Awakening

Chapter 2 - Orphan (2/2)

The sun was setting, painting the haze of Undertown in a rainbow of red colors and giving it a deadly beauty to watch as people tax themselves trying to breath. It was the perfect time to move along the dirty sidewalks of the city, barely noticed and obscured by colors. All residents of Undertown knew it--the perfect time to disappear in the mists.

Eric ran forever, the words of the drunken-man from the pub now resonating in his head. He had a clue where tonight's raid would take place. If he got there soon, he could watch it unfold as it starts and maybe catch one of them for an interview.

He knew the streets of Palael inside out. It was not his first time out at night and during a raid. The experience he gathered and his perfect memory were the main reasons he got his nickname, slum-cat. Maybe after today's incident with Yeits he will have another one though. Nut-cracker sounded appropriate.

After some turns, he stopped and flattened himself on a crumpled building. He was close to the raid--maybe slightly too close for his taste. They should appear soon, two streets in front.

He turned around, and inspected the remains of the building he was cemented to. It was barely standing--outer-wall partially destroyed, revealing the insides of it--the roof practically gone and most of the floors inside looked as though they were torn to pieces over time. His eyes locked on the only thing still holding in this rubble--a set of stairs, still whole and standing.

If only I can get high enough, he thought.

Eric hauled himself over the broken wall and ran up the stairs, hoping no homeless took this place as his bed, or worse. His heart pounded. He was about to watch his third full raid and being so close to maturity, he needed this. He had to join them. Had to seek out his parents amongst them.

Clip-clopping, he reached the third floor and realized he can't advance anymore. The stairs were beginning to crumble as they continued, and eventually disappear half-way through the ascend. He turned and scanned. Crumbled inner walls, no doors visible, no people in sight. The perfect mix. He would have his vantage point from here.

He carefully walked towards the outer wall, eyes darting from side to side and avoiding clutter on his path. This must be a home of some homeless--not many houses are neglected and uninhabited around in Palael, even the ones which look like they are about to collapse. He didn't consider himself a homeless himself--He lived in a low-level orphanage, had a warm bed and clean air inside the room--but living in any place below the death-cloud was just slightly better than sleeping here on the streets. It was the air. The polluted gray fog of carbon which divided society into them and us.

Eric reached the huge rip in the outer-wall. He crouched to look outside, holding the brick-wall with one hand and the floor with the other and grinning.

Yes.

Many shadows were moving two streets in front of him. Nothing blocked his view from up here. His eyes, blue as the ocean, were traveling between every rebel's shadow passing-by. He was searching for them--for his parents--though he fully comprehended the meaning of death. He felt deep in his core the hope they were still out there.

He knew he could be in trouble if his caretaker or his class-teacher will find out about his little travel. He knew, but curiosity mixed with anxiety pushed him to the streets to watch the action. The drunk was right again.

"Grab him." he heard a voice behind him and his heart jumped to his throat. No way this place was vacant. How could he have been so stupid.

Radding thugs.

He sprang to his feet, twisting his body and throwing a peek at his back.

Thugs. Three of them. Mad. He probably breached one of their hangout places and they didn't like it too much.