Primal Gambit

Chapter 28: The Ship

The Scidora cut the glass beneath – halving the water underfoot and trembling the slates of ice in her way. The loud cracking cut through the air, alienating itself from the stagnant silence. With the besieged freeze came the lumbered creak of the ship's hull. The evening sky was an abstract illustration done in oils. Beyond the crisp cropping of clouds was the moon, fuller and larger than Vikhr had ever remembered. Wisps of green and aqua blue cast across the sky, complementing the frigid ocean before them. He looked at the aurora borealis, something he had only dreamt of witnessing as a child.

The disguised Siberian stood on the foredeck, clad in the uniform donned by the hired protection of the oil carrier. An Arctic chill covered his mask in a sheet of frost – he was faceless with the rest of the private contractors. His size alone deterred any possible questioning from the head of the group, who tended to fester in the confines of his lodgings. One hand rested atop the holster while the other held onto the railing of the Scidora. He wondered how people received payment for such menial work.

Ships on these waters were oftentimes forced to square off with pirates and privateers – those looking to take both men and resources for ransom. Oil carriers were at the highest risk of being boarded, so the military took to precautionary measures to protect them. The journey had been underway for the better part of a week and the burly man staring across the sea could not understand why he had been robbed of the right to a good fight. They had not seen another ship since leaving the port.

As he gazed at the portrait before him, the vast mountains acting as a backdrop to the rich and dancing colors in the sky, he wondered how long the window of opportunity would be. Details from the mysterious stranger on the other end of the line had been vague. Vikhr was unsure if he was to abduct this specimen from the observatory or if he would have to pry him from the vice of a possible adversary.

To succeed, Vikhr understood that he needed to be willing to sleep anywhere, eat anything, and kill anyone. These guidelines had proven easy enough in the past, but he was entering a new country. The way people lived in the States differed vastly from that of his own people. He thought about the lengths to which he would have to go. It was only rumor that he had cannibalized the dead to survive in the past.

His moment of serenity was cut short by the approach of a fellow guard; rifle slung snugly across his back. He was shorter, a man of at least fifty years with a stocky build and stepping with a limp. An old baseball cap adorned the top of his head, and when he opened his mouth to speak – his throat rattled like an ailing snake:

"Ey, foreigner, what are you gonna do when we land stateside?" His voice wheezed, entering his mask and producing a foul sound. The Siberian wanted to keep things short, unsure of whom he could trust.

"Travel east. I have business in Pittsburgh."

"The Dark City, eh? Place's no joke – how you gettin' there?" Vikhr was tired of men prodding him for too much personal information. His brow furrowed beneath his mask as he shifted his step.

"I don't know yet."

"It's a hell of a drive – maybe there's a train you could take. Though most of 'em have gone offline to save oil." He paused and looked out to the colorful expanse before them, "You could get lucky, though."

"And you – how will you be spending your time there?" Vikhr needed to make an alteration in the conversation to get the focus off his own intentions.

"Me? I've got a girl out in Talkeetna. I'll probably give her a visit once me and the guys celebrate making it to Anchorage in one piece. There's a bar we always go to when we get back, sort of a tradition."

The Siberian didn't care. He blinked thoroughly, figuring he might as well use the opportunity to garner information about where he was headed.

"Have you ever been to the Dark City?" The contractor reached into a pocket for another filter.

"Hold on – filter's running dry." He quickly unscrewed the empty canister from his mouthpiece and attached the new one. Throwing the spent cylinder into the ocean before them, Vikhr couldn't help but watch the wind take the unnatural object. He took one last glimpse at the unexposed nature that had so quickly become trivialized by the littering of the man next to him. It was a small-scale example of mankind's disinterest in the preservation of the world, though it spoke volumes to the Siberian.

"That's better. Yeah, I've been there once or twice on business. Hate the place. Nowhere is safe 'cept for the Inner City, 'n even there your money is as good as gone. Don't know why you'd wanna go there – whatever you do stay out of the boroughs, and for Christ's sake don't go into The Yard." He shook his head towards the loner. Vikhr was a wolf and would not so much as falter in his step if requested to conduct work in the seedier areas. For a moment, he thought about what was so stifling about The Yard, but he was sure he would end up there for one reason or another.

"The Yard, huh – what's in there?"

"I suppose I don't rightly know myself, you haven't heard of it? We've all heard the stories: twisted men, wild dogs er' worse. The things in there think the apocalypse has already happened." The man writhed in unsettledness.

Vikhr thought about what it was like for the people who lived there. To them, the wealthy inhabitants of the Inner City probably seemed mad.

No matter the precautions laid before him by the smaller man, Vikhr was going to make his way to The Dark City – find whoever the mysterious man wanted him to, and hold him until a ransom was paid. Then and only then would the Siberian be content – the funds to disregard the travel ban and fly or swim home, fund an army, and reclaim what was rightfully his. He took a long breath, satisfied in his unwavering ambition to avenge his family and the families that had already fallen prey to lesser men.

For once, he enjoyed the taste of the filtered air that entered his lungs.

"Let's see what this 'Yard' has to offer." He breathed.