Edge of Innocence
By Ced Pharaoh, first published in The City: A Cyberfunk Anthology
While trying to save a group of kidnapped children, a man becomes captured himself and must figure out how to escape.
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Plot Summary
A man named Omega sees a group of children with two men in suits known as Mercs. The Mercs have captured the children and are escorting them to an unknown location. The children are heard defying and fighting against the Mercs but have no luck. Omega sees the trouble and tries to rescue the kids, but instead is knocked unconscious When he wakes up he sees two of the three children that were captured. The oldest's name is Ashla and her younger sister Monet. Omega learns that they are lost children among a bunch of other lost kids. Ashla and Monet were taken for slave trade most likely. They were taken when they wandered into a resort. People tried to protect them but were killed for their efforts. The children tried to run away from the resort but were still caught by the Mercs. Omega, Ashla, and Monet are guarded by a Merc. As they escape, they are able to lose him, but must figure a way out of the warehouse. Unfortunately, they run into a room where there is a young boy on an operating table; metal, transmitters, and other mechanisms in his body. The boy has a seizure and dies just as another Merc finds the trio. They are able to get away, Omega fighting off the Merc while the girls run. He tries to catch up with them, but they are long gone, leaving a note a drawing for Omega with a message "The River is flowing."