BLACK STORM: The Abandoned Son

Chapter 16: Seamless City

I spent hours upon hours walking the streets. Crawling would be a better way to describe it, I can barely lift my feet. No direction, no purpose, no aim. Actually, I do have a purpose, now that I think about it. It's to stay alive. Everybody wants to stay alive, though, right? Is it even worth living if all I have to aspire to is being alive? The longer I stay in this district the more my contempt for its residents grows. 

These people with their garish clothing and fancy cars make me irrationally angry.  A lesser man would say that this anger doesn't stem from jealousy. But not me. How could I not be at least a little jealous, I've lost everything. My home, my friends, my safety, it's all gone.  And these people, they've always had everything.

Look at that guy over there. Yes, him, the guy wearing a fur coat even though winter is months away. Yes, the one that looks like he's wearing the pelts of about seven different creatures. What stands out to me is the fact that he's wearing two golden necklaces. Two of them!? This is unheard of in the Outer Rim. Let me elaborate, I will now say the word 'robbery'.

"Robbery."

In the mere moments that it took me to say that one word, one person was the victim of violent crimes in those slums. Mostly these crimes are, you guessed it, armed robberies. In the Outer rim, you would get mugged if you were caught wearing a nice pair of socks. I'm being completely serious. Yet, here no one even bats an eye at a guy wearing solid gold.  This is what I envy the most. At home I had a little bit of safety, now that I'm on the run it's all gone. Despite the mild poverty, I was always content.

It's just not fair. For the past week, I've been quite literally fighting for my life. All the while they are so detached from it all. This guy over here even has a bejewelled walking cane. He isn't old and he doesn't seem to have any disabilities that would necessitate it. So, it's just another accessory. Last year Mother refused to buy Jubilee a pair of glasses. 

"Newt, your energy levels are dropping.", Dollhouse speaks out.

"Is it because I'm hungry?"

I look for nearby grocery stores and restaurants. I try to avoid large buildings like the commercial centre. The last thing I need is to run into Terror. I entered a random store, or at least I tried. My branding is visible again, so I have to cover my eyes. I looked really suspicious. One of the employees quickly kicked me out of the store. I beg and plead with her to let me stay. 

"You're covering your face and you're covered in what I could only hope is animal's blood."

"I know this looks bad but I'm not here to cause trouble."

"You being here is trouble enough."

"Come on I've had a rough day, cut me some slack."

"Cut you some slack? If I let you in my boss will cut my throat."

"Come on, you won't even notice that I'm here."

"Leave or I'm calling the police."

"Okay, sorry to be a bother.", I leave feeling defeated and dejected.

I went to a few other stores to try this whole song and dance again. It doesn't work. None of the stores let me in. No matter where I went the imperials were always one step behind, I think a few of those stores called and snitched on me. 

Guess it can't be helped. I might have to eat from the trash, my face cringes with anguish just thinking about it. It's not the food itself that's disgusting. The food is usually still wrapped. It's all the filth you have to dig through in order to get to it. 

I dig through a dumpster behind one of the stores that had kicked me out. Didn't find any food, great I got my hands dirty for nothing. Time to search other dumpsters, I'll use the public bus system to get around faster.  I manage to slip into a crowd and sneak my way onto the bus. The bus is crowded, but by crawling under some people's legs I was able to race to the back. The floor of the bus was sticky and covered in jagged metal. But I was able to grab a seat.