Dream City

Chapter 1

Somewhere in the 22nd century

It was the worst city in the world, but I call it home. The city of dreams was a cesspool filled with crime and corruption; basically no one giving a shit. It was practically ruled by the pimps, the mob, and some corrupt cops wanting a piece of the action just to keep silent. Others have come here to get away from the rest of the world and blend in with all the other rejects. As a matter of fact, I happened to be one of them.

The name is Octane. Johnny Octane. You probably guessed it's not my real name which is no concern but my own. In another life I was a soldier, fighting in some third world country whose name I couldn't even pronounce. Now I earn my living as a bounty hunter; knocking a few heads and getting paid for it. I've taken down so many punks and freaks in this filthy town I lost count. It's a dirty job and I enjoy it.

Before my next hunt I'm on the rooftop of the very building I live in, drinking a cold one and getting a view of the very city that was once a paradise. Every evening I hear the sounds of police sirens passing through and the smell of heavy smoke from nearby fires.

Soon the wind kicked in, blowing at my long wavy locks and my leather coat flapping like a flag on a pole. After finishing my beer I placed the empty bottle on the edge of the roof and put on my shark's tooth earring for good luck. Now, it was time to have fun.

I loaded my sawed off shotgun and got on my fully fueled Porsche, beginning my pursuit on my latest target. The freak show's name was Terry Boughs, AKA Terry Tacks. He earned the name due to his annoying habit of stuffing people's mouths with rust covered tacks just for the hell of it.

This freak was locked up and committed time and again for months; he found ways in getting out of a jam and laying low. Tonight, his so called freedom was about to end. The idiot went too far this time when it came to his extracurricular activity by stuffing tacks in some kid's mouth. The price on Terry's head was five thousand and I was going to collect.

Terry stole himself an old jalopy, thinking he could actually run from me. With one hand on the wheel I fired my shot gun, hitting his tail lights when I was really aiming for the tires. He steered and I steered hard. He nearly hit pedestrians and I nearly ran over them. This was going to be a long night.

I fired another shot, shattering his back window. The frustrations kicked in a bit, forcing me to step on the gas and rear ending him. I took out the remaining tail light and continue to pound away on his ass. Still, Terry would not give up so easily.

Soon I came up with a crazy idea to end this chase. I punched up the digital screen below the dashboard, putting my vehicle on auto drive. I then planted my ass on the window sill of my door and fired away to put an end to this chase.

I fired two shots, deflating both rear tires, forcing Terry to lose control. I sat back down taking control of the wheel, watching Terry's vehicle tipped over and slid down thirteenth street, leaving a trail of sparks and the screeching sounds of dragging metal.

Once it was done I pulled over and stepped out, ready to greet my latest victim. Terry climbed down from the passenger side door, falling down on his knees, showing no signs in making a run for it. I guess he had enough for the evening and thought this was the same routine of getting locked up and walking away. Not this time and not on my watch.

Slowly, I approached him with my shot gun in hand, listening to that annoying laughter from that filthy mouth of his. When he saw me coming he stopped, only to give me one big smile from his nicotine stained teeth. Just looking at them sickened me.

"Okay", he said. "I give up. I surrender, officer."

"What was that?" I asked.

"I'm surrendering, officer."

"I got bad news, tack boy. I'm not a cop, but I am taking your ass in."

"Huh?"

"You hard of hearing, too? Read my lips, lame ass. I'm not a cop."

"You're not a cop? Then what the hell are you?"

"I'm a bounty hunter, and I get to take you in and get paid for it. Pretty cool, huh?"

"You're joking, right? You got nothing on me."

"You're wrong there. You went over the line hurting that poor kid, and there's a lot of people who want to see you locked up forever. Personally, I'd rather see you thrown in a tank full of barracudas, but you'd probably survive that if you're lucky."

"It's not my fault. The voices told me he deserved it."

"Right, and I'm late with my date with the Easter bunny. Get your ass up."

I dragged his ass up all the way to my Porsche. Unfortunately, I didn't have any cuffs or twist ties with me, so I went for the next best thing. I opened up my trunk and threw his lame ass inside.

"Are you crazy?" Terry asked. "You can't put me in here. You want me to suffocate?"

"Don't worry", I assured him, "there's an air hole somewhere. That is if you could find it."

"Wait."

I slammed the trunk shut before anything else came out of his mouth. I got back in my Porsche, ready to call it a night and celebrate my successful hunt. Even though I enjoyed the job the last few missions have been too easy. I needed a challenge once in awhile; someone who could actually make this job a lot tougher for me to handle. For now I was set to get paid and head on down to catch a show at the local night club. Tonight was sure to be a packed house and I'll be right there at the front row.