Factory

Slowly backing away from the street and into the mall's bottom floor, Factory happened upon an idea when she glanced at an arms dealer next to the entrance. With fear for her safety fighting away her shyness, she walked into the brightly lit store and glanced around at the tables.

Firearms of every kind were lying about or hanging on the walls, the more expensive of which sat inside glass display cases. Big ones, small ones, and lots Factory couldn't wrap her head around. She didn't know much about anything and even less about guns, but she knew that she needed something to protect herself with.

Moving away from a customer and directing attention to Factory, the fat and heavily armed owner of the shop approached her with a confused look.

"Can I help you with something?" the man asked in a low, almost growling tone.

"Um, I'm looking for something I can use for personal protection," Factory attempted to explain. "Nothing too big or complicated, but scary might be a good thing."

"Scary, huh?" the man repeated. "I've got scary. And it's simple."

Walking over to a table on the other end of the store, the man picked up a black revolver and a box of ammunition. Even though it was just a moment, Factory began to quietly panic as she stood there alone with other customers walking around. When the man returned to Factory, he sat down the items on a table next to her after pushing other items aside for room. The weight of the gun and ammo was demonstrated by how loud the placement was.

"Know anything about firearms?" the shop owner asked.

"No," Factory answered.

"It's not hard," he began explaining, taking the black revolver in his hand. "Press this here, and the rotating cylinder will swing out. Put six bullets in the holes and then snap it back in. You don't have to pull the hammer back manually to fire it, but it's easier to pull the trigger if you do. This thing's as old as they come but it's a lot cheaper and a lot less complicated than a coilgun or a laser rifle."

"Okay, that sounds simple enough. And it does look scary. How much?"

"I'll give you the gun and the one hundred bullets for two hundred dollars."

The revolver and box of ammunition were heavy, but fit nicely within Factory's jacket. She felt victorious in her quest for personal protection and even more so that she had survived social interaction.

Ready for a second attempt at leaving, Factory stood outside the entrance again. The gang members were still waiting, looking at her with dark empty hoods. She had been dreading the day when she would have to deal with law enforcement and bounty hunters. If she couldn't deal with local gangs, she was doomed.

Factory knew she couldn't lead them to where she slept, so she decided to walk in the opposite direction instead. As Factory forced a brisk pace through her fatigue, the Hoodz crossed the street and followed behind her several yards back. Factory thought hard about what she should do, thinking that her pursuers all must have firearms of their own and would outgun her.

As she desperately tried to find a way to survive her predicament, a busy open marketplace came up, down a street to her right. Street markets were a great place to find lots of different things to buy like clothing and toys, and the atmosphere was a lot more friendly than a black market. The street markets Factory had been to were essentially dozens of stalls packed together on a single block in front of apartment buildings. The crowds were always huge and loud.

Continuing to walk and make it look like she was crossing the street, Factory suddenly made a mad dash for the market. The Hoodz gave chase but could not catch her before she was lost in the sea of people.

Factory frantically tried to catch her breath as she hid in a small clothing shop, thanking a god she didn't know she believed in. She pretended to look at shirts lying about on a table while the gang angrily passed by without noticing her. Her plan had worked. When she saw her opportunity, she left the store in a quick sprint and left the marketplace unseen once she saw that the Hoodz had continued deeper into the chaos. Factory had never been so afraid, but she was able to revel in yet another victory.