“What was that thing?” Thaqib asked, still reeling from the encounter, doing his best to focus on the task at hand—getting them out of there as fast as possible. Halima was quiet, watching the water pass by the boat. They were nearing the city and Thaqib made out the black spine of the port district. “All I want right now is to see Rast, he’ll know what to do.” Up ahead he saw lights—red and blue lights. “Cops!” he yelled. Suddenly a spotlight flared from the dark silhouette of a police cruiser and swept toward them.

WOOOP

They were spotted. They had to get off the harbour fast, the speeder was no match for the cruiser on the open water.

“Hold on!” Thaqib yelled, pulling a one-eighty, hitting the accelerator—sending them screaming toward the shoreline to their right. “I’m gonna take us into the canals. Things might get hairy, but it’s our only chance if we want to outrun that cruiser!”

Halima held on tight, although didn’t seem at all phased by the speed. The shoreline was cluttered with floating trash and small boats, making it precarious for the speeder to get through. Luckily, they would prove even more of a problem for the larger B.C.P.D. cruiser. Thaqib saw the shoreline was cluttered with overhanging shacks on low pylons. The water beneath them was filthy, Thaqib wondered if you’d ever come out again if you fell in. He didn’t want to find out.

He spotted the opening of an output canal for sewage coming from the inner city. “Alright, we’re going in,” Thaqib said. Behind them, Thaqib heard the police Sirens approaching quickly. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw the sleek black shape of the cruiser coming straight for them.

“What do they want?” Halima yelled.

“You tell me!” he replied as he angled the boat at the canal. “Hold on!” he yelled as they were about to hit the barrier between it and the harbour. There was a scraping sound and a bang that made Thaqib wince. He hoped he hadn’t just smashed the hull. Up above, upon one of the shacks hanging over them, Thaqib spotted a small child staring down at him through blank eyes, expressionless. They entered into the canal and rocketed along it into the darkness of the city.

“That’s it, there’s no way they can follow us in here,” he said slowing the speeder to a more comfortable speed.

“What is this place?” Halima asked.

“Probably District 13, judging by where we came in. Luckily, it’s not far from East Port where I live. We’ll be there in no time!” Thaqib brought the speeder down into a crawl as they entered the confines of the narrow canal. It was only twenty feet wide and overhung with hundreds of shacks along its length. The water was a putrid black with all manner of things floating in it and the smell was hideous.

Halima seemed to find this fact in particular hard to cope with, she held a hand over her mouth and nose.

“Stinks huh?” Thaqib said. “The Babylonians act like they’re all that, but they can’t even clean up their own city!”

“How did you know how to race this boat so fast?” Halima asked surprising him.

“Huh?” he said, scratching the back of his head, “Used to race shredders along the canals, you gotta be real sly doin’ that, one wrong move and you clip yourself on a pylon, it’s all over.”

“What’s a shredder?”

“A small boat, with an engine attached that’s way more powerful than it ought to be. Makes it skim across the water like a rocket, sounds about as loud too! I’ll show you mine once we get home,” he said enthusiastically.

They pulled up to a small jetty. “We’re gonna have to leave the boat here,” Thaqib said. “The canals tighten up as they head inland, won’t be room for a boat this big. Besides, my place isn’t far.”

“OK,” Halima replied as Thaqib brought the boat to a standstill and cut the engine. They left the boat at the jetty, Thaqib hoped it would still be there later when he went to retrieve it. In this part of town there was no guarantee of that, but he figured he was already in about as much trouble he could be, if the boat did end up getting stolen, so be it.

“Alright, follow me,” he said, leaping off the boat. Suddenly he stopped still.

“What is it?” Halima asked, halfway off the boat. He listened intently and heard the whining sound of small engine coming down the harbour.

“Damn! They sent Mako after us! Quickly lets go!” Thaqib said, quickly dashing into a nearby alley.

“Mako?” Halima asked, running after him.

“They’re B.C.P.D. drones—hunters. If they find us we’re toast! Quick, we gotta find some place to hide.”

They ran down an alley and found an abandoned building. Thaqib ushered Halima inside, they crouched low and made their way through a tunnel of debris, Halima coughed in the dusty air. Thaqib located a suitable crevice and they crawled inside. “Let’s hope this will be enough to hide us,” he said.

