Red Acre: Prologue 2 The Legend of The Shroud

RED ACRE: PROLOGUE 2

A Collab Adventure by Deviants Yoshumari and eatmydust64


Prolougue 2: The Legend of The Shroud
Northern Seam City: February 19, 1852

"Why yes; I do believe a juncture between our factories would be an upmost business opportunity." a wide older dark skinned man said, casually laying down the proposal page and looking up to his counterpart. The other man was thin and tall; A Seam insignia adorning his chest demanded respect for the words spoken in this business venture.

"Yes a congruence of our two business would lead our organization to a much fonder future. The man replied giving a nod while the darker skinned man lit a cigar, and blew out a puff of sweet smelling smoke.

"So then shall we convene this joint venture in a week when the papers can be put in order?"

"It would seem as such, given your ambition to join the two companies" The Seam official replied.

Not far off in a room above where the two men spoke, a young boy at the age of twelve sat on his bed: thoughts swirled through his mind concerning what was about to happen to his life. He had grown up in the wealth of his father, the owner The Zrey Steam Company which long ago had built the entire pipeline system of Seam City and managed those pipelines for every citizen. The Boy's father, an excellent businessman, had never really desired for anything more than money. He too had grown up in wealth seeing only the benefits in riches as a means to join his family fortune with a government power. After all, they would now be protected; what could possibly go wrong?

Despite being so young, this boy knew much: he knew of The Seams intentions, and what they planned to do with the Zrey family’s intelligence and construction of pipelines. The Seam was now a factory turned world power and they intended to show the world that by any means they could. But how did a boy so young acquire the information to figuratively spy on The Seams doings? His family ran the pipelines, which gave him total access to the Seam City underground. In that mess of pipes and sewers, careless words meant for a specific set of ears often drifted. The Boy had heard stories down in those tunnels, stories of the ancient times, of outlaws, and one in particular that interested him: the Story of an assassin that would come to aid of those in need, punishing evil doers for their misdeeds. Oh how he wished this hero of justice would just show his face.

How could his father not see the tricks they played on his family? Did his father not know what he was getting himself into?  The boy couldn't bare to face the official, or even his parents for that matter: it only filled him with more distain at his current life. That night, he ventured through his window, following the familiar paths to the same hidden Pipeline entrance behind an old bar. As he lifted the latch, he caught a fading whisper from somewhere down below. Was it the sound of a steam engine being brought to life? There were no engines down in these tunnels, only broilers and those who couldn't find homes on the surface of Seam City whom were forced into extreme poverty, living within the broiler rooms for warmth and safety was the only alternative. Hardly a place for a Boy of his caliber to be meandering around, yet to the boy it, was a far greater place than in the hands of The Seam.

As the Boy descended, the sound of a Warcog rang in his ears from somewhere not far off. Curious things Warcogs: a powerful creation of the Seam intended for security and peace, heavily equipped with armor and weapons eventually tuned for extermination and intimidation for those who didn't follow the laws. They run autonomously, like the fabled Necro Gears said to be living somewhere off in the desert, only these are far superior in not only firepower but intelligence. The four legged armored beasts wielded two large guns more akin to cannons. Each of such used superheated steam to power bullets capable of piercing through solid steel walls.

A voice broke the autonomy of the machine’s gears and steam hissing through the pipelined sewers, making the boy pull back to the shadows and peek cautiously around the corner to see two Seam officers walking with the Warcog.

"Ya think they'll actually done do it? I mean conjoin these here caves with us?"

Another voiced chuckled before speaking, his voice projecting with an upward inflection at every turn, "Of course, for it is our nature to be so endowed in this here city with such a meaningful resolution."

"Well I think its mighty tricky fo' them to be askin' of such. Why not just take it?" The other replied while plopping down on a sturdy piece of pipe, causing the Warcog to stop its movement foreword and start scanning the area while the other officer remained standing.

"They mean to take these here pipelines." He responded fanning his arms out and turning to the massive array of pipes above his head. "An alliance is a fools game to ensure that Mr. Zrey does not in the least feel suspicious on our intentions."

