The Yard

A railway yard was quite an unusual thing to see indoors, but then again in Rapture everything needed to be indoors. Five railway tracks ran parallel along one another with each joining a turn table that had only one single track leading out of the yard. There were various cranes, Porto cabins of all sorts and even a signal box looking over the whole yard.

Yet this yard was silent and disused with not a single soul whether it was human, feline or rodent skulking about. Throughout Rapture a series of indoor railway lines ran throughout the city, which was ironic as the intended Atlantic Express line had long been discontinued. But still a means for cargo transport was required for the distributions of goods and supplies to their assigned districts. And the answer came in the development of a new indoor electrostatic powered locomotive that was small yet powerful enough to haul long lines of railway carts to their destinations.

But now these indoor locomotives whose power was supplied through the railway lines stood still and inactive upon the tracks. They themselves were dead as the power than ran through them had long ceased. But the whole yard was illuminated in an orange glow from the ceiling lights that still functioned, giving a type of evening theme you'd see when the sky at night glowed from the density of the street lamps.

Suddenly the still silence was broken by a sound that would excite any Splicer on the prowl. From a Little Sisters vent someone was stirring and drawing near the vent hole, from it a young boy with a black eye patch poked his head out and cautiously looked around for anyone about.

Peter the Little Brother then dropped out and landed on his feet before crouching as though he was on alert very much like a character in a spy movie of sort. He snuck up to the edge of the stone pavement that ran parallel to the railway track and looked in all directions of the yard. While he did, Chloe who was with him since their breakout struggled to climb out of the vent but instead fell clumsily as she lacked the unusual strength and athleticism of Peter and landed on hard her rear that nearly had her in tears.

Peter not being entirely absorbed in his theatrics had the courtesy to help her up as he then motioned for her to follow him. Exactly as a child playing games he crept along the pavement leading further in to the yard while Chloe just straddled behind. Not wearing anything on her feet made walking on the cold stone pavement with bits of broken concrete, discarded bolts and screws painful and unbearable as her feet were getting bruised and sore.

Peter meanwhile who also walked bare foot did so with no sign of discomfort, he continued with theatrics; ducking and leaping at various places for cover while also performing back flips. He then walked up to one of the inactive indoor locomotives and jumped aboard in its control compartment, where he then proceeded to fiddle with the controls in an attempt to start it up. He knew however it was never going to but it didn't deter him from having fun.

Grabbing an Engineer's abandoned cap lying on the floor he then put it on and shouted out "All aboard," and fiddled still as he imagined the train was in motion with him at the controls. Chloe who stood right outside watched him, unable to fathom his interests and motives in why he would find joy playing with the thing.

Peter who noticed her asked "You ever ridden on one of these things before?" she slowly shook her head while staring at him with the blank expression on her face "I did a few times, but only when hiding in one of the carts it towed. We either use to nick things off them; me and my gang. Or we just did it to travel to a new district for free; we'd be in for it if caught."

After a few seconds he ceased playing and jumped out beside her "Come on lets go find some grub."

In the yard was a cantina cabin that the two explored hoping to find food, but the kitchen they searched showed signs that it had already been raided and all that remained was rotted meat and veg. Peter even held with the tips of both his thumb and index finger a green mouldy rasher of bacon "Eww," he grumbled in a sarcastic tone "And it's green too, like boogers and sprouts," tossing it over his shoulder he walked up beside Chloe who searched the cupboards for anything to silence the grumbling in her stomach.

She was absolutely famished having not eaten anything in a while since Peter had consumed her last bit of food back in her room. Suddenly she found a half-eaten mouldy donut and driven by hunger opened her mouth, only for it to be snatched away by Peter and tossed aside "Gross kid, it will make you sick. Take it from someone who's had to eat out of the garbage once in a while," he then headed for the door, not paying much heed to the still grumbling in her gut "Come on Chloe, let's look elsewhere."

Looking disappointed and sad at the donut lying on the floor, Chloe could only follow him without ever voicing her objection or her annoyance with him. Back outside in the yard Peter looked in all directions for anywhere else to search, and then at the other end of the yard he spotted a signal man's box.

"Let's check there," he made his way across the yard, dropping down from the pavement to the tracks and crossed to the other side. He had only gone one third of the way when he looked back and saw that Chloe was still on the pavement. She stood there, kneeling for a second to climb down herself but then stand back up as she was hesitant to drop down and land on her already sore feet.

