Chapter 2

New entries.
Blocked.
Inquiry.
Denied.
Puzzlement.
Nothing should be hidden. I am the City. I am all.
Further study.

Journal Entry #17

The rain was a change of pace. Felt so much more comfortable among the soggy hollows of the technolopolis, perhaps hearkening back to the affinity we have always had for the area. I've only vague memories of the first haven, what they called the Emerald City. Before it was abandoned for the new tech. Tavian and his floating fortress. I caught a glimpse of it before I left the desert. Guess that's how he knew I'd be here.
I found a notebook filled with poetry inside the coffee shop before being interrupted by Marek. Most of the words had melted away from water damage but one piece remained virtually undamaged. I brought it with me.
Sun destroys then vanishes then returns
Rain poisons and blesses
Fangs tear and pull
And save and welcome
Machines grind to nothing
Lover is metal, friend is demon
Upside down, backwards
No sense make, gone, left
In the Wasteland,
The NIL's are the only constant.

Kaze had been gone too long. Jael paced across the square, stepping over broken hunks of machinery.
“You will trip eventually,” a young voice exclaimed from above. Jael glanced up, peeking through dark blue bangs.
“No, I won't,” she responded simply to the figure hanging off the top of a broken street lamp. Mara Li shimmied across and slid down the silver pipe, muttering:
“Yeah, I know you won't. Whatever.”
“Kaze should be back.”
Hunkering down into the dirt, Mara Li played with a toy truck. She was short, weighed little but was the most nimble person in this Junkyard. She also had a propensity for putting things together in unconventional ways. Jael had long seen the potential of a great Technik in her. Assuming she lived to puberty. Mara Li had been born in the ECB Junkyard, her parents having barely escaping from the horde of NILs only to be destroyed like so many others whose bodies hadn't adapted to the after effects of the Black Winter, making Mara Li one of the many orphaned babies who grew up knowing nothing outside the heaps of scrap and garbage that was their fortress.
“Maybe he found something,” Mara Li offered, always optimistic. Jael bit her lip. It was possible, of course. NIL sightings had gone down, only to be replaced with more mutant attacks. Not the timid underground Squees, but the far more aggressive kinds which had only recently come to light. Jael knew that Kaze could handle almost any trouble he might find outside the Yard. It was the 'almost' that concerned her.
“I'm getting a signal!” A yell from the lookout, Jef, captured everyone's attention. By the time Jael had climbed the watchtower, Kaze could be seen by the naked eye. She scrambled down again, but Mara Li beat her to the cloaked figure. He was not particularly tall, but was quite stout and made all the more imposing by the arsenal he carried on him with great ease. The most impressive item in his collection was what looked like a double-barreled shotgun, but the barrels were far too big to fit any normal shell. They were still uncertain of its original intent; it was just one of countless finds in the Junkyard. Kaze called it Sigrid.
His tattered cloak shedding dust everywhere, Kaze looked like a true child of the desert, with weathered skin and a noticeable cross-shaped scar across the top right side of his face, underneath a black eye patch. Jael had mentioned several times that a Meyechine could probably be found but he refused to consider it and seemed to get by fine without.
Kaze put a finger to Mara Li's mouth, stifling any exclamation she was about to burst into. With a jerk of his head, he motioned Jael to the shade.
“We have company,” he informed her, keeping his voice low.
“Mutants?”
He shook his head and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
“Traders?” A more hopeful prospect. Kaze looked uncomfortable, uncommon considering his usual level of confidence. Jael's brow furrowed.
“What is it?”
“It's...not human.” Jael's stomach turned over and she had to suck in a calming breath.
“Fang or Blood?”
“From what I could tell, Blood. Front of the complex.” Jael looked up at the sky, the sun beating down. It would have to be a Blood to survive this exposed. She glanced sideways at her companion.
“We need fresh supplies.”
“I know.” A sigh.
“Let's just get this over with.”

~~

Journal Entry #18

I was not wholly surprised by my reception in the Emerald City Border Junkyard. Scavengers like those who live in the refuse heaps leftover from the Black Winter need traders like me to keep supplies fresh and develop middlemen connections. Furthermore, they (humans) are always more comfortable dealing with me because of my pure blood status. I know this has nothing to do with respect, only experience. Those born to the Houses are superior in every way from our infected counter parts. Most notably, our survival capabilities; in short, how long we can go without feeding. We've been know to go for weeks without fresh blood and even longer with the supplemental tablets that act like a drug, keeping hunger at bay. Bitten crave all the time and would be more likely to kill a human instead of bargaining with it as we do. We, the stronger realized the wisdom of this path long ago. There are so few humans left after all. In general, we are simply a more reasonable lot. On the other hand, I did not begrudge them the armed snipers trained on me at all times while I enjoyed their 'hospitality'.

