Great is Our Sin

Series 1: The Outsider

1: Protocol: White Rabbit

The dark and dingy streets of the Haven reeked of half decayed rubbish and desperation, despite never stopping to see any of the people he ran past, Yuri knew they were as equally terrified as him and Nickolas. Whilst his footsteps were pitiful and soft, burnt and flaking skin pressing softly onto the ground, the flesh and steel behemoth behind him sounded like artillery, each footstep firing a shell into the floor whose impact moved all aside, either by force or by sheer crippling fear. He ran on and on, lagging behind his fellow victim, mind, and heart racing with a cocktail of hormones that screamed
"RUN!" He had heard tales of the Havens, vast paradises filled to the brim with food, friends, and freedom, but no one mentioned the Grim Reapers minions. Through alley after alley, he could hardly see his feet beneath the colossal skyscrapers watching down, eager for his footing to become unbalanced or misplaced so they could claim their prize.
"DONT STOP RUNNING!!!" he didn't need his brother to tell him the obvious, but his body didn't want to listen, his hoarse throat didn't want to listen, he just wanted to stop so his body would stop throbbing and aching, but what he saw kept the fire burning dimly inside him, it fuelled his weakened bones and burnt skin, it kept his eyes wide open and staring at the back of his saviour, his beacon of hope who would show him the way to safety. He became so engrossed in it; he had almost forgotten his pursuer behind him as though his mind wanted to blank out the image of the contorted creature salivating over the thought of gaining a new chew toy. Each corner would be marked by the crash of the bipedal beast behind him as though it cared less for itself than the buildings. The cocktail of hormones suddenly gained a new ingredient, dread. He came to a painful stop as his brother was panicking, looking back, and seeing the thing approaching.
"BOOST ME UP, I CAN PICK YOU UP!" he wasn't sure what made him comply. The fear? The trust? The hope? But none the less Yuri jumped to life, kneeling with his trembling hands together, he launched his brother over onto the wall with the little strength he had, watching up at his brother as he raised his hand for his help. It almost looked like divine intervention, a hand reaching down from the heavens to save him and give him a new life free of pain and devoid of fear. But he was blinded by the divine light and as it diminished, he saw his brother staring with cold eyes. "W-what are you doing?! He's nearly here!!!" Silence fell the two "Help me!!!" All that came of his begging was his brother bowing his head and looking away, muttering
"I hope they make it quick" and just like his hope, his brother disappear behind the cruel concrete barrier. His feeling of despair was replaced with the feeling of firm and cold steel, a clawed hand dug into his shoulder as his skin was torn from his back as he was dragged across the pavement, his screams and cries echoing throughout the entire alley as his once certain fate of happiness was replaced with a certain fate of agony.

2: Today's Rather Quiet

Around an hour earlier.
Yet another day at the border. Jackie's quarters were dingy and bare, possessing a simple steel bed engraved in the wall, a toilet and shower locked away in their own compartment, a desk accompanied by a mirror and uncomfortable chair perfectly placed adjacent to the bed and right next to the wardrobe. At least she wasn't stuck in the trainee's bunks anymore, she thought that her own quarters were one of her privileges for her rank of Veteran Agent. She always thought her quarters resembled one of those guard rooms from Squid Games, although she couldn't remember the last time she even watched TV. Starting her daily ritual, she eagerly removed herself from her iron bed at exactly 6:15 as her alarm clock made sure to caringly remind her. Spending less than 5 minutes in the shower, the only source of decently warm water. She adorned her uniform, a basic black vest covered by her tough and gritty coat. Often times it would get stuffy in the heat of the border, but it did its job well. Its blue stripes down their arms warned every one of her authorities in Site Control and so did her field cap. Basic black trousers and knee guards were placed on her before her steel toed boots acted as a barrier against the metal grating and a ballistic vest closely guarded her chest, covering her entire chest and the radio booster on her back connected to her radio on front and earpiece. She took a moment to look in the mirror as though some food was on her face, her skin was dark, and her brown and sunken eyes were shadowed by bags under them, the kind that couldn't be mistaken as poorly done eye shadow. With her long black hair tied in a ponytail that just fit under her cap and her armouring ritual complete, she loaded her pistol, a bulky one non the less but a very respectable one and left her quarters to join her Site Control members on their morning shift. Her back was sprung with the lively energy of someone else as her hand went to glide for her gun till she heard the familiar voice. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!" It was Tristan, her least favourite wakeup call with his overabundance of energy. His slim face carried enough energy to keep them both going throughout their shift and his bright blue eyes and short cut blonde hair reflected it very well. "How exactly are you supposed to sleep in those steel coffins...?" He'd let out a small chuckle, standing next to her and just below her height, walking at the height of 5'10. "Well, the trick is to sleep on your coat, they make it a lot more comfortable!"
"I might have to try that one night then..." Her, Tristan and roughly the other 8 members arrived in their communal quarters where people began wondering in from their previous shift. Usually, a block held 20 people who rotated on day and night shifts. Of course, they had breaks and took them in groups of 5 so the border would always be well defended. Tristan was always the first person to rush to the coffee machine, desperate for his daily fix of addictive beans. He always made Jackie a cup and she acted like she wasn't bothered about it but deep down wanted to give him a warm smile. "Try not to burn the toast this time Jacksie!"
"Can you never just call me Jackie...?"
"Nope!"
She let out a sigh and wandered to the toaster, forcing the bread through a similar kind of burning she experienced on her shift when the sun hung low in the morning as she worked on the East gate. She always made sure she spent less than 10 minutes eating before she'd hurry off to work. She was posted right above the booth with Border Control. Inside the giant steel coffin that was her post was a large metallic door that would creak whenever it moved. It was large enough and long enough an entire convoy could fit in it. Two colossal towers outside were adorned with gun posts, guard posts and even two rather unnecessary cannons, making sure all obeyed the rules plastered next to the door. A giant sign above it as well reminded everyone as to their destination "Beacon." The surroundings of the gate were barren dirt where overgrown trees had been removed by various means. She always kept her head down above the booth. It had 4 separate gates, one for civilian processing, a larger one for trucks and what not, a second one for returning ATLAS personnel and a smaller one for well.... returning ATLAS personnel on foot. The Border Control there took their work very seriously, adorned with red instead of blood as though to indicate the blood they spill and armed with MP5's, they could very easily gun people down and not shed a single tear, not that you could tell with their masks and goggles. The only reason she was here was to watch over as at the end of the day, she was Site Control, she made sure the entire walls and borders worked to their full efficiency. Bellow she could suddenly hear someone crying out and begging. Without hesitation she slid down the ladder from her outpost point, landing to the back of the booth where processed civilians exited and taking the access door into the vehicle bay where she saw the driver on the floor, cowering for his life as a member of border control was pointing his gun at him, "What the fuck is going on in here?!" she exclaimed loudly as she walked over, approaching the man on the ground. His forehead was split wide open, and blood was dripping from the Border Control's gun butt. "This maggot was trying to sneak people in!"
she looked up, clearly unimpressed by his actions. "Well did you check the back?"
"Of course, I saw people moving around back there!" he pointed his gun closer "He should be shot for trying smuggle people in!" With aggression and authority in her voice and movements Jackie shot up, her face in his.
"Junior Agent you stand down or I swear by Overseers I will file a report for disciplinary actions if you don't lower that fucking gun!"
The Border Control began to tremble a bit as he didn't budge "Article 4.5 of migration states anyone attempting illegal entry into a Haven is to be detained and executed!"
"And have you arrested him?" She didn't want to pull her rank but felt the need approaching until a man well dressed in a black suit adorned with green stripes walked in, both of them looking over as the Border Control lowered his gun. The man walked to the injured driver and helped him up, his gelled back hair shining in the harsh light as his smooth and well-rounded face spoke a gentle voice "I am incredibly sorry for this inconvenience, whilst these two were arguing I had Border Control run a thermal scan and it seems there's no traces in your truck so I would like to welcome you to Beacon with a warm apology" The driver would quietly nod his head and get in his truck, not before the well-dressed man placed a bandage over his head and reparations of £50. As the doors creaked open and the truck drove off, he looked back, beckoning to the two. "I'd like to see you two in my office at the end of your shift." They both quietly nodded their heads with pale faces, afraid of the fact Human Resources had to intervene. "And today was supposed to be a quiet day..."

