Collection City

1c: Sunset

Mesmerized, Jaiden watched as the last thug fell to the ground and bled out. A satisfied smile crept into his face as he surveyed his work. He wondered what he should do with the bodies. Was it okay to just leave them here? Technically he could, because even if somebody found them, there wasn't anybody who could do anything about it, much less anyone who would dare avenge them. He knew that he was totally safe, but that didn't exactly make him feel all that great. Maybe I should dump them at the marketplace and see what the people there would have to say about it. They'd probably even be happy to be rid of these troublemakers. He bent down to pick up one of the carcasses, but stopped when he heard a whimper coming from the very back of the alley. Huh? Did I forget someone? Drawing his knife again, Jaiden turned around, but instead of a muscly opponent, he saw a cowering pile of skin and bones leaning against the wall.

“Oh” The sound escaped his lips before he had time to think about it. The thing stared at him with catlike yellow eyes that were just as terrified as those of the thugs had been, right before they died. But these eyes also held a hint of something else: adoration. Weird, I never even touched it and it's already looking at me like that. Jaiden smiled at his own stupidity and put his knife back into it's pocket. Ah, right! I totally forgot, but there was this scrawny orphan here too... He decided to leave the bodies alone for the time being and casually ambled over to the kid.

He knelt down in front of it and the smell of vomit rose into his nose. How disgusting. He thought, but smiled at it anyway, reaching out a hand to help it up.

Remo flinched when the older boy's hand moved towards him. At this, the older boy once again withdrew his hand and simply knelt in front of Remo, regarding him like a toddler who'd found some kind of new and fascinating insect. A smile was spread across the strange boy's face, but it was unlike anything Remo had seen before. It wasn't fake like that of a shop owner wanting to sell his wares, not forced like that of someone telling him it would be all right, and most importantly, it wasn't cruel or vengeful like the smiles of the thugs and gangsters who had always threatened him and his sister, and eventually ended up killing her. In fact, this strange boy's smile was so sincere and innocent, like he didn't even realize what he'd just done, that Remo couldn't help but smile back a little.

At this, Jaiden's face lit up even more.

“Oh look! He can smile, he can smile!” He shouted, clapping his hands. When the boy winced again at the sound of the clapping, he quickly regained his self control and quieted down again. Even though Jaiden had paid special attention to saying “he” instead of “it”, that was apparently not enough to make this frightened creature comfortable. “Sorry,” He said.

Remo opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he fell into a coughing fit.

“Are you all right?” Asked the older boy, concern now clouding that sincere smile of his.

Remo was desperate for the smile to stay where it was; it was simply such a beautiful sight after all he had been through. So he pulled himself together and nodded. Again, he tried to talk, and this time, it worked.

“Why-” He stopped, coughed, and continued “Why di- did you s- saveme?” He stuttered.

The older boy tilted his head to the side.

“Save you?” He questioned, sounding honestly confused.

“You said my wish would come true, and then you really made it true...”

Jaiden's eyes opened wide in realization as he remembered. “I guess I did.” His brow creased in thought. Actually, I just said that because I thought it sounded cool... I didn't think anyone would actually remember that. How embarrassing!

“By the way,” He said. “who are you?”

“Remo,” Remo replied. Who're you? He wanted to ask, but instead he collapsed and fell to the side.

Jaiden caught him. “Careful there.” He said softly and placed Remo's head on his lap.

Two boys sat together in a dark alley, surrounded by the bodies of seven dead men, and enjoyed the peace and quiet that came with the setting of the sun.