They waited, listening for a few brief moments, then, Thaqib heard the telltale whirring of the Mako’s anti-gravity engine.

Halima peered through the rubble, trying to get a look. A red light illuminated the dark alley outside.

“They’re here,” Thaqib said. They watched as the light got brighter and brighter. Through a broken-out window they saw the signature shape of a Mako drone—an angular machine of black metal reminiscent of a shark—swimming through the air. He realized that there wasn’t just one but three.

“They’re alive?” Halima asked.

“Huh? They’re bots. They go places where the cops can’t, then call down support, but they’re more than capable of doing harm on their own. We don’t want to get messed up with them—trust me.” Thaqib looked to Halima and the fascinated way in which she watched the drones outside. “You mean to tell me you’ve never seen a Mako before? I though you were part of the Order of Zion. Aren’t they always on your tail?”

“No, I’ve never seen one,” Halima replied.

“How is it again that you don’t know where the Order hideout is? Is it hidden or something?”

“I’ve never been there,” Halima replied.

“Never been there? What do you mean?”

“I only arrived here last night, you’re the first person I’ve met in Babylon.”

“I don’t understand,” he whispered. “First one you met in Babylon?” his brain was wracking itself trying to figure out what she meant.

“Yes, since I came through the Veil.”

Thaqib’s jaw slackened, he stared for a moment. Halima looked at him.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“You’re playin’ me right? You were on that Order boat—what are you talking about, ‘came through the Veil’?” he asked.

“Yes, in my ship. It’s where the Shayateen came from, it’s why they’re after me,” she said, suddenly looking down, a look of shame appearing on her face.

Thaqib sat there, stunned, unable to make a sound or think of one for that matter. Finally he regained control. “Wait, hold up, you’re telling me, you were what came through the Veil last night? In a ship!?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Halima said far too casually.

“If you came through there—what’s on the other side?” he said, leaning in, eyes narrowed, studying her response for any indication she was making things up.

“Zion,” she said.

Thaqib stared at her—eyes wide, mouth frozen—unable to process the information. “That thing back there—that was a Shayateen?” he asked. Halima nodded.

One of the Mako turned, sweeping its light inside. Halima sat back, hiding in the shadows. Thaqib was still frozen, she pulled him back. After a tense moment the Mako turned and left with the others.

“We should go,” Halima said. “Looks like they’re gone.”

Thaqib was still shell-shocked and Halima had to pull him back to reality. “You’ll have all the answers you need once we get somewhere safe. You know the way don’t you?” she asked.

“Uh—yeah,” Thaqib replied, finally following after her down the tunnel.

They made it back out to the wet street. The rain had let up but left the concrete around them dripping. “Which way?” Halima asked.

“Uh—this way,” Thaqib replied, leading her down an alley. His head was stuck, he didn’t know if this girl was crazy or telling the truth, either way she’d got him all messed up. He decided getting back to Rast and the warm comfort of his shack was something he desperately needed after this night.

Thaqib hadn’t been around this area much and he found himself struggling to find the way, but when there was a clear view of the sky or some inclination of where the harbour was, his bearings were reestablished.

Halima was quiet for most of the walk, she seemed disturbed by the places they walked past. Dirty children ran on ledges above them, occasionally stooping to watch and yell out, desperate for connection in the alienated streets. Strange men watched them from shadowed crevices, vape-light illuminating their faces, ghoul-like in the dark.

They both shivered, it was cold. Halima’s chrome like armor radiated gold in the night. Thaqib took off his raincoat and put it over her shoulders. “You better cover-up,” Thaqib said. “That outfit of yours is way too wild for this place, best not show it off.”

They rounded a corner and a wave of relief hit Thaqib, they were finally near the port which meant that they were almost home. Thaqib saw the checkpoint he’d been at earlier in the distance. Since it was the middle of the night it was closed. “We’re almost there,” Thaqib said. Suddenly he heard a scuffle and a piece of metal being kicked in the street up ahead.

