Chapter 45

“Why do you look so down, little one? You did well for beginner. There is nothing to be ashamed of!”

“I’m not really ashamed or anything.” Anya also thought she did very well for a beginner, although she found it disappointing that she was never able to hit the target dead center. “I… just have something on my mind…”

“Something on mind? What, then get it off mind.” Boris laughed, then he gave the girl a hard pat on the back that knocked her off balance. “Smile, I do not know if it is beginner luck, but you are close to bullseye! That is good achievement!”

“Well, I only did it once so… maybe it was just luck.”

“Ahh, there is nothing wrong with being lucky. Lucky is difference between bullet scratch, and bullet dead, no?”

“I guess…” The child said in melancholy, her mind still occupied with the same unpleasant thoughts that plagued her at the range.

“Look, I do not know what it is, but if you talk, Boris listens.”

“Then…” Anya stopped and turned to face the man. “Do… Do I look… weird?!”

Bewildered, Boris opened his mouth and hesitated, not sure what he should say. “Weird…? What do you mean weird?”

The child twirled her index fingers together as she attempted to rephrase the question.

“What I meant is… do I look… human…?”

“...” Boris furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. “I do not understand, are you not supposed to…?”

“...” Anya did not answer.

“Hmm…” After a brief moment of thought, the man’s lip suddenly twisted a wide grin. “Ah… is this about boy? I think you look good! Very human. Go, tell that boy what you feel. He will accept! Boris promise!”

“What?! No!” The child furiously retorted, “There is no boy! It has nothing to do what that!” She raised her arms and swung them down her sides as she stomped her feet. “My heart only belongs to daddy!”

In contrast to Anya’s tantrum, Boris was having the laugh of his life.

“It is joke, it is joke! See, now sad face is gone-”

“BORIS!” A loud and fierce shout erupted from not too far away. “YOU PIECE OF SHIT, GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!”

Boris froze, mortified.

“Oh no, not good.”

“Wait, Boris… what was that?” Inquired Anya.

Boris kneeled in front of the girl and place both hands on her shoulders.

“Wait outside for Boris, yes? There is…” his eyes glances off to the side, “something that need attention.”

“THIS ISN’T SOME FUCKING ANCIENT ARTIFACT! YOU THINK I’M STUPID?!” The angry voice approached closer with every word.

“What, wait outside…? Who is…”

“No time, go!” The man turned her around and herded the child toward the door.

Behind Anya, she could hear the explosive argument that ensued.

“Who the hell is she?!” The enraged man yelled. “You scamming little kids now too?”

“Look friend, this is misunderstanding.” Boris’s voice was calm, as he played out his confusion. “Who told you it was not? That was found in city ruin!”

“I checked with my wife! This is just some beat up metal scrap!”

“You are wrong, it is old-”

Once the door closed behind her, Anya could no longer eavesdrop on the conversation. She was very curious as to what all that was about but figured that she would rather not be apart of whatever went on inside.

The girl leaned back against the wall right next to the front entrance and waited. She grabbed her rifle for a quick inspection before turning her attention to the wooden stock. With her finger, she traced along the tiny scratches on its surface that began to form. The rifle was precious to her. Her father and uncle often told her stories of her mother’s exploits, of how mesmerizing it was to witness Anna fight. Her mother could use the weapon better than anyone ever could. There was a sense of pride in knowing her lineage, for now, she was determined to continue her mother’s legacy.

“I did it…” she muttered quietly. “Mom, did you hear me…? I shot it!” Anya embraced her rifle with glee as she giggled to herself. “And I nearly hit a bullseye!” She continued her own little celebration, oblivious to the onlookers that stared at her.

“Hey sis, nice gun!” The voice of a child appeared out of the blue. “Did ya just get it?”

“Huh?” The girl turned her head toward the direction of the voice.

