Bear Amongst Wolves
A 2112.run community created story
Life these days is hard for everyone, so I don’t particularly focus on the negatives in my past. Grew up poor, my farther worked for Adonis as a camera man. He would control the video drones that made our city’s law enforcement always look like they were doing us a service. In reality they spent most their time harassing citizens and abusing their power. I guess this is why my disillusionment began so early, hard to be blinded by the truth when your dad never shuts up about what he has seen.
This sent me in to crowds like the punks at an early age. Usually, I would have been to young to run with them but my skill as a runner was beyond my age and earned me my place. I didn’t get to partake in all of their fun but they did teach me how take what I wanted from the system and built my expertise quickly. Being young and talented though is a very dangerous thing. It was not long before I was noticed, at first it was just by a local homeless guy that always seemed to be around when we were pulling a job or partying. He would always say the strangest things to me back then, I knew there was more to him but he was a ghost only appearing when he wanted to be seen. My light shined too bright though and I drew the attention of The Guilds algorithms. At one of the punks usual nightly bacchanalian parties they came for me, still have survivors guilt from that night. They hit us hard it was tactical, I would have been in one of their facilities getting brainwashed and groomed into the black market corpo cult. I would have been if it wasn’t for my ghost.
Trunx pulled me out, and though I owe him my life I never forgave him for that night. He knew I was on their radar and that they were coming for me. I don’t know what was so special about me but I was the only one he chose to save. He took me in, finished raising me in the life of a Ronin Stray. We moved cities quickly after that night and he taught me to live as a ghost. No jobs, still taking everything you want or need, but always alone no connections no attachments. He broke his own rules though taking me in and that was never addressed between us. The old man eventual got to frail to live our lifestyle and I had to leave him behind. When I got the encrypted data message on the nearly defunct traffic system network, we used to communicate with the few allies we did keep that he had passed I raged for days.
He always said I had an anger problem and I told him I’d been building it since birth.
I took what he taught me, but I wanted more from my life than silent survival. I wanted to unleash my rage on all those that create the wrongs in our world. I thought about finding a local punk cell but I never really respected their tactics as effective. Having been targeted by the Guild I had my own grudge against them. So I came out of obscure hiding and started to make a name for myself in the Stray circles. Once I was respected I set up my own operations. Planning my own jobs collecting a pack to execute them and really becoming an Alpha. Once I started punching at the Guild though even the strays thought I was crazy. My anger burned and most but the hardest Strays wouldn’t work with me not out of lack of respect but out of fear. So my pack soon became the top harden dogs around all considered Alphas themselves.
Any job was within our skills. We lived as we pleased and only took on the work that dealt the most damage to the corps or had the highest payday. I soon earned a title all my own. A mix of my well-known fury and the beast I had become amongst the Strays. These days the call me RedBear.
This story is inspired by the rich world being created for 2112.run. This unique transmedia NFT project is like none i’ve experienced yet and it is still pre-mint. I recommend visiting their website and discord and diving into the lore and world building they have done. There is still a chance to get in on the pre-sale as well with their raffle. This is an unsolicited fan piece with no direct project influence other than the world they have immersed their community in.
Website: 2112.run
Discord: https://discord.gg/2112run
Twitter: https://twitter.com/2112Run?s=20
