❝how do you kill a monster without becoming one?❞
In the last city ruled by man, fish soar in the skies above and monsters lurk in the alleys below. Ten years ago, Jase lost both his legs and his mother to one such monster. However, tragedy couldn't...
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Jase met Huraira and Kova at the festival shortly before dusk; both of which were covered in glowing spray paint.
"What happened to you? Run into some mean Primary students?" Jase snorted.
"Yes," Huraira growled, gesturing to her crop top which was stained with pink and orange paint. "Look what they did! I'm going to gouge their eyes out with a fork!"
Kova snickered, even though he was also covered in blue and pink stains. "Huraira is just mad she lost a fight with a twelve-year-old."
"You lost too, dumbass," Huraira snapped.
And that was when Kova withdrew two cans from behind his back. "Chē?" He snapped the cans open and coated all three of them - and Jase's wheelchair - in yellow and green paint.
"Damnit, Kova!" Huraira said, now double soaked in glowing liquid as Jase looked down at his own ruined t-shirt before he laughed.
"Ryenar and Hykelia we're a mess," Jase snorted.
Kova rolled his eyes but smiled. It was nice to see him smile, especially when he did it so rarely.
Nearby, music began to play. It was loud and chaotic. Drums beat alongside Jase's heart as hands clapped to an erratic beat. People were cheering and dancing, spinning under the pale light offered by the smaller sun.
"Come on," Jase said, with a grin as he walked towards the temporary stalls. "Let's go find somewhere to watch the show!"
The three of them headed through the festival grounds, but the entire place was packed with families bringing their children to see the fireworks for the first time, young couples, and groups of friends like them. Vendors with carts of food and old trinkets called out to everyone who passed their stalls and with the lively music in the background, the noise was deafening.
Huraira walked in front - people tended to move out of the way for her - and Kova followed his hands pressed over his ears, probably sensitive to the noise. Jase brought up the rear, rolling after them in his chair.
Eventually, they managed to find a place away from the crowd so that there wasn't too much noise but still had a clear view of the sky. Huraira sprawled out across the dead grass, leaning half her body against Jase's chair.
"I'm so tired," Huraira said as they stared up at the sky, dark littered with stars like broken glass and fish whose scales had been sprayed with paint as well. In the distance, there was a whale. It was almost migration season again. "Stingray's been working me to death. But... I finally made it to Level Eleven."
"What?" Jase asked. "Congratulations on being good at bookwork. If I could do it in one day, we'd be on Level Twelve."
"Why do you insist upon hurry?" Kova asked. "The higher levels just have more dangerous cases." He ran his fingers through the grass. "We will just die sooner."