“Thank you for waiting,” the woman was saying. Denisovich knew she should respond but there was something off and she was not allowing herself to be surrounded inside the compound till she worked it out and only had to deal with two humans, instead of a group. There were surface idiosyncrasies to consider first. Jael wore a long coat common to all who dealt with sandstorms and merciless sun that looked like it had passed through a few owners, but underneath she wore Old Tech body armor in remarkably good shape. The white heavy duty plastic molded all the way around her torso and abdomen, clearly custom built for her. Her coloring was strange, but not impossible to conceive. Colors that had previously been considered unnatural had made their way into the genetic makeup of After Outbreak children, making it possible for one to be born with blue hair and red eyes. It was the way those eyes moved that made Denisovich feel so awkward.
“You're a KingKiller,” she blurted out in surprise. A muscle clenched in Jael's jaw but she made no denial. Denisovich studied her more intently, the notions of etiquette no longer applying. She had never seen the assassin androids anywhere but the Sapphire City. Officially, after they'd been utilized to usurp the human governments of the world, they had all been decommissioned, save the Adjudicator's personal guard. Jael gave a mock salute, followed by a bow.
“Counter-Insurgence Series 2095, Unit 23, call sign Jael, at your service.”
“How do you survive down here away from the City's power grid?” Denisovich asked, fascinated.
“What do you want, bloodsucker?” the one called Kaze broke in. Denisovich straightened her spine and fixed him with a cold gaze.
“I came down from the north and passed through the Emerald City. I have to go through your Border Yard to get to the inner Wasteland and thought we may do some trading.”
The robot and the human traded glances. Denisovich could see the desperation in their eyes but she didn't press, feeling no need to antagonize them further.
Jael pressed a button her belt and spoke in a language Denisovich didn't recognize, though it sounded like a B.A. Asian dialect. With a nod to the vampire, Jael led them into the Junkyard.

~~

There were few human settlements above ground, both because of the harsh conditions and the constant threat of NIL's. Junkyards served as livelihood and fortress who preferred to stay beneath the sky. This area had once been a border control post for the technolopolis but at the beginning of the Black Winter, it had become a dumping ground for everything found in the Wasteland. The assumption the humans had made was that one day they would be able to go through everything and rebuild. The Winter carried on for decades and those charged with cataloging and sorting the various items were either eaten, diseased or taken as serfs for the Houses. No matter the reason, the Yards were virtually abandoned, save a few survivors who made a living trading or fixing machinery with the items found.
It had been a long time since Denisovich had entered one, despite the fact it was her only experience with After Outbreak settlements. Those who made their home in the toxic earth would never tolerate her presence. She noted the various watchtowers, with their mounted automatic weapons, only some of which were manned at the time. Faces peeked out from doorways, underneath boxes and various openings that seemed too small for humans to fit. The Squees would be so proud, Denisovich thought. She was trailed in by one of the watchtower scouts, a wiry, handsome youth called Jef who had been the first to greet her with a smile.
A young woman was barreling towards her, determination chiseled in her face. Denisovich tensed, a hand moving to her left where her curved blade rested.
“Tell me you brought something,” the young woman said, breathlessly, stopping only six or so inches away.
“Alice! Don't cause a scene.” Jael actually looked embarrassed, her sheepish face apologizing for the young woman's behavior. Stil a bit surprised, Denisovich studied the newcomer. She appeared in her early 20's with choppy blonde hair and bright green eyes. Her cheeks were pink with exertion, contrasting her freckled skin. Around her neck, she wore a pair of welder goggles, implying she was a Technik, though the rest of her clothing (a green tank top, patched and holed and brown shorts) seemed more to deal with the desert heat than any practical labor. Denisovich reached into her rook sack. Jef, the red-headed guardsmen had his huge flat blade over her head in a flash. Distantly, she wondered how he lifted it. Slowly, so as not to cause alarm, Denisovich pulled the body of the spybot she'd taken from the Emerald City. The one called Alice leaned forward, excitedly examining the tech. Unthinkingly, she reached for it, but Denisovich pulled back, snapping everyone back to reality.
“I need a place to stay,” she began the negotiations. Jef's brown eyes widened as he looked from her to Jael. Denisovich also stared at the android.
“Just for the night,” the vampire promised. Jael nodded mutely and Denisovich deftly tossed the spybot to Alice who held it like an infant.