“Well what do we have here!” A voice called out. Thaqib felt a sudden surge of anxiety. He knew who that voice belonged to. It was Malik, the last person he wanted to deal with now, especially after their fight, and especially with Halima.

“Thaqib’s got a new friend!” Malik said, emerging from the shadows. He wasn’t alone, others emerged from the side of a building, baggy clothing making their forms seem larger.

Another figure came to the fore, “Why don’t you introduce us Thaqib?” he said in a deep voice. Thaqib recognized it. It was Slick. One of the local thugs who liked to think he ran the streets around here.

“Found some new mates Malik?” Thaqib said doing his best to sound tough.

“Thought it was time Samir and I stopped playin’ and started makin’ something for ourselves. Slick gave us the opportunity to join his crew.”

“That’s great, happy for you,” Thaqib replied. “We’re just lookin’ to get home, been a long night.”

“For us too. Been partying all night long, haven’t we boys?” Slick said rubbing a gloved hand past his chin, peering at them beneath a bandanna. “But yo, why don’t you introduce us to the lady here. Don’t think I’ve seen her around.”

“Yeah, she’s ah—my cousin. Just on our way home,” Thaqib replied.

“Cousin!?” Malik yelled out. Samir swaggered next to him. “You don’t have no cousin! You’re an orphan!” Malik yelled.

Thaqib felt his fist flexing, “That punk,” he said under his breath.

“That right? You fibbing to us? That hurts man, why you wanna do that?” Slick said, making his way down a set of stairs toward them.

“We don’t have time for this,” Thaqib protested, “We got Mako and B.C.P.D. on our tail, we gotta roll!”

“Real?” Slick replied. “Got a couple of cold crooks on our hands here?” he said laughing. The others shared in the joke.

“You guys wanna play, then I’m not gonna hold back,” Thaqib warned reaching into his pack, pulling out the black rod. “Stand back,” he said to Halima. He flicked the rod, hit the switch and it extended into the same long staff he’d had the night before. He set the mode from E.M.P. to taser.

“Thaqib’s bringing the heat! Sure you wanna play it like this?” Slick said.

“Don’t think that’s a good idea Thaqib, look how many of us there are,” Malik said.

Halima stood in silence, the hood of the rain cloak concealing her identity.

“Step back Malik,” Thaqib said, as he came toward them. Malik didn’t listen, Thaqib lunged toward him, shoving him back. “Get lost already!” Thaqib yelled, losing his patience.

“Wanna get physical with us again huh?” Malik said, spitting. “Thought you would have learned your lesson from this morning. You were no match for just the two of us.”

“Stay back!” Thaqib repeated. Halima didn’t seem phased at all.

Malik walked up and when Thaqib went to shove him back again, Malik instead leaned in and delivered a hard blow to Thaqib’s stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, causing Thaqib to drop to the ground. Thaqib watched helplessly as Malik moved toward Halima, she looked tiny compared to his large frame. Malik put out a hand to remove her hood.

Malik instantly regretted it. In a move of blinding speed Halima took his arm and twisted it, a kick to his abdomen sent him tumbling across the concrete.

Without a word, she came over to Thaqib and gave him a hand up.

He looked at her stunned as did the others.

“Grab them,” Slick said to his other cronies.

They came at them, in a flash of speed like before, Halima dropped the first of them to the ground so quickly that Thaqib couldn’t see what she had done.

“Whoa,” he said, “how did you learn to do that?” Halima turned to the other youths rushing toward them. Now wasn’t the time for a discussion, Thaqib swung his staff and entered the fray. He caught the first one that came at him across the face, sending a pulse of electricity that knocked him out cold. He swung under the haymaker of another, taking the legs out from under him. He was feeling proud of himself when he looked over to Halima and saw her take on three of them at once, she moved like the wind, none of their strikes landing, within seconds all three were passed-out on the ground. Malik stood looking on in shock, Samir close behind. Thaqib got up, stared at them and started striding forward with newfound vigor. Malik and Samir looked at each other then turned and ran. Slick was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly Thaqib heard the whirring of the drones again. “They’re back. Let’s go!” he yelled to Halima. She quickly followed after. As they made their way toward East Port, Thaqib took some pleasure knowing that this time it wasn’t him left to the Mako.