You’re so selfish! You don’t need them!” A voice whispered from a thick brush. “Shut up! The building is right on the border! It’ll take me five minutes, I promise!” A cloaked figure covered in the dark crawled out of the brush and scuttled to a shed with yellow light illuminating the ground. “She’s addicted.”

The door creaked open, and a faint bubbling could be heard from behind a wall. Inside there were 3 shelves, each one filled with small orange containers, quite thin with grey tops. The windows were boarded up and a single, weathered counter lay in the left corner. Behind there was another wall and a single door. A bumbling, old man came bursting through the door, coughing little puffs of black smoke. “Ah! Where have ye been?”

“Oh, you know… Stuff, back in Ozhilkithnia.” “I just brewed some new rods. Could scoop them up for you.” “Well, that’s why I’m here!” Small puffs of smoke started to seep through the door cracks. “Giethi, mind helping me clear that fire?” The cloaked figure took off their hood. There revealed a girl, probably 4’11” with a dark complexion and curly, long black hair, and a thick, metal glove on her right hand. “Was planning to save this in case of-” The old man listened in. “Hmm?” Giethi shook her head. “Nevermind that.” She took a small vial of pastel blue powder and opened up a slot in the metal glove. Upon closer examination, it resembled more of a gauntlet but was long enough to cover the entire elbow, and gold spikes were placed to protect the entirety of the lower arm. “You never told me about that arm, what’s with it? I see all sorts of people with all sorts of metal arms.” Small water droplets started to condense onto the surface of the arm. “Again, classified information.” “But I’m one of your best friends!” Giethi glared at the man. “Shut up. Do you want the fire out or not?” She opened the door and shoved her arm into the smoke, and steam rushed throughout the shack. The old man tried to get a peek of what was happening there but could barely catch a glimpse due to the steam and her shoulder. “There. That should do it.” The vial came whizzing out and landed under the counter. Just a small amount of the powder remained.

“Hey. Gramps. Take better care next time, eh?” “Right… Off you are then, right?”

Giethi almost walked out. “Rods.” The old man kicked the vial away. “Ah yes, the rods! Give me a moment.” He walked into the back room, and within a couple of minutes he popped out with a thin bag. She opened it up, picked out one of the orange containers, and examined the pitch-black rods suspended in a liquid. “Thanks, Gramps. Have a nice evening.”

The bell rang with a small echo, and she inhaled the fresh and chilly air of the night. “Put your hood on!” “Sorry.” She complied and donned her hood. “We have to make it to the city, and your little pit stop for drugs didn’t help with the time!” She took one of the containers, flicked her fingers under it, and it lit up. “They aren’t just drugs, they’re also light.” The other hooded figure, much taller than Giethi muttered under his breath. “Piss off.”

Wylinoris looked down from her apartment window onto the crowded streets of people trying to escape the rain. She tried to ignore the fact that it was her birthday, and the lingering feeling in the air and tried to finish the spreadsheet about the power output of the reactor she maintained. “You can’t just knock on the door!” She heard from down the hall. “Must be some sort of break-up situation. Probably should stay inside.” “What, you wanna just take a flame and melt the doorknob?!” “You just wanna bust down the door!”

Then the hallway went silent. A single knock echoed across the room. Wylinoris heard the very faint voice of a girl. “You dolt! Give me that!” There was some ruckus with some hollow-sounding tubes. “One, two, five!” “Learn to count!” A small, blue flame ignited through the lock in the doorknob. She slowly got out of the chair, stared at the flame, and began to unsheath a bread knife in the small kitchen next to the living room. The doorknob began to slowly droop down and get white-hot. “It’s twelve ‘o clock, I bet she’s asleep by now.” The flame faded out, and a long rusty metal stick poked out the molten metal. “Door opening one ‘o one,” The shorter hooded figure said while opening the door slowly. “Did you pay attention in class?” Wylinoris peaked from the corner to see only an S-shaped tube in the doorway made of PVC pipes, blackened by heat. “Ayayayaya…” The taller figure stepped on the metal and started stomping the melting plastic from the sole of the shoe on the carpet. Wylinoris hid behind the wall separating the kitchen from the living room and turned to see the shorter hooded figure in front of her. “Heh. Boo.” She dropped the knife and slowly backed away. “Kuehe.” “Huh?!” “Kuhehehehehe.”

“Giethi!” The laughing girl took off her hood and crouched down. “Ci- Citirth-” The taller figure took off their hood, revealing messy brown hair and a slightly tanned complexion. “God, you’re such a child…” He said, rubbing his neck. “Oh- But a knife! Really?!”

Citirth looked at Giethi. “Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?!”

Giethi stared at Wylinoris. “Oh, right. You’re still here. Anyways, let’s just pretend we’re friends so this isn’t as awkward as we’re making this out to be.” Giethi rambled on. “you can’t just barge into my room, and then pretend that you’re my friends! I don’t even know you!”

Citirth looked through the cabinets in the kitchen and began filling glasses with water. “I don’t think we’ve properly introduced ourselves. My name’s Giethi,” She pointed at Citirth. “That's Citirth, I honestly have no idea what he’s doing.” He put the cups on the ground and looked out the window. “Get to the point, goddamn it!”

“Okay, so Wylinoris-”

Vibrations started to appear in the glasses of water. Wylinoris balked.

“What the- How the hell do you know my name?!” Citirth looked out the window and two unmarked black SUVs pulled up to the crowded apartment complex, with masses of frantic people entering and leaving the building.

