~O~
The old man's wheezing woke Shun in the middle of the night. It didn't wake anyone else. At least, not yet. The wheezing, which had done nothing but get worse as of late, was like nails on a chalkboard to Shun; he hated the sound. Taking a quick glance around the room, Shun saw that both of Dan's parents had returned home at some point that night. Even though they shared the same bed, it was clear there was an imaginary barrier between the two.
The Crash had done nothing but make them grow apart, and after Dan's mother took up her job of roaming the streets and offering company to other men for money, things only seemed to get worse between the two. It pained Shun to watch them drift apart; they might as well have been his parents, too. He sighed and glanced over at where his wheezing grandfather lay.
Shun's skin crawled, and he knew there was no way he would get back to sleep until his grandfather's coughing and wheezing was brought to an end. So, he carefully climbed off the mattress and stepped outside. It was still raining, but not like it had been earlier when Shun was leaving work. The raven-haired teen walked over to a small bucket that had been placed outside of the house.
Clean rainwater almost filled the bucket all the way to the rim. Off to the side was a small, metal can. Shun picked up the can and dipped it in the bucket, collecting water. With a full can in hand, he retreated back into the house and skillfully navigated through the dark room until he got to his grandfather. Kneeling down, Shun lightly shook the old man's shoulder. "Grandfather, wake up," he whispered so he wouldn't wake anyone.
The old man's eyes slowly opened and found Shun. "What is it?" he asked gruffly. Shun handed the can of water to his grandfather and said quietly, "You were coughing and wheezing again. Here, drink some water. It'll help." His grandfather reached for the can with a trembling hand; Shun was surprised he had the strength to even hold the can without dropping it. He sat by and watched his grandfather drink the water down.
When the old man was done, he handed the can back to Shun and said, "Thank you." Shun nodded and took the can back outside, where he sat it beside the water bucket. He then glanced up at the sky. Despite the rain clouds, he could tell dawn was on the way. No point in going back to sleep, he thought bitterly.
With a heavy sigh, Shun went back inside the house, grabbing his clothes from yesterday. They had dried overnight, and the mud that had been caked on them had begun to flake off. "Good enough," he muttered to himself. Clothes in hand, Shun stepped into the bathroom and quickly changed. He tried to knock off as much of the dried mud as he could; some of it was still wet and did nothing but smear on his pants.
He growled and left it be. Now that he had changed clothes, Shun stepped out of the bathroom, threw the clothes he had slept in back over near the storage box, and started to walk towards the door. "Leaving early, aren't we?" his grandfather asked. "An early start never hurt anyone," Shun said as he slipped on his shoes and coat, both of which were still damp. He then turned back and met his grandfather's weak gaze.
"I'll be back tonight. You just rest, alright?" The old man nodded. Shun left it at that and hurried out of the house. Even though it wasn't raining very hard, it didn't take long for Shun's already-damp coat to get soaked through again.
He tried to ignore the chills that shot through his body, but that was easier said than done. However, he pushed through the miserable walk to the publishing office, the need for money giving him the motivation to do so. When he finally got there, he stepped inside, relieved to be out of the rain. As Shun was hanging his wet clothes on the coat-rack by the door, he heard Boss Wade say, "Don't drag any mud through here. I just swept."
Shun mumbled several obscenities under his breath; he wasn't in the mood to put up with his boss. But to keep from tracking mud through the office, he removed his shoes and left them by the door. Shun then walked over and grabbed one of the stacks of papers.
The warmth that radiated from the paper told him they had just been printed. "I didn't realize it was you that walked in here. A bit early, aren't we?" Mr. Wade asked gruffly. Shun glanced over his shoulder and said, "I woke up early and there wasn't enough time to go back to bed, so I figured I might as well get a head-start on things."
Boss Wade laughed and said with a flick of his cigar, "Don't expect me to add this onto your pay. Your shift doesn't start for another hour, so until then, you're not on the clock." Shun returned his attention back to the newspapers and muttered, "As expected…" He reached down and lifted the papers off the floor, then began to make his way out. But just as he was about to leave the office, his boss stopped him.
