Just a little bit of blue R2.01

2.01- Blood everywhere!

She contorted and tried to grab herself to the ground as she felt dragged by the feet. Trying to curl herself, to get her head off the ground and avoid the pain the gravel bits running under her hair were causing, she opened her eyes wide, trying to understand what was going on. Two figures were pulling her feet. She remembered sitting down outside the lorry, to stand guard, for her part of the night, so Mustafah and Fatima could get a bit of rest. She struggled to remember where she was, still feeling the pain of the ocasional pieces of rock where her head bumped. “The caravansaray, of course,”- came to her mind. ”Shit! I fell asleep!” - Now totally awake and aware of reality, Aliyah realised she was being dragged away by a couple of Billies.

(Image: theconversation.com, altered by me.)

In the Technocracy ran world, there are no prisons, and there are three basic punishements you can get: being cancelled, which means you can never work for any of the corporations ever again; being stripped of your chip and banned to the wasteland; and, of course, there is death by a number of different agonizing ways. The ones that managed to run away from the former, ended up joining the ones expelled from civilization. They resorted to scavenging, highway robbery and, in the worst times, to cannibalism, in order to survive. Their domain had no rule but the rule of the strongest.

As their numbers grew, tribes started to form. Even in chaos and violence, cooperation offers its advantages. From these tribes emerged one to rule them all. He was only known as Billy, as all his successors thereafter. To be the Billy is what the outcast strive for. That had a number of Billies murdered in their sleep or openly challenged to be killed in face to face combat. The present Billy, however, is different. He managed to control the chaos, conflict and ambition inside the tribes and create a sort of an organization, selling the idea of the common enemy. And the Billies, as they are now known, are growing bolder.

Aliyah reached for the inside of her tunic as she managed to, somehow, get to fetal position. The dragging stopped. She felt hands reaching for her arms and, facing up, she could see the surprised look on a beastly face as she plunged her dagger into his neck. Blood everywhere. She heard a bang. The second man fell to the ground, hit in the chest by the first round out of Fatima's revolver.

She tried to stand up and she slipped, banging her head again. "Blood is fucking slippery. Rise slowly"- said Mustafah as he stretched his arm towards her, to help her up. -"You're very lucky that Fatima is such a light sleeper. Come on, let's get the fuck out of here." She pushed his arm away and got up. "I can take care of myself just fine. You didn't have to bother". She said, as she looked down, with disdain, at the man with the half slit throat and spat the blood from her mouth onto him.

"There's no going around NC. We'll have to drive through it. There weren't supposed to be any Billies this close to the city."- She said to Mustafah. -"You're right, my Shaikkah."- Slowing down his voice."- Now, please, go in the back of the truck to wash your face and get a change of clothes. We're not driving anywhere with you in that state."- She nodded and made her way to the back of the lorry.

"I'm proud of her!"- Said Fatima, as she slotted a new .45 ACP round into the old Ruger. "I knew she had it in her, but now... I'm really proud!" She kicked the Billie's head into a right angle to the body. "She almost took his head off..."

-To be continued -

Link to Next Episode
Link to Novel beginning

17.02.25 - @hefestus

To find the other parts: https://steemit.com/created/justalittlebitofblue

Disclaimer:

"Just a little bit of blue" is a work of fiction. Every event, character, planet, continent, country, city, street, building, corporation, institution and product mentioned in this work is totally fictitious and has absolutely no relation to reality or real events, persons, planets, continents, countries, cities, streets, buildings, corporations or institutions. Everything is derived from the author's own imagination and no AI products were involved in the planning, writing or revision of this work. Additionally, the story happens in the future, in a time that has not yet come, so, any considerations about the possibility of the occurrence of facts or release of products mentioned herein, in the years to come, are due to mere coincidence and in no way derive from the author's inside or 3rd party knowledge of any country, organization or person's plans to implement actions or release said products into the market.
Just to be clear: All that's written here is fictional and originated by the author's own toughts about what may happen to come in the unknown future.