"First, I'll have to introduce our little group here to you." Ukas sat down on the concrete path leading to the entrance. "The man with the cool scar in his face is Tomas. He's the more rational type.. too rational at times, which is very hard to adapt to."
Ukas patted the spot next to him twice.
Tysiff was blowing air into the plate to let it cool when he noticed the gesture and opted to sit.
"Oh and… the man who gave you food is Denver. I'm sure you heard." Ukas wiped the sweat off his forehead and took a water flask from his waist.
Tysiff nodded before he began eating.
The food's heat was tolerable, so he was able to chew without pain.
Seeing that Tysiff was listening closely, Ukas continued. "That guy with blonde hair and thick beard, he's Ivan. He was scammed and lost everything due to debt.. try not to talk about his past because he has gotten over that yet."
"Ogh.. Ish it jusht you three?" Tysiff asked while chewing.
Ukas shook his head. "No, there's two more of us as a group. They're named Kedcy and Nenka."
"Where are they right now?" Tysiff looked around and aside from Ivan and the previous two, he couldn't see the others that Ukas mentioned.
"Nenka is scavenging for scraps and Kedcy is asleep upstairs. He worked his bum off really hard yesterday." Ukas chuckled.
As they spoke, someone carrying a sack full of items was walking over towards them. The person was hunched back due to how heavy the carried weight was.
"Is that Nenka?" Tysiff pointed towards the person.
"Yeah…" Ukas stood up from the ground and went over to the person named Nenka.
Watching Ukas come over, Nenka dropped the sack into the ground while panting and sweating all over, exhaustion painted all over her face.
Ukas reached into his bag and tossed her a bottle of water.
Nenka caught it easily and uncapped it. She drank the water uncaringly as her only desire right now was to quench her thirst. When that was done, she patted Ukas' chest twice with the back of her hand before pointing to Tysiff.
"Hehh– who's that kid?" Nenka's breathing was strained as she asked.
"His name is Tysiff. I found him about to die at the border earlier." Ukas said with absolute nonchalance.
Nenka's eyes widened for a bit. "My brother from another cradle, is it really a good idea to be a hero now at a time where the scorpions and centipedes are getting really heated?"
"I can't just let a kid die, Nenka." Ukas replied stubbornly.
"Suit yourself…" Nenka didn't even bother to argue with Ukas.
She bent to grab the sack of materials and gave Ukas a look. "Any help here?"
Ukas obliged.
By lifting a part of the sack with one arm, he wondered out loud, "What did you get this time?"
"Tarp, metal and some clothes." Nenka answered perfunctorily.
"So it's the usual." Ukas replied.
He helped her carry it inside their shelter. Ukas put the sack near a wall and then dusted his hands that were covered in small gray particles.
Nenka stretched her arms. "I'm going to sleep… Is Kedcy upstairs?"
"Mhm." Ukas gave a short nod. "He's still tired though."
"Like I care." Nenka went on her way without another word.
Standing in his spot, Ukas' hood was thrown back from a sudden gust of wind. His rough, unwashed hair flew by as he felt the cool breeze hit his face.
He looked back at Tysiff. The boy was already done eating and was even licking his plate clean.
Ukas walked by him and got his attention.
"Ehem…. You seem to have enjoyed it too much, eh?"
Tysiff looked up at him and put down the plate. "Yes."
"Let's go then.. I'll take you somewhere." Without another word, Ukas flipped back his hood and watched Tysiff scramble on his feet to follow him.
***
Later, somewhere…
Terrible, furious gusts of wind hit Tysiff's face, almost making him lose his grip on the metal ladder.
"Agh!" He looked down and gulped upon seeing the height. "Uh… Ukas? Are you sure about this?"
"Keep climbing! We're almost there."
Tysiff assessed the height of where he is currently at, because right now, both him and Ukas were climbing a water tower.
Though the westernmost areas of New Timelessland became a destroyed wreck of steel and concrete, there were still numerous points that provided a high vantage point.
Still, it was terrifying for Tysiff's small heart to handle easily.
He stopped looking down and pushed himself to climb up.
When Tysiff was about to reach the final step, Ukas grabbed his hand and pulled him upwards.
"Oh." Once up the water tower, Tysiff dusted his hands off. "You didn't have to help me."
