Quil Carter - Breaking Jade (A Companion Book To Fallocaust #1).pdf

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BREAKING JADE

A companion book to The Fallocaust Series: Book 1

By Quil Carter

by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission.

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

This is a companion book to Book 1 of The Fallocaust Series, it is extremely urged that you read Fallocaust Book 1 before

reading Breaking Jade, since this book does contain plot spoilers for the series. Seriously, don’t be that guy… no one likes that

guy.

This book is dedicated to AJ, who was a very special little cat.

Hug your kitty today.

BOOK 1

Imprisoned

Chapter 1

The blue ember was like a small sapphire sun, giving the room a pale ambience that was only

intensified by billows of menthol smelling smoke that seeped out of the cigarette.

It was Skyland made, the elite district hidden inside Skyfall. Though what Tiger of Nyx was doing with

even one of them the thief didn’t know. Perhaps it was an attempt to show off his wealth, though if this

was the case he was flaunting his feathers at the wrong guy. Throwing around expensive novelties only

made Jade suspect this man felt he had something to prove. A novice mistake that usually ended up getting

them betrayed or robbed.

Tiger picked up a small music player, a Discman, and turned it on. The CD whirred in its plastic case

and the high timber of music through headphones broke the smoky silence in the room. The fence nodded

and placed it into an adjacent pile. The only things that remained in the pile were VHS tapes and a gold

ring.

He looked at the last several items and adopted a look of disinterest. He blew silvery smoke onto the

pile and made a disappointed clucking noise with his tongue.

That’s it? That’s what he does to try and drive down the price? Surely he doesn’t think I am that

stupid. Jade resisted furrowing his brow, instead he took a puff of his own cigarette. It had a red ember

like every other smoke that wasn’t Skyland made.

Tiger opened the VHS tape of Independence Day and checked the ribbon. Jade knew it was perfect

though, he had already checked. The fence tsked and slid it back into the faded cardboard case.

The fences were all cut from the same cloth. If it wasn’t Tiger trying to screw him, it was Badger, and

if it wasn’t Badger it was Shark. They were all the same, and the dance they all insisted on doing got

tiring after awhile.

“Twenty dollars,” Tiger said, stressing his obviously fake Russian accent; someone had been watching

too many movies. Though it could have been worse: Shark liked talking like a mafia don. It was hard to

try and keep a straight face when he was doing business with that joke.

“Thirty, or just leave it,” Jade said flatly. Though the other thieves liked bargaining, it annoyed Jade to

no end. The aura and atmosphere around him made him tense, and he disliked being in such a dark room

with people he didn’t know. If they would meet in his turf, on his game board, sure - kick back, have a

beer and shoot the shit. But this was Nyx, the middle class district of Skyfall. There were thiens around

and unlike the ones in Moros, they didn’t turn a blind eye to the black market.

When the fence glanced up at him, the cigarette clenched between his teeth, Jade didn’t even blink.

Wavering was for rookies and he had been tempered to this since he left the orphanage.

Tiger stood up and took another inhale before offering the smoldering tailor made to Jade.

Jade took it without hesitation, the blue flame turning his golden eyes green as he inhaled. Skyland

cigarettes were smooth and sharp and didn’t make you feel like you’ve just inhaled drain cleaner like the

Moros smokes. Inside Jade felt his stress dissipate under the tangy nicotine.

“Your eyes, they freak me out.” Tiger’s face turned into a sneer. “So I cut you a deal just to get your

face out of mine.” With a flick of brown hair streaked with blond he turned around and motioned for a

nearby woman to come closer. The woman was dressed in a very revealing outfit and was obviously a

slave. She walked towards Tiger and waited to be instructed.

Tiger handed her a bag before wheeling himself back to the counter that separated thief and fence.

Jade eyed the bag, but what its contents were was beyond him, though it better be good.

“Twenty, no more bargaining. But just so you feel like you won, since I know how you Morosians are,

I’ll throw in some fruit to seal the deal.”

He knew what I liked... he must have talked to Shark before he started filling in for him.

Jade blew the smoke from his mouth and handed the cigarette back. “What are we talking about?”

Tiger gave him a smile, his steel teeth sparkling blue hues from the cigarette’s reflection. The thick-

necked Nyxian looked proud of himself, though why was anyone’s guess. Fruit was worth more in Moros

than money. When the diet in the slums was tact, ramen noodles, drugs, and alcohol it was hard to get the

nutrients the body needed. No one sold fruit or vegetables in Moros, it all had to be stolen or bought for a

huge mark-up in Nyx or the surrounding districts.

This resulted in most Morosians looking like thin, boney skeletons. Grey-faced and sunken-in like they

were addicted to drugs, which in some cases they were, but even the straight shooters had a look to them

that told you death was only a cold winter away.

At least in Edgeview Orphanage they had vitamin shots, most of the kids grew up looking decent

enough. Not stunted at least, like some family-raised kids, but once you hit thirteen you were out on your

own. Because of that most people peaked at about thirteen.

“You’ll like this, Shadow.” Tiger waved a hand and one of his pets came forward with a small plastic

bag. The pet handed it to him before disappearing into the corner of the room.

Jade looked inside, two peaches and two plums. He hadn’t had those in a while.

