Zek

Gambling was a code 1 violation in the Fire Nation army. That just meant every act of gambling was high stakes gambling.

And in Citadel, the stakes were even higher. If you won, you were a target for the entire city, if you lost, you were essentially screwed, but you were alive. And if you cheated, well, if you were cheated, you got your throat slit. Hizo and I determined this all by analyzing a single alleyway for just 15 minutes where we saw all three outcomes transpire in quick succession.

Lucky for Hizo and me, we were the best gamblers this side of continent. And by that, I meant we were the best cheaters.

"So you think we can pull it off?" I asked Hizo who was leaning against a sandcrete wall to my right.

"Yeah. I think we got this."

"How much time did the mechanic say it would take him?"

"3 hours I think."

"Ooh. It's gonna be a fun night. You got the stuff?"

"Only if you do."

I reached into my pockets, pulling out the wooden rectangular dice with an interior ball that rolls to certain sides, weighing it down so that we always know which side will emerge face up. Now, while this sounds easy to counter, the ball within activates a small mechanism that displays what the winning side will be right before it's thrown.

As I did this, he pulled out his secret cards that he has never divulged the secret of to anymore, including myself. Just so, he didn't know the secrets of my magic dice, and we've determined to keep it this way throughout the length of our service thus far

"So?" I started. "Split up?"

"Fine by me. I'll go west, you go east?"

"How about I go west, and you go east?"

"Fuck you think I'm trying to do, scam you? I'm saving that shit for the idiots here."

That commend only served to gain the attention of the gamblers we had been watching, who, fortunately, only heard the 'idiots' comment, prompting them to look up from their game, eyeing us suspiciously.

"He means the other idiots who just left." I said, saving.

They went back to their game. Wow. Boss was right. We do need to watch what the hell we say.

"Alright. Fine," said Hizo. "I'll go west. You go east."

"Nice try, asshole. I'll meet you at the courtyard in an hour and a half. We'll combine our cash and see what we can afford."

"Did you do an even split?"

"Fuck yes I did. You have 10 copper pieces. And so do I."

"Boss gave us 21. You have 11. Don't you?"

"Fuck you want me to do? Split it in half?"

"I'd appreciate a little honesty, first."

"Shut up and make some money. We'll meet in 90 minutes at the courtyard?"

He sighed, inclining his head upwards, grumbling out "Fine."

"Good. Make Boss proud."

With that, we parted ways, him heading east and me heading west. We all knew what the fuss was about. We wanted to see where Luke grew up. Ever since he'd joined us, the kid's been an enigma. I thought I knew him well enough when he first joined up. A bit dark and quiet, but still somebody who you could tell had a good humor to him. Or at least, that's what I took from his laughing at my jokes. And they were good jokes too. Who wouldn't laugh?

But shit, now, well, I know what I heard. An entire village? Alone? It was scary shit. Frankly, it made me rather uncertain about being in the same squad as him, having him riding in the same tank as me, sleeping less that 10 feet away. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a tad bit afraid of him. And he didn't talk. Not a word. Hasn't for the last 3 weeks. It was some scary shit. The only noise he'd make is him sharpening that damn knife of his every single night. I had no idea why, but I wasn't planning on asking. Boss was the only one who didn't seem afraid of him. Gordez, well, Gordez was Gordez. I knew he wasn't afraid, but he kept his distance all the same. And with good reason.

Hizo told me he heard Luke sometimes mumbling to himself in the middle of the night, but I'm pretty sure he was just saying that shit to fuck with me. I want to say I didn't believe it, but well, I was less reluctant to absolutely discard it. I probably wouldn't be surprised if I learned it to be true.

All any of us really knew about Luke was that he grew up on the Citadel West Side, near the famed "Grain Street." Well. Not the west west, but to the west of where we came in. Which was enough to go by.

I found the street soon enough, and just like that, I was beginning to understand just what the hell this city was.

We had come int the city through the tunnel, riding our tank all the way to the military district, unmolested on the way. It seemed Citadel hadn't yet been updated on new Fire Nation rosters. Our uniforms were all the credentials we needed. We drove the tank to the motor pool, asked the mechanic for quick repairs, to which he eagerly agreed to nobody's surprise as we had no doubt they were eager for any 'wartime activities' they could get their hands on, and was even so kind as to recommend we don't wear our uniforms in the slums and provide us with ponchos to cover ourselves.

It was set to be a rainy night judging by the clouds, so the advice and outfits were not unappreciated. That had been our first impression Citadel. A good one at that. We were then shown the way to the slums where just inches away from the wall, we witnessed the gambling life of Citadel, still imagining it as a healthy city full of life, until now, that is.

On the grain street, going from what was nearest to me to what was furthest, I saw a dead man on the ground, being devoured by a mischief of rats. The man was missing 2 eyes, a rope around his neck that had been cut, with a sign nailed to his chest spelling "Spreader". Above him, the other half of the rope was hanging from the broken gate of a ruined balcony railing.

Further ahead of me, a prostitute, or ex-prostitute as determined by later evidence, missing her hands, sat on the ground, leaning against the nearest building, bearing a marking on her forehead of two tits in front of a skull that I later learned meant she "pleasured hosts."

Further ahead, 2 young males, clearly wearing uniforms of brown shirts and pants, with a black vest and a strap of orange tape going across their torso, spears in hand, patrolled the streets, wearing orange masks, stabbing at bodies on the ground lightly enough to hurt but not pierce.

