Raul was running from the Bad Man again.

It was another day at the market. Izzy and Fritz were running look out as usual. No one noticed two extra kids hanging around, not when there were so many living in the gutters. Sure, it was two extra mouths to feed, to more cuts into the day’s take (or two more stomachs grumbling… No, bad Raul! Focus!) but it was better than the shiny men coming. Anything was better than that.

The plan was simple. People needed to eat to survive. Pepe played the distraction, bumping into a passerby and whatnot. Today he was begging, asking a kind old lady for some coin. Shiny things were useless to Raul and his gang, but people seemed to like them and the food keepers always got upset when the gutter people starting asking. Something about “Bad for business.”

Anyway, the distraction went off as usual. Raul slipped into the confusion and grabbed a couple things off the table, just enough to starve off the next nights hunger with some proper planning. (Rodents were surprisingly easy to catch with the right bait, a good use for leftovers.) Next thing he knew, someone yelled “Thief!” and the bad man started chasing him. As he ran past, Fritz gave the all clear signal. Luckily, no shiny men coming today.

He ducked into his usual alleyway, sneaking past a couple boxes. Dominic had told Raul during his first food run to always have an escape plan ready. Commandment number two. Raul hadn’t known what that meant at first, but he learned quickly after the shiny men came. So off he went on the route he had set up with Pepe. Over the box, round the corner, then to the fence….“Ah!”

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Suddenly, Raul could feel a sharp pain. When he looked down, all he could see was a knife sticking out of his leg. Crawling with the bread in his hand, he saw the rest of the gang waiting for him on the other side of the fence. “Help,” he croaked.

Yes! Pepe crawled through the fence and, wait what are you doing! “Sorry Raul,” Pepe whispered as he grabbed the bread. He crawled back through the fence and they were gone.

Silently, Raul could only turn and face his fate. The Bad Man was the meanest food keeper, which is why none of the other gutter kids targeted him. Raul had suggested the plan, thinking that if they didn’t go after one of the usual food keepers they would meet more success. Besides, repetition got you killed. Commandment number three. Unfortunately, the Bad Man could do a lot of tricks, just like most of the hazy people. Not too many, but just enough to make a knife fly around a corner. Which Raul wish he had known before he volunteered to be the one to do the running today.

“Got you know little brat,” said the Bad Man in his usual gruff tone. “I’ll teach you to steal from me.”

“P-please..” Raul whimpered. It wasn’t his proudest moment, but it was all he could do before the fury of blows started.

They seemed to come from all sides, smashing down onto him. All Raul could do was curl into a ball and hope the pain would be over soon. Idly, he hoped Pepe got away with the bread. If the shiny men came, better he be taken then all of them. “Huh,” Raul heard from above him. “This isn’t even fun anymore. Well, might as well teach a brat a lesson before the city guard shows up. I’m sure they won’t mind some… damaged goods.”

Wait, what was he… why was he taking out a knife! Raul didn’t like where this was going, least of all because of the Bad Man’s mention of the shiny men. “I wonder what you’d look like without an eye,” said the Bad Man as he leaned down.

In that moment, something in Raul snapped. He ripped the dagger out of his leg and stabbed upwards as fast as possible. Do anything to survive! Commandment number one.

The Bad Man fell over, bleeding from his chest. Raul felt… strange. Empowered. When he looked down at his hands, the knife had a faint black haze around it. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell unconscious.