Giethi grabbed Wylinoris’s hand and began quickly pulling her out of the room, kicking away the tubes melted and fused with heat. “Hey- Asshole, let me go!” “Sorry! I’m like, really sorry, we only had like thirty seconds-” Giethi frantically called the elevator and flung open the door to the stairway. “Citirth!” “Coming,” Citirth muttered from the apartment and walked out slowly holding the PVC pipes. “Clean up after yourself.” Wylinoris ripped away from Giethi and began running, but then was blocked, picked up, and thrown over Citirth’s back. “Sorry miss, we’ll explain on the way.” He adjusted his robe and ran over to Giethi.

The lobby was full of people, with armed guards attempting to break through the masses. “Sorry,” Citirth muttered to the crowd. “She’s- Err… drunk.” A figure in the shape of a man, covered head to toe in extremely dark blue latex with tons of utility equipment such as knives, ammunition, and other daggers and firearms suddenly appeared behind Citirth, in front of Wylinoris. “Compensation.” They held out a pink card with the markings of one-hundred and forty trywrin in a check. Wylinoris stared at it and took it out of their hands slowly. “Uh… Thanks.” The officer sunk back into the frantic mass and began giving out those same pieces of paper to people near her. “Where the hell do you think you’re taking me?”

“Not right now. The moment those officers hear us we’d be shot and tackled so fast that they’d shoot themselves. That has happened before, only time you’ll hear their names.”

“You know, I could scream right now and you’d be arrested. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t?” Citirth paused. “Here,” He gave a small map to Wylinoris. “Look at this.” She folded open the map to see Hath and a drawn-in island with a multitude of large rivers and lakes in and around it. "Is this some sort of sick joke? You've drawn on a skinny island off from the rest of Hath, big deal. Now let me go."

Giethi caught up with Wylinoris and Citirth. "If it was just a boring, skinny island, why was it blotted out from your maps?" She looked around nervously at the public. "Uh… Ehrm… Military bases?" Giethi jumped up to peek at the map. "Some people call it the fat cap of Hath, but-" She pointed at the large landmass Wylinoris was familiar with. "-That's Northhath, the big industrial workhorse. You know, stale air city." Giethi then moved her finger southeast to the island as they walked out of the hotel. "Southhath is down there around 250 miles that way.

Wylinoris pretended to understand. "Ah, so you guys are crazy." Citirth put her down in an alleyway. "We're not. Here." Giethi blew a light blue powder into the air that quickly dissipated into the night sky. They all started coughing, but Wylinoris was sent into a flurry of sneezes and coughs, unlike the two or three coughs Citirth and Giethi had. Citirth muttered under his breath. "Giethi, you’re an absolute idiot-" Radio chatter cut him off.

The fresh smell of the atmosphere that rushed all the air out of their chest suddenly changed to burnt plastic. Two soldiers wearing gas masks, armed to the teeth with daggers, blow darts, ammunition, and automatic rifles, entered the alleyway where they were standing. "This is your fault," Citirth whispered to Giethi. "Dumbass." "Irregular amounts of SH-IS4 in a localized area. Threat located."

Giethi stepped back. "I don't know where you- err, found ourselves a threat to you." She began grasping Wylinoris's arm. Citirth pressed a button on the brass gauntlet on his left arm. "The threat must be neutralized." The gauntlet sprung forward and folded its bronze and chrome plates together, making a hollow blade with uneven edges. Citirth swung it into the wall, sticking it in place, and leaped on it. The fighters shot Citirth in the shoulder, knocking him back.

He clutched the handle on the blade and threw it at the soldiers’ legs, knocking down one and putting a deep cut in the other’s leg. The battered soldier got up and threw a dagger at Citirth, striking Wylinoris’s arm instead.

Giethi pulled her back while Citirth knocked down the other officer and crushed his helmet with the broad side of the sword. He put down the sword, cut open the rubber gas mask with a dagger, and covered the soldier’s mouth with a white cloth.

“Giethi,” Citirth muttered under his breath.

He held the sword up to her throat. “I ought to just lob off your head!” He took some tweezers out of his pocket with his free hand and pulled out the pellet lodged in his shoulder. “You’re goddamn lucky he didn’t just shoot you and the girl!”

Wylinoris broke free from Giethi’s grasp while she was being berated. She picked up the finely detailed dagger with a carving of a strange salamander-like animal with a smooth scaly body with a boney head and large webbed feet. She thought nothing of it and popped open a compartment on the side of the handle. It revealed a very thin bandage and three pellets made of steel, sanded and shined.

She emptied the compartment and closed up the dagger. “Citirth, do you-”

“Stop it! I’m fucking bleeding out here because you want to show off! I don’t care about your goddamn comfort!” Wylinoris shakily walked over to him and handed them the bandage.

Citirth quickly plucked the bandage out of her hands and wrapped it loosely around his shoulder. Giethi took the sword off of his hands and began fiddling with it to fold it back together.

“Hey-” Wylinoris whispered.

Citirth looked away from her quickly, causing the bandage to slide down his arm. “You didn’t tie it right-” Wylinoris began unraveling the gauze and tightening it well. He balked. "Ehrm… thanks." Giethi put the bronze glove back on his hand. “C’mon jackass-”

“You- You’re the one calling me jackass?! I’d like to see you take down those asshats!” They argued as they left the alley and the whirr of cars and buses filled the back street. She took a deep breath and ran onto the sidewalk to them.

“You better explain yourselves on the way.”

“Gotcha, miss.”