by Tom Cain
"Come on Val, we gotta get moving. Whatever it is causing this weather, it's coming from the over there" John said gesturing with an upward nod in the direction of a very dark patch of clouds hovering on the horizon.
Val, looked at the patch, looked back and nodded, cracking her neck from left to right to try and rid herself of the terrible four hours of sleep they had gotten last night.
"Seems to be about eight o’clock right about now." John said tapping his watch.
"Ok maybe not, doesn't seem that my watch is working" he looked back at the open road of New Kansas left behind and to the sun, rising in the east.
"Maybe it just stopped working, ran out of juice. The Scribe said he would meet us by the Renegade Bridge at Noon" said John.
"It's just over there" he continued pointing in the direction of a mist covered bridge peeking out about two miles away.
The bridge was the final hurdle before entering the new Dark State. It was a BCC check point for the incoming and outgoings of traders and trading goods, and used to get quite busy. With the withdrawal of the company and most of the New Kansas greener gangs being called on by Doctor Ahiro the bridge was left unattended and undisturbed. The green metal of the bridge would hold a tram running back and forth from New Kansas to the Dark State.
John and Valeria arrived at the bridge on their bikes, searching the darkened corners for inhabitants. A few scurrying creatures and some tumbling rubbish were all that caught their gaze and ears. Valeria tapped John on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of a green glow emanating from under one of the bridges metal supports. The scribe was in the shape of a rat scuttling around the mud. John approached it.
"Ummm" John said, curious as to why.
The glowing green rat stopped and looked up and behind the pair. John and Valeria both looked confused. The rat tilted its head again towards behind the pair and squeaked, John looked behind to see the human formed bright scribe behind them, standing with tilted head staring at the rat. Valeria now looking at the human formed Scribe turned around again to see the rat form scurry off into the darkness, losing its glow the further it went.
"You are early John Test. You are keen to move into the darkness then?" said the Scribe.
"I wouldn’t say keen, just don't like waiting around for shit to happen" replied John adjusting his belt.
"So, what's next?" asked John.
"We think you already know John Test. We saw you see the darkness in the distance. That's where you need to be" the Scribe proclaimed.
"Yeah I guessed that much. Doesn't look pleasant. Whats happening over there anyway?" asked John.
"We don't know John Test. We cannot see into that darkness. There is a being there that does not want to be seen" the Scribe replied cryptically.
"Why can't you do anything about this "being" John air quoted.
"Whatever it is, I cannot pass through it. I have travelled to many places, seen many things, experienced cross dimension events scoping far beyond anything you can imagine. But for reasons unbeknownst to even us, I cannot go to that place" the Scribes eyes became noticeably pupiless, changing from green to pure white.
The scribe turned his head towards the dark mass to the north. Turning back only after a long pause, broken by John asking another question.
"So you want us to go and check it out? report back?". Asked John.
"No John Test, you need not report back. You just need to destroy whatever is in there" said the Scribe now pointing to the darkness with a third arm which had appeared from his back.
Valeria looked on with confusion as the arm grew, pointed and retracted into a green hole in the Scribes back. John shook off the moment.
After a long stare at the darkness the Scribe morphed his appearance from a hooded man to a woman.
"John Test, you must hurry the window of opportunity is coming and you must not miss it. Close that hole. Who knows what might come through" the Scribe disappeared.
A squeak was heard from behind them. It was the same grey rat. The rats eyes glowed green briefly then the light disappeared, and so did the rat. the sound of scurrying echoed from under the bridge.
The pair stared at the terribly dark, terribly alluring cloud which seemed to be growing and pulsing, a faint hum emanating from the troubling mass, before John broke the silence.
"So let's get going shall we?" he turned to Valeria who was still staring at the darkness.
"That place is a long ways away, we only have maybe enough fuel to get us thirty or forty more miles. Let's run them until dry and see if we can find something else to get us the rest of the way". Again Valeria nodded.
John turned and took a few steps towards the bikes when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I need to pee".
he turned around in shock to see Valeria had uttered the first discernible words to him.
"Wow, Val, you don't speak for months and the first thing you say is ‘I need to pee’"?. Gotta say it's nice to hear your voice. Thought this was going to be a quiet one". said John in shock.
Valeria raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah well, I didn't have much to say before. Also, that doctor fight gave my voice a push in the right direction" she said smirking before walking off back under the bridge. John smiled and readied the bikes.
The bikes started with a clunk and a spurt of black cloud from the exhaust, the pair knew where they needed to go, they just didn't know what was waiting for them in the dark. After crossing the tracks and making their way down into a dark rocky valley, they took what was left of the main road north. Passing a few desolated rural homes.
Valeria spotted a fuel station coming up on the right.
"John, there" she shouted over the ringing engines.
"Got it" John fixed his eyes on the station and they both pulled over to search for fuel. They slowed to a stop outside the fuel station and looked around. No-one was around. They both got off the bikes timidly, carefully taking each step as though the dusty dark road was littered with booby traps. Their boots crunched on the gravel as they reached the pump and squeezed the handle. Nothing came out.
"Dry as a bone" John said putting the pump pipe and handle back in place.
"Let's go inside and see if it needs to be turned on from there" Valeria said.
Valeria gingerly entered the petrol station, small pieces of debris littered the floor. All the snacks and drinks and birthday cards that used to be available were gone. The place had been ransacked. The counter was dirty with footprints and the cash register gone. Valeria moved around the desk to where the clerk would stand. Having no power the place was dark and damp. Valeria felt around under the desk for a release valve, or switch or button. She found nothing. Just some wires poking through a roughly cut hole on a bottom shelf.
"John" she shouted through the customer service window.
"No luck here, it's all gone, fuckers must have taken it".
John looked around.
"Ok, well I checked the tanks, we maybe have ten or so miles left. We will need to find something else" he replied keeping a watchful eye everywhere.
The bikes did nearly exactly as John said, they travelled, searching for a fuel source or another vehicle for fifteen miles. They found nothing. Empty houses, abandoned shops and a few quiet looking farms. The bikes clunked and clambered through the overcast lands never seeing an inch of sun through the dark clouds seemingly reaching out for miles. Finally Johns bike made its last splutter halfway up a grass hill. Valerias luckily stopped further on nearer the top.
Removing all their gear the pair hiked up the hill leaving the bikes where they stopped. Once at the pinnacle of the mini mount they stared out over a desolate city. no-one, no lights, no tram, no life, nothing seems to roam or wander. No gun fire that they were so used to in New Kansas. The cloud was darkest over this city. The shadow swallowed this twenty mile wide ex metropolis, covering it completely. Seemed like endless night there.
"I wonder why no-one seems to be down th
ere" John said.
"Probably because there's some nasty shit walking around" Valeria replied with a stern face. John looked at her and smirked.
"Well, let's go see what they got" he said kissing the pendant around his neck.
Valeria smiled, her eyes began to glow brighter.