Have you read the preceding chapters?
If not then read it from the beginning
Read the preceding chapter...
Previously on The Child:
An odd looking hermit tried to sell me
some even odder-looking bird. Feathers of every color lined the pink skin of
the body and face but it looked rather sickly. He was hanging it upside down
with his hands holding its feet, head nearly falling off I looked at its face
and it looked as if it had some serious physical problems. Eyes bugging out,
blue tongue, and a sick complexion like it was dipped in oil.
'Rule number one.' Emmanuel spoke boldly.
'You are never to eat anything that the merchants try to sell to you. There
food is contaminated by raw sewage and blood.'
'It looks disgusting anyway' I responded
while keeping direct eye contact with the merchant with a lazy eye. 'There not
necessarily with a trustworthy look.' Emily smiled a bit.
'Rule two. Never and I mean never tell a
single soul that you are a Delacroix, or even mention that you are from out of
town. You were born and raised here and that's the end of it. I'm sure that I
don't need to warn you about the box. Keep it on you at all times but never
show it to anyone.'
'Obviously.' I said under my breath.
Emily looked up to me and chuckled a little bit.
'You’re cute.' She whispered into my ear,
I couldn't help but smile a little as well. Our shoulders bumped with some
merchants that gave us long stairs as we passed them due to the lack of space
in the bustling alleyways. I turned my gaze to look inside one of the open
buildings and all I could see was fist fighting. Being surrounded by several
others, two men fought in the center as the spectators around them threw in
paper money and coins into the center. Savages.
Blood splattered on the floor and all
over everyone in the room as one man got an advantage over the other. Some sick
game in my opinion; scarring each other faces. The man who lost the upper hand
fell to the floor as the other jumped on top of him, loosing control of his
human nature. I heard the men around him chant 'finish him, finish him' making
every syllable a distinct complete word. The victor put his foot on the skull
of the looser and he stomped down to cave his skull in. I looked away with
astonishment but curiosity compelled me to turn back around. The victor yelled
to the crowd—for big some primal scream—and showed off his bloody knuckles to
everyone around him. Emmanuel cleared her throat and continued.
'Rule number three.' She emphasized
'rule' to get my complete attention 'Try to remain inside the safe house as
much as possible. We don't want any disgusting vermin following you home
looking for a place to stay.'
'When you say vermin, I'm guessing that
you are talking about people?' I asked.
'No.' Emmanuel stopped in her tracks and
looked at me. 'These things aren't people. There just some disgusting creatures
who have learned to live off the more fortunate.'
'That’s a cruel outlook on other people.'
I responded. Emmanuel started to pull me forward again.
'But it's true.' I looked up and to my
amazement I could no longer see the sun. Black smog and skyscrapers cluttered
whatever was left of the horizon. Clothes on wire lines and boards from
building to building cluttered the sky above me. Several people sat in their
window seals smoking there cigarettes and several others were people looking
down and up and yelling at each other. 'But you're not going to live here
emery. Me and Emily always have bodyguards following us but they never dare go
into the slums so were using the slums as cover till we get you home. Mother
can't know where you are.'
Turning corners upon corners, we passed
through several alleyways and buildings. Some had better keep than others and
many were bustling full of people. No matter where we were however, I felt as
if people were burning holes at the back of my head. Gradually the alleyways
grew wider and less people covered the remaining space. Shops were run more
ethically and the upkeep improved greatly. Buildings grew taller in the
distance and the slime and smog on them became lighter till there was none that
could be found. I didn't notice how tight Emily was holding onto me till she began
to lighten the grip on my arm, she was feeling more safe to the surroundings,
as was I.
Soon as streets began to be paved with
road and sidewalks Emmanuel stopped and looked up at the building in front of
us. Glass sliding doors, columns, a modern yet Victorian era looking building.
It towered at least eight stories into the sky as conjoining buildings to the
left and right towered at least five and seven stories. These side buildings
looked as if they were apart of the main one in front of me but I couldn't be
for sure. Emmanuel walked a few steps in front of me and Emily then turned
around to face us.
'Well?' Emmanuel asked. 'What do you
think Emery? Is it fitting for you?' I had already looked the building up and
down and structurally it stood like a rock, architecturally it looked beautiful
but one couldn't determine the quality of a building just by judging the
outside so I shrugged towards her. Emmanuel's glow of excitement dimmed down to
a slight afterglow and turned her head to her right. Almost instantly she
ducked down and pointed to my left showing several people walking around the
corner with suits and badges on there hips.
'They are trying to cut us off from the
other side of the slums.' Whispered Emily.
'Em, take Emery inside and settle him in
his room, I'll get them to follow me. Emily nodded and pulled me forward as I
grabbed my bag when we passed Emmanuel as we rushed inside. Looking back I
could see Emmanuel turn a corner with her high heels in her hands and began to
run.
'She will be ok Emery.' Emily turned my
head towards her. 'There here to protect us not kill us.’ For a second I
thought that what she said was true but only for a moment. They are immortal.
It's plain and simple that they can't die but people can sure make them to want
to die through pain, shame and god knows what else.
I could only imagine Emmanuel being
beaten by her security detail, carving in her face, making her wish that she
was never born. The entire trauma that will pass through her eyes and not just
physical trauma but mental, emotional, even sexual. She's a woman, it's not
like its a taboo that no one can acknowledge, this is something that is very
real and not some little game that would be forgotten but the Halstein's in the
flesh seem very strong and violent. She will get her revenge by tearing off
their limbs and desecrating their body's with teeth and nails. This, of course,
is all hypothetical. I'm sure that she is perfectly fine; she's a big
girl.
Remember me
