I saw Blade Runner 2049 on Sunday, so that’s where this came from. I’m not sure it’s particularly great, but I have a soft spot in my heart for cyberpunk noir that matches (or exceeds) space opera. Hope you enjoy!

Revolt (500 words) – written 10/10/2017

There was a hotel at the edge of town that no one visited anymore. It was a modest establishment powered by an aging solar network; enough to keep the lights on, but grime covering the panels and the incessant rain made them flicker like candles.

The result was a gloominess that couldn’t be replicated in the city. There it was all neon streets under gray skies.

Detective Breyta let out a deep sigh and squinted through the relentless sheets of water that pelted the windshield of her car. This has to be the place.

With a groan, she replaced dry silence with thundering wetness. Hunched against the rain, both hands sunken deep into canvas-lined pockets, she cursed the murdering psychopath that had wandered this far out.

An attendant met her at the front door, his worried face all the more harrowed because of the flickering lights. “Detective Breyta? Thank you for coming so quickly.”

She scowled and shook the rain from her coat. “My job. Now where’s the body.”

Taken aback by her curtness, the attendant blinked. “T-this way.”

The room was cramped, but murderers didn’t need much space to do their thing. The bed filled most of the room, so that’s where the body had been left, carefully arranged as if on display. The white sheets beneath the victim were stained with blood, but not from a crime of passion. Instead, the crimson strokes had been painstakingly crafted into an intricate pattern.

Wings? Breyta stepped closer and leaned over the bed. What else?

The vial immediately caught her eye. It was thin, no longer than a cigarette, and half full of a viscous liquid that caught the flickering light, reflecting it in a rainbow of colors. She immediately knew what it was.

Revolt. 

She took a deep breath and removed a thin slip of glass from her coat pocket. The screen sprang to life when her eyes focused on it. “Chief.”

A chirping tone issued from the device, then the screen darkened and a face appeared. “Breyta.”

She managed a thin smile. “I’ve got another one.”

“Fuck. Where?”

“This one’s far out.” She turned away from the bed. “Edge of the city.”

The chief frowned. “Fine. I’ll send a coroner out. You get back here. We have things to discuss.”

Breyta didn’t even have time to nod before the glass went dark. She shrugged and pocketed the device, then turned and walked into the hall.

The attendant was waiting, a look of apprehension heightened by the flickering bulbs. “So?”

She leveled a finger at his chest. “Lock the door. I’ve got people on the way.”

Before he could protest, she stalked past.

The Revolt killer had been an issue for weeks, but had never left the crowded confines of the city’s center. Something had changed. No doubt, that was what the chief wanted to discuss.

Breyta paused outside, under an overhang, and lit a cigarette. In the distance, she could see city lights.

And among them hid a killer…