Thread: Empire-City of Sin (Black_Out and Sardonyx)

The intense thump of loud raucous music filled the air, pouring out a blaze of rage from twin speakers upon a fast moving vessel that skittered across the waves. The speedy sleek schooner of dark steel and aluminum lifted off the water, smashing back down into the waiting embrace of the rolling sea upon which it rode. A lone shadowy figure piloted the vessel as it plowed through the water at a break neck reckless pace. Plastic bundles were strapped to the floor and covered with a waterproof black tarp that rippled in the wind. More drugs were on their way into Empire City to feed the hungering addicts and create some new ones. Yet another shipment of the designer club drug Euphoria was bound to wreak havoc and like usual, no one cared. Well, almost no one. The image spun and twisted away, blurred vision gaining focus as it turned out over the waters that led towards the restless city of Empire. A place that chewed up and spit out the meek. The warped visage of the moon reflected off the rolling abyssal waves that churned endlessly upon the surface of the deeply polluted waters of the bay. Shimmering patches of oil waltzed and wandered about the surface of the undulating dance floor offered by the shifting sea's heights. They joined hands as sparkling kaleidoscope colored pools merged into one, then split apart as the waves guided their swaying motions to new partnerships. Bits of foam, both born from greasy chemical clouded water and by the hand of men bobbed upon the surface of the shifting tides. They grew thicker as the bright flickering neon lights of the immense city shone out over the fringes of those violent waters that lapped their greetings upon the welcoming density of the concrete docks. The subtle sound of the waves splashing upon rustic old tankers that sat next to newer pristine versions that reflected their past glory contaminated a portion of the docks. Massive cargo crates of sea rusted metal sat in stacked piles upon stretches of dense, old, and uneven concrete ground. Towering cranes groaned with effort as they swung those hardened bulky containers about. The clamoring voices of workers passed shouted direction into the air as the contents of those enormous crates were drawn from ship to shore and shore to ship. To another end privately owned boats in a myriad of shapes and styles shifted upon the rolling waters from the places they were tethered too. Here too the boats were segregated into a structure that mirrored the various castes and worth of their owners. Smaller vessels nestled together, fishing skiffs and modest crafts that could entertain a weary soul for a day greatly outnumbered the larger yachts. Those behemoths though had room to breath. Arranged separately, secured from the peasantry by gates and guards and kept in a gleaming condition as if they had just rolled out of the factory that morning. Darting past the docks the rising foundations of the city beckoned the exploring lens inward. Streets of worn bumpy cobblestone led from the docks briefly before being swept beneath cracked blackened asphalt roads. Narrow alleys stabbed their darkness at the edges of their heavier traveled and wider counterparts. A cavalcade of roaring black and chrome bikes swerved in and out of traffic as they emerged from the tightened outlet of one such vein . The pack of joyriding thugs let the roars of their untamed spirits sound from the engines of the noise polluting machines that they straddled. The bright yellow flare of a bullet leaving the muzzle of a gun and the accompanying explosion of its firing rose up over the engines as yet another drive by shooting spilled blood and chaos into the night. But there was more to see in this rotten and dark city where crime had long been festering for years and spreading like a plague with each passing generation. Up a red freckled brick wall that belonged to a buzzing strip club the wandering gaze of the lens flew, leaping into the air and leaving the tightly clustered stone and mortar buildings with their storm tattered shingled peaked roofs behind. The sight of the monoliths that nestled together in the center of the city dominated and demanded attention. These glistening towers of commerce and luxurious penthouse apartments were born of wealth and influence and selfishly served those needs alone. They were center pieces to the posh shops and highly acclaimed restaurants of the city that fell under their protective looming shapes. Here at least a modicum of order thrived and existed in the center of the surrounding chaos that plagued the great city. From perches upon these modern day feats of architectural wonder streaks of intensely colored light blasted upwards into the darkened wafting clouds that mingled above the towering sky scrapers. The wide and bright rays swung like a pendulums arms, warning away the nightly travels of planes that came and went from the flattened landscape of the vast international airport outside of the gigantic city. Neon glows, flashing lights, and blinking signs scattered the light of the rainbow throughout the sprawling winding city avenues. The roads spread like a maze, signs and bright lights pointing bustling traffic patterns in random directions that no stranger to this patchwork hell of pavement could make rhyme or reason of. Humble cars stood in silent protest as road warriors zipped in and out of lanes. They fought for turf as if every square inch of the streets was a battle ground to be conquered and claimed. The flashing lights of police cars and the accompanying wail of their sirens wormed their way through the stifling