Leo stayed in bed the next day, staring up at his colourless roof. Near dusk, his body was crying out for food, making him unable to sleep. His phone started buzzing, and when he checked it out, Kablooey had sent him an image.

Kablooey: this u

Lo and behold, it contained an image of a young face peeking above a large neck guard. It was him, for sure.

You: Yeah.

Kablooey: hot dam, u did some major work

Kablooey: and it was all ur 1st day

Kablooey: how u feeling now?

He thought about it for a moment before replying.

You: Hungry, tired, aching, pain. Running out of words here.

Kablooey: aight, u want to eat out today? ill pay, of course.

You: That would be nice.

Kablooey: good. meet at johno's 8 o clock

Rolling out of bed, Leo hit the ground, sending waves of pain through his body. Groaning, he stood up, heading towards his small bathroom, where he took care of his business.

***

Two hours later, he was standing outside of Johno's Pizza, keeping an eye out for his friend. Checking his phone for the umpteenth time, he already knew he read it right. Just as he was about to turn his head, something pounced on his back.

"Ow," Leo said, rubbing his arms; that made it worse, just a bit. But, turning around, he knew who it was: Kablooey, a friend who refused to give their name, just because they think it's funnier. "Couldn't you have not done that?"

"Sorry," Kablooey said, waving their hands; they were dressed in blue and pink clothes, something they dyed themself. "So, current First Responder, how was your first day working?"

"A lot," he said, walking in, followed by Kablooey. "As soon as I was introduced, the alarms started ringing, and I did move, but not fast enough. I don't even remember who it was, but someone dragged me along until we were on a truck."

"Damn, dream come true for you." They laughed.

"You're right. Ugh, I should have checked it out some more. Instead, I had a panic attack, which I'm not sure if it even ended when we stopped. There was one close call, where some Powered flipped the truck, and I got us to cover, just in time. Lost a little hair to it, if you'll believe."

They sat down at a booth surrounded by empty booths, waving at a waiter before giving their orders; Kablooey was a regular, and almost always ordered the same pizza, a meatlovers with dairy-free cheese, while Leo looked through the menu, deciding on their Double Cheeseburger pizza.

"So that's why you looked a little different. You went into the PVP building, right? What'd you think of it?"

He laughed. "It was larger than anywhere else I've been, maybe double that museum northwards, and I even got a few glimpses at some Powered's. It's amazing how, you know, amazing they looked, wearing their costumes. Laura, a receptionist, took me to my job, since I wasn't told where I was starting."

"Right, right, amazing," Kablooey said, stacking their salt and pepper shakers above one another.

"I've talked long enough, I think," he said. "What's been going on with you?"

"Since you asked, I'll tell you everything that's happened since my conception. It all started when..."

"You know that's not what I meant," Leo said, laughing. They laughed, too, calming down a few seconds later.

"Right, well, downtown's been pretty messed up since Father Holy was imprisoned, thank God for that. This new guy, calling themself Hatred, has been rising in popularity. More and more people are paying his taxes, and prices for everything has been going up. Way, way up. Forced me to start working near the warehouses." Kablooey's face was solemn, even while mixing pepper and salt.

"Wait, those warehouses near that trainyard?" He was leaning over the table, brows creased.

Once they nodded, their story continued. "You'd be surprised at how much they pay, compared to everywhere else. But, work's not bad. Lift some heavy crates, lift even more, half-an-hour break, then work until my shift's done. Not my worst job ever."

"How much do you work?"

Before they could answer, their pizza's were placed down, smelling like good pizza's, and looking like a delicious mess of ingredients. Once his nostril's picked up their scent, his stomach was sent rolling, his fatigue rearing it's head.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Food first, questions after," they agreed, grabbing slice's of pizza. "Good pizza," Kablooey said, the cook coming out to give a thumbs up.

"I know, I made it," he responded, his bushy moustache jumping with every syllable.

***

Once they were done eating, they continued.

"I work as a part-timer, around six to seven hours a day. Ever since I worked there, I've been able to get a better apartment, a good bed, and some good food every day. If you wanted, I could put in a good word for you."

Leo waved it aside. "No, I'm fine with the First Response Unit. I doubt I'd be able to work there, considering it's so... physically intensive."

"Oh well, figured I'd ask anyways. Still, the option's there, anytime you want it. Hey, d'you remember that time I blew that toaster?"

"Uh, yeah," Leo said. "That toaster scorched the ground. I bet we could still find those marks if we looked."

"You're right," Kablooey said. "But, I think we could've made it bigger, more fiery. A spectacle. Everyone in this town would have seen it." Kablooey seemed to go somewhere else, their eyes glazing over for a second. "We can't change it, though."

