I hope you all enjoy this story! This is my first fanfic so I hope I don't disappoint!
1. World of the Gutter Rat
On the surface everyone saw the city as a beautiful, successful gem glistening in the light. Tourists came from far and wide to admire the beautifully crafted skyscrapers and to stare in awe at the small forest worlds they city created in their parks. Every worker had a bright smile on their face and every shop was bright and happy. The whole thing was a well crafted and concealing lie.
Jimanqe Winchaster lingered in a dark alley to watch the passer byers. She hated them all, every last one. None of those well dressed people had to fight to survive, to dig in the trash to find food, sell their bodies to stay alive. The masks they all wore made her sick with loathing. All she could hear when she looked at them, chattering like colorful birds, was a dull roar of mere babbling. It was as if all their words were fake.
Soft footsteps sounded behind her and when she turned to look, three teenagers approached her. Two were twin boys, dumped off by their mother to live with their grandma before she ran off to explore the world with her boyfriend. They both had dark black hair but One wore his very short while Two left his long and shaggy. Bright blue eyes glared into the groups of people like she had been earlier, the glare startling to see on a pair of sixteen year old boys. The third was another boy but he was oldest out of their rag tag group and the group appointed leader. Nix had to be about nineteen, maybe older. He was a giant as well, topping about six foot four. Light blonde hair that was always dirty was cut to stay brushing along his chin and brown eyes that had seen to much of the underbelly of the lying city simply stared sightlessly into the space before him.
"Is it time to go back?" Jimmy asked softly as she went to stand next to her leader. At his nod, she gathered the twins and headed back to their home, the basement of the twins grandma's house. Before those two had joined, most of the gang lived in the abandoned sewer tunnels that hadn't been used since the city went pro environment and began to use the nasty shit to do something stupid. It was much more comfortable to live with the twins in their unfinished basement with the rest of the gang.
Her hair was dark brown, almost black in color, and sat at the base of her neck in a short ponytail. The ends were ragged and different lengths since she cut it herself, refusing even Nix's help. Deep green eyes stared into the world with hatred, a look she had even since she was in foster care. It had been said her parents both died in a car accident but she never knew if that was true. The city always covered up any crimes be it a fender bender to multiple murders. She was tall for her age of seventeen, hitting five foot seven where most of the girls her age were small and dainty.
The twins led the way while Jimmy and Nix stayed back, keeping an eye out for anyone snooping around their preying grounds. Last night, some members of a rival gang had tried to beat Mouse when she came back from her flitching trip. Thankfully, Nix and a few others had been looking for her and stepped in before things got ugly. Nix didn't lead the gang like most did, he wanted only to keep them all alive and find better lives, not to kill people and take over more territory. It was honorable and Jimmy knew she would follow him to achieve his goal. He was like a knight of fairy tale.
Soft music flowed out of the window to the twins' grandma's basement. The song Pot by Tool sang to them, calling them home. It was something their more techy member Tink-Tink did, claiming it would bring them all together no matter where they went. Jimmy thought it was just because Tink-Tink liked his marijuana a little too much. Still it was a little comforting to hear there were people in the world who didn't fall for lies their city tried to push on them.
"Did you find anything today Jimmy?" a soft voice squeaked as she crawled into the basement.
"Yes I did Owl," she answered, smiling down at the small boy who stared up at her with large blue eyes as he clung to the stuffed toy owl One made for him. "I think you will like it. This watch I found in a trash can with some books, bits and pieces of a smashed computer, some empty bottles with lids, and some fabric and buttons. Sorry Tink-Tink, I couldn't find anything that looked important from the computer but this green stuff is what you've been looking for right?"
"Yes yes yes," he muttered, gathering up the flat green plastic pieces and the colorful wires she found with them. Without another word he disappeared behind the curtain that shielded his private works from them all. One eagerly took the fabric and buttons while Two nonchalantly took a few of the books before they both disappeared into their corner to coo over what she found. Owl took the watch to go play with it with Mouse and Nix examined the bottles. She glanced around at their small gang, gauging how much food they would need for the night before she slipped back out the window.
Life was rough for those who were unfortunate to not be with their family. Those like herself and Owl, who had been in foster care at young ages, were treated different. Kids like Mouse and Tink-Tink, who ran away to escape the confines of society were considered disgraces. The twins were an unusual case but there were those who dumped their kids off to escape the responsibility of adulthood. Nix was the mystery in their gang. He didn't act like a foster kid or an orphan, he didn't seem to have ran away. It was like he just appeared out of mid air.
Glancing around, Jimmy carefully slipped one of her ear phones into her right ear to keep her left ear free. Tink-Tink had made her a small MP3 players out of one he found broken and the technology bits she could find for him. It could only hold a few songs and he had programmed them all in before she got it. Most of the songs bothered her except two, Vicarious by Tool and This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars. Both songs held how she felt about the world, in varying ways. She pushed the next button until Vicarious began playing and hummed softly as she made her way to the food district of the city. The best thrown out food could be found there.
