Riley's Run

The wind embraced him as if to push him away from the old paint chipped window on what had to be 100 stories up as he gazed out on this beautiful morning for what he believed to be the very last time. The apartment building had been abandoned for several years but the leftover "state of the art" security system had him locked in for what was five nights and days now. He staggered back like a 90 year old man while reaching out towards the snow white colored clouds. They seemed so close now.

Suddenly he collapsed to the floor only catching himself at the last second with his dominant arm. A shudder ran through his body as he gazed back into his own tired eyes via a piece of glass broken from the window now strewn across the floor among many other pieces and enough dirt to pot a medium sized plant. He was middle aged, tall, and stocky with high cheek bones and a firm jawline.

The image he had locked glares with began to change as a fury grew inside him like a lion caught from the wild waking to it's new barred environment surrounded by people. He had grown weak and tired but wasn't ready to give up as he shot to his feet determined to get out this time.

He left the once plush and luxurious six piece bathroom moving with strength and confidence as if he just killed a public speech in front of thousands, passing through the decrepit hallway decorated with old cracked digital art screens and a marble finish. He walked past the million dollar living room surrounding a once floating futuristic looking fireplace a step down from the foyer where he now stood with a menacing presence as if trying to intimidate the titanium steel doors in front of him. The little red light above the door still lit signifying its current locked down state.

A bloodletting scream rang out as he began towards the door grabbing the sledgehammer in one solid movement stepping forward and swinging every little pound of belief he had into the door once then again and again letting out a bloodcurdling scream between each swing. Every swing met by an equally loud bang like an ocean wave crashing against the cliffs, every swing and smash creating a flashback of his life feeding to this adrenaline filled power rage as he desperately fought this door to get out.

A loud ping rang throughout the gloomy penthouse as the head of the sledgehammer whistled off, lightening the tool so quickly he fell back as he tried to catch his momentum landing on his back. He somberly sat up looking at the only tool left at his disposal, now as useless as the rest of his feeble attempts to escape this luxurious tomb.

"This is it." He thought to himself.

"AND FOR WHAT?!" he screamed so loud his voice broke at the end and carried into a desperate dribble only the worst of us have experienced in the worst of times.

"It's not even here." He whispered lying down on his side as the last of his strength drained from his body.

The year is 2199. The world is trying to move on from the most tragedy and war filled century in it's recorded history. China finished developing it's super soldiers in 2138 claiming world dominance through foreign investment and brute strength. It launched a multi continental invasion late 2139 and a fourth world war spilled out across the globe. Nobody was safe, not even China.

They developed physically enhanced soldiers with a Nano technology consisting of micro drones injected into the body. They were programmed upon entry to seek muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones. Embedding themselves within the microfibers and the bone while interlocking their own micro joints creating an exo skeleton within a human's skeletal, musculoskeletal, and muscular system that all worked together in unison.

They also installed a neurochip that could communicate with the mass of drones in ones body through low level gamma electromagnetic waves to give the user full control unleashing the body's full potential of strength and speed. The chip even improved the firing of neurons in ones brain improving intelligence massively. All this technology came from a periodic element discovered in 2128 supposedly via a secret technologies lab somewhere in Antarctica.

The tech was groundbreaking and gave China the advantage in every aspect of the war but it put a stress on the human brain it couldn't handle despite advances in the gamma wave technology at that time. Within 6 months it burned away enough of the brain killing the host and leaving the drones to fail and shutdown, in most cases.

Thankfully China's impatient overstepping led to their downfall in 2144 as the technology had begun to evolve enough in some cases to stop burning out the brain before it was too late. Although it was enough to save the host it didn't save their sanity as they slowly unreeled becoming sociopathic loners, psychotic murderers, or even wild animal like creatures.

This ultimately led to them all turning on their brothers in arms or anyone in the way eventually crippling world governments and turning the fourth world war into mankind's fight for survival. At this point the world was already in ruin and over 4 billion people had been killed leaving large districts and cities once buzzing with life now completely dead and without a single soul.

A resistance created in 2143 using the momentum of China's detrimental oversight launched an all out final assault in 2147 on the last drone and neuro chip factory. This was also the major control hub for these evolved super humans destroying most of them and blowing the factory's fusion reactor in the process. In anticipation of this move a small chunk of the super soldiers that were self aware enough to do it disconnected from the control hub liberating themselves. Only to roam free without the maintenance facilities the control hub provided to mitigate their brains from burning away.

They scattered across the globe, some sticking together and some choosing an allegiance with the dark abyss growing within them year after year as the chip and drones slowly burned away the brain. The physical improvements affected their hearts and major internal organs as well more then doubling their life spans but with only a limited amount of time left before they completely lost their sanity, each with their own ticking clock waiting to run out.

Now over fifty years later Riley Creed found himself in the middle of a once illustrious downtown Los Angeles penthouse hunting for a "relic" that was once deemed an urban legend he had put everything on the line to find. The "little black book" it was deemed by its creator was actually a little black box, a "back door to the system". It had the power to create wealth and take it away. The power to topple governments and empires at the swipe of a finger.

In 2137 a powerful group of individuals created political reform that led to an economical reform in 2138 reshaping our form of currency. One of the individuals hired to create this now digital credit based currency system Michael Hanlen created this back door in distrust of the new political figures shaking up the world with their new policies or so legend had it. Early 2139 Michael Hanlen was found murdered in a hotel room right before he was to speak out against one of the new major policies.

Two men were connected with the scene in what was declared foul play. The two men were also connected to the most powerful gang at the time The Downtown Striders. This "mafia" was led by an obscure figure who was not uncovered before China broke out with it's "New World Order." At least until now, or so Riley thought.

