There’s an undercurrent of fear and cowardice that ran through her while walking to the Blade Garden. Her tiny ghosts, gnarled and ugly, littering the sidewalk and streetways as they twist and writhe towards her location, always through the path of least resistance and always away from perceived danger. She couldn’t tolerate it this time, Foreigners breathing down her neck, his worried expression begging me to just settle down and unknot the mess of nerves in her body. It was another thing to keep track of, another person to worry about when she had already placed so much of herself and her worries on Peepers. She stuck herself out again when she should have hidden herself in a hole, to lie down and wait for death, a feeling she avoided with panic and cowardice as well.
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She wasn’t so scared before, trying desperately to hide her fear while living her day to day life. Not even in the Outskirts.
“The coast is clear, everyone! There don’t appear to be Sweepers around anymore.” Mina called out to the rest of her group. She looked at her three other friends, William, Yeona, and Kwan emerging from their hiding hole, a crack in the foundation of the abandoned building that served as their only home. William was a tall and lean boy with brown hair that tangled down to his neck, a gentle smile and strong hands she often thought about being held with. Yeona was a diamond in the rough, a kind hearted girl with a mind much sharper and malleable than her own. Kwan was a shorter boy filled with courage and anger that had seen useful application on the long nights in the Outskirts. She was their eyes, always looking forward to make their lives that much more comfortable and safe beyond the walls.
“That’s the third time this week that they’ve swarmed around this area.” Kwan stated, rolling up his sleeves and getting ready for the day’s scavenge.
“Don’t they like to harass large groups? Why aren’t they messing with the stragglers over there?” Yeona pointed to a building sinking into the rusted sands, a massive structure with faded signs of products no longer sold in the area.
“I don’t think they’ve approached that area because it’s so far away from their spawn points near the walls. They don’t look like the type to investigate like that.” William postulated. He rummaged through his knapsack and pulled out a dented can of beans, stabbing into it with his knife and spreading out the cracked bowls to fill with its juices. Mina looked through her own bag, a mess of knick knacks and desert oddities for the surprise she was ready to reveal.
“I hope you guys are ready for more than just beans today.” Mina looked at her friends and waited til they gave her their undivided attention. “Feast your eyes on some substance!” She slammed down a can of corned beef, the metal not worn or rusted from exposure to the elements. The look on their eyes and the macking of their lips told her everything.
“Where did you find this, Mina?” William asked, his eyes furrowed.
“I was around the area and saw something fall off the side of the wall. It didn’t look like the regular rubbish so I went and scoured through and found this prize! One of the wall guards probably dropped it.” Mina knew William would be concerned for her and that made her feel special but his eyes remained furrowed even with the explanation.
“I thought we said we weren’t going to explore so close to the Wall.” William stated.
“Why? Because of that thing you saw out there two months ago?” Kwan needled, bandying his own weapon to cut open the corned beef can. “We’re struggling to find food now in these ramshackle buildings since you saw whatever you saw.”
“You think I’m lying about the beast? I swear I saw something with just… a swarm of yellow-red eyes feasting on a mound of kids.” William looked at Kwan with an intensity he often reserved for conflicts against other slum kids. Kwan met his gaze with a glare of his own.
“I think that whatever beast prowled the Walls has either been dealt with by the guards or has moved on to hunt elsewhere.” Kwan replied.
“Kwan has a point, Will. I get that we’re trying to be safe and all, but aside from your can of beans and her can of beef, we don’t have much left to go around. We could always explore that building over there but I don’t know if it’d be worth the effort or be safe walking two hours exposed to the elements like that.” Yeona walked over and deescalated their stances, allowing Kwan to finish opening the can.
“It was a giant beast, guys. Emaciated looking. And it saw me…” William shuddered.
“I know Will,” Mina reassured William by rubbing his back, “But I’m with the rest of the group. Now that I’ve found this can, I’m sure there’s more to find. We can’t let our fears control us forever.” The group looked at him and he relented with a cautious smile.
“…Okay. We can explore by mid day. Lets eat before the food gets any colder.”