"Wait a minute," he said. Shun rolled his eyes and braced himself for whatever cruelty his boss was about to throw at him now. But when he turned around, Boss Wade handed a small umbrella to him. Shun stared for a moment and said, "Uh, thanks, Boss." Mr. Wade rolled his eyes and said, "It's not a gift. It's raining out there and I don't want the papers getting drenched. Make sure they stay dry."
The boss then retreated back into his private office, leaving Shun to fight the urge to either throw the umbrella down, or at the back of Mr. Wade's head. Instead, he swore under his breath and left out of the publishing office, opening the umbrella when he stepped out into the rain. Shun walked down the block till he reached his usual selling spot.
The ground, naturally, was soaked from the rain, so he had no choice but to hold the massive stack of papers, while also juggling the umbrella. An hour went by, marking the official time for Shun's shift to start, and already, his lower back and feet were screaming for him to sit down. But unless he wanted to sit in puddles of water, he had no other choice but to stand.
It also didn't take him very long to realize there wasn't nearly the usual amount of people out on the streets. Because of the rain, most sane people were going to stay inside their homes. Shun swore under his breath; there was no way he was going to sell many peoples today. On top of that, he knew Mr. Wade wouldn't cut him any slack because of the weather.
But Shun couldn't call it a day. If he did, then his boss would do nothing but further dock his pay, or even go ahead and fire him. So, Shun decided to tough it out. He stood there on that street corner, shouting headlines at anybody that passed by. The hours drug by, and for a while, Shun felt like the day would never end.
By noon, he had yet to sell a single paper. As he stood there, aching back and feet, he suddenly began to wish that Alice would show up; somebody to talk to would have been nice. He knew the odds of her showing up would be slim, though. He sighed and saw out of the corner of his eye that a stranger was heading his way.
As the stranger went by, Shun called out the headlines, trying desperately to get the man to buy a paper. But when the stranger rounded the corner and vanished from sight, Shun felt his shoulders sag with defeat. He then muttered under his breath, "This is going to be a long day…."
~O~
Alice looked out the window of her room and sighed; she never liked dreary weather. All rain did was turn everything to mud, and sometimes made everything humid, which, in turn, made the air feel sticky. It also meant she couldn't do anything outside, such as tend to the flowers she had planted around her grandfather's house several years ago.
And going into the city would require putting on rain-boots and finding an umbrella, then trudging through mud, and Alice didn't feel up to doing any of that. Although, she did want to go and see Shun again. She wanted to go up to him and buy a paper to help him out, then hang around and talk to him. She wanted to know more about him, his life, dreams, and aspirations.
Not knowing any of these things left Alice with somewhat of an empty-feeling, as if she needed to know things about Shun in order to complete some void in her life. Alice shook her head. "I'm losing it," she muttered to herself, "He probably could care less about who I am…" The thought made her sad. How could somebody she had only met twice, suddenly become the center of her thoughts?
Alice looked back out of the rain-splattered window and watched the drops fall, turning the ground to mud. The rain would be gone by tomorrow, thus drying everything up. With everything dry, she could easily make the walk into town; she could see Shun again. The thought brought a smile to her face. With this thought in the back of her mind, Alice walked over to her bed and laid down, eagerly awaiting the day when the rain stopped.
~O~
Night had fallen and Shun had begun the walk back to the publishing office, the large stack of papers in his hands. He hadn't sold a single paper that day, and he knew that this would set his quota back drastically, but it wasn't his fault. The weather had been bad, and because of that, potential buyers were scarce. And any people that did go by, didn't want to stop in the rain long enough to buy a paper that would just get soaked.
Shun knew his boss wouldn't see it that way. His boss would yell at him, call him worthless and then continue to wonder why he was even paying Shun in the first place; it was possible he would even fire Shun after this. The raven-haired teen sighed. His arms hurt from holding the stack of newspapers all day, and he wanted nothing more than to throw them down onto the wet, muddy ground.
