Chapter 2 : The Wasteland

Several months later...

Four of the members of the Twilight Brigade gang were sitting in their worn-down hut of shelter, clouded with smoke that couldn't escape through the boarded windows. An orange-haired girl ground her cigarette in a glass ashtray, blowing smoke through her lips casually. It was midday, but the sunlight was only visible through a few holes in the walls and the slightly ajar door. Outside, there was nothing but similar buildings and dirt.

"How's the shop coming along, Sakisaka?" the cat-like auburn asked, turning her attention. The man let out a hopeless sigh, which caused the other three to grow immediately upset. "Don't tell me we're broke again!"

Sakisaka laughed nervously and raised his hands in defense. "Not broke yet, but we had a high of two customers today." There was a silence. "Neither of them bought anything." A collective sigh of disappoinment filled the room. "I'm trying my hardest! But without money, we can't get stuff to sell, and therefore we don't get any customers!"

Shino stood from her seat on the sheetless bed, basically a small mattress. "We can't go on living like this. I haven't eaten in a whole day, and people are always robbing us as things are." She turned to the other girl, folding her arms. "And Tabby, you look like hell. Do we even have fresh water?"

"Fresh water?" Haseo asked incredulously with a smirk. "Yeah right. If we had fresh water, we'd be millionaires." He kicked an empty can of old soda that they'd been living off for a couple of days. "No one likes the slums any more than you do, Shino. We just have to deal with it." She groaned in agony, holding her stomach in pain. "And it's so hot..." Haseo randomly commented, wiping sweat from his brow.

The quartet exchanged beaten glances, thankful they at least had each other for company. A silence filled the room, and Haseo slammed his fist on the wall. "Man, where the fuck is-"

The door opened and someone stepped in, kicking the door shut as sand from the streets blew in. "It's like a drought out there," he said, dumping an armful of merchandise on the table. "What are you guys doing holed up in here?"

Shino pointed to the counter in the corner of the room, where there was a handheld, battery-powered fan running. "Besides," she went on as he shook his head in shame. "I don't want to get sand and dust all over me. What took you, Ovan?"

Ovan bit one of his nails in distraction, eyeing a hole in the wall. "I ran into a couple of hotshots on the way back."

"And by a couple, you mean...?" Haseo jumped off the top bunk and started for the table.

"About a dozen. But don't worry, you won't be seeing any of them." Tabby picked up a loaf of wrapped bread, her mouth watering. Also on the table were two bottles of water, four apples, and large bottle of some murky liquid, probably rum.

Everyone crowded around the central table, some not even touching the sacred food. "Wow, Ovan! This is amazing! Where do you get all this stuff?" Haseo picked up an apple, but Ovan took it from him.

"I just made another trip to town. But don't get too excited. This is for the shop." Everyone's jaws dropped.

"The shop?!" Sakisaka exclaimed angrily. "Those hooligans out there don't deserve this type of...divine..." His hand trailed to the bottle of alcohol, but Ovan stopped him with a warning look. "Are you out of your mind?"

Ovan went over to the far wall and propped open a window, the makeshift sales counter falling out with a small tap. "All we have to do is sell everything for way more than it's worth and we'll make a fortune. The customers will be so greedy and desperate, they won't even know it's overpriced. It's called making a profit." The others nodded at Ovan's logic, still staring at the food. "The more you eat, the less we sell. And the less we sell, the slimmer the chance of ever seeing this type of food again."

Sakisaka and Tabby took their places at the sales counter. "I guess that makes sense. We're so poor, I'm guessing you stole all this?" Ovan nodded, not even guilty. "This 'town' you talk about must be really cool. You can just go up and steal food," Tabby fantasized, causing Ovan to roll his eyes.

"You can't just go up and steal things. It's very technical." He put his hand in his pocket, pulling something out. "Oh, and these are for you, ladies." He tossed a small shiny object to Shino, and then one to Tabby, making Haseo shake with anger. "It's not much, but they wouldn't sell for a lot. You two look starved."

Shino turned the small chocolate over in her fingers and admired the wrapper, then looked up with glossy eyes. "Oh, Ovan..."

He smiled warmly and nodded to her. "Don't feel bad. I stole it from a baby." He left the building, Haseo following after him.

