The Shallows were named for the lives the inhabitants lived; devoid of meaning, purpose, and depth. Fear was what kept them in line.32Please respect copyright.PENANAoJrWWheiWJ
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Even in his dying state, Aneurin Seele was proving willing to employ cruel methods to get his way. Authority machines rolled down the dirty streets, rumbling steel giants that crushed brick and anyone in their way into fragments beneath their mighty treads. These were the hammers of the Authority.32Please respect copyright.PENANAvLV2lwm8jt
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Unfortunately, that wasn’t a metaphor. Tanks were tearing through the entire slum, and the Authority was more than willing to level it to find its prodigal child.32Please respect copyright.PENANAXUjBCXcGfi
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Despite Elliot’s injuries, he and Austin had, for now, managed to evade Valerius in his meticulous hunting. The Tranq Dealer knew the slimy underbelly of Lumière in a way a Senior Surgeon never could.32Please respect copyright.PENANAXOFykN0lTG
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Things had gotten…complicated once the Ozic Society started searching. Neither Austin nor Elliot had any desire to be squished between two ideologies.32Please respect copyright.PENANAKODzodhlYI
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Thankfully, 33 Sedenfield Ave was an inconspicuous little dwelling. In many ways, it was Oriole: quiet, compact, and tucked into a section no one bothered to survey.32Please respect copyright.PENANANy1ghxJq2U
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“In here, mate,” Elliot panted. He stumbled through the doorway.32Please respect copyright.PENANAfWqkCbxj8P
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Inside were orderly living quarters better suited to a medical student than a drug dealer. A model of the brain shared a unit with a six-pack of purple bottles. A faintly sweet, pleasant smell that Austin correctly identified as Sevoflurane hung about the place.32Please respect copyright.PENANAk4B3GoQR01
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hung about the place32Please respect copyright.PENANAR6w7BqtASQ
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"How much Tranq have you got?" Asked Austin in bewilderment. 32Please respect copyright.PENANA8DbIKCZHe4
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"Enough o' the swill to give yer professor liver failure." He admitted sheepishly.32Please respect copyright.PENANAF4X7Y2GlFG
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"What are we going to do? I don't like letting Valerius smash everything in his way." Austin asked sadly.32Please respect copyright.PENANAfos1zfI6wE
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"Nothin," Elliot replied. "Look at this." 32Please respect copyright.PENANAt01Gh30OOR
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The older man wandered over to the cracked window and flung open the curtains. Outside in the gloom, a balding man was rocking to and fro violently.32Please respect copyright.PENANAKdPQKwnhrD
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"Poor sod; Ozics got him. We should be careful, mate." He said uneasily.32Please respect copyright.PENANAyGTuZvl0Ie
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"Can we hel-" the question died before it could fully leave Austin's mouth. The grim look Elliot shot him said it all.32Please respect copyright.PENANAMY0QCgrVDD
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A bottle shattered. Flames crawled up the house across the street. A petrol bomb.32Please respect copyright.PENANAcGDD15y8GF
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A deafening blast threw the pair to the ground, showering them in plaster. One of Seele's new toys, courtesy of the mayor most likely. 32Please respect copyright.PENANAU61V3v9qY6
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"Back door, now!" Elliot yelled.32Please respect copyright.PENANADmP9tkBq29
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Outside was a depressing little garden. All the grass was dead. Chunks of cheap masonry had been strewn about the place. Austin followed Elliot, who gasped through the agonising pain of broken ribs to keep on running.32Please respect copyright.PENANABWCGRUl8kQ
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"I've got a shortcut!" He huffed, cutting into a dingy alley. It reminded Austin of his first encounter with the unlikely ally. He had judged him wrongly, it would seem.32Please respect copyright.PENANAiu2ouKYDSW
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They emerged into a cobbled street blocked by an unmanned checkpoint. The caduceus symbol (⚚) was clearly visible; this was an Authority controller area.32Please respect copyright.PENANA6yFDtMrmI2
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Well, there was a single Grey-Coat. A private. His name badge read Josè Cadirez. 32Please respect copyright.PENANAGBDDyvtNOq
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"Oi Cadiz, ya want some free Tranq? Credits?" Elliot hollered at him.32Please respect copyright.PENANAXcYAgDrvpS
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"Elliot? It's been a while, friend." Cadiz replied casually, accepting a small sum of money. "What do you need?" 32Please respect copyright.PENANA8LatSJeesO
