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Hues of light blues and grays melded just ahead of Ret’s eyes, as his body sat afloat in the abyss. Slowly, screams and cries of distress began to permeate the walls around him, and he began to fidget as the cries began to annoy and discomfort him. The cries, though, only got closer and more clear, and Ret could feel his spine cold with sweat as anxiety began to grip him, pushing him further and further into his corner, as the abyss grew angry and malevolent, feeling like it was doing to toss him into the air. As Ret backed into the walls, the crying and screaming reached it’s fever pitch, and finally, the abyss dropped him, eliciting a scream from his mouth as he tumbled to the floor, his chair toppling over besides him.

Scrambling around on the floor of his apartment, Ret rushed to get his arms under him, raising his torso off the floor, his eyes squinting at the light above him. He took a deep breath as the image and source of noises became more clear, helping reality return to Ret’s mind more quickly.

On the screen in front of him was an emergency broadcast on the new channel, smoke clouding the image as various people rushed past the camera, the operator of which appeared to be sprinting in the opposite direction, towards whatever had driven so many fearful people away. Ret wiped the crust from his still heavy eyes as he stood up, picking up the chair that had thrown by his sleepy leaning. Realizing what smoke and screaming probably meant, Ret quickly slid into his computer chair, bringing up various windows and news feeds.

[b][color=red]”Apartment fire in Korven, at least 3 dead!”[/color][/b]

[b][color=darkred]”Unknown activists set fire to apartment in Korven, response to be seen.[/color][/b]

[color=darkseagreen][i]Shit.[/i][/color]

Ret’s fingers typed away, his eyes speeding through various security screens and lines of code, as he desperately tried to find the correct area of Korven to access. 

[color=darkseagreen][i]They must’ve beefed up security since the last time I did this.[/i][/color]

His thoughts flew by a mach speed, as he tried time and again to find the correct cluster of cameras. Finally, one feed popped up, partially obscured by smoke, but not so much that Ret could not see the mass of scattering bodies. As the feed stabilized and clarified, Ret could see an altercation, as an older man had a noticeably younger and larger man by his collar. The older man only seemed to be trying to feebly shake the other, as he yelled something inaudible over the chaos in the square. The man had tears in his eyes as he shaked, and the younger man seemed to be stunned. The younger had three companions around him, all pulling masks down from their faces to scream at the pair, hands motioning to the younger one that it was time to go, yelling and waving their arms in a heated fervor. He tried his best to read their lips.

[color=darkseagreen][b]R-.....Red? No….Reed. Reed.[/b][/color] he mumbled aloud to himself, his nose nearly pressed against the screen.

Finally, the younger man took the older’s hands and tore them off his collar, tossing the man down as he ran towards the rest of his group, the other three following him. As they turned, he could see an insignia crudely painted on their back in orange, but it was difficult to make out details in their movement.

[color=darkseagreen][i]A skull, maybe?...... And something on top of the skull.[/i][/color]

What was atop the skull, Ret could not make out before they left the screen. Although, what he could make out was the street they were going down. They were escaping towards a rather more quiet and deserted part of Korven. Ret’s hand rushed to the keyboard to try to find a different set of cameras, but they froze when he realized something.

[color=darkseagreen][i]They’re headed towards here, my part of town.[/i][/color]

Ret shot out of his chair, grabbing his gun, and pulling on a pair of running shoes before he ran upstairs to access the roof of his apartment. Screeching to a halt, Ret made sure to grab a mask for his face before stuffing his gun in his waistband and running up a set of stairs to the roof.

Shoving the door open, Ret burst on to the roof, quickling making his way to the narrow scaffolding that reached across the other roofs, knowing the street they had taken was just a few blocks away from his house. As he jogged across roofs and scaffolding, his main focus was on the streets below, trying to find the jackets or faces of those he had seen on the camera feed amongst all the other rushing bodies. The fire really seemed to have driven a lot of foot traffic into Ret’s usually silent part of town. Hopefully it wouldn’t last all day.

