Chapter 5
"What?" Fredricx retorted. "You're displacing me?" His blood shot cold with sorrow, but quickly became like fire. The blood vessels in his forehead throbbed violently once again.
"I'm sorry, Fredricx."
"Why?" Fredricx demanded loudly. He had always tried to be respectful to August, but that faded.
The small, rat-like man shook his head, zipping up the velvet bag.
Fredricx's fists clenched together. The tendons were pulled so tight that Fredricx thought they might actually snap. "I work hard for you everyday. I don't complain. I do what you ask of me even if I disagree with it."
"It is the Scourge, Fredricx. I can't afford to pay your wages anymore. I will provide you with a good reference of character and labor."
Inhaling sharply, Fredricx swiveled away from the docks and into the streets of Yharham.
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Fredricx flew past Lucas, who was leaned against a side of a small building.
"What happened?" Lucas called, hustling and coughing after Fredricx.
His jaw was clenched tight, causing his teeth to ache, "He displaced me."
"What?"
"August displaced me."
"Why?" Lucas's eyes were wide as he continued swiftly after Fredricx.
Finally coming to a dead stop, Fredricx shook his head vigorously. Breathing quickly, he shot out, "He can't afford to pay my wages." His heart pounded furiously against his bones, blood coursing and filling his body with red anger.
"I'm sorry, Fredricx."
They walked silently. What was Fredricx to tell Ettie? What sort of job could he find quickly enough to pay their rent? What sort of job could he find at all? How would Ettie respond? What would they do?
"How am I supposed to tell Ettie?"
"Just tell her what happened."
"I don't think I can tell her."
It wasn't long before they reached Fredricx's apartment building. The streets were eerily silent. Fredricx felt dread fill his body from head to toe. His fingers curled and uncurled nervously. What words were there for Ettie?
"I'm sorry, Fredricx," Lucas started, coughed, and started again, "Let me know what I can do for you and Ettie. Here." Lucas handed Fredricx his half of a shilling, "Here, I don't need it as much as you do."
"I can't accept this," Fredricx shook his head, opening the door to their apartment. He could see Ettie inside, and his heart sank.
Lucas, at once, pushed his way past Fredricx and into their apartment. He greeted Ettie, grabbed their small coin jar, dropped his half a shilling into the jar, and left without another word, shutting the door behind him.
They were now alone, Fredricx and Ettie. He swallowed, ringing his hands. Without words, he pulled her into a hug. Her slender arms wrapped his back, and he inhaled the scent of her hair. It was clean and didn't reek of salt water.
"I love you," he exhaled, still holding her tightly.
"I love you too. What's wrong?"
"August displaced me, Ettie." Fredricx hugged a little further, feeling emotion well up between his eyeballs.
"What?" she shouted, dropping her arms for a moment and jerking away. Ettie made fierce eye contact with him. Her brown eyes were filled with confusion. "Why? You work so hard for Mr. August. How could he do that to you? How could he do that to us?"
"The Scourge, Ettie. He can't afford to pay me anymore." Even though she let go, he didn't. The headache returned with vengeance. Those small blood vessels swelled as the throbbing could be felt in between his skull and skin.
"Why you? You work so hard. Surely, there could have been someone else. What about that man Joel? You complain about him all of the time." She resumed their hug, but it felt more like an aggressive hold with how her fingers dug into his shoulders.
"I'll find another job, Ettie," he attempted to soothe.
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When Fredricx and Lucas were adolescents, the dishwashing at the local tavern did not stick. The alcohol did, however. Becoming men, they were expected to start careers. It was hoped that they would marry and have their own families. It was their mothers' dreams to have productive sons with their own children.
Fredricx's mother dreamed of herself having a beautiful, curly haired granddaughter and a strapping grandson. Things, however, didn't go as planned.
After the tavern job, Lucas started work at a textile factory, and Fredricx laid bricks. A couple of years passed in singleness for both. They worked, flirted, and did too much drinking.
However, Lucas became increasingly unhappy with his job. He switched over half a dozen times with each job getting more dangerous as if the risk of losing fingers and hands wasn't dangerous enough. There was more than one dark force in Yharham. Blood ministration and the Healing Church were not the only dangerous entities.
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The Boer War broke out in one of England's colonies. Soldiers were needed. A draft was instituted in Yharham. Lucas and Fredricx were selected.
Fredricx was enlisted in the British Royal Army. He excelled in his training. His bravery in combat promoted him quickly to a leader of other soldiers. Following orders with swiftness and justice, he was renowned among his peers and superiors. The money was decent enough. When the war was over, he was sent to London to debrief. He stayed on business, and Fredricx met and courted a beautiful curly haired woman. Fredricx and Ettie married in London. He worked there for months, enjoying the benefits of larger pay. They excitedly discussed children. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until Fredricx received a letter. The British Royal Army no longer needed him. Dejected, they moved to Yharham. Lucas pointed him toward to the shipyard, where he had been working for a while. With some arm twisting, Mr. August agreed to take Fredricx.
Lucas did not join the British Royal Army. He was rejected on the account of an extremity injury. Those shady jobs grew and gave birth to him working the streets for a gang in Yharham. It was unknowingly at first, using his street wits to smooth talk others into one sided deals and contracts. He, also, excelled, and as he did, his true employers revealed themselves. The money flowed freely, especially as he climbed the food chain. Soon enough, he was conning others into the low levels of the mafia. Lucas was able to use his silver tongue to avoid trouble with authorities. Anything that couldn't be talked out could be solved with violence. It wasn't Lucas who carried out the physical violence usually. That brought him no joy, but the money did.
When he received word that he had been drafted by the British Royal Army, he attempted that silver tongue. For once, it had not worked. Returning back to his bosses, they came up with a solution, a bullet to the leg. It didn't have to be deadly, but could get him out of the draft. Infection was the name of the risk. Lucas agreed. It hurt, but the money was worth it. Being a soldier did not pay as well as trafficking information.
Eventually, authorities captured Lucas with enough to imprison him. The mafia left him there. He was old news. Prison depleted his resources as one would have to pay for their own food, drink, and other amenities.
At first, he lived lavishly in prison. He wore his own clothes, pressed suits with long coattails. He ate his own food, which was prepared for him by his own cook. He drank all of the alcohol that he desired, wasting away the nights and days. Even on the occasion, with a large enough bribe to a sideways guard, women could visit him and stay a while. Those without money were not so lucky. Without money, prisoners would die of malnourishment. One could beg for money from passersbys as one of the prison walls was only prison bars.
Unable to support his lavish prison lifestyle for his entire stay, Lucas was moved from his well lit cell with furniture to a crowded, dark, and sickly cell with too many people. Many died of disease. Others of emaciation. Scourge nights were brutal as they had little to no protection against beasts. Prisoners were not worth wasting incense on. Lucas lived and inherited a cough. Eventually, he was released. The Yharham docks had a new yard master, a foreigner. With no clue of his reputation, Lucas found work as a shiphand.
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Author Note: Thank you so much to the two people who have followed my story! It is encouraging! Please review my story. Have your perspectives on Fredricx and Lucas changed? Would you like to see some more background on Ettie? Let me know!