Steel and Fangs

Chapter One ; Welcome to The Steel Jungle

Rolling hills started to flat line into fields that gave way to dotted houses in the distance as the train sped farther away. The woods became less wild and instead more uniform in precise rows on farmlands. Every once in a while some horses could be seen playing inside of white fenced in fields. It was the farthest she had been from home yet. The first two attempts to leave she hadn't gotten far before someone dragged her back. This time Sophie was determined to get as far as possible, away from her rural home and the old fashioned way of thinking. Ahead of her lay an opportunity; a large city that boasted housing more of her kind than anywhere else in the world. At least that was what the nice waitress at the diner had said.

Sophie turned away from the passing scenery and down to the table she rested her hands upon. She picked up the card in front of her and read it for the hundredth time:

Wurther's Lumber and Steel Yard
Timothy Dolt, Manager
6848 W. Industrial Rd

That was all she had to go off of. She set the card back down then turned her attention to the notepad opened to a list she had started. Picking up her pen, she clicked it to life and wrote underneath the other items 'Ask Timothy Dolt for a job'. "First things first," she murmured, underlining the first item. "Find a place to stay." She sighed and closed her warm brown eyes as she rested back against the train seat. The bumping of the car put her in a trance and the stress of starting over melted away.

"Miss? Excuse me, miss?"

A light shaking woke Sophie from her unrealized slumber and she struggled to shake the grogginess left behind. She looked up at the man in blue uniform questioningly. He motioned to the window, which was alight from the busy train station they were stopped at. "Is this your stop?"

"Oh," Sophie leaned forward for a second, then quickly rushed to clean her stuff off of the table and into her messenger bag. "So it is! I must have dozed off. I'm so sorry."

The train worker smiled. "It's common on long trips. Next time might I suggest renting a spot in the sleep car, miss. Much more comfortable."

Sophie tipped her head in acknowledgement but thought to herself, 'There won't be a next time. I'm never going back.'

Outside of the busy train station, Sophie stared in wonder at the city that was before her. Tall skyscrapers lit up the night, cars zoomed past, buses hissed as they lowered to let people on, stop lights chirped when pedestrians could walk. With her free hand, Sophie held a beat-up baseball cap on as she tried to look up to the top of an impossibly tall building. She had never seen such a feat. Her hometown's tallest building was a crumbling three story inn. The sight of not one but a whole city of skyscrapers made her heart race and she felt more overwhelmed with curiosity than fear.

"'Ey, watch out!" Someone yelled at her as he zipped past on a bicycle, nearly knocking her down.

Shaken out of her awe, she looked left and right before moving forward to cross the street. It was too late to go apartment hunting, and she had just enough extra money to rent a hotel room for a night or two. She could get a newspaper in the morning. She glanced down the street, silently naming each neon sign, in search of the place she needed. It took her about ten minutes of walking before she finally saw the right neon hidden down the side of an alley. Her instincts went on edge, weary of the dark area in a city she had never explored, but nothing smelled menacing. Besides, she had a coupon for this particular hotel!

"Um... Excuse me?" Sophie called as she hit the bell on the counter twice once inside. A grate separated the lobby from the front desk. 'That's totally comforting. Not.' Finally a balding man appeared, his nose half buried in a book. Sophie read the cover, Alchemy for Stooges, but kept her thoughts to herself. She gave him the friendliest smile she could. "Hi, I'd like a room for two nights, please."

The man glanced at her and put his hand close to the slot, motioning for her to produce money.

Sophie frowned then dug through her bag. She slid her train ticket through, backside up with the words '50% off' in big red letters. "I have a coupon? How much will it be?"

An exasperated groan escaped the man and he tapped a laminated sign taped to his side of the grate.

She squinted at the pricing, did the math, and pulled her wallet out. 'This place is super seedy. But at least they won't question my handing over cash,' she thought as she counted out the money. They traded the cash for a room key and she was quickly on her way up in the small elevator.

The room was anything but desirable once Sophie got the door open and she held fast to herself as she stepped inside, almost afraid to touch anything and catch some sort of disease. The wallpaper, once some lighter shade of green, was streaked in a dark grime that looked oily to the touch. There was a single wicker chair that had bits and pieces still cream colored, but most of its paint and intricate woven wood design were gone. A sure death trap. There was no table or dresser. Just a single nightstand underneath a large rectangular mirror on the wall across from the full sized bed. Immediately Sophie tossed aside the faded comforter from 1980 and was thankful to see pristine white sheets. She set her small duffel bag and messenger bag onto the bed corner then turned to the mirror.

"Well, Soph, you finally made it," she grinned to her wavering reflection. "Your first night in the big city... Every bit as scummy as your Da warned you about." The notion almost made her laugh until she heard yelling in the next room. Alarmed, she readied herself to rush over... that was until the yelling ended with louder laughter and a few thuds against the wall. 'Great. How will I ever sleep?' She had been on a train all day, her energy was bottled up, and now her neighbors sounded like they were wrestling until someone reached climax first. Still, she knew she ought to try and rest because the next day she had to get her new life in order.

She retrieved her toothbrush and hairbrush, went into the bathroom, and flipped the light on. An intense cobweb covered a whole corner of the shower stall, though the spider was nowhere to be seen, but other than that the area looked clean enough. So to speak. She reached up, pulled her hat off. Fiery red curls tumbled down, freed at last. Her curls surrounded her head like an angry flame and she knew it'd take a while to tame again. As she brushed her teeth, she looked closer at her reflection in the smaller, cleaner mirror and wondered how she looked so tired after doing nothing all day. Self-doubt etched just beneath the surface, but she ignored it.

Guessing she would regret it later, she climbed onto the bed and curled up on the pillow, facing the barred window. She could only see another brick wall, but the many colors of the city lights flashed along it like a light show. Eventually the noise of the motorcars and buses overpowered her neighbors, or perhaps they tired out, and Sophie started to relax. Moments after she did, a conflict made itself apparent in her heart. She had worked so hard to get there, and she made it, she was happy about that. But an emptiness that had lodged in there made itself present once again. It was the same emptiness she had felt most of her life. The same emptiness she hoped to out run. An emptiness she would fight against until it no longer presented itself in times like these. She needed and wanted to learn how to be comfortable in her own presence. To be completely the person she wanted to be. To be a lone wolf...

Tomorrow would be her first attempt at being just Sophie in the grand ole city.