“Ya seem to really like it. Was it a birthday present or something?” A boy who was about her age approached. “Ya cloak is pretty nice too, could use one of those myself.” As he walked into arms reach, he held out his hand and smiled. “Ya wouldn’t happen to have a spare, would ya?”

The boy was slightly taller than her with brown curly hair. His eyes were brown like hers but of a lighter shade. Anya stared awkwardly at the boy, unsure of his intentions.

“Well, are ya gonna shake my hand?” the boy asked.

“Who are you?” said Anya, as she glared perplexingly.

“Oh, I was going to introduce myself after ya shook my hand but…” The boy rubbed his nose and promptly cleaned it off on his patchy tunic. “Name’s Rock.”

“Rock…?”

“Yeah, and I’ve got a sister named Dust, a brother named Dirt.”

“Rock, Dust, and Dirt…? I’ve never heard of names like that before…” Anya still held her guard, holding the rifle firmly in her arms.

“Well, ma told us that pa named us after the first thing that fell on our heads.”

Pffft… Anya snickered and quickly covered her mouth. “What? Who names their kids like that?!”

The boy shrugged. “Pa was named Brick after all.”

This time, Anya burst out laughing.

“What?! No way that’s true!”

“Na, I’m serious!” exclaimed the boy, “Pa wanted my name to be Brick the Second or something, but ma wouldn’t let him!”

“So your mom agreed to let your dad drop a rock on your face?”

The boy shrugged again. “They said it fixed my crooked nose.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“Can’t knock it till ya tried it.” The boy smiled and reached out his hand. “By the way, ya still haven’t told me ya name.”

Still holding on the rifle, the girl reached out and shook the boy’s hand.

“I’m Anya.”

“So, Anya, is there a story behind your name?”

“Umm… none that I know of.”

Tch. “That's no fun.” the boy crossed his arms, “Anyway, you don’t usually see little ladies at a place like this.”

“This place… you mean…” Anya glanced around, “you mean the gun range? Boris was teaching me how to shoot.”

“Boris…? Ya call him by his name? I guess he’s not your old man then.”

“Old man? He's not that old! ...He’s my friend who was helping me find something.”

“So… ya just waiting here alone? Where are ya other friends? Ya know, same age and stuff.”

The girl suddenly became quiet as she lowered her head.

“I don’t really have…”

“Then do ya want me to be ya friend?!” The boy quickly exclaimed.

The girl looked up, surprised and excited. “Really…?!”

“Do I look like a liar to you?” he held out his hand once again. “Shake on it?”

Anya quickly grabbed his hand and nodded. “Friends!”

“So… ya said ya trying to find something?” the boy questioned. “Find what?”

“It’s a…” Anya paused, her posture shifted as she seemed slightly embarrassed. “It may sound kinda weird but… I’m looking for a Silent Generator. You wouldn’t happen to...”

“Silent Generator…” The boy seems puzzled, “hmm… you mean just a regular generator that ain't make no noise, right?”

“Yes! Do you know where I can get one?”

“Yeah,” he replied casually, “it ain’t that hard to find.”

“Really!?” Anya’s eyes glowed up upon hearing the boy’s response. “Boris couldn’t even help me find it!”

“Well, I got friends in places, ya know.” The boy leaned in and began to whisper. “It’s not exactly something you find in the open market… So you gotta keep it a secret.”

Anya nodded. “Un-huh. Let me get Boris and we can go!”

“Wait!” The boy grabbed the girl’s arm right before she turned around. “I said it’s a secret, ain’t it? I can’t just bring people in willy nilly!”

“But it’s Boris, I trust him!”

“Well I ain’t, we’re friends so I can vouch for ya. But him, some random guy? I know nothing about him.” The boy released his grip and sighed. “Look, I’m leaving to my guy right now. Follow me if you want, but I’ve only got one extra ticket, and it ain’t for that Boris guy.” As he had promised, the boy turned around and began to move.

“Wait!” Anya shouted as she strapped her rifle to her back. She quickly ran to the door and checked up on Boris. The man was still in a heated argument, not even noticing her when she called out to him. She knew she did not have much time, and the key to what she desperately searched for was quickly slipping away.