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't." Ukas placed his hand on the giant metal structure that used to hold water.
Right now, it's just destroyed and riddled with holes. It was as if something gigantic took a large bite out of it.
*Snap!*
Tysiff's attention was once again placed on Ukas.
"So, Tysiff.. What do you know about the slums?" A light smile was apparent on Ukas' face.
Tysiff blinked and tried to think long and hard about his answer.
"... People are living?"
Ukas waved his hand. "Besides that."
Tysiff scratched his head, causing dust to fall out of it. "It's a strange place. It's where people come together and…. survive to avoid dying."
Feeling that the answer was a little more satisfactory, Ukas kept asking. "Why do you think they avoid the city?"
Tysiff felt stumped at the question.
He turned around and looked at the sturdy gray skyscrapers reflecting beautiful glares of light from their numerous windows.
Then, he observed the black asphalt roads slithering across the city with cars and various vehicles moving along the highways. The bridges erected from one part to another felt reassuring, it felt that the people who lived among these wondrous structures had better lives.
Seeing them from up here, Tysiff saw people going on with their days.
A group of girls were having beverages in unique colors as they walked together and chatted. A man was walking his dog that sniffed the base of a traffic light in a pedestrian lane. A yellow bus was waiting for passengers to enter before closing the doors and driving away.
Fixated on the scene, Tysiff remembered what he saw from before.
The image of slum dwellers compared to the city wasn't fostering a feeling of community anymore.
Just sadness.
Tysiff's eyes dipped as he mumbled, "I… don't know."
Ukas grabbed the metal railing on the platform and leaned forward as he stared at the city with Tysiff. "I'll tell you why, it's because New Timelessland isn't a country of advancement. As much as the name likes to suggest, it's just as stuck in the past as one would imagine…"
"Seriously, there's no change, no desire to make things better for the people."
Tysiff hummed softly. "I guess I understand it a bit."
Ukas wasn't done yet.
"I only told you the idea of why it's bad. The physical dangers that it brings to us, the homeless population, is that they will imprison us." His posture lowered slightly as he said, "Prison is a death sentence.. I'll tell you that."
Tysiff looked down the tower.
He observed the dilapidated structures as if they were made from stone that rotted like flesh. Veins of black seeped through the concrete and rusted metal like a spreading plague.
Those who were visible were wearing poor clothing, mostly made out of rags and torn plastic.
Tysiff clenched his fists against the railing until his knuckles whitened. "Why is everything cruel here?"
Ukas looked at the boy, sensing the surge of emotions welling up inside him. "I'll tell you why. It's just that life is this unfair."
"But the question is…" Ukas paused. "Are you ready to fight against that unfairness?"
Tysiff raised his fist and struck the metal railing. "Of course I am. I don't want to die." He looked at Ukas with a solid glare, showing his seriousness.
"Well then, listen to me if you really want to live. Without knowledge, you won't last long here." Ukas turned around and tapped him twice on the shoulder. "See that long river in the middle? That is the Central Canal. The lifeline of us slum dwellers."
His finger was pointing towards a long body of water that cut through the slums like a blade.
The sun slowly coming down made it so that the tiny undulating waves of the river looked like it constantly flashed sparkling light.
"Water is important, it is literally what we need to drink to survive every single day. It can be used to wash ourselves, to clean wounds, and it can even be a place to have fun once in a while."
Ukas then pointed to another area.
"Now, look over there.. The slums aren't just one big plot of land. It has different sections and different territories belonging to gangs and shady organizations.. Remember, never provoke them, never get within their business, and just avoid them altogether."
His tone was stern, he even looked at Tysiff's eyes seriously, making sure that he felt it through his bones.
It worked a little too well as Tysiff rubbed his bare forearms. "That makes me feel weak."
"Well, we don't have guns to fight these gangs, so we just run." Ukas shrugged.
Those words created a small spark within Tysiff.
"So you're saying that if we have a gun, we can fight them?" Tysiff looked at Ukas with a meaningful look in his eyes.
Ukas sucked in some air and karate chopped Tysiff's head to put his thinking back into place. "No Tysiff."
"You're still young, so you might not understand yet. Even if we have guns, we cannot simply fight them all. There will be many of us people that will die, all for an avoidable reason."
Tysiff pondered while rubbing the top of his head.
