Dissolution

Chapter 17 - The Company of Corpless

It took me about an hour to realize that I was being followed.

The streets got progressively worse and worse as I stumbled through them, as if I was walking through a time-lapsed Ad showing the decay of a civilization. The smell was unbelievable. Filth hung thickly in the air. I wished that I didn't need to breathe. And that I knew where to go.

The Wall rose up in front of me, taller and closer than ever, but I had no idea how to get past it. Or even how to get to it. I was lost in the maze of alleys, too used to relying on my UConn. The Wall was the only thing I had to orient myself with, and yet it seemed that with each road I chose that looked like it would lead closer, reality would bend and twist and suddenly I was further away.

And then there was the slow, insistent feeling that I was being watched.

I slowed to a stop. The electricity had left me feeling burnt inside, sparking, aching. I took a deep breath and winced at the pain. It was almost fully dark now. The ever-clouded sky gave off only a baleful grey dimness that made my grimy surrounds look filthier. Each heartbeat slammed against my kicked ribs. I tried not to breathe too loudly, tried to listen with my human ears.

There was a clatter to my left. I immediately swung around clumsily, everything on edge. Nothing. Spooked, I ducked quickly around the corner of the next alley and crouched down, trying not to shake.

And then, from right behind me, a loud voice whistled disbelievingly.

"You took down two mercs?"

I shrieked and fell. Actually fell. My aching feet slipped and my chest jerked and I fell on my ass in the stinking mess of the alley. Someone laughed uproariously. "No way. Deeka, you're shitting me."

A younger voice, a girl. "I'm not! I saw her, Cam! She broke an arm like that! Just like that! Then she tackled the other one and cracked his head!"

I got painfully to my feet and turned. There were three of them. I focused on the one with the knife first—the girl arguing and gesticulating at me with its tip. She was small and wiry, her hair knotted back in a rough plait that burst out at the edges like it was trying to escape. Behind her loomed a thin-lipped giant, his dark eyes fixed on my face like I might jump at them any second and savage them with my teeth.

And right in front of me, looking distinctly unimpressed, was a man with an oddly ageless face. When he laughed, I thought he might look no older than Jake. But as soon as I stood up, he stopped laughing.

"So," he said, his eyes glittering. "How does a Plugger like you take down two mercs?"

The ache in my ribs wrapped around my side like a pair of brutal hands. I was still shaking from shock; I felt my knees trembling with it. I entertained and dismissed the thought of running in the same second. I could outrun them, but I had no idea where I was going. This was their territory. They'd catch me easily. I tried to swallow around my thick mouth. My hands shook. I'd turned into my father. "What's a Plugger?"

He smiled. It wasn't a pleasant one, like jagged teeth put back together. "You've still got a Corporation plugging your wires, don't you? The mercs, sometimes they can't tell. They think anyone with a broken UConn and a little dirt is a corpless. But your hands are smooth. You have no idea where you're going. You're not one of us. So why would someone like you want to get out of Unilox and away from all the Corporations and their lovely, lovely benefits?"

The sarcasm was thick. The air felt dangerous. The knife in the girl's hand glinted, and I had everything to lose. I hesitated. I couldn't even think of a lie. So when I opened my mouth, the truth came out in a rush. "ANRON revoked my license," I said. "They want to kill me. I need to get out." And then, because it was true, "I didn't mean to kill the merc."

The leader opened his mouth, and then stopped. He looked at me again, sharper, closer. For a moment he reminded me of Jake when he was confronted with a particularly challenging legal conundrum, all excitement and contained energy. Well, if Jake were three times hungrier, dangerous, and looked like he might eat me for breakfast. "What?"

I shook my head. The enormity of everything that had happened hit me in the skull, made my brain throb. I curved an arm around my aching ribs and just wanted the world to end. "It's a long story," I said, tired. "And look, I've had a really bad few days. So if you're going to try to kill me or something, can we at least get started?"

He laughed. It was a sharp, surprisingly joyful sound. I blinked.

"I can't believe it," he muttered to himself. And then he grinned, quick and easy, smooth enough that I was immediately worried. "Let me guess. They're still telling you we eat each other out here."

I looked at him warily. "You mean you don't?"

He grinned like a stockbroker, all teeth and charm, and mimicked my accent. "You mean it's any different in the city?"

I was about to retort when I thought of the girl in the Promenade, screaming as people fought over her for two thousand credits. I stopped. He gave me a knowing look.

"My name's Cam," he said, all friendly now. "That's why I call us the Chameleons. Because we're survivors, see? Get it?"

I tried to focus on one thing. "Us?"

"Us," he agreed. He spread his arms wide, expansive. "Our little family, about twenty of us. Our company of corpless."

He said it like a private joke. The giant behind him smiled and the girl rolled her eyes. But beneath the laughter, his eyes stayed on me, sharp as a raw blade. "Question is now . . . you look like one. You smell like one. But are you a survivor?"

I gaped. Was he . . . was he trying to recruit me?

My brain felt sluggish, thick. But still fast enough to realize I wasn't necessarily going to die today. "I can fix things," I said slowly. Sell yourself. I flexed my fingers. "I was on track for MERCE before this all happened. How does that sound?"

Cam whistled low, eyes dark. "Deeka," he said. "If this works out, you get my share of dinner tonight."

The girl with the knife punched the air. "Yes!" she crowed. Then she ran up to me, still waving the damn blade around. I flinched back, but she barely seemed to notice. "Thank you!" she said. "Now, you've gotta teach me what you did to that merc."

The blood drained from my face so fast the world spun. I took a shaky step and then almost fell again. My hand shot out before I realized the ground wasn't taking a dive toward me. Through the vertigo, I heard someone speaking. "Hey," Cam said. "Hey." His voice had gone gentle, like he was talking down a lunatic. Maybe he was. "It's all right. It's all right."

I took a long, shuddering gasp, and saw Professor Cellowen's blank eyes, her broken body. Saw the merc lying in a pool of his own blood. It's all right. The lie slipped into my bones, hardened my spine. I straightened. "Sorry," I said. "I'm fine. Just slipped."

From over his shoulder, I saw the giant give me an eloquent look, just long enough to tell me how badly I wasn't fooling anyone.

"Well then, Just Slipped," Cam said drolly. "Tell me your real name before that sticks."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. It tasted rusty, but good. "Madeline," I said, and something I hadn't even known was broken in me sighed and healed over. I hadn't realized the emergency announcement had left something inside me, rotting away at my concept of self. That Professor Cellowen's death had hurt something I hadn't even known existed. That the mercs had left me bleeding in a way my body couldn't heal. It came out again, stronger. "My name is Madeline."

A/N: A lot of you were interested in the idea of the corpless when they were first introduced... hope you enjoy the next few chapters. :) In the meantime, if you haven't already, check out @SciNation for some ever-evolving SF stories (see what I did there...? I'll just see myself out).