The tale is back and better.

When a man wakes up to find himself in an unknown world, with no memory of his identity, except for a strange tattoo on his arm which spelt the letters 'A.D.A.M', he must go on a far reaching journey to find the truth, and not get killed.

Go on a journey full of surprises, action, intrigue, suspense, and a few hot scenes(18+).

As with most of my recent stories, there are going to be a lot of bizarre elements at play in this one. You'll love it!

Set in a dystopian society.

Written by Chuks Obinna

Episode one: ADAM


The white florescent fixture on the ceiling fizzled and buzzed as hushed voices filled the room. The room was white and small. It had a long operating table in the middle, surrounded by three men in white coats.
Beside the operating table were a series of computers with illuminated screens projecting 3D images, respirators that hissed and electronic gadgets which beeped every half-minute or so.
The room had two steel doors which were locked and manned on either side by two guards in black uniforms, armed with black assault rifles and standing in statue-like attention.

The voices in the room were that of the men in white coats. They mumbled amongst themselves as they worked on a man strapped down on the table. The man was naked under the white light which seemed to tear into his skin, illuminating every pore.

“Laser,” one of the men said, in a voice muffled by the surgical mask on his face. The laser hummed as the red beam cut into the arm of the man on the table. The machines began to beep faster and the respirator hissed loudly. The body on the table began a slow movement, first with his legs and then his arm. In a moment, the body was already wriggling.

The men didn’t seem to panic. They merely exchanged glances and then one of them, a young man with dark eyes, walked slowly towards a trolley from which he took out a metal tray.

“Give him twice the dosage,” another man said, this one with white hair, and clearly the oldest of the three.

The man with the dark eyes nodded and tapped the syringe with his finger. He placed the needle on the neck of the wriggling body and injected a clear liquid. The wriggling soon became slow, the legs and arms straining against the straps, then the movement ceased completely.

-----
He woke up with a loud gasp and coughed. He could hear hurried conversations around him, and loud bangs not too far from him.
He tried to move his arm but it felt restrained, and so did his legs. He was strapped to a table and he groaned as he struggled to free himself. The voices around him came faster; panicked. A moment later, there was a loud explosion which sent two steel doors across the room and crashing hard against the wall. The lighting began to flicker and soon the room was filled with thick, black smoke.

A man yelled but was immediately silenced as two gunshots rang through the air. He watched as a man wearing a white coat drew closer to him, holding the edge of the table. He glanced at the man and noticed the unmistakable fear in his eyes. The man was about to say something when a shot rang through the air. He grunted and his body fell forward, on the table.

Blood and brain mass, thick and soft, sprayed over his face, making him shut his eyes. Two more gunshots, and then fast footsteps approached him. The men wore black masks and black uniforms. His eyes burned from the fumes as he glanced at the men, two of them. He could almost see the burning glares through their masks. They were armed with silver handguns. He thought the guns were unnecessary, he was strapped to a table, after all.

“Get him up,” one of the men said in a rough voice and walked away. The other placed his gun into a holster strapped to his belt, and brought out a small knife in one swift motion. He whimpered the moment the glistening blade came into view. The man lifted the blade and swiped at him. He had his eyes closed as he waited for the pain to set in, but he felt nothing.

His arms felt better, although they ached from being restrained by the straps, which he was sure must have burned into his skin; he didn't have time to check.

He watched the man who’d freed him, as he hid the blade. The man’s motion was deliberate and he had a certain grim air about him. He had no idea if this guy was his savior, but as he opened his mouth and made to speak, he saw the man’s arm swing towards his face. Before he could react, he felt a heavy blow against his face which made his head spin. Soon, all became dark.

---

He woke up yet again. He had no idea how long he’d been out. His body swayed from side to side, and the crates beside him rattled. He seemed to be in some sort of truck, he was sure; he could hear the loud backfire of an engine, and the screech of wheels against dirt. A man sat opposite him, watching him intently. The man was armed and wore the black uniform he remembered seeing—although, he just didn’t know how long it had been.

He wanted to ask about his location and what was really happening, but the intent look and bizarre scowl on the masked man didn’t seem to encourage questions. His hands were free, maybe that was a good thing, but then again maybe not—there was an armed man sitting just opposite him, they probably knew he could never try anything.

The vehicle hummed constantly and particles of dusts filtered into the back from a tiny slit on the door which seemed to be welded shut. He wondered how they’d gotten him here. Heck, he wondered about a lot of things, for example where was he and who were these guys?
He took a closer look at the armed man and noticed an imprinted sign on his vest: a white star which had a cross in it. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the sign; he’d seen it before, but where?

Just then, the vehicle bucked violently. He gasped and shifted forward, almost colliding into the armed man. No freaking seatbelts. The armed man shoved him back with his weapon and turned towards the sliding door, where raised voices could be heard.

He gripped the bench he was on and watched the armed man shuffle towards the door. He craned his neck and looked, as the door slid to the side. He noticed two things: they were in some sort of desert road, red and wide; the second was that something bad was about to happen. Neither of those things made him feel okay.

The door slid shut, leaving him alone in the back. He suddenly felt hot and his chest began to thump. It didn’t help that he was completely naked.
Neither did the nervous shouts from the men in front and the way the vehicle suddenly sped up. The vehicle bucked roughly to the side as if something had rammed into it. The wheels screeched and the red dust in the back soon became choking.

He coughed and stood on his feet, a task because of the way the vehicle swayed. He had his hand against a bar on the wall of the vehicle which he leaned into for support. It was then he saw it, just as his face plastered against the oily warmth of the vehicle, his eyes caught a small hole which he looked out through.

The hole, just a few inches wide, gave him enough view of the outside. He could see the dust guarding the side of the speeding truck and, to his horror, the wide stretch of yellow sand below; a drop he certainly hoped they didn’t make. But the truck was driving nervously close to the side of this of road, barely inches away from tilting to the side.

Just at that moment, while the men in front were still arguing in some strange dialect, the loud roar of vehicle drew closer to the side of the truck. He staggered to the side and pressed his body against the vehicle, looking for a small hole. He found one, and soon wished he hadn’t.
He stared, frozen, his teeth clench and body bathed in perspiration, as a brown truck roared towards them. His mind worked quick and soon came to a probable conclusion: the truck would ram into them, send them rolling down the plains, and they would all die. And damn it, he was still naked. It was going to be one painful death.
Working solely on instincts, he pulled away from the side of the vehicle and rushed for one of the crate.
He had no idea what he was doing, and he didn’t have time to find out because a second later, just as the truck made a desperate swerve to the right, there came another loud smashed and the vehicle rocked violently to the side.
He reached his hand for something—anything that could brace him as the vehicle became to tumbled downwards.
The crates smashed into the walls of the vehicle, creating a gaping hole. Sharp sand poured in through that hole as he felt himself thrown against the walls and roof of the vehicle. The crashing noise was deafening, making his own grunts inaudible, even to him.
The vehicle came to a crashing stop minutes later.
He lay against a crate, his arm beneath the crushing weight of something he had no idea of. He groaned and heaved as he pushed against the weight on his arm.
The object slowly shifted and soon fell off, his arm free. Immediately, the burning pain, like a million punches, rushed over his body and he screamed out loud