Ding-a-ling went the doorbell, letting in a small group of people; four, if Leo could count, but he couldn't tell if he was counting one of them twice. All of them turned towards them, grinning and saying their greeting's.

"Hey-a," one said, his voice sounding like he had just gotten better after a sickness. Inside, this man wore a hat, his dark brown hair dangling in curls. He was dressed nice, wearing a suit, but it was stained with condiment's.

"Now, Kablooey, who's this 'ere?" another said, her voice quicker than her hands, which were rearranging her red clothes to appear smoother.

"Yes, hello," Kablooey said, their expression souring. "This here is my friend, Leo, Leo, these are my... fellow employee's, very nice people, if you look past their outfits."

One snorted, pointing at Leo. "Look at him, so perked up. Readying yourself for a fight, eh? Can't blame ya." This man held a gun under his tucked shirt, which was clear to Leo, through the bulging object placed in his belt. "We may be nice, but not so if we ain't treated with respect."

Leo's lips stuck together, his eyes narrowed, tracking the group. There was something off with this group.

"We're all friend's with Kablooey, so we must all be upstanding people," he said, standing up to extend a hand. They laughed, long and hard at that, none of them making a move to shake.

They all pushed past Leo, pretty much ignoring him.

Kablooey gave a wave, which he took as a signal to leave.

***

With so many ways to ruin an evening, he did not think being pushed away from his friend would be how his was. The trek back home was long, and he was not looking forward to it. When a drop of water landed on his shoulder, he sighed, knowing he was unprepared for rain. No public transport ran around here, or at least every driver refused to do so. Across the road from Leo was a group of three men, smoking and laughing, when all of a sudden, they started whispering.

"Heyo, white boy," one of them called. "Where you heading'? Need sum companay?"

"Nah, mate," Leo said, turning around to face them. "I'm all good here, what about you?"

They started laughing, and another said, "We good, man. Just came from Whore's Place, y'know where that is?"

Leo scoffed at them. "Uh, yeah, who doesn't? Second corner off Longkick Avenue, that the one you're talking about?"

Again, they talked amongst themselves, one saying, "See, I told you this boy a'ight."

"You cool with us, boy."

After that, he was left alone with his thoughts, his mind going back to yesterday. If he focused, he could still feel dirt clinging to his finger's, maybe even see it underneath his nail's.

Deep breath's, he reminded himself, focusing more on his breathing than where he was headed. Soon enough, he found himself facing Whore's Place, somewhere he thought he'd never go. Of course he'd been here before, but everyone had, if they weren't liars. This was where you went when you had nowhere else to turn to. Despite it's name, it didn't deal in prostitute's or anything like it, instead dealing with 'legal' drugs that couldn't be obtained anywhere else in Gregoria, maybe throughout the entire world. Sizzling, burning, melting; he'd tried all of them when he was younger. Turning his head away, he was about to head off.

Unfortunate for him, someone came up to him. "Isn't that Leo Jura," she said. "How ya been." She dressed in furs, making herself look fancy; she could do nothing about her face, though it was clear she had tried.

"Sam, leave me alone," he said. "i don't even know why I'm here."

"Why, to see me, of course. Here's a deal I know you'll love. First ten're free, and it's all your choice." Her coat fell, just a little, and he knew how purposeful it was. He was just about to say yes when somebody came crashing into Whore's Place, destroying it.

"You motherfucker!" Sam said, hurrying up to the wreckage. "If I see which one of you did this, I'll have your damn head's on a pike."

Leo took this opportunity to leave, heading uptown.

***

Plopping down on his bed never felt so good, his body melting into his mattress. Rubbing at his aching muscles helped, but it also brought that pain closer to his attention. Time never felt so slow, walking past groups of people who called out at him, responding to each one, just to hear about how he was 'alright', if that even meant anything. Good fortune came for him when nothing bad happened on his walk home, which was rare downtown, if you weren't moving in a group.

Pressing his phone's on button, he saw a message from KB.

Kablooey: sry about those guys. they were a little rude.

You: Alright, that's fine.

Kablooey: see u l8er?

You: We'll see if I'm up to it.

Following that, he logged onto a site, reading what little news came from it. Nothing interesting. Sighing, he posted something, updating his daily streak.

URGENT HELP!!!!!

My friend's started working at a warehouse near the trainyard (yes, that yard), and I'm wondering if I should do anything to get them out of it. It just seems like they'll be in tons of danger, and I really don't want that for them. They're a good person, deep down.

Dropping his phone onto his face made him turn it off, roll onto his side, and close his eyes.