Chapter Text
Chapter one: Hard Cash
Remnant, a world that houses many stories. Sometimes they are Tales of success and triumph and other times they are ones of failure and death, but they are never boring. However there is a story in particular that my brother and I find fun to follow. It amuses us to no end how mortals have such will to live and thrive, even if it means to step over others. And well this is one of those stories. A young man with a Hunger for something better, not a rare story but a fun one nonetheless. But i won't delay any longer, now let us look at the story of at hand:
BEEEP, BEEEP, BEEEP
The alarm rang. Half-awake, I wondered if it's worth waking up or not. On one hand, I can wake up and have breakfast; on the other, I can continue to sleep on a comfortable and warm bed. Not a hard choice, really. As I fell back into blissful sleep, but my oh-so-lovable but idiotic roommate woke me.
Thud.
Jade kicked my bed, "Wake up, idiot; we've got to get breakfast, and then we've got stuff to do," he exclaimed with minor irritation. After a few more seconds of me trying to ignore him, he yanked the sheets off me.
"Get lost, will you?" I replied groggily as the cold morning breeze hit my body. But really, what idiot left the window open last night?
With an exasperated sigh, Jade spoke, "Az, come on, man. You haven't met your quota of the month," and, after a brief pause, he added, "again." Rubbing his brow, he continued, "Man, you're going to get in trouble, you know?" He said with irritation and a hint of concern.
With a groan, I finally opened my eyes to see Jade's ugly face again— he ran his fingers through bleached blond hair, green eyes looking at me with slight irritation, and a face pale as a ghost. Like really, we spend most of our time outside?, how is he this pale is beyond me.
"Fine-fine, I'm up. Happy?" I said sarcastically as I sat up on my bed, running my fingers through the mess that is my hair. Looking at the mirror in front of my bed, I saw little old me—light brown hair with darker tips and silver eyes. I sighed as I stood up, stretching my back. "Do you know what's for breakfast today?" I asked with a yawn, my arms above and behind my head as I stretched.
"Bacon, toast, and maybe beans, in the usual portions, of course," Jade listed casually as he changed into his usual clothes—a simple sky-blue t-shirt, he adjusted the pastel white fleece before fixing the pockets of his light brown cargo shorts.
"Oh, lovely," I said, sneering dramatically, throwing a hand in the air. I began dressing myself, with Intent to putting on my usual outfit.
First getting rid of the baggy shirt I sleep in. I walked over to my wardrobe, first taking out my mustard yellow t-shirt sliding it on to reveal the black pine tree design on the front, then followed my pale brown hoodie, once one I passed a hand over the simplistic white owl design with a small content sigh at the comfort of the clothing piece, discarding the short shorts I slid on my sweatpants, they were simple but went well with the rest, mainly black with two white straps going down the left leg. Then came a pair of white socks with gray running shoes. And for the final touch I stanched the red handkerchief of my wardrobe and tied it around my right arm.
Checking myself out in the mirror. It all went well together, from my hair to my hoodie, how it didn't emphasize my naturally tan skin. But then I notice something is off, that boring silver, it highlights that there is something missing...
Grabbing my yellow contacts, I headed for the door. "Hey, dude, I'll meet you in the dining room," I said casually as I headed out the door.
Making my way to one of the bathrooms, I washed my face and put on the contacts. I always preferred yellow over my natural silver. It went better with my skin tone, and honestly, I just liked the color better. It was the same reason why I dyed the tips of my hair a darker brown. I simply liked it more that way.
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Making my way to the dining room, all I hear is energetic chatter—too energetic in the morning for my taste. Pushing the door open with a sigh, I was met with the sight of hundreds of children. Looking at the sea of bright hair colors sitting at tables in the massive room.
Looking around, I spotted Jade at the usual table. Sitting down, I took a quick glance to see one of the nuns handing out plates of breakfast to the younger kids. She took them from a serving cart and placed them on the table.
"So where are we going today?" I asked offhandedly, too focused on the smell of bacon and beans.
"The suburbs. I heard one of the rich kids is having a party, so needless to say, we have good business there," Jade said calmly as he gave me an unamused look.
As the plates were served, the younger kids chanted in hunger, banging the bottoms of their forks on the table in unison as they chanted, "FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, FOOOOOD!"