Jasminelove(f), hannie20(f), Charminee(f), Clarabarbie(f), Chukswrites(m), diamondbody(m), Hantonia(f), Leemekzy(m), IamSINZ(m), uniqueogo(f), Aminahpyaar(f), nanadeeva01(f), NothingDoMe, Jetjacky(m), Ebydarling, Maltaleeza(f), FameG(f), jacyruth11(f), Chukabiz1961(m), ayorinbolableszy(f), Frankenstein, Younaman(m), kingphilip(m), girlhaley(f), patriciakase(f), Ayomicome(m), peluhmii(f), OluwabuqqyYOLO, kronox(m), cygemeks(m), horlajumokhe(f), Diznie(f), KiKiFeOlUwA(f), djksp(m), Twizzy30(m), Shydon(m), lalasticlala(m), nesta101(f), Jay1F, DzTzl(f), Taniaa(f), oluwatooni(f), marianneada(f), marychommy(f), akinkudin, degelinglacis, Shalomdee(f), xaviercasmir(m), DemiKOL(f), Toyin223(f), yewande1234(f), Adesina12, pweetymhi(f), Eyimama, emillysmigael(f), crislyn(f), meneski(m), Deji124(m), mirianmartins(f), Apus, jupitre(m), MhizDherbee(f), kevwecute1(f), muhawal001(m), ghostwritter(m), temisaintkenz(f), tyreal(f), kayo80(m), stephenGee12(m), iiru, Danie94(f), Titidi(f), Ritajovy(f), alarmednigerian, Kaybeeeee(m), oluwaseun15(f), Eniqurl(f), cyber5(m), Hadampson(m), repogirl(f), missuniverse(f), hanjorlah(f), Cheriepet, nawtielizzie(f), MzShay(f), oluwatymylehyn(m), adontcare(f), Lankyannie(f), Jazmiynne, Nmaglit, Ayoomolabake(f), darloseh(f), t1976(f), Lolsd, BeckyTeelard(f), bellefidel(f), do4luv14(m), jontargeyren(m), JaeSharp(m), preccy69(f), TheBlessedMAN, AudreyTimms(f), MidieMeliss(f), Sebastine1994(m), femzey(m), graphicsdelight(f), horexy(f), SurestG(f), Lleigh(f), WHOcarex, SheWrites(f), TiffanyJ(f), Kimkardashain(f), AustineCJ, rachealfst(f), LarrySun(m), KimberlyWest(f), Divepen1(m), EvaJael(f), queenitee(f)

Chukswrites:
Jasminelove(f), hannie20(f), Charminee(f), Clarabarbie(f), Chukswrites(m), diamondbody(m), Hantonia(f), Leemekzy(m), IamSINZ(m), uniqueogo(f), Aminahpyaar(f), nanadeeva01(f), NothingDoMe, Jetjacky(m), Ebydarling, Maltaleeza(f), FameG(f), jacyruth11(f), Chukabiz1961(m), ayorinbolableszy(f), Frankenstein, Younaman(m), kingphilip(m), girlhaley(f), patriciakase(f), Ayomicome(m), peluhmii(f), OluwabuqqyYOLO, kronox(m), cygemeks(m), horlajumokhe(f), Diznie(f), KiKiFeOlUwA(f), djksp(m), Twizzy30(m), Shydon(m), lalasticlala(m), nesta101(f), Jay1F, DzTzl(f), Taniaa(f), oluwatooni(f), marianneada(f), marychommy(f), akinkudin, degelinglacis, Shalomdee(f), xaviercasmir(m), DemiKOL(f), Toyin223(f), yewande1234(f), Adesina12, pweetymhi(f), Eyimama, emillysmigael(f), crislyn(f), meneski(m), Deji124(m), mirianmartins(f), Apus, jupitre(m), MhizDherbee(f), kevwecute1(f), muhawal001(m), ghostwritter(m), temisaintkenz(f), tyreal(f), kayo80(m), stephenGee12(m), iiru, Danie94(f), Titidi(f), Ritajovy(f), alarmednigerian, Kaybeeeee(m), oluwaseun15(f), Eniqurl(f), cyber5(m), Hadampson(m), repogirl(f), missuniverse(f), hanjorlah(f), Cheriepet, nawtielizzie(f), MzShay(f), oluwatymylehyn(m), adontcare(f), Lankyannie(f), Jazmiynne, Nmaglit, Ayoomolabake(f), darloseh(f), t1976(f), Lolsd, BeckyTeelard(f), bellefidel(f), do4luv14(m), jontargeyren(m), JaeSharp(m), preccy69(f), TheBlessedMAN, AudreyTimms(f), MidieMeliss(f), Sebastine1994(m), femzey(m), graphicsdelight(f), horexy(f), SurestG(f), Lleigh(f), WHOcarex, SheWrites(f), TiffanyJ(f), Kimkardashain(f), AustineCJ, rachealfst(f), LarrySun(m), KimberlyWest(f), Divepen1(m), EvaJael(f), queenitee(f)

Hi there, faithful reader,

I decided to write a web series just for you. I dug into my shelves and brought out ADAM, and now I shall be releasing the rebooted story twice a week.

I have uploaded episode 1. Expect Episode 2 later this week and, starting next week, I will have a fixed day for the 'airing'.

It's great, you'll love this.

P.S: this is a completed story. At least season 1 is.

Episode 2: Hello, Scavenger


The sun was high and intense against the wide yellow desert. The man stood, breathing heavily, clutching his blood-soaked arm, and watched the clear smoke hissing out of the smashed bonnet of the black truck. He had managed to crawl into the driver’s side from the sliding door at the back, which was now a smashed mess.
The truck’s cab was as equally messed up: the man behind the wheel was pressed against his seat while the one on the passenger’s side leaned against the door. The third man had his body halfway through the smashed windscreen. They all looked very dead, especially the one through the windscreen. It must have been a really painful d
eath; he’d thought to himself.
Standing now, outside the wrecked vehicle, he sighed with relief. How had he survived this? A dry gust of air suddenly blew against his face, grains of sand sticking to his body. It was then he remembered his unclothedness.

Dreading the thought of what he was about to do, he walked towards the vehicle, pulled opened the door and surveyed the dead men. The one on the passenger’s side seemed to be about the same size as he was, so he grabbed the body, straining as he did so, and dragged it against the sand. Getting the trousers off the dead body proved to be a hard task, one that took all of ten minutes, and a lot of cursing and grunting.

Getting the vest off was basically impossible, so he decided to wear just the trousers, which fit snugly, by the way. He looked around, squinting at the harsh rays of sunlight. The road seemed to be too far away, but at the moment had to be his only way. His lips were fast becoming dry and the heat was intense.
He needed a shade, and fast.
He squatted close to the dead man and ran his finger against the sign on the vest. He ripped it off and placed it in his pocket, it was probably his clue as to who these people were. Why the masks? He asked himself when he realized that all three men had been wearing masks with bizarre scowls on them.
His left hand hurt, so he stretched out his right hand and reached for the mask. It was hard and clasped under the man’s jaw with some sort of rope. Just as he made to undo the strap, he heard a loud stomping noise.
The noise was immediately followed by two loud bangs which seemed to echo on forever. Not again. He quickly ran towards the wrecked vehicle and crouched behind it.
He breathed heavily and pressed himself against the jagged side of the truck, not at all bothered by the pain. His arms glistened with sweat which seemed to dry off almost immediately under the heat. He listened, still very much aware of the noises getting louder.

The stomping noises were soon replaced by a distant rumbling, like a storm brewing. He stretched himself up and looked beyond the wreck, towards the horizon. His eyes opened wide at what he saw, then he quickly crouched again. Calm down, he told himself, but the image of the spiraling dust clouds in the distance only caused him more panic.
There was no way he could beat whatever was coming, whether it was more people to abduct him, or just a regular desert storm. He was still weighing his thoughts when he caught another sound. This one was very different and sounded very close. The rattling and high-pitched humming came to a stop just beside the wreck.

He looked around for him, surveying the wreck for any form of weapon, he found none. He gritted his teeth, his heart hammering. In the heat of the moment, he decided to play dead; that had to be his best bet. Just as he made to fall on the sand, a long shadow fell on him. He looked up at the thin man and squinted at the suns ray fell which fell from behind the thin man, making him more of a silhouette it bright edges.

“What happened here?” the thin man said and moved closer to him. He was dark skinned and exceptionally tall. He wore a faded leather jacket which seemed a size too big, and a thin jean trouser. He had a black holster strapped to his waist, the gun of which was in his hand.

“Hmm…you’re alive," he said and narrowed his eyes. Then he jerked his thumb towards the wreck, "those guys in front seem dead enough.

What’s your name, boy?” the thin man asked, his white eyes running all over the man sitting quietly on the sand.
The thin man had an awkward accent which made the 'boy' come off as 'buoy'.
The man on the sand, still tired and somewhat frightened, closed his eyes and tried to remember his name. His mind felt blank, and the more he clawed for images, the more suffocating it felt. He eventually stopped trying to think, and looked up at the thin man. “I don’t know," he said, and meant it.

