Chrome Symphony - Chapter 1

Shell collapsed to her knees. "I can't believe they would actually do that..." she said, barely able to keep from passing out. She had taken some light injuries and was filthy from the slimy water in the storm drain, but she hadn't noticed any of that due to the shock of the explosion and the realization of what had just happened.

"Yeah... we should... just... go."

Shell, Duncan, Atlas, and Renk made their way through the panicked crowd and back to Atlas' apartment. Shell grabbed a first aid kit from Renk's gear and began tending to what injuries she could. She could do very little to repair the damage to hers and Duncan's cybernetic gear, however.

After Shell finished with the first aid, she sat back down.

Just then, her communications link opened with a connection request. It was a message from an anonymous sender.

It read:

"Mr. Sorenson!" yelled Shell. "I just recieved a message!"

Duncan's eyes widened. "So did I!" he replied.

Duncan closed the communications link.

"It looks like someone's either threatening us or trying to warn us. In either case, I would suggest we don't stay in one place for too long. However..."

Duncan checked his left leg. The knee joint was severely dented and it was sticking to the point that it was hard to move at all.

"We still need some repairs and some medical attention. That blast got us good. We're lucky we survived..."

He looked at Renk and Shell.

"...my apologies. You both lost a lot of comrades."

He stood up and looked out the window. "Ok, I can't go far like this. Let me try to contact one of my sources. They might be able to put us in contact with someone who knows how to evade whomever might be tracking us."

He sent a quick message to a contact, describing the situation and asking for assistance.

"For the time being, we'll have to wait. Communications seem partially jammed but the message may have gotten through. Long term, we're in a situation where we may have to stay underground or run. Ideally, if we could make it to space, we'd be able to stay out of danger."

Duncan laughed.

"Uh, as if that would even be a remote possibility."

He noticed a stern look from Renk.

Atlas brought out some more bandages and first aid supplies from his storage closet.

"Here you go. Hope it helps. Listen, guys..."

Atlas hesitated. It wasn't easy to admit his situation.

"I'm being evicted, so we actually can't stay here. I'm sorry."

He looked at Shell, Renk, and Duncan. They didn't look too shocked - they were all too preoccupied with the devastation, which was understandable.

"Seriously, though, I wish I could help more. Times are tough planetside, as you all know. This s*** going on today isn't helping, of course."

Atlas sat back down and thought about what to do. I'm the only one here who isn't injured. At the very least, I can help those damaged cyborgs get to a maintenance facility and I could help Renk find a hospital.

"Renk, how bad are your injuries?" He asked.

"Nothing I'm not used to," Renk replied. "Do you want to help me find a safer place to hide out until reinforcements arrive? Once they do, we'll be able to get proper treatment, gear repairs for these two, and some food."

Atlas's eyes opened wide at the sound of getting a meal. His suffering was nothing compared to the other three, but his nagging hunger was clouding his mind a little.

"Renk, I have eaten in almost a week. If you can get me a little food, I'll give you anything you want!"

Renk nodded. "Relax, buddy. We haven't seen each other in years. I'll feed you all you want. Just help me get these two back down to street level and we'll figure something out."

End of Chapter 1