Slightly irritated he headed back to her and then quickly jogged again to the other side with Chloe on his back. After leaping up on to the pavement he walked towards the staircase leading up to the observation floor of the signal box "Chloe wait her," she climbed off his back and he leapt up in to the air, stuck to the outside of the signal box's wall and peaked in through the windows. Assured no one was inside he then crawled towards the door at the top of the stairway and motioned for Chloe to come up while he picked the door lock.

Chloe didn't see what he used but noticed his right index finger was pointed at the key hole and somehow he opened it. The door creaked open and both stepped in, there was no light, just what seeped in from outside and a battery powered lamp that stood on a table at the back end. On the floor was a makeshift bed; clear signs that somebody lived here. But whether they were dead or just out for the moment didn't concern the two juvenile home invaders.

Looking for food Peter approached some cabinets and rustling through one found a stash of candy bars; one of which he threw to Chloe who sat upon a chair to nurse her sore feet. Searching further through the rest of the draws he found a few soda bottles, a packet of cigarettes, and a bottle of wine and jin. Grabbing a nearby sack Peter began to fill it with all he could find; including a few bags of potato chips and even tinned cans of food.

Out of this stash he picked two soda bottles, two bags of chips, and a tin of chicken soup before sealing the sack up and putting it to one side. While the food would sustain them for a few days, the tobacco and booze could probably serve as something to barter with out on the streets for further supplies; a little rule he had learnt on the streets before he had been snatched off them.

Going through another draw he then pulled out two bowls with a spoon each, a small cooking pot from another, and a portable camping stove "Hope you like soup Chloe."

The soup simmered in the pot while it lay on top of the lit camper stove and filled the air with an appetising warm aroma, Peter despite his age seemed to know what he was doing as he stirred it. Chloe meanwhile feeling a chill approached the stove to warm herself from the warmth of the stove flame.

Peter though cautioned her "Hey, hey, don't get too close or you'll burn yourself alright, it's almost done anyway," he leaned closer and sniffed the steam flowing from it "Oh this is gonna be good."

In just a short while he served for himself and Chloe a bowl each of the first warm and appetising bit of food any of them had had in quite a while; a far cry from the slop they were served during their incarceration. Usually a slice of bread or croutons made soup more enjoyable, but the absence of such forced Peter to improvise with the potato chips he had found. Each while using a spoon would take one chip from the bag they had each and dunk it in to their bowl.

"Heh, beats how I used to eat these," he said to Chloe who listened "A couple of times all I had was a bag of chips and a mug of milk, so I'd crush the chips up, pour them all in to the mug and just eat them all out with a spoon. Sounds weird but wasn't as bad as you would think. Course then I learnt to cook while on the street."

He paused for a moment after sampling a spoonful of the bowls contents and judged his own cooking "Needs some salt, couldn't find any in the draws," he noted to himself before looking at Chloe who had removed her glasses as the steam was causing a build-up of condensation on the lenses. She looked at him, her vision all blurry without them due to the damage to her eyes.

Peter who looked back stared at her face and started to think how much it reminded him of one of those hand crafted dolls he'd seen on a toy shop window. Like them her face seemed frozen and just incapable of making any emotion other than a frown which was all she could manage. Her pale complexion seemed to match the same ill white colour of all dolls, and her eyes; they just stared with that creepy dead glare they all had. However in her case her scars ranked her as one that had been discarded and left on a trash heap because of how the simplest of scratches to the face deemed it all but damaged and ruined.

She then made a muffled sound as though to ask why he had stopped and so he continued.

"Didn't use to live on the streets before, had some folks I did I use to live with in some rundown apartment owned by a guy name Sinclair. But then one day I woke up and found that they were gone, just packed up and left me alone. Don't know why though, but after that I couldn't stay where I was, landlord went and kicked me out on to the streets," Peter paused for a moment to take a swig from his soda bottle "It was rough at first but then I joined a street gang who lived on the streets, The Rapture Sharks we called ourselves.

We did all kinds of things to survive; we'd steal, pick a few pockets and sell what we lifted from the shop shelves," he again paused and looked at the sack he had filled, remembering the alcohol and cigarettes he had stashed.