Keeping to the shadows, she slinked over to a large dumpster, peeking over the edge to see what it was. Her jeans were old and worn, stained with the grim of her slum life and her shirt was so thing it was almost see through. She kept a thin black hoodie on to keep her modesty and have extra pockets. Old worn combat boots she found one day protected her sock less feet from the glass and random needles in the back streets. It was best for her to stay hidden in the shadows in her outfit, least she attract the attention of the courtesy patrols that kept people like her from the view of normal citizens and visitors. That usually involved a severe beating and getting chased into unfamiliar territory. The shadows were better than that.
It took a few dumpsters but she finally found one she wanted. Burger Land, a new fast food joint that opened a few weeks ago, had a policy to dispose of food after six hours, regardless of the state of it. Because of that, there was always good food and a lot of it. Taking a decent looking and smelling plastic bag, Jimmy filled it with burgers, fries, wraps, a few salads and some bottled soda that was expired. Worse come to worse, all the food would merely give them a belly ache. It was a perk living on the streets eating things most people would gag at, one's tolerance to bad food got better every time.
Humming gleefully, she sat on the edge of the dumpster and munched on a burger. Taking a big bite, she gagged, spitting the bite out and lifting the bun with a scowl. Pickles, the most disgusting thing that was ever created, sat on her burger. Wrinkling her nose, she flicked them onto the ground before resuming her meal. Even living on the streets, one had to have some kind of taste and pickles were not food in her eyes, just rotten vegetables people thought were so amazing. She ate a few more burgers, making sure to inspect them first for pickles, and a handful of fries before getting ready to leave. It was getting dark and she wanted to get back and get everyone fed.
Just as her feet touched the ground, she heard sharp foot steps, that soft tink of steel toed boots with the clack of a thick and hard heel. Courtesy patrols loved their boots, shiny and black with soles that could sliced through jeans with a well aimed kick. She slipped back behind the dumpster and froze, her MP3 played forcefully shut off with a tightening of her hand. Tink-Tink was going to be pissed she broke it, if she got back in one piece that is. She slowed her breathing and narrowed her eyes, tucking as much of herself as possible in the shadows and in her dark hoodie.
'Strange," a nasally male voice drawled. "There are pickles all over the ground and the dumpster has been left open. Are these people such animals that eat back here on their breaks and don't even had any decency to close their dumpster?"
Another voice rumbled something, she couldn't hear what it said, but Nasal Voice snorted. More footsteps, each step making Jimmy sweat a little more. She had gotten caught by these people before and had to stay in her pile of rags she called a bed for a week. It wasn't a pleasant thing, to be caught and beaten by these people. Rumor on the streets was that they were starting to 'cull off the unworthy' so they wouldn't have to hide the embarrassments of the city anymore. She had yet to find out if that was true but it wasn't worth her life to find out.
The steps began to move away from her, towards the bustling street, and she gave a mental sigh. Slowly, she stood up, preparing herself for a sneaky escape. It was going to be simple, sneak away until she was sure they wouldn't hear her then run for dear life back to the basement. Carefully, she stepped out from the dumpster only to step on a piece of her MP3 she crushed earlier. The sound of the plastic crunching was the loudest thing she ever heard. Without wasting a second, she bolted with the sound of the courtesy patrol roaring at her to stop.
Never had she feared for her life more than she did now. Racing through the back alleys and dark streets, she ran with the bag of precious food tight in her grasp. Every chance she had, she grabbed a trash can or some out of place wood and threw it behind her, hoping it would slow the pursuers down. Taking a great risk, she glanced back to see four men dressed in black suits and wearing dark sunglasses chasing her. One carried a hand gun but she was moving too fast for him to get an aim. Gasping for air, she raced towards her safe heaven, her home and her gang.
She rounded the corner that exposed her to the straight street that would lead her to her home only to slid to a stop in terror. More men in dark suits stood by the window she would have raced into. The twins' grandma stood in the doorway of her home, face grim yet determined as she faced down the men that towered over her. There was no safety there but she moved as close as she could to the house, hurling her bag over the men's' heads into the open doorway grandma stood in.
"Keep them safe Grandma," she cried as she raced by. The old women nodded, horror and grief filling the elderly face as Jimmy ran by, drawing the other men's attention. A small face peered from one of the basement windows, Owl's face streaked with tears and behind him Mouse and Nix stared. She had never seen such rage on Nix's face when she saw it peering out the window but she gave him a two finger salute and a shaky grin. They both knew it would not end well for Jimmy. On the streets she was fair game for the courtesy patrol and any rival gangs she may run into. The men of the courtesy patrol couldn't enter grandma's house, she was a distinguished and retired member of their twisted society and that meant they couldn't touch her or the kids as long as the kids stayed inside.
Both hands free now, she sprinted off, sliding around corners and over garbage that littered the streets she was racing down. She could hear the men chasing after her, like dogs after a rabbit only this rabbit had some tricks up her sleeves that would give a slight advantage. She climbed over walls and fences, slipped through small gaps, and leapt over trash that would have made a vaulted jealous. Regardless, all her tricks were in vain as the number of men chasing her grew and they began to spread out. She began to panic, franticly going down strange and unknown streets until she trapped herself.
