A Touch of Blue - 13. Skeletons be Chasin'

Zafiro

It is a bit hot out here which is quite annoying. I will start sweating and then everything will end up sticking to places that make my life all kinds of uncomfortable.

Jumping down, I jog over to my bike. I had kept it hidden inside someone’s shed. It was rather convenient I guess. I wish I had known about it sooner.

Before I make my leave, I grab my phone and end up calling Ama.

Since Arturo’s men had make their marks on Ama and her family, she got up and left the shop. Now I have no idea where she is. I am praying it was as far away from the train wreck as possible.

Thankfully, Ama answers rather quickly.

Before I can say anything, she speaks.

“No, I was not near the crash,” She says, “and yes the kids are safe with me. I trust Piggie and Vero are alright?”

“Yeah,” I say. “They are fine. I am on my way there now.”

There is some high pitched screaming and then Ama can be heard yelling at her kids to calm down.

“I’m glad you all are safe,” I say.

“So am I,” She says. “Did you see how much damage was caused? So many homes are gone. Thank god not a lot of people live near the tracks. It is just a shame for the ones that did.

“I guess so,” I say. “Well, I have to get going. I will hopefully see you later!”

“Night, Zafiro!” Ama says and then she ends the call.

I roll out of the shed and then I take off down the road.

The images from the monitor flash in the back of my mind.

Sadly, there looked like there were a lot of dead bodies. They were just lined up on the side of the road because nobody really knew what to do with them.

There looked like there were too many however.

Was there some kind of party being held underneath the tracks? It would be pretty fucked up if that was the case. One of the few times they have a special gathering and they end up dead.

It is all unfortunate.

Maybe if I knew who they were, I would feel more about their deaths, but I do not. I can imagine that would be seen as cruel and weird from me, but there are plenty of people in the Poor Side that are just the same.

Everything there is full of small groups (or families) and they do not bother caring for anyone else.

The Rich Side will have funerals, shrines, or even week long memorial services or billboards that sit on the sides of buildings.

Obviously they would not care for someone they consider ‘below them’, but if it was someone who managed to claw their way to the top, then they get one of those special services.

In the Poor Side, you could be buried but that is a huge maybe. If you were in a group or family, you might be cremated, but if not, your corpse just ends up rotting away for all the bugs and animals to enjoy.

The only time someone bothers with your body is if the smell starts to get too much for everyone around you. Even then, they might just pack all their things and move out.

When I was living with my Mama, there was a old man who lived above our apartment building.

He used to bring us some firewood as a way to earn money from my Mama. Well one day when he was supposed to come by, he didn’t.

We thought nothing of it at first so we just went on with our lives. I would go to my dance classes and Mama would to sneak around behind my back stealing who knows what.

Soon the smell came and we both went upstairs to investigate.

We found his body being eaten by bugs.

Did we get sad and cry? Did we scream in terror at the nasty imagery? No. We simply packed all our favorite things and moved a few floors down.

That is the way of things here, and I love it.

Or...I used to.

Lately there have been thoughts in my mind. Voices and stirrings. They ask me why did I really choose this lifestyle?

Would I have been fine if I didn’t?

I probably could have been a professional dancer at this point but I chose to go a completely different path.

Mama had said it would be best to ignore those childish impulses to steal.

I should have listened.

While I would like to blame recent events for thoughts like this, I know that would be a huge lie. These thoughts have been haunting me for quite awhile recently.

There have been many times where I have thought ‘If I could go back, I would’. Thinking like that is not a good thing however. You are supposed to learn from your experiences. I can honestly say I have learned a lot, but maybe I have been learning the wrong things?

One thing that nags at the back on my head when these thoughts resurface really messes me up.

If I never stole and just kept in line, stayed a dancer, and maybe finished school, would my Mama still be alive?

I know I might be completely ridiculous, but what if my actions had gotten my Mama in trouble? What if she was not scared about my stealing, but of the stuff I was stealing?

Sure, I stole small things like watches, rings, and every now and then clothes, but that was not at all where I stopped. I would straight up grab important documents.

I just assumed that maybe this would be a cool thing to steal. It would be like in those movies!

No, no it is not.

When stuff like that goes missing, that shit ends up being looked for.

That is what makes me think that maybe I killed my Mama. I stole the wrong things and she possibly took the blame.

It haunts me everytime I think of her or hear her name.

I feel like it is my fault she is gone. I feel it is my fault she may be dead. Either that, or it is my fault she abandoned me.

That one is the worst to me. Not her death, but being abandoned. Maybe it sparked some abandonment issues, but thanks to that, everytime I speak with Piggie and Vero, I always have a small fear that maybe they will up and leave me as well.

