Chapter 17

Truth is, I never wanted to be sheriff. I was born on Earth, left to be a farmer on De Finibus. Some rowdy boys in the colony grew into dangerous men, and the people wanted some protection. I'm bulletproof, so, in short, I was elected almost immediately.

-Darren Michaels, Altered sheriff and later mayor of De Finibus, September 1st, 2134 CE

ROYCE'S EARS RANG in violent waves. Fire and metal rained around him and the lightning boy was shouting something. His head swam around and around and something on the ground was jabbing at his chest. Maybe he should take a nap and let the whole problem solve itself. That sounded nice.

Royce's eyelids grew heavy and his mind began to shut down. He vaguely felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest and begin to drag him. This couldn't be right. Nobody cared about him. Oh, well. Once he went to sleep he would be fine.

He shut his eyes and when he opened them again the boy was standing over him.

"Hello," Royce said groggily. "How are you?"

"He's in shock," said a voice somewhere behind the boy. "Find something that might wake him up."

"Hey," the boy shook Royce a little. "Come on. We need you awake."

Royce wondered why everyone was being so serious. He wanted to go to sleep.

The boy shook him again, harder. "Wake up! Come on! We need to hurry!"

"Leave him!" the voice said. "They're coming!"

"Wait! I'm going to try something!" the boy placed his hand on Royce's chest.

White hot fire coursed through Royce's body. He twitched uncontrollably, and his eyes snapped wide open. He wanted to scream, but his throat wouldn't obey. He twitched until his body came to a sudden, merciful halt. Royce sucked in a breath, blinked, sucked in another breath, blinked, and sat up.

The boy, a dark-haired girl, and another boy with a prosthetic arm were staring at him.

"You good?" the lightning boy asked.

"Yeah," Royce said slowly, standing up. "What happened?"

"You took a lot of the blast and went into shock. Me and these guys dragged you for a while. We need to move. We're being chased."

"By who?"

"The Hunter Guards," said the boy. "Remember? They were about to kill us."

"Yeah," Royce said. "We should get moving."

"No shit," the boy said, starting off. "This way."

Royce and the others followed him through the many alleys and backstreets of Bycrest, never stopping or talking.

Eventually the boy stopped over a manhole cover and yanked it out of the ground. "Get in," he said, motioning with his arm. "Hurry!"

The girl jumped in first, followed by the prosthetic arm boy. Royce went after them and the lightning boy went last, resealing the manhole and plunging them into darkness.

They stood still for a moment until the boy generated some electricity which bounced from his shoulders to his hands and back again, illuminating the sewer tunnel around them.

"Come on," the boy said, his voice seeming muffled against the dark that surrounded their shield of blue light. "There's an old maintenance room we can stay in."

Royce followed the boy through the dark, humid tunnel until he stopped in front of a faded white metal door. The lightning boy twisted its knob, braced his shoulder against the door, and heaved.

The door swung inward with a stubborn whine and allowed them to pass through. Inside was a concrete room with pipe-lined walls and dead lights hanging limply from the ceiling.

The boy with the prosthetic arm went to work on the wires and switches of a nearby fuse box, swearing quietly. After a few moments the lights hanging from the ceiling flared to life, blinding Royce for a few seconds.

"Good," the lightning boy said as he sat down on the floor. "We should be safe for now."

Royce and the others sat down as well, creating a roughly circular formation. Royce realized how chilly the small room was, and he shivered, still clad only in his armor's jumpsuit.

An awkward silence dominated the room. The lights on the ceiling buzzed steadily.

"So," said the girl, "I guess it's time we exchange names, right?"

Everyone halfheartedly nodded, even the lightning boy, to Royce's mild surprise.

"Good," the girl said, putting on a thin smile. "I'm Eve."

"I'm Cal."

"My name's Royce."

"Teth." The lightning boy said, and Royce thought he detected a quick, slightly hostile glance in his direction. He pretended not to notice.

"There," said Eve. "Now, Teth. How the hell did you know about this place?"

"I did some odd jobs in these sewers. On my lunch breaks I walked around and figured out where everything was."

"Why?"

"Just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

"Well, this," Teth gestured at them, the room, and everything in the immediate area. "It pays to be paranoid when you're a Remnant."

"Well, this is some freaky-ass coincidence, isn't it?" Eve said. "Cal and I were shot down by Sovereign authorities and we happen to crash right on top of you guys, and you were in a standoff with Sovereign authorities!"

"Yeah," Teth said, cracking a smile which caused the scar on his lip to stretch. "This is a little weird."

"Oh, and guess what?" Eve snapped her fingers. "I'm a Remnant, too. Look!"

Eve closed her eyes and her dark hair turned stark white. After a moment, it faded back to its original color.

"This must be a jackpot for you, huh?" Teth asked, looking at Royce.

"I think you and I both know that ship has sailed," Royce said. "I'm not a Hunter Guard anymore."

"You're a Hunter Guard?" Cal asked, rising to his feet and backing away.

"I was a few hours ago," Royce said. "But it's like I told him. Not anymore."

"Once a Hunter Guard always a Hunter Guard," Teth said. "If your own friends hadn't tried to shoot you I would have killed you myself. My sister is probably off-world by now, headed for some Containment facility."

"She is," Royce said, meeting Teth's steely gaze. He could feel Eve and Cal's eyes on him as well. "And I know where she's headed."