In the modern-day world, the machine's thorns tangled the impoverished in a bloody scheme, one that sucked the life out of them in exchange for a few coins. The loud cry for utopia echoed in their heads only, but once their feet touched the ground a fresh breath was all they could wish for.

Even children begged for their life, selling their tiny bodies for the steel creed, a religion of selfishness and impossible ambition that these poor souls were never aware of, and no matter how these men and women gave their life for this tainted cause, their grandchildren fell under the wheels just like their predecessors.

Human's worst enemy has always- and will always be- their ambitions.

The underground haven.

In the broad daylight the thief walked freely. Towards the station, she marched whistling happily. Even in the sunniest day she would never hesitate to snatch anything from the crowds. She believed that they owed her something. Merit never accepted these 'factory invitations' she received. Work opportunities for minors that granted them a shelter and two meals daily in exchange for exposure to dangerous machinery and deadly gases.

As Merit walked past the street, her eyes' begun to catch the degeneration of the passers-by. From clean white suits to worn out ones, and from worn out ones to coal and grease tainted overalls and an unbearable smell of sweat and garlic soup. In Merit's mind it was degeneration, but it was the core of the real world.

After she had finally found the station, Merit felt a buzzing in her bag that made her jump in fright. "What was that?!" She said, opening her bag. She found the camera strangely turned on.

"I can't buy a new battery..." She sighed, Merit browsed through the pictures as if she were looking for a certain image, and as she finally came across the last picture she took, her curiosity was still not satisfied. She put her finger on the swiping button, ready to press it again but then, the train honked announcing its arrival.

"Better keep going!" She said as she closed the camera which had stopped buzzing, put it in her bag and ran across the street to get into the station.

The sign indicated the presence of a train station, however, once you step a foot in, you could see how the workers slept over each other as if this was their bedroom. The station was a shelter for the homeless and the exhausted workers who have nowhere else to stay in their breaks or holidays. They brought in the blankets they have and whatever food they could eat without wasting their money. To get over that carpet of exhausted men and women sleeping across the station, Merit had to do the 'tip-toe' dance.

Although Merit would naturally gag at the terrible smell, she was very calm and felt nothing different. "I haven't showered in ages too." She laughed miserably. The generous owner of the restaurant she slept next too would let her take a shower occasionally, but she would only stay clean for hours before she would look like a cave woman.

The speakers in the station played calm music. The beautiful voice of that woman singing would flood the workers' ears as a medicine. Their ears were stained with the sound of plumbing and explosions, such beauty was strange to them and so, some workers would drown in the tranquility of that tone. The other workers chit-chats were high enough to drown that music away. As Merit held her ticket in a tight grip and jumped all the way to the train pavement she stood suddenly before she almost fell off the stairs. A man laid there with his legs spread in front of him, almost tackling whoever decided to go down the stairs.

"Sir, move your legs, please." Merit politely said, avoiding eye contact with the man but gently tapped on his legs. She received no response.

"Do we really need to use force?" She sighed, violently kicking the man's leg out of her way as her eyes accidently fell on his face.

A sight that would always be engraved in her memory.

He was alone, wrapped in a blanket. There were flies all around his face. His mouth with wide opened, dripping saliva. His eyes were opened, starring into nothingness. Dark and empty. Merit understood that this man was indeed dead, but how could that child comprehend the concept of death?

Merit looked away, feeling her leg go numb. Quickly, she handed the conductor her ticket and jumped upon the empty train feeling nauseous and uneasy.

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The train ride.

Merit's joy in life was riding that train. She loved seeing how the train would go through buildings of Ilusia before it would go all the way to the underground city. The train dances like a worm, sinking all the way to the ground. Merit loved the ecstasy of descending and the chill air she gets to breathe once in a while.

As she glued her eyes to the window, she pushed the image of the dead man out of her mind. She told herself that he might just be exhausted, however, deep inside she knew this wasn't true. Merit suddenly felt the presence of a passenger siting down besides her, and it was unusual for someone to change their seats mid-ride when the train is almost empty.