Of course, I do not like to let anyone know I have any problems. I may have opened up to Tin Can, but that is the last time it will ever happen again.

~~~

After parking my bike inside someone’s garage, I quickly run out and climb up onto the roof.

As I make my way up, I hear ambulances in the distance, making their way to the fallen train.

Huh. I guess the Rich Side really is going to help us for once. Maybe I have been thinking a little bit too hard on them.

I jump from one rooftop to the next, bringing myself closer to the train tracks.

As I make my way there, I see the people in the streets going about their business as if nothing has happened. It is almost like a train didn’t fall over not even a mile away or something…

Stupid people.

Again, I probably should not be thinking like that. An ambulance was on its way and that is something I have never seen before. Maybe there is a little bit of good in these people.

Well, I guess I already know that some of them do. Ama used to be one of them, right? Tin Can is one of them too. Honestly I am not sure if I want to count him. To me, he seems like a poor person living in a rich house. He looks out of place.

As handsome as he is, he does not seem happy with where he is right now. I could tell that maybe he does not even realize that about himself.

When I reach the edge of the Rich Side, I can see the giant gap in the tracks.

I can’t see the train but I see the destruction it left behind.

Buildings that once stood have fallen and they lay down in a bunch of broken chunks and pieces.

There are bodies lined up on the ground and they have blankets covering them.

Frowning, I decide to take a closer look.

It should be safe. There is nobody here that would recognize me. Actually there is no one at all. These bodies have just been left here.

Obviously I would not recognize them, but who could these people be? Nobody hangs around the train tracks. Nobody even lives near them. Everyone is scared that one day the train could fall on top of them.

Looks like today was that day.

As I walk closer to the bodies and under the track, I notice there are wires hanging from the top. They lead down one of the metal pillars that hold the track up.

When it reaches the ground, the wire is shown to be cut off.

Narrowing my eyes.

I notice there are dents along the pillar. It looks like they were caused by bullets.

There was a gunfight here. Over what?

I see some bullet shells are scattered on the ground as well.

Walking over to one of the bodies, I squat down and pull the blanket off enough for their face to be shown.

Nobody I know of course. They look perfectly fine honestly. It does not even look like they were crushed by anything.

Lifting the blanket even higher, I see what killed them.

Three spots of blood can be seen on their green clothing.

One of Cody’s goons.

Are all of these people his?

Tossing the blanket back, I check on the others.

They all died the same way. They got shot and were killed. The main difference is that everyone else is wearing red and black. The first man was the only one in green.

So Arturo’s men were here and they had lost. They only managed to take down one of Cody’s men.

Just what were they fighting over? Obviously it had something to do with the bridge. Was it a bomb? Did a bomb destroy the bridge and bring down the train?

I should check on the train and see what was inside. I just need to follow the trail of broken buildings.

When I walk under the area that was bombed, I see there are even more bodies lined up.

Geez, how many people fought here? There are so many.

Whenever I lift up any blankets, all I see are Cody and Arturo’s colors.

The least people could do was line them up and cover them, but even then, they are just going to leave them here? Even the Rich Side would be able to see them. Surely they would do something about all these bodies laying here?

There is a clear trail of buildings that were unlucky to be run over by the train. Looks like it fell down and began sliding diagonally.

I grapple onto one of the buildings that was untouched and jump along the rooftops, following the trail of broken buildings and dead gang bodies.

When I finally see the train, I see something I never expected to see.

There are U.U.P.P. Officers! They are walking along the train and hooking cables around it. There are a bunch of aircrafts that are carrying off different parts of the train.

They are taking away whatever is inside and I want to take a peek.

Sliding down with my grapple, I quickly sneak my way towards the train.

As I make my way there, I see families crying for help. They are dirty and some are even bleeding. They call to the Officers and they simply ignore them.

I guess that was to be expected.

It does get some of the Officers’ attention so I use that as my queue to move in.

I reach a cart that does not have a cable wrapped around it. It should be safe enough to check inside then.

Opening the door, I see that it is empty.

What?

I run to another and find it empty as well.

Hmm, it looks like one of the gangs either got whatever was already inside, or they got nothing.

I have a feeling it was the first thought. Why would a train be empty? Unless it delivered its items already?

Sneaking back out of the wreckage, I climb back on top of a building and watch the Officers work. They continue to ignore the people and even try to keep their gaze literally anywhere else. It is ridiculous. They look at them as if they have a sickness or something.

I see there was only one ambulance that came out tonight and they are taking away the one who was running the train.

Well that is not entirely unexpected.

The sound of metal clicking against stone comes from the building to my left.

Looking over, my eyes widen at the sight of three robots staring me down.

It is like I am staring at three skeletons. They look almost exactly like Arturo’s robots. Instead these are white with green and gold trim.

