The Ice Bowl Short Story

“Why you all alone little woman?” “Yeah, why you all alone?” “This is no place to be all alone, especially a little woman like you.” Sawyer overheard the men in the alley below and wished she brought her headphones. The men were right, women shouldn’t be alone in Sleetbrick after dark, especially women who couldn’t handle three sober creeps. Hopefully they would blast her before she could make too much noise and ruin Sawyer’s dinner ambience. She picked a few crumbs off of her synthetic food cube as the men closed around the huddled girl below. QT Sawyer liked to watch the simulated stars on the skyscreen while she ate. The loop included a shooting star every hour, a great opportunity to make a wish. “Don’t get any closer!” The outburst caused her to fumble a bright red crumb. Freeze me, this would be loud. “We’re not going to hurt you.” “Yeah, we’re just going to kill you.” “Xander.” “And sell your organs for Pops!” “Felix!” “Right, not that, just kill you misses. Definitely won’t be selling your organs for Focus. That stuffs for cheapos and airbrains.” “Touch me and I’ll turn you into a puddle!” The young girl pulled out a long knife, she needed both hands to handle the weight. it looked like an old knight’s sword in her small arms. Sawyer put down her Red cube, maybe this would be interesting. The men laughed and continued to circle. The most sober man walked forward with one hand out, like he was soothing a wild beast. With his other he reached behind his back. Nevermind, Sawyer thought. The man slowly put his hand around the grip of an old Cop shooter. Either he was a former cop or he had stolen it from the corpse of one. She picked her food back up and watched as the man unsheathed the pistol and pointed it towards the balcony where Sawyer was relaxing. “You too. Come down here.” Great. She held up her meal. See? I’m busy. The man shot a blast into the railing next to her head. Too accurate, he was definitely a Cop at one point. “Fine. Just let me get my shoes on.” “I get her shoes. Called it!” “You already have shoes, I need hers.” “You can have my old ones, they have holes to let air blow on your toes.” Sawyer ignored them as she tied the strings. They would be disappointed to find out that her kicks only had the one hole. They were made of a rare and nearly indestructible synthetic material but the quality that made them incomparable were the half inch metal blades on their sole. She locked on the straps and hopped over the railing landing on the icy film that covered the city this time of year “Shit, she’s a Brawler.” “What do we do Bax?” “Stop right there, you!” The man, Bax, had trained the pistol on her chest. She locked eyes with him “We don’t have to do this. I can go back to enjoying my dinner and you can go back to whatever you were doing.” She looked at the girl, she was maybe 15. “It’s not my job to teach every kid the lessons they should be learning on their own. And I don’t mess with Cops.” “She knows you’re a Cop!” “Shoot her, Captain!” Captain? Suddenly the young girl slashed forward at the Cop’s arm, blade connected with flesh and he dropped the pistol on the ground where it slid across the icy floor. Sawyer pushed off the wall beside her with one foot and glided across the Slate tile. She jumped high and tucked in her legs to her chest, careening towards the closest goon like a meteor. She pumped her legs into his chest and he flew back onto the ground, the blades were too thick to pierce skin but the collision still caused the man to smack his head on the hard floor with a brain churning thud, one down. She tucked her body in the air and completed the flip, landing back on her skates and sliding away. The Cop had recovered by now and was running towards cover behind a large waste bin. His back was still turned as the third man ran towards Sawyer with a jagged piece of scrap wielded like a spear. She spun quickly, raising her back leg and roundhouse kicking him in the teeth. Blood sprayed but she wasn’t finished, she completed her spin then put a leg into his gut and pushed hard, generating some speed towards the final assailant hidden behind the dumpster. He called out from his hiding spot, his speech was rapid. “I’veAlreadyCalledForBackup.” Sawyer scraped her blades into the ice and stopped. “Freeze my ass.” “What did he say?” The young girl asked. Sawyer had almost forgotten she was there. “You’ve never heard speedtalking before?” “No, what does that mean?” “It means stay here while I deal with him.” She needed to get him out in the open “I knew you Cops were skittish, but being afraid of two unarmed girls while on Speed is a whole new level.” He peeked his head up from out of the dumpster and flashed a look at Sawyer, then the girl, and finally the spot where his pistol lay on the floor in the distance. His eyes moved so quickly they almost vibrated. His body moved slowly but he never stopped jittering, like his battery was overcharged. He came out from behind the dumpster and faced Sawyer. She tuned out the rest of the world and gave him her complete attention, something she learned from Brawling. “I’llTakeCareOfYouMyself. ThenI’mGoingToTheIceBowlBeforeTheyMeltEveryone.” He approached slowly, his boots didn’t slip on the ice so he must have been wearing studs. Out of his mouth was a small white stick that was at the end of all Drugpops. He was close enough for Sawyer to hear the sound of the Speedpop clicking against his teeth. Suddenly he lunged forward with supernatural speed, his teeth clenched like a wild animal. Sawyer barely saw him move but this was not her first Brawl against a Speeder. She waited for his torso to cross his centre of gravity, the point at which he could not maneuver out of the way even with superhuman reaction speed, and she clocked him sharply in the side of the mouth where the Speedpop rested. She heard the familiar crunch of a Pop shattering and he fell forward onto the hard ice and began to convulse. She didn’t check his pulse. Sawyer turned and skated towards the girl, she was straddling one of the barely conscious men and pummeling him with her small fists. She grabbed the girl by the collar and dragged her off. “Let’s go, you’re making this worse than it already is.” “He was getting back up.” She continued to drag the girl for a couple of blocks as she babbled about their fight. Once they were a safe distance she let her down and crouched to meet her eyes. “Do not mess with cops, you got? They write the rules and if you beat them, they rewrite the rules.” “Not if you beat them like that!” “Wrong. That’s going to cost me. I don’t know how but you can be certain, Cops always make you pay.” The girl was unbothered, making chopping and kicking motions with her limbs. “Why am I even helping you, you won’t last the week.” “I don’t need your help, just directions” “To where?” “ The Ice Bowl, I’m going to sign up as a Brawler.” Sawyer laughed at that. “You’re a really lucky kid, I’m on my way to the Ice Bowl now. You can follow me if you stay quiet.” The girl thought for a moment then shuffled behind Sawyer as she tried to catch up to her. “I’m Glib.” Damn it, she was hoping to not learn this girl's name. “Call me Chainsaw.” “That’s awesome! My Alias is going to be Death Machine or Kick Knight.” Sawyer rolled her eyes “Where are you from Kick Knight?” “Saltwater Orphanage, out in the Craters.” “How does a girl from Saltwater know enough about Brawling to pick out her own Alias, but not enough to realize that she should stay far far away from The Bowl.” “I’m not scared! You know why they call it the craters? Because there are hundreds of frozen craters out there, I’ve probably spent more time fighting in an Ice Bowl than you have.” “I hope that’s not true.” They approached dozens of vents breathing steam up into the night sky, signaling the entrance to the arena. Before they could cross the threshold they heard an alarm blaring at a distance, it was getting louder as they approached. Threw the mist she saw a figure running towards them followed by hundreds more. Sawyer frowned as they watched the spectators evacuating. “What’s going on?” “Club’s closed.” A tall, buff woman with buzzed hair jogged by and Sawyer ran over to catch up with her. “Lex, what’s going on?” “Cops are ‘ssembling on the Ice Road, we’ve ‘nly got a couple of minutes.” Sawyer grabbed her arm “Where’s Tinfoil?” The woman avoided her eyes. “He was ‘n the Medbay, didn’t see ‘im leave.” She pulled her arm free and ran off. Sawyer pushed through the crowd to get through to the Ice Bowl, Glib managed to follow along by ducking past peoples legs. Out of the double wide entrance doors a large figure hobbled through the mist. A hulking man emerged, dragging one foot behind the other. “Tinfoil!” Sawyer ran over and grabbed his arm, putting it over her shoulder. “What happened?” He put a surprising amount of weight on Sawyer’s shoulder with each step. “I got matched up with Bonejaw, you know how Strengther fights are.” “Freeze him, I swear he tries to injure his opponents if not kill them.” “Yeah, well he’s freezing pretty good right now on account of him being a corpse now.” Sawyer scoffed “How?” “Smashed his Pop. Cops must’ve been watching, they started forming a squad immediately. The Medic only had time to give me some painkillers.” “But Brawler Medics can heal anything.” Sawyer didn’t realize Glib had been following them still. “Pretty much anything, with enough time. What does a little girl like you know about Brawler Medics.” Tinfoil asked. Glib held up a finger and took on a serious face “Those who can heal become Brawler Medics, those who can think become Doctors.” Tinfoil laughed “Where did you find her?” He asked. “This one is called Glib. She came from Saltwater to be a brawler.” Tinfoil raised his eyebrows then laughed again “You need to be 13 to fight, little girl.” “I’m 14! Well I think so. I’m definitely at least 13.” “Well you won’t be brawling tonight, unless you want to wait for the cops. Someone in the Cells would be happy to fight you.” Sawyer said. “Come on Tinfoil, lets get back to the library.” “What about me?” Glib said. The sirens were getting louder, most of the people had evacuated at this point. Sawyer looked over the girl. “What about you?” “Where am I supposed to go?” She tried to think of a good comeback, something funny but also something that made it abundantly clear that she did not care where this girl went. Sawyer didn’t get the chance. “You can stay with us tonight.” Sawyer eyed Tinfoil sharply but said nothing. He had a soft spot for annoying girls, that was part of how they became friends in the first place. Besides, if this toddler was going to step into the Bowl she would be out of their lives sooner than later. One night was manageable. The girl put her hand to her chin for a second then nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay with you. But if you go near my organs I’ll kick your ass!” “Organs? What the hell did you tell her, QT?” “Don’t worry about it.” They turned and headed down a side street towards the library, with their new friend.