"Beautiful scenery, isn't it?" the passenger said yet Merit didn't pay attention to him. He sighed as if he was frustrated then Merit's ears picked up what seemed to be the clinking of coins from his pocket.

Slowly, she smirked and turned around her head to see him only to be met with a face that made her disturbed and uneasy.

"That's the only way that I can get your attention with, right? Pathetic." He said with a smug grin on his pale face. Merit's smirk faded as she begun to realize that this could be the officer chasing her. Her breathing got more heavier as she took a deep look into this man's face.

"Many kids like you are dying in the allies of each street, unable to get a penny for a crumb of bread yet you have a ticket to the underground city?" The passenger mocked Merit by looking at her torn clothes and mud-smudged shoes.

Merit didn't reply. She was taught to keep her mouth shut when pursued by either police or creepy old men picking on children. She starred at him in silence, secretly flashing her anger and despite through her wide golden eyes.

"Alright, I'll get into business." He said, wrapping his strangely heavy arm around her shoulder and leaning towards her ear. Merit sunk into her chair, stressfully looking around her as she realized she had fallen into the hands of a predator, but no one looked, no one noticed.

"That necklace is very expensive. I'd say its worth a thousand Euller, now, why do you, a street scum, wear it?" The passenger whispered into Merit's ears as she to gently push his arm off her. She felt it was abnormally heavy but she didn't surrender.

As she resisted, the passenger moved his arm into her bag, snapping it from her lap and retreating to his position in victory. Merit's heart sunk into her chest.

"Now that I have what I wanted; I must say it wasn't fun at all talking to a brick wall." The passenger said in disgust as Merit jumped on the opposite seats in fright, "How dare you.." She muttered in visible anger. Her defensive stance slowly turned hostile as she sensed danger. The passenger revealed his arm. A full-mechanic one with a syringe in hidden in his sleeve. He quickly jumped on Merit with the syringe in his left hand. "I should have killed you there, but you somehow made it! You have brought me disgrace!" He spoke under his breath, trying to keep things all hidden from the non-caring passengers.

"You old piece of shit, give my bag!" Merit cried, pushing his hand away from her neck.

"You won't need it anymore, you filthy child.." He muttered, pushing his hand with the syringe into her neck assuring Merit that her death in seconds. Merit twisted and turned in despair as tears flooded her eyes, her blurry vision could see the passengers watching quietly in fear. She could see their eyes avoiding hers, shamefully admitting their powerlessness and carelessness. Her strength faded as the man's power surpassed hers, and the syringe was centimeters away from her neck.

Merit saw her world end once she lost hope in clinging to that miserable life. A worthless one. A life that made her a victim of life choices she never took.

But,

Timing is usually a man's bestfriend.

In second, the train violently stopped -as it usually did- and the man was thrown back into his chair with the bag underneath Merit's leg. She wasted no time as she grabbed the bag and ran out, "I hope you die, bastard!" She screamed with her shaky voice as she ran out with him following her as fast as he could.

"No, no! You won't run away! Not again, you piece of shit!" He shouted angrily as he ran after her, hiding the syringe up his sleeve again.

"Motherfucker..." She muttered as she pushed the door open, jumping all the way to the crowded platform.

It was rush hour.

The man was pushed back by the flood of passengers jumping aboard the train to avoid paying tickets, and no matter how hard he resisted, he was taken back inside in a shameful loss.

His sinister eyes were glued to the platform were out of the crowds, he could see a hand extended in the air waving with a middle finger until it disappeared entirely leaving him with the sour taste of defeat and humiliation.

The man fixed his suit and randomly punched those who pushed him in, but they did not hurt him back as they saw his fancy clothes. He walked back into his seat and sat down with a very furious expression. He reached out his now gloved hand to clean what seemed to be a silver brooch on his shoulder. While in the station, Merit fell into a safe place and cried her heart out while holding her bag in fright, now, she's assured that this bag is worth something.

"A thrilling chase, that's what it will be, Meredith." The passenger mumbled.