ARMADURA

The door creaked open to my bedroom. It was my mother again. Doesn’t she ever learn to knock?

“Hey Scott, I’m going now. I’m gonna be late coming home babe so don’t wait up. There’s some leftovers in the fridge for you, warm them up if you get hungry.”

My mother was a pretty woman. She tried her best to keep us afloat by working double shifts at some dance club in the city. Makeup covered her face to the point there was nothing natural left, a nice dress and heels. This outfit was pretty much the norm for my mom.

“Okay mom no worries, I’m going out soon too anyway. You look nice by the way.”

“Oh well thanks hon, what are you going out for at this time of night? You better not be running for that gang again Scott Mathew Renn”

Ooh, there it is. The full name is out. You know it’s bad when mom has to pull that card on me. Feels like she’s doing it more often nowadays though.

“No mom, I gotta meet up with Jay. He needs some help moving some stuff for his mom from the store.”

“Scott?” My mom raised her eyebrow at me and said my name in a way that made me think she didn’t believe me.

“Honest mom, I stopped running for that crew after that hero showed up at that last deal a month ago.”

My mom walked over and bent over and kissed me on the head.

“Good. You should surround yourself with good people, Scott. not Echoes and desperate Nulls.”

“That’s why I have you mom.”

“Oh Scott I love you so much.” She wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace, some of her makeup getting on my cheek. “My little boy, growing up so fast.”

She finally let me go after getting half her makeup on my face.

“Okay, honey. I’m gonna go or I’ll be late. Don’t stay up late helping Jay now. You’ve got the recruitment at school tomorrow so you need your eight hours.”

“Of course mom, I’m looking forward to seeing whether I can bear a giyas.”

Of course, that’s never gonna happen.

“Okay, love you babe.”

“Love you too mom.”

My mom walked through the apartment. The jingle of her keys rang through this empty apartment we called home. The screech of the door echoed as she left.

“Vrmm, vrmm.”

“Huh?” I glanced over to my phone.

“Midnight tonight, DO NOT BE LATE.”

Geez does he always need to capitalize the ‘do not be late’ part. I got it the 10th time he said it.

I glanced up at the time on my phone.

“It’s 11pm now huh, guess I got a bit of time to burn till I gotta go.”

Then another text popped up on my phone.

“Meet Cole and Arnold on 5th Street, by the grocery store at 11:40. DO NOT BE LATE.”

He really said it again huh. Cole and Arnold huh? Real opposites of the spectrum.

I laid back in my bed. The room was dark. The apartment was empty. The hum of the AC filled my room with ambience. I had a small window on one of my bedroom walls. Neon lights shone through, illuminating my small corner of nothingness. Rain began to hit the window. I glanced up at the window.

“They did forecast showers tonight huh, and just when I get a job as well. Good grief.”

I stumbled out of bed and made my way through to the kitchen. The room was pitch black. The only fragments of light were from neon signs on neighbouring buildings. The hum of the refrigerator filled the void of noise. I saw the leftovers on the counter. A note was attached to it from mom.

“Here’s some leftovers for you, don’t wait up. Love you xx”

Ye... love you too mom. I ain’t feeling too hungry right now. I’ll save it for when I get back. I glanced around the dark room. Smoke rose from an ashtray that lay on the coffee table that mom used a little more than I’d like. The smell of smoke quickly took over my nose.

“Geez mom, what did I say about smoking in the house.”

I walked over to the only window in the kitchen and opened it up. The sound of vehicles and nulls filled the air. The rain was coming down heavier now. I stared over the city. Neon lights and skyscrapers rose as high as the clouds across the city. Advertisements tore across the buildings, screens showing ‘popular’ heroes along with merch. A city of consumers. I glanced at the rain falling against the window sill and slowly reached my arm out the window. Rain drops slowly consumed my arm, cold yet calming.

“Rain is good for the skin after all.”

I guess I’ll leave the window open till I get back to let that smoky smell escape the apartment. Better to shut it a bit to stop the rain getting in though. I looked down at my clothes and decided to go get changed. I strolled back to my bedroom and opened up my wardrobe.

“Damn, I really got to do some laundry soon.”

In my wardrobe was one shirt and 2 pairs of trousers. I grabbed the only shirt in there which had an old band I used to listen to written on it.

“Damn, the Dwellers. It’s been a hot minute since I listened to some of their music huh. Guess after their lead singer left it just wasn’t the same.”