The Boy could not believe what he was hearing, could this possibly be true? Why did they mean to take over everything? The Boy found himself wishing for one thing, a spectral assassin of the city to come to his aid and punish these wrongdoers.

The Boy stepped closer, but before he knew it he had made a sound. A few pipes stacked lazily against the wall had been nudged ever so lightly were sent crashing to the ground making the Warcog instantly hone its cannons in on William’s position.

"D'ju hear that?" the officer sitting whispered with a hiss. The other instantly told him to be quiet, signaling for them both to take out their own steam powered revolvers. These weapons held a chamber of compressed steam, that when clicked into the pistols holster began a process of heating up instantly. Only able to fire six shots before having to reload the canister, they were in no doubt powerful weapons of their own.

"I think we might have our own rat amongst the mist" The second officer said loudly, turning a corner to see  a young boy standing frightened under the trained aim of the Warcog.

"And who then might you be boy?" The fear of the scene could be felt through the tension in the air; these officers knew what the boy had heard. His voice started slow and stunned, forcing the words past his lips.

"William. My family is joining up with this here organization." He began to back away as both officers moved in on him slowly. The Warcog, with is impenetrable stance, adjusted its guns with perfect precision.

"I think it's time we make a more loyal follower out of you. You see, infecting in on these here happenings of other men is not looked at to graciously in these parts. You hear me boy?" the first officer said with a stern, clenched jaw, shoving his stiff finger in William’s face.

"You know what, I reckon this is that Zrey boy we was just talkin' 'bout." The other officer added, taking a closer look at William before beginning to holster his pistol. The other guard switched his piston hold and stopped him mid motion.

"And what then do you propose we do in this here situation?"

"Well I reckon that we don't let him tell nobody 'bout what he just done heard." The first officer laughed in a deep and hearty voice

"My thoughts exactly." He took some steps toward the boy while drawing out a large copper baton, swapping it for his revolver and lightly tapping in his palm.

"Boy, I'm about to tell you something you won't soon forget. The Seam ain't no charity collaboration; we are an empire. I do not infringe the fact that we are above what you may call laws son."  William was backed into a wall, the two ominous, burly officers raining down upon him.