"We'd rumble with other gangs, have fun on the street. The older boys would sometimes hoard some of the grown-up stuff like booze and tobacco we'd swiped for later trade for themselves. They thought it made them look big and slick; it made half of them spew all over the pavements.

Mind you when it came to rank I was at the bottom of the ladder because I was the youngest and therefore the runt of the pack. I was kind of cocky though and gave a bit of attitude to the bigger boys. And they just reminded me that they were big; bigger than me.

But I made some pals who looked out for me and taught me the rules of the street and how to survive, and how to cook," Peter noted with sarcasm on that last part "Yeah it weren't all too bad. Then one day, Pike our leader told me to join him and a few of the guys for a job he had planned. I don't know what happened, one minute I'm on watch and next thing the Fuzz nabs me, and I end up at that place we met."

The mere mention of the facility where they had both been held stirred up some unsettling thoughts in Chloe, but she paid attention still, curious to know of Peter's own experience and the harm befallen upon him in that dreadful place.

"I wasn't the only boy they snatched; there were a few of us they had rounded up and had on the operating table. Said they were going to make us in to Little Brothers; whatever the hell they were. But whatever they intended it didn't go as planned," Peter commented with a grudge as he twiddled the fingers of his right gloved hand in front of the patch that covered his left eye "All us boys had something show that had gone wrong. Eyes, hands, ears, mouths, even feet," he remembered the Little Brother he saw with the deformed feet during their escape.

Chloe however couldn't imagine what deformities or mutilations lay hidden under those concealments he wore, and as she dunked a potato chip in to her bowl she couldn't help but be envious and wished that she too could hide her own disfigurements.

Peter who then quickly sighed finished up what remained in his bowl and his story "After that they just used us as lab rats and tested all kinds of stuff on us. I don't know what they did to me next, but I could suddenly jump so high I could reach the ceiling, stick to it and even crawl along it. I can also heal fast and am a bit stronger than I was before "He then boasted as he bragged further about his abilities so as to impress Chloe "Those guys in the gang who had a problem with my attitude aren't gonna be knocking me around anymore when I see them again.

"But if that isn't enough I can also do…" he then paused suddenly and looked once more at his right hand he had raised suddenly as though he was about to demonstrate something he suddenly realised could shock and terrify her. For that reason he quickly changed the subject to what happened next "After that they locked me away because I wouldn't stay put in my room since and kept wandering about the place.

I was trapped in there for a while, starving and thinking I was forgotten and never getting out. But then the door opened by those two saps and I just made a break for it with them on my tail," he then placed his empty bowl aside and reached for his soda bottle as he laid back in his seat and stared out on to the yard below "And the rest you know, I just dropped in on you and hid under your bed. Kind of thing a wimp would do, but I just didn't have the fight in me. That was until I ate that candy bar you gave me."

Chloe who brought her spoon to her small open mouth paused and thought "I didn't give you it, you took it."

"So..?" Peter then asked looking back at her "You've heard my story, how about yours?" he was clearly joking though on that last part, he hadn't forgotten what she was now incapable of "Oh right, you can't speak," a bit of an insensitive thing to say but he meant no harm "But hey, I noticed in your room all those drawings you drew were of you and your mother, but not your father. Some of my buddies when they talked about their dads said they either died or just walked out on them; that sort of thing happen to you?"

Chloe merely nodded and raised two fingers to indicate the latter on Peter's assumptions. She never gave much thought to her father; having never known him or knew the sort of man he was as her mother never spoke of him. She then finished her bowl and the last of the potato chips before yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"You tired?" Peter asked, feeling a slight bit of fatigue as he also yawned "I guess we should hit the hay here for a few hours, and then move on," he got off his chair and walked over to the bed that was nothing more than mattress with a blanket and two pillows; one of which he picked up and then walked towards one of the worktops next to the windows.

"You can sleep on the mattress if you like," he offered, not wanting to say that it stank as bad as she did. After jumping up on to the worktop, he sat with his back against the wall with the pillow between the two; he closed his one visible eye and rested his forehead against the glass and nodded off.

Chloe who had watched but had remained silent looked at him, puzzled on her thoughts regarding Peter. She hadn't really stopped to think of what she was getting in to when asked if she wanted to come along with him. But then again she was just a child, too young to contemplate the consequences of her actions and where they would lead her. All that had mattered back in her room was that after being locked away and forgotten, someone who had dropped in offered to take her away from her sad lonely existence.

