The Glitch Effect

Thief in the Night

Scanning the southern district, it seemed as if the turret hadn't drawn any attention. After all the hailstorm of bullets was a common occurrence at night. Beasts much worse than the prowler cat roamed the wastes and they kept the turrets busy. Each time the guns rattled off it resembled the sounds of a bug zapper snapping. To these folks it just meant another threat dead. The sound was an assurance of security. Perhaps even a comfort.

Jack glanced at the screen on his forearm to check his route. The screen displayed a map of the area and pinpointed where he wanted to go.

Like a shadowy whisper in the night Jack dove into open air, flipping gracefully as he plummeted, until his feet pointed downward. Whistling wind buffeted him. He reveled in the excited feeling that arose in his gut as gravity brought him down. The ground came up to meet him quickly. Thirty feet became twenty, and then fifteen, then ten. Slamming his fists Jack activated his mag-lev bracers at the last moment and leaned into the metal wall. The opposing force slowed him to a smooth and quick halt. His feet touched the earth gently as he dropped into a crouch.

The scent of musty earth and rust touched his nose. All around him were the empty stalls of midday markets. Well past the hour of trade the shopkeepers had stowed away their wares and deserted their shops for the safety of a locked door and a warm bed. He couldn't blame them either. The air was nippy and cold. Always so cold. Jack tucked his hands into his arm pits to warm them as he peered out into the darkness. No sound. No movement. All was clear. Confirming his biological senses nothing appeared on his radar either. The action had become so second nature that he hardly noticed how often he checked the device anymore.

Can't be too careful.

Once he was in the city central, he could begin to relax. Walking at a brisk pace Jack kept to the shadows and clutter that hid him from prying eyes. Under the veil of darkness Jack made his way toward the warm glow of city lights in the distance. Maneuvering through the slums, he passed by several suspicious people lurking in alley ways and others huddled around garbage can fires in front of disheveled buildings. Anyone who ventured into the open at this hour had some nefarious purpose for being there. They were all potential threats. There were a few close calls, but with his skill and practiced stealth he had successfully evaded detection. Still, Jack vaguely wondered if getting into the city was worth the risk. As a reminder the weight of the robotic prosthetic pressed against his back. Its slight discomfort reassuring him why he had come.

"Shhh! Did you hear that?" Came a man's voice breaking his train of thought.

Jack quickly wedged into a crack between two market stalls. He could hear the footsteps of men approaching. The jostle of clinking metal.

Slavers...

Jack watched the dim glow of his small radar screen as they approached. Four dots. Four men. Undoubtedly armed with pulse pistols and lock collars. Or maybe it was three slavers and a snaggler hound? Either way, he was in serious trouble.

"Oh I heard it alright." The voice was low and gruff. And familiar...

The man motioned toward the gap in between merchant stalls. Signaling the other men to flank left and right he waited until they had it surrounded. Stooping down he peered suspiciously at the boot prints that indented the damp soil. Like a hunter tracking his prey the big mans eyes followed the path into the darkness of the gap.

"Come on out." The burly man said. His tattooed face grinning in anticipation.

"We won't hurt ya." He called as he chuckled deeply. "Much."

One of the men fired up a long stick like device with electric arcs snapping angrily at its end promising to thoroughly stun anything it touched. The blue light from the arcs faintly revealing the curved shape of a man's head in the shadows of the gap. The leader nodded and the slavers moved in. Like wolves closing in on a wounded animal they took anxious steps toward the crack where their prey lay hidden. Closer. Closer. One more step...