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"We ain't here if anyone asks."32Please respect copyright.PENANAMDh5Aiw6HD
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"Alright. Cadiz said, moving to allow them passage. Austin and Elliot paused to catch their breath in another tighter alley.32Please respect copyright.PENANAVie77FAlGn
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"We," he puffed, "are never doin' this again.32Please respect copyright.PENANA6HsMFgVYpr
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A familiar voice rang out, calm and crisp in the cold night air.32Please respect copyright.PENANAOBHJkr8eYW
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"Private, have you seen anyone this evening?" 32Please respect copyright.PENANAHb1OykubST
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Austin's blood boiled. It was Valerius.32Please respect copyright.PENANAFQ06Rakdzo
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"All clear, sir." Cadiz replied smoothly.32Please respect copyright.PENANAEbudtUxgj1
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There was a short pause.32Please respect copyright.PENANACYOm84lZXq
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"I don't believe you," Valerius retorted coldly.32Please respect copyright.PENANAu3EFu6J0P8
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There was a wet gurgling noise followed by the soft thud of a body hitting the ground. The Senior Surgeon must have skewered Cadiz with one of those nasty spikes.32Please respect copyright.PENANAt2uGN3oTVr
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Austin felt himself be dragged deeper into the alleyway by rough hands.32Please respect copyright.PENANA9i7SnuYFU9
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Elliot had produced a comically large needle from his trenchcoat. The viscous black fluid nearly made the former Black-Coat vomit. It was the active ingredient in Tranq, used in the purification procedure.32Please respect copyright.PENANAIdQJGoBEpH
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"Lethal dose," he muttered. Indee, it was; that amount could have sedated a rhinoceros.32Please respect copyright.PENANAoOu1PtAqPt
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A decently sized library was ahead. A man in a top hat stood in the middle of the road, brandishing an antique rapier of all things. Reggie.32Please respect copyright.PENANADE819BQb4u
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"Austin, my good friend! How do you fare on this lovely night?" The Ozic Society member asked politely. His monocle shone greedily in the moonlight.32Please respect copyright.PENANA4ODbajrzbp
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"This bloke put me out o' a job last year!" Elliot snarled, lunging forward with the needle.32Please respect copyright.PENANAZ09Ihog7LD
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The shocked industrialist failed to react in time.32Please respect copyright.PENANAfRYeecn21F
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"Oh..." was all the Ozic managed to slur before the powerful sedative put him to sleep permanently.32Please respect copyright.PENANAyBYZtdRmHA
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"Was that really necessary?" Austin asked grumpily.32Please respect copyright.PENANAhBsctTw30J
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"We ain't got time for duels with factory owners. Guy was an Ozic; he meant trouble." Elliot explained.32Please respect copyright.PENANAvLuv2ENZ98
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"Forget it," the younger man conceded, "I bet Oriole will be in the Library."32Please respect copyright.PENANAsSFOEGgnuR
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"Why hide in a Library?" Asked Elliot in confusion.32Please respect copyright.PENANAtaCl8p5zLq
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"Think."32Please respect copyright.PENANAzUHdyE840l
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He made the connection between the shy, academic girl he had met once, "Oh right. Bird likes books."32Please respect copyright.PENANAkhDhAGU97y
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Austin grinned at him, "You have no idea."32Please respect copyright.PENANAqvPf6hpyHm
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The Library was in disorder. Bookshelves had toppled over in the chaos, scattering tomes across the floor. As predicted, Oriole was perched, rather bird-like, on top of a bookshelf; she was engrossed in a book written by some obscure psychoanalyst called Jung.32Please respect copyright.PENANANXNOVeBN8J
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Oddly, she wasn't alone. A smirking middle-aged man with small, greedy eyes was with her. He wore an expensive suit and tie and had a golden Somatic Scar on his nose.32Please respect copyright.PENANAH7EEwPk2og
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He was probably a banker at best, a lawyer or solicitor at worst.32Please respect copyright.PENANAMoOWjMJRft
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Austin anxiously cleared his throat. Oriole looked up in fright.32Please respect copyright.PENANAQHJjabyNII
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Upon noticing who it was, she leapt down from and pulled him into a tight hug. 32Please respect copyright.PENANANxgLXJAJHt
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Her grey eyes narrowed at Elliot. She had not forgotten him, it would seem.32Please respect copyright.PENANAROmthEdE0n
