The rules of the slums are simple, gifts come with a price, & fend for yourself, when outside the slums, dont walk on the street, & do everything richer people tell you. Haveing grown up in the slums, I knew and followed all of these rules
"Hey J, whats up!?" That would be Alex, my, for all sakes and purposes, big brother.
"Nothing really, you?"
"uhhhh, nothing, but I brought home another Wanderer.." Wanderers are people that rome around in the areas in between zones. "You dont mind do you?"
I minded, but he wouldnt care, asking is just a formality, and besides, I could never say no to helping a wanderer, no matter how gruesome they looked, after all, I was so close to being one myself once. Thats how me and Alex met. When I was 5, my parents left me all alone in a cardboard box with nothing but the clothes on my back and a blanket. One exeptionally cold night, I looked up and saw him, he was only 10, but he carried an aura about him.. he wasn't a ______ but he definatly wasnt a wanderer. I stared at him for awhile, confused, when suddenly he turned looked at me, then began walking towards me, I wasn't worried, he had the kindest smile and the softest eyes, he bent over, picked me up, and carried me all the way back to his hut, and that couldnt have been an easy task.
It takes about a day to walk from one end to the other, and the garbage and mud covering the road doesnt make the trip any easier. The slums are broken up into four different zones, their labeled simply by numbers. 1 is the nicest part of the slums, and closest to the gate up to the bridge, 4 is the worst, and its the farthest from the gate. Alex lives just on the edge of the 1 zone, and the wanderers live anywhere in between the zones.
I think the very first kind of Joulik liked the number four because, he had four wives, theres four areas that are then broken up into four zones, oh, and he had four kids. The first area is the castle, thats where the royals live, after that is the riches, then its the bridge, and finally my quiet little area, the slums.
When I looked back up at Alex, I noticed the man standing next to him, he was tall, his face was sagging, and he looked like he had just been in a fight, there was blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and his nose was sticking out at an odd angle. But thats how most people look in the slums these days, especially the 4's and the wanderers. Finally I speak,
"should I go run the bath water?"
Alex just gives me a slight nod as he starts to tend to the mans wounds. I begin to heat the water and fill the tub, I can here Alex messing around with something. I hate it how he just brings random strangers in our house any one of them could attack us at any moment, but I suppose if they wanted to hurt him, they would do that while he's out walking around wanderer land. As I wait for the tub to fill, I turn and watch him. He's tall and muscular, and has lovely green eyes that seem to see everything, and he has the most adorable smile. He turns and looks at me and gives me that familiar smile and I return to filling the tub. As I stand there watching the water fill the tub, I feel a tug on my hair.
"stop it" I say without turning
"what makes your hair so curly" he questions. That would be Alex, curious about everything. before I can answer I here someone clear their throat, I turn and see the old man walking towards us
"what should I do with my plate" he asks
"I'll take it." I walk past him over to the table. Our hut is two stories the top has three bedrooms, the bottom is pretty much one giant room, but in the far corner is a sink, toilet, and bathtub with a curtain around it to seperate it from everything else. Off to one side is a couch, and across from it is a stove and mini fridge, in the middle of the room is a table with a radio on it. Even the people from the slums have atleast one radio, its required, but most of them dont work, ours fortunatly does. I grab the old mans plate off the table and walk over to the sink and begin to wash it. Once I finish I walk over to the couch and sit down and wait for Alex to tell me if the man is staying the night or not. I look up and see him walking towards me, his usual smile replaced with a scowl.
"what is it?" I ask
"It doesnt matter." I begin to protest but he sends me a chilling look that silences me. "Anyways he will NOT be staying here tonight." I've never seen him so angry, I wonder what could have happened, but I know not to question it now. A few minutes later the man walks by without a word, and leaves, I turn to Alex but he's already stalking off to his room, so I sit on the couch alone thinking a thousand questions, but unable to ask any of them.
