Diamond (2 page)

“Best be on your way, girl. Bolanger won’t like you lingering.”

I nod. Bolanger is her mate, and Bloodborne. He is of the purest line of Travelers there is. All males born of purebreds are known as Bloodborne. To him, I’m the lowest of the low, and for more years than I can count, he’s wanted me dead. There are other Clans out there, some even dwell within the city walls. But I’m better off on my own. However, before I leave, I have one more thing to do.

Introduce Bolanger to my shiv. Repeatedly.

V

The door is not a door, but rather a hundred-foot wall of massive steel. And it’s rusted.
The Red Door.
A smile graces my lips. Funny. The irony of it isn’t lost on me. I’ve been here before. This city that never sleeps. The Big Apple, Esa called it. I’m perched on an abandoned vehicle. I think it’s a bus, but I can’t be bothered to remember if it was even called that. So many things have changed in the last three hundred years. Things that were once called one thing are now called another. The guard on duty is pointing a cannon of a gun at me. It’s enhanced with C-Tech. I smile widely, careful not to reveal myself. I keep my head bent and my hood hiding my face. It disguises everything about me, gender included. Travelers aren’t violent by nature, but somehow, I think that’s a lie. I can be violent at the most inappropriate times. It’s one of the reasons Bolanger wanted me gone.

I try to avoid violence as much as possible, though. Spilling blood makes me nervous, and guns laced with C-Tech are dangerous. C-Tech is what the locals call Comet Technology. When Biel entered Earth’s atmosphere, it didn’t just leave Travelers behind, it also left pieces of itself. A giant ice rock with energy particles strong enough to jumpstart an entire civilization on the brink of ruin. To humans, it gave them new technology. For Travelers, it’s not only an energy source that heals, it’s also one that can kill if taken in large doses. For a half-breed like me, it’s equivalent to an adrenaline shot. If the guard on the top of the gate decides to shoot me, he’ll be doing himself more harm than good. He doesn’t know that, though. Nobody does.

The existence of Travelers is not known to all humans. We’ve blended in, adapted. It’s been the only way to ensure our survival.

“Why are you here?” the male yells down at me.

“I’m here to trade for Wave!” I yell up.

“We’re bone-dry, only Dark Water here.”

Dark Water is unfiltered and causes illness. But not for me. My body would just clarify it until it became pure. But it doesn’t matter. Either way, I’m getting in.
So much for doing this the easy way.

“I have Wave.” I hold up a jar of clear liquid. I can see the guard turn and yell something in broken English to someone on the other side of the gate.

“Stand back, we’re coming out.”

Yeah, they’re coming out, but not to let me in. They think to take what’s mine.
Not happening today.

"Hold his ass still." Lavarious Diamond was beyond pissed. His fist flew out again to catch the guy in the face, his knuckles already stained with blood and close to swelling from the repeated blows he landed on the male’s face.

"Boss, I don't think he's going to be able to take much more," Lip commented as he turned his head to the side to avoid the blood that sprayed from the other man's nose.

"He's going to take it. His ass knew exactly what I wanted. What I asked for. And what does that motherfucker bring me?" Diamond pulled his arm back and landed a three-piece combination in rapid succession then watched as the man's head whipped to the side and hung loosely. "He brings me shit. That's what he brings me. Fucking shit! I can't do anything with this cargo. I can't even get a fucking kidney, let alone a decent lung or heart. Eightball is going to pitch a fucking fit." Who the hell wanted diseased product? He dealt in decent organ trade. Not what was currently packed in ice chests, rotting up against the wall.

Lip was right, the other man was done.

"Get him out of my sight. I don't want him anywhere near the Quarry. If he's spotted anywhere in the vicinity, he's dead." Lavarious bent low at the waist and got in the other man's face. Roger was his name, if he remembered correctly. "Roger, you hear that, meathead. Stay out of my zone, I catch you north of BBT, you might as well have a spot on Ikers picked out and the hole already dug. Nod if you get me."

