General Release | Chapter 3: Foot, meet mouth

An uncomfortable and awkward silence hung over the elevator ride back to the lobby, Aren occasionally glancing at me with suspicion and hostility as I read through the notification window in my vision over and over again.

[MISSION ADDED TO LOG] - [The mystery box!]

Objective: Infiltrate the warehouse in Zone 31 and acquire the glass box before the Silken Steel. Bring it back to Kornok within a day of acquiring the package for your reward.

Time Limit: 43 hours and 16 minutes.

Success: You will be paid 500,000 credits. (100,000 if Aren does not survive)

Failure: If you do not succeed in getting the box or if you do not deliver it on time, a bounty will be placed on your head.

As soon as the elevator made a ding and the doors started opening, I dismissed the screen and watched Aren as he strode into the lobby, looked over at the receptionist, and gave her a nod. “I’m off.”

With the same polite smile she gave me, the receptionist nodded at Aren. “Safe travels, Mr. Thells.”

I cleared my throat again. For some reason, this woman made me feel nervous. “Uh, yeah. See you later, uh… Janice.”

She nodded at me, too, her expression unchanging. “Until next time, sir.”

I rushed after Aren out of the building, expecting to see Jim waiting for us, but the giant of a man was gone. “Huh, where’s Jim?”

“Back to work.” The kid really wasn’t a big talker, was he?

“Huh.” I shrugged, trying to let his stand-offishness wash over me. Maybe some small talk would help him loosen up? “What's the deal with Janice, anyway? Does her expression ever change, or is she permanently stuck in ‘polite receptionist mode’?”

Aren looked at me impassively. “A couple years ago, while on a job, she looked at a priest’s eyes, and he melted her face down to the bone. Called himself merciful for forcibly keeping her alive. Mr. Kornok paid for her rehabilitation and facial reconstructive surgery.”

A small girl ran past us, and Aren gave her a crisp high-five. “Hey, Lita. Take care of the other kids for me while I’m gone, okay?”

“Okay, Aren!” Lita replied, waving at him enthusiastically. “Come back soon!”

He nodded at her and turned back to me. “Anyway, this is the best the doctors could do for Janice so far. She’s now working to pay off her debt to Mr. Kornok and then save enough money for the rest of the necessary treatment to regain the use of her facial muscles.”

I had not expected that tirade. “Uh… Wow. That’s… wow.” I hadn’t put my foot in my mouth. I had swallowed the entire leg. “Well… Now I feel like an asshole.”

“You are an asshole,” Aren said flatly, looking me in the eyes.

I smiled wryly. “...Thanks.” Walked right into that.

I got on my bike and turned on the passenger mode, a sidecar unfolding from the main body. I hadn’t activated this mode in a while, and seeing my glossy black bike with its sidecar turned my stomach for a moment. I gritted my teeth, pushed away the encroaching thoughts of the past, and waved Aren to hop on.

“Where to now?” He asked me.

“Before we do anything else, I’ll have to evaluate your combat skills. Always know the capabilities of your tools before you put them to use.” I tried my best to put on a lecturing voice.

As I turned the key, I saw his body stiffen. “A tool, huh? You’re a tool,” underneath the engine rumble, but surely it had been my imagination. After all, Aren had been so cordial up until now. I handed him a spare set of goggles and put mine on. Once I was sure he had them on, we lifted off and flew away from the scrap eater.

This time, I gave the center of the industrial section a wide berth, not wanting to risk the kid’s health with all the fumes, even though it took us almost twice as long to return to sector 16. I landed my bike and drove through the familiar streets down a route I hadn’t followed in a while, going past my home. I couldn’t help but slow down as I passed my hab. “Hold on just a little longer, bud,” I whispered. Aren must have had quite sharp ears because he looked at me with a quizzical look. I shook my head at him, unwilling to share my story right now, especially not when I was sure that even if I were so inclined, whatever reply I got would be short and snarky.

A few minutes and a few turns later, I parked my bike next to a building with an oversized, gaudy, light-up sign that said “Golden Years Fitness Club.” The building looked the same as I saw it a few years ago. As I expected it to be. Thoron was very particular about keeping his buildings “The right amount of gaudy to be noticed and the right amount of disheveled to be disregarded.” In the end, he was right. Annoy people enough with something seemingly worthless; eventually, they’ll start to ignore your existence purposefully.

Aren looked at me as if I had just started talking about my lifelong dream of transforming into a pretty little flower and living on the Inner Ring. It took him a second before he could speak. “...Really? Here?”

