District 21 Part One


Commission: Grid by KM33 on DeviantArt

Read all of the episodes of Kain’s story here.

It was always raining in this District. They claimed it was to balance the amount it didn’t rain in other places, but if they really had a lock on weather control, would that be an issue?

On balance, the only thing that the rain adversely effected in Kain’s life was zir underwear was never fully dry. That could make a being really pissy. Ze walked the Districts, doing the jobs no other being wanted to do. In effect, the pissiness helped zir do zir job. This time ze was here to put a hit on someone. It wasn’t personal. It was just business.

Ze pulled out zir mass driver and checked the safety. The small projectile weapon would put a massive hole in any being’s head. It was a mercy, really. One being’s overkill was another being’s conscientiousness. Ze tucked the mass driver in zir coat and stopped on the corner. Once ze had line of sight on where the target was supposed to be, ze pulled out the ancient vape inhaler and keyed its warmup sequence. Soon, Kain was breathing out plumes of smoke that smelled and tasted like an approximation of cooked meat. It was all synth, and was a wretched habit, but ze needed an occasional reminder of why this work needed to be done. Two more jobs like this and ze could afford an actual piece of farmed meat. It would be vat grown, but it wasn’t like cows were a real thing.

A flash of red and the target was visible. Their rain coat was the color of arterial human blood.

Ze brought out the mass driver and paid close attention to the readout. Distance of twenty meters. Adjust for the rain, drop, and drift. Ze was just about to close the relay and send this being to the void when Kain saw the face.

The being looked female, honest to void, pre-hyper war female. The lips were full and almost as red as the slicker. Wide blue eyes and black hair were so vivid it could have been from a holo. It was hard to tell if the water on her face was rain or tears.

Kain’s eyes roved down her body and saw the suggestion of breasts under the coat. With an adjustment of the scope, ze was able to confirm from heat signatures and hi-res computer tomography that she had all of the internal and external organs expected from a pure female. Ze couldn’t pull the trigger on a creature so rare. Once the mass driver was powered down and safe, ze broke out into the pouring rain. Following her was the only option for now.

Once ze was able to find out where she was staying, ze would talk with the being ze contracted with. One thing Kain hated most was being lied to. Even if the lie was a sin of omission.

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