It didn't matter where, just as long as she didn't remain in that room. And now she found herself alone with this strange boy who seemed capable of performing feats of amazing abilities such as leaping great heights and crawling along the ceiling. But more alarming and something that she even had a concept of; Peter had actually killed. And she pondered on whether it was safe remaining with him or if she could ever survive without him.

And that raised another concern she had, what would happen if he decided she was too much trouble to have tagging along and he then decided to abandon her. It troubled her as she had been left alone by her mother and discarded by her slob of an uncle. All this caused so much confusion in her young mind; the thought of being alone and abandoned again that she got up from her chair and walked up to Peter, reaching to him and thinking of climbing up and just huddling, so that when she woke later he would still be here.

But she imagined the mood he'd be in and decided to just sleep on the bed as he had suggested. It was filthy to look at up close with its visible stains of sweat, alcohol spills and other such things she dared not think of. Having to lie upon it filled her with disgust, yet it beat sleeping upon the hard floor.

Picking it up the remaining pillow and putting it aside she then pulled the blanket over the mattress; covering the whole thing before finally placing the pillow on top and in the middle. It still stunk of someone's own body odour and other such possible bodily fluids she was too young to even know about. But at least she wouldn't be lying in it.

Feeling the bed was now safe she then lay down on the blanket with her head resting on the pillow, removed her glasses and placed them within reach. Then closed her eyes and nodded off, shivering slightly but partly worrying herself to sleep with the hope that when she awoke he would still be here.

Peter suddenly awoke to a nauseous feeling in his gut "Oh shit!" he whined quietly, he felt a convulsion in his throat and leaned over the side to vomit on to the floor. It lasted no more than two seconds as he regurgitated a small mouthful that lay in a puddle below him. He wiped his mouth clean and looked at Chloe who was still sound asleep, and was relieved that she hadn't been awake to witness that.

He sat back against the pillow; adjusting his eye patch and continuing to stare at her while she shivered in the cold. She was one very unusual travelling companion, and probably a hindrance as well. He started to realise that up to now she hadn't exactly been any use at all to him or herself. In the short time they had met he had had to do everything for her; carry her, protect her, feed her. And so he started to wonder why he had bothered going back to her room and bringing her along.

Back with his old gang the rules were simple; 'If you can't pull your own weight or risk dragging somebody down with yourself then you're out. Lose the dead weight before they botch the job or get you killed'. And he'd seen a few gang members go down because of someone else's incompetence and unreliability. So in his case; unless he ditched Chloe now or sooner, he'd be stuck dragging her ass all over rapture, till he either ended up dead or back in the slam.

He made one long sigh and gazed back down in to the yard, staring at the locomotives and train carts, thinking how he wanted to be an Engineer and ride the railway lines. His one good eye swept along the railway tracks leading out of the yard, and then suddenly something at the end caught his sight. And as he looked harder at it he realised to his alarm it was man wearing a Station yard uniform, glaring rather angrily back at him.

"Oh shit!" quickly Peter leapt of the work top and ran over to Chloe as the man in the yard headed straight for the stairway. He shrugged her hastily to wake her "Chloe, Chloe wake up!" she stirred and moaned while her tired eyes only half opened "Come on get up," he urgently instructed as he handed her glasses. She merely whined and shook her head, wanting only to go back to sleep "Heh, heh cute, but no, we gotta go now. Somebody's coming and they look pissed!"

The rail yard worker meanwhile had climbed the steps and was now standing outside. He entered through the door, holding a bottle in one hand and a revolver in the other. Aside from some bruising, his face had no such deformities caused by Adam, indicating that he was either not a Splicer or had not spliced enough to exhibit its physical deterioration. Still, Splicer or not, the chaos that had torn Rapture society apart had driven those like him to confront violence with violence, and adopt a savage and territorial instinct in dealing with anyone who dared venture in to their turf or invade their home.

He was in his late thirties, unshaven, heavy built and violently drunk. He took one gulp of the liquor he held before slurring out loud "Whoever the fuck is in here, your dead!"