“I’ll be right back!” She yelled, and hastily ran off to chase her newfound acquaintance.

***

“Wait!” She screamed as she zipped through the crowd. “I’m coming too!” Anya ran and ran, attempting to catch up to the boy. She swore the boy was teasing her as every time she lost sight of him, he slowed down until she caught up. As the distance between them shortened, the boy frantically picked up his pace until suddenly, he made a hard right turn into an alleyway. Surprise by the change in direction, Anya slipped and crashed straight into the concrete wall that lined the passage.

“Ow-ow-oww!” She cried, covered her nose with both hands.

Near her, the boy leaned against the wall, out of breath as he gasped for air.

“Ya… sure… can… run…!” he huffed, “I ain’t… think… a girl… like ya… can go that fast…” After catching his breath, he noticed that the girl had not yet responded, thus he turned to check up on her.

“Oh, ya nose… did ya hit it…?” the boy slowly approached. “Let… let me see.”

The girl did not let out a word, only a scowl.

“I’m really sorry… I was just having some fun…”

"..."

"Let me see..." The boy gently held onto Anya’s hands and slowly moved them.

“BOO!”

“Ahhhh!” The startled boy screamed, and Anya instantly burst into laughter.

“That’s what you get!” she mocked.

The boy held his chest, then steadily, a goofy smile surface.

“Ya know, I ain’t often find girls like ya.”

“What are you trying to say, huh?”

“I’m saying ya special, to me at least…” The boy started to blush, he covered his face shortly after, it seemed as if he had just realized what he said.

“Thanks!” Anya responded, nonchalantly.

“...” The boy silently peeked through his fingers.

“...” The girl simply stared back.

“...that It?” the boy voiced. “Thanks…?”

“What…?”

Sigh. “Nevermind.” he turned around and gestured for the girl to follow. “This way.”

“Wait… was my prank too harsh…? I’m sorry, I just thought I’ll get you back for…”

“That ain’t it.” the boy rolled his eyes, “just follow me.”

Further down the dark pathway was a stack of wooden crates, one of which had a lid near the top that was not fully bolted down. With a little tug, the lid came right off, revealing a path that led to the center of the pile.

“These crates are just a disguise for a tunnel.” he reached his hand out, “come on, get in.”

Anya reached out and grabbed the boy’s hand, sliding down the hatch and into a narrow hidden passage filled with ups and downs, twists and turns.

“This place smells really weird.”

“Well sis, we ain’t got much luxuries here and smelling good ain’t cheap. That’s how I know you got money… to buy that thingamajig.”

“The silent generator?”

“Yeah… that.” The boy felt around in the darkness until he found a handle in the walls. He immediately turned it and a shrouded door slowly creaked open.

“Here we are… the city’s shadow, or whatever the people on the other side calls it.”

“Are… are we still in Luminus…?” The place before them did not shined brightly like the streets of the marketplace. Instead, it held a faint orange glow sustained by numerous small flames. Only a few tattered individuals were visible, huddled next to barrels of fire.

“Ya wouldn’t think, would ya. This is the place the big players in the city ain’t want the newcomers to know about.”

Slowly, they exited the dark passage and onto the gravel-dirt path. Ugly shack occupied both sides, seemingly fastened with nails and whatever the locals could scavenge.

“Not everyone can pay to live in the ‘oh so bright’ city, so they live here.” They walked past an old man who glared at them with ire. The old man even went as far as to grunt when they were close. Visibly shaken Anya huddled closer to the boy.

“Now, nobody wants to hire somebody from the slums, so we ain't make no money. You can try, but nobody would hire ya.”

“H-How do you pay for food and stuff?” Anya gripped onto the edge of the boy’s tunic. “S-So what do you d-do…?”

“Well…” the boy halted at a fairly large shack and knocked on its metallic door. “We do what we gotta.”