Another climbs up behind them. They are almost silent but I can hear the faint clinking of their metal feet.

Standing up slowly, I back away to run deeper into the Poor Side. As I do, they immediately start running for me. They jump over and grab onto the edge of my building. More can be seen climbing the building they just came from.

I do the logical thing and I jump and run.

I have not met many things that can jump rooftop to rooftop like me. Looks like these things can.

“You will suffer,” They begin to chant in their creepy robotic voices.

More and more begin to come out of nowhere. They climb up from the ground and completely swarm any other rooftops around me.

Screams be heard from others who are living inside these buildings.

All the robots chant as one as they continue to chase me.

Just as I am about to leap onto another rooftop, a group of them climb up and block my way. They reach their hands out towards me and I quickly turn right.

I end up running towards the north eastern part of the city. That is where the old docks are located.

There is a bridge there that I could lift up and it might be able to separate me from the robots. They can’t swim right?

When I peek down at the roads, I see that there are far less robots down there.

Jumping over, I swing and give my grapple some slack to let me reach the road. I keep running and when I look back, I see the robots crawling down the buildings like spiders. They climb down at fast speeds and I have to stop myself from screaming.

That is both disgusting and terrifying.

More screams come from people inside their homes. Windows can be heard breaking as the robots shoves their hands and feet in to grip onto something.

I keep running and all I hear are the forever sounds of clinkings on stone.

As I am running, they continue to chant that stupid line of how I will suffer.

Just as I am about to pass another block, a group of robots somehow beat me and stand in front of me.

With a huff, I run to my left in an alley.

The robots quickly chase after me.

The alleyway opens up to a big open area. This is not at all what I needed right now.

In the open area, there is a two story building that looks relatively new. It has an open window and it looks like it is abandoned.

There are robots standing on top of all the buildings surrounding this area. They even run towards the empty building.

Might as well jump in. I will just find the backdoor to get through. There is absolutely no way I am going to be able to climb right now.

Not even giving it a second thought, I jump into the window.

As soon as I do, the lights blast on and the window shuts itself behind me.

~~
~~

Roy

As soon as Zafiro is gone, I immediately pull out my phone and call Avery.

After a couple of tries, she still does not answer.

This has been a night I never could have imagined. It felt wrong but also felt so so nice?

It brings a lot of complicated emotions that I really do not want to think about. It feels fuzzy and I do not like that I like it.

I quickly check on the guy that Zafiro captured. He is still out like a light.

Seeing the dried up blood on the side of his face really messed me up honestly. It stranges me out to think that Zafiro is capable of killing. I thought thieves did not kill. I just assumed they were too scared to fight head on or anything like that.

Nope. Zafiro happens to be a killer. For some reason that did not scare me enough to bring my metal skin on.

Man, if Avery saw me and Zafiro just casually talking with only a few inches between us, she would have had a fit.

He got so close to me. Jesus it was close. I could really look into those eyes of his and well...it was interesting.

I can’t quite describe them but it just feels like he has ocean water trapped in his eyes. I like it…

This time I noticed that his suit has a cut along his hip. I realize now that it was from the lazer that nicked him when he was running from me at the museum.

Strange how we are apparently on breaking-into-my-house terms already.

Looking down at the broken robot makes me wrinkle my face in disgust.

I can’t believe someone made this. A literal killing machine. Why? It seems a bit too much.

Zafiro saved me. I will forever be grateful for it. I just wonder why he would do such a thing. Am I not considered his enemy? I know he is considered mine.

Right?

He should be, yet...I do not feel that is true anymore. He seems like a nice guy. Even if his flirts and jokes can be irritable.

Well they were at least. Those have become less and less. It is strange and that honestly makes me a bit uncomfortable, especially now that I know he actually finds me attractive.

That was an interesting thing I took from this night. I guess there were multiple things but that was one of the top ones for me.

The other would definitely be how he pressed about how I most likely wanted to be something else in life.

That…I have not really thought of that before and I did not like it. It makes me feel like I really have no control of my life. After recent events, I really don’t want to add to that nasty thought.

After an hour of watching the news and then eventually moving to my gym, my phone rings and when I check the number, it shows that it is someone I do not know.

Strange. I could have sworn I was free of those annoying calls that try and sell you stuff.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Hi there, Officer,” A man’s voice says. “Would a certain blue-eyed freak be in your house by chance? He said he was on his way and two hours later, he still is not here.”

I frown. “No he is not. Who is this?”

“Oh god,” I hear a woman in the background. “I told you! They got him! We need to go get him now, Piggie!”

All of a sudden I hear gunshots and then screaming. The call then ends and all I hear is the air rustling in the tree next to my house.

Sorry for the late chapter