traffic. There was always something seedy or violent taking place, more often then not by the time they arrived they were left to deal with the mess. Bulky and white as ivory an ambulance sounded it's desperate horn as tires slid up over the curb and pounded across the cracked sidewalk. Pedestrians out to partake in the abundant plethora of options that the mystery of the night offered up scattered, granting passage to the frantically driven ambulance. It's tires hammered back down onto the road as it flung itself across a red lit intersection. Brakes slammed and tires screeched as the vehicle deftly muscled it's way towards the emergency wing of the Ladies Grace Hospital. That expansive building's domain claimed two whole blocks of land for itself, laying further claim over a third that served as containment for all of it's parking necessities. The wild wheels of the ambulance screamed to a halt as it arrived under the flood of yellow lights at the bustling emergency entrance to the hospital. Back doors flung open as blood speckled baby blue clad attendants hopped out and quickly drug an occupied stretcher out in their wake. The wheels extended and with a protesting squeak the tiny rubber tires were turned towards the parting doors of glass that led into the halls of her Ladies Grace. Get out of the way! A voice from one of the strapping attendants cried as he waved an arm frantically. Justicar coming through! Hold that elevator! The words fled and faded away as the revealing lens turned downward and plunged into the darkness waiting beneath a smeared and ragged set of roadside sewer grating. Wide grey concrete tunnels were moved by in a frenzied blur of spinning crazed motion. The stains left by the surges of waste that washed through the complex like tidal waves were barely illuminated by the motes of light that existed in the underbelly of the metropolis. The dank filth ridden waters that surged along guided the lens now. They splashed over ledges, falling into basins where other tubes collected. Plunging downward again through wider tubes that spiraled their contents along curving paths the eye was further led. The faint blue and yellow glow of the moon shown in the quickly approaching distance, illuminating the shape of a large grate that had been bent wide open by some immeasurable force. Through the stout grating the liquid waste of the city blasted out, leaving plastic and debris clumped in mass about the slick pried apart bars that the waters rushed past. The buzzing din of insects emerged as the churning foam coated dark waters of the pool of waste was moved away from by the onward travels of the weaving viewfinder. Deep greasy trash ridden waters gave way to shallower basins beyond the drainage bleeding out of the city. The ground rose up and dictated their meandering paths through the low lying treacherous bogs that owned this inhospitable stretch of land beyond the city. Twisting roots and limbs of cypress trees and locust varieties climbed upwards out of the mounds of thickly weeded soil and puddles of water turned into stagnant ichor. Chirping crickets blended their symphony with the unsettling drone like buzzing of mosquitoes. The thumping bass was provided by the rambling orchestration of croaking frogs and toads that lurked hidden in the darkened expanses of the murky swamp land. A single orange glow of flickering flames called for attention now. It's bright warmth was like a beacon in the darkness. The lens swung towards the sparsely wooded mound of earth that the flames illuminated and it's razor sharp focus narrowed upon that mostly barren stretch of small stable land. The maddening pace slowed immediately, as if the unseen exploration was hesitant with fear as the gazing lens advanced at a wobbly crawl. Wooden pallets and an old rusted out yellow engine hood from a cab were leaned together. Mud cemented in place these and other forgotten and discarded sheets of junk. They formed a piss poor shelter, one from which an imposing and large darkened scaly presence could be seen seated beneath. The ridged tail of the reptilian beast laid in a slow lazy curve along its side as the warmth of the fire barely reached the cold blooded killer. Sharp and dangerous claws ripped and shredded away at a still twitching and wriggling catfish that it's jaws salivated over. Teeth like knives tore chunks from the raw meal of scum dwelling fish. Dim yellow eyes narrowed and focused on the squishy snack that it would make quick work of. The gulping swallows of the Killer Komodo let out a gurgled pained sound as the ache from his ribs, a little reminder of his tangle with that hero called Justicar, brought his crackled lips to form a cruel smirk. The lens spun inward, drawn towards the vortex of the mutated creature's narrowed yellow eye. Darkness soon swamped the lens as it's sight was swallowed up by the blackness of the Killer Komodo's pupil. Hazed lights and features quickly emerged and soon began to take shape as draped ebony curtains hid the walls of a room and made it's expanse seem endless. The brilliant contrast of a light blue table cloth embroidered with a swirl of strange white symbols around it's perimeter stood out like the full moon in the pinpoints of mellow light that rose from several candles arranged upon the table. Long pale fingers adorned in archaic rings hovered over a foggy crystalline sphere that was settled near the figure of a woman in the darkness from whom those hands belonged. Her features flickered in the shadows that played through the chamber and as her vision ended her eyes resumed their more modest light blue hue. Last edited Oct 4, 2018