His eyes opened. They were met by a room full of sunlight. He sat up entirely exhausted and for a minute confused as he gained his bearings. Rubbing his eyes he looked around spotting the hammer handle and it all rushed back in like a poorly structured dam giving way to stress of millions of tons of water. He stood slowly cradling his head with his hand as he walked over to one of the bedrooms adjoining off the living room.

Stepping into the sunlight beaming through a completely torn out chunk of wall where the window most likely once was he haggardly said aloud, "god damn it". His hand dropped from his head to his back as he arched it trying to work out a kink.

"Yeah, could be getting a massage in Tokyo but what the hell. Modern day crypt diving just seemed like the thing to do at the time." He joked to himself to slightly alter the regret of this decision in a bearable direction. The decision to sneak off to a completely abandoned city or region mind you, hunting down a long lost fairy tale without telling a soul. "Yep, and my phone..." as he exhaled a sigh of frustration "well....".

------------------------------- FIVE DAYS EARLIER ------------------------------

He stood upon a small dune of sand, head reared all the way up taking in the awesome height of the building before him.

"It had to be a hundred stories" he thought to himself.

Right as he took a step closer to the building his phone rang stopping him dead. He paused for a split second as to who it could be raced through his mind leaving his face in a puzzled manner. He grabbed it out of the pocket of his maintenance uniform.

He still had this uniform on even when he got the "message". 24 hours prior to this he had three visitors at his door. The type of highly trained, locked and loaded at all times and packed into a twenty thousand dollar suit type of visitor. He stared at the phone ringing as he recalled the event.

He was sitting on the couch of his apartment enjoying an after work beer watching some holo tv when his doorbell rang. Answering it he was greeted by two slick looking, in shape, but not too muscular suits wearing sunglasses. With a clear goon between them wearing a similar type of suit and different sunglasses, this one had more than a foot of height on Riley and packed all the muscle the first two were missing. They could of passed off as Yakuza at first glance.

"You're becoming a waste of my time." One of the smaller suits piped up as he reached into his inside coat pocket. "You wanna make a move?" He asked vigorously with a hint of violence. His hand kept hidden in his coat. The suit got real serious bringing his head forward and down like a panther ready to strike on its prey. Riley could feel the heated gaze searing through the shaded glasses. He remained calm. The second suit stepped forward.

"Listen" he said as he put his hand in front of the first de-escalating the situation temporarily. The big one stepped forward and placed a hand on the calmer suits shoulder as if getting ready to make a move. The suit continued,

"You know why we're here, the only reason you're not dead already is because of who you are. You have three days to get that cred with seventy five percent interest."

"Wait, seventy five?" Riley had a look of contempt as he spoke up.

"What huh, what?" The calmer suit lowered his hand before simultaneously throwing up both hands. "You don't like it? I don't care! Keep running your mouth, please make my day." He had an air of experience about him adjusting his suit jacket with one quick pull with both hands making sure he looked presentable.

Riley sized these guys up but this wasn't an action movie, this was real life. On his best day he might take the first two together but not all three and even moving for his gun was suicide. He sighed.

"Fine, but get the hell out of here now." He said holding eye contact.

The calmer suit took a step forward as a little eye twitch broke out from under his glasses. The first suit with his pocket hand pulled out a chrome plated handgun and pointed it at him.

"I'm just gonna kill him and-" he was cut off by the more composed calmer suit.

"NO. HE SPECIFICALLY TOLD US TO GIVE HIM THREE DAYS!" as he violently shook his hand in the air like a karate chop head turned slightly and down in the other suits direction. The handgun slowly lowered as he kissed the air in Riley's direction. Riley winced right back.

"You just made it slow." The calm one said as he brought his head up.

"Oh good." Riley broke a smirk.

"See ya soon." the suit with the gun uttered in a sadistic twisted voice stepping away from the door first, closely followed by the bigger quiet one.

"Get it." The seeming leader of the three took his glasses off making true eye contact and began stepping away. Riley couldn't believe what he was looking at. His eyes had a low red glow to them. A glow only the later models of supers had. Riley had hunted supers before and even assassinated some powerful hitmen in his time but a super and a hitman in one? Supers weren't ones to be controlled rather they were one man army's going their own direction. He'd never known or seen a super to be willingly part of an organization before.

"What the fu-" he couldn't even finish getting the sentence as the super walked away. Closing the door he whipped around knowing he had to do something. He thought about how he used to go around doing the intimidating and that he hated being on the other side of it. Then it hit him.

One of the recent lunch hours at his fake job meant to mask his illegal doings, he over heard two workers talking about an old documentary describing Michael Hanlen and the supposed story of his "little black book". How he was murdered and the convicted killers had straight connections to the Strider mafia and how if anybody had it, that mafia leader did. The worker then went into something about bucket lists and how he wanted to treasure hunt for this thing someday. How he did some digging and found out the mafia leader lived atop the tallest building in the city of L.A.

"That's it!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his old fashioned handgun from the bedroom closet along with a long thin looking stick. He bolted out the door into the back alley walking fast hitting the street looking for a suitable car to steal with this stick. Suddenly the ringing brought him back to his phone.

He stared at it realizing it was his best friend calling.

"Jacob" he whispered to himself as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Riley, how you doing old dog?" a voice on the phone said genuinely.

"Jacob, you old bastard. You still owe me one ya know." The two men both paused for several seconds and then began laughing. Jacob was a type of fixer, lined up jobs for the shadier side of things.

