Book 2 - Chapter 43 - Up in the catwalks

So... posts might be a little inconsistent for the rest of the week or so. My condo, which has been under repair for the last SIX MONTHS, is finally fully repaired. I'll probably have to drop by a couple times to ensure that everything's good, and to direct the movers on where to put my stuff, but I'll do my best to maintain my posting schedule as much as I can.

As soon as I could stand I wandered away from the edge of the support in the search of blood. It wasn’t that hard to find, there were quite a few pools across the platform but unlike the last platform there wasn’t any gore, or damage to the surrounding structure. 

I could see why Skyler was unsure whether this had been an antithesis attack or not; many of the blood pools had drag marks leading away from them, towards the edge of the platform. What gave me pause was the fact that all the drag marks ended on the metal grate walkways around the platform, which wouldn’t collect blood, and the blood pools were still tacky.

That meant whoever, or whatever, did this had to have been here in the last thirty to sixty minutes. Considering that there were antithesis sitting right off the side of the platform, and the fact we hadn’t seen a single person in this part of the canals, I somehow doubted this was related to a turf war, or gang violence.

When Skyler finished with her clean up we gathered together to discuss what to do next.

“So, what do you think?” Grey asked with her usual casual cadence.

“I think our quarry has been here,” I announced. “Although it looks like someone dragged the bodies to the edge, the blood’s too fresh and I can see signs of it on the grate flooring. I think this was done to help hide the fact that the bodies were consumed. I also haven’t seen any sign of people rummaging through the houses. Considering how poor this area is, I doubt human attackers wouldn’t at least look for valuables.”

“Agreed. Although I admit there’s a remote chance we’re wrong, I find it extremely unlikely,” Grey agreed. “Rain did you find anything before our trip over here was rudely interrupted?”

Skyler nodded slightly. “Although it’s not ironclad evidence, I’ve seen a lot of damage two supports to the east, along with minor blood splatters. The problem is, I haven’t caught a single glimpse of any antithesis yet, besides those Model Fours. I fear that between having to search for traces, and investigating the damage, we’re falling behind.”

“It’s possible,” Grey admitted. “The good news is that while you two were cleaning up, and investigating, I gave the government a call. They’ve agreed to send a couple PMC companies to the upper walkways ahead of us to act as spotters. If we keep chasing this monster, it’ll eventually show its face.”

“That’ll definitely make hunting it easier, what’s the bad news?” I asked.

“Well, I don’t really have bad news, but I do have a question. How are you two with heights?”

“We live on the ninety ninth floor of a skyscraper,” Skyler snorted. 

“Excellent. Then I have a suggestion. Since the antithesis have decided to get sneaky, and since Wind here has some, as it turns out extremely valid fears of the water, I recommend we relocate. To the upper catwalks,” Grey said.

“The upper catwalks? Why?” I asked.

“Because unlike the bridges, the catwalks undergo regular maintenance. They run next to all the utilities that are hung from the underside of the plates, and are necessary to perform upgrades to the infrastructure. They’re far more stable, which means we should be able to make better time. The only downside is we won’t be able to see the bridges, and supports very well, but with Rain’s scouts that shouldn’t be a problem,” Grey explained.

“Sounds good to me, I’ve already had one near dip in that sludge, I’m in no hurry to repeat the experience,” I muttered.

“Excellent. Then let’s not delay any further!” Grey declared as dozens of nanite tendrils grew from her back. 

One of them gently wrapped itself around my waist, and shoulders, while another wrapped around Skyler. As soon as we were secure the other tendrils grabbed whatever stable cables and debris they could and slowly carried us up, towards the underside of the plates.

I was surprised how different it was from water level. Rows upon rows of orderly racks hanging from the underside of the plate. Each one was labeled with a different company, or utility. In addition the catwalks here were in much better shape than anything I’d seen below. There was even a maintenance certificate hung next to the surface access ladder to confirm regular checks had been done.

“Too bad they don’t take maintenance of the lower levels as seriously,” I grumbled as Grey gently deposited Skyler and I on the closest catwalk.