Sakisaka watched enviously as the two girls happily ate the chocolates. "Man, Ovan. That sexist jerk." Tabby slapped him over the head.

"Don't say things like that! Ovan hasn't eaten anything either." Sakisaka grumbled something incoherent, and Tabby turned to Shino. "I feel bad. Ovan's been working so hard for us, walking to town and back through the heat, trying not to get caught stealing. I feel like we don't do anything." Shino nodded slowly, still nibbling her candy. "Still, I bet this stuff will sell in less than an hour. We should get to work."

Shino stuffed the wrapper in her pocket. "Yes, and once you sell everything, Ovan can go get us even more food, so we can all eat again." She smiled to herself and went outside. "It's all downhill from here."

Outdoors, it was hot and sunny, stifiling dusty air making the heat more unbearable. Tumbleweeds glided down the main dirt road, and heaps of garbage were on the end of every block. There was no water, no mountains, or anything. It was just a wasteland.

"Wait up," Haseo called, making Ovan slow down a bit. "Where are you going?"

Ovan gave him a bored look, smiling slightly. "Just for a walk." Haseo didn't bother to wait for an invitation and started walking by his side. "Aren't you going to help with the store?"

Haseo shrugged. "I think those three can handle it on their own." He recognized the sound of hurried footsteps behind him and put a hand to his head, sighing. "Or, those two." As expected, Shino appeared by his side, panting lightly. "Hey. It's dangerous out here, you know."

"I know," Shino returned, pulling her black shirt that was stuck to her chest. "But I wanted to thank Ovan for the candy." Haseo groaned and Ovan laughed kindly. "I'm sure you two must be hungry. Maybe we can find something around here."

"We can try," Ovan and Haseo said simultaneously, knowing their chances were not good. "What the people didn't get, the animals did."

Their walk was tiring and the sun was scorching their backs, but they didn't run into any people or food along the way. The tan surroundings eventually became a blur and Shino rested on Haseo for support. "There's...shade," she said between breaths. "Let's take a break." Haseo nodded weakly.

Ovan leaned forward to look at the couple, who glared back at him. "You two shouldn't wear black. It just makes you even hotter." Haseo scoffed, but Shino looked at the ground.

"Black is all I have. I had to borrow these shorts from Tabby, and they were her only other pair." She fingered the fringe of her denim shorts, stringing another strand off the bottom. "Food is one problem, but clothes are totally different issue," she sighed.

"Please," Haseo argued, pushing her off. "You don't need clothes to live." Shino and Ovan both gave him shocked looks. "Well, you kind of do, but not like food and water. Clothes are the least of our problems."

Before them, in the shade, a small gang of people were already sitting there, taking up a great amount of space. "Looks like we have company," Ovan murmured, approaching the gang. They looked up, not moving. "Mind if we join you?" Haseo elbowed him in warning, but he was ignored. "You look like you have room to spare."

The leader of the gang stood, folding his arms. "This is our territory," he said blankly. Shino grabbed Ovan's arm, trying to move him away from the other people. "Find your own place to rest."

"Oh? Well, I have a girl here who's very tired, so if it's not too much trouble, I think she should be allowed to take a break here," Ovan explained coolly, keeping his eyes on the leader. Shino gave him a look, saying she could go somewhere else, but it was no use.

Another gang member stood. "We don't give a shit how that whore feels; we ain't moving!" He drew a knife, and Ovan smiled with satisfaction. "Beat it!"

"I'd prefer not to get violent," Ovan remarked, drawing his gun. Haseo grinned widely and drew both of his knives, tossing one to Shino. "But if it's a fight you want..."

"It's a fight you'll get." Haseo stepped up, looking down his nose at the dirty peaseants. "Don't you know who we are?" They raised their eyebrows in question. "No? That's alright. We'll teach you."

The leader's eyes widened and he turned to his people. "These are the guys with all that food and loot. If we take them out, we can get all their stuff!" Everyone rose, drawing weapons, and the trio took stances.

