The Runner: The Author's Cut

Chapter 1

I sat in the dim and rustic lobby of the printing press with my father as we both got ready for the day, my father being a lot quieter than usual. The acrid smoke of his big brown cigar wafted through the air while I applied polish to my cybernetic lower leg, rubbing a rag along its surface with vigor until the warm, blued steel regained its usual sheen. After applying oil to the joints, I stood up from my seat and walked over to my locker which sat against the back wall.

My father started loading my bag with daily bulletins. Punching the four-digit code into the small keypad, the latch unlocked and I swung the locker open, revealing a small array of my everyday belongings, including my gauntlet, gloves, and other necessities. Pulling my gloves and gauntlet off the lower shelf, I set them on the counter and grabbed my jungle boots and my cold-weather gear before I opened one of the drawers towards the bottom.

Reaching inside, I withdrew a small lock box which I set on the desk before placing my thumb on the biometric scanner. I heard a buzz as the light turned green and the box opened, revealing my six-shot Schofield Mk. I Dragoon, my survival knife, my licenses to carry, and two small paper boxes which held the bullets for the pistol.

Pulling my pistol from the lockbox, I opened one of the cartridge boxes, flipped open the loading gate with a click, and began to slip the .45 caliber cartridges into the gun until I had a full cylinder. Closing the loading gate, I slipped the gun into its leather holster on my belt, put the revolver at half-cock, and loaded the remaining bullets from the cartridge box into my belt's bullet loops. Pulling my black balaclava over my face, I donned my newsboy cap, ensuring the razor blade in the bill was still sharp with my thumb. I then pulled on my wool coat and strapped my gauntlet to my forearm, connecting the gauntlet's display box to a new power cell. Flicking the red power switch on the side of the display box, the OLED screen flickered to life, and the logo of Ares Electronics and its slogan appeared on the screen for a brief moment before it gave way to the home screen. After giving myself a pat-down and ensuring I was fully equipped, I sat down next to my father. He handed me my messenger bag while I tied my boots.

"You all ready to go?" my father asked, taking another long drag from his cigar, white smoke blossoming from his lips. "You did all your checks?"

"Yep."

"Made sure everything's charged?"

"Done. Phone's charged and loaded a new power cell into the display box."

"And you checked the weather and the tides?"

"Got it," I nodded, glancing at my gauntlet and opening the weather app which displayed today's high and low, sunrise and sunset, and provided a tide table. "Looks like today's gonna be chilly, the tide's going out, and we're looking at clear skies into the evening."

My father nodded and sat for a moment as if trying to come up with any other questions.

"Got some tokens on you? Don't want you going hungry out there."

"Yeah, I got about 25 Trade Tokens in my wallet, two Ten Pieces and a Five Piece."

"Good man," he stated, exhaling the smoke. "You're free to go, Adrian. Deliver those bulletins and the weekend is yours!"

"Thanks, Pops. I'll make you proud."

He took another drag from his cigar as I made my way to the door while he pulled up another board to begin carving the next articles into, grabbing my house key and flicking on our establishment's open sign.

"One more thing," he began, rising from his seat at the large wooden desk before him after snuffing his cigar in the cigar tin. "In the bag, there's a classified special request order from one of our allies. If you need assistance with whatever they need, The Family and I will help you out. You know where our contacts are."