Jade took the bag and gave Tiger a nod. After an exchange of money and goods Jade walked back to

his bicycle. It would be an hour long bike ride back to Moros, but his pockets were full and he had a good

dinner for him and Kerres.

In all respects it was mission accomplished, though it was never enough for the golden-eyed Morosian.

Even though his jacket pockets were full of his spoils his eyes automatically fell on every lit window he

biked past. They all sung to him like angels from the heavens, suggesting what wonderful treasures could

be nestled inside, just ripe for stealing.

What would Kerres say if I came home with a milk crate full of peaches for him?

Jade’s eyes

followed a slightly ajar window, behind a concrete and barbwire fence he knew he could climb. Nyx was

just asking for some thievery, but no, he had to get home.

Patience wasn’t one of Jade’s strong points. When he saw an opportunity he went for it head first, but

this time he kept turning the pedals on his bike and left the riches of Nyx for the next visit. It wasn’t for

self-control, or even because of his success fencing his goods. It was because of the interesting man he

met the previous day.

Jade drew his hood over his head as he felt the first droplets of rain on his neck. The man he had met

would be taking shelter under the Hallon Bridge tonight. The suspension bridge that connected Nyx and

Eros over a river long since turned to murky ripples of ghoulish brown. The man, a pensive sort with a

chip on his shoulder, had given him the most fascinating information.

It was the fact that he was so close to Eros which had first captured Jade’s interest, and his appearance

was confirmation that he might actually be serious.

The man wasn’t a slumrat like Jade; he was blond, slight, and beautiful with tawny eyes and white

teeth. He looked the part of being a servant for the chimeras. If he had been another dirt streaked waster in

ratty clothing, Jade would have told him to fuck off.

The class difference between the elites, the middle class, and the slummers was distinct. Everything

from their looks, to the way they spoke, to how they dressed was different. The elites draped their healthy

bodies in new, fitted clothing suited to their status. They lived in refurbished homes without mould and

water damage, and dined on fruit and vegetables. They were living the good life in the Fallocaust.

Jade’s throat tightened. Though it was jealousy he was feeling he would never dare admit that fully to

himself. Instead he reminded himself over and over again that they were nothing but soft, pampered rich

fucks who knew nothing of suffering; nothing of having to struggle just to stave off rickets and starvation.

The only people who had it rougher were the greywasters, though at least they could scavenge anything

they wanted out there. They just had to risk getting their faces gnawed off by the crazy people, or worse

yet King Silas’s monsters. They were still poor as dirt though, with a life expectancy of around thirty-five.

Or at least that’s what the merchants he knew had said.

It was one of those merchants that had directed him to the man under the bridge...

Jade felt a quiver in his heart as he ran a hand over the breast pocket of his jacket. An electric

percussion that filled him with a bright, shuddering anxiety. He pushed it down with a discipline he only

liked to imagine he had and carried on towards Moros.

It was a long bike ride, but it was warm for at least a few more months. He, Kerres, and his friends

had survived the last winter, though barely. The next one would be worse - every year it was worse. No

matter how much fruit he fenced for himself and Kerres it never seemed to be enough. Like every other

Morosian they were slowly starving, slowly dying.

When the black-haired Morosian finally pulled into the long alleyway to their apartment, he heard an

all-too-familiar voice called from a recess in one of the buildings.

“J, you want something to warm you up tonight?”

Jade gave him a glance, and got off of his bike; his dwelling was near enough anyways.

“What do you have today?” Jade glanced in all directions to make sure a thien wasn’t in bothering

distance and ducked into the alcove. A fire exit for a building whose upper half was just a shell of metal

beams.

“Opium, weed, meth, got crack too, Skyland quality, bro.” Fiere dropped his voice.

Jade had no desire to stay up for the next three days, and crack was always too addictive. He bought a

small lump of opium and a dime bag of weed for the weekend. With the drugs, fruit and newly earned

money in his pocket he made his way up the rubber-coated stairs of their apartment building. No one

could say he was returning empty-handed. He felt like a pirate in the pre-Fallocaust days, his body fully

stocked with stolen loot.

Jade reached into his pockets and dug out his keys. He unlocked the apartment door and walked in.

The apartment was small, but for the two of them it was a perfect size. One bedroom, small kitchen

they only used to boil ramen water, and a den. For a Moros apartment it was in fair shape, the paint was

half scraped off, the couch old and torn and the cabinets warped from water damage and mould. The rent

was low though, fifty bucks a month and it included electricity and running water: cold and hot.

As he hung up his jacket and took off his shoes, he immediately sensed the aura of his boyfriend. It

always seemed green to him, like the hues the ocean used to get on a sunny day. It felt like a cool breeze

inside his mind whenever he was near it. It’s what attracted Jade to Kerres when he had first been put into

the care of Edgeview. A breath of cold ocean air in the throes of his sickness, he could almost taste the

sea salt.

Sure enough, his boyfriend turned his head and gave him a smile. He had hair-sprayed his reddish

brown hair today, which meant he must’ve been at the bar earlier, the faint aroma of alcohol only

confirmed it.

“You look successful.” Kerres got up and gave him a welcome kiss, he took the bag of fruit from him

Quil Carter - Breaking Jade (A Companion Book To Fallocaust #1).pdf

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