"Well if you'd take a damn job once in a while maybe we could call it even huh?" Riley could hear the smile from Jake over the phone.

"You know I'm too rusty for this stuff anymore man, and after the Echelon job..."

"Yeah...that was, some really terrible stuff man." There was another several second pause. "You know it wasn't your fault man, sometimes shit just happens."

"I don't want to talk about that right now" Riley's voice trailed off. "So what's up?"

"Just checking up on you man, ya know I worry about you. Is everything ok? Do you need anything?" Riley thought about giving in, after all it was his best friend.

"Naw man, just gonna finish watching the game and call it a night." He glanced up again at this giant monument devoted to the constructional capabilities of the modern world.

"Are you sure?" He almost seemed to sense his situation.

"Yeah I'm good lad, have a good night Jacob." Before Jacob could answer he turned the phone off.

"Ok, just you and me now." He said to himself as he continued forward into this modern crypt. He walked into the lobby and stopped for a minute taking in all the fabulous architecture. Sky high ceiling with large waiting areas on either side and an old raggedy red carpet flowing out from underneath the dunes that had drifted into the entrance over the years.

The carpet led up to a vast semi circular shaped counter with a giant staircase slightly spiraling up from the floor on either side to a hall way that was beyond his vision. He walked forward with that slow confidence an experienced fighter has as he walks up to the octagon. He spent a minute behind the counter searching for some type of master key card. These places always operated like that. Finally he found it among a pile of important invoices all made out to a Mr. Red on the penthouse level.

"Mr. Red eh" he threw the papers to the floor and raced up the steps as he found a new energy from this discovery making him feel he was perhaps onto something here. A tiny little red light caught his eye.

"You're kidding me." The elevators were still working, perhaps the emergency generator was still running after all this time? It wasn't impossible. Swiping his card through an open slot on the wall the elevator gave off that usual ping as the doors rolled open along with a cloud of dust.

His heart began pounding as he entered and hit the top floor button. The doors closed and he could feel the elevator begin to take off. It took a few minutes to cover the great height of the building, a few minutes that Riley used to get his gun ready. He had no idea what could be waiting for him up there.

He could feel the elevator slow down and come to a stop. That familiar ping sound rang out as the doors rolled open. Riley kept close to the walls of the elevator. He stuck his head out quickly and was met by a somewhat strong breeze flowing through the place. He slowly stepped out both hands on the pistol grip as he moved further into the penthouse.

It was completely ruined. There was rubbish and debris everywhere that seemed to have no home or at least a place he could fit it back into with his imagination.

"How the hell does dirt get up here?" He sputtered out with half a laugh. Immediately his mind switched back to finding this relic. Right as he went to bolt for the first room the ping noise went off and the doors rolled shut. He stopped for only a second making sure he was still alone. Then he raced off again tearing apart everything from the art screens to the walls and any left over furniture for the rest of the day.

Nightfall had arrived, along with the shrieks and screams of something down below. He stood on the massively sized balcony complete with it's own hot tub, shower, kitchen counter, and fireplace as he gazed below hoping for a glance of this mystery creature.

"Oh yeah sure, let's get some monster problems too." He sighed and meandered over to the now torn apart mattress on the bedroom floor. He cradled his gun to his chest as he got settled in for the night wondering who Mr. Red had to be and what kind of creature could be making those noises? Noises so loud it only made sense that they came from much closer below than from the very bottom of the tower.

Morning arrived. He sat up rubbing his eyes as his stomach growled. He looked around the room desperately trying to think of a place he hadn't checked yet but the thought never arrived. He slowly stood up thinking about where he might forage some food or water as he shuffled to the elevator. He searched for the key card on his person and began to panic.

"Always the last place you look" he said with a sigh of relief pulling the card from a back pocket. He swiped the card, but nothing happened. He kept swiping all the different directions, angles, and positions as the panic slowly set in.

"Right." He said calmly taking a step away from the door. He spun around taking a few more steps then began screaming from a squatting position both hands stretched out as if he was about to sumo wrestle. He trotted to the balcony trying to get his brain going.

"This is not good!" He peered over the balcony with no sign of the creature from last night. He then proceeded to step over the balcony hoping to find a foothold that might lead to a window or balcony below. Once he threw both legs over he then dropped a foot as he lowered his body position trying to find a place to rest that foot.

He looked down trying to spot such a ledge, he looked further down and it hit him like a runaway semi truck. The vertigo was like nothing he had ever experienced. The entire world was spinning and falling all at the same time.

"Uuggghhh, oh no way" as he tried to pull himself up his other foot slipped right off the ledge and the sudden weight shift broke his hand grip from the railing. He immediately caught the bottom of the balcony realizing there was no foothold in sight as he dangled like a monkey over a 6 second fall. He was so desperate not to die here and now as his failed marriages, dangerous contracts, friends, and family all raced through his mind.

He screamed as he pulled up with everything he had, finding an old strength he grabbed the bars supporting the rails and scaled up through his grip until he was resting on the railing; both feet secured on the ledge. He sat here for a minute catching his breath.

"Maybe I should make a phone call." A shiver ran down through his spine as the breeze surged by.

"Come on Riley, you can do this." He had to talk himself into asking for help which drove him crazy, it forced him to feel absolutely helpless and he hated it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. He grabbed his phone but it wasn't there. He checked all his pockets and realized it must of slipped out just now as he dangled for his life barely catching himself in time. He closed his eyes as hard as he possibly could before throwing himself over the railing into a good lay down.

"There's no possible way this is all happening to me" he sat up cupping his face with his hands. Then he heard it again, the shrieks and screams. He approached the railing cautiously peeking over the edge. Couldn't see anything down below but these noises although similar were quieter and definitely closer.

