Scrapyard Angels Act 1: Chapter 1
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Have you ever had a kitten follow you home? They try their hardest chasing after you even after you try to push them away. It's heart wrenching trying to get them to stop following you. You either harden your heart and walk faster or just accept that you have a cat now.
Having a new cat could probably describe my new situation right now. Sitting on an overturned wooden crate in front of me was the cloak wrapped girl I helped earlier who was now gingerly nibbling at the steaming bun in her hand. She was adorable honestly. Blue hair, blue eyes, and a cute button nose. The blue hair though was a bit of a mystery until I remembered the things they dump in the water. I don't know how I haven't grown a horn yet or a third eye. The first one would be cool and maybe match my blonde hair but the second one… anyways
I don't know why I let her in my home when she started following me. Was it when she grabbed hold of my hand and refused to let go? Was it the way her eyes just bore into my soul and melted through the emotional defense I set up around my heart like a mining laser through concrete? Or was it when she hugged when I tried to push her away.
"Hey Whump, do you think I did the right thing? I asked my furry little friend who nibbled at the puffcap mushroom in his hand. All I got was a simple chitter and shrug. Was that a shrug or was just anthropomorphizing Whump the Whump.
Finishing the Puffcap by swallowing the spore sac inside the nibbled cap of the shroom, my little friend asked for more. I handed him more because it's the only use I have for it. Well, people can use it recreationally but doing it in the Sump as a young kid is akin to suicide. You need to keep your wits up if you need to survive.
The room soon descended into an awkward silence as my two companions continued eating. The only light we had was the small fat soaked wick that flickered from time to time. The dancing shadows behind us server as our companions for the night
All one could hear in the home I made inside one of the many many abandoned service tunnels dotting the Sump was the echoes of the sound of dripping water in the distance and the strange howls that I could often hear from the deeper parts of the tunnels. Those sound honestly freaked me out until I discovered what sounds a whump could make
Breaking the silence between us, I asked "Whats your name? The names Ark, well its Mark but people like Ark better or they just like to mess with me"
I honestly forgot to ask her name. She was quite a dormouse once she stopped crying and her steps barely even made a sound. I feared that she was mute, not too uncommon considering the ever present Grey produced by the many factories of Zaun causing untold amounts of suffering its people.
"Jinx"
And just that, I knew my world would be turned upside down but life threw enough monkey wrenches in my way already for to be that surprised. She could just be a girl with the same name right? She doesn't have the pink eyes afterall
"Well Jinx, welcome to the Abandoned Service Tunnel No. 34A aka my home and your home. Mi casa su casa or whatever that Demacian or Noxian quote was."
It wasn't much. Just a small room that probably used to be a break room for the maintenance workers until Zaun went to shit. Several empty crates I use as furniture and a bucket in the far corner. My kitchen was several turns around the corner to a hot and still surprisingly rust free pipe. It was a cozy place all things considered and even had running water. I reckon that the place was long forgotten and people really don't remember that this place was still connected to the main water line being a service tunnel.
Her smile could melt even the coldest of hearts and lit up my world.
"You can sleep in my bed. It's that lumpy thing over there" It was surprisingly hard trying to find fabric that's big enough to serve as a sort of makeshift futon. People don't really leave that much stuff around when they can use it to make patches for their clothes out of the scrap they found. Recyling is a huge thing down here. Waste not want not
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"Well, the candles flickering out soon so better tuck in or you'll stumble on something". Choosing a wall to lean against wasn't that hard. Corners are nice but they leave you cornered. Walls on the other hand give you a bit of wiggle room to the side
She hesitated but a bit of gesturing made her accept it. I specifically choose the farthest wall from her corner. Best to give her some space as well as give myself some space.
Whump settled beside as I dozed off. My mind wandering to the land of sleep as my eyes close shut. Soon the room descended into as the last bit of light from the wick fizzled out and two sleeping children deep beneath the city of progress
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Morning came soon enough. After a while, you often get to have a six sense when it comes to time here in the Sump. It's a place where the sun doesn't shine but people here know when the sun's about to rise. That and the massive gong emanating from the old heart of Zaun telling you when it's dawn and when the shifts get to swap
I grabbed my mask and checked the filter. There wasnt that much dust in it. It could still work. Thanks to the great spirit Janna for keeping the Grey at bay for a bit. I gave a small prayer to her before affixing my mask to my face
Looking over to my charge? roommate? companion? A heavy feeling set itself upon my shoulder. I need to work even harder than ever before. She wasn't a burden, she was a person that needed my help. I didn't hold any illusion wasn't a great person or even a good person but atleast I hope I could help her.
"Watch over her for me" I asked my friend Whump as I made my preparation for the day.
Finding a ride to hitch on to get to the Entresol wasn't that hard. All you needed was a whole lot of fate that the bar you held on didnt break and the conductor of the carriage didnt find you and break your hands. If all things goes to plan and you don't get spotted by the vigilnauts, your handy dandy thug for hire to keep the peace, then you can get from the Sump to Entresol within an hour.
The difference between the Sump and Entresol was like midnight and dusk. Still dark but the was not a single shanty building in sight. Zaun has truly transformed into the city of glass and steal. The ever present green glow illuminated the streets paved with stone and steel and was somewhat maintained. Steel spires and hextech dotted the place as I finally entered Zaun proper
Dropping at my stop, I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me to avoid the oncoming traffic and get to the Cultivair before my employers get a bit angry
Combing through my long unruly hair and checking if my ponytail tie was secure, I burst in through the unassuming door of my work place
"A minute late. A lady should always be in time." I held back my tongue as I tried not to correct my boss. I was a boy damn it
"Yes mistress"
"Now. Get that filthy coat off and get into your work apron. We have a lot of things to do today"
The work wasn't that hard. Water the plants, check the compost, clean the pathway, carry the plants here or there, trim these branches, check for pests or diseases, check the pH of the soil, and make sure the plants are healthy. Do not touch the fruits even if your stomachs growling because you get an actual meal, still gruel, and clean water later. Thankfully the horticulturist follows the tenant of having healthy workers
You get sweaty from the humidity but it is so much like home. Thankfully I got to hose myself down, but on the soil so as to not waste water, because my boss absolutely despised the smell of the Sump. After a year, I finally had a bath again.
It was several grueling hours of manual labor, half of which was mostly staring at plants but it was labor!
By the end of my shift, my legs felt like lead weight and my neck stiff from looking up yet the days only half done. I still have three more hours of part time custodial work in one of the elementary schools nearby.
I closed my eyes, grabbed the knob of the back door of the school I found work in, silently psyching myself up so I could have the will to clean the bathroom. It's so you can read. It's so you can get out. It's so you can give Jinx something to eat. Do it for yourself and her