“Well, boy, I’m sure you must have noticed that storm approaching,” the thin man said and surveyed the wrecked vehicle once more. He narrowed his eyes and wiped his forehead with the gun in his hand. His eyes were back on the man on the sand.
“You survived this, by some miracle," he said and adjusted his belt. "But no way you surviving what’s coming, boy.”
The thin man began to walk away, his boots kicking off small dust clouds.
The man on the sand remained where he was and watched the thin man walk beyond the hissing smoke. He was still aware of the not-so-distant rumbling, and he could swear the ground was beginning to shake.
He still tried to remember who he was, but he certainly couldn't think with that noise getting closer.
He quickly got up to his feet, still aware of the rawness of his skin, and ran towards the hissing smoke, where the thin man had gone through.


-----


The thin man clutched his gun tightly and placed it in its holster. He wondered why he'd stopped to check that crash site; the clueless bastard he'd seen a moment ago would be dead in a few minutes, once those nightmares caught up. He glanced up at the approaching sand storm as this thought crossed his mind.

Those guys are relentless, he thought and took out a small blue orb--the reason he was being chased. He shoved the orb inside a small purse latched to his bike. He brought out a white scarf--which in fact had lost all its whiteness--and threw it across his neck, and wrapped it around his nose. It'd help against the dust.

He climbed the bike and turned on the ignition. It hummed and coughed, and the HUD flickered and then came on, displaying various units in a blue shade. The bike coughed some more, spewing dark smoke, and then entered into a steady hum. Cursed thing, he thought to himself as he engaged the gear. Just then, his gaze shifted to the side mirror and he caught a shirtless man frantically running towards him.

If it isn't the clueless bastard, he thought and waited. The storm was getting closer, he noticed, but he wasn't bothered. His focus was back on the shirtless man.
"I see you chose not to die, boy," he said, once the man came up to him.

"I don't know what's going on," the man said.
"And you're not going to find out just standing there," the thin man said and felt the harsh wind blow against them. It had been a good idea, his scarf, but this shirtless man seemed to be getting the worst of it, he thought and watched the man struggle to keep the sand from his face.
He changed his mind, this guy would be dead in a minute.
"Here, cover your face," he said and threw a scarf at the man. He watched the man fumble with it and wrap it clumsily around his face.

The thin man shook his hand and looked behind him. The storm was now too close for comfort.
"See ya, boy," he said and twisted the throttle, spewing more black smoke. The bike rattled and hummed and tore through the sand, leaving behind the shirtless man and the fast approaching storm.

He gunned the bike some more and soon all that was left behind him was a cloud of yellow dust. The scarf around his face flapped as he rode fast, his eyes glanced constantly at the side mirror, seeing nothing but dust, and the man he'd left behind. He sighed and cursed, and then stepped on the brakes making the bike waver and screech to a stop, the engine still rattling.

"Clueless bastard," he muttered to himself. He twisted the throttle hard, the HUD showing the fluctuation in power, and then turned the bike, riding straight for the storm.

-----

He coughed as the dark smoke fizzled away, and watched the bike become a mere speck in the distance. The scarf had a sharp smell against his nose but that was the least of his worries. He was now facing a wall of sand moving at a high speed towards him.

The sight was strange in almost every aspect, the obvious being the three dark shadows, like horsemen, riding in the middle of the storm.
A close second was the dark cloud that moved in perfect synchronization with the sand storm.
He took a step backwards and then another, and soon broke into a run.
The sandy desert ground slowed his speed considerably, but he ran nonetheless. He had no idea where he was running to, but he had his sights on the wrecked vehicle which seemed farther now.

The wind picked up around him, the sand blinding him. He fell to his knees and pushed the scarf over his face in a futile attempt to keep the sand away. Just then, as the fast winds formed a circular wall of sand around him, his left arm began to burn. He winced and clutched it, his eyes watering from the sharp pain.

The air became thin and he began to gasp. He forgot about his arm and clutched his ears, trying to keep away the harsh voices that suddenly invaded his head. The voices whispered angrily and the sand closed in on him, hitting him from all angles.
He was soon on the ground, his chest pressed against the hot sand. Just as he closed his eyes and was about to give up, he heard a loud bang, followed by another, and yet another.

The voices in his head screeched loudly, making him scream. A second later, the sand fizzled out and the storm disappeared. Grains of sand fell onto the ground and on him. He breathed heavily, his hands still clutching his ears, then he heard the approaching footsteps.

He opened his eyes just as the slow, crunching footstep stopped close to him. He watched the thin man squat close to him, gun in hand and a smirk on his face.
"They call me the Scavenger, boy," he said and looked away, "and now you owe me your life.

-----


As the bike disappeared into the distance, leaving behind a fading cloud of dust, the smashed door at the side of the wreck creaked and fell onto the sand. There was a low grunt as a man struggled to push himself out of the crushed vehicle. He fell on the sand and pushed himself up. He breathed heavily as he assessed the wreck; he saw his dead comrades: the one through the windshield and the trouser-less one laying on the sand; he also noticed how badly crushed the truck was; glasses shattered, smoke hissing out from the front, the choking smell of burning rubber, and the wide desert.

He turned towards the horizon, where he’d heard the bike go through. The sky was clear, the sun bright and yellow, and the wind harsh. He could still hear the steady hum of the bike, though a mere static, thanks to the amplifier in his mask. It’s broken, he thought, when the device whizzed and crackled. He took a pained step forward, dragging his feet in a slight limp, and then his fingers reached for his mask.

In one deliberate motion, he undid the strap and took off the mask. He growled when the sharp air hit the blood-stained slash on his face, across his whiskers. His spotted fur was soaked with blood, and his ears twitched. He snarled, exposing his sharp teeth, and then took out a black phone from his pocket.

The phone burred as he walked back to the wreck, towards the shattered windows. The line beeped and clicked as it connected. He listened to the sharp voice on the other end, waiting. Then he spoke.

“Negative. Something bad happened; the subject is loose, but I have a possible location,” he said and looked into the distance. He cut the connection and took a look at his reflection, still finding it difficult to get used to his leopard head

Thank you

Hmmmm.....fantastic read.

Just to be weird. Imagine a world where reptilian dna is fused with human DNA. The subsequent creations now hustling to exterminate their creators

nijabazaar:
Hmmmm.....fantastic read.

Just to be weird. Imagine a world where reptilian dna is fused with human DNA. The subsequent creations now hustling to exterminate their creators

Believe me, I can imagine that.

thanks for d mention... am here with my pop corn and coke... abeg which angle seat dey for front....lol

Episode 3: EDEN




The scavenger rode on, aware of the man clutching tightly to the back fender of his bike.
He had no idea who this guy was, and he had no intention of finding out.

Once they got into the city he’d dump him and seek out a buyer for the precious orb he’d stolen.
He smiled as he thought of the orb; dream essence, it would fetch him a few thousand daris, and that would do nice for him to get a better bike.
On the other hand, he frowned, those nightmares were getting tougher with each trip he took. He certainly needed a partner—a junior one, of course—and he definitely had to increase the price for each essence.
If those bastards in the underworld didn’t like his idea of a price increase, then they should go steal a dream essence by themselves.

But where would he find a partner? The bike wobbled as they went up a dune, the wheels had been modified to travel on the loose desert sand, but he really needed that new bike. He took a sharp turn, raising a cloud of dust, and not at all worried about his passenger. He smiled as they moved onto the scorched, cracked tarred road.
The city was just up ahead, the black clouds hovering around the tall buildings were hard to miss.

----

His passenger, still unaware of his name, opened his eyes wide as the tall buildings came into the view.
It was obvious that the man who called himself the Scavenger didn’t bother about him; he hadn’t said a word since they left the desert, although a conversation would have been basically impossible with the loud rattling of the bike.

As they drew closer to the city, a huge concrete wall became visible. It was as high as a tower and seemed to span wide, into the horizon—as wide as the city was.
The desert road had stopped a mile back and had been replaced by a dark tarred road with small bumps here and there, which the Scavenger occasionally swerved to avoid.

The rattling of the bike reduced as they got closer to the huge wall.

“Whatever happens, do not say anything,” the Scavenger said, speaking for the first time since they’d left the desert.

