Hell on Earth

The Boy With Red Eyes

Sakura chatted with the regulars while waiting for the casserole to finish heating up. Many said again that this would be the last time they ate there, but it never really was. Some chatted about how well their children were doing in school, some grumbled commonly about how hard it is to find a place to shower or wash their clothes. Some of their stories got a little long-winded, but Sakura loved listening to these people's tales long and short, just listening; they had lived lives longer and more interesting than most of the kids she went to school with.

"There's a new kid around here too, I don't think he's got any parents. I'm fairly sure he doesn't have anywhere to live," a woman said petting the hair of her sleeping toddler.

"How old is he?" a man asked.

Sakura could not help overhearing as she poured water for a table of people.

"Real young. Maybe like 15 or 16. It's a sad sight. I was homeless when I was not much older than him, and it's a horrible thing. No kid should have to go through that." She looked sadly down at her son, hoping she could hold onto her apartment until he was old enough to get a job of his own.

Sakura thought about it. That was the same age she was. She got to go to school, she had parents who worked hard to support her, and if for not her volunteer work, she could not imagine living so young and on the streets. It made her feel sick.

"Be sure to tell him about this place okay? If you should see him," Sakura said.

There was an office here dedicated to getting youth off the streets especially. There were other places too that could help him secure a place to live until he could manage the rent on his own. They had connections to places that could help locate family members or places to take him in.

"If you see him, you really can't miss him. He's got bright red hair."

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Sakura closed the door behind her. She had stayed extra late tonight, so that she could help clean up for tomorrow's early morning NA counselling sessions. The streetlamps had already come on even though it was May. She walked along the familiar street she had always taken to get home, but considering it was so late she decided to call her mom and her know when she would be home.

She dialed and waited for someone to pick up. When she got the answering machine, she started to leave a message, and as she spoke she was completely unaware of the presence behind her. She did not realize that while daily dwellers around here are nothing to worry about, night prowlers still crept about.

She hung up, sighing. She heard a noise.

"Hello? Is anyone there," she asked as a reflex.

She heard no response, so she assumed it was a cat or stray dog. She continued walking, but she heard footsteps.

"Come on, I know you're there. The only thing I can tell you is that we'll be serving dinner again tomorrow night."

Her heart began to pound. She knew someone was there, the fact they wouldn't respond is what was frightening her. She balled her fists and started to walk again. A figure crossed her path from the corner. She stopped when he spoke.

"What are you doing out so late missy?"

She was far enough back that she knew she would be able to run if she needed to.

"It's dangerous in these parts for a rich kid like yourself to be out."

So, a thief? She thought. She took a step backwards, but stiffened when she heard a different voice from behind her.

"Especially when you're such a cute little girl."

She was grabbed around her waist and she squealed. The first man got closer to her. The man behind grabbed onto her thigh and she twisted to bite his arm. He snarled and loosened his grip, so she spun and kneed him. He fell, tearing her tights and she ran with the first man turning to follow her. She was now no longer at a distance where she could outrun him. She turned a corner, crossed roads, and ran until she didn't even know where she was anymore, but she man remained right on her tail. She pushed over a trashcan, like in the movies, but it only caused her to topple over along with it. Not quite movie-like.

She was tackled. She screamed for the man to get off of her, but of course he wouldn't listen. She was rolled onto her back to face the man. His features were too obscured by shadow for her to ever even be able to identify her attacker. She punched and thrashed, but to no avail. She saw feet from under the man's body, heard running footfalls and knew it couldn't get any worse. She slammed her eyes shut. A boy's growl and a loud 'CRACK' were something that made them reopen.

The man's body was no longer a weight atop her; he had been flung to the side. She looked and saw he was grasping his shoulder. Above her a boy now stood, holding a two-by-four like he had just swung a bat. He took a step, standing between her and the man stumbling to his feet. The man snarled, and the boy swung again, hitting him in the head.

"Get out of here!"

The man beat feet, holding his bleeding skull and made his way out of the alley.

