The Shock of the New

Chapter 50: Street Life

The weather in the East Coast Megapolis had taken a turn for the worst. Rain was falling from the sky and a cold wind was blowing. The sun had long since descended below the horizon and as a result, the vast majority of it's population were heading home.

On the corner of Mike Enoch street, a local vendor was selling his usual brand of synthetic hot bread rolls to the busy masses (Providing they were white).

As he continued to do so, the vendor didn't notice an individual walking up behind him with a brick in his hand. Subsequently he was smashed over the head and collapsed to the floor.

As he looked up from the ground, the vendor saw a young man holding a brick taking one of the rolls from his cart.

"Stop!" he managed to yell. The young man immediately grabbed a roll and ran away. He tried to get up only to find the throbbing in his head prevented him from doing so.

Sam ran through the streets of the East Coast Megapolis carrying his stolen goods as carefully as he could. Since he'd been on the streets, Sam had only sparsely eaten. He'd mainly been able to afford the occasional sandwich or cup of coffee from the money he got while begging, but the takings had been consistently low. This wasn't really all that surprising as the W.E.R. considered helping the poor the sort of thing that only dirty unpatriotic leftists did. In a way, Sam had expected this to happen. However he really didn't have anywhere else to go. His parents were dead and he refused to go crawling back to the L.S.E.I.. So it was either live on the streets or go to a state institution and the former was easily the more appealing of the two.

Sam eventually found a small alley in between two dirty apartments and huddled behind a group of bins to enjoy his first meal in some time. While he ate, Sam reflected back over the path his life had taken.

It had all started because of his constant questions and his freaking out at the execution of P.R.E. soldiers. If he'd only cheered their deaths like a good W.E.R. patriot, he could have still been in his comfy home with his parents.

Deep down though, Sam knew that he'd have never been able to do something like that. For a very long time, he'd had doubts about the world he lived in and although he'd tried to suppress them, they'd always found a way of bubbling to the surface. He knew that the W.E.R. was a rotten hateful state that had no real regard for anybody living in it and only served the interests of the powerful.

Sam then thought about the L.S.E.I. For the first couple of weeks he'd lived with them, Sam had genuinely felt happy and fulfilled with his life. Deep down, (although he wouldn't admit it out loud) he sort of missed being with them. Sam refused to go back though. He just couldn't forgive them for letting his parents die.

Sam then sighed. It pretty much looked like he was going to spend the rest of his life as a vagrant until he either froze to death in winter or got beaten to death pissing off the wrong person or any number of horrible fates.

"No" he thought "I'll survive as long as I can. I've done well for myself so far and I'll keep doing it"

He then let out a deep breath, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Sam then opened his eyes to find that he was still alive and in the alleyway. The streetlights had dimmed meaning it was almost certainly past midnight and in the early hours of the morning. The air was still as cold as it had been when he'd dozed off. In fact it was almost certainly colder.

Sam shivered and huddled himself close together. He then closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

A few seconds later, however he heard the sounds of someone moving, just up the end of the alley. Feeling scared, he nonetheless managed to summon up the courage to call out "Hello? Who's there?"

Sam didn't receive a reply. He tried again

"Are you with the W.E.R.? I'm telling you now, I haven't done anything wrong-"
"Don't you worry" replied a familiar voice "I'm not gonna hurt you."
A second later, the figure came into view. When he saw Sam, he smiled

"Well isn't this a pleasant reunion"
Sam rubbed his eyes "Charlie?"

"The very same" Charlie sat down next to Sam and grinned "So how'd you end up on the streets?"

Sam explained to Charlie everything. How he'd gotten himself sent to the patriot camp and met Lawrence, how they'd escaped and found the L.S.E.I. and how he'd been arrested and thrown in the correction centre before being broken out and eventually running away to live as a vagrant. When he finished, Charlie whistled.

"Wow. You've really been through a lot haven't you son?"

Sam nodded "Yeah"

Charlie frowned at him "But you ain't that bright are you?"

Sam scowled "What do you mean? I'm not following the W.E.R. anymore am I?"

Charlie groaned. Then he put a supportive hand on Sam's shoulder

"Why did you run away from the L.S.E.I. in the first place?"

Sam was annoyed "Because they left my parents to die!" he snapped "And I just can't forgive that!"
"That's a fair assessment and I get why you'd be angry" Charlie sat back against the wall "But do you realise how the L.S.E.I. operates?"

Sam nodded "Of course I do! They hate the W.E.R. and everything it stands for, and only look out for themselves!"

"'Yeah that's a pretty accurate viewpoitn" Charlie leaned in close "But what do you think would have happened if they'd gone after your parents? They'd have almost certainly been captured and tortured just like you were"

Sam sulked and looked away.

"Look buddy. We're living in a world where the W.E.R. government holds all the cards. In this world it's swim or sink and none of us can take any unnecessary risks"
Sam then scowled at Charlie "Would you say the same thing if it was your family? You don't know how I feel, so cut with the caring bullshit"
"I do know how you feel actually" Charlie raised his voice slightly "I saw them burn to death during the horrors of the Giga Wars. So don't try that one with me sunshine, because I've seen it all before"

Sam looked at Charlie for several seconds. Then he sighed

"You're right. I'm sorry. That was uncalled for"
"Don't worry about it" Charlie replied "You didn't know and I don't entirely blame you for being angry. I was the same after my folks bit the dust. But I pulled myself outta that rut. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm more than happy to be that guy"

Sam and Charlie spent the rest of the night talking about various subjects. Sam told Charlie about the good times he'd spent with his parents and the terrible times he'd had at school. By the time they'd finished, the sun was just starting to rise over the streets of the E.C.M.

Sam sat back against the wall and laughed. Charlie also let out a chuckle

"Man!" he said "You've really lived an interesting life for somebody who's not even 25!"

Sam then looked at Charlie "What about you? What have you done all your life?"

Charlie shrugged "There ain't much to tell. I've been a bum for at least 40 years."
"Do you get lonely?" Sam asked

"Nah" Charlie leaned against a dustbin "There's the occasional hard time, but I've pulled through each time. Besides I've got a couple of friends"
Sam raised an eyebrow "Who?"

Charlie tapped his nose "I'll introduce you to em some day. Right now I think we better get going. The sun's coming up and we don't wanna get in the way of some unfriendly W.E.R. patriot do we?"