Afterworld

An End to the Edge

Smeared along the edges of a splitting sea were the remains of a dying city. It's large dagger-like towers pierced the sky overhead. It sat amongst growing debris as the city slowly decayed into nothing. Only the center remained truly intact, holding on to the last shred of humanity it had left. The outskirts of the city better resembled a war zone than anything close to a home. Violence consumed the people of Luthander City like an ocean storm consumed shorelines. A pitiful place to be alive, but in such horrid times the city persisted along with the people who lived inside.

Near the edge of the city, before the concrete came to a halt upon reaching layers of overgrown trees stacked a top each other, people found themselves boxed away in their own false sense of security. Relying on Luthander City's powerful crime syndicate to feed them the drugs they so deeply desired. A harsh life fell upon most of the citizens who weren't fortunate enough to have access to the inner city. Anything that could help relieve them of their struggles was worth its weight in gold and more often than not this led to death and dismay amongst the weary souls of Luthander.

Beneath the steel buildings that twisted around the city streets forming a torturous maze to those unfamiliar with the territory, a man walked alone, heading towards a destination only known to him. A sense of determination could be seen beneath his brow. A few people scurried alongside the city streets scavenging whatever they could find. They payed no attention to the man who walked alone and he returned their uninterested favor by continuing his path.

Further down the road was a tower that stood out more than the others. Instead of void less innards that blended into the darkness of the night it was illuminated from within. A symbol of life in this dark and hopeless city. It's lights flickered as rain slowly began to fall from the thick clouds overhead. At the base of the tower a man inhaled smoke from a now dripping cigarette. "Damn rain never stops around here." His disappointment was obvious, but seemingly too common for the man who stood next to him.

"Complaining isn't going to change anything." The man spoke with a truthful certainty. "You know that just as well as I do."

"Yeah whatever." He tossed his ruined cigarette to the ground and attempted to light another. The rain water grew heavy as trails of water flowed through his tangled beard and messy hair. His dirty thumb couldn't quite grip the wheel of his lighter as his attempts to create fire went in vain. "Pointless."

"You shouldn't smoke anyways. That stuff will kill you." His face was hidden beneath the hood of an old leather coat. Even though he was half the size of the man who stood next to him he acted as if he was the one in charge. "Just do your job."

"Are you serious? Cigs are the last thing that'll kill me in this godforsaken town. Sides, gotta do something to fight the boredom."

"Quit your rambling! I think that guy is heading our way. Time to do your job for real." The smaller man said as he adjusted his posture to appear more menacing than he actually was.

The man who walked alone appeared behind the rain water curtain. His bluish rain coat stuck out in comparison to the darkened streets. He approached the base of the tower without a lack of confidence, as if he were sent on a divine mission. As he got closer, the men guarding the entrance to the tower noticed a small leather pouch slung over his shoulder. It appeared to be business as usual, but the man in blue wasn't the usual customer.

"Stop right there asshole! What do you want?" The leader of the two took charge in the conversation.

The man in blue stopped in front of the guards. The pitter patter of the rain drops stumbling against his jacket deafened as he spoke, "I'm here for Lennox."

The guards laughed as if they finally understood the punchline to an elaborate joke. "No one gets to see Lennox, unless they've got something that's worth his time."