The Hollow Warden

Jarek's sprint through the rain-soaked streets of the Shatterzone was a blur of neon lights and jagged shadows. The shard hummed insistently against his chest, a pulse that felt almost alive. Behind him, the distant sounds of pursuit echoed through the alleys, the hum of drones, the barked orders of security teams scrambling to recover their stolen prototype.

He ducked under a collapsed scaffolding, his boots splashed through ankle-deep puddles as he weaved through the labyrinth like streets. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning garbage and wet concrete. Almost making him miss his time in the facility. He ran through the alleyway nearby, where a group of scavengers paused their rummage to watch him pass by, their pale faces lit by the faint glow of makeshift fires lit nearby.

The shard pulsed harder now, and Jarek's thoughts grew tangled. The rhythmic beating seemed to transfer his consciousness to the doors of an unknown precipice. The whispers from earlier in the facility returned once more, they were faint but persistent, threading through his mind like needles. His head felt like it was beating and going to explode at any moment.

"Power... sacrifice... destiny..." These word echoed in his mind repeatedly.

He stumbled, his balance faltering as the weight of the shard pressed deeper into his thoughts. Shaking his head violently, Jarek tried to force the strange sensations to the back of his mind as though his the thoughts would fly out of his head if he did that, he knew that he had to focus on the path ahead.

"Fuck not again, not now, shit, shit, shit!" he cursed through his gritted teeth. Jarek began to almost regret his decision to take on this mission. But the payout was near and he desperately needed it to ease Lira's condition.

Jarek rounded the corner, as he saw the familiar neon glow of Tek's shop, its flickering sign barely visible through the pouring rain. He pushed himself through the final stretch, his breath ragged as he flung himself through the metallic door and into the safety of the cluttered shop.

Tek was hunched over the console at the back of the shop, hidden behind a tower of junk metals. He was working on some mechanical limbs that could be used as prosthetics, the green glow of the holograph screen reflecting off of his facial features. He looked up as Jarek entered, his expression shifting from annoyance to alarm.

"What the hell, Jarek, you look like you just ran through a pool ," Tek said, straightening. "Where is it?..." he asked, his voice trailing off.

Jarek pulled the shard from his jacket and placed it on the nearest workbench. Its glow filled the room with bright lights, casting strange, shifting patterns all over the walls. Tek's eyes widened as he stepped closer, his usual smirk replaced by something more cautious.

"That's it?" Tek asked, his voice low. "This little thing's worth fifty grand?"

"I don't know, you tell me" Jarek asked, slumping into a chair. "And a whole lot of trouble." he added.

Tek reached for the shard, but stopped just short of touching it, his fingers hovered over its surface. "It's... alive, isn't it?" Tek asked, genuinely curious.

Jarek snapped his head at him sharply. "What do you mean, ' it's alive'?" Jarek asked evidently baffled at the thought.

"I mean," Tek said, gesturing vaguely, "this isn't just some fancy tech. It's... something else. Look at it. Feel its pulse." Doesn't it remind you of a heartbeat?

Jarek didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the shard, its glow flickered softly in tandem with the faint hum that was still reverberated in his chest.

"I don't care what it is," he said finally, his voice flat. "You've got the buyer right? Get rid of 'it' as soon as possible. That things might more trouble than it's worth" Jarek said.

Tek hesitated, his gaze flicking as his head turned between Jarek and the shard. "Are sure about that? This thing's more than just a payday, Vayne. It's..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Hell, I don't even know what it is. But it's something big. ...I can feel it." his voice trailing off.

"I'm not interested in 'big,' Tek," Jarek snapped, his exhaustion bleeding into his tone. "I did the job. Now pay me." he demanded his payment.

Tek held up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No need to bite my head off. Here's your fifty grand, as promised."

He turned to the console, tapping at the screen. A few moments later, a notification sounded, signaling the transfer had been completed. Jarek checked his comm unit, and confirmed the payment before rising to his feet.

"We're done here," Jarek said, heading for the door. He let out a sigh of relief on his way out.

"You sure you don't want to know more about this thing?" Tek called after him. "You're walking away from something big, Vayne. Bigger than either of us." Tek tried to convince Jarek.

Jarek paused in the doorway, glancing back over his shoulder. "'Bigger' usually means trouble. And that's the last thing I need on my agenda."

He stepped out into the rain without another word, pulling his hood up against the downpour. The neon-lit streets lay sprawled before Jarek, but his thoughts were still not in the present. The shard's whispers still lingered in the back of Jarek's mind, they refused to fade away completely. Jarek wondered if the whispers would stop soon as he would not be able to get anything done with whispers in his mind all day. He began to walk but it was clear his steps were not focused as he almost stumbled into a puddle.

Soon enough Jarek disappeared into the shadows, Tek stared back at the shard, a mix of curiosity and unease flickering across his face. He reached for it again, his fingers trembling slightly as he made contact with the shard.

The shard's glow flared brightly stinging his hand, "shit" Tek jerked his hand back with a curse. He stared at his palm, it was now tinged faintly with the shard's light, his signature grin crept back onto his face.

"Bigger than both of us, huh?" he muttered, to himself, his voice tinged with nervous excitement. " I guess we'll know in a matter of time. Let's see what you're really worth." he said to the shard as if it was alive.

A few minutes later, Tek walked over to a box to grab a screwdriver and a soldering bit to open up the shard and see what it was about but when he returned, the shard was gone. "What the fuck?" . He began frantically searching for the shard underneath the tables. After searching among the rubble for a while and still not finding the shard, he stood in the middle of the room completely flabbergasted.

Just then, Jarek returned to the shop, the shard in his hand. The expression on his face a mirrored reflection of Tek's. They were both dumbstruck.