Oneshots, etc.

Mad Science Necromancy AU

A/N: Hi again. Yes, this is yet another vaguely dystopian AU with necromancy and the undead involved, along with a lot of moral ambiguity. Clearly my writing has a bit of a theme. No, it is not intentional, it just happens.
AU notes are down at the bottom, as per usual.

Warnings: dead bodies (more than usual, but not described in great detail), unethical science and experiments, a small amount of blood. Whatever other weird stuff you'd expect from this kind of thing.

"Three, two, one-"

The corpse hit the deck with a heavy thud. David didn't spare it a second glance as he scanned the mountain of bodies in front of him, searching for their next catch. Behind him, his companion let out a wheezing breath.

"That was- That was six," Ritchie panted, leaning over with his hands on his knees. "Right?"

"Yeah, that's six." David reached out with one of the gondola's long oars and poked an arm trailing limply in the water; the rest of whoever it had belonged to was buried beneath the many other deaths the city had seen that week. He turned his head towards the horizon, peering over the distant rooftops. "It's nearly sunrise, we should get going."

"Will six be enough?"

"We got ten last week, that should make up for it."

The gentle splashing of the oars against the moonlit water was the only sound heard between the two as they rowed back through the canals to the morgue. Neither of them dared to break the silence as they passed rows of towering, spindly houses with the last few rays of moonlight creeping across the sloping tiles of their roofs. The twists and turns of the waterways brought them to their destination just as dawn began to break, and they slid across the water to a small dock, tucked away in an alcove in the wall.

David sighed in relief as his feet hit the warped planks - it wasn't dry land, but it was close enough.

"Well, that was uneventful. No guards or anything around, for once," He mused. "They must've been busy."

Ritchie hummed in response, clearly not listening as he kneeled down and tied the boat to one of the stilts that held up the platform.

"You're back." A voice said, and David turned to see their mortician, Mario, staring at them from the doorway with his arms crossed and his usual bored expression on his face.

"That we are." David grinned at him, watching as Mario stepped forward to peer at their cargo, the damp wood creaking where his boots pressed into it.

"How many is that?" Mario asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

"Six," Ritchie answered, standing back up and brushing splinters off his otherwise pristine white sleeves.

"We probably could've collected more, but he kept complaining," David gestured towards Ritchie, who scowled. "Surprised he hasn't got more stamina by now."

"I was tired. Hauling dead people around isn't easy, you know," The redhead complained, and David rolled his eyes. "Just because you're strong-"

"Great, fun, now shut up," Mario said, cutting off the bickering before it could begin. "There's a delivery upstairs. Usual place, usual person."

"Right, right, we'll go do that," Ritchie grabbed David by the edge of his waistcoat, using the dark blue fabric to pull him towards the door of the morgue. "Are you good to unload the boat?"

Mario waved his hand dismissively, and David elected to ignore the red-and-brown stain on the cuff of his sleeve. Bloodstains were impossible to avoid in their line of work. "I'll get Brandon to help me, it's fine."