"Why would no one think about fighting against those… gangs then? Doesn't everyone feel that they should at least fight for some control over what they want?"
Seeing that Tysiff's desire hasn't been quelled, Ukas knew he had to bring it down even further.
"It's because they can die. Would you risk your life trying to fight for freedom that doesn't even give you much? Or would you rather stick to a plain life, but you can avoid danger as you wish?"
Tysiff was tight-lipped after Ukas' response.
Ukas sighed. "Anyway, back to the topic."
"The place around the border to the city is the outer region. The central region is where most of the homeless population live."
Tysiff looked away from the city for a bit and saw something odd.
From up here, he could observe the central region and how it is the most populated. But somehow, he couldn't feel any of that when he looked further away from the border.
His eyes gazed further and further away until he was looking at the innermost parts of the slums.
It was shrouded in a dark and sinister aura. More dead than anything he's seen so far.
Looking at it, one would feel an invisible fog of grim desolation coiling around the dreaded lands, reaching into any observer's heart.
"What about… that part over there?" He asked, pointing to the harshest expanse of the slums.
Ukas turned and winced.
He was hesitant, almost as if he didn't want to speak of it.
"We… don't talk about that part. The inner region? Yeah, that place is a death sentence. It's understandable that many dangerous people hide there from the law, but aside from that… Just avoid it at all costs. It doesn't matter if you lose a limb, just never enter the inner region. I'm serious."
Tysiff took one last look at the inner region, keeping it in his mind.
"Okay."
***
It was now nighttime.
Inside the fire station, a group of five sat in a circle around a pot, a gas lamp serving as illumination being their only light source.
They didn't bother with seats, these people were fine sitting on the floor.
Kedcy was eating his share of rice and ground processed meat with sauce. A cheap meal, nothing too special because this kind of food has been their food for three consecutive days.
Appearance wise, Kedcy wasn't much different than the rest. Sure, his skin was lighter, his body was lean even though it was more on the thinner side, he had black hair and quite the tall stature.
Lifting his spoon, Kedcy took one more scoop off his plate and ate, leaving an orange stain on the side of his lip.
Nenka saw this and rubbed it off using her thumb. "You got something on your face."
She then indiscreetly licked it from her finger.
Seeing this, Kedcy had the idea to tease her by pinching her cheek, to which Nenka promptly clicked her tongue as she shrugged off his hand away from her face.
"You lovebirds are taking it even at dinner?"
Tomas, Kedcy, Denver, Nenka and the recluse Ivan looked at where the sound came from.
From the darkness, Ukas was holding a makeshift gas lamp out of a glass bottle with oil and a piece of cloth hanging loosely.
Kedcy's eyes turned up. "Yo, Ukas." Those same eyes squinted when he saw a small child behind Ukas.
"What's with the kid?" Kedcy gestured.
"His name's Tysiff. I introduced him to the rest earlier, but you missed it." Ukas went inside the halls of the decrepit fire station and sat down next to Tomas.
"I was sleeping that time, right?" Kedcy took the glass bottle from Ukas and placed it somewhere dark, increasing the illuminated area.
"Yeah, you were." Ukas said as he allowed Tysiff to sit down close to him.
Ivan, with his half finished meal asked, "Have you fed the kid yet?"
"We've eaten at the water tower." Ukas lightly replied.
"I was about to offer him mine." Ivan shrugged, returning to his meal with his ruffled beard. "Very well then, welcome to our uh…. Humble nest."
It was hard to discern if he was smiling under all of that facial hair, but Tysiff could grasp the intent quite well.
After all, his senses aren't dull.
Kedcy noticed that Tysiff kept his head down this entire time with his hair partly obscuring his face.
In a mix of curious familiarity, he asked,"Hey Tysiff, can you lift your hair? You look somewhat familiar."
Tomas, Nenka, and Ivan looked at each other with silent understanding.
Tysiff obliged and set apart the black strands in front of his eyes before looking at Kedcy.
The moment Kedcy saw his face, his eyes widened slightly, even causing him to make a barely audible gasp.
There was a brief silence before Tomas suddenly coughed.
"Kedcy, show Tysiff his room upstairs. I'm sure there's still space, right?" Tomas looked like he was smiling even though he wasn't.
Kedcy was still momentarily shocked until he laid down his plate on the side, affirming with a hum. "Mhm."
