As Above So Below

Part 2

"...So I told him, like, dude, that line of Mr. Stud is fucked, it'll only give you trouble, go for the preem stuff, especially if it's about your family jewels, know what I mean? Yeah, and he still had to be a cheap fuck about it... TJ said they had to use an extinguisher, yeah. Fucking cruel, man... Hey... hey, Bonzo! Sorry, the dog is bein' weird...I'll call you back, can't risk the owner getting on my back about it..." the man ended the holo call and his eyes shifted from a warm neon orange to the bright green of his implants. He pulled on the leash of the licensed pet. It wasn't even his, but he was getting paid a pretty eddie to take the animal on long walks. It was an easy job and quite pleasant too. Not that night, however.

The more he tried to pull the dog away, the more the animal resisted, drawn to an alley between tall buildings. A large garbage container stood against one of the walls, surrounded by a pile of garbage bags.

"What is it, boy? We got food at home, come on, buddy!" the man urged and pulled on the leash again. The animal didn't relent. A wet, squelching sound of canine feasting made him wrinkle his nose in disgust, "I swear, if you're eating trash again..."

He closed the distance between himself and the dog and blocked the leash, giving it a rough tug. The damn dog resisted and kept trying to munch on some discarded toy. One of those pleasure dolls for real perverts at first glance. Those who didn't stop at ropes and shit. They just preferred their toys without limbs to begin with. Even in the proximity of all the trash, the man couldn't shake off the odd, disgusting scent that filled his nostrils. Heavy, charred, deeply disconcerting. Burned flesh. Even the high end toys didn't smell like it.

Slowly, he turned around to take a better look while keeping the dog at his heel. It wasn't a toy. The man's gaze met a barely conscious stare of a young person, their head covered with a hood. Even in darkness, the cold high-end Kiroshi optics pierced the gloom like a white gaze of a ghost. The man gasped, startled by the minuscule movement coming from the not-really-a-toy. A quiet, desperate wheeze that followed confirmed the man's worst suspicions.

That person was still alive. The severed joints at their hips and shoulders still smoldered from the cauterizing cuts. Whoever set them there, had no concept of mercy or allowing someone to die with dignity. They didn't even have a chance to bleed out because of the heat keeping the wounds closed. The open eyes and the breathing suggested that the person was awake, even if there was nothing but darkness and pain in their consciousness.

The man turned around, retching. The realization hit him and his eyes watered immediately. Night City was full of violence and murder was just a statistic, but finding a crime victim or a corpse always sucked and it was impossible to truly get used to the scents involved. That first time was always the worst, though.

"Oh God... oh my fucking God...why did it have to be me?" he said without looking at the barely moving person and almost dropped the leash as the words came out weak, a whimper. He wanted to run, he wanted to be as far from this person as possible. The responsibility of having to acknowledge this kind of pain, the sight of a maimed human... he didn't want it, "Jesus... what a fucking mess. Hello? Can you hear me?" he finally began to turn around. The sudden spike in his adrenal hormone production resulted in a hud pop-up asking whether he's in distress and would like to call emergency services. He immediately picked the call option and an operator picked up moments later.

"I... I found someone, I think they're alive but... oh God... I can't," he broke into tears. Fortunately, his location was relayed to the operator the moment he called.

"Please stay there, sir and don't leave your current location. Trauma Team is on its way," the operator reassured but the man could only weep. The dog whimpered and walked up to him, offering nuzzles and comforting licks and the man wrapped his arms around the animal, refusing to move or let go even after the medics arrived and tried to get him to stand up.