"This little adventure is gonna be one hell of a party story, yup." Little did he know he was about to run a gauntlet. A gauntlet created and pushed forward by a local native he would soon meet.

That familiar ping rang throughout the apartment and carried out onto the balcony. Riley's eyes widened as he stood straight up. He heard the doors roll open quickly followed up by a slapping noise that hit twice inside and once on the balcony covering great distance quickly. A small roar accompanied this noise that stopped only ten feet behind him. He had already whipped around, handgun drawn.

The creature stood before him battered, bruised, and dirty with tangled long hair crowning that low red glow. It was a super. The gnarled teeth, tattered rags for clothes and rippling muscles signifying it had gone "rabid" as the fixers called them. No real sense or logic to them, in fact they couldn't even talk. They just tore apart anything in their path like some sort of half lion half man creature.

He had dealt with two before in his decades completing contracts. They were rare but just as hard to kill. Unlike the werewolves of long lost story they were very real but like the legend's they had crippling speed and strength unmatched by even the most highly trained military supers.

It snarled once signaling it's attack. Riley lowered his gun baiting the trap as the creature sprang forward with blistering speed arching into a rainbow like shape as it threw it's hands down springing itself up and forward as time slowed for Riley. He dropped and twisted into a three sixty right out of the way as the creature slid along the flooring trying to change the direction or at least stop in time but it's sharp claws couldn't dig into anything in time.

It slid right into the railing taking it out as it tumbled over the edge. Riley snapped his attention towards the elevator which hadn't produced anything else. There was nothing or nobody else which was strange considering the creatures weren't refined enough to learn the use of elevators. The snarling met his ears once more causing him to slowly turn around.

The super was already back up on the ledge. It's eyes so black and hollow now as it's jaw hung open in an animalistic nature. It puffed its chest out unleashing a roar. Riley popped off one, two, then three shots. The creature was so very fast throwing three sixty's and ducking the shots with ease. Riley hit a full run before he even hit the balcony doorway listening to the slapping quickly closing in behind him as the creature leaped and bounded.

He kept it full tilt until the slapping was right behind him, he jumped forward twisting in the air aiming as the creature stretched through mid air lunging and reaching for him. As he landed he got a round off penetrating it's shoulder and forcing it up to stand stunned for only a second. It had caught up to him in the hallway and now stood over him in a bedroom doorway. Before he could assess another shot his gun was flying across the room slapped out of his hand by the creature now face to face with him as he laid there.

He threw an elbow into the face of the creature creating enough room to drive both feet up as hard as he could pushing it back several feet. It was enough room to get him on his feet before the super tackled his midsection slamming him against the wall. It knocked the wind clear from his body. Another roar like a lion about to kill it's prey rang out before it launched him into the ceiling. He landed hard on the floor out cold but it wasn't done with him.

It picked him up pinning him against the wall before slamming it's razor sharp finger into his shoulder forcing him awake screaming and wincing from the pain. Blood gushed out around it's finger. The adrenaline kicked in clearing the pain from his head which was physically level with the creatures now.

"You don't know who I am do you?" He felt his much younger and quicker self seep back into his body. It let out a snarl as it tried to intimidate him away from the brave gesture.

Like all supers there were weak spots that could be utilized in such times like this. Weak spots it didn't even know it had. The first defect was the right knee, developed and designed by separate manufacturers it had a structural weakness that left it exposed from side blows. He reared up his kick bringing his knee almost to his chin angling his leg. He launched it sending his foot right through the area mangling the supers knee in a twisted fashion as it screamed out in pain.

It grabbed him by the scruff with it's chest facing off to the side as it struggled to recover from that blow to it's knee. It sent him into the wall across the room, the wall caved in creating a temporary sitting area before he rolled out of it moaning like an old man. He felt his pain tolerance coming back as he rose to his feet. The second defect was the very middle of their spine again developed and designed by the same manufacturer, who tied all the systems together into this spot leaving what they thought was the only weakness; justified by the fact that the supers were too quick to get caught from behind.

The creature had both claw filled hands radiating around the knee wanting to fix the problem but it was so mangled. Riley quickly and quietly ran forward launching his body into the air for a precise and powerful drop kick just as the creature turned it's head to witness the incoming blow. A loud crack thundered through the room as the creature fell forward onto the floor. It's left arm completely lifeless as the blow severed a connection somewhere but it was still a dangerous machine rising to it's feet. As he stepped to the left wanting to side kick the temple it twisted throwing out it's left foot straight into Riley's gut sending him through the doorway. The kick mangled the knee even more as it screamed out in pain with an almost digital cyber tinge to it's voice.

He laid there holding his midsection trying to pull himself together. He scampered in the opposite direction as it limped through the doorway snarling barely standing up straight. He got into the foyer and stood up. The creature not far behind lunged forward going for the killing blow which caught him off guard turning around last second, the image of this tremendous creature leaping at him forced his instinct of fear as he dropped his body as quick as he could.

The creature cleared over top scratching his face on the way by trying to get a grip. With two bad limbs and currently upside down the creature landed on it's head at an angle and rolled right into the step stunning it pretty bad. Riley stood up holding his face dripping with blood watching the creature get itself to it's knees yet again facing away from him. He stepped forward without hesitation trying to utilize the third final weakness. Part of their neck bone was left exposed against the brain stem since the exo skeleton wrapped itself around both parts together like a good burrito meaning a simple break would splinter the bone right into the stem.

