Cold… that was the only thing Solonar could feel as his mother's blood seeped into the cracks of the alleyway.
Tears trickled down his cheeks as he stared at the morbid scene—four lifeless bodies sprawled across the concrete.
***
A few days earlier
"Hey kiddo, I'm off to work. Don't stay up too late for me, alright?" Misty said softly, nudging the blanket-covered figure on the couch.
No response—but she knew he was awake. She always did.
"I know you're upset," she continued, her voice laced with motherly warmth. "But you know I have to work."
Solonar stirred, his stubborn silence cracking. He turned toward her, catching those hazel eyes—sharp, mesmerizing, framed by light makeup and a touch of red lipstick. She looked radiant, and dangerous.
"Just promise me you'll be careful," he said, voice low, tight, filled with worry. "It's not safe out there."
"You know it's not safe anywhere," Misty replied with a soft chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. But the truth in her words only deepened his worry.
"Just promise me," he said again. "Tomorrow is… 'the day'," hesitating before saying the last part in a barely whisper.
She paused, hand on the doorframe. "Alright. I promise. And you—get some sleep. Only people sixteen and up get taxed, remember?"
Solonar swallowed. The words hung between them like rent notices and forcefield hums. The city took a cut of what people stored in their emocores every collection day; that energy fed the walls which kept the beasts at bay.
'Doesn't help that I'm turning sixteen next year,' he thought, forcing a smile he didn't feel.
Misty's mouth tightened for a second—an expression that meant more than a private thought could say—then she forced the same worn smile she gave clients. She moved toward the door, heels clicking softly on the floor. Just as she reached for the handle—
'If only you knew how special you are' Misty thought as her eyebrows furrowed and creased her forehead.
"Your coat!" Solonar called out, his voice rising slightly, concern oozing from his tone.
His voice severed her train of thought, Misty glanced down at her outfit—a black, tight-fitting crop top with a plunging neckline and a mini-skirt that clung to her curves. It left
little to the imagination, but she wore it like armor: bold, unapologetic, and necessary.
It was a treat for sore eyes to some but Solonar hated how much attention it drew—how it made her a target in a world that didn't care. He knew she wore it for work, for survival. But all he saw was danger stitched into every seam.
Misty's gaze shifted from her outfit to his face. The worry etched into his features warmed her heart. He didn't see her as an object of pleasure—he saw her as a mother. And that meant everything.
For Solonar's sake, she grabbed the coat from the hook and draped it over herself.
She smiled at him—tender, tired, and full of something unspoken—and stepped into the night.
Solonar watched her go, dread curling in his chest. A few days ago, another woman in her line of work had been found dead. No suspect. No leads. Just silence.
Solonar was smart enough to realize the silence from law enforcement could be due to the fact they weren't actually looking for the suspect because the victim was a tier 3 citizen.
Solonar and Misty were both tier 3 citizens as well, they lived in the outer city like the rest of the Tier 3 citizens.
The tiers marked social status— for most tier 3 citizens, they were shackles.
Sin City was built like a target—three circles, each one tighter than the last—much tighter.
Tier 1 citizens lived in the center of the city while tier 3 citizens lived in the outer-most edges and the tier 2 citizens lived in-between.
Solonar looked out the window of their small apartment toward the dark night sky with uncertainty in his eyes.
Reluctantly, he went to bed.
…
Misty could see the intimidating shimmering middle city gates in the distance, she could feel the powerful force it was emitting from afar, these were the only gaps in the forcefield that separated the middle city from the outer city.
"Sigh, here we go again" Misty exhaled and muttered under her breath, she took off her coat and hastened her steps.
Within a few minutes she was in the line of sight of the military officers stationed at the gates.
"HALT!!" an officer with a grey badge on his uniform shouted "what's a rat like you doing so far away from the gutters you call home" the officer sneered, the other two guards behind him chuckled.
The grey badge signified his rank was higher than the other two who just had plain uniforms.
"No need to be so harsh officer~~" misty said as she continued forward slowly, her hips swaying side to side, her voice and movement seemed to be laced with a hypnotic effect.
"aren't we all friends here~" she continued in the same alluring tone now standing directly in front of the officer.
A stern look could be seen on the officer's face "These cheap tricks won't work on me," he said seemingly unaffected by whatever she was doing.
With polite smile on her face seemingly taunting the grey badge, "I can't say the same for those two behind you." Misty replied looking at the two men behind the commanding officer.
Their faces were flushed as they seemed to be in a lustful daze.
"That's enough, display your identification." the grey badge said, a slight pinking tint was forming on his face as he said those words. He wasn't completely invulnerable.
Misty stretched out her arm for him to scan the watch on her wrist, reveling in her triumph the air around her returned to normal and the two dazed officers were released from their trance-like state.
The strong liked to assert dominance over the weak and the wasn't an exception to this rule.
One of the previously dazed officers stepped forward to confirm her credentials with metallic handheld scanner, the machine made a whirr sound while it displayed the information with a hologram.
The officer holding the scanner couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Misty while his superior inspected the information. Whatever she did still had lingering effects.
Name: Candace stone
Citizen grade: tier 3
Gender: female
Emocore type: Desire
Power level: Grade 2 empath
"You're free to go" he said after inspecting the information on the hologram.
With a sly smile on her face Misty stepped through the gate.
The clean road, air that didn't smell like trash and smoke were clear signs that she was no longer in the outer city.
Soon enough she hailed a flying taxi and was on her way night job, the club where she worked.
'Don't worry Solonar, we'll be living here soon', misty thought, closing the cab door behind her.
"I wonder why a grade 2 empath would choose to remain in the outer city." the grey badged officer thought to himself as he watched the taxi take off.
….
"Hey Candace— good to see you again!" a bald-headed man said in a loud cheerful tone when he noticed the approaching figure of a particular blonde woman beyond the sea of teenagers and adults trying to get in.
The neon sign that read: "The blue cherry" cast a soft glow unto his face.
She walked to the front of the line of people waiting to get into the night club, snarl of discontent teasing her ears but she paid no mind to them.
"You see me almost every week James." Misty said with a polite smile on her face, as.
"I see you almost every night, and I'm happy each time." James said, returning a wide grin to misty.
His smile was infectious now she was a smiling ear to ear.
Just as she was about to walk past the burly man, he blocked her path slightly—standing in front of her.
James lowered his head slightly and whispered into Misty's ear; "someone from the inner city is inside, y'know it's not every time we see their kind around 'ere, be careful." James said with slight worry in his tone, he moved out of the way and let her continue walking into the club, with a stern expression on his face he resumed his duty as the security guard of The blue cherry.
'The inner city, it's been a while….'