I got off the bike, rolling my eyes, and motioned to him to hurry it up. “You should know this better than most. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

He gave a half-annoyed grunt and hopped off, storing the goggles in his sidecar’s compartment. I tapped some commands into my watch and watched as the ground under my motorcycle opened up, revealing it as a parking elevator. We ignored the gaudy front doors and walked to a sturdy-looking side door hidden in the shadows of a recessed passageway in the building. I tapped the face of my watch on a brick right next to the doorknob, and the door swung open soundlessly, revealing a pitch-black room. I strode forward, used to this part, but Aren hesitated.

“Relax, it's safe,” I told the kid. When my words made him look even more cautious and hostile, I signed, deciding to throw him a bone. “Look. Have you ever heard of the Fourth Ring?”

That worked. His eyebrows scrunched for a moment. “No way,” is all he said.

“Yes, way,” I told him, and I couldn’t help the smirk on my face. “Now, come on.”

He nodded to himself and practically ran into the dark room. As soon as he got in, I tapped my wristwatch, and the door closed behind us, never making a single sound, the lights and noise of my home sector getting snuffed out like a candle. “So, now what?” he asked me from somewhere to my left. Couldn’t be too far, considering the room was barely a few paces in length and width. 

His sour tone had returned, and I closed my eyes, rubbing my closed eyelids with one hand as I repeatedly urged myself to be patient with him. “Look, ki- Aren. Have you never been to the Otherside before?”

“No. Topside is all I know. Kornok wouldn’t ever let me come along on jobs.” He sounded bitter about it.

I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see it. “Maybe it's for the best that he didn’t. There are some things that, if people are exposed to them, especially at your age, can change them into a worse version of themselves.”

He snorted at that. “Speaking from experience?”

“Yes.”

“...Ah.”

I swiftly moved on before the awkward silence fully set in. “Anyway, we’re standing here with our thumbs up our asses, as you so colorfully put it, because this room is a special elevator to the Otherside. The ride can last from five minutes to thirty. It’s kind of random.”

“Really? I don’t feel like we’re moving. And what do you mean by random? We might have to stand in the dark for thirty minutes?” he said.

“My, my. Aren’t we feeling mighty talkative now?” I smirked at the cavalcade of questions.

“Shut up. This darkness is freaking me out a little. I talk a lot when I’m freaked out.”

Using all of my willpower, I suppressed the chuckle bubbling up in my throat. “Fair enough,” I said. “The darkness, lack of feeling of movement, and the random travel time are all in the service of one purpose. To hide the true location of the Fourth Ring in the Otherside.”

“Why would it be hidden? If half the stories about the people in the Fourth Ring are true, anyone who would attack the place would be an idiot, suicidal, or both. Is it just because of the priests?”

I shook my head before remembering the kid couldn’t see it. “No. Sure, the priests are part of it, but it's more than that. The Fourth Ring is one of the few special places on the ring that is considered neutral ground. Topsider, undersider, othersider, it doesn’t matter. Anyone who has gained access to the Fourth Ring knows to keep the peace and the consequences of not doing so. Even the Otherlords respect that. Doesn’t matter what wars their gangs might wage against one another or what vendetta is currently going on. The moment you enter one of these elevators, unsanctioned violence is strictly forbidden and swiftly punished.”

“Then why hide?” he said, sounding incredulous.

“Trust your neighbors, but lock your doors, Aren. The Fourth Ring is very selective about who it accepts and doesn’t hesitate to kick people out, regardless of their importance outside of the ring. Some don’t like that. It’s best for everybody if the place remains hidden and its operation continues unhindered.” I felt my watch vibrate. Not long now.

“ How the rings did you manage to manage to get access?” His skepticism amused me to no end.

I felt my watch vibrate again. “I have my ways,” I said to the kid coyly and took a step forward. “Now come on, we’ve arrived.”

The elevator let out a bright ding, and the wall I faced split in half and slid open. I stepped into a corridor that, after a few paces, turned to the right. It was barely more illuminated than the room we were standing in, but I could see the hint of bright light peeking out from around the corner. Aren followed me quietly, anticipation clear on his face. He looked at me and scowled. He probably didn’t like the smirk on my face. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

I rolled my eyes and looked forward. “Relax, I wasn’t lying.” I turned the corner and blinked a few times as my eyes got used to the bright illumination beyond. As he stepped into the light, I got into a dramatic pose and tried to make my voice all gravelly, like the guy in the video advertisements for products specifically targeted to men. “Welcome, kid, to the Fourth Ring. Where legends are born, one broken bone at a time.”

He stood there, frozen still by the magnificence of his first Otherside facility. He stayed like that for a good few seconds, scanning the place. I will admit it was a satisfying reaction.

“Bit of a shithole, if I’m honest.”

… For fuck’s sake.