A gate, just as high as the wall, stood at the center, like a buckle holding the two white ends of the concrete wall. Two outposts, made of wood and padded with bags of sand, stood on either side of the gate.
A black van was parked by one of the outposts, the two doors opened wide, showing two men in black cradling black guns.
The van had the words LEVI printed across it in white; bold letterings that covered both side doors. The officers wore black helmets which also had LEVI stamped on it.

The Scavenger and his passenger sat quietly on the bike and watched as an officer walked up to them. He emitted a strange gurgling noise, like he was choking, and then stretched out his hand.

“No need for that, Jeb,” the Scavenger said, a thin smile on his face. “You know me.”

The officer shifted on his feet and adjusted the gun strapped across his shoulder. “I know you, that’s why I’m asking for your papers.”

The Scavenger frowned and then opened a brown bag from which he produced a paper.

“You know me, Jeb,” he said, and shoved the paper into the officer’s hand. The officer glanced at the paper for a second and then turned to the Scavenger’s passenger.

“Who is he?” he asked and shifted closer to him, “who are you? You look like a mess, what happened?”

“Ah, so much questions, Jeb. I’m disappointed,” the Scavenger said and rolled the bike backwards so that the officer was standing beside him once more.
“Yes, he is a mess. You would look that way too if you just had an accident and barely managed to come out alive.”

“An accident?” The officer asked, looking closer at both men.

“Yes, back in the desert. He needed medical attention and yours truly, being a good Samaritan, decided to help him. Now can we go in.”

The officer hesitated for a moment, and then handed the paper back to the Scavenger. He nodded and waved them off.

“I’ll remember this, Jeb,” the scavenger said and started the bike. The black gate slowly creaked opened and they rode inside.

“Welcome to Eden,” the Scavenger said as they rode into a crowded city with buildings packed so close together.
The atmosphere was covered with a thin layer of smog, lowering visibility. The tall buildings, like wary sentries, stood very far from where they rode through; the buildings around were mostly wooden shacks wrapped in rusted zinc sheets.

A child, chasing a small bird, strayed onto the path of the bike, and the Scavenger reacted, pressing hard on the breaks.

“I know,” the Scavenger chuckled as he strted the bike again and took a narrow road littered with garbage and full of muddy potholes.
“This is no Eden like the one from the bible. Certainly no paradise. This is the worst part of town, and the only place where you truly experience life.”

His passenger looked around him, taking in the loud noises around him: people selling their wares, cursing at each other, lifting something heavy, and the loud blaring of trucks and bikes very much like the one he was on.

The Scavenger parked the bike outside a wooden shack which looked slightly better than the others, only in the sense of its fresh wood and not-so-rusty zinc sheets.

The shack had the word BAR displayed in colorful lights on a board sitting on the roof, although the B was dimmed, leaving only the AR. The Scavenger jumped from the bike and glared at his passenger.

“Who are you, boy, really?”

“I don’t know,” his passenger answered and stepped out of the bike.

The Scavenger grunted. “Well, you need one. You can’t follow me in there,” he pointed at the bar, “if you don’t have a name. I am tempted to leave you here and go on with my business, but you really are one clues bastard and, in Eden, that’s AKA dead man.  So, pick a name.”

His passenger looked around, trying to think of a name, then he felt his left arm burn.
He’d felt that before, the searing pain like a blade had been pierced into his skin. He winced and looked at his arm, wiping off the sticky dirt on it.

“You okay, boy?” The scavenger asked, but he wasn’t listening. His eyes were fixed on the dark markings on his arm. Slowly, the markings became clearer. It was a form of tattoo, and it spelt out four letters: A.D.A.M.

“Adam,” he muttered to himself.
“Say what, boy?” the Scavenger asked.
“Adam,” he answered and looked up at the scavenger.
“My name is Adam.”

“Adam, huh?” The scavenger said and shrugged his shoulders. “So much biblical references. Well, Adam, welcome to Eden. I sure hope you find your Eve.”
He snorted and laughed, and then disappeared into the bar.

Adam stood still, his hand clutching tightly on his left arm--the one with the tattoo. He had no memory of the tattoo, but then again he had no memory of many things. He was about to walk into the bar when the Scavenger suddenly burst out.

“Hehe,” he laughed, a bottle in his hand. “I forgot to do this,” he said and squatted close to his bike, his drink spilling, and then locked the back wheel with a rusty chain. He got up and stared at Adam, “remember, this may be Eden, but it is no paradise.”
----

Crouching behind a fruit stall, a man in a brown hooded cloak watched the two men enter the shack with the illuminated bar sign.
He let out a low growl and twitched his whiskered mouth. Gun in hand, he made for the shack.

Episode four: Leopard -man

Adam watched the almost brash motions of the Scavenger. He wondered who he was, amongst other things.
The Scavenger had a certain oddity about him: the way his back arched, and his unusual  slenderness. The blackness of his skin, too, had an oddness to it.

Sitting quietly behind a wooden table that smelled of something stale, cluttered with groundnut shells and empty bottles, Adam watched the people around him.
The bar was almost empty—the wooden tables were bare of activity, although the empty bottles on them spoke of recent business—a few tables, maybe two or three, were occupied by tired-looking men, either snoring on them or shaking the empty bottles against their lips for last drops.

The Scavenger was speaking to a large woman whom he called Sissy. She was big, and almost as tall as the slender man in front of her.
She wore a colorful gown with a bright, orange scarf  which concealed a good portion of her face.
Her wrists glistened with golden jewelries which rattled as she waved her arms about, and her fingers were endowed with sparkling rings, all ten of them.

She bawled with laughter, her hands on her heavy bosoms, as the Scavenger spoke in his loud voice.
After a minute or two, he lowered his voice, leaned closer to Sissy, and whispered something to her.
Immediately, they both turned to Adam, who sat still and watched them.

“Two bottles,” the Scavenger gestured with two fingers raised, and grabbed the two bottles Sissy dropped on the counter. He walked over the creaking floor, skipping over some chipped boards, and pulled up a chair with his feet.

“Here,” he said and slid over a bottle to Adam. He dropped himself on the chair and opened the bottle with his teeth.

“Don’t expect me to open yours for you,” he said and took a long pull from the bottle, his throat moving as he did so.

Adam followed suit and put his teeth against the jagged bottle cap. It popped as he pulled it open, and released a thin gas that reminded him of the stale smell from the table.
He watched the Scavenger as he dropped his now empty bottle and let out a loud burp.

“I take it that you won’t drink that, huh?” he asked, staring at the bottle  clasped in his arms.

Adam remained silent, his thoughts straying once again. Remember, he willed his mind; think, and remember. There was nothing but a resounding silence in his head.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” the Scavenger asked and dug his hand into his jacket, his eyes on Adam as he searched its pockets.

“Well, boy…I mean, Adam, you’ll find out quickly that I talk…a lot.”
He took out a square box from his jacket and tapped the end, letting out thin sticks wrapped in brown paper.
His thin fingers clasped on one and drew it out. He replaced the box and put the stick between his lips, and then took, from his other pocket, a small, transparent cylinder which had a white liquid in it.

Adam watched as he pressed the head of the cylinder and a thin flame burst out. The Scavenger drew the flame against the end of the stick on his lips and it glowed red as he took drew in sharply.

A thick cloud of strong-smelling smoke escaped from his lips and nostrils, and he sighed. The Scavenger’s eyes caught that of Adam, and he laughed.

“You'll learn that when you live in Eden, you have to take up vices: smoking, drinking, whoring, gambling; we all need the distraction.”
He took another puff, the stick glowing red, and then pointed it to Adam, “you smoke?”
“No,” Adam said, still watching.

“Of course you don’t,” the Scavenger laughed. “But you’ll need to, very soon. The city, well, it does things to you.”

“What sort of things?”

The Scavenger took another puff, his eyelids closing slowly. “Bad things, strange things. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Loud voices rose from outside the bar; men shouting, and one yelling to stop. A single shot rang out as the voices faded past the bar.

“One of them will get killed tonight,” the Scavenger shrugged and dropped the smoked stick on a small plate on the table.
“It’s a rough place, this one,” he bent his head to the side and spat. “The government, if you can call it one, doesn’t exist.”

Adam turned towards the door, where the voices had been, and then his eyes were back on the table. He reached for the bottle and drank from it.

“It’s bitter,” he said, after he placed the bottle on the table.

