Jimmy was having a very bad day. He had gone to The Heap this morning to scavenge for tasteful food, as he had run out. The bread that the government distributed every day was bland and tasteless, and he refused to eat it without anything to compliment it. Because of this, he had nothing to eat that morning, leaving him with a foul mood and a growling stomach. On his way to the heap, maybe because he didn't have much energy, he didn't notice a banana peel on the ground and slipped on it, sending him flying headfirst into a trash can. The people walking by, who were usually very reserved and hushed, snickered at the scene, before hurriedly walking away when Jimmy got his head unstuck.
A hungry, smelly, and very angry Jimmy was finally able to make his way over to The Heap, where he spent most of the day trying to find any edible food that could add flavour to the bread. On his way down a mountain, he had tripped and fell over in the same manner at the banana peel, falling headfirst into the trash pile. With his body scratched all over with small cuts on his skin, he mustered himself to stand up and continue his search.
He was actually very lucky at finding what he wanted. He found dozens upon dozens of discarded food items, food items that were still edible and flavourful. There was even a fully unopened bag of chips, a luxury that Jimmy was looking forward to enjoying when he returned. He thought that his luck for the day had turned around. Except.
"Give me your bag." He looked at the man that obstructed him from the city. He was fully masked, and he couldn't see his face. Jimmy took a step back, nervously eyeing the long rifle that was strapped to the person's chest. "Wh…What?" "I said give me your bag." The man extended his hand outwards, gesturing for him to place the bag in his hand. 'What happened? Why are they here?' He could instinctively tell that these people were from a major organisation, given their demeanour. "Wh… why do you need it?" "We are trying to find an object that was reportedly supposed to be here. Now, give me your bag." Recalling his memory, Jimmy realised that they were trying to find the crystal that the government had put a bounty on a few days ago. "Will you return it afterwards?" Jimmy gazed past the man, where he could see countless ownerless bags lining the wall. Making the connection, he realised that he would not be getting his bag back. A great anger welled up within Jimmy, but he bottled it up upon reminding himself of the gun.
"Insolent one, stop delaying my command. Give me the bag." Making the decision that he valued his life, with trembling fingers, Jimmy took the bag off his shoulders and dropped it on the man's hand. Receiving the bag, the man took out an empty bag from his pocket and tossed it at Jimmy. Jimmy looked at it in confusion, not knowing what he was supposed to do.
"Go find more. No one is allowed to leave until we find what we are looking for." The man ordered, before turning back and walking over to the truck that was stationed nearby. Opening the back, the man placed the bag inside, before speaking to someone who was within.
Jimmy was dumbfounded. His entire day had been miserable. He didn't eat his breakfast, he tripped twice, once into a trash can, and once into a mountain of trash, and just as he thought his luck had turned for the better, it was snatched right from him at the last second. He was looking forward to getting back home to rest his aching body and enjoy the payoff from his hard day of scavenging, And now, these people not only took all the gains from his effort, but also wanted him to go back to the decrepit Heap and work even more? The anger that Jimmy had suppressed came up again at full force, except this time it couldn't be suppressed. "Yes they took my spoils, but they are not going to take my rest!" Jimmy thought to himself. Looking at the man whose back was facing him, he realised that there weren't many other people who were patrolling this area apart from him and the people in the truck. And the city was only 10 meters away. And the man had his back facing him. This was the perfect time to escape.
And so he sprinted. 10 meters, became 5 meters, which then became 2 meters. In 3 seconds, he was only 1 meter away from the alleyway. He was so fast that he couldn't feel his legs and arms as he moved closer, and closer... until his vision flipped around, and he saw his own body.
"Huh? I didn't turn my head around, and why is my body there?" Jimmy looked at the figure in front of him. It was definitely his body, except it was missing a crucial component at the top. He widened his eyes in realization, before his head hit the ground and rolled to a stop a centimeter from the alleyway. The last thing he ever saw was a person, presumably the one the man with the gun was talking to, standing beside his body. The person was short, with the top of his head barely reaching Jimmy's decapitated body. He had black hair that stood up in erratic positions, and was wearing a thick black coat that only blocked his mouth, unlike the man who had a mask that fully covered his face. Right hand in pocket, His left hand was dyed in a deep red hue.
"Who told you that you could return?" The person's voice was soft yet raspy, and just hearing it would feel as if knives were penetrating your skin. A distance away, the man with the gun who had attended to Jimmy shivered. 'Why the hell would they dispatch this monster to carry out this job? Unless the object is of great importance to the organisation…' He kept his thoughts to himself. "Go back to your post." The person instructed the man. Gulping down his saliva, the man nodded and went to his position.
"…"
Kael and his father gasped as they saw one of the ant sized creatures fall down, with a small chunk separated from the top. They made a mental note to not head down to that place.
"So now you know, I come in peace today. I'm just trying to wait here until the maniac organisation finds whatever they are looking from, so that I can return later. So no hard feelings, okay?" Looking at the snake-like smile of Haskel's face, his father resisted the urge to punch him in his face.
Knowing that what the organisation was looking for was currently sitting in his pocket, Kael felt a headache coming his way. 'We have to get past them somehow.' He could let this opportunity at freedom slip by his fingers.
"Okay Haskel, if that's everything, then we will be going our own separate ways now." Him and his father retreated from the ledge, preparing to walk away. "Oh, mister, don't be so cold. I wasn't even planning to do anything to you…" Haskel responded.
Turning his back on the Vulture, Kael started walking behind his father away from the man. "Until I saw that bulge in your pocket." Suddenly, a thick hand from behind grabbed Kael's neck and lifted him off the ground.