PART TWO:  Night creatures

Inhabitants of System Colonna scurried away as the night cycle gradually began to appear.  It was too dangerous to be caught outside when the city grew dark.  It was only then that the difference between an infected sprite and a clean one was unnoticeable.  They acted just the same.   
Romy Verdana knew this, and tried to keep up with the quickly dissipating crowd.  She stayed in the shadows, letting her slim form become lost among the overturned buildings.  The soft click of her heels against the pavement was barely audible, but Romy knew that any sound on her part was a threat. 
She slowed to a more quiet pace.
She had been walking for a while when a shuffling noise off to her right grabbed her attention.  She heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her and glanced around anxiously, scanning the darkness as best as she could. 
A low laugh echoed throughout the deserted street, and was soon joined by two others, each one more high-pitched then the last.  The sound of chains and other metal objects hitting each other could be heard, but no forms could be made out from the blackness. 
Romy's maroon skin paled to a dull pink.  She turned around in circles, desperation starting to build within her.  The streets had already emptied out; she was on her own.
A tall boy about 1.8 emerged from the darkness and swaggered over to Romy, letting his eyes wander all over her body.  She was wearing a long dark cloak that hid her form, but by the way the sprite was leering at her, she may as well have been naked.
The two other sprites she had heard, appeared, each one brandishing a shiny knife. 
Romy swallowed painfully and nervously unsheathed a small blade hidden inside of her boot, waving it threateningly in front of her. 
The tall boy, the leader, snorted amusedly and gave his friends a cocky grin.  He turned back to Romy and nodded towards her pitiful weapon. 
"Now watcha plan to do with that, doll?"  He drawled lazily.
"Whatever I have to."  Romy replied, her voice cold and hard, despite the fact that her hand was shaking with fear.       
The sprite looked over his shoulder to his friends, and laughed.  "Did ya here that boys?  I think she's threatening me."
The other two sprites laughed in unison at the absurdity of the idea, making Romy cringe at the sound.
Then, before she realized what was happening, a hand reached out and slapped her, also knocking the knife from her hand and sending it sliding down the alley. 
"Ain't no woman gonna tell me what to do."  The tall boy spat.  Menacingly, he leaned forward and hit Romy again, forcing her to her knees. 
Romy blinked as the ground blurred in front of her, and let out a pathetic whimper.
The sprite reached down, and in one sweeping gesture, yanked off her black cloak. 
Romy felt the cold night whip against the skin exposed on her arms and legs.  Her dull black bodysuit was ripped in many places, and the little armor she could afford was dented and old. 
"Oh yeah baby,"  The leader murmured pleased at the prey he had found.  "We are gonna seriously party tonight."
Romy felt tears off horror sting her eyes as hopelessness grasped her. 
Never before had she ever felt so powerless.


            Matrix fired behind him three shots and then continued to run, darting quick glances at AndrAIa who was struggling to keep up.  He could see the cold weather was already getting to her, slowing her down.  So far, all of the systems they had visited had had a climate similar to that of Mainframe's.  Thoughts of AndrAIa catching a cold or something worse plagued his mind.     
"Andy,"  Matrix breathed, a bit out of breath from the long run.  "Maybe we should stop, and rest."
AndrAIa flashed her worried friend a smile.  "Sounds great, but it seems to me those virals chasing us are going to pose quite a problem."
Matrix nodded and then shot at a worn out abandoned building, sending chunks of it rolling down into the virals paths.  Two of the three tanks that had been pursuing them came to a screeching halt, the third, unable to stop, barreled straight into the rock pile.
The sound of metal crunching against rock followed the two sprites as they ducked into a nearby alley.  Soon, enough distance was put in between them that the virals angry curses could barely be heard.
AndrAIa stopped and leaned against a filthy brick wall to catch her breath.  After a couple of nano's she looked up to see Matrix staring intently at her. 
"What?"
Matrix looked away, a bit embarrassed.  "Uh, nothin'."
"No, really, what?  Why were you staring?"  AndrAIa persisted.
Matrix felt a hot blush begin to color his cheeks, and lowered his head to hide it.  "I wasn't staring."  He lied.  He waited until he felt the blush leave and then looked up to see AndrAIa smiling knowingly at him.  "What?"  He asked using the same tone she had before.
AndrAIa's smile widened.  "Nothin'."
Matrix sighed, and then laughed.
A shrill scream suddenly echoed through the alley, cutting him off.  AndrAIa sprang from the wall and took off down the alley, Matrix and Frisket right on her heels.