“It’s always bitter, and very illegal. Sissy here, she makes the best, but it’s all under the table, eh?”

Adam nodded, not really understanding.
“Now, it’s my turn to ask questions,” the Scavenger said and yawned lazily.

“You say your name is Adam, eh?”

“I…yes, I think so,” he answered.
“They call me the Scavenger, but you don’t see me writing it up in my hand, do you?”
“What?” Adam asked, and followed the Scavenger’s finger pointing to his arm. “Oh, I don’t really know about this.”
“What about those dead guys at the crash site, anything about them?”
“No.”
The Scavenger sighed and shook his head. “Any idea why you were in that truck, or why you were naked?”

Adam thought for a while. The more he thought, the more his mind clouded up. “I really don’t remember anything, except…” he paused, and the Scavenger leaned forward.

“Except what?”

“I remember I was in a strange room and…” he suddenly stopped talking and turned towards the front door as it opened. The Scavenger also turned. They both watched as a cloaked man slowly walked into the bar.

The man turned towards them, his face concealed, and then walked over to a table at the far end.
They followed him with their eyes as he stopped in front of a table and reached for the man resting on it and snoring loudly.

The cloaked man grabbed the snoring man, and threw him away, taking his seat. He glanced once in their direction, and the Scavenger looked away, but not Adam, who gazed on, as if locked in a telepathic conversation with the stranger.

“Sissy! You have a customer,” the Scavenger yelled and turned to Adam, “do you feel like drinking? I feel like another bottle.”

“No,” Adam said, still looking at the stranger who’d already looked away. Something was not right about that stranger, he just couldn’t place his hand on it.

“Can we go now?” he asked the Scavenger.

“Go where?” the Scavenger asked and got up to his feet. He staggered towards Sissy who was serving the strange man. He threw his arm around the large woman’s waist and then waved his hand at the strange man.
He laughed loud and then left when the stranger hardly reacted to him.

He was soon back at the table, a frown on his face. He remained quiet for a while, then he suddenly stood up and peered over at Adam.

“What is it?” Adam asked and shifted backwards.

“That’s odd,” the Scavenger muttered to himself, and then glanced at the strange man. He looked at Adam, still frowning.
“You know, that strange man wears a black shirt.”

“Are there rules against black shirts in Eden?” Adam asked.

“No, no. Just listen. He wears a black shirt that has that same sign on it,” he said and pointed at the emblem on Adam’s trouser: the white star with a cross in it.

Adam gasped and looked up, feeling his heartbeat pick up. They both glanced towards the strange man’s table, but he was gone.

“We need to leave…” he began to say when a piercing scream echoed through the bar; it was Sissy.

“Get down!” the Scavenger yelled as a small orb, black and metallic, dropped on their table.
It blasted off in a second, scattering the table. The lights went out, and the room was immediately covered in thick smoke.

Adam breathed heavily and groaned as he pulled out a long splinter stuck in his arm.
He had no idea where the Scavenger was, and he could see nothing except the smoke. He crawled on his hand and knees, over broken glass and wood, straining his eyes to see through the curling smoke.

“I see you,” a voice suddenly called out, hissing through the smoke. “Give up, we only need you alive.”

A hand grabbed him and pulled him under a table, it was the Scavenger. “Shh,” he said and handed him a gun. He also had a gun clutched tightly in his hand, and his arm glistened with sweat as he listened quietly.

Slow footsteps crunched against the broken glass and stopped close to where they hid.
The Scavenger turned to Adam and whispered, “ready?” Adam shook his head, but the Scavenger had already risen up. He stretched his hand into the smoke and fired six times, the flashes lighting up the room.

Adam gasped as he watched a dark figure come up from behind the Scavenger and hit him across the neck.

“Behind you!” he yelled and stood up. He stretched out his arm and squeezed the trigger. The figure quickly turned towards him and jumped to the side, dodging the shots.

“Nice try,” a voice came from behind him. Adam turned and swung his arm in a bid to hit the dark figure, but missed. The dark figure grabbed his arm and twisted it, Adam yelled and let go of the gun.

He looked into the face of the dark figure as his cloak dropped. He gasped as he stared into the glowing green eyes of the leopard-man.

“You are a stubborn one,” the leopard man said as Adam struggled to free himself.

“Let go,” he said and raised his free hand. The leopard man caught the blow and was about to say something when his ears flicked and he turned around.

The Scavenger struck his face with a rod, loosening the leopard man’s grip on Adam who reached for the sheathed blade on the leopard-man’s belt.

Growling angrily, the leopard-man caught the Scavenger’s arm and bit it, digging his teeth deep and blood spewed out.

Adam watched the Scavenger cry out in pain. He withdrew the blade from the sheath and just as the leopard-man turned to face him, he plunged the blade into his throat.
The leopard man threw his arm wildly in the air as he struggled to pull out the blade, gurgling as blood spurted out from the gash. Adam grunted and pushed it in deeper and the struggling ceased.

He stood aside and watched he lifeless body drop to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Adam helped the Scavenger up.

“Right, so you’ve repaid your debt, but who the hell are you?”

Chukswrites:
NEW EPISODES OF THIS SERIES WILL BE UPDATED THURSDAYS OF EVERY WEEK.

BE SURE TO CHECK IN BY THEN.

PLEASE, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT COPY! THE STORY IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF THE WRITER; IT WILL BE IN EVERYONE'S BEST INTERESTS IF IT ISN'T TRANSFERRED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

See you Next Thursday, diligent readers

Amazing story. You made some changes to this version of the story but it is still the same will the scavenger betray him this time. I would like to know what happens next thank you

EPISODE 5



The dark sky rumbled and lit up as lightning ripped through it. The wind picked up as the night wore on. Two figures hurdled close together and walked down a narrow corridor leading to the more compacted ghetto areas. Cold drops of rain began to fall and in a moment, the drizzled became steady.

Adam watched the Scavenger take out a bunch of keys from his pocket. He was obviously hurt bad in his right arm, which hung in a limp manner.
“Let me help,” he said, when he saw that the door wouldn’t be opened any time soon, with the way the Scavenger fumbled with the keys.

“I’m fine. I don’t need your help,” the Scavenger grunted and winced as he shook his arm. Adam reached for the keys anyways and got the door open in no time.
The scavenger rolled his eyes and pushed the door open. He held his wounded arm and stepped into the dark room. Adam remained outside, the rain drenching him. His eyes fell on the stream of red flowing from his hand, and also the drops of blood washing off the steps of the house.
“You can remain outside, that’s your choice. But this door closes in two minutes,” the scavenger called out.
Adam turned around, staring into the dark night. Even the large moon in the sky seemed cowered by Eden; it remained hidden behind dark, somber clouds, as the rain poured on. Adam stepped into the house and shut the door behind him. The room was much bigger than he’d guessed it had would be—wires ran over the ceiling, seemingly connected to everything in the room; and there was a lot. Round bulbs hung from the ceiling, also linked by this loop of wires. Moths and termites buzzed and flickered around the bulbs as soon as they came on.

The living room, which he guessed they were in, had no chairs. The floor was covered with a faded red carpet, torn on several sides. A door linked the living room to a dark corridor, where the scavenger entered. Adam kept his eyes on the drops of blood and followed it into the dark corridor which led to three other doors—two of which were shut, except the one the Scavenger’s groans came from.

“You’re hurt bad,” Adam said and leaned against the door post. He was also hurt (the slash from the accident).
The scavenger sat on a wooden chair and held his arm, silent. He turned to Adam and glared hard at him.
“You know, I’m no stranger to broken arms and weird things; after all, I enter the dream realm every other week, and trust me, those nightmares are really weird creatures.” He paused and kicked a lever on the floor, which cranked.
The floorboard close to his feet shifted and a small drawer slowly pushed outwards.
“A little help?” the scavenger said and turned to Adam.

“Okay.” He walked over to where the scavenger sat and stood behind the drawer which had been in the floor a moment ago. Maybe there is a secret compartment under there, he thought. The drawer, which seemed to be made of some sort of glistening metal, had small compartments, each with small raised buttons.

“What should I do?” he asked, and the scavenger turned to him.
“Well, for one, don’t stand behind the drawer. You’re blocking the light.”
Adam stepped away, wondering what light he was talking about; the room was basically dark, lit only by a dirty bulb stained with grime, or maybe oil, or even mud.