"Shit shit shit," she muttered as she turned around to try and flee down the way she came. Men stalked towards her, evil grins filling their faces as they took their time approaching. "Just like rabid dogs. Worthless and stupid but they have me cornered. Sorry guys, I won't be making it back after all. Thanks you disgusting twisted society."
Up here, a strange voice said. She glanced around but saw no one except for a ladder that hadn't been there before. Shrugging, she jumped up, her hands thankfully closing on the metal ladder so she could climb up it. Faster, move faster. The voice, whoever it was, urged her to hurry as the men below yelled and attempted to climb the ladder behind her. Somehow, they kept losing their grips and falling off the ladder. Jimmy ignored them and worked her way to the roof. Thankfully, there were no men up here but the owner of the voice was no where to be seen.
"Great, now I'm trapped," she muttered aloud as she peeked over the roof edge to look at the angry men milling about in the dead end. "Will they call in a chopper to take me out? These guys sure do mean business now a days. The mayor must be getting anxious to clean up the back streets."
This way, the voice called and Jimmy blanched, looking around for the voice again.
"Now I'm hearing things," she muttered but headed in the direction of the voice, a small shack that looked like it held birds at some point. "I'm going bat shit crazy, that's what it is. All this stress and hatred is finally getting to me, just like Nix said."
She peeked into the shack, seeing nothing but hundreds of pigeons staring at her. They were beautiful creatures, all glossy and colorful yet they were eerily silent. All the pigeons she ever ran into liked to coo and make a bunch of noise, not just stare. Feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise, she began to back up only to be shoved into the shack. She yelped and spun around to see who was there only to find the door closed firmly behind her. There was no knob on her side either.
"Great," she sighed. "You guys wouldn't happen to know a way out, would you?"
The pigeons stared at her and she began to feel stupid for even talking out loud around them. Suddenly, one gave a soft coo and flapped its wings while its feet firmly grasped its perch. The rest began to do the same thing, cooing softly in sync as they all began flapping their wings. Bits of straw and seed dust swirled into the air as they birds caused a mini wind storm in the shack. Jimmy coughed and waved her hand in front of her face, trying to get a clean breath of air when the air began to grow hazy and colorful.
"What the fuck?" she breathed, forgetting about the dust. "This is weird, there must be something in this dust you all are flapping at me cause I am on a trip."
This is not an illusion, the voice said again, causing Jimmy to look around for that stupid voice. Focus on the rhythm, look into the portal. There you will be free, forever free.
It was a man's voice, Jimmy thought as she listened to it and stared colorful haze that began to get more colorful and bright in front of her. A very manly voice at that but a little high pitched. I really hope I'm not losing my mind.
The haze before her seemed to get denser, more solid almost. She could see trees, moss, strange things lurking around. The scent of blood, thick and strong, filled her nostrils along with something that smelled dark and rotten. Her nose curled at the dark scent as she frowned, rubbing her forehead as a soft humming sound filled her mind. It was all really strange but she had a great urge to walk forward, to look through the haze to see if it was really a portal like the voice said it was.
"Good bye everyone," she said, giving the pigeons a two finger salute like she did to Nix earlier. The salute of goodbye they all called it, something one gave when they knew they wouldn't be back. "Alright Mr Voice, I'll walk through it but if I die or this is all a lie, I'm going to find you and gut you."
With all that said, Jimmy took a deep breath and stepped through the haze. She heard the pigeons give a great coo and their wings seemed to beat as one for a few moments before all was silent. As she walked through the haze that was feeling like a tunnel, she felt her body twitch and grow warm like when she drank whiskey for the first time. She winced and rubbed her forehead again as the humming sound grew louder, a tuneless sound that thudded against the inner walls of her mind. Another sound filled her mind, forcing the tuneless humming to go away so it could fill her with it's own song. The song was gentle, like something a mother would sing to her baby. Somehow, it was comforting and Jimmy allowed herself to relax as she kept moving forward.
The air was crisp and cool, not cold enough to make her shiver the temperature on the other side of the portal. She could see more trees than she ever had before, could smell the damp scent of water and the crispness of green things. Everything seemed brighter, even in the gloom of wherever she was headed towards. The colors looked real and alive compared to the falseness of the city's face and the desolate looks of the back streets. She felt more at ease here, more relaxed and when she finally stepped out of the hazy tunnel into this new place, the weight of fighting to survive in a city that wanted her and those like her dead lifted away.
It was a refreshing feeling, to feel comfortable in a place so far away from one she knew. For all she knew, she was going to get killed by whatever lived around here but it didn't bother her. Instead, she felt tired, so tired she couldn't move. With a sigh she fell to her knees then crumbled into a pile on the soft ground. The last thing she saw, as sleep overtook her, was a silver haze swirling next to her, forming something she couldn't see as her eye lids forced themselves closed. Sleep took her swiftly and forcefully, without giving her a second to protest.