Kengan Monsutā

Conviction

August 12, 2005

St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A

"It's another long, boring, hot night" the average tourist would think, "The gateway really looks majestic, almost supernatural, at sunset." a woman would exclaim. "These catfish fillets are phenomenal!" a skinny man would cry. "I don't want to go to the art museum, I want to go to the water-park!" children would shout to their parents. Yes, to the average tourist the city is little more than a one time nightly visit, but to the daily occupants, the city slips on a much more foul and sinister look.

As the sun comes down, the city's demons begin to wake up, ready to pray on tourists who know no better, or the weak and helpless occupants that can not repel the darkness. Whores litter the city streets , kingpins drug dogs around every corner, loan sharks stalk their prey to their homes, thugs wage wars over territories, and the police are too afraid to step out into the night. Yes to the unfortunate tourist this is a travesty, but to it's regular occupants this is the norm...

"Hey! Get the fuck back here!" a thug raged.

However, on this night, the chain of events that will be written in history will be set in motion. Three men can be seen running down the dark alleyways, chasing a boy in ragged clothes. The boy knocks down old boxes, barrels, and other trash to shake his pursuers, but the men jump, bat away, and push past all of them. The men are quickly gaining on the boy, suddenly the boy took a sharp turn left, into another alley way, while the trio missed him by a hair, tripping over a barrel.

"Get up you morons!" the leader demanded, underneath the other two, and added "You're letting him get away!" The two thugs rolled off of him and went after the boy.

"Where did he go?" a thug questioned. The two stand out at the end of the alley way, on the sidewalk on a poorly lit street, with an old warehouse on the other side of the road, and with the leader joining them. The trio scan for the boy, spotting him running along the shadows, towards shelter.

"There! He's in the warehouse!" Another answered, pointing at the boy as he slips through a small hole in the wall. The trio ran towards the hole, with one thug trying to squeeze through, but he was too large. "No good, none of us will be able to fit. We're gonna have to find another way in." thug stated.

"Hey, the door is unlocked." the other thug said, holding one of the doors open. The trio rushed into the warehouse, and scanned the area for the boy. However it was far too dark for any of them to see clearly .

"Great, this will be a piece of cake." the thug, not so quietly, mumbled, letting his shoulder drop a little. The trio could make out the outlines of some furniture, desks, and rusty file cabinets as their eyes are quickly adjusting to the darkness.

"Let's find him." Said the leader, moving to one of the desks. "Cover that hole and find something to lock that door." he added.

The other two moved a large, heavy, barrel over the hole and began to quickly fill the barrel with wood, large chains, and other materials to keep it from being moved, then began to look underneath desks and tables.

"Argh! This is getting us nowhere!" One of them roared out in frustration.

"This is all your fault!" Another accused the roaring man.

"'My fault'!? You were supposed to be on the lookout!" He argues.

"Like I'm gonna be able to see a fucking kid crawling out of the vents in pitch black!" He retort

"Both of you. SHUT. UP! We have to split up, cover more ground." The leader commands, before hooking up the chains to the door handle and a pipe running along the walls.