Roger barely managed a head nod, but he got it. He knew that if he so much as stepped back inside Quarry territory he was a dead man. He was dead anyway, the moment he crossed over to the Eastside. But that wasn't Lavarious's problem. That was Roger’s.

"Here, boss." Lip tossed him a piece of cloth to wipe his hands and face. His shirt was ruined. Good fabric these days was hard to come by. The shirt alone had cost him over a liter of Wave and a night with his best girl, Sanaa. Worm was not a man women wanted to fuck, let alone fuck for free. But he made good fucking clothes, he and Stitch both worked magic when it came to threads.

"What's next?" He looked to Lip, his lieutenant, who pulled out his comm device. A hologram screen appeared and LIp scanned through the rest of his agenda for the day.

"We got fresh recruits coming in. I think Lindy said she'd gotten at least a dozen or so requests."

"Gender?"

"Mixture, we even have one refurbished Bionic wanting to join the ranks."

Well, that was interesting. Bionics didn't particularly care for the type of services he offered, but he'd hear what the machine had to say anyway.

"I'll put on a fresh shirt. Have Lindy come in first so I can get the lay of the land before we start showing them in."

"Right, boss."

"Lip?"

"Yeah?" He looked over his shoulder and waited for further instruction.

"Stop with the boss shit. It's getting old."

Lip smiled. You'd never know it, but the man-child was the same age as Diamond. They'd both served in the military, on the same unit, but instead of leading, Lip preferred to be side-man on the job, working the stuff people saw as shit work. Tasks too menial for him. He was an action man, in all aspects of his life.

Diamond signaled for the guards to remove Roger from the chair. He caught a glimpse of the view from his window and sighed. A long time ago, the world outside had been top notch. The air was cleaner; the streets were bustling with traffic. What he saw now was filth littered with abandoned vehicles and vacated buildings no longer habitable. And the encroaching foliage—beautiful, yet savage. The plants took to the streets, choking out the concrete jungle and covering it with their own signature. Although lovely, most all of it was deadly. When the night went completely dark, the sky above was vast and unending. This time of the year, the streets were always grey and black. The city no longer the Big Apple, but a place for trade. Black clouds filled with radiation were heavy with acid.
A black day, indeed.
Blacker even than his heart. A heart that beat not to give mercy, but to extort, pillage, and to attain a status most high. He knew they were coming up on another Razor Winter. Black snow and ice particles would fall from the sky and paint the city its favorite shade of death.

With the passing of the comet, people scattered. Tried to take shelter where they could. Nothing happened at first. Things appeared normal. But something had changed. Little things that people took for granted. The weather patterns changing, the sun seemingly closer, the moon farther away. The world was thrust into darkness, throwing everyone and everything into chaos. More than a third of the world’s population had perished. A man by the name of Aristes had figured out how to use pieces of the comet that had fallen to Earth to jumpstart the world, harnessing the particles from the comet to create energy. Scouts were sent to find the remains of the comet and bring it back to the city. It was used universally—in things both manmade and elemental. The pieces reacted to everything. Giving anything it came in contact with strength.

But even Lavarious knew things adapted. They were perfect examples of that. Earth had been brought to its knees by a comet. Biel was thought to have been lost, even destroyed by many astronomers’ accounts. The last time the comet had been spotted was in 1852. But it wasn’t lost, it had just traveled far out of range, and on its rotation, its cosmic emissions came closest to Earth on September 21, 2015. Biel passed close enough to the sun that it sent some sort of mutated shockwave so large it not only initiated the end of times but also incited a global electromagnetic Armageddon. There was a period of discovery, and what they thought to be cures to some of the deadliest diseases. The first wave provoked fear, and panic. The second wave brought on the destruction of any semblance of control, and the last wave brought on complete and total chaos. Out of that chaos, mankind fought fiercely to do the only thing they could do when they were left for dead. They tried to bring order. They battled and battled until there was nothing left to do but restore.