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“A library is any place with books or movies.” Tinfoil explained. Glib was sitting on his massive shoulders as he and Sawyer skated through the streets. “Got it. And a book is anything with words on it.” “No. A book is when words are used to tell a story.” “Okay, okay. So a movie is a book without words.” “Yes!” “So movie is just another word for story?” “Yes! Exactly! You’re pretty smart, kid. Cameron will have someone to talk to about quantum pneumatics.” “I’ve been smart since I was little. It’s how I knew I was special.” “Tinfoil.” Sawyer said. They were approaching a tall pillar dotted with screens as high as the eye could see. The ground declined ahead and the Ice layered over the slate tiling was cracked beyond the marker. “Right, okay little one you have to be silent for a while. Don’t want to draw any attention around here, understand?” “Who cares? I’m not afraid of anyone and you two look like you can handle-” “Enough.” Sawyer snapped. “If you can’t stay silent we will leave you to find out why you should have.” Glib looked hurt. Sawyer clenched her jaw and almost apologised. Instead she nodded to Tinfoil and kicked off past the pillar. The buildings here were much closer together, the balconies were separated by inches and only a sliver of light peeked through the ceiling. After a couple minutes of silence Sawyer caught a breeze of foul smelling air, it tickled her nostrils and burned her eyes. Tinfoil put on a pair of protective goggles and motioned for Glib to close her eyes, Q.T. only squinted. Both of the skaters leaned down and increased their speed. They came up to a crumbling building and abruptly stopped. Sawyer stepped over to a doorway blocked with dull metal girders and slouched down. She pulled out three carefully hidden long rods and stepped back. Tinfoil lowered the kid from his shoulders to the tile and hunched down to lift the rubble. Veins popped out of his forearms as he slowly moved the debris, careful not to make much noise. A small tunnel appeared, Sawyer quickly crawled through then heard Glib following behind. Once through, Q.T. inserted the rods through the notches on the other side and lightly knocked on the wall inside. A moment later, Tinfoils large face peeked through the tunnel and Q.T. moved aside to give him room. Tinfoil returned the rods to their original positions, lowering the debris carefully and… Tinfoil screamed. Sawyer jumped back into a stance and Glib cowered for an instant then, putting on a tough face, stood and searched around with too-wide eyes. “Ha Ha Ha Ha, we can make noise now.” Tinfoil said, looking down at the jumpy girl. “ Freeze me, Dustin” Through the darkness they heard footsteps running towards them, Glib spun to face the noise with two small fists raised. A tall and slim man appeared at a run. “What’s going on?” “Tinfoil was scaring our new friend here.” Sawyer said. “Hello. I’m Glib.” The man shot a glance at Sawyer. “Glib’s staying with us tonight, she’s got nowhere else.” Tinfoil said, putting a hand on her small head and rustling her hair. “Just tonight, Cambridge. The Bowl was shut down before she had a chance to find a bed.” “I’ve only made food for three.” Cambridge said. “We can share! Come on, we’ve got the nutrients to spare.” Tinfoil said.“And she’ll have an unbiased opinion.” Sawyer added “You already know that we love your food, she might have some fresh compliments.” She said, maybe that was too much. Cambridge grunted and turn to walk back the way he had came. “Ha ha! You are in for a treat little one. Cameron here is the best cook in the city. What’s the main course?” Tinfoil said. They followed behind him as best they could in the darkness, slowly the passage lightened. “Cubed and seared Red with julienned Green and a Yellow pan sauce.” “Wait, you’re cooking us food tablets?” Glib said. Sawyer frowned and saw Cambridge tighten his shoulders without looking back. “Apologies, Lord Glib. I didn’t realize you were above a free meal. Besides, once you have Cameron’s cooking you’ll understand.” Tinfoil said, patting the girls head. He looked at Sawyer, a worried look passing as quick as a blink. They continued through the passage, approaching a nearly closed door with lightbeams outlining the shape. At the top was a red sign reading ‘Exit’ in a neon glow. They walked through the door. “Wooooaaah.” Glib said as they entered a dimly lit room with dozens of books on the shelves. “These are all your books?” She ran up to a collapsing shelf and picked one up, staring at the once bright red cover. “You’ve never seen a book?” Cambridge asked. “Not like this. I’ve seen the books on the screens around the city.” Cambridge furrowed his eyebrows at the girl. “No no no, books are stories, remember? Those are just ads or notices.” Tinfoil said. “And you’ve read every one? You must be really smart” Sawyer saw Cambridge’s gaze soften. How did she keep doing that? “Come on kid, you can look at those after it’s time to eat.” They walked past the bookshelves to a new room where there was a large chest in the centre. Around the chest was a lounge chair, a folding chair, and a mound of fabrics in a pile on the ground. “You can sit next to me” Tinfoil said, pointing at the round imprint in the fabric pile. Glib ran over and jumped into it which made Tinfoil laugh, a hard laugh with his belly. “Saw, help me with the food?” Sawyer nodded and followed into a third room, a cramped space with counters wrapping around the walls and a metal surface plugged into a series of wires. They closed the door to the other room and the sounds of the other two playing became muffled. “Why is she here?” He asked. Walking over to the flat top where three sliced cubes of a Red block lay. “She had nowhere else to go, you know how he gets with strays.” “This isn’t our job. She’s going to end up with the same fate as the rest of the kids who want to pretend to be Brawlers” Sawyer tried to remember the faces that she’d seen turned to corpses. Maybe it wasn’t a good thing that they could ignore them. Cambridge waited for a response, after none came he continued. “We are so close to our third Ticket, I’m not waiting another 5 years for her to get one. “It’s one night, she’s gone tomorrow. I will get us out of here, trust me.” He did trust her, she saw it in his eyes. “There’s something else.” He said. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a plastic card. It read: ‘Attention Brawlers. Drugpops are ILLEGAL. Anyone caught with a Drugpop on their person will be arrested and prosecuted.’ Signed Valdoria Lanesto, Chief of Police and Executive Commissioner of the AntiDrug League. “So? They’ve always been illegal, they only enforce it if they watch someone OD” Sawyer said. “Something’s changed. They dropped these off in person at the Bowl last night, that’s why I left. Saw, they used the front door. We had no heads-up, one minute they were just there. If one of us was fighting when that happened…” “They didn’t use the Cop Road? How did they get there?” “I’m not sure, that’s what has me so spooked.” Sawyer bit her nails. Cambridge was dividing up the food evenly on four plates, laminated pieces of scrap metal. “I’ll have to do another Ticket fight.” Cambridge laughed. “You planning on fighting Tinfoil?” “Tinfoil’s injured. They didn’t heal it in time, he needs to take a month off, maybe more.” “So we get his Ticket fight pushed until he’s healed.” “You know they aren’t going to let us do that. Either he fights injured or he forfeits the Ticket.” “So, you’re going to fight in his place? You’re already down 50 pounds on the lowest weight class, please tell me how you plan to take down someone more than 100 pounds heavier.” She slammed her hands on the metal counter. Both of them were quiet enough to hear Tinfoil asking Glib about the Craters in the other room. “It’s our only shot.” She said, not looking into his eyes. After a minute Cambridge spoke again. “Okay, Saw.” They each grabbed two plates and headed back out to the dining room. Tinfoil was holding a small book and Glib was looking at it intently, making shapes with her mouth as she tried to sound out letters. They both looked up at the plates with wide eyes. Glib stood up to try and see what was on the plates but Tinfoil pulled her back down and told her to be patient. The meal was as fantastic as a dehydrated condensed food block meal could be. They enjoyed, for the first time that night, a reasonable amount of silence out of the young girl as she was stuffing her face. “In the Summer month we would steal real, growing out of the ground beans from the farms near the orphanage. But this was the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” Glib said through stifled belches. Cambridge smiled and collected the plates. “Do you want to see the recipe?” She beamed “What’s a recipe?” Cambridge waved her over to the bookshelves and showed off the only surviving cookbook in The Library, a small peeling clump of papers with the name ‘-don Ramsay’ on the bottom. “What else did they grow on those farms? I’ve always wanted to grow my own plants” Glib waved her arms all over the place as she described the farms to Cambridge over in the stacks of books. “I knew he’d warm up to her.” Tinfoil said, resting back in his pile with his hands on his belly. “He shouldn’t, we can’t keep her.” Sawyer said, feeling her smile drip off of her face like melting ice. “I know. It’s just…” “Nice to forget, I know.” They sat in silence for a minute, watching the young girl pester Cambridge with stories about beans and sprouts and fields. “We’re so close, Dustin. I know if I can hold it together for a little longer I can get us out of here. I’m not trying to be cold, I’m just trying my best.” “I know that, QT It doesn’t make it any easier.” Tinfoil said. They didn’t share any more words until Tinfoil stood up using his arms to support his weight. He put weight on his right leg and winced. “I hate Strengthpops, nobody wants to build muscle the old fashioned way.” “You mean moving boulders back and forth?” “Exactly! Well, I think it’s time I got my rest. Tomorrow’s a big day.” Tinfoil limped away, wishing her a good rest. Sawyer hoped he was wrong and it would be a boring day. But, she knew better than to get her hopes up. Tomorrow would be a big day, because it was a fight night, and Newbies had to fight on their first night. They called it the Chit Flip, queens you were injured, fists you were dead.