The creature was coming out of it's daze as his already placed hands tilted it's head down and twisted in a violent manner. The creature raised it's hands to do something but stopped midway, blood leaked out the mouth as it fell forward dead before it met the floor. Riley collapsed right behind it staring up at the ceiling.

He couldn't believe he just survived that onslaught. They were either getting faster or he was getting slower, neither of which he was very sure about. His breathing slowed as the rest of his body caught up with him. So many questions raced through his mind. He closed his eyes as he felt the blood from his shoulder wound running further up his uniform. That ping rang out again jolting him up to a sitting position as it dawned on him he never noticed the elevator leave.

The doors rolled open revealing a figure maybe a few inches taller than him. It was a large man of african american descent clearly. He had dreads, wore a long pieced together dark coloured leather coat that ran down to his ankles. He stepped forward moving with grace completely outdoing his home made outfit. He dropped a sledgehammer by the wall as he continued forward stopping in the foyer.

His eyes spotted the super's body right away. A look of sadness flashed across his face that quickly transformed into something much more sinister as he locked eyes with Riley.

"Who the hell is this now?!" Riley exclaimed throwing up the arm of his good shoulder almost comically.

"What have you done?" The man had an unplaced accent as if he had taught himself how to speak and hadn't had the chance to refine it by consistent human interaction. Tears came to his eyes as he screamed and reached down to his waist with both hands. By this point Riley was already up and moving to the room with his gun. The man brought out two large handguns slamming off energized round after energized round. The bullets flew through the air leaving a blue streak before imploding on impact making a single shot a thousand percent lethal.

The shooting followed Riley across the room as he bolted forward just barely ahead of the small explosions sending debris flying all over the place. His leg gave out right before the doorway sending him sliding through it. He twisted his head around from his prone position just in time to catch more gunshots flying through the walls tearing up the once beautiful bedroom.

"You killed my only friend!" The man screamed as he could be heard stepping down the hallway dropping magazines and reloading.

"You can do better then that Johnny! It's ok I call you Johnny right?" The man screamed with irritation. Riley had rolled right onto his gun and grabbed it pulling the slide back clearing any jam and chambering another round. The man began stepping through the doorway as Riley hammered out three rounds, one just grazing the mans throat and sending him into the hallway wall. Riley shot into a forward roll putting him against the wall beside the door.

The man came around a split second later gun fully stretched out and away from his body leaving him vulnerable to close quarter combat. Riley needed answers and to get the hell out of here, killing this mysterious man wouldn't accomplish that. He drove his fist into the man's side throwing a right almost simultaneously meeting the man's chin. Off guard the man stumbled back dropping one gun.

Riley wrapped both hands around behind the man's neck overlapping each other as he brought both his elbows together for complete control and pulled down firing his knee up into the man's face then the other knee stepping him towards the door and forcing the dropping of his second gun. Riley finished with a throw into the wall and a three hit combo ending with a high head kick. The man was hardly phased as he stepped into Riley's gut with a push kick launching him a few feet back.

"You can fight, but so can I." The man preached with that native accent.

"Come and get it" the native held out his hands as if he was playing Jesus. Riley shot forward with a superman punch followed by a body kick and spinning heel kick which were all checked by the behemoth of a man who launched an unexpected hook sending him stumbling back. The native chasing a finish stepped right into a head high side kick placed by Riley snapping the native's head back for a split second that Riley used to showtime kick his head again from the side. The man stumbled back right into the wall catching himself.

"I grow impatient" as he drew an older but still in decent shape machete from his back.

"Oh come on, that's cheating!" Riley exclaimed as the man stepped closer and closer with more caution than the first time. He began spinning the blade side to side showcasing some great wrist maneuverability.

"Just listen for a minute, that friend of yours almost killed me ya know. Ok ok let's be friends how about?" as Riley held both hands up. The native swung forward and from above attempting to split Riley's skull. Without a drop of hesitation Riley stepped into it with crossed arms meeting the native's forearm stopping the death dealing blow immediately, he finished with a low sweeping twist kick clearing the natives feet off the floor as the man slammed into the ground still holding the blade.

Before the man could think what to do Riley was already on top in side control keeping dominance over the blade arm trying to at least wrestle away the blade. The native now under the impression of fighting for his life grabbed Riley's collar with his free hand and threw him into the wall across the room rolling to his feet in one smooth move. This impact stunned Riley leaving him on all fours parallel to the wall, luckily for him the man wanted to inflict more pain before finishing him off.

The native stepped forward launching an aggressive front kick into his ribs placing him into the wall before landing on his back. The man reached down taking a knee gripping Riley's collar again but got a knee to his back that sent him in a forward roll towards the door. Riley used this to roll backward getting to his feet and without even looking jumped into a dropkick sending the native through the doorway as the native was still trying to square up again stumbling back but catching himself in the hallway. Riley scrambled to his feet.

"STOP! I don't want to kill you man, I have no issue with you. Just please stop." Riley tried to reason with him.

"It's too late! Your life is forfeit, Mr. Creed." He pointed his machete at him with wide violent eyes stepping forward.

"How- how do you know my name?" He stumbled back a step in complete shock. Had a hit been put out on him? Even if it had how the hell did this old fashion native know where he was? His thoughts were cut off by the native lunging forward with his blade aiming for decapitation, Riley ducked under and side stepped towards the man positioning himself directly behind him.

The native compensated by throwing the back of his elbow right into Riley's face knocking him against the wall. Knowing that blade could end things quickly he threw a hard side kick finding it's mark on the man's midsection sending him a couple steps back. Regaining composure the native threw a stealthy strike with the blade without looking but only found wall as Riley had already ducked under and moved towards the opposite wall.

