Rothester

Chapter 11: Lost and Damned

A sleeping city of roughly one hundred and twenty-five thousand, Efielge continues from day to day, mostly oblivious of what goes on in the dark. Clouds clustered in the night sky, the moon can not be seen. The silence is briefly broken by multiple suppressed gunshots barely audible to any passerby.

Once again, the Casiem is targeted for another attempted break-in. Every time foiled by killers hiding in the shadows. Every night, a group of hoodlums is sent by various gangs originating from Egwater. Among the many gangs mentioned, the Bourkee Gang is the most prominent.

Footsteps echo throughout the street as a shady figure frantically runs away. Blood is trailing from behind, and he trips and falls. He rapidly inhales and exhales as he gets back on his feet and continues to run. He is running for his life. Never again would he ever consider taking a job against Ardai Industries. It would be a death sentence to try again. He has a better chance to weasel his way out of his gang and survive than he would trespassing Ardai.

Time passes by quickly, and the night remains silent throughout. No more attempts are made by any gang and instead are reserved for the next night with a new strategy. Sunlight breaks through the clouds above the horizon as a new day begins. The city awakes, never knowing a war rages right under their noses.

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Within the Egwater District, many local gangs' consistent failures to fulfill their contracts lead to slight turmoil. No one has succeeded in breaking into the Casiem or the Facility, but this only leads some to become more determined. The reward for doing so increases by the day. Members of gangs and independent criminals alike have attempted or think to attempt to claim the prize.

While all this goes on, the rest of the city goes on as if nothing happened. Egwater remains as depressing as it has been despite the increased activity. The clouds in the sky persist throughout the night and into the day as it begins to rain.

In one area of Egwater, someone else is dealing with their own problems. A seemingly poor young woman wearing worn and dirty linen trousers, tunic, and cloak runs through the color-deprived alleyways. Or rather, she is fleeing. Turning around corners through the alley towards the open streets, she ditches her cloak that restricts her movement to reveal her face. Her long waist-length platinum blonde hair would look dyed completely white if it wasn't for all the dirt accumulated. Her pale skin is no different, she has been living as a vagrant for years, and it is easy for many people to ignore her and categorize her as a lost cause.

Her name is Athela Hatheway, a twenty-year-old young woman who has lost everything in her life who now roams around searching for a way out of the endless void she has fallen into.

Once a member of a respectable noble family in the capital city of Scorrest years ago, her life took a turn for the absolute worst when the Kingdom fell into conflict. As the sole survivor, she fled from the city and has wandered aimlessly since then.

With no family, connections, or resources, she is in constant pursuit of survival. Unfortunately, no one ever helped and damned her instead. Over time, she eventually arrived at Efielge, but her luck never changed. No matter where she goes or what she does, she is constantly faced with the worst of humanity, treated like trash on the side of the road.

Today is no different. Unwelcomed by the rest of the city, she is damned to survive in Egwater. She runs and she runs from her pursuers trailing behind her as she runs for her freedom. If she is caught, her life will reach a new low under the threat of sex trafficking. That's the only reason those people would chase her or any other woman. To be trapped in a brothel or sold as a sex slave is equivalent to death. She resolves herself to avoid capture by all means, even if it meant putting herself at risk of death.