Ovan looked at Shino reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's in self-defense." Haseo moved first and sliced deeply across one man's chest. They cried out in pain, but the rogue silenced them with a stab to their neck. Ovan blocked a blow intended for Haseo with his forearm, then shot them through their midsection. Within seconds, Ovan and Haseo were back to back, fighting off every thug who came within two feet of Shino.

Haseo winced in pain as steel slashed across his face. "Dammit, these guys are fast." He kicked a brunette's ankle, breaking it, and stepped on their back as they fell face-first to the dirt. "You alright, Ovan?" he asked, using his other foot to step on the side of his victim's head, snapping their neck.

A large wooden club came into contact with Ovan's head, dazing him. "I'm...fine," he returned, blinking rapidly. "This won't take long." He beheaded a man with his gun blade, then shot through one man and into another. "Shino?"

She brought down Haseo's blade, nearly chopping the hand off another guy. He pushed her down, but she quickly went for his heel, slicing the tendon. "I'm alright!" She wiped the blood from her lip, looking up to see her two friends keeping the gang away from her. "Thanks."

A thug knocked Haseo's blade out of his hand, sending it spiraling towards Shino. "Watch out!" he hollered as she rolled out of the way. "Alright, you asked for it!" He slugged the offender across the jaw, sending teeth flying. Taking their shoulders in his hands, he brought his knee up into their stomach, blood spewing from their mouth. He got them in a headlock and drove his elbow into another man's gut. "This won't take long, huh?"

Ovan shot three consecutive bullets into three different people. "Yep. I'm done." Haseo threw down his last two and dusted off his hands, smirking evilly at the corpses. Shino returned his knives to him and took a seat in the shade. The sun was beginning its way down through the sky as Haseo searched the pockets of the victimized thugs.

The silver-haired boy relinquished the coins to Ovan before sitting next to him beside the brick building. "I hate this place." Ovan turned to him. "Day after day, we just beat people up for money, spend it on food, and sleep in beds without sheets." Haseo hung his head and sighed abjectly, strands of his messy hair blocking his eyes. "How much longer are we going to be here?"

The other man smiled mysteriously, removing his sunglasses and smearing away the almost unnoticable blood droplets. "Perhaps not as long as you think." Haseo looked up in confusion. He opened his mouth to further interrogate his friend, but Shino crawled over, handing a small strip of cloth to Ovan and using the other to tend Haseo's facial wound. Ovan pressed the cloth against the blood from the club impact, then pulled it off and stared at the dark maroon stain. "We'll be out of here before long."

Shino and Haseo fell asleep in the shade. They rested in silence for a while, Ovan looking through the clouds of dust to the city beyond their home. Looking at his two younger friends, he gave them a fond smile. This place is all these two have ever known. I don't know if they're ready for what's out there. The sun was sending hazy mauve streams across the blue sky, and tiny white specks of light appeared in the east, the direction of the metropolis town.

The sky looked light orange as Ovan gazed through his sunglasses, at the west. The mauve he saw were stratus clouds, which didn't give a lot of hope for rain. The slums were in a heavy drought, and he knew the two kids wouldn't last much longer. But while there wasn't rain, there were also no mountains, which made the area a good target for strong winds. Their only shelter, a small wooden shack, was decrepit and falling apart.

The tiny specks of skyscraper window lights flourished as the sun began to go down, sitting on the horizon. All along, Ovan made trips there and the others just called it "town" or "out there". It would be culture shock, but they had to leave this wasteland. He had one more plan before they relocated, and it was already in progress. It just had to be successful.

The man's coarse hand sifted through Haseo's mop of silver hair, tousling it lightly. The boy groaned and rolled over on his back, cracking his eyes open. "It's dark," he said groggily. Ovan nodded and stood, offering a hand to Haseo.

"And it's getting late." He helped the boy to his feet and they both turned to Shino, still sleeping. They smiled gingerly, watching her breathe, her brow dappled with sweat and her hands covered in dirt and blood. "Reminds me of when we first found her."

Haseo looked at Ovan, then back at Shino. "Yeah. I'm sure glad we did." He picked the girl up and rested her head against his chest, letting her sleep on. Ovan knew Haseo had feelings for Shino, and Haseo might've known that he knew. But he didn't intend to make a big deal about it. The two started back to their home; the only home Shino and Haseo had ever known.