Dead Bolt

Nightfall looms as heavy rain falls on a dark side street; old rusted lamps flicker showing trash, litter and destroyed remains covering the majority of the street. Footsteps echo in the area which catch the attention of a homeless drifter named Fed who straightens up from laying in a pile of garbage; he rubs his bloodshot eyes in order to get a clearer view of who is approaching him as the footsteps get louder. Fed’s eyes widen and he begins to laugh hysterically.

“Hey, hey it’s the big bad Eessk!”

Fed yells through his laughter as the figure walking down the streets is revealed to be Eessk, a thirty-something Asian-American young man wearing ragged street clothing with a long black coat; the only distinctive accessory on him being a bronze heart-shaped locket wrapped as a bracelet around his left hand. As Eessk nears Fed, he stops to face him as he knows Fed is harmless and non-combative.

“Think you can spare some scrap for your buddy Fed?”

Fed says as he pulls up an old-wrinkled cup with a small amount of change. Eessk sighs, but nevertheless feels around his coat pocket and pulls two coins that he puts into the cup.

“Don’t spend it all once old man.”

Eessk says in a gruff gravelly voice while Fed once again chuckles.

“Never do sonny never do.”

Fed counts the small amount in the cup.

“Watch out for the Dronies tonight. They’ve been out more than usual, no doubt the true end is coming.”

Fed sternly says as Eessk starts to walk away.

“End came and went. Be safe Fed.”

Eessk says as he waves back to Fed, who attempts to reposition himself in his makeshift garbage bed.

“The true end is coming boy! Be prepared!”

Fed yells as he falls down in the garbage and mummers “The end is coming” over and over to himself; Eessk ignores this as he has constantly heard this warning from Fed every time he sees him.

As Eessk continues his trek down the street, he puts his hands in his coat pockets and looks prominently at the ground, aiming to not make eye-contact with anyone or attract attention. As he nears a darken alley, he hears down the sound of a looming Valkyrian Drone cruiser; one of the “Dronies” Fed had warned him about. Eessk notices the steadily moving cruiser out of the corner of his eye and quickly turns down the alley to avoid detection. Once out of sight, Eessk begins to walk down the alleyway once again trying not raise any attention. As he walks, the headlights from passing cruisers illuminate the alley and show various posters featuring Johnathan Valken, the current CEO of Valkyrie Corp with a tagline at the bottom referencing its founding year of 2065. The posters however have been vandalized with words ranging from “MURDERER” to “COWARD” and “TRAITOR” written across them. As Eessk notices these posters, he shakes his head almost as if he’s trying to block them out. Eessk eventually makes it to the end of the alley which is shown to be a dead-end; he however moves to the left and knocks on the wall four times. Eessk leans against the wall as a fake portion of it moves revealing an eye-port and someone’s eyes peaking out. Eessk moves in front of the port and stares down the stranger peeking out.

“Where did the crooked man go?”

The stranger asks Eessk who clears his throat.

“He walked the crooked mile.”

Eessk says with confidence.

“And the crooked sixpence?”

The stranger asks.

“He found on a crooked stile.”

Eessk answers.

“Was the crooked cat alone?”

The stranger quickly retorts.

“It had a crooked mouse.”

Eessk says as he continues to eye down the stranger.

“And in the very end?

The stranger asks to which Eessk gets closer to the port.

“They lived in a little crooked house.”

Eessk says without breaking eye-contact with the stranger. The two don’t break contact for a few seconds; the stranger’s eyes show hesitation while Eessk’s remain emotionless. The stranger quickly closes the port leaving Eessk alone all the while he rolls his eyes in annoyance. Mechanical noises and configurations are heard as Eessk waits, but he looks around the alley to ensure no one is around. The wall begins to move revealing itself to be a modified door and Eessk is greeted by Six, the security enforcer for the Lower Rig, a secret bunker for mercenaries.

“Welcome to the Bottom Rig Mister Eessk, sorry you know the rules. Plus been hearing rumblings of rogue Bolts running about.”

Six says as Eessk walks in, almost completely ignoring him.

“Rules of the game.”

Eessk grunts as he walks past Six who turns back and types codes into a keypad to close the door. As Eessk walks down the hall, he can faintly hear voices and experimental music. He eventually makes it to a staircase where as he descends the noises become louder. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he enters the Bottom Rig, a cavern with a large bar in the center of the room. As Eessk walks in he is eyed by numerous patrons; bounty hunters and mercenaries either hiding out or getting information for assignments. Eessk doesn’t make eye contact with any of them as he approaches the bar. Once at the bar counter he takes a seat, continuing to not say anything or look at anyone. As Eessk waits, he notices on the small TV hanging above to the bar a pirated broadcast featuring the allusive conspiracy preacher “Dr. M”; a mysterious figure who has never shown his true face and is always presented in black.