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“Downed! Destroyed! Decimated! KO by forced submission! Make room for the mortuaries, we have plenty more fights to get through. Congratulations to…” The overhead speech projectors whined from all the shouting. “Killbang? That’s a stupid name. Congratulations, Killbang!” Muffled roars erupted throughout the stands of spectators. Stomping could be heard from the ceiling above like the entire building was a drum. The gang, plus Glib, were in the preparation room, a long round corridor of lockers and benches filled with muscled people of all shapes and sizes. Through a doorway in the inner wall there came a squeaking noise which preceded two people in black rags carrying a stretcher. Laying on top was what used to be a man but now looked more like a spectre. Hollow-faced and skin greyer than the street outside. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, webbed with red veins. Only Glib followed their path with her eyes, Sawyer and Tinfoil were adjusting the straps on their skates and Cambridge was talking to a shady looking individual in the corner. “Does that happen a lot?” Glib asked. Sawyer looked up, still hunched over and pulling on her boots and scoffed. “It’s not supposed to.” She said. Tinfoil stood up and walked over to Glib. “Mostly just to newbies.” He said smiling. Glib became unusually silent. “Kidding! The medics will replace any organs you lose.” Glib looked up at him and waited but he wasn’t joking. “It’s cheaper to give you a fake kidney than lose a fighter.” Sawyer said. She slapped both sides of her skates then stood up and started stretching. “They can fix him?” Glib pointed towards the stretcher being carried out a back door in the outer wall. Sawyer and Tinfoil looked at eachother. “No, but you don’t have to worry about that. Let’s just say-” Tinfoil said. “That’s not a fighting injury.” Sawyer said. Tinfoil just nodded. “Besides, most newbies don’t know how to rupture a kidney, let alone collapse a lung. You’ll probably get a few new bruises and maybe a broken arm before they drag them off you.” Tinfoil said. Glib had a look on her face that didn’t say ‘thank you for the reassurance.’ He crouched down and put his hand on her shoulder. “Look, it’s not too late to back out. You can go back home and- “No! I have to do this.” The girl was looking at the floor with a fierce look in her eye, but Sawyer couldn’t help but think about how small she still was. She had been smaller at that age but by that time she had fought dozens of times on the street. There was a real chance that Glib could be injured or killed before the enforcers could stop it. “Maybe he’s right, your home can’t be that bad.” Sawyer used her most soothing voice which sounded like rust scraping “Until you sign the contract, you can still back out.” Glib’s wide eyes shot up to Sawyers. “You didn’t. When?” Sawyer asked. The drumming above had slowed to a stop and the crackle of the speakers announced the start of the next fight. “Two more Newbies are ready to risk their lives for guts and glory! The randometron has selected Murdermaim and Don Ramsay!” Cambridge was exchanging something with the stranger in the corner, his head shot in the direction of the gang at hearing the announcement. Glib looked between Sawyer and Tinfoil with hunched shoulders, she looked like an urchin expecting a beating. “It was the only name I could spell.” She said. There was no turning back. “Fighters please make your way to the dressing ring and confirm your attendance with the officials. Or don’t, it’s been a while since we’ve had a good abandoner rundown!” “Okay, kid. This is it.” Tinfoil said, putting his large hand on her very little shoulder. “Win or lose, after today you are a Brawler, same as us.” He waved a hand over the others. “Fight like hell and you’ve got a chance to earn your own skates. Even if you lose you’ll get your own sleeping mat.” Glib still had a far off look on her face. Sawyer slid over and crouched down. Then she kicked the girl in the shin with her skate. “Ow! What the F-” “You’re in the lowest weight class, same as me.” Glib was hopping around in a circle on her other leg. “Nobody under 200 lbs will be able to cause you more pain than that.” Glib looked up at Sawyer, still holding her shin and hopping to keep her balance, but slowly her grimace turned into a soft smile. “Thanks, I guess.” Glib said. “That’s the organizer” Sawyer pointed to a tall person in a gown with glasses on and a small electronic device. “Go sign in, we’ll be watching from the low stands. Remember to use your legs they’re much stronger than your arms.” Sawyer stood back up and watched the girl nod then hobble over to the robed organizer. “You really think she’ll be alright?” Cambridge asked, careful not to be overheard. “I think she’ll live. You finished?” She asked. “Not yet. The Popper’s here tonight.” He scanned the area around them, nobody was listening but still he leaned in closer to Sawyer. “My connect told me to bring collateral” She chewed her lip. “What’s the collateral?” she asked. He looked in her eyes in a way that revealed the answer before speaking “One of our Tickets” “Freeze me.” “Do we have a choice?” She didn’t answer. “Besides, He’ll return it after I sell half the shipment.” “How much do we keep?” “10 of each.” “It was 40 last time. What if he flakes with it?” She asked. “The Drug Popper is not scamming us over one measly Job Ticket. He probably uses them to check his hair in the morning.” Sawyer laughed and looked at Glib speaking with the fight organizer. She was brave, and her reward was a long and gruelling life. Her reward for losing would be a short and gruelling life. “Okay.” She reached into her pants and dug her fingers into a hidden pocket, pulling out a small flat round piece of glass wrapped in Tungsten. She handed the chip to Cambridge and watched him head into the ringed corridors. Tinfoil put his hand on her shoulder. “Everything good?” He asked. “Yeah, Cambridge is meeting with a guy about a thing” “Say no more.” Sawyer turned around and gave the big man a hug. She squeezed her cheek into his muscled torso. “Ow Ow easy on the squeezing.” “Oh, right sorry.” She pulled back and looked up to meet his eyes.“We’re so close, Tin.” “Thanks to you. And you’re going to get us the rest of the way too. Now cheer up, we’re going to watch the little one break her first bones.” With that they headed into the inner doorway towards the stands reserved for Brawlers. The cool air hit her face immediately followed by the familiar scent. Sweat, liquor, chemically-treated icewater, and the rank stench of bleach concentrate used to clean blood from the ice. The Ice Bowl looked like a crater that had been coated with slick aerosol foam. The centre ring, hardly big enough for two people to stand in, was particularly roughed up.The low stands surrounded the outer ring with plastic boarding acting as the only barrier between the fighters and spectators. Above, rings of stands hung over the ice with countless heads and fists peeking out to see the action below. There were men with cleaning poles scraping down the ice in the centre ring. They used metal cleated shoes to climb up the incline towards the outer ring. Sawyer and Tinfoil sat down in seats near the front as a hissing sound sounded, the pneumatic release valve which allowed a torrent of water to stream through gaps in the boarding. It immediately froze, creating a slick veneer cover on every inch of the Bowl. “Folks you are in for a treat!” The announcer’s voice rattled the flimsy stands they were sitting on. Sawyer saw the organizer escorting Glib towards the gate to the Bowl. “Our first fighter is an ambitious, and frankly stupid, little girl. Weighing in at less than my ex-wife’s pet python and at an age of 13 years and one week…” Glib was inching her way on to the ice, holding the barrier for support as she shuffled to her spot at the top of the Bowl. Newbies didn’t have skates yet, their fights usually involved a lot of slipping for multiple reasons. “Give a shout for Don Ramsay!” The crowd shouted and the banging echoed throughout the entire stands. Sawyer looked up at the hundred plus levels of spectators, all leaning over the edge to see the action. “And now that man who’s going to annihilate her… what? It’s true.” It was hard to tell if that was booing through the cacophony of pounding. “The man who is as deadly as he is unimaginative, MurderMaim!” On the opposite side of the arena the gate was open and a wide man was sliding onto the ice, using only one hand to hold himself at the top of the slope. With the other he was raising his hand towards the crowd, calling for cheers and receiving them in great amounts. Sawyer saw a few people bumping together electronic pads in the stands above, an act that indicated bets were being placed. She knew which way they were betting. Tinfoil was cupping his hands to his mouth and shouting in support of Glib but she wasn’t making any signal that she could hear him despite being right there. Sawyer said a silent prayer and then the