I threw the shirt on along with some black trousers and looked around for a jumper or coat, otherwise I’d get soaked in the pouring rain. The floor of my room was littered with old comics, dirty clothes, and bits of old tech that I should really be throwing out sometime soon. In the corner of my eye I noticed what looked like a black trench coat. It was hard to make it out in the dark room but I was right, it was a coat.

I grabbed it and took a big whiff of the coat. “I guess it’ll do. Best to throw some aftershave on myself before leaving though.”

I threw the coat on as I went to grab some aftershave. An old photo at the corner of the dresser caught my eye. It was of me and my parents. I grabbed the frame and stared at it for a couple minutes. Memories hit like a tidal wave. Fond memories of my father and mother and also memories I wish I could forget altogether.

“Sigh, I miss you dad.”

Now’s not the time to get sentimental. I sat the frame back on the dresser. I headed for the door and before leaving took one last look at my bedroom, then continued to the front door.

As I went to open the front door it jammed like usual. I wrenched the door open and it screeched like usual.

“Really gotta get that door fixed.”

I locked the door and made my way through my apartment complex. Lights flickering, floor and wall tiles missing. Beggars taking shelter. Shouting and commotion could be heard from various doors.

I turned a corner and at the bottom of the corridor were the elevators. As I slowly got close, I noticed red and yellow signs on the elevator. Once I hit the elevator I could finally read the print.

“Out of order.”

“Of course it’s out of order, just typical.”

stairs it is

As I went to reach the door, I felt something cold grab my hand and a voice followed.

“Please kind Sir, spare some change. I would be ever so grateful.”

I jumped back. That startled me more than I’d like to admit. Was this woman always sitting here or did she just appear?

“I’m sorry. I’m low on creds right now, otherwise I would be honest.”

I’ve got some Creds spare sure, but I can’t just be giving it out, especially with mom working so hard.

“Please Sir, I haven’t ate in days nor drunk.”

Tears started to form in her eyes.

A sinking feeling opened in my chest as I started to picture my mother sitting in some unfamiliar place. Begging random passing people, counting on their pity to survive.

“Sigh, here’s fifty creds. It won’t get you an apartment but hopefully you’ll be able to have a warm meal and even buy yourself some new clothes.”

“Why God bless you Sir, may God reward you for your kindness.”

“Of course, take care now.”

I turned toward the stairs and made my way down 10 floors. Stairs were the same as usual, crowded, lights flickering, the wear showed.

I finally hit the ground floor and made my way to the entrance. As soon as I hit the city, the smell of exhaust fumes and garbage filled my nostrils. Distant sirens echoed through the city as the sound of rain hitting my coat tried to drown the sirens. I pulled out my phone to check the time. “11:30 huh, best I start making my way then.”

“It’ll take around 10 minutes to reach 5th Street so at least I won’t be late.”

As I’m walking down the street beggars are a common sight, taking most of the street up with their presence. Neon signs light up the night. Almost like the city never sleeps. Expensive vehicles driving Heroes around while others starve and can’t stay warm.

Up above the skyline’s just dark towers stacked on top of each other. Most lights are off. A few near the top stay lit, the expensive ones, the Hero floors. Everything else is just black shapes. You can barely tell where the buildings end and the sky starts. Looks like the city’s trying to disappear upward while the streets stay loud and full of people who can’t go anywhere.

once i finnaly hit 5th street i could see the grocery store, the wear really did show. under the awning were 2 familiar faces.

cole was already chatting away as usual.

“There he is. Thought you were gonna flake, Renn”

shit ye, i forgot they called me by my last name, guess its been a while since ive ran for em.

Arnold stood off to the side a bit, quiet, watching the road more than me.

“I’m not late,” I said.

Cole grinned. “Boss said 11:40. It’s...” cole grabbed his phone out of his pocket and checked it with a smirk covering his face. “11:39. you lucky bastard.”

“no such thing as luck fool, just time management.” i snarcked back

He nodded at the bag under Arnold’s arm. “We got the parcel. You’re on point with the buyers. They want it clean.”

Arnold spoke up. “Dagger scratch, Sempura, Seven thousand. That’s what I was told.”

Cole snorted. “Yeah yeah. Just don’t unwrap it out here. I wanna see the thing when we get to the meeting point.”

“You’re not unwrapping anything,” I said.

“Relax. I’m just saying.” He held out a crushed pack. “Smoke?”