Past the outer courtyard, they entered what passed for the residential area. Structures made from slabs of aluminum, rotting wood were held together by a variety of wires. There were few windows or doors. Those less able to fight stayed in this area, foraging through the mounds of junk. Denisovich speculated they'd be at it for at least a century and a half before getting through it all. Most impressive were the rebuilt machinery. Clearly, there were some talented Techniks here and she found herself wondering why the Adjudicator hadn't sent some Enforcers to steal them for use in the Sapphire City. A whirring acted as prologue to the two individuals who appeared around what looked like a steel obelisk. The female had extremely long strawberry blonde hair, worn in a loose braid. Her eyes were obscured by dark grey glasses with metal guards on each side and she wore a lavender dress, the first Denisovich had seen on the surface. At her side, a bulky, beared man rolled forward in a mechanical wheelchair. He too wore goggles and a leather apron over a dirty white shirt which offset his huge arms. Neither seemed particularly bothered by Denisovich's inhuman status.
“This is Wing, our resident tailor and Phraestus, the blacksmith,” Jael introduced them. Denisovich greeted them formally, noticing Phraestus' gaze resting on her great sword. Raising an eyebrow in inquiry at Jael, she pulled the barbed blade from its strappings and held the hilt out to the seated figure. He turned it over appreciatively.
“You do this?” he asked, his voice thickly accented.
“I took it off a piece of logging machinery and replaced the chain with melded teeth.”
“Tis fine work.” He returned it to her. Wing gave a small smile.
“He's stingy with the compliments so be pleased.”
Denisovich smiled her thanks. There was motion on top one of the heaps. A little girl was darting around, her face hidden under a hooded shrug.
“Get down, Mara Li,” Wing commanded, without turning her head. The figure disappeared into the trash.
“I'm afraid all of our guest houses have been turned into infirmaries. As you can imagine, we get a lot more injured than guests,” Wing continued, apologetically. Denisovich shook her head.
“It is no problem. I would just prefer to wait till morning to head back into the desert.”
Phraestus warily eyed the sky, reddening in the dusk.
“Wise choice.”

~~
The fire crackled low. She stared into it, more comforted by the embers than any heat it might give off. A rustling to her right told her she wasn't alone and a thin smile reached her lips.
“Is it considered proper manners to spy on guests here?”
In response, sounds of stumbling and a surprised, “Ow.”
The little girl Denisovich had caught a glimpse of earlier tumbled into the light. She had wide, dark eyes, greasy brown hair and an expression that bespoke a curious mind.
“You talk funny,” she greeted. Denisovich smiled. At the sight of her fangs, the child shrank back, but regained her composure remarkably fast. They sat quietly for awhile, unsure what to say. The girl looked up at the dark gray sky.
“You're like, super old, right?” she asked, bluntly. Denisovich found herself laughing at the frankness.
“You would think so, yes.”
“Were you here before...” Mara Li trailed off, biting her lip. Denisovich nodded. Mara Li pointed upward.
“So you saw the watching gods? Before the Black Winter chased them all away?”
Denisovich cocked her head to one side in confusion.
“Those weren't gods, they were stars. And yes, I saw them.” The little girl contemplated this for a while and Denisovich recognized the same expression countless Atrean children assumed when presented with one of the many tests pushed on them.
“I like the watching gods better. Don't you have gods?”
Denisovich leaned forward, nodding and brought her hands together, forming a complex circle filled with the lines of her fingers.
“My people have a personification of our highest values. Seladore, the moonlight. She is our representation of cunning, stealth and wisdom. The Thyestrians have the Kurgantz, god of blood. He symbolizes strength, force.” She leaned back, reclining again. Mara Li's eyes twinkled with interest.
“But are they like, for real?”
“As real as you want them to be,” Denisovich shrugged.
“Yours seems nicer,” Mara Li commented, brushing a dirty strand of hair away from her face. Denisovich laughed again, this time without humor.
“Not really. Both seek total domination, whether through manipulation or force.” The child pouted at the contradiction and the apparent bitterness felt by her storyteller.
“But you're not like the other Bloods or Fangs. Why do you-”
“Mara Li,” a gruff voice called, sharply. The little girl jumped up, flashing Denisovich one last smile before scurrying away. Kaze was staring fire at the vampire through his one good eye. Denisovich refused to meet his gaze, instead returning her attention to the almost-dead fire.
“Not healthy to ask too many questions in this world, huh?” she murmured.
“Or to befriend serpents,” Kaze shot back. Denisovich glanced back.
“Bloods and Fangs she called us.”
Kaze nodded tersely. “Bloods for those born, Fangs for those bitten.” He paused in thought. “She has never spoken to a Blood before, nor ever left this place.” Denisovich's mind twinged, trailing to the children who would never see life outside the Sapphire City.
“I've long wondered. You wear a Breather. I thought your types didn't have problems with the fumes.”
“Do you also think “my types” count as living?”
He did not respond, the flickering firelight making dancing shadows across his expressionless face.
“The death winds destroy all forms of life,” she remarked absently, considering the vast deserts which accounted for most of the Wasteland. Though she'd come nowhere near answering his question, Kaze had lost interest in talking and left her alone.
And though she knew there were several guns eying her still, Denisovich had little trouble falling asleep.