starting klaxon pierced the air. The man immediately released the boarding and slid to the centre ring, taking a low stance with hands out in front of him. “An eager start from Murdermain but our young friend is terrified to let go of the wall, you know what that means.” Suddenly Glib’s hands jerked away from the boarding which Sawyer knew had momentarily been electrified. Glib slid down the slope backwards, flailing her arms to keep her balance and turn around. The man in the centre smiled and balled up his fists. Glib managed to spin to her opponent and raised her own hands sheepishly. She glided towards him like a box on a conveyor belt, soon to be folded. Just before she was in reach of Murdermain she ducked beneath his grasping hands, he stumbled forward taking a step and slipping onto his face. “Right underneath his legs! The Don has more to her than we thought.” Glib stood above the man looking lost, she looked up to Sawyer and Tinfoil as they mimed different attacks in her direction. The man was pushing himself to his feet but Glib pushed him down again. He struck his face and blood started to stain the ice. Gaining confidence Glib kicked him in the head, it barely moved from the weak attempt. She turned around and ran along the ice and a couple feet up the icy slope before turning to slide back down. “Nice.” Sawyer said under her breath. With the added momentum Glib launched towards the man who was now on all fours and pelted him with her foot, this time the man fell back down at the strike. Glib turned to the crowd and cheered. Sawyer turned to Tinfoil who frowned at the showboating. Glib got another run up, the man was large but he had poor balance and was struggling to get himself to his feet. He was battling himself more than Glib. “This little girl packs a big punch, this next one could be it! Here comes the wind up.” Glib had climbed all the way to the stands, pushing off to get massive speed. She approached with grace, naturally balanced on one foot, her other foot wound up behind her preparing for the knockout kick. She approached the centre ring faster than a swooping cockroach and threw her leg at the man's head. At the last moment he reached out with a massive arm and caught her leg, grabbing onto it with both hands and avoiding the attack. “Uh oh, he’s got a hold of her now!” Glib was trying to free her leg but she was flailing trying to keep her balance with only one foot on the ice. Murdermain yanked her leg and she fell backwards onto the icy slope. With a boulder of a fist he pounded down onto her chest. Sawyer watched the air evacuate her lungs like a punctured raft. He pounded again and again, each time she tried to block but her feeble defense weakened with each connection. The man struggled to his knees and looked comfortably balanced. He grabbed onto Glib’s leg again with both hands and started to spin. He flung her around and threw her up the slope, she slid the entire way colliding with the boards and crumpling against them. Slowly she started to glide back down, she was conscious but weak. Murdermain scrambled on the ice, carefully getting to his feet then winding up for a kick. As glib’s approach quickened Sawyer looked away “Oooh what a kick! That’s going to leave a few broken ribs.” She looked back and the man was swinging the girl again up towards the boards. This time when she collided Glib reached out a small hand and held on. She struggled to her feet and held on. The crowd cheered loudly at her recovery and she seemed to stand taller in response. The man tried a few times to get up the slope but he wasn’t agile enough, Glib simply waited until she caught her breath. “Come on little lady, we’ve got other fights tonight you know? Turn on the power!” Glib sneered at the announcers table but pushed off the boards and started rocketing towards the centre ring. Murdermaim was waiting with both hands outstretched. As she approached she ducked, the man read this and crouched down to snag her before she could slide between him. Glib leaped into the air, sticking both feet in front of her like a missile and clocking him in the teeth. Blood sprayed and he fell back smacking his head on the ice. Glib pounced on top of him and started punching rapidly, the roaring crowd cheering her on. She managed to get to her feet and kicked at his hands which were covering his face. She kicked his palm and he latched on, the flurry of blows stopped. Glib was tossed again up the ice towards the boards. The man's face was covered in blood and a look that made his name seem menacing. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small stick with foil wrapping and began to peel it away. Tinfoil sighed next to Sawyer “I almost thought she could do it.” She said “Yeah, me too.” Murdermaim peeled away the wrapper and stuffed the Pop into his mouth. His muscles bulged through his shirt and veins lined his forehead. “Strength-Pop? That’s a bit overkill.” Sawyer said. Glib had collided with the boards and begun her slow descent. “Well that was fun while it lasted, mortuaries on standby please.” The announcers voice trailed off and a commotion started in the stands above. The third floor balcony was all turned around and there was shouting coming from that direction. “That’s the side door.” Tinfoil said. Sawyer stared up the ice road. The Beehive was peering down on them ominously, no lights and no Cops were visible. Murdermaim was ignorant of the commotion, he looked like he had gained half a foot since the effects of the Strength-Pop took hold. Glib was gliding towards him, blinking dazedly in no particular direction. Murdermaim took a couple steps away, preparing for a finishing kick, when a body fell off the third floor balcony into the Bowl. The speakers crackled to life. “Hey, Lady you can’t be up here. Enforcers, grab her! Hey wait, what are you...” A second body fell, the announcer came crashing down onto the ice. “Citizens. This is Valdoria Lanesto with the Slatebrick City Department of Safety and Policing.” “Shit.” Sawyer and Tinfoil said in unison. “We have received reports of illicit drug usage and trafficking in this area. Please comply with officers and you will have nothing to fear.” “Where’s Cambridge?” They could barely hear each other over the announcer. The Brawlers in the low area were more calm but Sawyer still felt elbows and shoulders jostling her with every breath. If Cambridge was caught… She looked down into the Bowl, the enhanced man below had bloodlust in his eyes and Glib was still unresponsive. Crowds had started hurtling towards the exits, she had to take action and quickly. She leaned in close to Tinfoils ear but still had to shout “Find Cambridge and meet us at our spot.” Tinfoil said something short that might have been ‘Us?’ Sawyer tapped her ear and shrugged so Tinfoil nodded and limped off towards the lockers. Sawyer leaped over the boards into the Ice Bowl, the smooth scraping of ice on her skates made her feel like she was back on land. She kicked one skate into the boards behind her and lurched forwards down towards the centre ring. Murdermaim was moving towards Glib as well now, Sawyer could feel each of his footsteps shaking the Ice like an elephant. The vibrations sent shivers through her bones.. She leaned forward as far as she could without losing balance, reached out with an arm, and slid Glibs limp body alongside herself away from the man. She made it partially up the slope but not all the way, they began to slide backwards towards Murdermaim. Sawyer spun and kicked her skates into the ice, pushing at an angle to gain speed. They rotated around the centre slowly gaining ground. Sawyer leaned over and picked up the girls body and slung her over her shoulder. It was hard to balance with her center of gravity skewed but Sawer left Murdermaim in the centre ring and evacuated the Ice Bowl. The journey back to the Library was a paranoid one, the sirens echoed from seemingly every alleyway. Sawyer waited an hour and still no sign of Cambridge or Tinfoil. Finally she decided to leave Glib to rest and return to the Ice Bowl but at that moment the two men slinked in. “You guys alright?” Sawyer said, hugging Tinfoil then Cambridge. He hugged her back but scowled in Glib’s direction when she pulled away. “Yeah, we had to lay low for a bit. They must have had 10 squads.” Tinfoil sat down in his spot but Cambridge remained standing. “Sawyer, we have a problem.” she stepped back and braced herself. “They got the Popper.” Sawyer nodded slowly. “We’ll have to ration our pops." she said eventually. She started pacing, chewing her fingernails as her brain worked away. “We might have to do some cash fights. Find a new supplier. Okay, this is okay. If we’re smart this should only add… a couple months?” “Sawyer.” Cambridge said, avoiding her eyes. She stopped her pacing and waited for him to continue. “We didn’t just lose the shipment.” She swallowed, knowing what came next. “He had our job ticket in his pocket when Valdoria got him.” Sawyer took a deep breath in through her nose, then yelled into the night until her lungs were empty.

