The slums of Lower Dannan were filled with unpleasant superstitions.

  Hearing a raven was bad luck.

  Meeting a black cat across the road was also bad luck.

  Being out in the rain amidst a storm was, of course, bad luck.

  Emil didn’t believe any of these ridiculous omens, but even he couldn’t help but feel wary once he overheard the guttural croak of a raven and crossed a black cat scampering into a nearby alleyway.

  Perhaps it was no surprise then, when the skies suddenly turned ominous and the violent rainstorm descended, Emil would find himself ambushed by two murderous assailants.

  “Ngh!”

  His jaws rattled as he took a direct blow from his blind spot. Emil clenched his teeth, his lips bitter with the ferric tang of blood. He immediately tried to retaliate—only to be rebuked by the second assailant.

  Squelch!

  His careless attempt earned him another blast to the face. The nauseating pain made his head spin as he staggered backwards. Blood poured from his nose, bathing his fingers in viscid red before being washed away.

  Rain thundered in his ears. It pattered from the frenzy of a raging stampede. The frigid waters chilled his throbbing chin. The grounds of the slums quickly became mired in mud as he slogged back, trying to create some separation from his foes.

  His assailants stalked closer.

  Murderous glee was smeared across their scar infested faces. Ruffians. Likely belonged to one of the gangs from the neighboring turfs. They were tall and built, at least a few years older than he was. Teenagers.

  Emil was both outnumbered and overwhelmed.

  I need to run.

  As he looked for a path to escape, his eyes caught a shadow lingering behind his foes. Past the mist, he spotted a small girl hiding by the edge of a dilapidated building.

  Mia?! What the fuck is she still doing here?!

  The ruffians gave him no time to think. Emil tossed his head back, ducking beneath another punch that soared above his eyes. His skull was pounding in agony from the earlier attacks and he felt sluggish under the freezing rain.

  Running away was no longer an option, however.

  Not when Mia was still nearby.

  Emil dug his foot into the muddy earth as both assailants rushed at him. Once they got close, he lashed out with a kick, slinging mud in their direction. One of the ruffians floundered as they were blinded by mud landing in their eyes. The other continued his assault, unaware that his companion was lagging behind.

  Emil seized the opportunity and lunged. He dipped his head beneath the ruffian’s swing and countered with an uppercut. A grotesque crunch echoed as his fist smashed into the ruffian’s jaws. Without hesitation, he followed up with another vicious blow to the head.

  Thud!

  The ruffian collapsed into the puddle of mud. His mouth foamed, visibly concussed as he laid still.

  Relentless, Emil charged at the remaining ruffian who had just regained his vision.

  Startled by the sudden assault, the second ruffian swung in a panic. His desperate attacks fell short as Emil screeched to a halt. With his opponent off-balance, Emil raised his foot and stomped.

  A harrowing crack shrieked over the rain. His victim crumpled to the ground—wailing, clenching onto his broken knee.

  Emil crouched down; his eyes blazed with madness while his hands cramped down on the ruffian’s collars.

  “Speak! Why are you intruding on my turf?!”

  “I-It was an accident!”

  “Really?” Emil hissed, “The two of you casually wandered in here, laid your hands on my friend, and then picked a fight by accident?!”

  “I, umm—”

  This was a waste of time. Emil slammed the ruffian into muddy waters. Merciless, he held down the ruffian’s face as he pressed his knee against their throat. He felt the teenager squirm under his grasp.

  “Your affiliation.”

  “W-What?”

  “Who are you with?!” he screamed into their ears.

  “T-The Red Fangs!”

  …Fuck.

  Emil clicked his tongue. The name nearly made him flinch.

  “Get the hell out of my face,” he snapped as he drove his foot into the ruffian’s stomach.

  ***

  The two Red Fangs members limped down the alleyway. Emil eyed them like a hawk—ready to pounce if they dared to take a detour. Gradually, their silhouette faded amidst the rain.

  …It was the Red Fangs again?

  His assailants belonged to a violent gang with a formidable presence in the Lower Dannan slums. They were infamous for their aggressive attempts to expand their territory. Their intrusion was a bad omen.

  “…Mia, you can come out now,” Emil said, turning back towards the beaten path.

  Silence.

  Incessant rain drizzled in his ears.

  “Mia, I know you’re there. Stop wasting my time.”

  Eventually, a small girl poked her head out of the dilapidated rubble. She sheepishly stepped out into the open, averting her eyes beneath the long strands of wet hair.

  “I told you to leave, did I not?”

  “Y-Yes,” Mia stuttered, “Yes. You did.”

  “Then what the fuck are you still doing here?!”

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  “I-I thought you needed help!” she blurted out. The corners of her mouth were twitching.