Looking at this with some amusement, Jade smirked, "They are quite energetic today, don't you think?" He asked with a small half-smile.
"Too energetic," I said with an exasperated sigh, "I think they are going to give me a migraine." Rubbing my brow, I looked at Jake with a blank look, "I wonder if these kids do Vacuo powder with how loud they are," I said with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Jade smirked before breaking into a short burst of laughter, "Dude, come on!" Taking a deep breath, he wiped a tear from his eye, "The fact that you went there with no hesitation," he said with a dumb, amused smile.
The nun came around, placing two plates on the table, one for me and one for Jade. The plates had a pair of toast with some strands of bacon and a portion of beans. I knew they weren't going to be the best tasting, but I was hungry, and they did the job.
"Thanks," Jade and I said calmly in unison out of pure habit.
As the nun went to the next table, I dug in. As expected, it tasted bland as always. There was saltless butter on the toast and a lack of seasoning on the bacon. The most flavourful thing on the plate was the beans, and even those were bland. But food was food and I'm hungry. So I ate anyway since it was better than hunger.
"So you said those rich kids are throwing a party, right?" I asked, trying to confirm, food still in my mouth as I chewed.
"First things first, swallow before speaking, and second, yes. In the suburbs to the east, if I remember correctly, it was on 26 Pine Street," Jade said calmly with a sigh before taking a bite out of his food.
I nodded and looked out the window, trying to gauge the weather before all the sound around me went dull. My vision became fixated on the cloudy, dull turquoise sky. Staying still for a few seconds, I began to hear something.
Az... Az... Az... Dude?... Azrael!
Smack.
I felt the back of my head begin to sting, and I frowned.
"Hey! What was that for?" I asked, my head snapping to look at Jade, displeased.
"I was talking to you," Jade said with a sigh, rubbing his brow. "Can you take this seriously? These past few months you haven't taken this seriously, and the guys above are not happy. It's been what? Three months? since you actually met your quotas. This is not the type of people we mess with, Azrael! They will hurt you! And there won't be anything I can do about it," he said with increasing irritation and worry, his breathing more erratic by the end of it.
I sat there in silence at the short outburst. The only thing I could see in Jade's eyes was fear and concern, it didn't help that I caught a glimpse of his trembling hand.
Looking down, gulping, I felt a knot in my throat. Looking down at the table, I took a deep breath and sighed. "I... I'm sorry, dude. You're right."
Jade took a deep breath as well to compose himself as he ran his fingers through his hair, he sighed, sliding down his seat. "Just take this seriously, man... We'll sell it to those guys today. Try to meet the quotas, and we should be fine. It's just... I don't want them to hurt you, okay? You're the only real friend I have."
In an awkward silence, we continued to eat, the other kids had not paid a single bit of attention as the sounds of cheerful chatter filled the room.
Finishing the bland and now bitter meal, I sighed and got up.
"Alright, let's go," I said calmly.
"Yeah..." Jade followed.
Getting up from our seats, we walked past eating and chatting kids, stepping into the hallways. We made our way to the reception. There was still some tension, but it was beginning to dissipate. Entering the reception, a woman with long straight green hair and yellow eyes encased in a pair of glasses sat at the main desk.
"Morning, Chloe. Jake and I are heading out," I said casually, pointing at Jade behind me with my thumb.
"Where to?" Chloe asked calmly with a faint friendly smile.
"We're going to the center," Jade shamelessly lied. Not that Chloe needed to know that.
"Oh, so the usual?" Chloe asked with light amusement as she wrote something down on the computer before nodding.
"Alright, have fun, lads," Chloe said casually but somewhat cheerfully as Jade and I walked out the door.
Exiting the building, we were on our way, making our way down the dejected streets of the industrial area. As we got near the suburbs, the streets became more lively, with people walking their dogs, better-taken care of pavement, some trees, and patches of grass on the sidewalk.
"Alright, let's pick up the stuff from the safe house," Jade said, checking the time on his scroll.
Making our way to one of the houses down the block, Jade and I planned what and how we were going to sell.
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Arriving at the porch, I pulled out the key and opened the door, greeted by the smell of weed and alcohol. Entering and closing the door behind us, we made our way past the entrance and into the living room.
