A blood covered, human skull lay on top of bloodied bones. The skull was cracked with holes in spots, and pieces of flesh and grayish matter still clung to it in places. However, it was obviously a human skull. More than that, it was a child's skull. Val was frozen in place, his thoughts racing in a dozen directions, as his body started trembling. Fear warred with anger and nausea as he guessed at who the skull belonged to. There was no real proof, but he could not accept this was a coincidence. Finally tearing himself away from the grisly remains, he looked at the other bag and his surroundings, feeling a sudden chill permeate through him. He realized this place was the perfect cover for disposing of the remains. Just as he was trying to come to terms with the mess in his mind, he heard voices coming from outside.

“The boss said ya would getha the remainder nex' time. So, don' be bitchin' about no shit.”

“Ay got no beef with yer boss. But ther' better naut be trouble comin' my way 'bout this from no snoopers.”

Val squeezed his hands holding the bag tightly, while his jaw clenched in mixture of emotions. He wanted to lash out and scream at the men, maybe even bury their heads in a pile of manure, but he knew he couldn't do anything, not in front of reality. Tying the bag back up with his unsteady hands, he ran back out the way he had entered, just as he heard the voices enter the building from the other side. However, a couple more workers had shown up near the animal pens outside, and they showed surprised faces at his presence. Val saw one of them open his mouth to say something.

Not giving them a chance, he frantically ran into one of the nearby streets, just as he heard shouting behind him, “Hey! You...” Then, he was out of earshot, as he kept running and running, scared about being followed. He stayed away from the main streets and kept to the side streets and alleys as he blindly rushed back towards the market square. One in a while, he had to dodge a surprised passerby, but no one really tried to stop him. As far as they were concerned, he was just another 'street rat,' no doubt causing trouble. However, since he wasn't bothering them, there was no point in making a fuss.

By the time he neared the market square, Val had was breathing raggedly and stumbling, a good indication of how poor his condition was. It almost felt like he was having panic attack, as he collapsed in a back street. His mind spun from images of the skull and bones in the bag, and all he could hear for a while was the pounding of his heart in his ears. Taking deep breaths, he slowly calmed himself as he rested his head on the wall behind him. Soon, the droning voices filling the market square became audible again, and he turned to look at the crowds a short distance away at the end of the street.

He felt the impulse to run to the people there, grabbing anyone who would listen, to tell them about what he had found. Some part of him even believed that the guards would believe him and maybe even arrest the bald man. He even desperately hoped that the people would be mortified and demand a deeper investigation. However, the momentary illusion of hope faded as quickly as it had appeared in his mind. Val clenched his fists, wanting to punch something, anything to vent his anger, but he knew it was futile. No one would care, and even if they did, they would not get involved in something like this.

Val was not the foolish 'street rat' from before. The world was more complex than the daily struggles of the slums. There were more powerful people than just gang leaders, and only someone with power or influence could let a person nonchalantly waltz through busy streets, carrying human remains in a bag, while not worrying about being stopped by guards or bothered by busybodies. More than that, Val had no clue how those children had died and who had killed them. The only thing he knew was that five of his fellow 'street rats' went missing yesterday, and today, he found the bones of dead children carried by a man familiar with the keeper of the Bone Crushers' 'rat den.'

More than that, he felt he was somehow already tied into all this. Rubbing his forehead, he could not forget the chill that he had felt, when he had opened that bag. It had felt like he was looking at himself when looking at the skull, staring up at him. Val wanted to deny it, but deep inside, he knew he should have been one of those 'street rats,' who went missing yesterday. He had tried to put up a brave front in front of Arman, but the fear was back in full force again. There was a whisper in the back of his mind that told him that he had died or at least had been fated to die yesterday.

“Ha.hahaha..hahahah...!” Val began laughing, his hands holding his face, almost as though he was clawing at them. Tears started to fall through his fingers, but he just raised his head, continuously laughing with his eyes wide open. He shook, maybe in anger or maybe in fear. Even Val wasn't sure anymore, but the laughter was all that came from him. It went on and one, but then, all of a sudden, he stopped. His hands fell to his sides, and his head slowly returned to looking right in front of him at the ragged, old wall. The last memories of his previous life played through his mind; the city burning, the people dying, and the monsters rampaging. “This is nothing. Nothing.” He whispered the words, even as his mouth twisted in a snarl, then settling for a wide smile with his teeth bared. Dragging himself up, he turned back towards the market square muttering, “A eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.”