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“That’s it?” Sawyer stared at the three Drugpops stacked together like an old wood fire. “One Speed, one Strength, one Focus, that’s it.” Cambridge had his hands in his pockets leaning against the smooth metal wall. Glib was recovering on Tinfoils bed which meant the only sound in the library was the pervasive creaking that filled every corner of the city. Tinfoil coughed “My Ticket fight is tonight.” He said. Damn, she forgot that was today. “Is your leg healed enough?” He shrugged “Only one way to find out.” He reached into the pile and plucked out one of the three remaining Pops. Sawyer stared at the pile. “Two left.” “Maybe we can fight without it?” “No.” Sawyer said too quickly. “It’s too much of a disadvantage.” “We’re not the only ones running dry.” Cambridge said, raising a flat palm in front of him as he spoke as if he were showcasing a product that he knew was faulty. “We can’t rely on that.” Sawyer said. Suddenly she slammed her fists on the table, drawing looks from the other two. On the mound of rags, Glib turned in her sleep. Sawyer continued after a moment of silence. “We need two more Tickets, and we need more Pops. Conveniently, there is a place that has both” The two men shot questioning looks at Sawyer but she continued. “The Beehive item locker. ” “Q.T.” “Not possible.” They said at the same time. She raised a hand and they let her speak. “Years of Brawling, that’s what we’re looking at after we find a new supply. Years where any night you could run out of luck. Or, 1 night of good luck and we’re done forever.” Both of them were avoiding her eyes. “Next week you could be a meal processor, you could have a title. Your own bedroom, a media tablet, hell you could get a hydroponic garden, Cambridge.” “Or you could be dead.” Sawyer glared at Tinfoil. “I’m not afraid of dying.” Was all she said. “We can break in to the Beehive, Cambridge you always said it was possible, right?” “Yeah, if they are as incompetent as we think they are.” “Trust me, they’re worse than we think. So we break in, steal back our second ticket, Tinfoil wins the third at the Bowl, and we cash in tomorrow morning.” “What if I lose?” “We’ll grab a bag of Drugpops as backup, give us more time to earn the third.” She looked around, disappointed at their still solemn faces. “What am I missing?” Tinfoil stood up, sometimes she forgot how tall he was unless he was towering over her. He pointed towards the couch where Glib was still laying. “Dustin, we have a real chance. You want to throw away everything we’ve worked towards for a girl?” He was still looking over at the couch. “You were just a girl, once.” She wasn’t going to convince him. There was some truth to what he was saying but she didn’t have time to fully analyze what to do. Instead, she grabbed one of the Pops from the table and stuffed it into his chest. He looked down at it “I’m not taking two, that’s suicide.” “It’s for her.” He looked over at the couch again, his jaw was slack but he failed to come up with words. “If we pull it off tonight, she gets every Pop, we all quit cold. She can take them, earn her own ticket, or start a business for all I care. But, either way we’re giving her a better shot than any of us had.” “And if we don’t?” Cambridge asked from across the table. Sawyer reached into her pants and pulled out a small glass and Tungsten object and placed it on the table. It looked slightly different from the one she had given Cambridge the other night, small letters dotted on side with the words “Lightweight Champion, 20.00.002” “She’s all yours, Tin.” She didn’t clarify whether she meant the chip or the girl. “Okay.” Tinfoil said, picking up the chip and twisting it around in his fingers. “Cambridge, you coming?” He didn’t respond except by standing up and walking over to Sawyer. He stopped momentarily to put a hand on Tinfoil’s shoulder. Then they turned towards the exit and left. The Beehive was a pillar that scratched the sky. Dispatched ships glided in and out of hexagonal hangars, off to distribute Valdoria Lanesto’s will to any and every citizen across the city. Sawyer and Cambridge were tucked away in an alleyway that looked towards the ground level entrance. The entrance was a ramp up to a fluorescent white lobby sheltered only by a thick piece of glass. It looked like an alien spaceship with the landing gear deployed. “No guards?” Sawyer asked, the sound of her voice made an echo on the abandoned streets. “No need. Nobody’s that stupid.” Sawyer was happy to prove them wrong, whoever they were. She stood upright and walked out into the street, the slate stone felt unfamiliar, there was no ice here so they couldn’t wear their skates. The wet tile would incredibly easy to slip on. They approached the Beehive slowly at first, then Sawyer took a deep breath to steel herself and started walking with a front of confidence. “Act like you belong.” She said. They walked up the ramp and towards the front double doors, also made of glass, pulled on the handles and entered the illuminated lobby. Immediately the scent of synthetic cleaner rushed into her nostrils, her throat dried up at the taste. She counted sixteen walkways branching out of the main lobby, each would be filled with elevators that carried Cops and Detectives up to their desks and back to the hangars. They continued to the centre of the lobby room and noticed one of the walkways was considerably wider than the others, it was the one at the back that probably led to a center hub. Cambridge pointed to words engraved in the plastic wall “Front Desk / Information / Lockup” it said, with an arrow pointing down the central hallway. They approached the entry, Sawyer was able to make out the sound of footsteps pattering, like thousands of critters in the other room. At the start of the hallway was a strange outcropping that they couldn’t see earlier, like a square overhead arch. “Is that…?” Cambridge said. Sawyer grabbed Cambridge’s arm and urged him to the side, down one of the offshoots. She pulled out a fake badge from her coat. “Can this make it through one of those?” She asked, careful to scan each direction with her eyes. Cambridge took a second before responding. “I think so. Probably.” Sawyer looked down at the ground and sighed. “My bigger concern is being made as citizens.” Cambridge held up a badge of his own. “If they think to hand scan these then we’re toast and since we look like this.” He pinched his shirt, they had scrubbed it as clean as they could but there were still stains on the ragged clothes. “Okay, okay. We just need to find the locker rooms, did you see any sign for that?” The elevator next to them pinged and the doors slid open. “So he starts resisting and it’s been weeks since I’ve had a good citation so I…” Two Cops appeared through the doors of the elevator, they were each holding a cup of coffee and were wearing complete uniforms. Sawyer leaped onto the closer one and pushed him back into the elevator. Luckily there was nobody else inside. She didn’t see Cambridge but didn’t hear the second Cop get the chance to shout for help either. She caught the man with his guard down and made quick work of smashing her fist into his throat to prevent him from calling out. She wrapped herself around his legs so he could move and put a cinch on his neck. He scrambled with both hands, letting his coffee splatter across the elevator floor as she slowly drained the breath from him. Cambridge entered a moment later, dropping one unconscious body on top of the other. They got to work stripping the men of their clothes, only stopping momentarily to hit the ‘Open Door’ button to make sure their elevator didn’t move. Once they were dressed they lifted the two bodies onto their shoulders and walked back out to the main lobby. They made their way to the exit doors, two more Cops appeared at the same moment. They eyed Sawyer and Cambridge with suspicion, one of them reached for the weapon on his side but Sawyer kept a steady pace. When they were close enough to see the whites of the Cop’s eyes Sawyer said “Anniversary party, some guys can’t handle their liquor!” Her fake accent was a bit over the top but Cambridge followed up with a more accurate one “Either of you guys know how to get piss out of clothes? Ha!” The two Cops eased up. “Happens to the best of us.” One of them said which caused the other to laugh. “Stay sharp.” They carried the two men out the front doors and dropped them on the floor of the alleyway before heading back inside. “How are they so damn stupid?” Cambridge asked. “They’re not stupid, they’re soft.” “They act like nothing bad will ever happen to them” “And only one out of a million is wrong about that. Come on, their stupidness is what’s going to get us out of here alive tonight.” Sawyer said. They opened the two front doors and made their way across the white lobby floor. Sawyer didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she had passed through the scanner and no alarms started. They continued down a long hallway, made to feel longer from the monotone white sparkling from every surface. At the end of the hallway was a hub of activity, centralized around a glass pillar encasing a staircase. At the very bottom of that staircase was a place that Sawyer was intimately familiar with, just not from this angle. It was hangar that was stationed at the top of the Ice Road, the watchtower that stared down The Ice Bowl. Sawyer and Cambridge immediately felt themselves being ushered in different directions, not by any one person but by the flow of the crowd. They spun to look for the signs towards the lockup but ultimately had to settle for the Information desk. Sawyer coughed to lower her voice “Which way’s lockup? I got all turned around.” There was a young man behind the counter, his face was kinder than she expected. “Lockup will be down that way, through the Eastern hallway, eighth door on your left.” He leaned forward over the counter and lowered his voice “Don’t feel bad, it happens to the best of us” He