3: You Should Always Trust your Gut

Nickolas had a sly satisfied grin cross his face, staring back at him and his brothers old life fade away as the supposed 'supply truck' made a stop at a backstreet alley. It was nothing more than a 10-minute drive from the border, nothing compared to what they had to endure out there. Every second it took to reach this city was a well spent second. Despite the cramped and boiling truck filled to the brim with other desperate inhabitants and lined with insulation, it was worth it all. Eventually the truck had stopped, the battered and bruised driver walked to the back and opened it, moving across barrels and crates to get to the group of unfortunate souls "we're all clear now! Remember, go down Lambert Street, got a guy who'll chip ya up!" They all began to walk out of the truck, speaking blessings and thanks to the driver. Nicolas cradled his brother as he walked off the truck, Yuri still trembling in fear as he attempted to calm his brother "we're safe now Yuri... the worst is over..." as he and his brother disembarked the scrap contraption of a truck, he nodded to the driver, unable to really speak as his attention was fixed on his terrified brother. "Is it really over.... are we really safe?" The uncertainty in his voice nearly broke his heart but none the less let a smile creep across his face "yeah... yeah we're really safe now" his brothers face lit up in joy, the fear and uncertainty washing away as he took his brothers hand. He then began to lead him away from the truck into a new life, walking down the large and busy streets of the Haven, colossal skyscrapers and factories glaring down at them all as rows of houses and shops lay sleepy next to each other, eagerly awaiting people to enter them. Nicolas wanted to sprint into these stores so bad and buy everything they had to offer, chocolate, meat, water all the luxurious items they couldn't get outside. His hope for their new life was rising more by the second as they approached the alleyway where their new friend would grant them the salvation they seek. Yuri could hardly contain his excitement, brimming with it as he looked to his brother "we're gonna have lives in here! We're gonna live in a Haven~" He repeated those last lines like a song, filled with childish glee. Nicolas understood the joy, himself hardly containing it. Their last obstacle was a group of people crowding the street as though they were watching a show. His curiosity was too much, and he looked at Yuri "I'm just gonna check this out, ok?" His brother nodded and followed his brother through the hive of people. Standing near the front of the crowd, dread suddenly hit Nickolas' chest as he stared, five armour clad monstrosities with steel skulls for masks and glares that could cut through skin, just like the talons they had poorly hidden in their gauntlets and the centre piece of the show was a man littered with tattoos, the same tattoos that would show them their saviour. His arms were strung up like a puppet, held by steel wires as flayed skin was all that was left of his gasping husk, blood covered the floor and steel beams next to him as he seemed on deaths door but unable to open it as an IV bag of purple fluids drip into him. The other four seem to circle the crowd, stopping anyone from intervening this man's fate until sudden, their own fate was completely changed. Soulless eyes glare at them, the titanic body stretching out as its feet were planted into the ground and in a mechanical and murderous voice spoke "Protocol: White Rabbit"