Kurt walked into the bar at the outpost called The Edge of Civilization. He flicked dust off his dark brown overcoat as he peered the room looking for a quiet place to sit. The bar was stuffed from wall to wall with the wretches of society from all four nations, puffing on energy vapes and glowing with backdoor implants shoved in haphazardly. Kurt growled as he took off his large brimmed hat that had covered his own modifications. Two stripes of pulsing red energy coils drew hard lines across his bald and wrinkled head while his eyes glowed with the same crimson shade. His scarred face exposed a scowl as he walked to an empty booth in the corner of the room.
“Seats taken, taken.” Kurt’s silence was immediately interrupted by a group of three scoundrels covered in mechanics that were overcharged and sparking with different colored lights. The leader of the group was tall and lean with disfiguring implants on his face that covered his mouth and eyes. Small puffs of smoke left his mouth with each exhale.
“Looked quite empty to me.” Kurt replied flatly ignoring the group. He put his feet up and leaned back. He raised his hand up casually towards the bartender who now stared in their direction. “Can I get a drink?”
“Well, it could be empty, for a small fee.” He chuckled as he pulled a large knife from a compartment on his back. As it filled with a dark blue energy, the markings across the blade began to glow.
“Do you have a name?” Kurt said to the man as he kicked his legs back down and leaned slightly forward.
“Buckaroo Bill.” Bill said smugly pointing to his chest with the butt of the knife. Bits of liquid energy began to drip from the blade handle onto the table starting to form a dull blue puddle.
“Well, Bill, I have business here and you’re not a part of it.” Kurt stood slowly staring at Bill with cold and lifeless eyes. “Unless you want to become my business, you better walk away.” Bill raised his hand and allowed his myriad implants to glow with different energies clenching the blade tightly. Kurt sighed as he reached into his coat exposing an energy pistol. He shot a thin dart of red energy through Bill’s skull, leaving a tiny hole through his forehead. The body held in the air for a long moment before collapsing to the ground. With terrified looks the other two scattered out the door.
The bartender waved his hand and a boy rushed out from behind the bar. He grabbed the body and dragged it off to the corner where a small robot came and took it out the back door. The boy looked younger than he was, tall but skinny. He was clean of implants aside from the one behind the ear so he could trade energy. His clothes were bulky and obvious were not on their original owners. He walked returned with a drink for Kurt that the bartender tossed him.
“Alright, stranger, that’ll be 15 for the body and 3 for the drink.” Kurt’s scowl shifted to a soft smile. His eyes lit up as he used the implants to transfer the energy credits to the to the child.
“Ah kid, I wish I was only a stranger. Unfortunately for you I’m here on business, and you, Mr. Buckly., are that business.” Kurt took the drink down in one gulp.
“Well, stranger.” The kid bowed his head and turned to walk away. He spoke over his shoulder, “It seems you have me mistaken for another man. I’m Bucks, always have been, always will be.” Bucks swallowed hard trying to ease the dryness he suddenly felt in his throat.
“Well, Mr. Buckly, that may be what your momma called you, but the Nation of Cervana knows you as Timothy Ryan Buckly, son of Ryan Herbert Buckley and Tanya Mary Buckly.” Kurt stood up pointing his pistol at Bucks. “You’ll be coming with me.”
Bucks jumped forward as he tried to run. Before his foot hit the ground, Kurt had grabbed him by the scruff of is neck and pulled him to the floor. Bucks let out a squeal of pain while he starred up at the ceiling of the bar. He felt like he couldn’t as the world was blurring in front of him. As his vision began to clear he saw Kurt with his pistol pointed at his head kneeling next to him
“Alright, Alright.” Bucks sat up and put his hands up. With a deft motion, Kurt threw cuffs across his wrists that lit up with energy flowing into Bucks body restricting his movements. Kurt stood him up and dusted off his back with a hard pat. He smiled eerily giving Bucks goosebumps up and down his body.
“Let’s go home.”
Bucks walked with Kurt to the small platform that hovered outside the bar. Bucks looked at it confusedly. “What is that thing?”
“It’s my ship, kid.” Kurt tapped his neck as they walked up to the flat silver square. It began to glow with and shifted into a small sphere large enough for both of them to fit in. Bucks could feel the cuffs controlling his hands and the energy bounding throughout him pulling him in the direction of the ship. “Now get in.”
Bucks stepped into the sphere seeing two chairs and a console. The console looked a lot like the cars Bucks had seen when he was a kid. A steering wheel and a button and a screen that would be the front windshield. The vehicle looked much larger from the inside than the out. Kurt shoved him into a seat and took his own. As he took the wheel it began to glow and pulse with the same energy as his hands. For a second he closed his eyes and the ship took off. Kurt let go and leaned back.
“So what’s this all about, stranger.” Bucks sat back against the surprisingly comfortable seat. Kurt turned and stared at Bucks raising an eyebrow and contemplating how much of a conversation he would be willing to have.
“Under Section 4 Article 6 of the Global Treaty of Nations, citizens of each nation can be retrieved and returned to their nation of origin. Your mother is from Cervana, which makes you one of ours.” Kurt turned towards the view screen hoping that would be the end of the conversation.