“Thank you,” the scavenger said and winced. “The arm is infected. Open the top compartment and bring out the box.”
Adam nodded and tried to open the compartment, then he turned to the scavenger, clueless.
“Just push the button, obviously,” the scavenger said and rolled his eyes. Adam nodded and pushed the button. The compartment clicked and then shot out slightly. He shoved his fingers in and pushed it open all the way. A small, square box sat inside the dusty compartment, he took it out and placed it on the drawer.

“Open it and take out the relief injection; the syringe and blue bottle,” the scavenger said and groaned again. Adam pried open the box and took out the injection.
The moment he held it between his fingers, his head spun and hammered, and the whole room seemed to be immediately covered by a bright light, blinding him.
He shut his eyes tight and groaned as the voices in his head became louder. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at some men in white.
They seemed to be standing above him, almost as if he lay on his back. The men had white surgical masks on, and one of them held a syringe close to him. He blinked and watched the syringe draw close to him, then a loud explosion shattered the room and threw him off. Another voice rang through his head; familiar one, calling his name.

“Adam! What the hell?”

It was the scavenger. Adam gasped and turned to him, the syringe still in his shaking hands. He was sweating profusely, and his arm burned, the one with the tattoo.

“What the hell just happen?” the scavenger asked and shifted in his seat. He had a curious gaze in his eyes.
“You were screaming and yelling some words I don’t think I understand, and then that…that thing in your arm…” he paused and pointed at the tattoo. “It was all glowing and stuff. What the hell?”

Adam shook his head, feeling the voices dying down, then he raised his arm and looked at it. “I don’t know,” he said, almost to himself. “But it burns and hurts a lot.” He turned his arm as he spoke.

“Speaking of things that hurt,” the scavenger said, “my arm is still infected. I need that injection.”
“Right,” Adam said and stuck the needle into a small bottle of blue liquid and drew it into the injection. “What now?” he asked, the syringe in his hand..
The scavenger exhaled. “This is the part that hurts.”
He gritted his teeth and slowly began to stretch out his arm. The bite mark began visible, rotten at the edge of his pale skin, and dripping sticky liquids. His flesh seemed to tear the more he stretched his arm out, but he continued. Drawing in a sharp breath and exhaling continuously, he turned to Adam. “Shoot it.”

“What?” Adam asked.

“I mean the injection, stick it in.”
Adam nodded and jabbed the needle into the spot the scavenger held out. He injected the blue liquid completely into the arm and stepped backwards.
Amazingly, the sticky liquid dried out and the bite mark spurted out yellow pus mixed with some of the blue liquid. Once that happened, the scavenger’s pale skin began to stich back up. In a minute, the nasty wound was almost nonexistent, except for a small scar.

“That’s better,” the scavenger said and laughed aloud. He stood up from the chair and wriggled his arm. “Yeah, very much better,” he said to himself.

“What was that stuff?” Adam asked and picked up the box.
“Magic,” the scavenger said and watched his face. Adam made no reaction, so the scavenger shrugged and added. “Nanotechnology. Don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t. I just steal it.”
Adam dropped the box and began to rub his tattoo.
“That guy that attacked us, he had some kind of animal head. Why?”

The scavenger frowned and looked thoughtful. “That’s not a first. But I should be asking you about him; he attacked us because of you. And why did your ink glow?”

“My memory is all foggy. I don’t remember much, and that time when you said my arm glowed, I…”
“Just the tattoo,” the scavenger interrupted. “Not your full arm, just the tattoo. I’m sorry, continue.”

“There’s not much to say, but I saw that sign again. I saw myself in a room and there was an explosion, and I saw that sign from the leopard guy. This one,” he said and showed him the white star and cross symbol.

The scavenger took it and stared at it for a while. “Perhaps you had a vision?”

“It felt more like a memory. If we can find out more about that symbol, I’m sure I’ll know more about who I am and why those guys were after me.”

“I don’t know why you said ‘we’, boy. Frankly, there is just me,” the scavenger said and walked towards the door. “But I’m curious to see how this ends, and perhaps there could be money in it for me.”

A rapid beep rang out, making Adam duck thinking it was another attack.

“Hey, relax. It’s just my phone.” He took out the phone and stared at the lit screen.
“Is something wrong?” Adam asked when he noticed his frown.

The scavenger turned to him, “nothing’s wrong. I have to be somewhere now. I got food in the kitchen and my computer works, it’s in the living room. Just don’t leave the house, there’s a curfew in Eden, and the LEVIs don’t take it lightly with night crawlers.”

****

The scavenger stared at his phone, standing in front of a small building, and then he placed it back into his pocket.
The air smelled of moisture and the sky was a bit clear now. He knocked once on the door and watched as a small slot opened up. A pair of white eyes stared at him for a moment, then the slot closed and a latch clicked as the door opened.

He walked over to an empty table, not minding the crowded, smoke-filled room. He sat on a stool and tapped his fingers on the table.

“You came,” a man said and took the seat opposite him. His face was hidden behind dark hood.

“Yeah, I came. I don’t have much time, you said you got an opportunity.”

The man nodded and then leaned closer. “I just got word about a new boy in town, some guy with a weird tattoo.”

The scavenger narrowed his eyes and listened. “Yeah?”

“Well, some powerful guys just placed him on our wanted list. Get this, one million daris for the guy, dead or alive.”
The scavenger clenched his fist and felt his heart beat fast.

Your story is always worth the wait. I like that you take your time to write and come up with extraordinary words and sentence to explain your story It nice to read. This scavenger likes money no be small.

Hmmmm

Weedfree:
Your story is always worth the wait. I like that you take your time to write and come up with extraordinary words and sentence to explain your story It nice to read. This scavenger likes money no be small.

Thanks a lot. I get super busy, that's why I take my time in updating.
I try to make it weekly though.

As for the scavenger, we'll soon see where his loyalty lies.

queenitee:
Hmmmm

Is something wrong, Queenitee?

Chukswrites:


Is something wrong, Queenitee?

No, nothing is wrong

EPISODE 6



It was midnight when the Scavenger got home. The streets were practically empty, dark from the lack of power; power, like almost everything in Eden, functioned at half-capacity, and had to be rationed/scheduled. Right now, at midnight, houses were dark save for candle lights and lanterns, which were also used sensibly.

He stood in the shadows, still and quiet, as a LEVI patrol van moved slowly down the street. It would be a cell for the night if he got caught, and it had happened only once before.
The curfew was mandatory; business ended officially at seven in the evening, and people were allowed a little 'free time' until nine, when everyone was expected to be locked inside their homes. The reason for this was unclear, but as long as the powers that be declared it, it was done.

Rumors had it that in the elite quarters, where the rich folks lived, the curfew was nonexistent. But when you lived in lower town--the slums of Eden--it didn't matter.

The tail lights of the dark van faded away, and so did the humming of the engine. The scavenger stepped out of the shadows, the choking smoke from the van still in the air, and walked up to his house. He didn't have to knock, he had his keys.
He peered into the frosted windows and cursed. "The fool slept off with the lamp on."

He pushed the door open and walked straight to the lamp. He'd been seething a moment earlier, ready to yell at his guest once he got in. But he couldn't get himself to do it as he watched Adam on the couch, fast asleep.
The guy has been through a lot, I should probably just let him be. He stared at his arm, at the tattoo and the oily glow around it.

Letting at a deep sigh, he turned to the lamp. It was battery powered and, from the look of the digital display at the bottom of the case, the battery capacity was in the red. He grunted and pushed the button, plunging the room into darkness.

Good, he thought. He needed the darkness, and he needed to think. He dragged his feet as he walked across the living room, down the dark corridor, and into his equally dark room. He was used to the darkness so he didn't need a light to find his bed, but first, he thought, time to shower.

The good thing about Eden was it's abundance of water. It was weird, considering the yellow desert was merely a few miles away, but most people said it was because the land was blessed. The scavenger was not among those people.
He slowly peeled off his jacket and the rest of his clothes, his pale body exposed to the hot air in the room. He ran his hand across his arm, feeling the bump of the little scar on his arm.

