My world is grey. I walk down the grimy concrete path beside the road when I feel a drop, I look up at the dreary sky and realize with mild interest that there were real clouds, not just the dirty fog from the factory's pollution that you see every day. It begins drizzling but that makes little difference to me, I wear a sturdy, dark grey trench coat and leather boots that I found on a dead guy a few years ago. The coat is far to big for me and actually drags on the ground when I walk, it was made for an adult and I think I'm about twelve. I've actually been wearing it pretty much constantly since I got kicked out of my old apartment last week. It keeps me dry at night when I'm sleeping and keeps me warm when I'm cutting meat in the freezer of butcher shop where I work. In the past couple months I worked there my coat's sleeves have gotten covered in blood but I don't care, if anything it just encourages people I don't know to leave me alone. There's only one person I care to talk to and she knows I didn't get myself bloody hurting people. It's actually a serious boon, I get mugged and bothered by pan handlers much less often since the blood became noticeable. The rain was picking up a little more, grimy water was running through the town over everything and anything. Fortunately I arrive at the shop before it starts coming down to hard.
As I step through the doorway I see Mary. She has soft, long blonde hair that runs down her sweet face. Her slender frame is covered with a white apron that she is always wearing when she works the counter. There wasn't a speck of blood on it despite the fact she works in a damn butcher shop, I don't know how she does it.
"Marcus!" she said louder. Her blue eyes shone with worry. "You smell like a sewer! Have you been sleeping outside again?" her voice was thick with concern, she came closer and examined me closely.
"It's fine" I said vaguely and quietly. Her voice rose a little higher.
"It is not fine! You're going to catch your death out there, let me talk to my dad about letting you sleep here. Please?" She put a hand on my shoulder as she said this, even through my thick coat I could feel her soft, gentle touch. A warm place to sleep did sound appealing but just giving me this job despite my age was more charity then I was comfortable taking from someone.
"Mary, it's fine." I said a bit more firmly, a felt a pain in my gut as tears began welling up in her big, blue eyes.
"Marcus your just a little boy, it's okay that you can't handle everything alone." Without responding I gently pushed her aside and walked away. Her words stung at me, I was a few years younger than her but I was hardly a little boy. As I pushed through the door into the back room I silently promised myself that one day she would see me as more than a child she had to protect. I didn't yet know that the day had already started.
A cold mist was in the air and all the table surfaces were stained with the blood of various animals, I approached my table and found a large, slimy green slug animal already there. I rolled my sleeves up and reached into a drawer to retrieve my cleaver. I never talk to anyone back there but I do listen. Beside Mary's father, a large, burly man by the name of Gardall, there are two other men, Joshua and Randall, who seem to be pretty good friends.
"I'm serious man the rebellion's getting strong!" Randall said excitedly. "There are entire planets allying with them now, they could come liberate us any day!" Before his friend made a reply I heard Gardall's gruff voice say something.
"You really thing that would change anything? You know, other than the fact we would have a thousand hungry soldiers demanding free food?" I released a short chuckle as I got to work and the other boys stopped talking about the matter. I worked in this calm way for a few hours before their was a sudden shriek that made me jump. I looked up and saw Randall holding his hand which was bleeding profusely. Over his incoherent swearing I heard Gardall.
"Hey Marcus, there's a medkit under the counter out front, go get it will ya." he said calmly. I just gave a little grunt and walked through to the front when I saw the man. He was about Mary's age maybe a little older, he had grimy black hair and was holding a blaster pointed at her. Upon seeing me he pointed the gun at me, I noticed Mary already had the register open and was counting out money. Her eyes, following his, went to me and instantly looked even more fearful.
"Hey! Put the cleaver down kid!" he yelled in a nervous, threatening tone. I had forgotten I was holding it, but now that I remembered I definitely wasn't going to put it down. I said nothing but visibly tightened my grip on it.
"I'll shoot!" he yelled, I just hardened my gaze and stayed where I was. There wasn't a thought in my head, certainly not a rational one. After another moment Mary yelled out.
"Please don-" she was cut off as he pistol whipped her. As soon as I saw the gun was no longer pointed at me I dove forward at him, as he tried to bring the gun back I sliced my cleaver into his arm; going all the way to the bone. He screamed and dropped the gun, as he did I shoved him off his feet with my other hand letting the cleaver stay lodged in him. Acting on instinct I dove on top of him and gripped his throat as hard as I could. I could feel a sadistic smile form on my face as I looked into his bulging eyes and rapidly pailing face. Once again there wasn't a thought in my head as I squeezed tighter and tighter and tighter until a loud snap rang through the room, making me release a gasp of breath I didn't realize I was holding in. As soon as I processed what the sound was my adrenaline rush began fizzling away.
"...Holy shit." Someone said in a soft terriried voice.
This snapped me back to reality, I turned to see Joshua right behind me and the other two men standing in the doorway that led into the butcher shop. There was silence save for my own heavy, excited breathing. I looked to Mary who had a large bruise forming on her face and the joy that had come over me left. I stared at for a second and I saw fear, as coherent thought returned to me I realized I was the source of this fear. Wanting to say something I stood up, as soon as I did everyone stepped back, even Mary. The pain I felt in that moment is indescribable, I didn't know what to do or say. My throat felt so choked I probably couldn't have talked even if I did. For a moment I just stared before darting out the door, I ran a few blocks before I slowed down to a fast walk. I was so overcome with emotion I couldn't think, I hadn't even noticed it was still raining until that moment.
Figuring that I should at least go back to a familiar part of the city I turned around and almost bumped straight into a man wearing a black cloak who stood like a wall. I began to say something snide but looking at him made me swallow my words. His frame was pretty normal but for some reason he intimidated me greatly, I think it was his eyes. I only glanced at them but they were hard, and threatening in a relaxed way. He spoke, his voice was cold and commanding.
"I've watched you boy, there is quite a fire burning in you." With great determination I made the mistake of looking back into his eyes, all the anger and emotion that had built up in me drained away; replaced by fear.
"Who are you?" I responded nervously. Rather then answer my question he went on.
"But no matter how strong your drive is, you, are still weak. Too weak to protect that girl who you care so much about." This snapped me out of my fear.
"What the hell do you mean? I protected her!" I said, not sure why I was arguing with this mysterious stranger. At this he let out a terrifying chuckle.
"Yes, you managed to defeat some deadbeat, but what would you do if someone with real power decided to hurt her?" he said towering over me.
"Someone like you?" I asked, taking his question as a threat. Another chuckle preceded his response.
"Yes, someone like me. What if I told you I wanted to hurt her?" As he said this I quickly tried to stab him with the switch blade in my pocket. He caught my wrist easily and seemed to place a light pressure on me that sucked the energy from my body. I fell to my knees as he spoke again.
"I see potential in you boy; come with me, and serve me, do so and I will show you how to turn that drive into the strenght you need." So much was happening so fast, I didn't know what to think, I couldn't just go with some random guy I met on the streets based on a vauge promise. Still, my only real tie to this place was Mary and this man did make a good point; if she was ever threatened I would be more or less unable to protect her. I couldn't imagine anything worse then that. Other then that it occured to me that I needed to get out of this city, the law enforcement here is pretty bad but even they would keep an eye out for a known murderer. Not that what I had done was really a murder but I could still get in a lot of trouble. I looked up at the man and despite my fear, my uncertainty, I nodded.