"Go on then." Tomas gestured for him to leave.
Tysiff was clueless why the sudden tension rose in the air, he looked at Ukas, waiting for him to say anything.
But Ukas merely sat there and didn't look particularly swayed by it.
"So uh, Tysiff… I guess follow me?" Kedcy coughed and beckoned.
Tysiff looked at Ukas like a lost dog trying to ask permission.
Seeing this, Ukas gave a simple reply. "Don't worry, you can go."
With that, Tysiff meekly stood up and followed Kedcy upstairs into a decrepit stairway.
The harsh gray stone around them was cold to the touch. Good thing Tysiff was wearing blue rubber sandals to avoid getting his feet all screwed up even though they were aged through some degree of damage.
When they got up to the second floor, it looked even worse than below because of all the rusted rebar sticking out from some parts of the walls. The red paint was also coming off from the dingy brown bricks.
Tysiff looked into the corner and saw foam mattresses laid bare into the coarse floor, despite being sweeped clean by the inhabitants.
The young adult wasn't good at striking conversations out of the blue with someone so quiet like Tysiff, but he tried regardless once he saw him looking at the less than ideal bedding.
"So, Tysiff.. Since Ukas brought you here, I think it's only right that you get a spot to sleep."
Tysiff rubbed his left forearm with a lowered head. "Okay."
Feeling that things weren't going as well as he liked, Kedcy began to use a more energetic tone. "Well then, uhh… This spot right here is for Tomas. He sleeps on the biggest mattress alone because even if it's ehh– a little rude, he did gain quite the mass." He pointed to an orange foam mattress with a lot of torn pieces. Almost like a chewed up rag.
Kedcy walked over to two more mattresses and patted them clean. "This one's for Ivan, and this one's for Denver." The first green mattress was filled with blonde hair in the area where one would place their head, a stark contrast with the mattress belonging to Ivan.
It was definitely because Denver was… well, bald.
Tysiff found it amusing that Kedcy was trying to get along with him.
"What about those?" He asked while pointing to a pair of slightly thicker and relatively new mattresses. The word new was putting it nicely.
Kedcy saw where he was pointing and said, "Ah, those are for me and Nenka."
Tysiff stared at Kedcy to get a better read of him. "Hmm…"
"…"
"Is there something on my face?"
Kedcy asked after noticing him looking intently.
"What should I call you?" Tysiff asked as politely as he could.
Kedcy clapped his hands together, thinking that Tysiff began to trust him. Even if it was a small step along the way.
"Ooh, Brother Kedcy sounds good. If you're fine with big brother, you can use that."
"Can I call her Sister Nenka then?"
Kedcy coughed, rapidly speaking in a hushed tone. "As long as you keep it not blood related, because then our relationship will get weird."
"What?" Tysiff tilted his head.
"Nothing." Kedcy chuckled. "But yeah, you can call her sister. Ukas prefers being called by his name, no honorifics needed… As for Tomas and Denver, just call them by name too, it should be fine.. but you can call Ivan uncle."
Tysiff took a mental note. "Okay, I'll remember that."
He shifted while grabbing his forearm and looked around the room. "Where do I sleep?"
Kedcy raised a finger. "Wait a sec.." He then went to a corner of the room and stood under a cracked portion of the roof.
He hopped and grabbed tarp from somewhere in that crevice before laying it down on the floor. "Here you are… just place your head near Ukas' bed so that you at least have something soft to sleep on."
Tysiff paused for a good second before nodding. "Okay."
"You really aren't much of a talker around people huh?" Kedcy was helpless towards the quiet mouthed Tysiff.
"No.. I just got here in the slums." Tysiff replied.
Hearing that, Kedcy knew something was wrong. "Huh? What do you mean? Where have you been living all this time?"
"I don't remember." Tysiff said in a soft, yet monotone voice.
Kedcy clicked his tongue.
"That Uka– ehem…. Nothing, sorry about that."
Swinging his arms walking around, he then pointed to the stairs. "I'll be downstairs for a bit. Since it's been a long day for you, go ahead and rest."
Tysiff nodded, reassuring Kedcy. He slowly scrambled into the tarp that was set up earlier and laid down.
With that, Tysiff did not move, truly asleep.