"One hell of a day," he said and stepped under the shower of water falling from the wide pipe mounted on the wall. He shivered slightly as the cold water hit his body, reminding him of a time, years ago, when his mother had always told him that cold water was just water. He'd always been scared of it, but she'd made it seem the most natural thing.
She was dead, for years now, and his fear of the cold water was back; even though he didn't have the choice of hot water since power was out.
He shook away the thoughts of his mother and stepped out of the bathroom. He felt relaxed now, enough to light of cigarette and relax on his bed, ready to think.
The man he'd gone to meet a few hours ago was a bounty hunter, Jakob. The both of them had been partners at one time, until he quit bounty hunting. But now he'd been given a serious offer, and he was torn between his decision.

Sleeping on the couch in his own living room was a man worth millions of daris. He was a stranger, but a damn valuable one.
A bounty had been place on Adam's head; he was certain it was him--no other person had a strange tattoo and was a new comer in town, he was certain of it.
That would explain why that guy had attacked them.
He puffed out a cloud of smoke and began to pace. All he had to was take him across town, to the guild. He'd get his 60% cut for finding the bounty, the rest can hand him over and share the remaining 40%. He needed the money, and he was going to take it.

****

"Alright, boy, time to move," the scavenger's voice boomed and filtered into his dreams.
Adam stirred and rubbed his eyes. The scavenger, fully dressed in tight jeans and a black jacket, came into view.

"Where are we moving to?" He asked and slowly got up. He stretched and groaned as he bones stretched. His body ached from the awkward position he'd slept on.

"Thought you wanted to find out who's after you?" The scavenger said and threw a towel on him. "The shower is that way," he said and pointed down the corridor.

"You know that message I had last night?" He asked and Adam sat upright.
"Yeah?"
"It was a tip. We might have someone who's seen something, but first you have to shower. You stink."

Adam nodded and grabbed the towel. He knew he stank, he'd not showered in a day, but the scavenger really didn't have to say it that bluntly.
Twenty minutes later, when the sky was bright, and the clouds dull, the scavenger wheeled out his bike from a shed.

"We'll need fuel," he said after tapping the fuel meter and seeing the needle leaning towards empty.
"Alright," Adam said and followed him as they moved down the street which was already full of people carrying baskets and pushing carts, and of course, yelling and fighting.

"Who's the guy?" Adam asked.
"The who?"
"The person with the lead you got. I mean, who is he?"
The scavenger stopped rolling the bike and turned to him, "excited, huh?"
"Not really," Adam said sincerely. "I'm just nervous, but maybe a little excited."

The scavenger gave him a distant look and then nodded. He stopped at a wooden shed which had a large oily-black drum which had 'PETROL' boldly written on it.
A young man with scruffy beard and dark, brown clothes, which Adam suspected had been white at some point, stepped out from inside the shed.

"Fuel. 200 daris." The scavenger dug into his pocket and produced some crumpled notes which he shoved into the young man's dirty palm.
The scavenger had a satisfied smile as he watched the needle point towards full.

"We're good to go," he said and turned to Adam. "The place is inside the town, that's where we'll meet him."
"Thank you,". Adam said.
The scavenger looked away, " don't mention it."
They got on the bike and zoomed off.

****

The scavenger began to have second thoughts as they drove deeper into town. He just needs to find out who he is, and he thinks you want to help him. His thoughts jeered at him, but then there was the other voice reminding him of what he could use half a million daris to do.

He was still deep in his thoughts when he heard Adam's voice behind him.
"Look out!"

The scavenger gasped and focused his eyes on something black stumblingly down the road. A tyre! he thought and squeezed the brakes while trying to avoid the rolling rubber.

"Thieves!" He yelled to Adam and tried to start his bike which had already snuffed out due to the sudden braking. It was already too late. Three men, with red cloths wrapped around their faces as masks, jumped out of the bushes surrounding the road and rushed towards them.

"Get out!" They yelled, waving heavy clubs around.

The scavenger gritted his teeth and shouted back at the men. "You get out of my way, filthy pigs."
They did the opposite. One of them got really close and waved his club towards the scavenger. He shifted and tried to dodge the attack, succeeding partially as the blow caught him on the side of his head.

He grunted and fell to the side. The bikes handlebars bent and the bike tilted sideways, throwing its passengers onto the hard ground.
Adam rolled off the bike, lucky it hadn't fallen on his leg. The scavenger was not that lucky: his head was bleeding and the bike pressed down on his legs.

The armed made laughed and walked around them.

"Give us everything you have, including the bike," one of them said, a muscular one with a spiked club.
"Just leave us alone," Adam pleaded, breathing heavily.

"Ah, we should teach you some manners."
Adam slowly got to his feet. He winced and held his left arm, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Crying already?" One of the thieves said and touched his shoulders. That was all it took. Adam yelled and grabbed the hand on his shoulder. He twisted it until it snapped, sending the thief howling in pain, then he smacked his throat and threw him to the ground.

The muscular thief with the spiked club attacked, and swung a blow with his weapon. Adam moved quickly to the side and watched as the thief stumbled to the ground. He grabbed the weapon from him and lowered the spiked edge of the thief's head, shattering his skull and making a mess of blood and flesh.

The scavenger watched in awe as the other thief's ran away into the bush. He watched as Adam breathed heavily and stood close to the dead thief covered in blood. He watched him drop the weapon and gasp in shock.

"How did you...you just killed that guy?" The scavenger said, clutching his bleeding head as Adam helped him up.

"I...I didn't mean to. It just happened. The tattoo, it controlled me and..."

"Don't apologize, boy. You saved my life," the scavenger said and then gasped. He glanced around and then felt a beep in his pocket; the sign from Jakob.

"What is it?" Adam asked.
"Uhm, Adam, I...uh, I think we should turn back."
But it was too late. The air was soon filled with roaring sounds as several bikes game out of nowhere and surrounded the both of them.
"What's going on?" Adam asked.
A man jumped out from one of the bikes and walked towards the scavenger. "What happened to you?" He then turned to Adam, "is this the package?"
"Jakob, leave. I'm not interested anymore," the scavenger said.
Jakob shook his head slowly. "You don't get to decide that. You'll be a rich man soon, Aaron."
"What's going on?" Adam asked, looking confused.
Jakob smiled slyly and shifted his gaze between the scavenger and Adam. "Of course he didn't tell you. There's a bounty on your head, your friend here just sold you."

Great story, please continue.

michael123pelemo:
Great story, please continue.

Thanks for reading, and enjoying.
Updated regularly every Saturday.

Could you please share and invite more people. This will encourage me to keep going.

Chukswrites:


Thanks a lot. I get super busy, that's why I take my time in updating.
I try to make it weekly though.

As for the scavenger, we'll soon see where his loyalty lies.

I understand why you do not update often it not like we pay you for this but it is kind that you take your time even then to write though I have one question you said something about a dream essence or world they do not dream in this world but they sleep because the scavenger was hunting dream essence to sell but if it is something that will be revealed later on in the story no need to explain no spoilers

Weedfree:






I understand why you do not update often it not like we pay you for this but it is kind that you take your time even then to write though I have one question you said something about a dream essence or world they do not dream in this world but they sleep because the scavenger was hunting dream essence to sell but if it is something that will be revealed later on in the story no need to explain no spoilers

The dream essence he was hunting was for a completely different purpose. I guess I'll touch that in a later episode. Also, they actually sleep and dream, just as normal.

But there is a world, where the nightmares live, that's where something called a dream essence is produced.

Chukswrites:



The dream essence he was hunting was for a completely different purpose. I guess I'll touch that in a later episode. Also, they actually sleep and dream, just as normal.

But there is a world, where the nightmares live, that's where something called a dream essence is produced.

Oh I see then that was why the scavenger was saying something about nightmare I just thought it was nothing so you are putting a bit of horror in your story that where the dark fantasy comes in. I hope the scavenger rescues Adam or Adam rescues himself or more preferably they both reduce Adam. Thank you for explaining and for your great story

Weedfree:




Oh I see then that was why the scavenger was saying something about nightmare I just thought it was nothing so you are putting a bit of horror in your story that where the dark fantasy comes in. I hope the scavenger rescues Adam or Adam rescues himself or more preferably they both reduce Adam. Thank you for explaining and for your great story

You're welcome. We'll see what happens.
No spoilers

Update ohhh

michael123pelemo:
Update ohhh

On Saturday

EPISODE SEVEN


A black battered truck slowly reversed towards the men. The scavenger stood still, the wind on his face, and watched as the men roughly shoved Adam into the side of the waiting vehicle. Their leader turned around and stared at the scavenger, a smirk on his face.

