Underbelly: Part 1

Scythe tacitly walked through the many opened cans, skewed about tires, and reluctantly passed the restocked junk pile. Minding the swing of her custom revolvers and flare. She tiredly and cautiously walked past the traditional game of poker Old John’s double time pairs with two kings of hearts, and two 6s of diamonds seemed pretty good right up until Echo placed both 2 of spades next to his 3 fives. She was trying not to look, but she could tell from their playing blanter about bluffing with the tore cards that he had a clogged up house. 5s over 2s, all spades. She tensed up, and look to Old John as he grabbed her arm. “You tried to go into the city?” she could only manage a timid nod. “You see much?” She shook her head. “Well, next you wanna go Echo here is gonna take ya.” Her eyes widen, and she turned to Echo.

“Old Johnny don’t wanna go, and it’s about time we take you. So we played a hand. If I won I take ya, if Johnny wins he doesn’t take ya.” Echo summarized. “‘Bout as fair as this deck anyways.”

“Could…” Scythe paused. “Could we go now?” She followed Echo grabbed his retracted hammer as he got up, and lead over a rather usually unused vent. Breaking it open again took some doing, but soon after the shuffling of people could be heard through the tunnels. “That’s not the city?” She asked noticing they were going around the noise.

“That’s for afterwards” Echo stated kicking a vent open. “This.” As they stepped outside. “This is the city.”

Scythe’s eyes went wide again as she took in the view her foxed ear cape swaying a little in the clean air. It almost burned her nose. She had managed to clean herself a little today, but there was still that lingering sense of filth on herself and Echo. A startling contrast to white and spotless city in full view as the stood atop part of its walls. The peaceful view lasted for a few minutes before a mechanical arm swung at the pillar and fired barely misses as Echo tugged Scythe back. “Wha?!” She carefully looked down at the cyclops like robot fully armed and ready to fire again. “But....”

“Fire again!” Shouted a man in the crowd, and robot complied Scythe ducking back with much more preparation this time. “My children should not have experience such displeasure.” The robot knocks on the walls again. “All citizens are required to…” Scythe began to tuning the mechanical voice out as Echo put a hand on her shoulders.

“Not the best timing, I guess. With this much attention I think they’d follow us back through. Think you can foxtrack your way to that checkpoint there?” There was a grin on Scythe’s face. “Don’t go doing too much sight-seeing now.”

“What?” Scythe mockingly stated throwing up her hood. “I would never even dream of such things.” Scythe slid down and jump off the wall taking a running start on to the streets, and Echo did a running jump to the other side of the rather large gap.

“You wouldn’t bother to dream of it. I’ll give ya that.” He fired back as the head of his hammer fired out and hookshot the rest of the way across the wall. Breaking down a rat sized robot before vanishing into the building vent system. Guards stormed into building and watched every possible exit heavily armed, but somehow they lost him. By the time they got they found the three knocked out guards and one dropped vent cover they knew he was well into the sewers. Any attempts to capture Scythe was a far more public humiliation. Her happy go lucky attitude combined with her exaggerated acrobatic maneuvers made it seem like she considered this more a dance than a manhunt. She went through alleyways before most of the robot guards even got there. Practically flew on top of several other, and use their head to scale whatever wall. Finally she lost all but one, and leaped onto its head before wall jumping up onto a ridge. The building seemed rather large considering this couldn’t be anywhere close to the heart of the city, but she decided that wasn’t really important right now. “There’s that checkpoint” She stated finally able to look around and get her bearings. “Hope I didn’t make him stay too- ” She gave a muffled sound startled a bit, and turn around. A boy about her age had come out on his balcony. He didn’t say anything, but was smiling as he looked at her. So she gave a wink and mock statue before darting off to her destination.

“Wait!” Damian Lanchester reached out and shouted to the girl perched on the roof, but she was gone far too fast. He watched heading out of the city, and marched down the stairs into his father's office. “Father!” He stated opening door without hesitation. “Father, I have seen something desire. A mother and her children were naked on the screen attempting to cross the checkpoint. 12 flashing button indicated their nearly completed examination. The look of joy on the mother’s face turned into fear and confusion. Her children began crying as both doors sealed shut locking them in the dark,windowless hall. Damian’s father turned to him. Releasing his hand from the level he just pulled without so much as a word.

Old John perked up from his spot in the trunk as Aurora prepped the huller from it’s only actual seat. She watched Echo and Scythe make their out. Echo shoving a crowd of people before finally taking a wide swing with retractable hammer. Old John make some room despite the roofless trunk being big enough for 8 people. “The drones are off doing who knows what.” She stated. “So we’ll go anywhere you-”

“I’d like to go home.” Scythe stated slumping down into haller. Echo getting in after her.

“Only way you going home.” Old John in a serious tone so unlike him that it manage to catch Scythe’s interest again. “Is if you play a game Taroooo Cog!” He howled holding up the incomplete, makeshift Tarot deck, and Scythe closed her eyes and sighed.

“Leo-Capricorn, and a Junk Basalt.” She smiled slightly. “With some ginger.” Old John let out a loud yeehaw in response as the huller headed home. That night Scythe adhered to the two rules of her rite of passage with the same ease as the others before her. 1. Find out what your favorite hard drink is, and 2. Don’t talk about the things within the city’s walls. She started to stumble home, but  spotted a junkpile. “Ah, why not. Only turn 14 once.” she stated digging through the pile. She perked up as some strange slot machine whirled to life. She tilted her head at the camera eye as the slot machine attached to it produced a paper slip with a symbol on it. The machine produced the sounds of a decide struggling to stay alive one more time before a gunshot drew everyone in the bar outside. No one said a word as Scythe returned one of her dual revolvers to its place under her fox cloak. Kelf the bartender collected the slot machine, and broke it apart before burning the ticket. And just like that the Underbelly returned to normal, And Scythe went to sleep with the hope that it would stay that way.