The native looked over in time to catch a one two to his chin and again swung as Riley rolled out into the section of floor neither foyer or hallway rather somewhere in between.

"I just want to get the hell out of here man, whatever they're paying you I can get you more money. I can be your friend, whatever you want man!" Riley desperately tried to convince him.

"This stopped being about money when you killed my boy over there." The native calmly but sternly stated as he stepped closer.

"How do you even become friends with a monster like that? Met at the bar?" Riley chuckled but the native only stared intensely as he continued forward slowly.

Riley took a step back every time the man did maintaining their distance until the native stopped.

"Only one of us will be leaving here today." The native took off his jacket and threw it to the side.

With a seemingly heavy heart Riley glanced around quickly,

"I'm sorry but it's not going to be you." He held the natives stare.

"I am ready to die, are you?" He pointed with his machete again.

"I already have." He whispered before jumping into a sprint reaching the native as he pulled back the machete. He jumped up on him wrapping his legs around his upper torso and began speed punching his face while he kept a hand on the arm with the blade. Blood spattered everywhere then a low rumble erupted from the native, he began spinning around building momentum that stopped the punching. Before Riley could get a better grip he was launched across the living room landing face first in front of the balcony door.

A bloodthirsty scream took over as the native snapped feeding into his anger. Riley tried to get up before the man reached him but it was a fruitless effort. He was grabbed by the throat and picked clear off the ground, the man's grip tightened around his neck and kept getting tighter. The man's eyes were completely bloodshot with rage and as wide as a full moon. The native moved his other arm back gearing up the final blow with his machete.

Using the small weight transfer Riley threw both feet into the man's chest launching him straight back onto the balcony strewn across the floor as he gasped for air. The native was knocked down but quickly sat up. They locked eyes again, Riley emanating fear in his and the native being completely focused on this kill. The man got to his feet and slowly stepped forward.

"It can't end this way." Riley's voice had grown raspy from the choking. He grasped his throat wincing trying to think of something. He frantically looked around hoping for anything even a piece of glass. There was nothing and the man now stood only a few feet away, machete hanging at his side.

"I am not dishonorable Riley. I will allow a last request, I don't promise anything but if I can grant it I will. Perhaps a last thought before you depart this world for good?" The look in his eyes had gone from bloodthirsty to meaningful, but the violence wasn't very far away.

"How do you know my name?" Riley barely got the words out.

"A contract was put out on you two days ago. I have an old system but it lets me get the info I need on active contracts, you really think you are the first to retreat into my wasteland?" He laughed wisely.

"I wasn't running, I'm looking for a relic. The little black book." His voice was getting better now.

The native perked up when he heard this, crouching to Riley's level.

"That's a simple bedtime story meant to help the children sleep." He had very little doubt about what he was saying as he yet again had the machete pointed at him.

"It's not. It's supposed to be right here somewhere in this very penthouse." Riley now getting excited with the growing curiosity in the native.

"P-Pent hawse." The native clearly didn't understand the word.

"This is a pathetic excuse." The native stood back up tightening his grip on the machete. He then looked to the sky as he began praying in some native language.

"So this is it. This would be my final resting place, far from home chasing a relic that probably doesn't even exist. Killed by one badass hitman at least. I used to be that guy, somewhere in there I still am but this fight is lost. No strength and no adrenaline to pull from, I'm so tired." He thought to himself. Riley closed his eyes ready to embrace what was coming.

Suddenly a shriek carried through the air. Riley looked back toward the edge witnessing this large gnarly looking creature crawl up onto the balcony. It had to be twelve feet tall. It was long and gangly with scaled like skin. What had to be six inch claws, it had a fin coming off the back of it's neck with a long snout full of razor sharp looking teeth. None of which were linear with each other, all firing off in separate directions leaving quite a mangled looking mouth. It looked like a god damn dinosaur on steroids.

It paid no attention to Riley but showed great curiosity towards the native. It moved it's head like a bird but stepped forward like a velociraptor's much bigger and more vicious cousin. The native slowly stepped backwards blade in hand ready to swing. In a flash the creature jumped forward snapping at him and bobbing it's head around as it dodged the first machete swing. It then swung it's head around from one side to the other landing it on the natives shoulder firing him off to the side of the balcony against a wall.

Those teeth and claws were immense. Could of finished the man but instead it toyed with him. Riley finding his shaky legs underneath him ran quietly behind the creature as it faced off with the native again. He ran through the doorway taking one more glance as the native let out a war cry before lunging at the creature. He rushed to the energized weapons dropped by the man in their first scuffle. He could hear shrieks and the man yelling out as he swung around his blade.

As Riley found and picked up the second weapon a sound he will never forget came. The type of fear filled scream that would haunt your worse nightmares rang out. He rushed to the balcony in time to catch the creature with three of it's fingers in the man, claws sticking out his back and blood coming out his mouth. The creature had a few nasty looking gouges on it with no machete in sight.

"Please, KILL ME." The native begged peering at Riley as he began crying and wincing. The creature brought him clear off the ground as he screamed in pain struggling to move. Before Riley could raise the weapons the creature snapped it's head forward wrapping it's jaws around the man's throat. The screaming that ensued burned into his memory forever as the creature bit his head clean off halting the screaming and began crunching on it as it threw the body over the edge.

"NOOOOOO!" He screamed out scared and tired blasting round after round through the creature. Bits and chunks flew out and landed around it. It staggered backward with each shot and shrieked one last time almost like a dog whining in pain then fell back cleanly off the edge. His breathing was heavy, he collapsed right where he was crying before passing out sometime later.

