Chapter 16

"Wait...I was invited, from the Vipers," another bullet hit inches from my feet, and I eagerly unearthed the gold coin. "See...I have a..." the coin was shot out of my hand, and flew directly into the river.

"Make a wish, and give me a better answer than that, or I'm a paint the ground with your brains."

"The...Juda. You recall anyone by that name? He was unclaimed today, he betrayed the Vipers, and it has something to do with Wren. That's why I was sent!"

A favorable gust of wind broke the awkward silence, and I raised my hands for no apparent reason. Up ahead, coming from Wren, was two tall men, pushing a shorter man forward. The shorter man was in chains and fell steadily. They kicked and yelled at him the whole way till their features came into focus. One of the tall men wore shades, with one glass missing. Half his head was shaved, and the other half was long, jet black hair nearly touching the ground. He had a conventional build, but one arm was entirely metallic. The first cybernetically enchanted person I'd seen in Titan. Around his neck was a thick Chinese dragon tattoo. I imaged it went all the way around. The other tall man was dressed in all black, his neck covered, and atop his head was a flurry of thick brown curls.

"He is the one you're looking for," the tall man in all black said, as he pushed the shorter man in front of me.

"You are looking to become a Viper, yes? This is your trial? I am Coup, this (Pointing to man in all black) is Obsidian," stated the tall man with the half shaved head.

"I'm Lex and yea. I'm here representing the

Vipers, I am not unclaimed."

"Pleasure to meet you. Once the ritual is done, we can escort you to Wren, as our guest," Obsidian said in a bottomless, sincere tone of voice.

"Ritual?"

"Of course, the person who owned the other coin. He is here, before you," Coup chimed in, kicking the shorter man in the back of the head. "This is our newest unclaimed."

The moment he said it, I noticed a burn mark around the shorter man's neck. A choker of keloid marked on him forever. He kept showing me prayer hands, pleading nonverbally, and eventually, I realized his tongue had been cut out. Black blood was pouring from the corner of his mouth.

"Hurry, before the sun goes down," Obsidian suggested.

"What do you want me to do?"

They both glanced at each other and then laughed at me. Hearty laughs from a deep place, Obsidian nearly teared up, holding his stomach. I laughed along with them out of nervousness.

"What do you think the gun's for?" Coup said with a serious face.

Clouds loomed overhead, placing us in bright darkness. After purposely stalling, I pulled out the gun from the satchel. To my surprise, it was an old service weapon with the serial number scratched off. That familiar weight of the steel, my finger curled around the trigger. Weston's voice popped in my head, 'And this ain't war, the people look like you, like me. You're not going to be able to shoot someone you know, without this'.

I took the phantom advice of Weston's memory and whipped out a vial of Blue Diamonds. I raised it like a toast, symbolizing what I was about to do. Coup and Obsidian nodded in approval, and I let a drop fall into my eye. I needed the effects fast. I needed a colder heart.

Azure swept across my pupils. Briefly, it was all I could see, compounded by a rage building inside. The service weapon became incredibly light, and I aimed it at the shorter man. My target, my trial, all that's standing between me being claimed by the Vipers.

Sweat entered my palms, and my heartbeat sped up. The landscape transitioned to a pulsating lavender, offset by a dull green. The shorter man seems to shrink ever further, cowering before me. Judge and jury held steadily in my wet grip, a quick flash of Halo crossed my mind, and I squeezed the trigger. Not once, but four times in rapid succession. Coup and Obsidian looked twelve feet tall, and I began hiccupping from the high. My chest was ballooning out with each strong breath. Obsidian gently took the gun away, his whole body looked like a moving mass of black, a human shadow.

He guided me towards the beautiful river. The shorter man turned into a ball of dust and blew away in the breeze. Coup cupped some of the river water and splashed it in my face. All the brilliant colors distorted and returned to their original hue. I threw up the remainder of the Blue Diamonds on my shoes. When I was done, I glanced over at the wide-eyed corpse I just created, staring back at me. Four bullet holes in his face, life was torn from his body. What's become of me?

"Guess I was wrong about this one...he got some balls on him, and he ain't Janus-faced so far. Aiite, let him in!" the far-off feminine voice screamed.

A giant split appeared in front of the majestic Fold Mountain and separated using some form of basic mechanics. The ground rumbled with tremendous force, and Wren became alive. Inside was an intricate concrete labyrinth. A prehistoric city, full of peaks and valleys, avenues, marketplaces, waterways. The ceiling was covered in sand-colored drapery and over one hundred yards high. The depth was unforeseeable, as it seems to stretch into infinity. Easily over seventy people inside, operating like another civilization cut off from the masses. An evolution from the barbaric conditions of Hornet, more than fifty years ahead.

The sniper descended from above, hanging from a high up ledge by a grappling rope, clutching an elaborate sniper rifle.

"Newcomers always get quiet when they first see it," he said.

I watched him recline all the way down to my level, black gloves to withstand the burn. His slender body dangled before me. A tousle of blonde hair, retroussé nose, and emerald eyes. Mesmerized, to say the least, in his presence, rifle slung over his left shoulder. The green eyes scanned me while he disconnected the hook, landing upright. Strong body language taught me that he had some stature in Wren, a high position. More theories about who the sniper was came to mind when both Coup and Obsidian, bowed to him. The king of Wren? Unable to determine my next move, I imitated Coup and bent clumsily.

"No need, these two are just being courteous, but we're all the same level. I'm Scarleth," he extended his hand, and even though his voice was feminine, his grip was not.

Grinding my teeth was the only way to hide the pain my knuckles felt, trapped inside his steel handshake. Using his free hand, he grabbed the satchel and looked inside. Puckered lips was his way of saying he approved, as he tossed the bag to Obsidian. He gripped my face and turned my head to the side to look at the cut from the sniper bullet.

"I'm getting better at this. I tried to warn a man yesterday by doing the same tactic, except I took his ear off. But you...that was clean. If you ever want your gold coin back or any gold coins, they all at the bottom of Maverock River. We don't dump no bodies in there, keeps the water clean. Serene is washing away too much sin. I can see the shakes in your hand, first time killing a man?"

"Well..."

"Don't answer that, it's a trick question. As long as I seen you kill one, that's fine with me. You want to be in my good graces, I'm a general in the Nuli gang," he pulled down the collar on his shirt, exposing the Chinese dragon tattoo going around his neck.

"So this..."

"That's right, Lex was it? Relax man. Take your time, I know, it's enthralling, all of this. But you'll be fine. Welcome to Wren."