097. haven

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    Softcore: The Neighbourhood

"Word of this place is spreading like a bad case of the clap. We got refugees coming in from every territory in Gotham." Harvey tells us.

"Can you blame 'em? You saw what it was like out there. People being starved and terrorized, used by the gangs as slave labor." I fix my holster.

"You think those same gangs aren't gonna want 'em back? Sooner or later, they're gonna come looking for us." Oliver inquires.

"Let 'em." I enter the building.

"Hey, I get it, but after our excursion through nightmareville last week, we hardly have any ammo left—sorry—and we barely have any food." Harvey mutters.

"Okay, alright. This is the only safe place left in Gotham."

"We're not turning people away." Dad adds.

"I was afraid you two were gonna say that. Hey, how you feeling? How, is uh..." Harvey trails off.

"I'm fine."

"You getting any sleep?" I stop him. "Dad, you've been going full tilt for months, carrying the weight of everyone. Share the load. We can't have you fall apart."

"Thanks, honey. I'm okay." Dad cups my neck before we continue walking.

"Bruce. Please tell us some good news." Oliver crosses his arms.

"Water purification system repurposed from Wayne Enterprises tech." Bruce informs. "I know it's a drop in the bucket, but every bit helps."

"That's the last can of beans!" A man exclaims and I turn my head.

"I ain't had my rations yet!" Another man says.

"Think I have?"

"Hey, break it up. Break it up! Break it up." I yank the two men apart. "For all the new people here...everyone is welcome in Haven, but there are rules. And one of them is we leave the fighting outside. Government already thinks we don't deserve help. We have to show otherwise. Gangs wanna tear themselves apart outside, that's their business. In here, in Haven...we help each other survive."

"Your speech worked." Bruce tells me.

"For now." I rub my forehead. "What happens when they find out the government abandoned them?" I tighten my jaw. "Sorry."

"For what? Brianna, you're holding this place together.
You're giving these people hope."

"Hope can only go so far."

"Not to put more on your plate, but the kid whose friends you saved from the slavers...his bunkmates say he's been having nightmares. Last night he fell off his bed half-asleep, broke his arm. Maybe you can talk to him."

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐄 ━ 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓²Where stories live. Discover now