"If he so desires to be put in with that lot of the slums of this city, then he so desires their same punishment for insubordination." William only saw a flash of metal as he slipped out of consciousness and into the blackness of agony.

~~~~~~~~~~~

William  woke in his bed, ice packs and bandages wrapped around his body. He was bruised, with certainly more than one thing broken, and if not, surely close. A strange man standing with his face to the window, turned and spoke as William regained consciousness.

"Good to see that you have come back to our land of the livin'. Would’ve hated to see you go out in such a disgraceful manner." William couldn't get over how familiar this man looked, there was something about him he had seen his face before. William's teeth clenched in anger and was about to shout, before a swift, strong hand was upon his face keeping him silent.

"But for one to be so fortuitous as to have an Officer of the Seam come to ones aid in the danger of the slums, well, I'd say that's a mighty fine man that works for an equally equivalent organization." William, although young, understood what he was trying to say. They had made it look as if he had been wandering around the slums of Seam City, like he was some stupid boy! But try as he might, he could not break free of the man's grip in this condition.

"Now when I let you be to your own freedoms, you'll be a good child and obey these rules imposed upon you. Live with your wealth boy, it's all you've got!" The man hissed with a growl as he removed his hand and William merely sat in disbelief. How could he say that he had been down in the pipelines and sewers of Seam City and had heard the plot they had uttered? He wanted to scream out, to yell, tell someone what had happened; but there were no words. Who would believe him? The Seam was merely an organization that ran many cities, and in the light of most people's eyes fostered great change unto people that prior to their interjections would have the world in poverty or unconnected from the rest of society. The belief of the Seam was a just society, striving to be a collective of people. At least that's what the public was led to believe: a farce that for William had just been blown completely off.

"Oh if you so desire to call out, no one is here save you and I. The business meeting was overturned to a more… illustrious setting." The officer left, devilishly smiling at William from over his shoulder. The silent words hanging in the air were that William had lost, and this officer, his enemy, had won.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night William sat at his window finding among his wounds and bruises, he still felt the power to peer though the streets that outlined their extravagant home in the richest part of the city. But just before William turned to head back to his bed to rest and wait for the impending next day to come ending family business existence, a flash of something caught his attention in the dark.

Before he could even react, a large figure loomed on the balcony outside his window. A tall man dressed in dark clothing, wearing only one redeemable article, a red mask coving his face. Then it spoke, its voice deep and resonating behind its red feature.

"I hear there is trouble stirring in Seam city. You know of Red Mask; tell me your bidding boy."

William was so shocked that the words barely formed in his mouth. Could this be real? Could the assassin he had prayed for have finally arrived? Before William could think of his words, the pain in body and the emotional scarring on his mind yelled for him.

"Stop the deal!" The assassin rose from the window to its full height, pulling out a large revolver. The silver moonlight danced across the gold trim and solid black body as the assassin opened the chamber, and casually loaded one bullet at a time before flicking it closed before uttering to the Young Boy one phrase which sent a chill down William's spine,  "Whatever you say kid." William stood for a moment, an energy swelling inside him as the man swept past him. Who did he intend to kill? The answer came with a gunshot as William’s personal butler lie dead on the ground outside his window, the assassin giving a short sign of his finger for William to be quiet, before tearing off into the darkness.

Before William could think he was fighting though the pain he had received, and charged into his father office to get the small single shot pistol hidden in a secret drawer at the base of the main desk. William had only seen his father open it once but he knew it was there, and knew what it could be used for. The Assassin had been mistaken; he didn't know who to kill! William had to stop him before it was too late.

Stumbling down his stairs and through the front door William traveled, running into posts and tripping over his own feet. The beating he had received had left his usual excellent physical ability null, making every step a struggle.

William thought of what the Seam officer had said, knowing full well the only place such a meeting between these two powers could occur. As fast as he could he made his way to the Seam’s grand Hall in the center of the city; a place fortunately close to Williams home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arriving at the scene, William’s grip on the revolver slipped and clattered to the ground. The scene around him was life scarring, he couldn't believe it. Every person in the Grad hall was dead, even one of the high ranking Seam officers was gone. A single bullet hole screamed its crimson repose on the front of his skull leading to the exact spot William was standing in. The rest had been cut to ribbons with precision cuts from an unknown assassin; no more bullet holes.

William fell to his knees in a daze, head spinning until he heard footsteps and guards shouting outside the main hall. Among a million other thoughts drowning his mind, the natural impulse to survive took over. Slowly he got to his feet, body reacting on mere instinct: he had to live, he couldn't just die here. People had to know!

Gunfire chased him as he flew through a window, crashing to the ground to find the assassin standing there, gun trained on some unknown object. William took aim with the pistol that had miraculously been in his hand and fired on the assassin, who fired in return away from William. The gurgling of a man could be heard as the last few breaths of his life escaped from his lungs: Red Mask had killed another Officer. The assassin keeled over, before tearing out a knife and lunging at William who was now pinned against the ground, the weight of a very strong man holding him down and a knife trained on his face.

"Don't tell me you didn't ask for this: You wanted them dead, you wanted them all dead."

"I hate you!" was all William could shout before the knife was shoved through his eye, causing him to scream out in pain, rolling on the ground watching his enemy, Red Mask, silently slip away.

"He flew through the window!"

"Someone check outside!"

"My god, someone call a medic, now!"

"Where is he!"

"Catch him now!" The pain in William’s eye amplified his went, his need to survive and remain alive, was now the only thing keeping him on his feet. But if he were caught then all of that would come to an end. So he did the only thing that he could think to do through the fog of pain; William ran.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The boy didn't die, Red." A voice said from the shadow of the alley.

"Not to worry my friend, he needn't. After all who was the one who did the killing?" Red asked, pushing aside his mask just enough to allow access to his lips so he could light the cigarette. And breathe a long drag.

"Well yo-"

"William Zrey." Red replied, holding out his hand and tapping the side of the cigarette to shake the ashes loose.