Acid Reign : Genesis
Chapter 20: East Port

Just after the Fissure, the original wall, built by the first survivors from scrap metal and anything close by, barely enclosed a single block. Now a thirty-foot wall of metal and cement secured twenty square miles of Nucrea. Although miniature in comparison, securing that original five hundred by three hundred foot area was the costliest construction project in the history of man.

At the only opening of the original wall, there was an old rusted light pole with two street signs, faded and worn, but still legible. One read Hayden BR and the other Marcola.

Before the Fissure, this area was a quiet suburb. It later became the first stronghold of the survivors, and now, over a century later, it was the center of controlled chaos, Nun’s chaos. This was Nucrea’s East Port.

If you were a Runner, and were heading into the Fringe, no matter who your boss was, you used the East Port. Between the East Market that was just around the corner and the runner specific merchants, everything you could possible need or want for a journey into the Fringe was for sale or barter.

Runners mingled, filling the air with over-exaggerated stories of their adventures, auctioneers babbled, and Nun’s supervisor, Marcella, barked orders that echoed throughout the port. Workers unloaded piles of building materials, and stacked plants and animals into de-radiation containers. Weapons and every form of technology were handed over to Nun. The other commerce barons didn’t like this, but the Council required a report of what was coming in and Nun was appointed to oversee all operations.

Lilly sulked in the middle seat of a heavy four-door transport, while a sweat-covered Gus loaded it with bags and gear.

“I can’t believe you guys are going without me.” Lilly shook her head while she yanked violently on a Chinese finger trap toy.

“Sorry, kid. Bean’ll keep you entertained at least. Maybe she’ll take you to the pits tomorrow.”

Gus stopped loading the gear to wipe sweat from his forehead.

“Yay, the pits. Just what I wanted. A bunch of disgusting people yelling and puking and grabbing at me.”

“Oh hell, always so morbid,” Gus said, impressed with himself for using the word.

Lilly looked sideways at him. “I don’t think that’s what that means.”

“Whatever, we’ll be back in two days if we don’t die.”

Lilly gave up on the finger toy and shoved it in her shirt pocket.

Gus leaned in and handed her a credit drive. “Here.”

“I have my own money. Thanks though.”

Gus laughed. “Honey, I know. It ain’t for you. If you do end up at the pits just put all of that on Scratches. Good odds and he don’t ever let down for nothin’.”

Lilly took the credit drive with more attitude than necessary.

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“Got it.”

Gus finished loading the last two bags. He took another deep breath and looked at Lilly, who was scrolling through her Pigeon’s feed.

“Look, Ripp just cares about you. I care about you, and he’s just worried that you aren’t ready. If you aren’t ready out there, you die. Can’t blame him for not wanting you to die, you know?”

Lilly kept scrolling but could feel Gus still looking at her.

“I made a mistake, Gus. It won’t happen again. I’m ready and you know that.”

“I know that Lil’, but Ripp doesn’t, and that’s what matters. Just enjoy a break for a couple of days. Hell, I would!”

“Yeah, thanks Gus,” Lilly said looking up at him.

“Everything will be back to normal. He just needs to go shoot some Fringers.”

“Yeah. Seriously, though? Bean? Why couldn’t I just stay with Johnny?”

“Pretty sure you know the answer to that yourself,” Gus said, as he thought about Johnny.

“She’s crazy, Gus, and not in a funny way, and the smell...that awful smell, I can’t take it.” Lilly said as she made a sour face and cowered into the corner.

Gus made a sour face of his own. “Like Fringer hole. I know.”

They both laughed and Gus gagged a little after really thinking about what he said.

“Bean’s been good to all of us. Just keep a stunner handy if she tries to start a fire, and don’t talk about the rebels,” Gus added, thinking about the last time all of that happened.

Lilly laughed.

Gus hit the seat with a friendly slap. “Gonna miss ya Lil!”

“I’ll miss you too, Gus. Until the morning.”

Gus leaned in and gave her a big sweaty hug that she didn’t seem to mind. “Until the morning,” Gus whispered back knowing that she didn’t understand the weight of what that phrase really meant.

Ripp came out of Nun’s main office with the coveted contract box, and leaned in the transport doorway.

“We need to get outta here,” he said.

“Ready,” Gus said as he headed around the back of the transport to make his final inspection.

“We’ll be back in two days.”

Ripp stood there thinking of what else he could say as Lilly chewed her bottom lip.

“Maybe we…” he started.

“How do, Ripp?” Bean bellowed startling Ripp.

“She’s so loud,” Lilly added, Ripp sharing the same irritation.

Bean was heavy set in a freakishly strong way. Her dark hair was thick and matted. Her shirt was too big for her, but matched her baggy pants.

“Alright,” Lilly said as she grabbed her bag and slid off the seat and out of the transport. “Hi, Bean.”