He slept through the rest of the day and half of the next. He realized the sun was at it's highest point when he awoke. The smell of rotting blood on the air. There was no confusion this time when he woke, he looked straight to the blood soaked spot a few feet away where it happened. He scavenged for food, water or anything that would extend his time in this world long enough to escape this cold modern tomb.

There was nothing. Everything had been destroyed or carried away at some point by the look of it. Low on energy he spent the rest of the day trying to conceive a contraption that would get him out of here. He managed to scrape together some wood salvage boards, a few nails, and a short fashioned rope out of some old clothes found lying around. He stood before his tools and resources.

"Tomorrow I'm getting the fuck out of here. When I'm finally out of here I'm hitting the masseuse in Japan." He thought to himself. He hit his old mattress again as nightfall came accompanied by several very loud shrieks ringing out from below. They sounded more aggressive than last time and like there were also two sources this time. He sat up thinking about the possibility of a mom and dad, how lethal they had to be compared to this youngling that saved his life just in time. He laid back down putting it in the back of his head as he got his rest for the big move tomorrow.

Morning had arrived. It was the fourth day being stuck up here. He thought about marking the wall to keep track just in case but he also figured that would make this luxurious prison all too real. He went to his newfound resources and began trying different combinations with the boards. From a cross to an x and other shapes. He slowly stepped over to the first bedroom where the chunk of wall was ripped out where the window had been. He held up a star shape pattern holding it against the background as he came up with the idea.

He would build an anchor that would rest on the inside of the wall's hole and he would use the rope attached to it to try and get to the floor below him. He stood near this hole mulling over details like if the anchor broke or the makeshift rope gave way. He figured it would be quicker than staying up here and proceeded to put it out of his mind as he began nailing the boards together with the giant sledgehammer the native had left.

He thought about the man as he put together this off center star shaped anchor. Thought about how the man was so furious about losing his "friend" and how terrible it must of been to attach yourself to such a creature. How the man had managed to subside his anger near the end to allow a final right quite unexpected from someone so cutoff from the world. How he was his best chance of getting out of here and then disappeared so quickly. That creature and how fast and deadly it was. He never heard of this dangerous creature from even the most experienced and well traveled scrappers. It must of been a new addition to this barren wasteland somehow and if that was the case what else might be out there.

All his thoughts got sucked out like a vacuum as he finished hammering the last nail through his fashioned rope and into the boards. He took a huge breath as he rose to his feet cradling his creation like a newborn child. This was it, this was the way out of here. As a man of habit he put his sledgehammer back beside the door as almost a small tribute to the native.

He now stood before the hole for a few minutes talking himself into facing the six second fall with bravery and fortitude. It didn't help much but he knew he had no choice. He slotted the homemade anchor into the smaller gap on the bottom of the hole in the wall and threw himself over the small ledge like he was an experienced rappeler.

He gave it a good tug before grabbing the rope with both hands and slowly descending down the wall. So far it was pretty solid and he began to trust it more every second as the wind seemed to pick up. He could see a window not far below him, maybe another eight feet. He had already gone six feet and was a step away from a ledge on the side of the building when he felt the clothes beginning to rip. Then the noise as they tore apart forcing him to take the six inch wide ledge between two separate floors.

Before he could get a full footing on it a great snap came from above and the clothing rope fell behind him along with the scrap wood close behind. He had only his toes on the edge when the weight gave away. He slipped immediately again catching himself at the last possible second fingers keeping him from falling. The vertigo was trying to sneak in as the memory of the last dangling session seeped in like a black coffee getting cream.

He wasn't nearly as strong as last time, he could already feel the coarse surface of the ledge digging into his hands. He had to make a choice, try for the window that he could feel with his feet that seemed not to budge from out here as he tried feeling around it and kicking it or pull himself back up and try to find another way. He pulled up but didn't get anywhere. He kept his vision up as he could feel the wind cooling off his legs and spine, he quickly realized this was the adrenaline coming in as the fear of what was below really sank in.

He screamed out as he pulled up with everything he had to give, arms trembling like an earthquake was hitting. He got his elbows on the ledge and took a breath realizing he gained some ground. Then he kept pushing with everything he had again. He tried so hard his voice completely broke at the end of the last scream as he managed to get his ass high enough to twist and sit on the narrow ledge. He took a huge sigh of relief knowing this was much better then where he was 5 seconds ago.

His legs felt like they weighed nothing. He kept his head up trying not to break down facing this immense challenge. This was the first time he had begun praying as he felt the entire world was pushing down further and further. A tear rolled out and he found his strength again, to keep going.

He started shuffling himself sideways before slowly twisting his body and getting a knee underneath him. He stood up very carefully keeping his entire body as tight to the wall as he could the whole time. A simple wind gust could take him from this perch any minute. That's when the memory of his father hopped into his head.

He was a little boy maybe nine years old standing in the garage watching his father argue with his mother about something he couldn't understand. He just remembered there being something wrong and that his dad was going to fix it. It was strange though since his mom begged and pleaded for him not to go and he remembered not understanding why. His father had just consoled his mom and got into the started car while the garage door opened.

His mother collapsed in the corner beside him crying her eyes out, he remembered being so deathly afraid. He had never seen his mother like that before or since. This was when his dad peeled out of the car and walked over to him kneeling.

"Son, I need you to do something for me." His father held his hand with the utmost sincerity in his eyes. "Son, I need you to promise me. Promise me if you're ever in trouble you'll just keep going. Ok? Just keep going."

He snapped back to reality. Just keep going he thought to himself. That was the last time he'd ever seen his father. His mother always told him that he left on a business trip but was killed in a car accident. He even checked the records on his death because he didn't believe her leaving the way he did. Everything had checked out.