He couldn't, though. If his boss discovered he ruined the papers, he would dock them from Shun's paycheck. And a whole stack of papers might as well been equivalent to a week's worth of work, maybe even more, seeing as his pay had been cut in half. Shun swore under his breath. He hated having to walk around on thin ice just for a pitiful paycheck, but it was that pitiful paycheck that helped him get his grandfather's medicine. Or, at least it did, he thought bitterly.
He was halfway to the publishing office when the rain finally stopped. Shun stopped walking and folded the umbrella closed, no longer needing to use it to keep the papers dry. He then hooked the umbrella's handle to his wrist and was about to continue on his way when somebody stepped out from the shadows of a nearby building. Shun felt the hairs on the back of his stand on end; something wasn't right about this.
He couldn't make any features out of the stranger, for a scarf hid his face from sight. He also wore a long, dark coat, and his hand was tucked away in one of the pockets. Shun swallowed his fear and said, "Um, can I help you?" The man's eyes, which were the only visible thing on his face, narrowed at Shun.
"Give me your money," the stranger demanded, his voice muffled by the scarf. Shun felt his eyes widen; he was being mugged. It shouldn't have surprised him, seeing as crime had catapulted since the Crash, but he had never been in this kind of situation before.
He knew he had to be careful, because one wrong move could result in the thief attacking him. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any money on me. I swear," Shun said cautiously. The mugger suddenly pulled a small pistol out of his coat pocket and pointed it at Shun's chest. "I said, give me your money." Shun felt his heart try to lurch out of his chest.
He slowly put the stack of papers down and raised his hands to show he wasn't looking for a fight. He then said, "I told you, I don't have any money. Please, if you just go on your way, I won't make a report to the police. We can go on and pretend none of this ever happened. Alright?" The stranger pulled the hammer back, loading a round into the gun's chamber and said, "I don't believe you. You have a job, which means you have money. And if you don't hand it over willingly, then I'll take it from your dead body."
Shun knew there was no point in trying to talk this thief into leaving him alone, which left him with only one other option; fight back. "Alright, alright," Shun said to the thief, "I'll give you my money. Just let me get it out of my pockets, okay?" Shun pretended to reach into his coat pockets, but quickly grabbed the umbrella on his wrist.
Then, with a good, strong swing, he knocked the pistol out of the mugger's hands. The gun went flying and landed in a puddle of water, leaving it useless. The mugger swore and started after Shun. The raven-haired teen quickly dropped the umbrella and ran.
He could hear the thief's feet pounding behind him; the guy was fast. Shun then felt something grab onto the collar of his shirt and pull him into a nearby alley. He was then thrown on the damp ground, the thief standing over him. "Please, just leave me alone. I don't have any money. I swear," Shun said desperately.
The man didn't seem to care, though. He grabbed the collar of Shun's shirt, hoisting the teen to his feet, and slammed his fist into Shun's abdomen. The vanished from Shun's lungs, and he tried desperately to regain control of his breathing. The mugger then slammed Shun into the wall of the alley and landed a punch to his face. Next thing Shun knew, he was thrown back onto the ground, and he could feel his body being kicked repeatedly.
Each kick sent a shockwave of pain throughout his body, and he could feel bones cracking beneath his skin, mainly his ribs. He laid there on the ground, unable to move due to the amount of pain he was in, but he could feel the mugger digging through his pockets and clothes for money.
The thief swore aloud. Shun winced as he said, "I…..told you…" Speaking hurt his battered body, as did breathing. The stranger stood up and ran from the alley, leaving the scene of his crime. Shun tried to sit up, but the slightest movement sent blinding pain through his body.
In an attempt to find himself help, he pushed through the pain and, using the wall as a support, pulled himself to his feet. His legs were weak and trembled beneath his weight. However, the moment he took a step, the pain intensified and jolted through his body. He fell to the ground, which only created more agony. But at that moment, his body didn't want to deal with the pain anymore, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
I wrote like, half of this yesterday and just did the rest this morning. And since it didn't take me very long, I'm probably going to update my other story as well, since I kind of left it off on a major note. So, anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, so please read and leave a chapter on the way out. ~Copperpelt~