“A deal’s a deal.” He jumped into the front of the truck and it screeched away, leaving behind a cloud of thick fumes and blinding dust. The bikes also revved off, humming like a swarm of angry bees.

He stood there and watched as the dust cleared, and the silence hit him. He stared at the man on the ground, his skull smashed in. He’d saved my life, he thought and looked up at the direction the truck went. He was conflicted, and the voices in his head weren’t helping. It was his choice to follow you; this one is on him, and not you, one of the voices said.

And yet he saved your life, another chimed in.
We’ve saved his life too, haven’t we?

“Yes, we have,” he said in a low voice, and squatted close to the dead man. He wasn’t disgusted by the sight; he’d killed before, but the rage he’d seen in Adam had been astonishing. He searched the man’s pockets but found nothing of interest in it except a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a few daris.

He stood up and walked slowly towards his bike. From the look of the dark moisture spreading on the ground, underneath the bike, he guessed that the tank had been bashed in. He grunted and stood the bike, then he tapped the smashed fuel gauge—he’d been right.

“Almost empty,” he muttered. His phone buzzed in his pocket, shifting his attention momentarily from the bike. It was an alert from his bank.
“Half a million daris,” he read out loud. Then why wasn’t he happy? He tucked the phone back into his pocket, stared into the horizon and then got into his bike.

****

The house felt empty as he walked into it. Once upon a time, he’d been a bounty hunter and he’d handed over hundreds of bounties before quitting, then why the hell was he feeling weird about letting that guy go? Maybe it was because none of those bounties had ever saved his life before.

He walked up to a cabinet and opened it. Bottles of different colors lined the shelves, each either half full or empty. He chose a bottle and reached for a glass. He stopped and closed the cabinet, deciding that he didn’t need a glass.

“I wasn’t wrong, was I?” He asked himself and took a pull from the bottle. He sighed as the liquid raced down his throat, then he closed his eyes and took a longer pull. His vision became blurred by the time he dropped the bottle, and his movement became swayed slightly. Placing the bottle carelessly on a stool, he dropped himself on a couch and heaved.
He blinked rapidly and burped, his breath reeked of alcohol. He forgot about the bottle and raised his leg onto the stool, sending the bottle smashing on the floor, and spilling its content onto the carpet. He shrugged, not at all concerned.

“I was looking after myself, it’s what I do,” he muttered, his head spinning and his thoughts swimming about without any form of order. He took out the phone and stared at the message; half a million daris. He’d get a new bike, and move out of this shitty district, and have all the women he can handle, which was a lot. He was set for at least a year, but why wasn’t he still happy?

He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He listened to his slow breathing as it faded away, replaced by the voices in his head which became extremely loud. He heard his name, so he opened his eyes.

"Aaron." A voice called out. He looked around the room, which was covered in white light. The voice was familiar; soft and weak, like his mother's. And the way she called that name, a name he hated hearing, it had to be her. He walked around the room, surprised not to bump into any of the furniture.
He looked closer and realized that he was in an empty room, white all over. He stopped walking when a large screen came on at the far end of the room.
The room dimmed and the light from the screen fell on his face. On it was his mother, screaming and crying; a day he hated remembering, but one could never forget.

He shut his eyes tight, his lips quivering, and fought back the tears escaping from his eyes. He’d watched from afar as his mother was killed, a long time ago.
He’d tortured himself about that day ever since, if only he’d done something and not hidden like a coward. And now he was staring at the images all over again.

“Now you have the chance to do something,” he heard his mother’s voice say. He nodded and then opened his eyes. He had no idea how long he’d been out, but he was soaked through with perspiration. He quickly jumped out of the couch, took off his shirt and began to think. He smiled and snapped his fingers, then he reached for his phone. He thought for a moment then he dialed a number.

“Jakob, my man,” he spoke into the phone when it connected.
“What is it, Aaron?” Jakob’s uninterested voice spilled out from the phone’s speakers.
“For one, don’t call me Aaron. Only my mama called me that, and she’s dead.”
“Speak, Aaron. I’m a busy man, you got your money, what do you want?”
He chuckled. “About that, I have to come along and watch the exchange, don’t you think? I mean, I caught the bounty, didn’t I? Just like old times, so where’s it going down?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jakob said abruptly. “And I’m not telling you anything. If that’s all, I have to go now.” Just as he spoke, a bell chimed twice in the background. The scavenger smiled and nodded. “No, that will be all.”
He tossed his phone aside and smiled triumphantly. The bell chime had been loud, and there was only one place in Eden that had a bell which chimed: the old church in middle town, of course. He snapped his knuckles, wriggled his hands, and then walked down the corridor into the room opposite his bedroom. He typed in a code into the keypad on the wall and the door clicked open. The door scrapped against the floor as he pushed it open. He stepped into the dark room, then he flicked on the light switch.
“Oh, yeah,” he smiled and rubbed his palms together. He only came into this room when it was scavenging time, but now was a good a time as any to get in here. The room was built like a cube, and shelves were built into each wall. On each shelves were weapons of all kinds: hand guns, rifles, explosive devices, and the more sinister demon blasters and dream catchers--the names he called the special weapons he took with him to the realms of the nightmares.

He grabbed a black bag and began to toss guns into it, not taking his time to select but just grabbing whichever one caught his fancy. He opened a built in wardrobe and changed into a black vest and black trousers.
He also grabbed a bracelet which he fused to his wrist. I wonder if this still works, he thought and pushed a button on the bracelet. It lit up and then expanded over his body in the form of a thin green light, rendering him invisible.

“It still works,” he chuckled. He slung the bag over his shoulder and walked towards the door. He stopped and reached for a low shelf, grabbing the sheathed blade on it. The blade reminded him of Adam, so he decided to take it and possibly give it to him as a peace offering.

And what if he doesn’t forgive you? A voice in his head said.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

****

The Methodist church of Eden had long since moved to its new headquarters in the upper section of the city, leaving behind the wrecked old church which had become a notorious ground for illegal activities.
If you needed someone to disappear or you needed a particularly hard product which was ‘rare’, chances were that you would be referred to the old church. The funny aspect—or possibly weird—was the fact that it operated like a leased building; not more than one illegal operation could be run in the place at the same time, and the old church was run by a group of criminals, the Heathens, who had first come across the old church.

The scavenger crouched on a ledge a few miles from the old church and watched it closely. The cloud was getting dark, which was not exactly surprising because the weather in Eden was as unpredictable as everything else. But it was a good thing, the coming darkness.
He just hoped he wasn’t too late. The tall church building, though slanted to the side, still stood solid.
The windows were smashed in and sealed up with wooden boards, and so was most of the doors, leaving only one major entrance. The bell on the tower by the right chimed, echoing loudly, the sound travelling past him and into the town behind. At one time, years ago, this bell had told people when to go for church services, which were mandatory.

He adjusted himself and lay beneath the water-proof covering of an old stall. His weapons bag lay close to him. He unzipped it and took out a binocular. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in him; this was what he did regularly, and in far more dangerous locations, like when he went to hunt dream essence from those grumpy nightmares—he thought of them a grumpy, but they were indeed dangerous.

He surveyed the area through the glasses and watched as a black truck pulled up. He thought it odd that they were just bringing the bounty over the church now. What have you guys been up to? He asked himself as he watched them shove a man through the door of the church. Several armed bounty hunters, most of whom he knew, were posted at the entrance. Others patrolled the area. It wasn’t going to be difficult getting down to the church; the area was surrounded by thick bushes, enough cover for him to hide in.

“Time to move,” he said and reached for his bag. He rose up to a squatting position and was about to move forward when he picked up a crunching sound behind him. He turned around sharply, but it was too late. The blow landed hard on his head and he fell down.

“I knew he was up to something. Take him in with the bounty; we’ll kill him once the exchange is complete.”

The watched through the numbness in his head as someone stood close to him and dropped another blow on him. The voices instantly faded away and everything became dark.

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