[DISCONTINUED] Cannibal Society (Hermitcraft AU)

Chapter 5

"So, what is it?"

Iskall didn't answer when they stepped out, simply eyeing him down before turning and walking down the hallway. Tango raised a brow, eventually following after the grumpy man.

"Sure. Just don't answer at all, that isn't ominous at all." Tango murmured.

"There are some things not discussed out in the open." Iskall finally spoke, without looking back.

When they turned a corner, Tango immediately bumped into someone, though the other party received the brunt of the force. A few clacks resounded in the air between them, and Tango looked down to see a man already crouching down to retrieve a tablet that had dropped from his arms.

"I'm sorry—"

He was silenced by the stern glare he received from the man when he straightened up, lips moving to say something when he stopped himself, settling with a simple sigh. Fixing the goggles that went askew on top of his hair, he checked his device for any damages.

"Just watch where you're going next time." his voice, though quiet, was laced with a thick Russian accent.

Tango stepped aside wordlessly, letting the man pass. Still observing where the man was going to, he stopped in front of a door somewhere down the hall where Tango and Iskall had just walked in, punching something in the console beside the door before going inside, the door locking upon closing.

"Huh." Iskall remarked, having joined in watching Tango observe the man. "I'm surprised he didn't sass you out as much as he would to other people."

"You know him?" Tango asked.

"I know almost everyone here. That's our scout before every mission, giving us the status of the Higher Districts and helping us determine the right time to go on retrievals and raids. Heard of Zloy?" Iskall replied.

He shook his head. Iskall hummed. "Didn't think so. Well, he was once a show runner back when the Districts weren't divided yet, and when Division Day came, he was put into Higher Districts Broadcast."

"He's from the Higher Districts? How did he get here?"

"Well, just some media silencing and stuff. He said some things on-air the Council didn't quite like, and he threatened to release the broadcast to the Lower Districts so the Council knew they had to get rid of him right away since they knew he could very well let the Lower Districts know of the monstrosities the Council is doing due to his close connections with the broadcasting network, so they tried to put him into the Cannibal System to be eaten for good."

"Wha—" Tango nearly broke his neck to turn to Iskall. "I thought the Cannibal Bill has a criteria?"

Iskall turned his back towards him, continuing down the path they were going down in. "You can just do anything when you want when you're on top. And murder has basically been legalised when the Cannibal Bill was passed. God knows what's not illegal these days."

Tango could only follow after him in silence, remembering the number of missing— well, deceased now— cases in the Lower Districts. How many more went 'missing' in the Higher Districts?

And the fact that this whole time, he's working in the shadows of murderers and liars. He can't help but feel he has become useless for them as an engineer, and that's why he has been tossed into the Cannibal System.

Iskall stopped by huge metal double doors, the room behind it clearly significant as the doors looked thick and heavy, along with a bioscanner. Bowing down a bit and letting it scan his eye, the scanner beeped and the console glowed green, the heavy doors clicking and sliding apart.