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Colder. She was feeling colder now at the thought of her only connection past her previous life being tortured, his boney frame being beaten and bloodied for some stranger they didn’t even know. Foreigner was cool but her little devils steered clear of him, a danger surrounding him like an ever present storm cloud. He was useful as a sandwich provider in the moment and she didn’t want to be involved with him any more than dropping him off in front of the Ensemble. Before Peepers butted into business that didn’t concern him and gave him a way out. She was losing herself to a conflict she didn’t need to involve herself in, getting caught up in an adventure like the old days. The days with so many mistakes.
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“Let’s approach the pile from this end. There are buildings that should help obscure our view from other kids, or cannibals in the area.” Yeona pointed at a set of buildings that hung close to the pile of trash while being nothing more than two room structures. They weren’t large enough to hold swathes of aggressors in the shadows.
“I’ll take watch with Yeona and look as menacing as possible. Intimidate them so they don’t even think about coming our way. William and Mina can dig through the rubbish.” Kwan nodded towards Yeona and brandished a crudely made saber. Mina didn’t mind being the one digging through the trash. She had an eye for the stuff that she was proud of. And it gave her time to be alone with William. With a chorus of agreements the team weaved through the open air and into connected structures with a measured coordination. They approached their hunting grounds with level heads and were rewarded with a well protected spot close to a watch tower. Mina and William dug through the garbage, finding more cans of edible food and supplies than they had in their two months of scrounging close to home. William sighed with relief.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I’m so glad that we can do this.” William looked to Mina and then the two standing watch a couple paces away. “I know what I saw but I’m… I’m better knowing everyone’s here and that we’re being rewarded for our efforts.”
“I’m glad you accepted being pushed into this situation so willingly. I thought you would have been a lot madder about the whole beef thing.” She placed a couple of cans into her bag.
“I mean, I was mad about the can. What you did was dangerous, but if it wasn’t for you doing that, I still wouldn’t have fel safe enough to make like bandits the way we are now.” He spoke the truth. Although the cans were of mixed quality, she wasn’t digging much more than the shallow surface for the food, and not even then for some cans. She took a look around her surroundings and noticed that there were a lot of canned foods in this area, none of which were picked clean or messed-
“Help! There are Sweepers coming! Help!” A shrill voice cried out in the tangle of buildings. Kwan and Yeona looked at one another before running up to the two of them on the garbage mound.
“Sweepers in the daylight?” Yeona looked at everyone else.
“Those bastards don’t mind ripping through us in the day. We just don’t see a mess of them around, likely just a couple of stragglers from this dawn’s sweeps.” Kwan looked in the direction where the call was coming from.
“Helping might mean having another mouth to feed.” Mina blurted out her inner thoughts. Kwan glowered at her but William stepped in front of her to block his stare.
“She has a point. We’re currently out here digging through this trash pile because of our lacking food supply.” William swept his hand across their digging zone. “Although with the amount of food we’ve found so far, I think we might be able to afford having an extra pair of hands, especially if we do make an expedition to the massive building in the distance.” The idea that had been cut off jolted through her mind once again.
“Wait, about that though. I think something’s off about this place.”
“What’s off about this place? Is it the kind of trash those behind the walls leave out here weird or-” Yeona was cut off this time.
“Please! They’ve taken out the rest of my group! I have food to offer, just someone please help me!” The shrill voice was pleading now. Kwan didn’t hesitate now.
“Come one guys! If it were one of us out there, we wouldn’t meander like this! Lets go.” He started running in the direction of the voice. Yeona looked torn and then ran behind Kwan, the two beginning to be obscured by the shadows of the slanted building.
“I guess we’ve got no choice.” William placed the last few items in his hand into his knapsack and ran after the two of them. Mina stood there for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts before realizing in horror what she had considered.
“Wait guys!” She yelled at them. “Guys, stop! Hold on, I don’t think it’s safe!” She cried out for them to slow down or reply but they were already fixed on their current goal. That’s how their coordination rolled. Mina ran after them, keeping Williams within her view while doing so, trying to stick to the sides of buildings for what was yet to come. If she couldn’t stop them from entering into the trap, she would do everything in her power to give them a path out of it.