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"W-what is he doing here?" She demanded nervously.32Please respect copyright.PENANAkvsosQ1FWk
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"Could say the same 'bout yer shark freind." The Tranq Dealer said defensively.32Please respect copyright.PENANAeD9eaa7jhc
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"It's an unpleasant story, Oriole; I'm just glad you're safe." Austin told her.32Please respect copyright.PENANAXSEnrSgsGA
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"This," she motioned at the Lawyer, "Is Sol."32Please respect copyright.PENANAHNoRnrsLB2
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"Who let this rabble in?" Sol scoffed. He adjusted his truly obnoxious cufflinks 32Please respect copyright.PENANAKbkyfvBGJR
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Elliot produced another needle. Austin tapped him on the shoulder and shook his head vigorously.32Please respect copyright.PENANAfNHb1FMVxQ
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"What's going to happen to us now? There are these horrible people looking for me; they burn everything in their way." Said Oriole in a weak, frightened voice.32Please respect copyright.PENANAvqPuK56Yms
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"City Gov't gave yer Da tanks, yer Ma is looking for ya and wants tae make City Hall go boom, and we're hidin' out in a Library. Not exactly ideal, miss." Elliot replied. Bluntly laying out the facts, including one that sent the young woman reeling.32Please respect copyright.PENANAO4mfV16PTF
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"Mama is...alive?" She asked quietly. Her fingers let go of the book. It fell to the floor with an echoing bang.32Please respect copyright.PENANAnVO0A0mDI6
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Austin nodded, "I met Laura Seele today. She leads the Ozic Society. You're like me: trapped between both sides." 32Please respect copyright.PENANAdPEtGMWncm
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The bird was out of her cage now. "If she catches me, she'll hurt me to hurt, Papa. There must be a third way!" She exclaimed, voicing exactly what Austin wanted: a moderate position between the Keloidic Authority and the Ozic Society.32Please respect copyright.PENANADyNfvZfCo7
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"I've been thinking about th-" he began in earnest. The lawyer, Sol, interrupted him to arrogantly put in, "Let me let you in on a secret that will save you a great deal of pointless effort,"32Please respect copyright.PENANAoW8NTwkaEz
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"Go on, mate." Elliot said, wincing a bit.32Please respect copyright.PENANANCq078NlJf
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The laywer fixed him with a withering glare as he told him, "There is no 'third way.' There is only the best deal. And I have yet to be made an offer that justifies the risk to this suit, let alone my person."32Please respect copyright.PENANAF8S72yJdBC
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Austin bristled. “So which is it then? The Authority or the Ozics?”32Please respect copyright.PENANAlTpR4KqKtF
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The Laywer smiled thinly before offering an infuriatingly diplomatic answer that dripped with scorn. "Whichever side protects my interests. Certainly not this band of idealistic fools.”32Please respect copyright.PENANABd3dijdg0Q
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"Yer no better than the Authority nor the folk who wanna smash it." Hissed Elliot angrily.32Please respect copyright.PENANAyY2ioJBv48
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"Touched a nerve, did I? A fallen enforcer and a drug dealer. How…quaint.”32Please respect copyright.PENANAkPEsXsD59Y
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"Enough!" Shouted Oriole. The steel of both her parents shining through now.32Please respect copyright.PENANA26aGMYI7SD
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Everyone jumped. The quiet woman's anger was something to respect.32Please respect copyright.PENANAgENYIvIIMo
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"We can't fight amongst ourselves..." She continued softly.32Please respect copyright.PENANAYSMqYzKrYk
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Austin agreed. He could hear a tank approaching. The intimidating sound of a Grey-Coat unit marching as one accompanied it.32Please respect copyright.PENANAHeyHwa5CE8
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In fact...32Please respect copyright.PENANA98HlD4jWjC
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They were outside the Library!
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Scars: Marks of the Mind
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Scars: Marks of the Mind
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ISSUE #7
Chapter Six
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Scars: Marks of the Mind
Fantasy
Dystopia
Dark
Last updated: Nov 28, 2025
Total word count: 12,109
Total reading time: 56 Minutes
Writer:
fantasy
magic
dark
supernatural
suspense
angst
dystopia
trauma
mentalillness
slowburn
philosophy
urbanfantasy
foundfamily
antihero
intrigue
pyschological
forcedproximity
morals
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gritty
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