†Chapter 1: Chance Encounter in the Dark†
“GET away from me! Who are you people?! What are you doing?! Stop it!” Euphemia turned and twisted her body, trying to throw off the men who had yanked her out of the car.
The two men wordlessly dragged her kicking and screaming past the freeway’s hard shoulder and into the plains beyond. The braid wrapped around her head like a crown came undone during her struggle and her specs slid to the tip of her nose.
They no longer waved around the guns they had initially threatened her with.
Two big men didn’t need guns to make one petite woman do their bidding. Case in point, Euphemia knew her efforts failed her and she stumbled forward several times as they forced her to walk over the grass-covered plains.
The balmy winds of the midsummer night carried an ominous atmosphere. Even the rustle of the dry brush sounded similar to the heartless cackling of a jeering mob.
The bright lights of Gothic City were visible under the distant sky. Highways circled the city like Saturn’s rings and its dazzling city center was enclosed by a forest of skyscrapers, emitting only a fraction of the light it once had when it was dubbed the Nightless City.
Nevertheless, the illuminated city looked like an oasis compared to the wild plains shrouded in the same darkness blotting out the sky.
Fuel saving policies for the freeways located on the city’s outskirts required that only the fourth streetlight after every three was to be lit, and although headlights illuminated the fluorescent paint on the road, the paint didn’t emit light on its own. To make matters worse, the moon and stars were hidden behind dark clouds because it was almost time for the daily downpour. While Euphemia saw the silhouettes of her attackers, she couldn’t make out their faces no matter how hard she strained her eyes against the dark.
“Let go of me! What do you want?!” she shouted, not ready to go down without a fight.
People normally didn’t venture into the city outskirts during the daily downpour hours because of the dangers associated. Apart from attending to dire matters, young women never stepped outdoors at this time, even in the highly populated urban center.
Moreover, these outskirts were still a good 5 kyros from Gothic City’s main entrance, Forzarin Gate. If these criminals were after people to mug or women to rape, setting up shop in a place like this would be bad for business. They would catch far more prey elsewhere.
Indeed, aside from those with the most extreme of circumstances, no one was crazy enough to drive through here at this hour.
At least, no normal person who was an upstanding citizen.
What the heck, Erica? Wasn’t restoring public safety one of your campaign promises? Euphemia cursed at her older sister in her thoughts. How in the colonies did this happen? Are you even doing your job? Do I just have bad luck? Or has this city and its outskirts become a whole lot more dangerous?
It’s probably both.
Euphemia furrowed her brow, narrowed her bright-green eyes, and ground her teeth to steel herself against falling into a panic.
The man dragging her behind him with a tight grasp around both her slender wrists not only refused to lessen the pressure but dug his fingers in deeper. He was never going to look back at Euphemia, and even if he did, she knew he wouldn’t give a damn.
He was short and stout, accompanied by a gaunt man of average height who led the way. The two men wore dark-colored patchwork clothing.
“I don’t have any money on me!”
Even the best voice she could muster quivered a little. The men ignored Euphemia and tossed her into the middle of a thicket a slight distance from the freeway.
“Lady, you look like you don’t have a clue ‘bout how this works. Whether you’re broke or not, men’ll only be thinkin’ ‘bout one thing—seeing you saunter ‘round with your pretty face and hot bod, ya got me?”
“Excuse me? Are you implying you specifically targeted me? To rape me?”
“You cut right to the chase, huh, lady? As long as we do as we’re told, they’re gonna give us the street equivalent of one million Nightz. You can see how attractive of a deal this is for us, yah? Now, I’d love to teach you all sorts of things before the deed is done, but sadly they haven’t told us anything aside from what we’re to do to you.”
Nightz was the name of a drug secretly circulating through Gothic City. The drug wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t so exorbitantly priced that addicts had to sell their left hand to get it. People could easily obtain Nightz by saving up enough money—provided they had the audacity to accept risky jobs like this.
“Excuse me? What did you just say?” Euphemia sharply drew in a breath.
They’re saying I was bound to be assaulted at one point or another, so they’re the ones doing it? But who’s targeting me and what for? And what deed are they going to do? I’m sure it’s not good, but do they mean they’re going to rape me? Kill me?
“Sorry, miss. Give up.”
“I won’t!” Euphemia yelled with everything she had. She felt like fear was going to swallow her whole if she didn’t scream. “You’ve made a mistake! There’s no reason for me to be targeted! I’m little more than a junior researcher! I’ve only just graduated; I’m no different from a scrub! Why me?!”
“I told ya, even we don’t know a thing ‘bout our employer. But y’know, even without an explanation, your looks alone are more than enough to invite a man to attack you. Don’t ya think, Pete?”
The gaunt man walking ahead of them turned around for the first time when his accomplice addressed him. “Oh yeah. You thought so too, Danny?” A sickening smile was plastered on his face. “I was just thinkin’ the same thing. She’s a total babe and she’s got a nice rack. It’s a damn waste to feed her to a Muta even if we get to do her first.”
“Muta? Feed me? What are you talking about?” Euphemia asked, barely stopping her voice from sounding hysteric.
Muta was the common name for the creatures that lived deep in the thick forests dotting the planet. The majority were ferocious carnivores. Shudders racked Euphemia’s body.
“We were ordered to feed you to a Muta. But we’ve found somethin’ fun to do before that.”
I don’t want to hear it. Euphemia’s mind recoiled in horror. Her throat constricted; she couldn’t breathe.