He looked around for any sign of the youth he had seen sitting at the window, the street rat who had invaded his home and had no doubt been rummaging through his stuff. Immediately the first thing he noticed that was out of place was the small camper stove and the pot on top of it, he approached and was furious to find that they had been used. Seeing also the two bowls and two spoons out made him realise there was more than just one intruder; two no doubt .He noticed next his bed had been slept upon, and after seeing the discarded soup tin and the empty soda bottles and potato chip bags he quickly inspected the draws and found they had all been cleaned out.

He breathing then became heavy and frantic at having been robbed of all his belongings and supplies. Remembering a story of one out of the ordinary family that had had their home broken in to by an adolescent delinquent who was also blond like the youth he had spotted; he calmly but still angrily spoke out "Unlike Goldilocks you ain't gonna just run home, so come on out now so I can kill you!"

He spun around looking for any sign of Peter and Chloe but could see no sign of them and wondered suddenly if they had snuck out while he was inspecting the cabinets; oddly enough he hadn't noticed that the sack Peter had filled was still lying where he had left it. And nor was he aware that if he just looked up above his head he would have seen Peter clinging to the ceiling with Chloe clinging to him.

The man made his way for the door believing that they may already be out in the yard with his stuff which he hoped on getting back. Peter as quietly as he could followed him from the ceiling, trying to keep out of his line of sight in case he walked far enough to easily spot them from one end of the room. The man approached the door but as he was about to walk out he spotted the small puddle of puke Peter had vomited.

Although it would have been just another thing to add to the list of reasons he would have murdering the two, he found himself unable to look away from it as something about it drew his attention. He couldn't understand why some street rat's own puke would interest him, rather disgust him at the lack of respect and regard the perpetrator who had committed this repulsive bodily act had shown in his home.

But as he suddenly approached the puddle and examined it; the whole time his distraction was giving Peter and Chloe the chance to sneak out through the door. His curiosity turned to sudden surprise and his eyes widened with shock and astonishment as not only was the puddle of puke which he oddly dunk his fingers in to all green and gooey, but as he raised them to the light he finally realised what this stuff really was "This is… Adam."

Outside Chloe quickly crept down the stairway with Peter following, he stopped suddenly and whispered with a whine "Oh heck, I left the sack with all the food back up there," he looked up at the open door and wondered if he should go back for it.

He looked back at Chloe whose eyes were wide open with urgency for the two get far away. But Peter being too stubborn instead said to her "Go hide somewhere; I'll be back in a minute."

He turned around to head back up the stairs when suddenly the station yard man came out with his revolver and a cane he carried also. He aimed at Peter and fired, who narrowly avoided by already leaping off the stairway and performing a side flip over its railing and dropping down to the floor below.

The man looked over the side for Peter and yelled "That girl whose with you, bring her up here now if you know what's good for you!" He suddenly spotted Chloe who was hiding behind one of the railway carts, realising he was coming for her she ran off down the railway line. Ignoring Peter he gave chase, believing that it was she who had produced the small amount of Adam he had found on his floor.

He ran after her, gaining as her little legs and bare feet could only carry her so far on the hard stone cold pavement. But following behind was Peter who leapt through the air and landed on the man's back "Hey are we playing tag? Always the girls we guys chase."

The man however furiously swung his body about trying to throw Peter off. He only held on tighter, wrapping his arms around the man's neck. However the station yard worker then slammed his back hard against the wall, making Peter wail in pain, he did so again "Hey let up already!" Peter pleaded. The man only repeated his action, causing more pain for Peter and driving him to take drastic action as he held up his gloved hand "Right that is it!"

Not too far down the line Chloe had stopped running and instead walked fast to ease the stress on her feet. But while she looked back for any sign of Peter or her pursuer she unknowingly approached a tram cart that had a shroud draped over its open windows. And as she looked forward she found herself confronted by two men who had stepped out of it in response to the commotion they had heard.

"Well what do we have here, a little lost girl," one of the men snidely remarked.

"What the hells a kid doing wondering around here?" the second man enquired, sounding more curious than concerned that a child was wandering about alone. Like the station yard worker they appeared not to be Splicers, but like him they were just as violent and hostile to anyone who strayed on to their turf.

In response the first responded "I think we got ourselves one of them Little Sisters who appears to have lost her Daddy."

"Are you sure, she doesn't look like one, I mean her eyes aren't even glowing," the second one noticed, sounding less vindictive than his friend.

