Stories For the Damned

Fragile: Death Stranding #3

Fragile awoke in her office chair. She had to hurry if she was to meet Sam in time. She needed to give him a miçanga. Die-hardman said he would be trying to integrate more people onto the chiral network. People that only trusted Fragile Express. The bracelet would let them know that they could trust bridges too.

When she arrived in Sam's private room she saw him still asleep. Walking over to the display case she looked at his sleeping BB. It was amazing. It looked just like a real child that never escaped its mother womb.

His porter suit hung, cleaned and ready for use. On his side table there were numerous cans of monster energy drink. Personally she couldn't stand that stuff but to each his own. She smiled when she saw the jar of cryptobiotes. Her gloved hands opened it and grabbed one. As soon as she was about to put it in her mouth Sam started rustling around, his eyes fluttering open.

"Something to eat?" She said and held it out to him.

"Why are you here?" He said and sat up, activating his cuff links and turning the lights on.

"Ask your boss man," she said and ate the creature in her hands.

"No, I mean why are you 'here'?"

"Got a delivery for a porter," she tugged the bracelet off of her wrist and held it out to him. "Your gonna need this on the road ahead. It will ID you as an associate of Fragile Express." Sam still didn't take it. She sighed "It's woven from my blood and chiral crystals. Think of it as a kind of bond. Preppers 'round these parts won't give you trouble so long as you've got it." When she moved to sit on the bed Sam got up. Probably something to do with his aphenphosmphobia.

"We were the only people making deliveries out here, this was our territory." She looked down at her lap. Her hands gripped the maçanga. "Until Higgs fucked it all up. Me, the express, our reputation - all of it," she looked up at Sam, trying not to cry.

Ever since the incident with Higgs she felt like she had failed her father. She allowed his legacy to be tarnished and she would do anything to redeem herself again.

"And now you wanna fuck him back? On your own?"

"I'm not on my own," she said and stood. Her umbrella in one hand. "The cave. Port Knot city. Next to your bed. So far apart, yet somehow we keep meeting?" Slowly circling sam and stopping behind him she prepared to jump. "All that BT territory where I should have been caught in a void out...yet here I am" she appeared in front of him again. "Here I am..." she jumped behind him again.

"You can use the beach?" He said turning around and looking at her.

"I have a beach. You've got yours. I use it to jump across space." She circled around him slowly. "I can't use it to conjure up BTs the Higgs can, but I can go after him. Chase him to the beach. Problem is everyone's got their own way in. I'm only allowed to pass through the beach i know and understand. I'm sure you've heard the term, multiverse"

Suddenly she felt extremely light-headed and nauseous. She felt like she was gonna pass out. Putting a finger to her nose she saw blood.

"You alright?" Sam said

"Y-yeah" she said and grabbed a cryptobiote. "The jumps take a lot out of me. They suck my blood dry." Once she had eaten a couple she started feeling a lot better.

"You're going to edge knot city right? Place is full of terrorist but if your dead set on it your gonna have to deal with Higgs sooner or later"

Sam shook his head and stepped away from her "Look, I make deliveries. Killing monsters and terrorists, that's not what I do."

She really needed this. Higgs needed to pay for what he did..."What if we did it together? I could use my power to help you. We don't have to want the same thing to be on the same side. I could send you across my beach, to any place the chiraliums thick enough. Any place connected to the chiral network."

She walked over to the holder on Sam's wall and placed her umbrella in it.

"And what do you expect in return?" He said.

"I expect you to think it over." She handed him the bracelet and this time he took it. "Call it an incentive. And call me if you need me." She stood and pointed to her umbrella. "This will keep us connected. See you later, Sam Porter Bridges"

After having had a shower and a few more cryptobiotes she sighed and cracked open some Timefall Porter. A couple that owned a farm had given it to her as thanks. What they were thanking her for she did not know.

She had failed to save Middle Knot and just barely escaped South Knot with her life. The whole situation was bad but this beer was good so she just laid back and tried to relax.

She wore a pair of old sweat pants and a loose t-shirt. They were her dads and were made before the Death Stranding so the tags and black printed letters that were once legible had worn away. This was the only time she wore it because it showed her damaged, aged skin. In the privacy of her private room.

Deadman called it body dysmorphia, she called it a goddamn curse. Despite all of the people she saved. She'd give anything to go back. Anything to refuse Higgs' business proposal. Anything to save herself. People questioned her, "Why do you wear that suit all the time?" "You saved South Knot but at what cost?" Most couldn't decide if she was bad or good.

"What's done is done," Deadman said and he was right. But it still felt wrong...