Requiem Read Online Free Page A

understood the human obsession with strip
clubs and alcohol. Humans can't even hold their liquor very
well.'
    'They're a last
resort.'
    'A last resort
for what?' he asked.
    'For those who
don't have enough money and for those who have too much.'
    He didn't
reply.
    'You said you
were trying to understand humans,' said Seline. 'So what does that
make you? An anthropologist?'
    'I guess you
could say that.'
    'I still don't
really understand why you would want to stay here.'
    'Perhaps for
the same reason you had avoided it. There are a lot of similarities
in our species yet for all that we share we've managed to arrive at
completely different outcomes. I find that fascinating while you,
for your own reasons, think otherwise.'
    There was
something in the way Sear spoke. The seriousness in his tone, the
lack of hesitation even in his moments of silence; it almost seemed
rehearsed. There was something recognisable in that. Something
painfully familiar. Recognising that the conversation might revert
back to her, Seline changed the topic.
    'I uh...
couldn't find any maps of Vale or Sinn on the exonet. It's as if
these places have been written out of history.'
    'NeoCorp
stopped publishing any detailed satellite information on these
areas a long time ago. Poverty and genocide make a fine business
model but aren't good for tourism... or a conscience for that
matter.'
    'So I've
heard,' said Seline.
    'You won't be
able to find any maps of these places unless you're willing to buy
something from the locals. For most of them, access to the exonet
is a luxury so you'll have to pay quite a bit. But it depends on
where you want to go.' He glanced back at Seline. 'So where was it
you were heading exactly? Most of the street names have probably
changed since you left. It's all pretty messy now.'
    'I don't really
have any memory of what the street names were anyway. All I know is
I'm looking for house seventeen. It's on twenty-third Street.'
    'That's not too
far from the city centre. We'll be going past it on our way in. I
can drop you there if you like.'
    Seline knew
that, even if Sinn was still mostly intact, she would not have a
clue which way she should be going. She would need help sooner or
later.
    'Alright,' she
said, then added. 'Only if it's not too much trouble.'
    He nodded and
remained facing the street.
    Seline
stretched her legs and rolled her head left then right until she
heard several deep, satisfying cracks from her neck. She was tired
from the hours of walking and waiting, from the questions and the
periodic bouts of talking. Accompanied only by the soft light from
the flaming barrel and the quiet company of a stranger and with the
heaviness of sleep suddenly upon her she closed her eyes and let
her mind drift.

The Rhythm of War Drums
     
    Her eyes opened
beneath a stream of pale light forcing its way through the cracks
in the wall. The wind whispered and sighed in the distance. She
swallowed. Her mouth and throat were dry. She opened her bag,
pulled out her drink bottle and held it in front of her eyes, still
blurred and glistening in their morning haze. She drank. The cold
of the water kissed her lips and sunk down into her stomach. It
slushed around inside her, reminding her that she needed to eat
something. It certainly wasn't coffee but it would have to do. She
heard rustling and the clang of metal from somewhere out in the
street.
    She pushed
herself up and looked down the stairs at the deep etchings that her
feet had walked through during the night. She slotted her feet into
the grooves as she descended and walked out into the street.
Derelict housing lined each side of the road, the buildings'
shadows just managed to stretch across it thanks to the angle of
the barely risen sun. The day was beginning to heat up already.
Sear was busy pulling boards and scraps of loose material away from
a large door on the bottom story of the previous night's
accommodation. Seline watched for a brief moment, wondering if he
had even