1 Unforgiving Wastelands

  "Huff…Huff" a huge-looking man was running through a very narrow and dirty street, he was sweating profusely, and his entire face was covered with sweat. He was not a runner it seemed like this was the first time he ever had to run.

  "SS…Stop! you little rascal, if you don't stop right now, I will definitely kill you when I get my hands on you. Huff…Huff, you know you can't hide from me wherever you go you little thief." the fat man beckoned towards a scrawny little boy who was running in front of the fat man, it seemed he was on his last leg, as he was having a hard time running with his huge body.

  "Stupid old man! How long are you going to follow behind me, it's just a little piece of meat just let it go already. If you keep running behind me like that your heart might just give up, do you really think that you can catch up to me with that body of yours? You might die out of exhaustion if you aren't careful old man." Said the little boy as he turned towards the man who was chasing him. 

"YOU DARE RUN YOUR LITTLE MOUTH; YOU DAMN RUNT. If you don't give back my meat, I will chop you up myself and feed you to the crows." Shouted the fat man as he sprinted towards the little boy. It seems the provocation from the boy made him even angrier as he increased his speed, it almost seemed like his stamina got replenished. 

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN….UUUUMP" shouted the boy as he turned towards the man and provoked the man even more by sticking his tongue out. He started running even faster than before after seeing the old man increase his speed. If someone saw the fat man, they would think that he was going to pass any second now, but on the other hand, the boy didn't even break a single sweat even after running so far. 

.........….

"Hey, Dickson look, over there isn't that Renji from our slum? HEY!" said a boy as he beckoned the boy beside him who seemed to be lost in his thought.

"Huh, what?" murmured Dickson as it seemed he didn't hear what his friend was saying, even though he didn't fully understand what his friend said he still turned his head towards the direction where the other boy was pointing. As soon as he saw the boy his friend was pointing towards, he was jolted as he finally understood what his friend was trying to say. 

"Hey, Tom correct me if I am wrong is that what I think it is? Or am I just seeing things?" asked Dickson as he squinted his eyes in confusion. Although he was confused, he had a small grin on his face, it was as if he was planning something bad.

"Yes, I can see that too you are not the only one. But what does he intend to do with that? He is a coward and weak I don't think he has much use for that. Does he intend to sell that thing and earn some quick cash?" asked Tom as he was also bewildered by what he saw.

"If we both aren't seeing things that is most likely monster meat, and that scary fat guy is definitely the butcher. As for what he is going to do with that meat, we all know for a fact that Renji isn't an awakener that bitch can never be that fortunate, even we weren't that blessed. So, I doubt he is going to eat that meat, if he did eat that thing he would just die if he isn't an awakener." Said, Dickson as he was deep in thought as he was trying to analyze the situation. 

"Then it must mean he is trying to sell that meat to earn money. Should we go and take it away from him? Hehehehe" asked Tom as he was laughing maniacally.

"AHHH! What was that for? What did I even do?" screeched Tom as Dickson slapped the back of Tom's head with a lot of strength.

"Are you stupid? Do you really think that we are capable enough to sell that thing? Even if we took that from him we would have to sell that meat outside of wasteland. Who do you think would buy that thing here? Do you have the capability to travel outside our slum to sell that meat? Those people don't even let flies come inside those huge walls of the fortress city, what makes you think we are any different?" Dickson vented in frustration as he explained their situation to clueless Tom. 

"Then what other purpose do you think that rat is stealing the meat for?" Tom asked out of curiosity.

"He must be taking that meat for someone to eat, just look at that chunk of meat that definitely looks like some off-cuts that people inside don't eat. That piece of meat must used to make some kind of lure to attract shard-level monsters to bring in more meat. That piece is just throwaway for the butchers and the hunters so I think that's why that rat stole that piece. 

If he had stolen some expensive piece, I am sure hunters would have been behind him or he would have been probably dead by now. He is smart to only take those worthless pieces, and by the looks of it he must have done this even before maybe this is the first time, he was caught not that sure but that is possible." Said Dickson as he contemplated the incident. 

"Hummm… That does sound like a very plausible explanation for the situation. Should we find him later? Beat the shit out of him and ask for an explanation." Said Tom as he grinned ear to ear.

"AHHH! What now, why do you keep hitting me for no reason at all?" Screeched Tom once again as he was hit on the head by Dickson once more. 

"What do you intend to do after knowing why that rat was stealing meat? Do you intend to help him steal the meat? Stupid, don't you have a little brain? Just try to think about how we can benefit from this situation." Said Dickson angrily. 

"Do you mean to report that rat and the person for whom that rat is stealing the meat? But who do you think it is for, I heard his parents aren't awakeners and more importantly they are bedridden after being almost killed during a hunting trip" said Tom as he looked toward Dickson with anticipation in his eyes.

"That rat has a 2-year-old sister from what I have heard, if I am not wrong, I think that little girl must be an awakener. So that is why he resorted to stealing meat from the butcher, an awakener must eat mana-infused food once in a while or they would suffer. That is what I have heard this only applies to children." Said Dickson as he smirked while looking toward the direction where Renji disappeared.

............….

"Huf…Huffff Just you wait, little rat if I find you are dead meat." The butcher said as he was clutching his knees as he was having a hard time breathing.

On the other side, Renji was smiling ear to ear as he was running through very narrow passageway. Unbeknownst to him something very sinister was brewing behind his back.