To Be A Scrapper (Suzuya Juuzou)

Chapter 7

"Move faster," I heard Mama's voice growl. I flinched at her tone but increased my speed.

My eyes stayed on my feet as I moved forward, just like Mama had told me too. I admit I had looked up once or twice, just for a few seconds though.

We were walking down a busy street, but the only light source it had was artificial, even though when we left 'home' a few minutes ago it was morning. It resembled a town. Small shops and kiosks lined the street, people walking everywhere, merchants making deals, it looked normal.

But what I did notice, there were no kids running around. Yes, there were kids, but they were exactly like I was right now. Chained and being dragged by someone else. Whenever one of them passed by me, they gave me the same sad smile, the one that looked broken and worn out. I would return it, and kept on walking.

The food smelled weird. It wasn't sweet and delicious like mom used to make, this smelled like something dead. Everybody looked like there were in a rush, their gazes flickering like they were being hunted down. All except Mama, who walked with her head up, confidently striding down the street. And then there were us; Rei and I.

It had been three weeks since my first competition, three weeks since I saw Rei being tortured in front of me. Mama still came by our cells, though she didn't hurt us, physically speaking. I guess she noticed how weak we both looked. She started to feed us more, and I was happy. Although I ended up sliding half my plate to Rei's cell. He needed it more than I did. Besides, I haven't been really hungry.

Rei's skin no longer clung to his bones. They were still very visible, but he looked way healthier than before. All his wounds were halfway healed up. My wounds were almost gone. My leg was no longer swollen, though it still hurt whenever I put too much pressure on it.

The jiggling of the chains stopped and I almost knocked into Mama's leg if it wasn't for Rei's hand shooting in front of me and holding me back. She turned to face us, her golden braces shining even though there was no sun. She stayed silent and licked her lips, her wicked smile glossing over.

"Well my pretty little dolls, Mama's got some business to take care of. You have to stay right here. Don't talk to anyone. Don't accept anything offered to you. Don't try to escape unless you want to end up dead," she said, the smile on her face almost masked her deadly words. I gupled and nodded while Rei just stood still. Mama chained us to a small bench and with one last look she turned around, walking away and leaving us alone. I waited until she was no longer in sight to speak.

"Hey Rei, where are we?" I asked.

"We're in the underworld," he answered, kicking a pebble with his feet.

"In hell?" I shrieked. He turned to me with a comical smile.

"No silly. It's like a small town underground for Mama's kind," he answered. I gave him a confused look.
Mama's kind? Is she different from us?

I refrained from asking, maybe he was talking about something else. Instead I looked around, finally able to do so without worrying about being caught.

It actually was a badly lit place. Walls of concrete surrounded us, making me feel trapped. I ignored the fast beat of my heart and focused on inspecting the area.

People crowded the streets, passing by merchants who would offer them things, many just ignored them and continued walking.

Some people, I noticed, held their heads down whenever someone passed them by. They seemed to be hiding from something. Others, just like Mama, strode proudly through the crowded streets.

I also noticed something strange, very strange. The food smelled rotten, but people were still eating it. Every single person who was consuming the food, their eyes were pitch black except for the iris. The iris was blood red.