13 Death in the Street

Vye wiped the blood off his blade with the corner of his shirt before tucking it back into the hidden folds of his clothes. Though he had done this so many times, his hands nevertheless shook. This time it was worse, He turned around from Stern's receding figure and pulled Kara along, his eyes downcast, hiding his expression.

Kara shakily followed Vye as he took her down the streets and into a sequestered alleyway, introducing the area as he went. With every step, the alleyways seemed to close in on her. Visions of the broken body jumping up filled her mind. Gloominess, dampness, and then a sudden smell of rust and iron. Laying to the side, was boy shrouded in the grotesque shadows, with brownish red stains splotching. A putrid scent intruded her nostrils. Kara fanned her hands in an attempt to curb the odor.

Noticing her movements, Vye explained "Time does that. It won't be that bad after you get used to it."

Upon a second look Kara realized that it was a young boy, probably only eight years of age. The pale colored hair was matted with dirt and caked with blood as the child lay face down never to see the stars again. She walked over. There wasn't much she could do. Her hands reached out, but her mind froze imagining the unearthly touch of cold skin.

"Vye, do you think we could bury him."

"Mmm." He squinted at the sun, making a note that it was still high up overhead. "We don't have a shovel."

Kara frowned realizing that he was right. She nodded to herself, at least she had tried.

Vye hoisted up the boy's upper body.

"Wait what are you doing Vye? I thought we didn't have a shovel?"

She watched as he continued dragging the body to the side of the ally before gently laying down the upper body.

"It's less likely to be trodden on here."

Standing over the boy he murmured softly, "May you safely reach the beyond."

Then, turned to face her.

"Let's go."

As they continued their way down the streets, Kara carefully observed the teenager walking beside her.

"Vye, do you usually do that for everyone you see?"

He shook his head.

"Why though?"

Vye stopped and looked into her eyes. "There are too many." The sky above them was blue and cheery, the purest white drifts of cloud crowned its serenity, contrasting with the cobbled dirt and stone underneath its glorious shadows. Vye scrunched his brows. It was too bright, revealing away the uglies that would occasionally be hidden by the dark. The street was indeed much more suited for strolls in the cloak of night. "A few days later, he'll be gone." Vye gestured to the alley whence they came from. "The animals or be it the self proclaimed taverns that serve a mixed stew. You can't save anyone, but you can at least try to save yourself."

"A child." Kara said. It wasn't a question but a statement announcing a truth that was just revealed, but unsurprising since she first lay eyes on the nation that rejoiced in the stars. The boy had been quite young. In life, he could have been many things, In another world, he might have become a baker, a mechanic, or even an effective soldier on the frontlines. There was always the possibility that the child wouldn't amount to much. There would always be a few in each batch of newborns in the empire, but they still had the chance to live life how they chose, and if that was the way, so be it. Instead, any future had been chosen for him in the cruelest way possible.

Vye patted her soldier a bit stiffly. "It was a clean slit on the neck. One of the better ways to die."

Motioning to Kara, he started off in a jog. Though Kara's steps were shaky and she was lagging behind, Vye didn't slow down. If such was the case that she couldn't withstand such scenes or her endurance wasn't strong enough, he could foresee her imminent death. Vye ran through the possibilities. Flowers were usually customary, but most were quite pricey, though they might have enough from their last job to get an allya. Hopefully, with the help of the allya flower, she would get to the beyond. But if she could get through the training, then maybe, she would be able to survive the harsh world. Though she had an adverse reaction to the body, at least she didn't feint. He turned back just to make sure that Kara was still following before promptly shaking his head to clear his mind of wandering thoughts. Al was probably rubbing off on him too much. Realism was good, focus is necessary, no what ifs; someone had to keep Al's wacky ideas in check.

It wasn't long before they reached the house. Kara arrived loosely trailing after Vye, unable to catch her breath. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She was more than sure that Vye had made some extra and extremely unnecessary turns on the way back.

"Hey Vye," she said between gasps of breath. "Can I learn. I want to be more capable. I want to become useful."

He nodded. Disposable was probably the word she was looking for.

It was probably the hottest time of day as Vye demonstrated a couple of exercises for Kara to build endurance, strength, and agility. Most importantly, he taught her the ground rules. See anyone that you cannot beat, which Vye very pointedly assured her was everyone at this point, you run like your life depended on it because it most likely does. Alleys are good places in most cases, but sometimes, the crowd can be easily just as safe. Knowing the terrain is always an advantage, but since Kara didn't, it was good enough knowing how to use the position of the sun or moon to find home base. If she was closer to Carlington, the street marking the transition to the prosperous side of the city, that should always be the direction of escape. No fights were allowed there unless the other party was looking for a death wish. At most, you would get off after being roughed up a little by the sentries. And of course, using terrain as an advantage meant many things. The poor side of the city didn't have much to boast of, but it never did lack garbage and dirt. When in doubt, a fistfull of the most abundant resources in the slum was the principle move in the arsenal of escape techniques. Throw, then hope the opponent is blind, then run. Perfect if executed the way Vye was sure he had described to Kara. Seeing that she seemed to have absorbed his well intentioned teaching and started on the exercises he had taught, his heart settled down. "We'll be having dinner soon today. The job is in the evening." Vye called out as he headed into the house to do the daily cleaning.

Kara sighed, two meals a day seemed to be the norm, just breakfast and dinner.

A short while later, Al returned to the house too.

"You're seriously teaching her?" Al raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe." Vye handed the vegetables he chopped to Al.

Al shrugged, "You didn't really want to teach her so I was surprised. To be honest, I was also surprised when you volunteered to teach her the other day."

"Occasional surprises are nice." Vye responded. "Al,"

"Yes?"

"Stir the vegetable porridge or it's going to burn."

"Oh, okay. RIght away."

When the food finally arrived, Kara was so happy, she prayed to the stars for one whole minute. It felt like her whole body had been run over, but she ignored the pain of overtaxed muscles and ravenously shoveled spoonful after spoonful of the porridge into her mouth. The fragrance of grains warmed her as she felt her muscles relax.

"Let me give an overview on our mission tonight" Vye said as they were almost done with their meals.

Kara's stomach clenched.