Seeing this, Kedcy checked up on him for a bit before he went down and left Tysiff alone.
His footsteps could be heard getting fainter and fainter until it could no longer be heard.
Tysiff opened his eyes.
He looked around, and once he saw that the coast was clear, he skittered across the floor and went near the stairs and placed his head close to it, trying to listen in on their conversation.
***
".... –the gangs are going to rip this place apart soon enough. Can't you see it? The kid will only slow us down if we have to run." Ivan said in a serious tone.
Tysiff's eyes caught the glint of the fire in the middle of the six upon getting a closer look.
He saw everyone sitting in front of Ukas except for Denver who was standing with his back leaned against the wall. From what he heard, Tysiff knew that they were most definitely talking about him.
Ukas replied to Ivan. "You don't have to worry about us. You can leave me behind with Tysiff, I'll take care of him."
"That's not the point." Nenka spoke up.
"You're obligating yourselves for what I chose to do and you don't have to, alright? You can leave me on this one." Ukas had to get the point straight that they weren't to be bothered with his choices.
Tomas shook his head, clearly filled with doubt. "You really think your body can take it? What if you die from exhaustion, what about the kid? We see dying people everyday, why is that Tysiff different?"
He followed up with a scoff, "Don't tell me it's because he resembles your son…"
Ukas glared at Tomas.
"I… have gotten… over it."
"Didn't I tell you that before?"
Unbothered by the slightest, Tomas crossed his arms. "Well it doesn't seem like that's true from what I'm seeing. A sudden flare of compassion? Seriously?"
"I'm not even mentioning how cruel it is for Tysiff. Because fine, I guess it's reasonable if you will burden yourself just to be with the kid. I understand that, it's for your personal happiness. But do you think that it's messed up to project someone who's gone into a clueless child?"
Tysiff, who was eavesdropping from upstairs, felt dejected.
Ukas spoke up.
"I am not treating Tysiff as Mino. I know that he's dead, and I'm not delusional." He leaned back and took a deep breath, "I just can't bear seeing someone who resembles him too much to die like that, but he will never be a replacement…"
Tysiff's eyes widened.
He scrambled back to his hands and feet to listen closely once more.
Tomas was about to say something, but Denver placed his hand on his shoulder before he could speak.
"Enough, you two.." Denver broke Tomas and Ukas apart, mediating the situation. "We'll take Tysiff in regardless."
"Of course…" Tomas sighed.
Denver placed his gaze on Ukas next.
"And Ukas, you've made a really poor decision this time. Don't make me regret this."
Ukas slowly nodded. "... I know. Don't worry."
Denver stared at everyone in silent acknowledgement. "Since we've come to an understanding, why don't we all get a good night's rest?"
"Fine…" Tomas remained unhappy, but didn't pursue the matter any longer.
Ukas stood up and stretched his arms, popping a few joints as he did. "Kedcy, put out the fire."
Already about to do it without anyone telling, Kedcy was already on the move.
"Got it."
Everyone else began fixing up. Ukas went to the door and closed it, locking it with a metal barrel filled with heavy junk that is neither moist nor biodegradable. Nenka looked around to see if the tarp that they installed in the gaps of the walls were still there. Tomas and Ivan both went up directly while Denver watched Kedcy put out the flames and set the fireplace aside.
Tysiff heard the incoming footsteps and quickly moved back to his bed. More specifically, the layer of tarp in the floor. Just in the nick of time when Tomas' head was on the same level as the floor.
He then saw Tysiff fast asleep.
Tomas didn't put much thought into it and went to his bed and laid down.
Ivan followed, next with Kedcy, Nenka, Ukas and Denver.
Everyone laid down in their respective spots. Kedcy laid his arm for Nenka to use as a pillow as she slept close. Ivan spread his arms and legs with zero care, leaving Denver to deal and ignore it.
Ukas didn't move Tysiff and merely adjusted to lay down.
He looked up at the concrete roof for a while, breathing out a sigh of relief.
A moment of respite from a decision that he knew he had to stand by.
After some thought, Ukas turned his head to Tysiff and whispered to his ear,
"I'm sorry for bringing you into this."
"…"
Tysiff remained still. There was no response.
Half expecting at least some reaction, Ukas didn't bother anymore and closed his eyes, letting the waves of sleepiness drown him that night.