Bound by Glass

36| No Pain, No Gain

"Okay, so, rule one," Haco said, lifting a finger as we both stood in the shadows of the alley, "Do not, I repeat, do not look anyone in the eye. Let me be clear, do not—"

"It's clear, Haco," I said, rolling my eyes. Like he hadn't said it a hundred times already.

"Fine, I was messing with ya'," Haco said, "It's just that Balder lives in a part of town which just isn't that peachy. We can't risk you being mugged by some street rat."

I stopped dead in my tracks, staying hidden in the shadows of the alley. "Then why the hell did you ask me to come?" I asked, frowning.

"Good training. Plus, you were bound to...experience this one time or another," Haco said simply, winking and pulling his hood over his bright red spikes.

With a scoff I did the same, and followed him into the surprisingly busy streets. Haco had given me a hooded vest as well before we had left the unit, accompanied by a grey bandanna. I saw Haco had pulled his scarf over his nose and lips, rendering him completely unrecognisable. I knew I should as well, but I wanted to experience this in full. Instead, I wrapped my bandanna around my wrist, biding extra protection from curious eyes who wanted to see my mark—which wasn't there. I couldn't afford to take any risks.

Regg were walking past and around us as we made our way through what seemed like the main street. Most people hadn't even changed out of their overalls, but had just zipped it open till their waist and knotted the sleeves around their hips. Nearly all the suits were green—cleaning. I came to the conclusion that was the least desired job, dooming it for the poorest. The one thing that stood out though, was that everyone was clean—except for the lower part of their faces, which was often dirty and stained.

I saw a man walk by still wearing a mask covering his eyes and nose—that was probably where it came from. Another thing that stood out was that everybody, but literally everybody had red and raw hands, calloused and sometimes until the point of bleeding. I could even see a sheen of a strange white rash on the backs of their hands.

I picked up my pace, tugging on Haco's arm when I reached him, far in front of me. The smell of chloride and another, unrecognisable smell drifted into my nose, which made me sneeze almost instantly. The fumes irritated my mucous, my eyes and nose starting to water immediately. It became stronger when a regg was close to me—they were carrying around the odour, like the uppers wore their perfume.

"What's that smell?" I asked, quickly followed with, "What have they done with their hands?"

"Cleaning acid. It's the only thing that can clear the air vents from the oxidation caused by the outside fumes," Haco answered, "It burns, but that's all they have. At a certain moment you get used to the pain."

I saw Haco unconsciously rub the back of his hand, before shrugging and continuing walking. "That's why they live here, no one can stand the smell."

He sniffed his nose, nodding to an alley. "That way."

* * *

I didn't know what I had expected from Balder's lair, but for some reason what we found didn't surprise me. Haco entered the unit first, all grey stone and metal on the outside, marked with the name of the place in faded purple letters. I couldn't read what it said, but it didn't seem to matter to most people. I could hear the murmurs of regg outside the building, music escaping every time someone went through the old dented door, which was scratched with the names of countless lovers and ones looking for love alike.

It was a kind of bar, more like a den, filled with smoke which masked much of what was happening. There was music playing in the background, soft notes by what seemed to be produced by strings, and people dancing on the rhythm.