“Oh god, please! Anybody!” The shrill voice shrieked out, a garbled wetness to the scream that wasn’t there before. There was an unnatural wetness in the air as well, copper mist hanging around the area like the remnants of a blood shower.
“Guys! I’ve found someone!” Kwan yelled out. In her mind, he must have been a few twists and turns away. She cut through the lesser travelled paths, taking side eye glances at the markings on the walls and the ever lingering presence of copper mist that hung in the air like a bad omen. She took a turn and found herself in a crumbled streetway, buildings on either side of her now overlooking her group like arbiters. She saw Yeona, hands tightly gripped on the makeshift spear we had fashioned for her, quaking in her boots. Scanning just a little further, she could see it now.
An emaciated beast about the size of an Outskirts patrol vehicle, skin taught and red with a long and bloody snout. Its back was littered with small blades only children of the Outskirts would fashion. It teared into something in its mouth like a ragdoll, chunks of meat flying off in all directions. William appeared near Yeona now, his body crumbling as he watched the carnage on his knees.
“Guys,” Kwan yelled out, a garbled wetness to the texture of his voice, “I’ve found SWeEperS” His voice melded with the shrill cry for help they came to initially engage with. The chewing stopped, its snout splitting in two all the way to its midsection to reveal rows upon rows of jagged white teeth and a long tongue that slithered out of its mouth like a snake. She watched as it reverberated in the air. “Guys! Guys. GUYS. gUYs!” Kwan’s voice modulated with the echoes of other voices.
“Ahhhh!” There was a madness to Yeona’s yell as she ran towards the creature with her spear outstretched in the charge. The creature opened its network of eyes, red and murky yellow, and waited for Yeona to come closer. She skewered the creature with her spear, the shaft sticking out of its side.
“GrhGrhGrhGrh!”Its body shook as if laughing, the tongue wrapping itself around the shaft of the weapon and snapping it in half.
“Yeona! Run away!” She looked at the both of them with a face of despair, the snout splitting apart before clamping on her body like a sideways guillotine. The spectacle was momentary as it shambled with alacrity towards the both of them, Yeona’s corpse still fresh in the crumbled streetway. It ran like a person running on arms and legs than a creature naturally inclined to run on all fours. Mina was farther ahead from both of them, the buildings around her obscuring her view of William and his desperate run to avoid confronting the creature of his nightmares.
“William, come towards me! We can make it out of here!” Mina yelled. Her friends died but this situation could be salvaged. Yes! It had to be salvaged. They wouldn’t want them to die in vain like this and not live on to survive in their memory. She scanned for him again, the beast in a languid pursuit and yet always a mere stone throw away from him.
“GrhGrhGrh!” It garbled, tongue held within its mouth now.
“It’s all my fault! I should have stood my ground and fought harder to not be here!” William sobbed. Mina caught glances of his ugly tears and open remorse while weaving through the structures.
“Don’t give up, William! We can still make it together!” Mina yelled out, watching the creature reel its snout inward before launching its tongue through his leg. He dropped onto the ground with a wet thud, eyes wide with panic as he scraped the earth with his arms to keep moving.
“Mina, please! Mina, please help me!” William reached out to her with wide, pleading eyes, the creature’s shadow beginning to loom over his body, it’s garbled shaking causing the skin on its body to writhe like swarms of worms living under the skin. She needed to find a way out. “Mina! Look at me!” The creature unfurled its snout to reveal the rows upon rows of teeth, angling its body towards Williams proned form. She couldn’t bear to watch. She closed her eyes to focus, to think of a solution, to come up with something.
There’s nothing you can do. You can do. Do. She opened her eyes and saw something small shift just out of view. Safety over here. Over here. Here. A blur of gray again shifted her gaze towards a strange hole in the wall. It was a lot like their home but she was certain it wasn’t there before. Take it and survive. Take it. Survive. Echoes whispered into her ears as she took one last look at William.
“MINA! Don’t leave me! Mina, please!” William crawled towards her in his final moments but her mind was transfixed on moving forward. She would carry them forward. They would be beside her and watch over her. She would live on for them.
Mina jumped into darkness and came out hearing cries for help from an old William in an old life.