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Coming To The Surface – Part 1

 

The crowd at ‘Cuffs was in high spirits since the quarantine of Port had been lifted. Short as the quarantine had been, any excuse to celebrate was an excuse to get drunk. And rowdy. Two fights had broken out already this evening and it looked like another might be starting in the corner.

Scottie and Sky sat on the mantle, having been keeping an eye on those ruffians in the corner for a little while. Having run a place like ‘Cuffs for so long, the Melnik’s knew the signs of an eminent fight when they saw them. Sky dropped her hand to her sword, her fingers tapping the grip, ready to spring into action if need be. Scottie leaned forward and gripped the edge of the mantle tightly; something he did when he was tense, angry, or just the energy in the room was rising.

It was that grip on the mantle that allowed Scottie to feel the slight vibration. His brows furrowed and he attempted to shut out the noise in the room, even closing his eyes to just feel the warm stone beneath his fingers. The vibration grew almost imperceptibly for several moments before it finally subsided. Scottie opened his eyes and turned toward Port as if expecting to see the cause, but there was nothing.

Sky grinned as the first punch was finally thrown. She nudged Scottie and when she noticed he didn’t respond, she looked out toward Port as well, “What is it?”

Scottie shook his head slowly, “I’m not sure. Probably nothing,” and then looked back to her, “I’m gonna take a quick walk. I’ll be right back.” He hopped down from the mantle without another word and strode out the open wall, narrowly missing one of the ruffians tossing another out onto the steps. 

Scottie made his rounds in Port, stopping occasionally to touch the ground and feeling for any more vibrations or tremors. He had finally made his way up Loner Lane when he just shrugged. Having given up on finding anything out of the ordinary, he crossed behind Melnik Square with the intention of rejoining Sky at ‘Cuffs.

He was just behind the organ when he suddenly felt tired. Scottie shook his head to clear it and pulled in a few deep cleansing breaths, but still the feeling lingered. He trudged onward and that heaviness that had taken hold of him seemed to melt away. He spun around, looking about the area and finding nothing. He tilted his head curiously and retraced his steps.

There it was again. Fatigue setting in, his arms and legs feeling heavy, his eyelids drooping. He pulled himself away from that spot and the feeling seemed to dissipate again. He stared at that spot on the sidewalk accusingly, a thousand possibilities racing through his now clear mind.

Studying the spot and recalling the layout of the underground, Scottie rushed for the manhole cover on Loner Lane.

 

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One Comment

  1. Petharic Petharic October 11, 2011

    With tracking skills like that, Mr. Melnik, you might want to start thinking about hunting down some bounty.

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