So now he just kept going. Step by step he moved across the ledge shuffling as carefully as he could and even managed to step over a broken off part of the ledge that had left a three foot wide gap. He just kept going, he kept thinking that every step never looking down.

It was working, he had moved across the entire ledge coming to a corner. He slowly inched around it keeping himself glued to the wall the entire time. A huge Caw blistered through the air forcing him to look up just in time as a massive bird came screaming down towards him talons the size of his fingers. It went straight for his face and he barely ducked in time as it ripped a massive chunk of wall out above him where his face was only seconds ago.

This encounter forced him to look down and the vertigo slammed into him like a freight train. He quivered and trembled trying not to lose his balance but he knew he couldn't keep it up. Another ear-piercing caw carried through the air and the massive bird was circling back around getting ready for another run at him. He got a better look at it this time. Like an oversized Bald Eagle but with a black body and red head. It began it's descent aimed right at him.

He spotted a maintenance door only ten feet away. He shuffled like he never shuffled before covering half the distance before realizing the bird was almost to him. This time the bird was aiming for his pelvis forcing him to leap sideways towards the hatch but he slipped and only just caught himself in time again dangling like a monkey. A great gust of wind immediately showered over him from the force of the bird driving it's talons into the wall. It even held on as it peered viciously into his soul.

It hung only a few feet away launching a caw directly in his face saliva oozing out of it's mouth. It was so loud he almost let go to cover his ears. He began screaming as he was sure his ears were bleeding. The creature took one last look. They caught each others eyes. It's eyes were so deep and green, with a tree branch for a pupil. Like it's eye had been cracked, and so full of evil. Red feathers all over it's head pointing off in every direction bent and frayed. It smelled terrible like a dirty laundry and oil concoction forcing him to gag. It released itself twisting into a dive straight down. He couldn't believe it but a small rush of adrenaline had taken over, enough to pull himself up to the ledge again easier then last time placing him next to the hatch.

He scuffled to the other side of the hatch before twisting the handle and swinging it open, the hinges squawking as he did. It was dark and damp, he put one foot over the ledge into the hatch hunting for solid ground as he sat down peering back out at the bird circling round yet again. He felt it, felt like a grate with intact railings shaking and vibrating as he stomped it testing it out. He stepped inside quickly as another caw rang out right behind him. He just got the hatch closed as a tremendously loud bang echoed throughout this new chamber. He heard the bird flapping and cawing differently then before like it got hurt.

"Yeah, take that!" He yelled out before sighing and taking a minute to breath. He stood up and took a few cautious steps before waiting for his eyes to adjust with the dim light from above.

He realized he was standing beside a small maintenance station, a little cupboard attached to the railing with the top of it presenting itself as a table. He whipped it open finding a flashlight and a few extra batteries but nothing else, not even a first aid kit. Still better then nothing. He switched on the light and pointed it around the large concrete shaft he was in. He spotted a ladder but it only went up as the down part had broke and fallen somewhere, he spotted where the ladder continued further down at the next platform in the pitch black with his flashlight but there was no way he would reach that. It had to be twenty feet down.

Then he spotted a large chunk missing out of the wall he overlooked the first time. His eyes widened, it was a very large scratch cut out of the wall like something had been climbing around in here at some point. He swallowed the ball in his throat as he hoped it wasn't very recent and continued up the ladder. He hit a trap door that was latched and unlocked. He whipped it open and stuck his head through.

It was a small unfamiliar room, a panic room. He climbed up and closed the hatch. Looking around at the ancient food wrappers and empty water bottles that littered the floor he noticed a small safe nestled into the mean looking steel walls beside a bunch of old dusty tv screens. His eyes got even wider than before. Had he finally found the little black book? It wasn't locked as he threw the handle down and the safe unsealed itself spitting out a small amount of dust. It was accompanied by a small beep. He opened it slowly and was greeted by literally nothing. It was completely empty.

He rested his hand inside throwing his head back in frustration imagining that this is where it probably rested at some point in the last century. He sat down beside it in utter defeat. The panic room was hidden behind a bookcase of course that swung open slowly when he pressed a button on the wall. A bookcase he didn't pay any attention to when he entered the place initially. It sat discreetly off the side of the living room.

The days seemed to blur together at this point, these very long days. He drew his initials into the dust on the ancient screens in the room followed by a "was here". He winced at the thought of this being his legacy. He tried the elevator button one more time in hopes that something had changed, that he would feel silly for climbing down on his fashioned rope and anchor but nothing happened. He kept hitting it in anger that slowly turned into punching but still nothing changed.

"FUCK YOU!" He stuck up both fingers while stepping away from the elevator. He zombie walked down to the bedroom collapsing into the decrepit mattress for another brutal night of sleep. When morning finally arrived he wandered around ending up in the bathroom where he staggered and fell forward catching himself before he gazed into his old tired eyes via the broken piece of glass. It was here that he flew into a rage with the natives sledgehammer on the elevator.

"AND FOR WHAT?!" he screamed so loud his voice broke at the end and carried into a desperate dribble only the worst of us have experienced in the worst of times. "It's not even here." He whispered lying down on his side as the last of his strength drained from his body.

That familiar elevator ping rang out one more time, just as he had given up all hope.

"It was never here Riley." A deep and wise yet refined voice carried across the living room. Riley shot up completely bewildered as he gazed at the newcomer. He was in complete shock and disbelief, jaw dropped. He could barely speak as it came out scratched, tired, and weak.

"Dad?"

----------------------------------To Be Continued----------------------------------