CHAPTER 6
Alison didn't sleep the night she escaped. She found shelter beneath a thick-rooted tree, her back against damp earth, eyes fixed on the canopy above. The forest creaked and rustled around her, cold wind threading through the leaves.
But She didn't mind. Compared to what she has just experienced , this was much better.
The orphanage had been a trap pretending to be a home for helpless children .
She pondered about how they didn't get caught trafficking kids when they get missed but then it was a big possibility that the " adoptive parents" were not actually who they seemed to be .
'Disgusting,' she thought, staring up at the sky. She wondered how long it had been going on. Years, probably. And no one noticed. Or maybe they did and just didn't care.
The breeze brushed against her cheeks, and she let out a breath. That life was over. But now another problem rose up , now she could only depend on herself as she was left with no guardians .
she was in need of Food, shelter and safety and to get that , she needed money .
Money was always the problem, be it in her previous or current life.
Now without it, she'd be humiliated for sure ( not that she will of course) it was a necessity to survive on her own.
She didn't really think about getting her revenge as it wasn't a priority, and she also lacked the power it takes to achieve it.
She felt guilty recalling the desperate faces of the other children but there was nothing she could do to save them .
She was already fortunate enough to even escape the room she was held in not to mention others .
Hours passed and the sky started to brighten up announcing the beginning of a new day .
By that time, Alison was up , her energy restored. She followed a cracked, dirt road at the forest's edge
Eventually, she reached the outskirts of a city , Smoke curled from factory chimneys and the air stank of metal .
She slipped through the industrial border unnoticed as she was one among thousands of people.
No one cared about a dirty, lone child in a place like this.
She wandered until she found a junkyard. It was fenced off and full of sharp metal
There was a bunch of homeless people scattered all over the place and she was there to join them.
She slipped through a gap in the chain link and made camp behind a pile of dented washing machines. She curled up on flattened cardboard and closed her eyes.
It wasn't comfortable but it was better then nothing after all .
Over the next few days, she explored the slums, moving through alleys and watching from shadows.
She stole food whenever the chance allowed her to , or traded stolen cigarette packs for scraps.
Once, she pretended to cry until a stranger dropped her a handful of coins , then walked away the second he tried to kneel down and "comfort" her.
She kept her ears open and her mouth shut. Days after days passed and she noticed a certain pattern .
One of the homeless individuals stood out , a twitchy teenage boy delivering packages. He took the same route every time and always came late in the day.
He wore a torn hoodie and had nervous energy like he was constantly expecting someone to jump him. Curious , Alison tailed him once, and saw him duck into a narrow alley behind a bar called The Ember Room.
She watched how he was let in at the back entrance after muttering what seemed like a password shared between them "Flint burns twice." she recalled .
That night, Alison formed a plan to earn money and get experience at the same time . She kept watching for two more days, just to be sure.
By the third day, she made her move.
That night, dirt streaked across her cheeks, her expression wiped clean of anything remotely childlike, she stepped up to the door.
The man guarding it looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. " are you lost, kid?"
Alison stared up at him, flat-eyed, and muttered, "Flint burns twice."
A pause. The man squinted at her, probably wondering whether to laugh or call someone. But something about her face must've convinced him. He grunted, then opened the door and stepped aside.
As she stepped inside, she was met with a dim environment, heavy with smoke and full of silence .
Men spoke in hushed voices. She could see that the liquor bottles were mostly for show. This wasn't a bar , it was a kind of a front.
Similar to the 287th hunter exam's entrance, which the main character took. Upon the navigator to the examination site uttered the password , they were taken to the backroom where the elevator was .
She found the elevator behind a beaded curtain in the back. It wasn't for customers. so she didn't go down. But she listened to every hush and whisper around her.
She heard mentions of shipments, new recruits, dock rotations and much more .
And It didn't take much to understand what the place was. This branch was part of a larger criminal network. A mid-tier mafia group with real resources.
Dangerous, yes , but also profitable.
Alison began leaving small items behind on the bar counter each night: a ring, a watch, a silver clip , trinkets she had stolen from careless marks , and a small piece of paper expressed on it the desire to work for them as a way of showing her determination
On the fourth night, she found a note under a glass.
[ meet me in the alley at midnight ]
"There was no signature to it" Alison noted flipping the paper.
She read it once, memorized the handwriting, and threw it in a trash can nearby. Then she walked away from the scene
This was her chance to gain money after becoming practically homeless now .
she scratched her head .
" I thought about going to heavens arena but the distance is too far and I don't have the money to buy a ticket nor how to board an airship "
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
Midnight came, and Alison stood alone in the alley like the note said , anxiety bubbling up in her stomach .
" what if it was a trap ? ughh "
The alley was narrow, tucked between two crumbling buildings in Lowtown. A single flickering lamp overhead cast just enough light to draw shadows .
Trash bins lined the walls, their lids half open, the air thick with the smell of rot and oil.
A heavy silence engulfed her. And now all she has to do is wait.