Hiding in the alley’s darkness was second nature. Rotting corpses littering the street, the feverish glint in the eyes of kids her age—these were familiar sights, mere snapshots of the girl’s daily life.
Let your guard down, and you’re the one killed. Reach out to save a boy her age tormented by adults, and she’d be the next to face senseless violence. A bare bulb’s light marked danger zones; the black shroud of darkness was her cloak of safety. Shivering at the chill crawling up her spine, the girl froze at a single gunshot, her eyes locking onto a child’s corpse before her.
Flies landed on twitching fingers, crimson blood pooling from the alley’s depths. Swallowing hard, she stared as a man appeared, buckling his belt and zipping his pants. His lust-filled eyes pierced her.
The child’s body, clothes torn, a bullet through the forehead, bore white mucus, chunks of arm flesh and an ear bitten off. Bloodstains on the man’s mouth suggested he’d assaulted and killed the kid. Pointing a rusty mechanical arm’s pistol at her, he sneered, “Strip, brat,” his vile grin bared.
The undercity’s main street was a chaotic furnace of strong and weak. People died daily, rape-murders and robbery-killings relentless in this lawless zone. No matter how strong, meeting a stronger foe turned you into prey, stripped of everything on this so-called main drag. Alleys were another hell, where the weak gathered to plunder and kill, but compared to the main street, they were relatively survivable.
Before, she’d have hidden in a dumpster, praying the storm passed, holding her breath to avoid blood and abuse, eyes closed, begging to live. But not now.
Boots struck asphalt, a revolver’s hammer clicked back. A steel hand gripped her shoulder, pushing her back as a youth in a tattered coat—Danan—aimed his revolver at the man. “Get lost,” he said, voice icy.
“Brat,” Danan snapped.
“W-what, Danan?”
“Don’t step ahead of me, idiot. Stay between Lils and Eve.”
“B-but I—”
“What can you do? No gun, no mechanical arm—don’t act tough.”
A gunshot rang out, Danan’s mechanical arm deflecting a bullet. A shrill metallic clang echoed through the buildings as blood spilled from his tanned skin, spraying the air.
“—” A flash, a gunshot. “—” The man’s vision dropped, black asphalt rushing up.
No time to scream—his head was severed by Danan’s blade, four bullets buried in his heart. Kicking the fading, blood-spurting head away, Danan wiped blood from his cheek, ejecting spent casings from his revolver.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Danan, I—” the girl started.
“I’m not saying it’s your fault.”
“…”
“There are escape routes in alleys. But if I wasn’t here, you’d be dead without resisting—or worse. Brat, don’t expect someone to always save you. Got it?”
“…Yeah.”
Reloading his revolver, Danan glanced at her before stepping onto the main street. Head bowed, kicking a pebble, the girl felt Lils gently stroke her back. “I won’t say don’t mind him—he’s right,” Lils said, following Danan.
“…”
“You,” Eve said.
“What? I can at least swing a knife!” the girl protested.
“Idiot,” Eve replied.
“Idiot?!”
“If you think a knife beats a gun, you’re a fool. Even Danan would snap at that.”
Ignoring Eve’s faint chuckle, the girl snatched the man’s gun. The dull, rusted metal had a jammed casing stuck in the chamber.
With a gun, she could kill, threaten, take. It was her weapon—tools don’t defy their wielder, they hold meaning only when used.
“What’re you doing with that gun?” Eve asked.
“Doing? I’ll handle things myself before Danan has to save me.”
“How?”
“Well…”
Kill them. Staring into Eve’s prismatic eyes, the girl tried lowering the hammer like Danan, but it was stiff. Gripping it with all her strength, she barely got it halfway.
“You’d be dead by now,” Eve said.
“…”
“Listen—enemies don’t wait. While you’re struggling with that hammer, they’ve already pulled the trigger. Choose a weapon that suits you.”
Well, it doesn’t hurt to have it, Eve added, pulling the girl along. Clenching her teeth, the girl followed.
Weakness is a sin. It’s why everything’s taken, why survival slips away. No matter how she tried to be strong, as a kid, she lacked credibility, outmatched by bigger adults. Even with a hardened heart, her fragile spirit crumbled before overwhelming force, struggling to find the next move.
Being protected was easy. Believing someone would shield her from death calmed her nerves, sheathed her fangs. But that wasn’t enough. Soaking in lukewarm comfort softened her core. A weakling guarded by the strong lost survival instincts, becoming a caged beast. That… she refused.
Gripping the gun, walking beside Eve, the girl glanced at the main street’s neon, then at Danan. His mechanical arm, peeking from his tattered coat, reflected the kaleidoscope of lights, but the blood dripping from its armor reminded her it was a weapon.
Could she catch up to him? Choose the right weapon in a split second, subdue violence without flinching? If she faced this again, without Danan, Eve, or Lils… could she pull the trigger? She didn’t know…
“Hey, Eve,” she said.
“What?”
“Can I… become like Danan?”
“Who knows? But one thing—”
“Yeah?”
“The old Danan might’ve let you die.”
“…Really?”
“I haven’t known him long either. Want to know about Danan? Ask Lils—she’d know best.”
“…”
Staring at Lils, walking a step behind Danan, the girl hesitated, then shook her head.
“A bit longer.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll watch him a bit more. That’s… probably the best way to understand Danan.”
“Fair enough. Try hard, then. I think judging for yourself beats hearsay. Same for me.”
“…Eve!”
“Yeah?”
“T-thanks… for listening.”
“…No big deal. Talking with you… just reminded me of the past.”
Even so. With an awkward smile, the girl tightly gripped Eve’s hand.
She didn’t know family or the warmth of a home. Losing the old man she grew up with to violence, she’d convinced herself fleeting happiness didn’t exist. But looking at the three, she imagined—if she had a family, siblings, maybe this is what it’d feel like. A fleeting fantasy.