“I’ve never been there. Hell, I’ve never left the outpost. So what, you’re taking me to prison or something?” Bucks turned his head away staring at the glowing red walls. He hadn’t known his mother much. She was a doper, out getting vapes of all kinds. She never did get augments though, always stayed with just the ear piece. She had left when Kurt turned 15. He’d never even met his father.
“No. We don’t throw people into cages. People have purposes. Yours will be whatever it is deemed to be.” Kurt’s voice was cold as he remembered being brought back at 17 and taking the trials. His memories were cut short as a plane came in crashing into the orb hard.
Kurt jerked at the wheel pulling the autopilot off and taking control. As he did, the sphere jolted hard causing Bucks to bounce of the wall.
“Hold on tight!” Kurt shouted to Bucks as their craft descended quickly being shoved to the ground. The metals twisted together screeching and howling. They crashed through rows of trees leaving both ships misshapen. Kurt lay bleeding and unconscious while Bucks was free and only slightly injured. He tapped Kurt on the shoulder trying to wake him up.
Two marauders stepped out from around the wreckage of the vehicles twitching and puffing energy of all types from every mod on their body. Neither was cloaked in anything but augments and machinery, with tiny bits of flesh on their face and chest not replaced. Their eyes were darkened and had very little energy in them and their voices came out cracked and broken.
“Hey we got a good one this time, right…right?” The smaller of the two, a man of some kind twisted up by metal walked over fidgeting with different pieces of his body.
“Yes, this looks great. Look at that.” The other said with a bite while his head twitched from side to side. Bucks stood as the vehicle retracted back to a platform leaving Kurt on the ground. His arms felt heavy from the pain of the crash and his ears rung terribly. He looked over at Kurt to see that he laid there still unconscious. He had a large gash over his right eye that bled out a combination blood and energy, neither one distinguished from the other.
“Get back, get back!” Bucks shouted at the men trying to fake a bravery he didn’t have. They looked at each other and laughed hard still coming closer. Bucks stumbled back falling over Kurt. He fumbled with his hands inside the coat and pulled out the red glowing pistol that had dispatched Buckaroo Bill. He pointed it at the two as they walked slowly towards him as he squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened. They laughed again. The smaller of the two cocked his head up at a strange angle as they arrived standing over him. “You can’t use a Reaper’s pistol, kid. You’re not a Reaper!” He slapped Bucks in the face hard leaving a rough imprint and cutting his cheek. The augmented hand was heavy and left a burning sensation throbbing across Bucks’ face.
“Take any cores you can find.” They started to pick at the platform until they found a small glowing orb. They ripped it off and the platform collapsed into a heap of unattached metals on the ground. They moved to Kurt and started to pull at his implants on his head, exposing the orb sitting in his neck. They pulled it out with a rip causing spirts of glowing blood to drip down his shoulders.
Bucks had never seen orbs before. The ones that ran the energy in the outpost were underground. The bright red glow of the Cervanan energy was entrancing to Bucks. He could feel a pull towards it from his stomach, like it was meant to be with him. He closed his eyes and felt the energy throbbing and pulsing through the air. He reached out to it inside of himself, pulling the energy towards him.
“Ah it burns.” One of the scoundrels dropped the energy orb that had been pulled from Kurt onto the ground. It poured visible energy into Bucks as it surged towards him. He gripped the handle of the pistol tightly. With a deep breath, he squeezed twice shooting huge beams through each of the mugger’s chests. The beams left smoldering wholes the size of apples in their torsos killing them instantly. Bucks felt tired yet buzzed with energy. The conflicting feelings left him dizzy as he began to fall. Kurt caught him right before he hit the ground, barely holding him from the floor.
“Nice work, kid.”
Bucks woke up with a headache like he had never felt. His tongue moved back and forth in his mouth trying to avoid the metallic taste left over from the energy he had used. His eyes blurred as they opened and he saw Kurt sitting next to him. The augments on Kurt’s head were completely black now and his eyes had nothing but a dull glow to them.
“Finally awake, eh? That first burst is rough. Don’t worry though, it gets easier.” Kurt had lit a fire and was sitting next to it. The sun had long gone down and the night was cool and clear. It was rare for someone from the Nations to travel over the woods near an outpost, so far away from the law. The woods were a dangerous place with energy thieves, dopers, and creatures of all kinds, but the stars shined and the air was clean.
“Only time I’ll ever do it.” Bucks sat up and turned towards the fire. He could feel a heat rushing up and down his back towards his neck. He reached back and felt the orb that had been pulled from Kurt pulsing with energy and power. “What the hell?” As he picked at the orb Kurt swatted his hand away.
“Leave it be, it’s already bonded.” Bucks could see Kurt’s hand had turned pale and dusty with wrinkles throughout. “It’s yours until it isn’t.” Kurt coughed hard causing a mixture of blood and liquid energy to spew from his mouth. Kurt new he didn’t have much time left.