smiled and pulled back. “Thanks.” They walked away in the direction of lockup “What is that their damn slogan?” Cambridge asked. He was ducking and twisting not to be jostled by the stream of Cops surrounding them, Sawyer was better at avoiding them. They reached the East hallway and the traffic eased up. They walked down another corridor and found the eighth door and entered the Beehive lockup. It was like a hundred libraries stacked on top of eachother, except the shelves were cages and the books were weapons, Drugs, currencies, Sawyer thought she saw a section entirely of exotic animals. They stood on metal catwalks that wrapped around the cages, there was a drop large enough to break legs if you fell to the bottom row. Their catwalk went straight in the direction of a welcome desk, much more rustic than the Information Desk but still painted white. “Dropoff or pickup?” The woman behind the desk asked, not looking up from a media tablet even once. “Uhh, pickup.” Sawyer said, forgetting to imitate a Cop. “Pickups on the right. What type of evidence are you picking up?” “A job ticket. It was… left at a crime scene.” “Crime scenes are on the first through third floors on the right. Small items are on the first section of the first through third floors on the right. Utility tokens are on the first shelf of the first section of the first…” “Got it, thank you. We’re also looking for Drug pops.” Sawyer said. The woman behind the counter looked up for the first time “Why would you need those?” She asked suspiciously. Sawyer took a moment to respond but the woman interrupted “Doesn’t matter, we don’t have em. You’ll have to see Commissioner Valdoria about that.” Sawyer and Cambridge shot eachother a look that would have set off warning bells if the woman were capable of looking away from the media tablet in her hands. “Thanks.” Sawyer said and they walked down the catwalk, down the stairs, and into Section 1, Floor 1, Shelf 1. It was here that Sawyer saw a sight that made her furious, hundreds of job tickets sitting unused in a pile. Each of which was confiscated from a person who probably saw it as their only option out. And definitely, from a person who never got the chance to see that way out. Sawyer locked eyes with Cambridge and coughed, he took a few steps back onto the catwalk and scanned the area. Seeing that no one was intruding he coughed back and Sawyer grabbed a fistful of Job tickets from the shelf. There were only four of them and they would never be able to trade away many without it tracing back to them, but it felt better knowing that they wouldn’t sit here collecting frost. They stuffed the tickets into their pockets and escaped the Lockup to the central hub. Sawyer felt hundreds of bodies rubbing against her like little hands reaching into her pockets. The sound of glass clinking was so loud in her ears that she wondered how nobody was stopping her. But they made it back through to the hallway. The scanner beeped as they walked through and a red light ignited in the hallway. Sawyer froze and Cambridge’s eyes went as wide as a dish. But after a minute it turned green and then white and they proceeded towards the entry without delay. They made it into the centre of the white entry room, throwing distance from the glass doors when two men in their underwear walked through and shouted “That’s them!” Sawyer swallowed but no saliva came. Without turning her head to Cambridge she spoke “Follow my lead, and run.” Sawyer reached into a back pocket and pulled out a lollipop wrapped in foil. Most Brawlers used Drugpops, it was the only way to compete at the highest level. Those Brawlers usually chose to enhance the thing that they were lacking in. Big men wanted to be faster and little girls needed to be stronger. She unwrapped the Pop and put it in her cheek, immediately feeling the effects. When the drugs contained in the Pop entered her bloodstream she felt lightning course through her veins. “She’s Wired, watch out!” Time slowed for her as she assessed the situation and decided on the best outcome. Cambridge was standing still waiting for her signal when suddenly she punched him in the stomach, grabbed his arm, and swung him into the other Cops like a bowling ball. He crashed down at their feet and they simply stepped over him. They looked down but didn’t have time to figure out if he was an ally of hers or a hostage. She didn’t give them time to figure it out, leaping forward in a somersault and pushing off with her hands to get back to her feet. She attacked their throats with rapid kicks and punches, two were able to dodge but two scrambled backwards trying to draw breath. One of the Cops reached for his gun but she stopped him, grabbing onto his wrist and flipping him down the the ground. The commotion had drawn attention to her, in the commotion she saw Cambridge manage to sneak out. There were at least a dozen Cops surrounding her, their footsteps caused creaks to ring out through the wide halls. They approached her slowly with batons, one of them behind her must have given a signal. They all jumped on her at once, she swatted away every strike with grace. She caught the weapons midair, redirecting them towards other Cops. For a while they couldn’t touch her, but she wasn’t invincible. A hard hit caught her behind the knee and pain surged through her. She pivoted to her other leg and twisted but there were two bulky men waiting for her. She weaved her limbs in between their attempts to grab but she couldn’t see them all. One of them caught an arm, another grabbed her shoulder, then she felt four heavy men pinning down each of her limbs. She knew she was caught, she saved her energy and let them strap restraints onto her wrists. Entering her view, upside down but from the top of her vision like a descending angel, was Valdoria Lanesto. Alias, VLane.

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The restraints cut into the flesh on her wrists and ankles, Sawyer tugged but the only movement was on the metal chair she was strapped to. Valdoria’s office was like her, tall, mostly empty, and at the centre of everything wrong with Slatebrick City. From the rest of the Beehive it appeared to have floor to ceiling glass walls. Sawyer, from her vantage point on the metal floor within, could see that it was actually the skull containing the city’s brain. The two-way glass revealed screens monitoring practically every corner of the city. Large words formed and dissipated on the screen overlooking the Ice Road. ‘Citizen unrest in 2-3-4-62.1. Distributing units 7.11, 8.12, 0.01. Cancel? 3,2,1. Confirmed. Distributed. Thank you. Citizen disobedience in 9-9-3…’ Sawyer tugged with her knees and elbows but the straps around her limbs only scraped against her skin. Valdoria was outside aggressively pointing a finger at two men in sharp uniforms, Sawyer couldn’t overhear a sound through the glass. One of the screens flickered off then reappeared with an angle of the ramp her and Cambridge had climbed on their way into the Beehive. Cambridge… He wasn’t dropped in a heap next to her which she hoped was a good sign. He could have been labelled a traitor and executed, but there was no blood stain pouring down the entry ramp. Valdoria entered through a portion of the wall that was actually a door. She was swiping her finger across an electronic tablet as she walked over to her desk on the far side of the office. “Miscreant, QT Sawyer, Alias: Chainsaw. One count of Assault against…” “Traitor Valdoria Lanesto, Alias :Vlane. One count of betraying the Brawlers and Ten counts of being an assho…” Valdoria kicked Sawyer in the ribs so hard she thought she heard a crack. The chair scraped along the floor from the impact. “One count Assault against an officer, one count drug…” Sawyer groaned loudly. “Eleven counts.” Another kick, Sawyer toppled over onto the floor with a bang. She definitely heard a crack this time. Sawyer spat on the floor expecting blood but none surfaced yet. “One count drug possession, one count drug use, one count intention to traffic…” “I get it. I broke every law. So why am I still here?” VLane looked up from her tablet and down at Sawyer on the floor. She scanned up and down her body leaving an uncomfortable echo of shivers. She walked over to the desk and placed down the tablet then opened a compartment. She reached in, grabbed something, and walked over to Sawyer’s pile of person. From her spot on the floor she could only clearly see her boots, the tops of which had been cleaned but the soles were still caked with dirt. VLane crouched down to meet Sawyer’s eyes, then unwrapped a Drugpop and put it on her mouth. Immediately her pupils started to shiver, a Speedpop. Sawyer prepared for a third kick that could come out before she could react. But then, Valdoria did something interesting, she stepped over Sawyer’s body and pulled out a small knife, using it to free her from her restraints. Sawyer was close enough to hear the Pop rattling against the woman’s teeth. “You’re still here because I see something in you that I like, myself.” She spoke through clenched teeth. Once VLane was standing again Sawyer pushed herself to her feet. “Thanks. For untying me, not for calling me a traitor.” VLane ignored her and looked at the screens on the wall, the centre one was watching a fight in the Ice Bowl. “I know your secret.” Sawyer felt a pinch in her throat. “How a thirteen year old girl knocked out The Mastodon.” She scratched at her wrists where the restraints were. “That’s not secret. I smashed his Pop and he overdosed.” “And your luck rewarded you with a golden ticket and these skates.” She said, pointing to a drawer in her desk, probably locked. Valdoria paced around to her desk with her hands behind her back. “Except it wasn’t luck, was it?” Uh oh. She reached into a drawer and rustled around in what sounded like a sea of foil. She lobbed a Pop over to Q.T. “Go on, have it. We’ve recently come into an abundance of supply.” The corners of Valdoria’s mouth creeped upwards as she grabbed the clasp of her uniform. “Though I expect demand will be able to catch up.” She ripped off the uniform jacket revealing a system of tubes pumping liquid throughout her torso. It was the colour of tar. “Can you hear them squeaking around like a bad orchestra?” She waved an open hand over the wall of glass and the thousands of Cops on the other side. “Do you know where it comes from?” “The only squeaking I hear is from your rancid mouth.” Valdoria glared at Sawyer. “Don’t play stupid. I said I see myself in you, recognize that for the praise that it is. You figured out how, did you figure out why?” Sawyer glared back, an uncomfortable amount of time passed in silence. “No. Maybe, I thought it was the ice creaking but I did some tests…” Valdoria smiled, the sight caused a wave of nausea to flow over Sawyer. “You realized that you could hear a person’s movements anywhere in the city, so long as you had that.” She said, pointing to the drug pop that Sawyer didn’t realize she was holding tightly to her chest. “It’s the Ice. It squeaks when it rubs against the Slate foundations. It’s not even audible, you have to feel for the vibration as it climbs through your bones and reaches your ear. Don’t feel bad, it took months of testing and a nearly endless amount of this stuff.” VLane reached into her desk and rustled through the foil. She reached deeper in, her shoulder practically inside. “Do they still say ‘Focus is for cheapos and airbrains?’ I was the former, I spent months saving up and took the first one they offered, imagine my surprise to find it was more useful than either of the others. If you know how to listen.” Of course. Sawyer was too young to watch VLane in her prime but everyone told stories of her ability. She was uncontested, the greatest ever. Until Chainsaw… “Ah.” Valdoria closed the desk drawer with one hand, stood tall, and inserted a canister in an opening in her shoulder, replacing another spent one with a hissing sound. She breathed in deeply through her nose and rattled the Drugpop in her mouth. Then she placed both hands on her desk and leaned down, clicking a button with her index finger “KEEP IT DOWN OUT THERE!” Sawyer saw multiple Cops in the hallways jump then proceed at a slower pace. “Sorry, you know how it is with a fresh dose.” Valdoria rubbed her temples. “Can you read?” “What?” She stopped massaging and stared at Sawyer across the room. “I wasn’t speedtalking. Can you read?” “Yes.” She said hesitantly. “Good.” She looked back down at a separate screen on her desk. “We’ll start with chemistry and biology. That will help with the business and as an added benefit you can learn how to utilize reaction speed in combat.” “I’m not helping you!” Valdoria didn’t bother to look up from her desk. “Of course not, I’m helping you.” she reached into a pocket and clicked a glass token down onto the desk. A job Ticket. “I’m going to ask you a few questions, if you give satisfying responses I might give you a job.” “I’m not helping you!” This time she looked up and stared for a moment before opening the desk. She reached in and threw a fistful of Drugpops at Sawyer, they scattered like Brawlers running from Cops. “I control the supply of Drugpops for the entire city. I know what it’s like to detox, answering my questions will be considerably more pleasant.” Sawyer bit her tongue, unsure how to process that claim. VLane looked back down at her tablet. “What’s your dosage?” “One per fight.” “For how long?” “Five, six years I think.” “How do avoid cravings” “Cravings?” “How have you limited your dose so low for so long?” Sawyer laughed sharply. “I’m not limiting, I’m rationing. I can’t afford any more.” She typed on her tablet for a few seconds. “Do you have any education?” “If I had access to education why would I be a Brawler?” “Adrenaline, fame, fortune, plenty of reasons.” “No education.” “Yet you know how to read.” It wasn’t really a question but she made it clear that Sawyer was supposed to respond. “I grew up around books.” “Yes, The Library.” Sawyer felt a sharp pinch in her chest “How do you know about that?” VLane continued to look at her tablet, gesturing vaguely towards the wall of screens. Sawyer heard a crinkling, not realizing that she was squeezing the Pop in her hand tightly. “Your friends are safe. Here I’ll show you.” She pressed a button and the screenwall coalesced into one image, The Ice Bowl. Tinfoil was fighting, and from the look of it he was losing. She could see Glib standing on her seat pumping her arms in the air. “Last question.” Finally. The camera zoomed in on Glib’s face. “Why did you take her in?” Sawyer’s head swirled. “The kid? I didn’t, Tinfoil wanted to.” VLane slammed her fists on the table then gripped the tube pumping her full of Focus. “I can tell when you’re Lying. You could have sent her away but didn’t, why?” “We were going to! Until your Cops raided the Bowl, we didn’t get a chance to pawn her off.” She slammed her fists again, Sawyer recoiled. “So what?” “What?” “So what you couldn’t pawn her off, leave her anyway.” “Tinfoil didn’t want us to.” “Citizen Tinfoil decides what you do?” “No, I…” “You decide what you do. You decide for Tinfoil as well, and Citizen Cameron, and now for Citizen Glib as well. Why did you take her in when you were one fight away from escape” “I don’t enjoy watching kids die.” “No? You’ve watched hundreds die according to the records.” It couldn’t have been that many, surely. But, they did blend together after a while. “I can’t work with you until you acknowledge the painful truth. You can’t fix this city. It’s too far gone, rotten to the core, it would take an army, or a revolution. Whatever justification works for you so long as you agree. You, Warrior Q.T. Sawyer, with all your skills and strengths and smarts, are still not enough.” The words hung in the air, a rotten stench. “Not on your own. Accept your limitations and help me make an actual difference.” Sawyer looked up from the floor and saw something different in Valdoria’s eye, genuine hope. “You would be managing The Ice Bowl. Make it safer if you want, enforce protective gear, require training, outlaw kids until they’re at least 15. Whatever you think will help. If you had this job a decade ago, more than a hundred kids would still be alive.” This was almost making sense to Sawyer. As much as she tried to convince herself she was helping, she wasn’t. Not anyone other than herself and her friends. “The only condition, I want Cambridge too.” Sawyer gripped the Pop in her hand. “He will take over the Drugpoppers responsibilities, distribution, yes. But also growing and refining the caffeine that we synthesize into the base compound for the Pops. You will be able to see him, the farm is out in the craters but I will need him in the city for logistics.” Sawyer was quiet. Valdoria eyed her patiently. “Look, Pops are the most effective way to keep the population amiable. Abusers may be harmed or killed but for the rest of us it means a safer community. This is non negotiable.” Sawyer remained quiet. The only sound in the room was the soft rustling of foil between her fingers. She peeled the foil off and stuffed the Focus pop into her mouth and felt a wave of clarity wash over her. VLane smiled from her desk, “Whatever helps you make the right decision.” Sawyer grabbed her elbow and stretched to the left then mirrored her stretch on the right. “Oh, I’ve already decided.” VLane raised an eyebrow expectantly as Sawyer continued to stretch. “I’m going to pummel you.” Her eyebrow slowly lowered. She stood up from her desk and leaned forward, Sawyer almost thought she could see the tubes increasing their flow. Out of her mouth she could still see the tip of the Speedpop. “Citizen, Q.T. You are slower than me and less focused. Please, use some of that additional brainpower to realize how foolish this is.” “And you’ve spent the past 10 years in this comfy office while I’ve been fighting for my life against people quicker and stronger than me. You are right. I can't save this city. But I know how to make it better. All I have to do is kill you.” Sawyer leaped forward and kicked the woman’s desk. VLane slid out of the way with plenty of time to spare. The desk rocked and landed next to the window overlooking the Ice Road. A crowd of onlookers gathered in the core of the Beehive, VLane noticed them and scowled. She pressed a button on her wrist and the tall glass walls shifted to an opaque white. The screen remained, Tinfoil was still standing but barely. Sawyer clenched her teeth, she had to focus on her own battle. She stepped backwards towards the door, the focus Pop allowing her to hear soft creaks with every step. “I thought you were fast, Chainsaw.” VLane lunged forward, Sawyer heard her move before she saw it. Either way she was too late to block a swift punch to the jaw. She focused on the pain points, nothing cracked, get back on attack. She launched a kick, carrying through on her backwards momentum, VLane rotated her torso to dodge out of the way, only getting her feet underneath herself at the last moment. She fought like a Skater balancing on one foot then the other seamlessly, her centre of gravity could have been at her throat. Sawyer waited for VLane to commit to an attack then launched a counter at the perfect moment, but they all failed to land. VLane also knew when the perfect moments were but she could react quicker. Sawyer needed an idea, pissing her off would be a good start or at least make her death more fun. “Are you sure you don’t need a refill? You seem sloppy.” “Be quiet, Miscreant.” She said through gritted teeth as she launched a flurry of blows. Sawyer barely dodged some and half blocked the others. “It’s just...” She blocked a tough blow then staggered back, the foil wrapped Pops squeaking beneath her feet. “For an addict, you sure seem fine letting your equals die.” VLane kept the screens showing Tinfoils fight behind her as she circled her prey, the room Sawyer had to work with was rapidly shrinking. “I utilize these drugs to create a safer environment. I do not