[A Lamb in a Cage] 6 – Shantytown

Following the directions given to us, we headed down several different streets and over several bridges to different floating islands before we eventually reached one of the many skylines of Columbia. The skylines were like inversed trains in the sky, with skyline tracks going over, under, around, and through a large portion of Columbia, carrying shipping containers, passenger containers, and even people through the use of the new magnetic sky hooks.

The skyline ride cost us a few Silver Eagles, but I paid a bit more to get us some privacy in the back of the cart in one of the two rooms. 

Each cart was designed with a front cab for the operator, a deck for transporting cargo or people, and a back room with a good view of everything around and some cushioned seating. As the rides were short, most were not willing to pay the price, so Booker and I were the only ones in the small room while the rest of the passengers loitered on the deck.

"Tell me more about these...Vox," Booker asked, looking out to Columbia.

"They are freedom fighters, seeking equality and justice for the crimes and mistreatment against them from the white upper class of Columbia. They are insurgents, willing to fight to get the rights they deserve and wage a hidden war against Comstock and his soldiers. Unfortunately for the Vox, they are losing. They do not have enough guns, equipment, or food to face Comstock and his soldiers. As it stands, our best bet for taking down Comstock is helping the Vox Populi, and we can do that by combining our expertise. You were a soldier; if anyone can help get them into shape, it would be you and Slate," before I could continue, Booker interrupted me.

"Slate? He's here?" Booker asked, surprised.

"That's right, and from what I know, he's also an enemy of Comstock and is held up in the Hall of Heroes, our next stop after the Vox. For my plan, we will need him and his men to defeat Comstock alongside the Vox, understand?" I asked before continuing from where I left off, "You and Slate should be able to get the Vox into fighting shape while I get to work on supplying them with everything they might need. If all goes well, we will be ready in a week," I explained to Booker.

"You? How would you supply them with anything?" Booker asked with confusion.

With a sigh, I answered with action rather than words, waving my hand.

Before Booker, at the center of the room, a tear of a barrel full of weapons and a few boxes of ammunition appeared lying around it. 

"As you can see, I'd easily be able to supply them with the weapons, armor, ammo, medicine, and whatever else they might need to arm themselves against Comstock, any more questions, Booker?"

Although he didn't say anything else during the ride, I could tell that he was nervous. I remembered what he would tell me in the future.

"Are you afraid of God, Booker?" I asked. 

"No, but I am afraid of You," He answered with a grim expression.

Shaking my head with a sigh, I ignored Booker's fear. 

"Come, just a few more blocks till we reach Shantytown," I gestured towards Booker, who was still staring at the tear in deep focus.

With a sigh, I closed the tear, making the items disappear, but not before grabbing a simple pistol from the barrel and tossing another to Booker with some extra ammo clips. Now that he was adequately focused on the task at hand, we both climbed off of the small cart and down onto one of the many stations situated across Columbia and began making our way once again to Shantytown. As we neared, I noticed a significant increase in the population of the lower caste and noticed that quite a lot of the area was already obviously not as well maintained or clean as the other parts of Columbia we had traveled through so far.

The streets were filthy, covered in trash, and damaged by the lack of maintenance and poor materials used to construct the roads, buildings, and even the island itself. The other islands we stood upon were smooth and stable, but the island we were upon? It rumbled at times, nearly causing me to lose my footing several times. It was as if this particular island was only given the bare minimum required to keep it floating in the sky.

Whatever I imagined Shantytown to be like before, my assumptions were only downright pleasant compared to what lay before me. People lived on the streets, starvation and malnutrition were rampant, and many looked to be on the brink of death with how sickly they looked. The atmosphere was...Grimm and I noticed a great, and many glares were sent our way.

"Booker, keep an eye out; as much as I want to be optimistic, there are plenty of desperate people living here who may see us as easy targets for Silver Eagles or targets for their grievances," I warned Booker, keeping an eye out myself but focusing on going forward, deeper into Shantytown.

"How will we find the Vox?" Booker questioned, concerned.

"We won't; they'll find us," I explained, having already devised a plan to arrange a meeting with a representative.

As we headed further and further into Shantytown, the things we saw only continued to get worse. Crime, theft, murder, and so much worse. But I kept my mouth shut. We couldn't intervene here, not yet. First, we'd need a base of operations, and while not in the best conditions, it wasn't hard to find a somewhat secluded abandoned building where we could set up.

"Booker, would you mind making sure the area is clear? I'm going to start opening tears," I politely asked Booker as I let loose on my hold over my power. 

Before, tears would open haphazardly around me as I did not have any control over my power with the constant drain from the Siphon that sent tears opening up around the city. Still, since the Siphon was destroyed and most of the stolen energy was returned to me, tears stopped opening up across Columbia or even around me, at least the tears I didn't intentionally open myself, that is.

Since my powers returned in full, I had been bottling everything up, trying to keep total control. I even went as far as to block my perception of most of the tears around me, as, to be honest, I nearly collapsed the first time I dared to look at what lay outside of our tiny little world. How my other counterpart managed to stay sane after having used her powers to the fullest and become the last Elizabeth, I did not know. Having absorbed a seemingly infinite number of other Elizabeths, the Elizabeth I witnessed should have gone insane, her mind shattered and broken from the sheer amount of minds that poured into hers.

Whether it was willpower or some other effect that helped her stay in control, I did not have that luxury. So, I opened my senses to only a fraction of what I could see, seeing the countless tears I could open and what lay on the other end.

A warehouse filled with goods, a homeless shelter, a factory, a clinic, and a barracks, the area around me started to shift and shake due to the sheer number of tears I was opening and bringing things into the warehouse. Crates and crates of food, medicine, automatons, and then I stopped at one tear. A storage warehouse for an excess of vigors.

A smile of glee came to my face as I pulled and tore through the fabric of reality that blocked my path.