Then came the Rage. When the large bodies of water became contaminated and people drank the Dark Water, a mutation was born. People were normal at first, but they slowly suffered from an incurable rage. They were uncontrollable. And deadly. The virus highlighted their baser instincts. Hunger, greed, fear, hate, and even desire. They were called Ragers, and they answered to one man. Marius. Besides the uncontrollable rage, you could always tell a Rager by their eyes, they were constantly dilated, and as the disease progressed, a permanent red ring would surround the iris.

When the city was overrun, Lavarious and his team had been the ones to save it. The opportunity was too good to pass up. He’d been wandering for years. Gratitude and loyalty were his rewards for cleansing the streets. Once they were Rager free, everyone who was anyone came to him for all things. It didn’t matter if it was to settle a dispute, find a decent body to warm their bed, or trade. But most of all, Wave. Water in its purest form.

Soon after he rose to power and was named Sovereign of the city, a wall was constructed to keep the Ragers and any unwanteds out. Now, he was aware of anything that happened in the city. Or he knew someone who knew. The Quarry was his domain, and everything within a five-mile radius was his kingdom.

It had taken them five years to get things up and running. People came from outside of the city walls to experience what the Quarry had to offer. Morality was a burden, and the practice of excess was a freedom. Everyone had a vice, a crutch, something they clung to and needed more of. Diamond made it his business to cater to those needs. He set up the Circuit, and with it came, drugs, sex, C-Tech, and many other items that were frowned upon. If it was illegal outside of the wall, it was legal inside his city. They weren’t lawless. There were rules, and the rules were simple. Everything had a price, and if the price was too high and you couldn’t afford it, well then, you couldn’t have it. If you stepped outside of the law, then you gained an audience. Diamond had a reputation to uphold, and he had no qualms about living up to the
demon
they called him. There were always people trying to take what he and his team had built. But Lavarious kept a tight grip on the reins and made sure they provided what others did not. You wanted sex but couldn't get it from your spouse or partner, you came to Diamond. You didn't have enough Wave to pay for your healthcare, needed a lung, perhaps a kidney...you came to Diamond. Sex was a hot commodity, and although those outside of the city wanted to pretend they wanted nothing to do with his services, sooner or later, they were at the door, seeking entrance. They came, by ferry or foot. Standing rule was, if you came in, you had to take something out. And refer a friend.

The Circuit was the city’s foundation, and a viable part of the market. Lavarious Diamond wanted no part of what was outside his city. What survived outside his walls pretended he didn’t exist, or they were too good to be caught
inside
his walls. For those who shunned him, he had one last, ‘fuck you,’ and he intended to fuck them hard. All he needed now was the missing piece to the puzzle and everything would be revealed.

Enough reflecting. Things need to be done.

Lavarious retreated to his room. He’d make sure he was presentable before Lindy came into his office. She was no stranger to bloodshed, but out of respect, he wanted to at least look the part of Sovereign, not the rabid beast people knew him to be. Lindy was one of the few Sub-dwellers who'd come topside after the flood in one of the underground tunnels. She had pale, translucent skin, white hair, and pink eyes. With the exception of her sensitivity to light, her senses were overly heightened and she didn’t have many weaknesses. But Lindy was an outcast. Turned away by Dasan, ruler of his kind.

Diamond pulled a white dress shirt from his closet, this one not as expensive as the one he’d previously worn, but it had cost him. He spared no expense when it came to what he deemed a luxury. The Quarry was the only building with its own filtration system. Purifying Dark Water into Wave, was a process. It had taken a couple of years to create the right system, but now it was up and running. He shared with no one but his closest lieutenants. The city had a filtration system, as well, but it didn’t purify Dark Water into Wave. It eradicated the side effects of the Rage, but that was all it did. Which to him, was a win-win situation.
Damn straight.