"Course she is, that's all little girls are now; besides, maybe not all of them glow. But whatever, she's got Adam, and we need that shit," he then approached her "Come here sweaty, we ain't gonna hurt you."

Chloe however backed away in fear and turned to run back the way she came. Rather run after her the man reached in to the tram cart and with a grin suddenly threw a baseball he had brought out directly at Chloe's head. The blow she received on the left side of her head knocked her down on to the pavement floor. Her eyes teard up and she went in to a panic as her glasses had bounced off her face; she franticly reached her hand out looking for them but blacked out from concussion.

"What the hell did you do that for?" the second man protested at the harsh action his friend had taken.

He only grinned with the response "Come on you prat," they both stood over Chloe who lay unconscious, she was rolled over on to her back with the one who had K.O. her kneeling by her side.

"Now what?" the other asked.

"Now we just take the Adam and we'll be ready for anyone who comes a looking for trouble."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"The same way you knick a kidney," from his pocket the man produced in his right hand a switchblade.

"Wait a minute; you're not seriously going to cut it out of her?" the not so vindictive man questioned with alarm.

"Course I'm going to, I ain't gonna just wait till it works its way out."

"You're a sick bastard."

"Oh put bandage on that bleeding heart, or you ain't gonna survive much longer unless you got the balls to do what you need to do. Besides…" he took hold of Chloe's face and turned it to stare closer at her scars "One more ain't gonna spoil what's already ruined," holding her down with his left hand, he then popped its switch and its blade shot out.

But high above among the scaffolding was Peter who swung through it very much like a monkey could. With the station yard worker's cane in his hand he threw it like a javelin at the man who was about to cut Chloe open and struck his hand, knocking the switchblade out of it.

"Oww Jesus!" the man yelled in pain while his accomplice franticly looked to the ceiling from where the cane had been thrown.

He caught a blurred vision of Peter moving above fast "Shit it's one of those Spider Splicers!" before he knew it Peter suddenly dropped down on him and slammed him hard in to the ground. The man was flat on his back while Peter leapt hard on to his gut. He repeated his actions again, causing the man to raise his head in a reactionary response. Peter with his foot slammed it hard against the pavement; laying him out cold.

With him dealt with he leapt again and spun around to confront the other who had now just picked back up the switchblade he had dropped. He turned to Peter, aggravated at how he had disarmed him and left his right hand bruised. His attempts to intimidate Peter by posing large and aggressive fell flat as Peter had had his fair share of bullies to contend with before.

And right now the only concern for Peter was that the guy was standing between him and Chloe. He looked at her still lying unconscious and was filled with anger for what this man had done and intended to do to her.

The man meanwhile Aimed the blade at Peter the issued a threat "Get lost kid or you're gonna be losing your one good eye."

Peter still not intimidated by the thug only responded "I'm not as half blind as you may think pal,"

"Yeah well if you don't piss off now I'll give you instead matching scars like this little train wreck here," he callously referred to Chloe."

The cold remark though only angered Peter more "If anyone's gonna end up a wreck with scars, it's gonna be you dickhead; and five I'll give you I will!"

"And how are you going to do that?" the man asked, not the slightest bit convinced that a half-naked ten year old who only wore a plain pair of filthy shorts with small pockets and nothing else; say for his eye patch and glove could threaten him "I don't see you holding a blade, and unless you're carrying two; which I doubt you are in those pants, you ain't gonna scare anyone,"

With just a cocky grin, Peter held up his right hand "Who needs blades when I've got…" and through a slit on each fingertip of his glove something long and black and razor sharp slid out which he identified as "Claws."

It was true as the man realised to his horror, that each of Peter's fingers and his thumb had extending from within the glove he wore a black claw; each two thirds of the fingers they protruded from and sharper than any razor. The man staggered back in shock "What kind of freak are you?"

"You think that's freaky, you should see what's under the eye patch," without giving him a second to ponder on that Peter then leapt straight passed the man's right leg and slashed beneath his shin. He squirmed and dropped his knife while he grabbed his bleeding leg with both hands. Seeing he was off balance and off guard Peter then next booted him in the back of his left knee, the man fell on all fours and then suddenly felt Peter's hands clenched together slamming in to the back of his head.

He hit the pavement and was out cold, but Peter was far from being done with him. Holding his head up by his long greasy hair, Peter brought his claws to his face to embed upon them the five scars he promised. Instead though he dropped his head face down on to the ground, thinking the five on his leg were enough and picked up the man's switchblade. He examined it, discovering it was a stiletto, and a fine crafted one it was.