I took one. Arnold nodded toward the dark past the shops.

“meeting point is The Cut, behind the old tire factory. No cameras. We wait for Ox there.”

“Ox bringing the money?”

“That’s the job,” Cole said. “Hand the parcel, take the creds, split, go home. Simple.”

nice, it almost seems to good to be true

“should be a nice easy one tonight then” i said

“shit nice one Renn, someone just had to say it” cole said sarcasticly

“shit ye my bad, probably shouldnt be jinxing us right now”

we started walking with Cole leading the way, me and Arnold flanking on both sides of him.

as i took drags of the cigarette cole had so generously offered, i noticed that as we got closer to the point nulls and sirens got more distant, the neon lights and constant ambiance of the city slowly died out. felt odd, ike this part of the city stood still while the other kept motion. Arnold kept a close eye on our behind, never seen Arnold so on edge. i couldve sworn i saw a bead of sweat come off his head.

“Yo arnold, you good bro. something up?”

“no, nothing just thinking is all”

hmm, i have a feeling theres a bit more to it than that. i glanced to his hands and they were shaking

as i kept walking i bumped into the back of Cole who had completely stopped.

“Arnold, whats wrong. weve been on jobs before and you never seem to be on edge. you dont let your guard down i know that. but i can sense that your nervous.”

guess he noticed as well, not like Arnold says a whole lot anyway

“Arnold, if theres something wrong or you wanna back out, you gotta tell us now. cause if shit goes south i need to know for certain you aint gonna flake on us”

Arnolds hands stopped shaking instantly, he looked Cole straight in his eyes

“Cole, you know id never do that, when have i ever backed out. even when that newbie turned hollow in nullhaven a couple months ago, i stayed with you right?”

“yes you did. so then whats wrong”

Arnold twiddled his fingers and glanced around

“fine i guess i can tell you guys. this is my last job for a while so im just nervous that somethings gonna go wrong on the last job im on”

“really? youve been here years. youve been here longer than cole havent you. why the sudden urge to leave” i said

“lets walk and talk” cole said “as long as you aint backing out we can keep going”

“so why you leaving” cole asked

“Remember Lacy? i introduced you a couple months ago at the province”

“the dance club? oh ye the blond girl, big boobs?” cole had a little grin on his face when he said that. hell of a way of describing a girl if i do say. i had no idea who this Lacy was, but the first question that came to mind was how big were her boobs?

“well i kept seeing her, and 2 months ago. we found out she was pregnant. and its mine”

Cole dropped back and swung his arm around Arnolds shoulders

“oh shit man really? haha good stuff, im proud of you man. gonna have a little arnold running around the place”

hmm, mini Arnolds. i looked at arnold and came to the conclusion of not having a clue what he would look like as a kid. maybe he was the silent anime boy type. maybe not the anime part. can just imagine the baby now.

“mother give me milk, i require nutrients”

i shook my head tryna get the idea out of my mind

i swung my shoulder around Arnold as well

“hey man congrats, kids a big responsibility. i bet your wicked happy”

“i mean of course im happy, its just this job is a heck of a lot more dangerous when i got a kid counting on me coming home everynight. which is why her father offered me a job in his factory. working on components for tech companies. 5 days a week, weekends off, birthday off, pension, good pay. its the dream guys im telling you

cole sighed loud “man i wish i had that kind of life, seems like the perfect life for me. couldnt care about the money but that routine and freedom sounds like a bit of me”

i zoned out for a second

is that really freedom? is that truly someones dream? is that what i want? is that the best its gonna get for a null like me

before i could give it any more thought cole stopped in his tracks once again

“argh what now” i looked up and the tire factory layed infront of me. i glanced around to not a single person, neon light, siren. nothing, just the smell of rotten garbade and city rain, along with a flickering lampost.