On the couch, we saw Fern sitting on one of the sofas, smoking a blunt. With black hair and pale green eyes, he turned to look at me and Jade.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Fern said with a small, dumb laugh, his eyes injected in red as he pointed at nobody in particular.
"Not much," Jade replied with a small shrug. "How's life been out of the orphanage?" He asked with a small smile.
"It's been nice, got a place, a girl, and one of these a day doesn't hurt," Fern said, slightly waving the blunt around in a circle with his wrist before popping it back in his mouth.
Before Jade could reply, Fern continued after blowing out some smoke, "By the way, Az, the guy upstairs wants to talk to you. He didn't seem too happy, so I recommend you watch out," Fern commented offhandedly.
Jade's expression contorted in concern at the comment.
Suddenly, my breathing stopped, and I felt my blood run cold. My heart hammered in my eardrums for a brief second. I felt a hand on my shoulder that snapped me back into reality.
"I'll go with you. Hopefully, it's just an earful," Jade said quietly, letting go of my shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded, "Thanks, man..." I said softly before beginning the walk of doom.
Making my way up the stairs of despair, I had a bad feeling circling in my gut like vultures to a corpse. Jade was behind me, my only company in death's row as each step brought me closer to what could very well be my end. A once-forgotten fear came back with full force.
Passing one, two, three doors, we turned to the right into the main room of the second floor. A crimson carpet, white baseboards, and dark blue walls set the scene. On a desk, sitting in a chair, was a man with broad, imposing shoulders covered in fine clothing. He stood up, looking at me and Jade with predatory scarlet eyes, running his fingers through slicked-back hazel hair.
"Ah, Azrael, my boy, I wanted to talk to you," he said in a manner that was way too cheery. Looking at Jade with an amused smirk, he hummed, seeming to consider something. "But... we can't have company, I'm afraid." He said before snapping his fingers, and out came three men through the doors we'd previously passed.
"Oh shi-" Jade began to say before he froze in place.
Click.
A gun pointed at Jade's face.
"Now, boys, take him downstairs," the devilish man said.
I was frozen in place, my knees shivering as Jade was carried away by two men, kicking and screaming.
"I..." I began to speak.
Clap.
My head made a ninety-degree turn as the back of a hand was slapped across my cheek, making me step back.
"Silence," the devil said.
I felt a scalding cold at the back of my neck; the weapon of the third man was against the back of my head.
"You see, it's been three months since you met your quotas, Azrael..." The man said, putting mocking emphasis on my name as my cheek began to sting.
The devil giggled to himself as he walked over to his desk. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a pair of brass knuckles. "I have the feeling it's because you don't fear me enough. Perhaps I've been too... patient." Putting emphasis on the last word, he rammed his fist into my gut as my already weakened knees crumbled, and I gasped for air.
"But lucky for you, they need manpower over in the capital..." The man spoke. Taking a brief pause, he continued, "You see, a lot of dealers have been arrested in the capital, so we need to reinforce the area." Kneeling down to look at me, the man grabbed my hair and lifted my head up, forcing eye contact.
The devil smiled as he offered a contract. "You have two options, either you go to the capital and see the light of another day... or I get rid of you right here. Your choice." Laying down the terms and conditions, the devil let me go as he walked over to his desk and sat down.
I was shivering, my breathing heavy as my blood ran cold, my heart hammered in my ears as freezing sweat ran down my brow.
After a second, he spoke. "Come on, Azrael, I need an answer." His words shattered my perception of reality as I feared for my life.
"I... I-I accept," I replied, finally stuttering my words.
"Good choice," the man said, simply snapping his fingers. The third and last man left the room.
"Now, go pack your things, and I'll take care of the paperwork," with a content smile, the man waved me off.
Scrambling to my feet, I rushed down the stairs, almost tripping once or twice as desperation grew in my chest.
Reaching the first floor, relief washed over me as I saw Jade safe and sound, sitting on the couch. The three men from before went into another room as Fern gave us an uneasy look. In the moment of relief, I noticed moisture running down my cheeks.
Then and only then did I realize I was crying. Jade rushed over.
"Az! What happened? Are you okay?" Jade said in a rush as he shook my shoulders.
Only being able to respond with a dry laugh, it took me a second to gather my words. "I got a second chance..."