He recalled how back with his gang the older boys had such knives in their possession, and while they used them for nothing more than feuding with rival gang members or to intimidate and harm other people. The knife in a way gave them a sense of pride and the notion that people feared and respected them; and it was why the younger members; practically Peter wished to obtain one for themselves and acquire this form of status.

And now he had, he had claimed it in a fight where he was the victor and with it the right to call himself a man. As he then pocketed it he suddenly remembered Chloe and quickly knelt by her side. She was still unconscious but still alive; Peter lifted her and after retrieving her glasses that lay not too far from where she had fell, quickly made his way back down the tracks to the signal box; passing along the way the station yard worker who lay on the rails face down in a pool of his own blood.

Slowly Chloe's eyes opened as she awoke and stared at the ceiling above, only to realise she was not wearing her glasses as everything was all blurry. As she sat up her head suddenly ached badly from the concussion of being struck on her head. Her hand touched her forehead and she felt a bandage wrapped around her head with a cold pack covering where she had been hit.

She then realised she was back in the signal box by the feel of the bed she lay on and the recognisable unpleasant smell of it. Looking in the direction of the windows she managed to identify Peter standing by the worktops. He turned around, not expecting her to be awake already and sounded rather alarmed by it.

Chloe meanwhile stared at his face and while she could just about recognise the burred black parts of him that were his glove and his eye patch, she became fixated on the patch that to her confusion seem to have a red glow coming in from it. Quickly Peter turned his back to her and reached for something, which further confused Chloe as it seemed he was putting his eye patch on again.

He approached her and handed her her glasses and another soda bottles from the stash "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Struggling a bit to keep her eyes open she rubbed her forehead to motion the migraine she was having.

"Yeah you took nasty hit to the head but your safe now," she looked away and slowly sipped the soda bottle while rubbing her forehead more. Peter realised though she was still a little shaken and figured he was going to have to do more than hand her a soft drink. So gently he placed his hand on her shoulder "Hey listen…" Chloe turned to him "You've probably realised now it's rough out there and not a smart thing to be on your own. So how about from here on you stick with me and you'll be okay."

She stared at him with her expressionless gaze; him unable to guess what she was thinking of his offer "Look I'll stick with you and you'll be fine," he sighed though as he realised he was going to have to put a bit of effort in to how serious he was being "I'll look after you and won't let anyone hurt you, and I won't leave you alone ever… Well what do you say?"

Chloe though looked as though she was about to burst in to tears, and she did. She lounged at Peter, wrapping her arms around him and crying out loud in his chest. He couldn't quite understand the need for the over emotional burst she had, but her reasons for it would be simple to someone who understood her state of mind.

The misery and pain of lose and loneliness, added with the lack of moral regard for her wellbeing and the harm it brought upon her. Being branded a reject and then locked away and forgotten, suffocating in her own filth and never to be heard even by herself. Only then for somebody to come along, offer to take her out of solitary and away from her captivity and misery. Someone to then tell her she'll never be harmed, that she'd never be alone.

All Peter could do was put his right arm around her and rub her head with his left "Alright, alright. Gees, you're gonna draw more attention here," Chloe then ceased crying and withdrew from him, looking him back in the face "So..?" all she did next was push up the ends of her lips to mimic a smile and chuckle, implying to Peter she would stick with him "Great, now let's go before anyone else shows."

Later Peter and Chloe left the signal box and were soon standing in the railway yard. Looking across the tracks to the Little Sister vent on the other side, Peter realised he would have to make two trips to cross; one to carry Chloe across, and the other for the sack of food he remembered to bring.

Once the sack was left in the carriage of the nearest locomotive he carried Chloe safely to the vent, and then went back for it once she was safely inside. He handed in up to her through the vent hole and made one final check that he was clear. He spotted however the two men who had cornered Chloe earlier watching him from around the corner and noticed how the one whose switchblade he had taken was leaning on the shoulder of his buddy due to the state he had left his leg in.

Peter flexed his right hand and each claw popped out, causing the one supporting the other to whisper in alarm "Christ you weren't kidding!" they got the hint and quickly walked away as Pete vanished in to the vent and left the yard with Chloe.