Bean pushed past Ripp to the door and grabbed one of the bags that Gus had just loaded.

“That one stays,” Ripp said patiently.

“Kay,” Bean said as she tossed the bag in and grabbed the other one.

“That one stays too. Every...Everything stays. Lilly has what she needs in her bag. Everything else just, stays.”

“Alrighty, stuff stays, okay, you,” she sung poking Ripp in the chest. “You ready Lil Lilly?” Bean turned back around, leaned in and grabbed a small bag off the seat where Lilly had been.

Ripp grabbed the handle at the same time. He wasn’t sure if she was doing it on purpose or if she was having one of her moments. They both pulled back and forth a few times, but Ripp was able to get it free.

“Stop, Bean.”

She pretended to be offended and stared at him with narrowed eyes. “Got it,” she said.

“Be back in two days, tops. Thanks again Bean, we owe you!” Ripp said, anxious to leave.

“Anything for you guys! I would run around fighting city guard, hand to hand with nothin’ but my skin on if you needed me to. That’s the truth.”

Gus came around the back of the transport and nodded that he believed Bean would do exactly that.

“No need for that,” Ripp happily added as he patted Bean on the shoulder.

Lilly headed over to Bean’s makeshift version of a rickshaw, which was a mashup of an old bike and a golf-cart frame. She tossed her bag in and hopped up, and waved to Gus who was dramatically waving back.

“Later Bean! Thanks for saying hi to me,” Gus said, pretending to be offended.

“You’re welcome, Gus,” she said without turning around.

Gus got in and closed the door. Ripp settled and activated his holo-map, checking the weather and route.

“She’s a piece of work, that one,” Gus said to a half listening Ripp.

“Miracle for sure. You get a chance to set those echo charges on the back?”

“Yup. Think we’ll need em though?” Gus asked.

“Not sure, but the whole thing yesterday, with the soldiers was weird.”

“Well, they’re ready to go in case anyone else wants to tag along.” Gus put the transport in reverse and started to back up when a huge bang forced him to slam on the breaks. “The hell?”

Ripp closed his holo-map, looked at the monitors and saw that there was someone standing next to them. Eyes closed, he let out a long, frustrated sigh as his intuition told him who it was.

Gus looked through the small window to see what caused it, and caught a glimpse of a grinning Bean trying to say something. She came right to Gus’s window and tapped on it. Gus was able to lock the door just as she tried to open it.

“I’m not letting her in.”

Ripp just smiled to himself as he went back to checking the information from the contract.

Bean tapped the window again and tried to open the door one more time. Gus mouthed a huge “what” at her.

She was confused at why the door wasn’t opening, so she got right next to the small window and screamed.

There was still no way of hearing her clearly but Gus waved and smiled. That seemed to do the job as she put her hands together in a praying manner and stepped away.

“You done flirting?” Ripp teased.

“Seriously?” Gus shot back.

Ripp smiled.

Gus started to reverse again just as an alarm went off alerting them that someone was standing in their path.

“She isn’t moving,” Gus said, with growing irritation.

“Just run her over.”

“She really is an idiot, but I couldn’t do that.”

Gus reversed slowly, and then inched forward, then backward, then forward and backward again trying to get a wide enough gap to escape the torturous predicament.

“I’m losing it,” Gus cried.

“Told you to just run her over.”

“Stop saying that, ’cuz I’m gonna do it.”

Just as Gus was about to push on the accelerator, Bean moved to the left enough for Gus to have his opening. They were finally free.

Bean came into view as they pulled away. Gus tried to remind himself of all the help she had given the three of them over the years, and felt horrible at the thought of how close he was to running her over.

Lilly watched the whole scene play out from Bean’s rickshaw and couldn’t stop laughing. There was finally a gap between Bean and the metal wall, and Gus took it.

The transport disappeared into the rust colored dust clouds that always hung out just outside the East Port’s gate. It was like a portal into another dimension, leading to a violent, cold, unpredictable world that Lilly longed to be in.

Bean came charging over and hopped on the bike part of the rickshaw. “Love those two,” Bean said with a confusing sadness in her voice. “Okay, now. Let’s be on our way.”

“Can’t wait.”

“I’m hungry, how about you?”

Lilly knew what was coming next and followed along silently with her mouth as she rolled her eyes.

“I know a good place. Best dog in Nucrea.”

She said the same thing every time they were together. Bean burst out in laughter as the rickshaw jerked forward. Lilly’s face twisted as her courtesy laugh was cut short. She desperately grabbed for her bandana and quickly covered her nose and mouth as air rushed over Bean’s body and gathered inside the rickshaw’s cab. The malodorous wind swirled, and tossed Lilly’s hair, reminding her that she would be directly behind Bean for the duration of the ride.

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