  Her answer almost made him lose it. Emil bit on his lips, focusing on the stabbing pain to quell his anger. Once he felt like he was in control of himself again, he let out an exasperated sigh. Shaking his head, he beckoned Mia over.

  “Did they do anything to you?” he asked, the glare in his eyes softening.

  “No. Not really.”

  Unconvinced, Emil lifted her arms up. Mia instantly winced. It was obvious why—the underside of her arms leered with a glaring gash.

  “I just fell! They tried to drag me by the arm and I fell!”

  Emil saw red. He was about to turn around and—

  “I’m serious!” Mia pleaded, on the verge of screaming, “Nothing else happened!”

  “…Fine.”

  Reluctantly, he dropped the issue. Mia’s injuries were more important than trying to take revenge. There was nothing more that could be done anyways with the Red Fang members gone.

  “Grab the stuff we’ve scavenged. We’re heading back to the compound,” he said as he went to pick up the bundle of miscellaneous junk that they had collected for the day.

  “And please,” Emil pointed at Mia’s arm, “keep that a secret from Raz.”

  Heavy rain continued to pour as the two of them walked in silence through the somber corridors of the slums. Emil kept Mia close as his eyes darted around, alert—not wanting to be ambushed again.

  Finally, they arrived at the compound.

  Massive metal walls towered before him. A narrow corridor led to the entrance, composed of a large gate constructed from a patchwork of iron and wood. The gate was flanked by two sentry towers repurposed from abandoned scaffolding. Barbed wires lined the top of the walls for deterring ambitious intruders from climbing over.

  Emil slogged down the corridor and grabbed a bell dangling beside the gate. He gave it a violent shake. A shrill sound blared over the downpour.

  “Identify yourselves!” A scrawny boy suddenly yelled from the top of the sentry tower.

  “Dale! It’s us!”

  “Who the hell is us?! Identify yourselves and state your purpose!”

  Emil suddenly overheard the click of metal drawstrings. Is this bastard is aiming at me?!

  “It’s Emil, you idiot! I got Mia with me! Open the damn gate!”

  Over the dense rain, he could see Dale’s face twist in horror. The boy immediately disappeared below the sentry tower. A few seconds later, the gate to the compound creaked open.

  Emil beckoned for Mia to enter first as he followed. Once he stepped inside the compound, his shoulders instinctively relaxed. Tension seeped out of his wary body. For a brief moment, the encounter with the Red Fangs was a mere afterthought.

  Finally, they were home.

  ***

  A flurry of footsteps splashed behind.

  “Emil! Mia!” It was Dale. The scrawny boy was a bundle of nerves. “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t tell it was y’all from the rain!”

  “It’s fine,” Emil replied, frowning as he leaned closer to the boy, “Dale, is your eyesight getting worse?”

  Dale flinched. He immediately averted his eyes as if caught in a criminal act.

  “Should I take you off sentry duty?”

  “…Does that mean I’m not needed here anymore?” Dale whimpered. The corners of his eyes were trembling.

  It took a moment for Emil to realize that Dale was terrified. He understood why. The residents of this compound were all orphaned children like himself. The one thing they all feared the most was being abandoned again.

  “No, you idiot,” Emil sighed, scratching his head, “Do you think this place is some heavenly paradise that maintains itself? I’ll find work for you. There’re too many things that need to be done.”

  “I-I’ll think about it then.”

  Emil waved him off as he ventured deeper into the compound. Mia followed closely behind. They soon passed by an array of makeshift tents, each fabricated from an assortment of rags scavenged from the slums. A boy suddenly poked his head out from one of the tents.

  “Emil! You’re back!” The boy exclaimed, sprinting out into the rain towards Emil. “There’s a problem with the well that you should look at.”

  Soon more kids emerged, apparently overhearing the commotion. Within seconds, Emil was swarmed by a group, all clamoring for his attention with problems that needed solutions.

  “Hey! One at a time, you idiots! I don’t have ten heads!” he protested, shooting an apologetic glance at Mia. The nasty injury on her arm still needed to be tended to. Luckily, one of the older boys, Bruno, lent her a helping hand as he took the scavenged items that she was struggling to carry.

  Emil turned back to the group. “Alright, alright! Shut up and listen, dammit! I’m only going to say this once!”

  ***

  “Sorry, give me a second,” Emil said to Mia as he flopped onto the floor. They were inside his dwelling within the compound.

  Addressing each of the kids’ concerns had sapped the last reserves of his energy. Emil leaned against a wall and closed his eyes, listening to the cascading pitter patter.

  There’s too many problems and not enough heads to solve them, he lamented.

  This compound was the site of an abandoned lumber mill that he and Raz had found and then repurposed two years ago. Over time, it grew in size as the two of them took in orphans abandoned in the slums. Their decision was not one made out of charity, but a pragmatic one bore out of necessity.