“were here” cole announced. he pointed over to a corner of the fence. it seemed like it was broken “there, thats our entrance. we can go through that gap in the fence”

we all crossed the street and made our way through the gap one after the other. Cole obviously went first, by his request. i glanced at cole who was ferociously looking around ensuring we werent followed so i made my way through next, then Arnold.

we made our way to the back of the factory, the route being covered in piles of old tires and potholes filtering the ground. the odds of getting tetanus was easily %100, also wouldnt doubt if there was asbestos in a building this old. i walked through covering my nose and mouth with my shirt. better than nothing i guess.

we emerged through the land of tires to an empty loading bay. no crates, no trucks, and especially no buyer

i glanced to Cole and Arnold and shrugged my shoulders “guess they’re late”

we had a little look around and saw no sign saw Cole lead down on a pile of old tires. how he does that so willy nilly i dont know. dirty filthy things, probably got urine and what knows on it. arnold was looking through a hole in the loading bays wall. gliding his hand over the old architecture, if you could even call it that. was just some basic masonry.

he turned to us and said “you guys ever think about what its like to be a brick in a falling building”

cole peeked his head up for a second and then it went back down followed by “what are you talking about man”

“um not really man, ima be honest”i replied. i mean its not like i can just turn into a brick afterall. maybe the thought of being a father was getting to him.

cole jumped up from his little tire hammock and started pacing back and forth, not a psychiatrist here but i could tell he wasnt to happy.

“argh of course their late, its just typical of them. i was meant to be meeting a broad after this but thanks to OX taking his sweet time im probably gonna have to cancel now”

“yo Cole chill, theyll be here soon. traffic maybe”

“cmon Renn they always take the piss, yet when were late its ‘disrespectful’. bunch of arseholes.

“oh come now Cole, you dont really mean that do you? gonna break my heart talking like that behind my back”

a voice came from the tire passage, white suit, slicked back hair. 4 men followed, 2 flanked on each side. shit its Ox.

Cole couldnt get another word out, i could see him trying but it wasnt gonna come.

“Ox, stop playing with him” arnold said “lets cut the deal and split”

“hmm Arnold, nice to see you too. heard you were getting out of the bussiness so watch your tongue”

hmm? he knows? guess hes close with the boss but still, bit weird. by the look on Arnolds face, he didnt tell him

“Hey Ox hows it going, its been a while”

“Hey if it isnt Renn, not bad kid not bad. other than the fact that some hero douchebag is taxing me 40% of all my income just cause one of my guys fucked him off. so im in a fucking terrible mood so lets make this quick. dont need another hero up my arse.”

“then lets make this quick for you then”

best to brown nose these kind of guys, you rebel against them and it only makes it harder.

“arnold, the parcel”

arnold gathered his courage and walked over by my side, he held out a small cloth wrapped object.

“There a working scratch, you got the creds?”

Ox snapped his fingers and one of his men walked forward with a brief case, he opened it and showed us more money than id ever seen in one case.

“there, 5000 creds. you can count it if you want to”

hmm? did i just hear that right? 5k? but i couldve sworn Arnold told me 7k earlier. i glanced to the side Arnold was on and met his gaze, as expected Arnold shook his head in disagreement. i was right, hes 2k short. is he playing us right now? shit this aint good, need to try and play this off as a mistake or hes gonna get pissed quick.

“Funny Ox, well take the 7k creds and well be on our way”

Ox didnt seem amused in the slightest, if anything his face contracted.

“Huh? are you playing me boy? i agreed with your boss on 5k for a dagger type scratch”

Arnold started to unravel the cloth to see whether we had the right blade? sure enough there it was. a dagger,

“Wait Ox, we were told that we were trading this scratch for 7k creds? not 5k?”

“and how is that my problem” he snarcked

“well... i” what do i do?

before i could think Arnold butted in

“Now wait a minute Ox, the boss told me himself when i picked up the scratch. 7K creds no less.”

“Well thats too bad cause i only got 5k creds on me, so we gonna do the trade or not”

what do i do? i fi take 5k and the deal was 7k the im 2k in the hole, gona be doing the next 10 jobs for free. But if i dont and the deal was 5k then im gonna bedoing 30 jobs for free. Shit, what do i do?

i could feel my body start to shake and my breathing started to become irregular

“alright then, its a de-”

“no”

“what? cole?”

cole started to make his way over to me and Arnold. cole stood confident and strong. wasnt chatty, not like his usual self.

“we want the 7k or else you aint getting the scratch”

is he being serious right now? this is not a guy we want to piss off.

“what if we just take your scratch, huh?”

’wait Ox thats not necessary, well just take the 5 thous-” before i could finish of course i got cut off

“finally, thats what ive been waiting for. Feast your eyes on this baby”

cole snatched the scratch out of arnolds hands in the blink of an eye

“wait cole no, you could go hol-” i shouted

“Come, sempura”

Yellow light cut through the loading bay.

