carbonated angel
FAINT
.0o0.
He was walking home from school, scowling as he went. Stupid English teacher didn't even consider grading his paper. The grammar was right, she had said, it's just the content that was wrong. He had written about family. His family, to be more exact. Said that they were broken, but were happy anyway.
The teacher had shaken her head. Broken families are not happy, Mr. Minamoto.
So then he couldn't do anything about it. It was just a lousy paper, anyway. Not like he cared. The boy let out a low growl, kicking the asphalt road. Stupid day. He bent down to examine his sneakers. They were dirty.
The boy cursed under his breath. He'd have to clean them again. He kept walking.
Soon, his steps lead him towards his usual route, what people there called the left way. The sound of heavy construction reached his ears, and the boy blinked. The whole area was covered in yellow tape, indicating that no one was to pass there. He scowled and cursed again.
Stupid day.
The boy glanced to his right, warily. Looming over the horizon stood the tall, dark shapes of the dead city. He hesitated. Passing through there was the alternative, but he wouldn't, didn't want to. The dead city was forbidden ground, and he had passed there only once before, to visit his uncle.
He fingered the gun in his pocket. Tobias'. Tobias was his dead mother's brother, a detective. He had given the boy his gun before, in one of his bouts of drunkenness. Kouji Minamoto looked at the bulge in his pocket with blank eyes.
The gun hadn't been used yet. Well, maybe once or twice, when he had tried to shoot squirrels and birds before, during springtime. He didn't like springtime very much. Maybe because it was when his mother had died.
Kouji started walking towards the dead city. It really didn't matter. As long as he got home in one piece. He clutched the gun, wondering why Tobias always kept it loaded. There was a full round in there, just in case.
The boy was faced the entrance, and he looked at the mass of darkness with disgust. He stood there for a couple seconds. And then, he went in.
.0o0.
The fat woman took the plastic phone in between her fingers, listening to the rings. Her fingernails were painted red, and were grown long. One hand tapped impatiently on the table's surface, while the other rubbed against the phone.
No one was answering. Girl must be out, she thought. Shelley probably took her with him.
She put the phone down, and ran a hand through her mass of curly blond hair. A burp escaped her lips, and her breath smelled of salted peanuts. The fat woman sniffed.
I'll check on Izumi another time, she muttered, heading to the kitchen to eat again.
.0o0.
Pitt Bull and the boys were halfway done with the walk to Saul's place. Saul's real name was Edward, but he said Edward was a screwy name, so he called himself Saul. He was the man everyone went to for stuff. Alcohol, smokes, crack, you name it. Saul was a merchant. Saul was a salesman, a negotiator, a middleman. He was a jack of all trades, yet a master of none.
He knows where we can chuck 'er, rumbled Pitt Bull, watching the girl as she kicked the younger boy's back.
She's strong, said the older one. But annoying as hell.
Shut up said the old man. You're carrying her next. Get yer ass movin.
You can't tell me what to do. I'll kill you, replied the boy, without batting an eye. Pitt Bull kept silent after that, but there was a gleam in his eye that worried them both.
The girl stopped moving after a while, just glaring at her captors as they lugged her through the streets. Her blond hair was filthy from where they had thrown her and rolled her in the grime, and her green eyes were bloodshot, because there was no water where her father lived—only beer.
She closed her eyes. They were going to sell her to Saul, the scar-faced man who ate lizards for breakfast. Shelley used to tell her stories about the dead city people, back when he was a decent man.
But that was a long time ago.
.0o0.
When he stepped inside, he was caught. Darkness, cobwebs, rats and filth. It was a combination of the inside of the sewers and a haunted mansion. Kouji squinted and tried to see. A little bit of daylight seeped through the wires that ran across the top like giant snakes, so that helped a little.
Now which way towards his place?
He scowled, and a faint breeze brushed his dark hair across his face. It smelled of rhum. He perked his ears up, but only the slurred voices of stupid drunkards and the seething and scurrying of the street rats could be heard.
Kouji sighed, and narrowed his eyes. He began walking.
.0o0.
Heh…not much of a second chapter, eh? Thanks for the reviews. I shall update soon. ;-) Everything will definitely be short.