  In the slums, orphans were treated like livestock. The lucky ones were recruited into gangs or adopted into brothels. The misfortunate ones were kidnapped and enslaved. Most starved, waiting to die in the alleyways for better luck in their next life.

  Orphans were weak. The only way for the weak to survive was to gather in large numbers.

  I need to start teaching some of the smarter kids to offload some of my tasks. But there’s never enough time…

  The thought forced him to open his eyes. Mia was waiting for him, her wound still festering.

  “Alright, let’s get your arm looked at.”

  He dragged himself towards a nearby shelf filled with an assortment of herbs, containers, and other miscellaneous items. He grabbed a clay bowl. At the bottom was a small amount of dark green paste.

  Ugh, I’m running low. Damn Raz and his crew keep getting into fights.

  “Stick out your arm and unroll your sleeves.”

  Mia did as she was told. Emil scooped up a line of the paste with a wooden spoon and smeared it along the gash. Mia winced, fighting to not make a sound. Emil then tore a piece of clean bandages and wrapped it around her arm.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “No,” she replied instantly. An obvious lie. But Emil let her be.

  “How many herbs do we have left?”

  “Not much. The markets haven’t been selling them.”

  Great. “How about the bandages?”

  “I think the ones you have is the last batch.”

  “Bruno brought back more cloth,” he said, motioning towards the pile beside him, “Can you cut them into strips and boil them later? Or maybe call Dale to do it if your arm hurts—”

  Thud!

  The door to his place suddenly slammed open. A boy towering above six feet tall stomped inside. He had a menacing tanned face blemished in scars.

  It was Raz, the co-leader of this compound. If Emil was the brain, Raz was the brawn.

  “Mia,” he uttered, nearly growling. His wild eyes landed on the bandages around her arms. Oh shit. Emil shot Mia an accusatory glance.

  “What the hell happened?!” Raz yelled, livid.

  “Calm down, Raz. She’s—”

  “Answer the damn question!” Raz swung, smashing his fist into the closest shelf. Everything on the wooden surface dropped onto the floor—shattering.

  Emil clenched his teeth at the destruction. His throat burned. There goes all my work.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re angry. I get it. But how about you don’t destroy everything around you?” he snarled, eyes locked with Raz. His co-leader refused to back down however, holding his glare with his hands balled into fists.

  Fucking hothead. Emil decided to relent, not wanting to escalate this into a fight.

  “…Two outsiders intruded on our territory. They saw her.”

  “Who?”

  Emil took in a deep breath, dreading what was going to happen next. “…The Red Fangs.”

  Raz’s eyes instantly went wide. Without another word, he spun towards the door.

  “Raz!” Emil grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?!”

  Raz glanced back, eyes blood-shot. “To teach them a lesson, obviously.”

  “I already took care of the intruders! They won’t be coming back!”

  “That’s not enough! This shit is never going to stop at this rate. The Red Fangs need to learn to never mess with us again,” he declared as he ripped his arm free and broke out the door.

  Emil immediately gave chase.

  ***

  “Enough!”

  Emil grabbed onto Raz’s collars. They were outside, beneath the rain, standing before the assortment of tents within the compound. A crowd had already gathered around them, anxiously watching.

  “Let go,” Raz spat.

  “This is fucking stupid, Raz. And you know it.”

  “You’re the one who doesn’t understand. If we let this pass, the entire slum is going to look down on us. They’ll think that we’re a bunch of cowards! How we react today will decide how all the gangs in the slums treat us going forward!”

  “You’re wrong.”

  Raz snorted. “Why, of course. What was I thinking? You’re the great Emil. You know best, right? You’re the smartest out of all of us here after all.” His eyes suddenly grew dangerous. “But that doesn’t mean you know everything! Now, let go before I lose my patience.”

  Bloodlust suffused the air. Emil realized words could no longer stop him. There was no other choice.

  “Try me,” he fired back. Madness danced in his eyes. His chest flared with heat.

  The crowd, who had been anxiously quiet before, suddenly burst into a frenzy. The somber ambiance was immediately overtaken by the excitement of a potential brawl.

  “Hahaha! Did you forget who you're fighting?” Raz laughed hysterically, “You think taking out two of the Red Fang’s trash suddenly means you’re hot shit?!”

  He suddenly tossed out a right hook. Emil ducked, forced to let go of his collars as Raz’s fist swiped the air. Both of them jumped back, hands raised before their heads, sizing each other up for the next exchange.

  The crowd exploded. Gasps and cheers rippled amongst the kids like wildfire. The entirety of the compound buzzed with excitement at the matchup between its two leaders.