Cole didn’t look like someone who’d just woken a Scratch. He looked like someone who’d waited his whole life to say the words. The dagger sat wrong in his hand. Cheap handle. Mismatched steel. No signature. No ring. Remade. Ugly. Alive.

The briefcase man barely raised his gun.

Cole was already on him. The blade punched through the heart. The case hit wet concrete. Cole kicked it toward my feet. I grabbed it without thinking.

Then Cole folded.

He coughed hard. Blood poured down his chin and spread across the floor.

He stood up.

No joke. No word. His eyes lit yellow. Veins under the skin glowed the same colour, crawling up his neck like cracks in glass. A smile pulled across his face that didn’t belong to him.

Ox swore. His men opened fire. Sparks jumped off the concrete. Cole walked through the bullets like they were rain.

Every one of Ox’s crew hit the tires. None of them got back up.

He wasn’t dodging. He was turning the rounds aside with the Giyas. Joints a half-beat late, then suddenly too smooth. Cole moved once and four bodies dropped. Only Ox remained.

“Fine, kid. You can go. My life ain’t worth five k. Keep the Scra—”

The dagger was already through his chest.

Yellow eyes found us.

“Cole.” Arnold’s hands were up, voice shaking. “It’s us. It’s Arnold. You know me. Put the Scratch down. Please.”

Cole tilted his head.

“Why do you fools keep calling me Cole?”

Arnold stepped forward. Last job. Kid on the way. All of it sat in the lines of his face.

“We can still walk away. The money, the blade—just—”

Sempura went in clean.

Arnold made a sound like a tyre giving out. Blood came with it. Cole tore the blade free and flicked the blood off in one motion. Arnold’s eyes found mine for half a second—surprised more than anything—then he dropped.

“Arnold...”

The rain thickened, or my focus did. I looked at the thing wearing Cole’s body. Still standing. Still soaked in blood that wasn’t his.

It was in front of me before I finished the thought. The blade came for my gut. I threw a hand up. Steel went straight through the palm. Heat and shock slammed up my arm. Cole yanked the knife free and kicked me in the side. The world flipped. Tires caught me. When I tried to stand, something in my ribs ground together and the air left me.

I couldn’t win this. Not straight up. Nullhaven. Find a hero. That was the only plan left.

I pushed up, clutching the side, and limped for the path through the tires.

Tires shifted in the path infront of me. A silhouette walked out of the dark like the building had grown him. Red hair. Three gold rings on each arm, climbing higher as they went. Shirt, vest, trousers, shoes—everything about him said money and not from here.

I stopped breathing.

He walked past me as if I was just another tire. I turned one muscle at a time, seconds between each movement, certain the next one would be the last.

“Oh. A Hollow, ay?”

So that’s what happens when a Scratch wins.

Cole’s eyes snapped to the red-haired man. The grin came back. He launched without thinking, blade aimed at the face.

The man caught the wrist like it was nothing and crushed until the dagger fell. Next breath he had Cole’s head in both hands and squeezed. The skull gave with a wet pop. Red sprayed. The body hit the concrete.

A Hollow. Deflecting bullets one second. Head pulp the next.

The yellow drained out of the corpse. The blade went dark, still wet with its user’s blood.

The man wiped his hands on one of Ox’s coats, glanced at the dagger and the bodies, then shrugged like rain was the only inconvenience. He started walking back toward me.

“Nulls,” he muttered. “Always so loud.”

He passed me again without looking. Made for the tire path. Last words, already fading:

“I’m hungry now. Maybe I’ll have pizza tonight.”

The dark took him.

A minute later my legs quit. Breathing went ragged.

Who the hell was that? Hero? Echo?

Pain in the ruined hand dragged me back.

Now. Before he came back. Before the feds. I shoved myself up with the good hand and tried for Arnold. The ribs screamed. I lifted the shirt—deep purple already spreading—and kept moving through the bodies.

Cole’s corpse first. Blood everywhere. The Scratch lying next to what used to be his head.

I turned and vomited until nothing came up.

Arnold was further out. Every step cost. The hole in his chest was clean through. I stood over him longer than I meant to. Tears came. Then I moved.

Briefcase in the good hand. Scratch shoved in a pocket. The blade stayed hot even in the cold rain. I limped through the tire path, through the gate, as fast as the broken side allowed.

A dead man’s Scratch in one hand. More creds than I’d ever held in the other.

And the only word in my head was the one I wasn’t ever going to say out loud.

Sempura.