Piper sang. Not that she did it well. Her brother Sam, had once told her that she couldn't hold a tune in a bucket. Still, it made her, and the others she lived near, happy. Currently she was singing some aria from an opera. She had practiced when she had nothing else to do. The old turn table was a crank style, scavenged from a dead woman's house. There had only been opera records. Piper knew them all by heart and could sing them all too.

Piper's heels clicked down the road. The sidewalk was taken up by stalls. She waved at the vendors and continued on her way. Two children dashed into her path, grabbing her legs.

"Pipes! Pipes!" They cried. 

Piper laughed and pulled them off. "[color=a187be]Hey you little devils.[/color]" Her tone was light. "[color=a187be]You listening to your mom?[/color]"

The duo nodded their head emphatically. Piper babysat during the day whenever their mother was indisposed. Carly was a hard working woman and a nice one. They lived in the next building over. Will, Carly's husband, had been killed by Crusaders. The sad thing was, she was the lucky one. Most people talked of their entire family being wiped out. Everyone had lost someone.  

Once Piper disentangled herself enough to escape, she left with promises of a visit soon. The worn messenger bag over her shoulder was full and she had things to do. Her keen black eyes watched the wall graffiti. Nothing had changed since yesterday. The Fixers used graffiti to pass on messages. One of the original founders had known a homeless man who had taught them what he called Hobo Code. It was used by homeless transients who used the rail system to move from city to city. They could read the code to find safe places, or places to avoid. Where to go for food, etc. 

The Fixers had learned the code, then changed it. The Technopath wasn't something they took lightly. If only they knew the code, then he could not. It provided a measure of safety. Most of the signs they used were permanent, carved into buildings. When they first started they had used chalk, but that ran out years ago. 

Piper watched the codes for signs of gang activities. So far no new movement. Piper continued into the next street and paused to pass some food off to the man they called Hansel. The man was homeless, but he was a valuable ally. In exchange for food he gave her a few new houses that had "opened up" during the night. Which meant their occupants had died, but no one knew yet. Piper thanked him and continued down the road.

Two streets over Piper reached her second destination. 

"[color=a187be]Maggs.[/color]" Piper proclaimed. "[color=a187be]You've outdone yourself again.[/color]" She ran a hand over a vintage 60's dress. She never asked how Maggs got her wares, and Maggs was kind enough to return the favor. 

"Of course." Maggs said smugly. The old woman sat in an old chair. Her granddaughter hovered nearby. 

"[color=a187be]The usual price?[/color]" Piper asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Of course." Maggs agreed, eyes sparkling.

Piper reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle. Medicine had run out years ago. But humans were cunning and smart. One of Piper's clients grew medicinal herbs in exchange for odd jobs, usually fixing the drainage system or the pumps. Magg's granddaughter grabbed the bottle and ran off with it. When Piper went home after her errands she'd find the dress waiting for her.

Piper bent down and kissed Maggs. "[color=a187be]Call me if you find anything new.[/color]" The old woman didn't need the reminder. But the choreographed dance was an anchor for her. Neither of them ever deviated from the routine. 

And so Piper was on her way, singing her song that she didn't know the meaning of. Her last destination was further away. It was in one of the bad part of the area. Buildings lay half demolished and even now, if one looked close enough they could see bones of unfortunate victims. The only people who lived here were either desperate or insane. Mama was the latter. 

"[color=a187be]Mama?[/color]" Piper asked opening a door on the third floor. It was dark and something rustled. Piper pulled her bag closer as she slipped into Mama's room.

"[color=a187be]Mama?[/color]" Piper pulled the door closed. "You in Mama?" Piper knew Mama never left. The old woman was too frail to move. Had she died? Or had someone taken her life? That would be the only reason Mama would never answer her.

Piper pulled out a candle and lit it. The room was clogged with old stuff. Mama had been a hoarder before the technopath and she remained a hoarder after him too. Piper swept the room, her free hand pulling out her knife.

"[color=a187be]Mama?[/color]" She tired again as she moved into the bedroom.

"[color=a187be]Oh Mama.[/color]" Piper put the candle on something she hoped wouldn't burn. The light was barely enough to see Mama's body by. The old black woman was still fat, even with food so scarce. And it was obvious she had passed. Piper worked her way to the bed and pressed her finger's to the woman's throat confirming what her eyes had told her.

"[color=a187be]Hey Mama, you're free.[/color]" Piper whispered to the dead woman. "[color=a187be]Tell Sam "Hi" for me, okay?[/color]"

Piper pressed a quick kiss to the woman's cold forehead before going back to the candle. She paused to wipe her eyes. Then she emptied out her delivery. It was an old book. She dropped it unceremoniously on the floor. She scanned the flat with an experienced eye and picked up whatever she could fit into her bag. When that filled she used one of Mama's. Soon other scavengers would be here and they'd not leave anything behind. Whatever she wanted she had to take now. It might seem cold to take from a dead woman, but there was no room for old traditions. Just like someone would take Mama's body for burning. Or she's be left in an empty room to rot. There was no burials anymore.

Outside Mama's home she pulled out her knife again and gouged an X over the symbol that marked this place safe for Fixers. She did the same to the symbol on the outside of the building. With a heavy heart for Mama she retraced her steps back home. With any luck someone had something for her to fix. Then she'd be able to barter for food. If not, when she went out tonight she'd have to steal some.