Chapter 15: Welcome to Shaw!
Sounds echoed incessantly. Murmuring sounds, laughter, and even the cacophony of a thousand voices intertwined in various conversations.
The previously harsh heat of the day seemed to have dwindled here, as crowds of people moved to and fro, stumping on the stone-tar ground, the sound mixing with the overall ambient, seemingly everlasting noise.
Various buildings stood tall here... if wooden caricatures and tents could really be called buildings.
A mixture of both the tents and wooden buildings was spread-out in various areas, corners and destinations in the city, standing firmly as shops, stores and makeshift houses.
This place was Shaw. The mini border city separating Sector 4 and 5.
And, right there, in the heart of this city, a young, silver-haired man with a large backpack strapped to his back stood nervously, observing.
It was sufficient to say the young man looked out of place. Shaw was the home of criminals after all. It meant the crowd of dregs that moved around this city had a certain air to them, a certain roughness to their bearings that spoke of their untold tales.
Meanwhile, this young man, with his lean build, innocent facial expression, and that Urban air around him, was... holding the hand of a child!
A. Child. In. Shaw!
Lucien Rancroft let out a forced sigh.
’Well,’ he thought, ’here we are.’
Firmly holding onto the hand of a little Michael, Lucien observed his surroundings, gazing left and right, surveying the men, the people all passing through the streets of Shaw.
Luci and Mikky had walked a good twenty-five minutes under the previously furious heat to get here. And those twenty-five minutes had felt longer than any other. It felt like even the little energy they’d gained from their short rest under the tent evaporated as they walked under the heat on their way here, and as a result, their clothes, once more, got soaked with sweat.
But that was all by the way. They were here now. Sure, they were sweaty, tired, hungry — Lucien’s stomach kept crying aloud — but they were here.
And by his right, over in the far distance away from the tenements of wooden houses and tents, Lucien could faintly make out the short but vast walls of the border which stretched massively into the distance.
Somewhere near those walls was a gate guarded by criminals on the Sector 5 side, and equally guarded on the Sector 4 side.
Lucien narrowed his eyes, looking contemplative.
’Not now,’ he thought. ’The time will come.’
Shaking him out of his stream of contemplations was Mikky, who tightly grasped the young man’s palm.
"Luci..."
Blinking, Lucien reoriented himself, looking down at a wide-eyed Mikky.
"Yeah?"
Michael looked away from Lucien, squinting as he regarded a small wooden stall in the distance.
"I don’t like this place."
Lucien winced.
’Same. I don’t like it one bit.’
But he didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he ruffled Michael’s hair, smiling as he said:
"Don’t worry, we’ll be out of here soon. We just need to get some food."
Still gazing at that wooden stall in the distance, Mikky nodded.
"Do you think he can help us find food?"
Lucien blinked, and, for the first time, followed Michael’s line of sight.
But he didn’t see anyone.
Brows furrowed.
"Who?"
The kid pointed an index finger directly at the store he’d been gazing at.
"That man," the boy said, "he’s been staring at us ever since we got here."
Lucien chuckled nervously.
’Well, shit.’
He hadn’t noticed that. And frankly, he never would’ve. After all, ever since they stepped in here—
Lucien regarded the passersby as they moved to and fro past him. They were all different in build, shape and size. But all these different men had something in common. And that was the fact that their eyes were all fixed on Lucien and Michael as they passed, observing the duo inscrutably as their eyes glowed with malice and cold judgment.
—They’d been watched by numerous people.
Noticing and fixating on one out of a hundred oglers wasn’t on Lucien’s mind at the moment. But, as he watched closely at the position where Michael pointed, he could make out the rough shape of a man.
And as if confirming both their suspicions, the outline of that man began to move. He was walking toward them.
Lucien sighed.
’How great. Just what I needed.’
Well, if he looked at it on the bright side, they did need something of a guide to point them in the right direction. Someone who Lucien could obtain information from, because they were in a foreign environment and–
Shit it. They didn’t need a guide. Lucien had an invisible floating map for shit’s sake. What they needed — what Lucien needed — was information.
He needed to know the best food spot in the city. And, conversely, the worst food spot in the city. That would let him know where to avoid stealing from and where the security would be more lax.
He needed to know if there were talks of any Prowlers currently active in the city, so he’d know where to avoid moving. He needed to know how many guards were positioned at the border gates and the time when the security around there was more lax. That would let him know just how long he would stay in Shaw and if he’d set up accommodation or not, because, honestly, he was very willing to do so. All he needed to hear was, ’Only 2 guards are positioned at the gate at night,’ or ’Sector 4 gangs usually invade around 9 pm.’
He needed to know if– okay, that was all. But those were enough reasons to need a gui–
"...Luci!"
Lucien blinked.
"You were doing that thing again where you go completely blank, staring at nothing at all."
"Zoning out?"
"Yes!"
Lucien chuckled, looking down at Mikky.
"Sorry, kiddo. What were you saying again?"
The boy was pouting. But his pout dissolved as he sighed, staring at a strange, incoming tall, well-built man who had a bright, sunny smile on his fa–
Wait a minute.
’Wasn’t he the one observing us?’
"He’s been waving at us for a while now, walking slowly. And dramatically too," Mikky said.
Lucien’s gaze thinned.
"You don’t say."
"I say."
He gazed at Mikky.
"Huh?"
"I said I say."
"Wha–" He shook his head. "Never mind."
Lucien looked toward the approaching man. Dressed in a pair of black pants and a light yellow t-shirt that outlined his physical endowment — goddamn musclemen — the man had a stunningly brilliant, charming face, framed by falling locks of golden blond hair, complemented by a sunny smile that touched his hazel eyes.
A corner of Lucien’s lips curved, twitching slightly.
Who the heck was that?
The man was built like a model straight out of a magazine. And he was in Shaw?
Lucien had hoped he would attract the interest of a lackey-like man whom he could talk manipulatively with until he got all the information he needed.
’Great,’ he thought. ’What great luck you have, Lucien. That man looks like he messes with people’s heads for fun. I mean, look at hi–’
Suddenly, a large shadow loomed upon both Lucien and Michael, blotting out the sunlight.
"Hello to you, travelers!" A thickly accented voice boomed.
Lucien cracked a nervous smile.
’You’ve gotta be shitting me.’
Slowly, hesitantly, he raised his neck, gazing at the smiling face of the man.
Shit, he was tall as fuck.