Suddenly, Ret could see a small pack of bodies making their way through the narrow alleyways below him, and as they passed his vantage point, he spotted their bright orange insignia, which now appeared to Ret to be a skull with an upwardly pointing arrow sitting atop it. Ret quickly shifted directions and began to follow the group as they shoved past locals, toppling a few over.

When the group reached a small intersection in the alleys, they unexpectedly split, each going one direction. Ret spotted the one he recognized as Reed, and followed him along the rooftop, approximately 60 feet above his target. He was following confidently, as he was 60 feet up, and well out of clear sight of the man, who was rushing ahead, his vision tunneled.

Once the target slowed down and began looking around, he took his jacket and mask off, apparently overwhelmed by the heat, which was also beginning to exhaust Ret. Taking the chance, Ret rushed down a nearby set of scaffolding as the target rested. It led down to a small entrance to the building, where he could feel the stray blowing of oscillating fans, cooling his hot skin, wet with sweat.

When Ret reemerged from the building, he had found an exit in an even smaller alley flanking the target. He slowly drew his gun, making sure his sole magazine was loaded and safety was off, and slowly slid out from the shadows, behind the target, who was scanning various directions to see if he had been followed. Ret slowly approached, and figuring he couldn’t risk an escape, took aim at the target’s legs. It was only once the gun rang out, deafening Ret momentarily, that he realized he hadn’t even checked for a suppressor. The weapon’s kick and noise stunned Ret for a second, but the target had already landed on the ground, screaming in pain and cradling his leg.

Shaking the stun away, Ret approached, gun still pointed, until he was close enough to step on the targets legs and arm, pointing his weapon in Reed’s wincing face.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Alright, Reed, you’re going to tell me who you’re working for, and the names of your little buddies who helped you set that fire, or you die.”[/b][/color]

Reed cried as Ret dug his foot into the bleeding wound, and grasped at Ret’s ankle, but his hands were kicked away roughly.

Ret ignored his aching wrist and ringing ears as he gave his head another quick shake, and spoke again through his mask.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Answers, Reed! Now![/b][/color]

[color=lavender][b]”H-How do you know my name?!”[/b][/color] The young man choked through his pained groans.

Ret’s jaw tightened, the same as his hands around the weapon. [color=darkseagreen][b]”I said [i]answers[/i], Reed, not more questions! You’re getting real close to dying![/b][/color]

[color=lavender][b]”Th- the Upenders! We’re the Upenders! I work for the Upenders, and it was G- Garland, Richie and Lytra who set the fires! I’m brand new man, I just got mixed up with them, I don’t want to die!”[/b][/color]

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Very nice, Reed. You guys got a place you all meet at or what?”[/b][/color] Ret questioned calmly, easing up on Reed’s wound a bit.

[color=lavender][b]”N-no! We just meet up in different places all the time, makes it harder for them to catch us![/b][/color]

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Hmm. Nice. Smart.”[/b][/color] Ret leaned down and grabbed the arm that held the man’s brand and ran his hand slowly over it. He was doing literally nothing.

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Looks like my scanner [i]has[/i] been working correctly. I kinda figured when I had your name right, but it’s nice to have solid proof. You know how this goes, this never happened. That hole in your leg was courtesy of some of these fine people in these parts that don’t take kindly to having their homes burned. Understand?”[/b][/color]

[color=lavender][b]”Y-yeah, I got it.[/b][/color]

[color=darkseagreen][b]”Good.[/b][/color]

Ret stood up, wound back, and gave Reed a solid kick to the side of his head, knocking him out. He spun around, ready to leave, and noticed a small crowd had come out to observe the shooting that had just occurred. He simply replied to their curious stares with a waving of his gun, as they all scattered and scurried away, back into their respective shanties and houses, allowing Ret to make his escape.