Half in Fire

S-2879 • L10 Tramaluna • D19 Unabe

“Tramaluna weaves the sky in a watchful thread. Unabe kindles an axis in descending light. The tide draws a route in living silver. The story carries on steadily, with a sure step.”

“Hey.” Kiara woke me.

It took me a while to come around. I noticed I had drooled a little and wiped my cheek. Shook my head. Felt like a truck had run me over.

“Did you know you…” She gave a teasing grin. “…talk in your sleep?”

My eyes widened with anxiety. “What did I say?”

Kiara’s grin grew. “Random words. ‘Why do you do this?’ Repeated ‘Maia’ a few times.”

Heat rose to my face. Shit. This was ridiculous. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to hide it. “Please never bring this up again.” Excellent. What was I going to blame? Sinaptic-V? Hmph. How embarrassing.

“My lips are sealed.” She mimed sealing them.

When we landed, Kiara adjusted the rifle on its sling, checked that the revolvers were loaded, and positioned the blade at her wrist.

I put on the mask. She told me to configure my biochip to heat the uniform. The warmth acted on the skin’s surface, insufficient to protect against the harsh Russian winter. Temperatures reached minus thirty degrees Celsius.

“Ready?”

I had to be. I took a deep breath. Whatever happened would happen. I would make it through. Nodded.

“Let’s go.” Her expression confident.

She opened the door.

Icy air surrounded us. A blizzard filled the entire landscape. The white of the sky and earth were indistinguishable. Every step was a struggle. Wind roared mercilessly, throwing our bodies back.

Kiara led skillfully. I tried to keep pace.

We reached a closed establishment. I took the opportunity to draw air into my lungs. My first encounter with such a harsh winter. I froze from within. Even through the mask, the air scraped my windpipe. My body sought to learn the cold.

Kiara showed her holopass to an android.

Then the ground began to shake. I gripped the counter and searched for the source. A few meters away, the floor opened into a moving maw. A white car emerged. Camouflaged against the snow.

“Spasibo,” Kiara thanked him.

We got in.

Even with nanoelectromagnetic lift, the weather made the journey to Salekhard drag on—almost two hours. Though I had only seen part of Moscow, I glimpsed the Red Bastion. The fortified complex was actually quite colorful, standing out against the pale expanse.

Some time later, we approached Salekhard.

Nature was reclaiming the vast buildings, vehicles, and other structures. Debris accumulated around them. A dirty gray mist drifted above the district.

“What happened here?” I asked, somewhat shocked. A desolate landscape.

“Kemetia bombed this district with R-ATOM in 2795. Everyone died on the day of the attack. Radiation spread for kilometers, reaching central Moscow. A fucking tragedy. The radiation’s decreased since then. Only criminals and the destitute live here now. To the Russian people, this is a cemetery. It calls for respect.”

Dense air, heavy with echoes of death. Every ruin whispered stories of pain.

I admit that when I studied those attacks, I felt so removed from their reality. It was so easy for those in control to destroy everything just to stay on top.

Such devastation weighed on my heart. A shiver traveled down my spine. More than the cold, it was the place’s invisible weight. As though ancient voices still echoed there.

I wished serenity for those who had walked that land.

“We’re here.” Kiara pulled me from my thoughts.

We got out.

My legs were heavy. Every step seemed slower. My fingers tingled inside my gloves. Beyond the frost, a kind of exhaustion consumed me from within.

We stood before a concrete building covered in vines.

Kiara grimaced. “Seriously… of all people.”

I frowned. “What are you—”

The figure advanced through the blizzard like a shadow from beyond that world. A predatory posture.

I narrowed my eyes to see better. The glacial storm obscured everything.

As she approached, green eyes cut through the storm like razors. Fierce and dangerous. Carrying a supernatural force. They reminded me of an eagle.

“What’re you doing here?!” the young woman snapped in a thick Russian accent.

She wore a black mask. Her messy dark-brown hair was braided into a ponytail. Toned, tattooed arms lay bare despite the relentless winter. A grimy white tank top, white military trousers and boots. Two bandanas tied at her waist. One pink, the other pastel blue. A sniper rifle in her hands. Before us:

Trix • Mercenary Leader • Cyborg • 24 cycles

She had only lived twenty-four cycles?! I felt the urge to step back, but stood firm. Showing weakness around them was a stupid thing to do.

Trix gave a mocking laugh. “You’re gonna tell me…”

“Tell you what, huh? For fuck’s sake.” Kiara clenched her jaw.

Trix’s eyes flashed purple. “Who’s this?”

“My apprentice.”

“Saymon sent you?”

“Otherwise, I’d be at a fucking spa, wouldn’t I?” Kiara’s shoulders stiffened. Her gaze darkened, heavy with something deep and unspoken.

Trix smiled as though she knew exactly what lay behind that anger. “Whatever. C’mon.” She walked toward the building.

Kiara followed right behind.

I went after her, apprehensive.

We entered a filthy, ruined hotel reception. Full of old furniture. Counters. Chairs. A piano. Vases weathered by the climate.

A girl in heavy winter clothes. Rosy cheeks. Blue eyes. Long, neatly combed brown hair. She sat on the first step of a staircase destroyed halfway up. So delicate. She reminded me of a porcelain doll, as though a touch could make her fall apart.

Trix leaned against a broken pillar. “Think I know why he sent you. Only you could do this.”

“Okay. What’s going on?” Kiara kept scowling.

“Been impossible to go more than two meters without someone trying to attack this beauty here.” She gestured toward the girl.

“Hey. I have a name. It’s Anichka.” Her voice was so high and thin.

“Shut the fuck up!” Trix roared. “That voice shreds my nerves. This girl just talks, talks, talks. Look, Kiki, you being here is the best birthday present.”

Kiki? What was their relationship, for her to call Kiara by a nickname? And had she said birthday? Was it her birthday? My intuition asked for patience.

Anichka scowled. Her slender fingers held a worn necklace. A small glass pendant swayed amid the chaos. A remnant of something beautiful.

My mental state was terrible. I preferred to keep a little distance.

“Spit it out.” Kiara sounded impatient.

Trix smiled with her eyes. “Just what I needed. It’s obvious. Something about her gives away our location.”

“Stop repeating that.” Anichka pressed her arms to her sides.

“Which means…?” Kiara seemed to finally understand something.

Trix crossed her arms. “Vorovskoy mir wants this girl.”

My heart raced. The snow around us seemed colder. The blizzard roared as though it wanted to devour everything.

Vorovskoy mir.

So that was it.