I watched long enough to see that when the body didn't flinch, they proceeded with an additional stab to the head, saying "host."

The mention of disease was already disconcerting enough, but the apparent means of determination and cleansing struck me as even more so.

What was clear beyond a doubt though, was that a new power was at play in Citadel, no doubt hostile towards whoever these "spreaders" were, but clearly in power as they seemed to be the only ones offering a solution to whatever affliction was present in the slums.

Whatever was going around, I had no intention of staying to learn the details of. I just had to find a good place to make some quick money and get the hell out. I decided not to linger on the grain street any longer than I had to, but when I turned to enter an alley, I was stopped by another uniformed gang member who said, "Other way."

"What's down there?" I asked.

"Quarantine. I said go away."

And just as soon as he said that, I heard the same voice that had said "host" behind me, say "Out of the way."

And the 2 gang members I had just seen, spears on their backs, carrying the dead body between them, walked past the guard who was cordoning off the alley, carrying the body into the darkness.

"I recommend you go the other way," the guard said, muffled by his orange mask. "Leave this city while you can."

"Mind if I ask what's going on?"

"So you are new. Disease going around. Most of us got it. Wear the masks to avoid spreading it or getting it if you're a lucky one. We're trying to make sure nobody else goes around spreading it, but some people just don't care like that guy hanging from the sign. Get out of here while you can. Nothing can be worth staying here."

"I'm just here to get some supplies and I'll be on my way."

"Then you're in the wrong place."

I figured as much. I had no intention of buying anything in these slums anyway. Not at this rate.

"Any gambling going around?"

"Everywhere, but I'd keep clear, they're the kind of assholes to spread it."

"What kind of disease is it anyway?"

"Bad one. Whatever it is, parasite we think, it goes inside of you, we think through the water at first, and paralyzes you slowly. Once it does, it spreads to your lungs, breeds, multiplies, and spreads itself through the air. Only way to kill it is to burn the bodies."

"And you have it?"

"Oh yeah. Once I fall over, they'll burn me like they do everyone else."

"How long does it take?"

He shrugged. "Days, weeks, months, different for everyone. Here," he said, handing me an orange mask "Before you get it too. Doused in alcohol. The smell's strong, but it'll help."

I put it on immediately, not willing to wait any longer, already terrified I may have gotten it. "And how will I know if I got it?"

"Oh. You'll know when you do. Skin gets all bloated and stuff. So yeah. May wanna be careful."

"Appreciated." Originally, I had intended to ask about past gangs in Citadel, about if anyone knew of a kid named Luke, of what his past may had been, but now, that was out the window. There were far more pressing concerns.

"Fuck this shit." I mumbled to myself. I had to find Hizo. There was no money to be made here worth the risk of this shit.

So I headed east, past the grain street once more. Did the Fire Nation know about this? If they did, why weren't they doing anything? I moved past the alleys once more, taking the same route so as to avoid the mere risk of an unfortunate encounter, now noticing the new details coming to light: dead bodies in dark alleys still breathing, exhaling the disease into the evening air, a gruesome sight.

I clung the mask to my face, embracing the smell of the mask as it was likely the only thing that would keep me alive had I not already caught whatever the hell it was. Fucking hell, this city sucks.

I found the next major street after a good 10 minutes of shuffling through alleys until I realized the sheer scale of the city. How the hell was I going to find Hizo? I, of course, in my infinite wisdom, tried the first thing that came to mind. "Hizo!" I yelled. "Hizooooo!"

"Shut the fuck up!" somebody to my left declared. I looked over to find him leaning against a building, right beside a host, a corpse still exhaling. What the fuck is wrong with this place?

I moved past him, knowing one way or another, I'd have to find Hizo. I couldn't leave him in this fucking hellhole.

"Hizo!" I continued yelling as I moved through the street, past one lowlife or another. I went from person to person, asking one variation or another of "Where do people go to gamble?", gaining no replies until I finally received an answer. And naturally, that's where I headed, moving through crowded allies, past people all wearing masks as I clung to my own, pressing it against my face, absolutely scared shitless of whatever the hell was going around, praying that whatever it was, Hizo hadn't caught it, or hell, me.

And then I saw him, with his stupid ass cards lying by his feet. It took me a moment to realize that his throat was cut, blood pouring over his body, spilling over his neck onto the pavement.

The alley was empty save his corpse. Everyone and anyone who had been present or involved had left the scene, stripping him of nearly everything he had in his possession, except those damn cards.

It was all so fucking comedic in that damn moment. Why not the cards? They were the most valuable things he had. It was so damn fucking funny that eventually I did laugh. I laughed as I crouched to the ground, picking up his stupid ass cards, rubbing the blood off of them on my pants as I stashed them in my pockets.

The mask was making it harder to laugh, so, I took it off. It was just so fucking funny I couldn't stop from laughing. "They forgot the cards!" I yelled to no one and everyone. I laughed again, wiping the cards clean, finally seeing their secrets as I stashed them. The face and value of the card was hidden on the back in the corner. Genius!

I laughed some more, ignoring the tears coming out of my eyes, knowing they were betraying the way I really felt. I finally figured it out. I learned his secret!

I laughed some more as I fell to the ground, noticing now just how much of a unique smell this city had. It really was something special. It was no wonder Boss had sent us here. This place was amazing!

I laughed more and more and more, realizing just how truly amazing this place was. And Hizo was here to enjoy it with me!