“You’re something we need desperately in Cervana. You’re a Reaper like me, or like I was.” He coughed hard feeling the energy leave his vital organs. After over a century of work, Kurt knew this would be his last task.
“You could feel that orb, right?” Bucks nodded as Kurt pointed at his back. “Good. Now I need you to close your eyes and feel it again. This time, focus your mind and stay calm. Now, imagine a screen or something you’d normally use to transfer energy credits.” Bucks followed his instructions. He was transported into his mind as though he was standing in his room with his screen on. “Now make a call to the Cervanan Reaper Corps. They will send out a rescue for you.” Bucks did as he was instructed then allowed himself to return to the small patch of woods, they had landed in.
“Good job, kid. Good, job.” He coughed again. His eyes had dulled completely black now. Kurt couldn’t see the world in front of him. Now he could only remember the world behind him. His memories skidded back and forth between people he’d killed and people he’d watched die. He smiled roughly as his teeth began to blacken.
“What’s going on? What’s happening to you!?” Bucks shouted at Kurt. The orb in his back pushed harder into him. He screamed in pain as it burned through is skin. “What’s happening to me?” He managed to squeak through the searing feeling.
“I suppose you’ve probably never heard of a Reaper living this far out. Well, we are what keeps the nations going. We keep the nations whole by bringing back their runaways, especially ones like you. Ones that can connect to the Energy Orbs.” Kurt grabbed onto Bucks’ arm hard. “You’ll see soon enough. Don’t worry about that now. For now, just now, that orb is your life. Without it, you get this.” Kurt let go as the flesh of his hand turned to dust leaving an outlined skeleton that was charred and cracked from years of energy burns.
“You’ll have a few scavengers to deal with out here. You take this pistol and you shoot anyone that isn’t a Reaper. You’ll know the difference easily enough.” Kurt smiled as the rest of his flesh puffed into a cloud of smoke and dust leaving his bones in a coat. Bucks took hold of the pistol. He felt cold so he took the coat. He kept the hat because a coat feels lonely without a hat.
Before long, Kurt’s prediction was right and scavengers of all kinds came through the woods to take Bucks’ energy. Man after man came at him and were easily dispatched. The beams that came from the pistol were different shapes and sizes and after a while, Bucks started to realize he could shrink them to small beams. He was able to control the speed and shape, and he felt himself getting stronger. Bucks dropped dozens of the robbers before he was finally left alone.
He sat in the middle of a circle of death he had caused. He felt numb and tired as he squinted at sun the sun slowly climbing over the trees. He was covered in dirt and sweat caking his body with mud and blood. He jerked his hand up as he heard a man shout out from the slowly brightening day.
“Kurt, you out here?” Bucks could feel a similar energy to the one in his back coming from the direction of the voice.
“Hey, I’m over here!” Bucks shouted standing and waving with a renewed energy. He knew this man was a Reaper. Not only could he see the similar brown coat and long brimmed hat, but he could feel the red energy flowing through the man’s body.
“Kurt?” The other Reaper recognized the outfit from a distance but could not see the man wearing it. Bucks walked towards him with his hands up, holding the pistol in one while pulling the hat off with the other.
“Ah, no. You’re that kid he went after. What’s the name, Buckly, right?” The Reaper pulled a vape from his coat and hit it hard.
“Bucks, Buckly, yeah close enough.” He handed the pistol to the Reaper who took it with a spin and shoved it into his coat.
“Well then, Bucks, let’s head home.”
“Your purpose will be to locate and retrieve citizens. Some will have been captured, some escaped, some taken before they were even born. All of them, though, are Cervanan and must be returned.” Bucks listened to the outline of a teacher speak at the front of the room. He sat in a row of five other people, roughly his age, augmented exactly how Kurt had been. Bucks had undergone the same procedures and now saw the world with a hint of red through his mechanized eyes. The orb he took from Kurt had been a constant companion to him for the six months of surgeries and procedures to turn him from a man into a Reaper cadet.
Bucks had never thought much about his purpose growing up, knowing that he was destined to live in the outpost. He didn’t make friends, he didn’t have family, all he ever really had was the ambition to live. This new place didn’t bother him that, in fact he was glad to be here. Everything was orderly and scheduled. Everything had a purpose. Everyone had a job.
He left the class in an orderly fashion walking in line with his classmates. Lines on the floor directed them to the armory to pick up their pistols then to the range to practice. They learned different methods of firing, different techniques with the pistols. Everyday they trained with pistols, hand to hand combat, and different ways to kill. Everyday they were taught about their purpose and about the need to keep the energies separate.
Bucks had never felt so at home as he did now, in this sterile and ordered place. By the time he completed his training, four years had passed. Bucks had become an entirely new person acting more like a machine than a man. He stood out from his piers recovering more people than any other Reaper year after year. Within a few years, he had become one of the most feared Reapers in the nation, but he never forgot Kurt. He never forgot the charred skeleton or the dust that had been left behind. He never forgot that for all the work and years of service that Reaper had given, he was left as nothing more than a corpse in a pile of scavengers left in the woods.
Bucks would be different. He would be the Reaper that everyone remembered. He would be the one man that Cervana could never live without.