ingest performance enhancers as a substitute for discipline.” Sawyer was backed up to the overturned desk, she gave a performative laugh, even slapping her knee. “Sorry, that was just complete bull-” She didn’t see the kick coming but she felt it connect with her ribs and the echoing shatter pierced her sensitive ears. VLane had vaulted off Sawyer’s torso like a gymnast, pushing her with surprising force. Focus, what’s broken. One rib on the right side not near the heart, her back felt wet from a slash on the desk, and a cold breeze was flowing in where the desk had shattered the outward window. Sawyer coughed and spat, tasting iron. “Bullshit. That’s what I was saying.” VLane walked over to the screens, Tinfoil was laying flat on the ice blood pooling out of his mouth probably tasting iron as well. “Even still you ignore your limitations, Miscreant QT.” She stuffed a finger towards Tinfoil on the screen. “You could save him, and yourself, and your other friends. Just stop pretending that you’re the hero.” Sawyer pushed herself up with her hands, the scattered Pops crinkling beneath her palms. She struggled to get to her feet. “Yeah, that’s not going to work for me.” She said, unwrapping a Pop and putting it in her mouth. “Even still, you lack focus.” Vlane said calmly. Suddenly she slammed a fist into the screen, cracks formed from the ground to the ceiling centered on Tinfoils face. “Scum, QT You do not have the ability to win. Give up now!” VLane was practically growling. Suddenly she dashed over to Q.T. and slammed her into the desk again, and again, and again until it toppled over the edge and down the Ice Road. “You have reached your limit, Scum, Q.T. You could have been smart, and accepted what you can and cannot control.” She kneeled on Sawyer’s chest, pushing the air out into the cold night. “You could have had what I have.” VLane lifted her knee just to slam it back into Sawyers chest. A left rib cracked. “You could have had plenty, but you wanted more.” She lifted herself clean off the ground and dropped her knee with her full weight behind it, Sawyer’s chest crunched this time. She groaned but couldn’t find any more words to say, even if it would have given VLane a brain aneurysm. VLane hissed at Sawyer through repeated knee drops. “You. Just. Couldn’t. Get. Enough!” Sawyer crunched the remaining Pop in her mouth and felt a rush course through her veins like wildfire. A sickening smile crossed VLanes face “I won’t let you overdose.” She leaped into the air, preparing a killing blow. At that moment Sawyer could only utter a few words “It’sNeverBeenAboutWhoHasMore,It’sAboutHowYouUseWhatYou’veGot.” Horrible understanding crossed VLane’s face as she took the millisecond to internalize the speedtalk, but she was suspended in the air with limited motor control and Sawyer took no time to hesitate. She grabbed onto VLanes shoulders with both arms, stuffed her legs up into the woman’s gut and rolled her out the open window onto the slate bricks of the Ice Road.

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Sawyer smelt coffee, which made sense because she was drinking a hot cup of coffee. She took a sip and almost missed the synthetic taste she had grown familiar with, it tasted like dirt but Cameron had told her that was part of the appeal. “Did you see this?” Cameron walked over to the table holding a media tablet. Sawyer put down her mug and looked at a news reporter on the screen. “The Police Board have announced the appointment of Auso Hull to the role of permanent commissioner this morning. Interim chief P.R. Squant stepped down this morning saying ‘It was a long process but the council wanted to ensure that we selected the right person to carry out such an important position. I can happily say that Hull is going to make an excellent Commissioner, filling in the massive hole that Valdoria left in this city.’” “His name is ‘Asshole?’” “Shh. Not that part” The reporter continued “...Tragic death in The Ice Bowl Riot late last year. Hull announced his plan to decrease crime in the city with a 12 pronged attack on what he calls ‘Major Cultural Detriments.’” A deeper voice cut in and the footage shifted to glimpses of small crimes throughout the city. “Rampant drug use, street fighting, Vandalism…” “There!” Cameron pointed on the screen as shaky body cam footage showed the pursuit of someone spray painting a building. The vandal skated out of sight and a clip started of two burly men punching eachother with Pops in their mouths. “What, you know them?” Sawyer asked, taking another sip of coffee. “Not them.” He touched the screen, rewinding to the graffiti and pausing. “Read that.” She squinted and leaned forward, the image was blurry from the camera shake but realization slowly crossed her face. “Does that say Ramsay?” Cambridge smiled and pressed play. He watched her face as the video played. Despite the lack of visual clarity It definitely said ‘Don Ramsay,’ the Y was streaky as the vandal left in a hurry and regrouped with a large accomplice. They broke away from the Cop in an instant but the Cop didn’t have skates on. “She actually did it.” She said. “I think I saw her landing a few punches on Valdoria in the Riot footage, that’s probably how.” Cameron said, boxing an invisible opponent as he spoke. Sawyer laughed then raised her mug. “How many of these have you had?” He shrugged. “Twelve?” Sawyer raised her eyebrows at him. “What? I read about this thing called a ‘Lattee’ on here and I am addicted.” He said, picking up the tablet from the table. “Cameron.” “Kidding. That stuff makes me shaky, I’ve been sticking to water. Well, except for special occasions.” “Did you learn about jokes on that as well?” She said pointing to the tablet. “No. Camila told me about them. She has this great one about 4 different religious leaders walking into a bar. The punchline is that it’s a metal bar, not the liquor kind.” Sawyer stared blankly. “She tells it better. I can ask her to send you a voice message? I’m headed over there now with a couple of the excess sacks.” “No, that’s fine. If she has any extra of the sweet stuff will you try to get some?” “I can get her to sweeten the deal” “What? Does that mean yes?” Cameron frowned before walking over to the door. “You’ve got to read more, Queeny. Yes, I’ll try to get some sugar. Anything else?” She thought for a moment, looking around their small kitchen then gazing out the window across their seemingly endless crops. “No. No I’ve got all I need.” She said. Cameron grabbed his hat off the coat rack, exited the farmhouse, and closed the door. Sawyer sat at the table enjoying the rest of her coffee. She watched Cameron walk out of sight through the kitchen window then made her way to the back of the farmhouse. She walked up to an old chest, splintering synthetic wood threatening to prick her. She opened the chest and reached inside, pulling out her old pair of skates. She took a moment to breathe in their air then stuffed them in a bag and made her way outside. The back door had a separate dirt trail that weaved through the crop fields. She reached out and dragged her hands across the stalks most of the way, she wanted to soak in the feeling of each plant. She vowed to never take them for granted. The sun was high and warm on her back. Eventually the crop fields ended and a large metal structure peered over the horizon. Sawyer immediately felt the cold despite not yet being in the shadow. She walked up to a pair of doors and entered the round building. Immediately a rush of cold air blew past her face causing her to squint. When her eyes adjusted she saw a crater, lined with ice and with a flat centre ring. Her own Ice Bowl. “Queeny!” A short woman waved to Sawyer and walked over. “Thank you, thank you thank you!” The woman grabbed Sawyers hands and held them. “You have no idea how much this means to the girls.” Sawyer smiled “Don’t mention it, Mrs. Joy. I understand they are quite eager to go into the city?” “Yes, well you know who’s fault that is.” She laughed “I can’t say I share their enthusiasm, but if they’re going to go I want them to be safe.” Sawyer let her smile drop. “I don’t know if Slatebrick will ever really be safe again, especially not for young girls.” Mrs. Joy nodded. “But, if they know what to watch out for, what to focus on, they should be alright.” At that moment the back doors swung open and a dozen young girls streamed into the building. Sawyer’s face must have looked nervous. Mrs. Joy squeezed her hands “Just do your best.” Sawyer squeezed back “I will.” She let go of her hands and straightened her posture, looking towards the approaching girls. Mrs. Joy smiled then shuffled over to the stands and took a seat. The girls bounced forward, some of them punching and kicking along the way. Her face softened as the thought of Glib. When the first of the girls reached the area where Sawyer was she shushed the rest of the girls behind her. Unlike Glib, they all stopped talking and waited for Sawyer to start. “Okay, kids welcome to the first Saltwater Orphanage Self Defence Class. Everyone pick a partner, we’re going to start out on the ice.” The girls turned between each other, grabbing partners then running to the boards. “Lesson one…” She held up a single finger then continued ”Use your legs. The only way to guarantee your survival is to avoid the fight entirely. Stay away from any potential dangers. Lesson two: Use your legs. If you somehow end up in a dangerous situation anyway, wait for your opportunity, then run away. You can be proud or you can be smart. And smart girls live longer.” She looked across their young faces, she could tell they were trying to hide disappointment. She held up a third finger. “Lesson three: Use your legs. If you can’t avoid a fight, and you can’t run from a fight, then you better know how to use your strongest weapons.” The girls started whispering excitedly to their partners. “Now get on the ice, there’s something I want you to watch for. Or, I should say listen for. It could save your life one day.”

The End.