raised a brow. "Well? Got my pay?"

    "Got my disk?" before he finished the question she produced the disk from between two straps in her denim corset and slid it across the table, keeping her finger on it. He equally produced a small box and slid it close, she eyed it and unlatched it, lifting the lid to reveal small vials of glowing liquid, she eyed him unimpressed.

    "What the hell is this? I don't need a god damn fix I need my pay out!." she slammed it close and threw it back at him, pulling the disk back. He grabbed it hastily and glared at her.

    "Go sell it for all I care!"

    "I go out there and risk my a** for your stupid a** data and you want me to do MORE work in order to get my take? I don't think so." she stepped back and Hardy pulled a small hand gun from beneath his desk, but within an instance Rex had three pointed at him. His shoulder barrel, and two other monsters of unmentionable names.

    "I reckon ye better pay the Lady, you're digging a mighty big stink hole." Dee glanced back at Hardy, he was obviously disgruntled but he pulled out another case and opened it for her. This time the case was filled with sheik plastic cards with blue and green lines shaping rough lines through out the center. Dee smiled and tossed him the disk, which he struggled to catch.

    "Thanks, Hardy! You big sotfy you, I knew you couldn't resist me!" she smiled sarcastically and grabbed the case, turning around and blowing him a kiss; insult to injury she thought as she turned and Rex did the "I'm watching you" signal and puffed on his stick.

    "Thanks Rex," she smiled as they got outside and handed him the case which he stuffed in his many containers. "I'm really getting tired of him, isn't there anyone else?"

    "Only if'n you want to change yer work, darlin' otherwise he's got the chicken for your hen house, if'n ye get me."

    "I suppose, he's just got an attitude and it pisses me off. Anyways, let's head to base and see what Vies and Creane made out with." Rex nodded at this and both were off back home.




    Home, or base, was a small run down building they fortified with loose stone and a tattered clothe door which was reinforced with a large boulder that Vies and Rex would push into place every night after everyone was back home safe. They slept for only seven hours a night, eight if they were lucky. But each of them lost about an hour and half or so sleep, since at least one person would stay on watch giving each of them about five an a half hours sleep. Dee herself slept on a pile of tattered stuffed animals that she would repair and distribute to children or, well, anyone who seemed in need of a Mr. Fuzzles or Snuggle-kin. Vies suggested she sell them, but she kindly refused and continued with her ways. Vies slept in the sitting up with a pile of weapons, and, well, Rex slept as he liked to call it in his "Good ol' fashion ruffin' it." with a cold floor and a only his coat for a pillow. Creane also had his own little set up, the closest thing any of us had to a bed.

    Dee entered and glanced over as Vies was sitting next to Creane who was shivering and laying in a stained area which was crimson. Had he been bleeding?
    "What happened?" Dee kneeled down and shoved Snuggle-kin's, a one eyed rabbit with one brown arm that mismatched its pink body, and some black patches.

    "He got shot is all. He'll be fine." Vies produced a bag and tossed it to Dee, she opened and inside was some chunks of wrapped up meat and a few oddly colored pelts, with some patches of fabric. She reached in and pulled it out.
    "Ahh you're a genius!" she smiled and placed it gently in another pile of her animals. "So I see you got your bounty then? So what was the catch?"

    Vies sat a book down exasperatedly, and glanced up at her. " A six." Dee nodded and lanced at Creane who had discarded Snuggle-Kin and replaced it with some device he was working on. Creane was mostly a pilot and a geek, though sometimes he tried to invent things but they didn't seem to work out as well as he thought. Dee laid back on her pile of animals and pull out a small note-keeping device and began to write.