Out of Necessity

As Amber pulled on the young man's collar, she shoved him to the ground. Then, she hammered her leg into his sternum with as much force as she could gather. The man coughed in pain, but he did not scream. Amber crouched down, then slammed her fist into his cheek with a smile on her face. The man coughed once more as his head slammed into the pavement below. 

"You know, with the lack of science in this world, I've come upon a revelation," Amber squealed with glee as she shoved the tip of her boot into the man's chin. Adrian, who leaned against the wall, looked at Amber with a curious gaze. He ignored the bleeding man on the floor, as he had seen Amber do much worse to people who treated her much better, and turned to her.

"What's that?" He asked. Amber kicked the man's balls and listened to him moan in pain. Adrian winced, not out of empathy but rather out of embarrassment. Amber laughed, then slammed the heel of her boot into the side of the man's knee. Adrian heard a crack and watched as the man's leg folded in the wrong direction.

"They can't track DNA! We can do this stuff as much as we want and they can't find us!" Amber answered, the smile on her face growing wider. Adrian looked at Amber, then turned to the man. 

"There's still magic, you forget," Adrian told her, "Until we find out how advanced it is, I suggest you keep your hobbies to a minimum."

"Oh, such a party pooper," Amber grumbled in disappointment. Then, she slammed her foot into the man's chin and bent down to look him in the eye as she pushed his head against the concrete.

"Okay, guess you've had your fun," Adrian said as he pushed his shoulders away from the wall. Then, he walked until he could see the man and crouched. Adrian brought his hand to the man's hair and tugged at the roots.

The man groaned once more as his eyes were met with Adrian's. Adrian took a moment to inspect the man's features. The man was tanner than most and was tall. His light brown hair would've made him attractive back on Earth, but it seemed to be an inconvenience in the rain.

"You..." The man managed to say, his voice rough and weak, "Y-you're Artists."

"Yes," Adrian answered calmly, "Where do you live? If you don't answer within ten seconds, my sister will push the heel of her boot upon your balls."

"I already did that though," Amber huffed with disappointment, "No fun."

The man coughed, then looked up at Adrian. There was no smile on his face, only furrowed brows, "What they say about your kind. They are all right. You're nothing but monsters!"

"Yes, yes. I've heard that before," Adrian yawned. He looked at Amber and nodded. She smiled, then swung her foot up before slamming it in between his legs like a smith's hammer falling upon an anvil. The man cried out in pain once more as he reflexively brought his legs together to protect his family jewels. Adrian tightened his grip on the man's hair to prevent him from getting away. Then, as the man slowly calmed down, Adrian looked into his eyes once more, "Where?"

"Bucking Street," The man stated in pain, "the Phan building. I live on the second floor, in room five. Please, let me go!"

"Good. Where do you keep your money? I'm not sure if you even know what a bank is- don't know when they were invented- but I have to ask," Adrian asked as he tugged on the man's hair once more.

"My money? You're going to rob me?" the man shuddered. Adrian sighed, then looked to Amber.

"We're going to kill you if you keep on asking questions," Amber yelled as she slammed her boot on the man's other knee, breaking it just as she had the other one. The man whimpered and slowly nodded.

"I- I have a loose floorboard underneath my bed. I stash my money there!" He answered. Adrian smiled, then stood.

"Kill him," Adrian said. The man's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't even have time to beg for his life before Amber bent down and took the man's head in her hands. Then, with a tug of her own, Amber ended the man's life with a crack. The man's body, now unmoving, fell to the ground with a thud. Adrian bent down and searched through the man's clothing. After a few minutes, he stood up and opened his hand. Resting on his palm were five copper coins and a key. Ten copper coins would make one silver, so Adrian only needed five more, "I think as long as they don't find him by the time we leave the city, we'll be fine. Let's dump his body in some dumpster."

"Roger, Roger," Amber joked. She bent down, then took the man's feet. Adrian did the same with the man's shoulders. Together, they lifted him up, looked at their surroundings, and found a pile of garbage. The garbage pile looked old, like it hadn't been picked up in weeks. The two of them quickly walked over, gagging for a moment as they registered the rank smell emanating from the pile of trash. Then, they tossed his body into the back of the pile.

Adrian kicked a few bags of trash over the man's corpse, then turned back and walked away from the garbage. He pulled his backpack from his shoulders and pulled out his Record. Then, after he flipped a few pages, he placed his finger upon a map of Boreshire.

"Bucking Street is to the north, let's go," Adrian said. Amber nodded, her mood lifted from her nighttime activity, and followed him as the two made their way out of the street. Adrian lifted his hood to cover and protect himself from the rain, but Amber had no such device.

The two of them walked up the street. Adrian noticed a cat along the way, but the cat immediately ran away and retreated into the dark alley behind it. Adrian ignored it, though Amber took an interest in the small creature. A few minutes later, they arrived at what was described as the Phan building. It looked like an apartment complex, but it wasn't very big.

An old man, who Adrian assumed was some senile tenant, immediately stood up as soon as he laid eyes on the twins.

"Oh! New customers?" the old man asked. Adrian smiled, then shook his head.

"No, friends of one of the tenants. Tall man, brown hair," Adrian told the old man with a smile, "Is he here yet?"

"Uh, let's see. Oh! You mean Derek!" The old man yelled with a smile. Then, he shook his head, "No, he's not here yet, but his room is upstairs. You can wait for him there. I'm afraid I don't have the key, though. That would be with Derek."

"That's fine," Adrian told the man. He walked upstairs, the smile on his face as strong as it was before, "I'll just wait for him."

Amber followed behind as she bowed gratefully before the old man. The man smiled, then sighed as he brought himself back onto his chair. As soon as the old man's eyes turned away from Adrian's, the smile on Adrian's face disappeared. Adrian continued forward, eventually finding room number five.

He took the key he had stolen from the dead man- Derek- and opened the door.