“That’s probably intentional. Originally those bridges were done so workers could do maintenance checks on the pillars, but over the years the samurai have introduced new technology which allows the government to take micron accurate measurements of the pillars remotely. They considered maintaining the bridges, but it was easier to send gondolas down, then scissor lifts up, and then the squatters appeared…” she shrugged. “Despite having universal housing care some people just prefer to live in that mire, and nothing the government can do will convince them to leave. If the bridges break down and collapse it’ll convince at least some of those people to come topside.”

“That’s… kind of horrible actually,” Skyler mumbled. “Letting those people’s already squalid living conditions decay until they have no choice but to come topside?”

“It’s more like they’ve realized that infrastructure is completely redundant, and would be expensive to maintain. They’re not going to spend that money just so the squatters can get around easier,” Grey grumbled.

Skyler gave the silver clad woman a disappointing look. 

“Hey! I support everyone’s right to live the way they want, but if you live off the grid you shouldn’t expect the government to spend money making your life easier, that’s all I’m saying,” Grey said defensively.

“Ladies, we can discuss social welfare, and the living conditions of the less fortunate later,” I interrupted, “but for now we should concentrate on the task at hand. Skyler, which way is that next support?” 

“Due east. It’s harder to see the supports from up here, they’re not lit up as well as the bottoms are, but you can see the lights around the surface access points,” Skyler said.

“Well then, let’s get moving. Do you need another ride or…” Grey started.

“No thanks. I’ll direct the drones to move between pillars, then tune in when they arrive. I should be able to handle that without dedicating my full focus to it,” Skyler explained. “No offense, I just don’t want to be caught completely off guard, like last time.”

“Fine with me,” Grey replied.

“Let’s get moving,” I declared. “No point in letting this thing get any further ahead than it already is.”

The two of them nodded, so I turned and immediately accelerated into a slow run. I could barely feel the catwalks move as I made my way rapidly across them, a welcome improvement from down below.

{Athy: You might want to slow down a bit. You’re getting a little far ahead} 

“What?” I mumbled, turning back towards the way I’d come. Skyler and Grey were following, but they were over fifty meters back. “How did that happen.”

{Athy: Your improved musculature. It’s had a couple days to develop now, so you probably don’t even notice your improved athleticism, it’s quite easy for you to outpace most people now.}

“Sorry!” I called once Skyler and Grey caught up. “Apparently I don’t know my own strength anymore.”

“Or speed for that matter,” Skyler muttered. “How about you let one of us go ahead and set the pace, and you can follow.”

“Works for me,” I agreed, stepping to the side so the other two women could pass. “Lead the way.”

I had no problem keeping up with the other two the rest of the way. The pace didn’t feel slow, I just didn’t feel like I was pushing myself at all, like I was doing a casual walk or jog. The others didn’t seem to be struggling either, although Sklyer did have a light sweat when we arrived.

Glancing down through the grated floor I could see the support way below, but since we were so high, and the area was lit by the inconsistent lighting wrapped around the support, I couldn’t make out much detail. 

“So, any idea where to go from here?” I asked.

“There are a couple options,” Skyler said hesitantly, “There are a couple more signs to the east, but the far more obvious option is to check out the small group of Model Threes that’s heading north.”

“You found some antithesis? That’s a win, but why don’t you think that’s the right way?” Grey asked.

“There’s only a half dozen of them, and I don’t see any sign of other antithesis. If I was a Model Seventeen, I’d willingly sacrifice half a dozen antithesis to throw people off my tail,” Skyler explained.

“The problem is Seventeens are also smart enough to perform a double bluff. Leave enough behind the main pack that they just look like a distraction, to throw people off the trail,” Grey grumbled.

“So what do we do?” I asked.

“We split up,” Grey said after a couple seconds. “I’ll track down the Threes. If it is just a small pack, I can double back. You two keep following the trail, and see if you can catch up to whatever’s causing it. As soon as we discover the SV-Seventeen we can call each other for backup, but until we find it we have to follow both leads.”

“Are you going to be alright on your own,” I asked.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m more than a match for anything we could possibly find down here. Just take care of yourselves,” Grey replied.

“We will,” Skyler said as Grey stepped onto a parallel catwalk and took off running. “And good luck.”