“I need not remind you dear viewers that tonight marks the fiftieth anniversary of the infamous ‘Grey Event’; the day where the self-aware androids known as the Bolts appeared and ravaged society for nearly a decade. Millions dead and the hierarchy destroyed, end of the world, correct? In this case yes and no. As society neared complete collapse our supposed saviors then known as the Valkyrie Group emerged and managed to tame the savage killers. An alliance between man and machines with the Valkyrie Group evolving into the leading corporation for a better society…what a joke. All they’ve done in that time is give the machines more power. Establishing the Valkyrian Drone force to entice fear and control. Not just to innocents but also Bolts who in Valkyrie’s eyes 'didn’t see the big picture.' As a result, we’ve all become hunted prey…"

Eessk starts to drown out the TV as he has heard the same rant over and over.

“Well, well, looks who’s back.”

Eessk looks up and sees that he’s face to face with Pox, the owner and info runner of the Bottom Rig, along with being EESSK’s frequent handler for jobs. Unlike others, Eessk gives Pox his full attention.

“Quick trip if you ask me. Could’ve sworn you’d be gone for days.”

Pox says as he wipes off a glass and looks at his reflection, his cybernetic face-plating reflecting off the glass.

“You should know better.”

Eessk mutters as he pulls out a data drive and places it on the counter. Pox notices this, puts the glass down and picks up the drive. As Pox carefully inspects the drive’s contents, Eessk remains silent, examining the room and patrons around him. Pox chuckles as he puts the drive in his pocket.

“Well must say I am very impressed. Stealing from a man in a very high castle; you’ve done good before, but this is next level.”

Pox puts his hand out for a handshake, but Eessk ignores it.

“Credits and the usual.”

Eessk sternly says to which Pox chuckles and lowers his hand.

“And of course, blunt to the core. But still, you’re lucky you’re entertaining in your own way.”

Pox proceeds to make Eessk’s usual drink while Eessk continues to examine the room.

“I’m assuming that there aren’t any Dronies outside the door. Last thing you would want is to be blamed for having this establishment raided.”

Eessk moves his eyes to the left and almost makes out someone eyeing him only for the person to quickly turn away.

“Dealing with angry bar patrons wouldn’t be fun for you.”

Pox places a platinum credit payment card and Eessk’s drink: a double shot of Prime Scotch with a dash of red pepper in front of him.

“Especially when they all have guns.”

Pox chuckles while Eessk downs the drink making himself groan in the process.

“Damn least enjoy the flavor.”

Pox says as Eessk wipes his mouth.

“Deal’s a deal, right? Got your guy his thing, he’ll give me mine?”

Eessk asks while Pox who rolls his eyes.

“Like I’ve told you a million times before; yes he’ll get you your thing. And now that he has his thing it’s a definite guarantee. But just remember intel of this magnitude takes a lot-

Eessk’s coldly eyes Pox, clearly in no mood for excuses.

“Forget it. Just come back tomorrow and I’ll have something by then. Alright?”

Eessk sighs in annoyance but decides to give Pox the benefit of the doubt. He reaches into his coat pocket and places a few dollars on the counter for the drink.

“Tomorrow.”

Eessk picks up the payment card, gets up from his seat and proceeds to walk away while Pox grabs the dollars.

“I swear. I’ve never met someone who wanted to get killed so badly.”

As Eessk walks towards to the stairs to leave the cavern, he is being watched by someone across the room; someone who activates a switch on their watch.

Outside the cavern, Eessk walks out and back into the heavy, cold and bitter rain. Eessk fixes his coat as he once again tries to keep his focus on walking in a straight direction. As he makes it to the entrance leading back to the main street, Eessk hesitates for a second, obviously having the gut feeling of someone or something watching him. He eventually decides to keep moving and walks out the alley; as soon as he does though five Valkyrian Drone cruisers dash out and stop in front of him, sirens and lights flashing. Eessk merely stops walking and pulls his hands out of his pockets; he remains calm and collective. Numerous officers burst out from the cruisers, revealing themselves to be Valkyrian Combat Drones, former Bolts reprogrammed as highly skilled officers of the law sponsored by Valkyrie Corp. The Drones position themselves to surround Eessk and access their auto-controlled arm machine guns to aim at him.

“SYKIRA KORPSE! YOU ARE WANTED FOR BREAKING AND ENTERING, ASSAULT AND BATTERY AND FOR DESECRATING VALKYRIE CORPORATION PROPERTY! PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! FAILURE TO COMPLY AND WE WILL BE FORCED TO OPEN FIRE!”

One of the Drones’ yells in a monotone voice screech in order to intimidate Eessk, who ignores the fact he just heard his real name.

“AGAIN, FAILURE TO COMPLY AND WE WILL BE FORCED TO OPEN FIRE!”

The Drone once again yells to which Eessk begins to lift his arms up. As his arms get near his head, Eessk stops as he notices the heart-shaped locket wrapped around his wrest. Upon seeing the locket, Eessk closes his eyes.

“FINAL WARNING: FAILURE TO COMPLY AND WE WILL BE FORCED TO OPEN FIRE!”

The Drone yells for the last time to which Eessk takes a deep breath.

“Rae…”

Eessk whispers to himself as he quickly moves to attack; he pulls out a modified pistol from his inner coat pocket and kisses the locket. He then takes aims at one of the Drones; his eyes filled not with fear, but with pure rage. He fires, a bloodbath in the rain has begun.