The boy dropped the two-by-four and dropped his hands to his sides. He looked down at Sakura and she stared back up at him for several seconds. His messy red hair could not cover what caught Sakura the most; his red eyes. His hair was easily dyed that shade of red, but contacts never looked natural. His eyes though, were unnatural in colour, but entirely organic. They were still intense from adrenaline and instinct told her she should get away. She scuffled away a bit, but the boy spoke then.

"Are you alright?" he asked, calmly, slowly, and concernedly. He meant no harm. He held out his hand.

She looked at him a bit more, decided, and then took his hand up. She stood, and he backed off a little bit, giving her some space.

"…Thank you…" she told him after dusting herself off.

"…uh…Not a problem…" he muttered after a second.

What are you supposed to say in a situation like this? The both of them thought to themselves.

"I… Suppose I should get going…" Sakura said, she took a step towards the alley exit, and then realizing she didn't know where she was.

"Um… where is this exactly?"

"What?"

"There aren't… any street signs here. I'm not sure how to get home."

"Well, where do you live?"

He paused. "I-I mean, not like your address, or even your street. Just the um… General area. I don't really need to know. I just-"

"What's your name?"

"My name?" he flinched.

"Yes. I'm Mamiya Sakura. Who are you?"

He glared at a faraway object somewhere. "Why do you need to know?"

Sakura scoffed. "I was just curious. You don't have to be rude."

The boy looked back at her, then blinked at the ground below. "My name is Rinne."

"No family name?"

"My family name's not important."

"Okay Rinne," she bowed "thank you, for… what you've just done…" she again, wasn't sure how to finish.

A growl made her eyes return to the boy. He held a hand over his stomach. His fingers were thin, as was the rest of him. She wondered when his last meal was.

"Rinne? Are you hungry?"

"N-No. Not really," he lied.

"Well… I can't help right now, but I work at the HHSC building on weekends, where you can get a free meal. If you… want… you can stop in tomorrow."

"I'll think about it," he muttered again in that low, shy voice again.

"Um… Since I don't know the way, and it's… obviously dangerous for me to be out alone, would you consider walking me home?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"I… Yeah, I guess I can."

The pair started to walk out of the alley, and Sakura couldn't help but ask.

"How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen. Why?"

"Are you in school?"

"…No… I dropped out. I couldn't pay tuition."

"Oh… do you live around here?"

"If you can define it as such, yeah."

"So… are you homeless or something?"

Rinne stopped. "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"I just want to know."

Rinne exhaled in a growl. "Yeah, I'm homeless right now."

"What happened?"

"You don't need to know," he scoffed, but continued "But I'll tell you. My father belongs in prison. No, he belongs in Hell. My life has been Hell up to now. Now, I'm making it better, away from him."

"What did he-"

"No more. I'm done. Your house should be right up ahead."

She ran up to one of the houses and told Rinne to wait outside. She opened the door with her key, and was back outside in about thirty seconds.

She smiled when she realized he had not run off. She handed him a half-eaten bag of chips. He stared. And stared at her, and the bag of chips.

"I owe you a lot more, but will except this for a start?"

"I… don't deserve-"

"Really. Thank you."

He looked down to where her beige tights had been torn. He had saved her from what could have been after all. He looked at her face and her smile pierced right through his heart. His face flushed and he nodded and immediately turned to leave. His heart raced. And he subconsciously decided he would have to find that HHSC building-if only to see her again.

Sakura couldn't sleep. Her parents had spent the last hour trying to consol her, when she was actually fine with what happened. They tried to convince her not to volunteer tomorrow, but Sakura did not care. So long as she was home before dark, she would be fine right?

It wasn't just that. That boy had her mind occupied. How could someone have eyes that red? Why wouldn't he give his full name? What had his father done to him? After a few hours, she decided she didn't want to know. Tomorrow was Sunday, and she would need sleep in order take care of her Sunday chores.

...(...)(...)(...)...

NA is "Narcotics Anonymous" I know because of Daevon's parents. Lovable people, but they made some stupid decisions in their life. I've never personally been homeless, so all I know is bounced off of her parents. Daevon helped me write this chapter.

HHSC is just some random acronym I made up, Human and Health Services and Counselling.