Hey guys!
So yeah, I originally planned to update this the same week as HOR, but decided for a multitude of reasons, that it would be better if I updated every week I don't update HOR. So anyways, here's chapter 2!
It was late by the time Daniel made it back to where he had been sleeping for the past week. It was a long dirty alleyway that was also home to half a dozen other homeless people. Like the people on the street, they too gave him a wide berth. Unlike the people on the street, Daniel didn’t mind it. They at least had a legitimate reason to keep their distance.
Having reached a spot that looked marginally less dirty despite ironically being next to a dumpster, Daniel dropped his backpack and reached into it to pull out a lightweight sleeping bag and a fleece blanket. Spreading the blanket out, he squirmed into the sleeping bag and propped his backpack up so he could use it as a pillow. He was glad it wasn’t raining like last night. He had a poncho he could wrap up in, but it got stuffy underneath it very quickly, and the fleece took forever to dry out.
He was just beginning to drift off to sleep when a bright light was shined in his face.
“This the one boss?” a gruff voice asked.
Daniel felt himself get grabbed by the hair and raised into a somewhat standing position. He squinted, but couldn’t make out any distinct features.
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
Daniel was hit in the side of the head and went flying to the side. He hit the dumpster with an almighty thud as he blearily tried to make out what was going on. All he could see was that he was surrounded by dark shapes. Trying to escape, he scrambled to get out of the sleeping bag. He had just managed to get one foot disentangled when he received a kick to the ribs for his trouble.
“Stop squirming punk. I can’t hit you straight when you squirm.”
Instincts honed from countless bullies in school kicked in and Daniel rolled out of the way. When he got to what he felt was a safe distance, he struggled up, reaching for his saber. Before he could, someone grabbed him in a chokehold. Daniel tried to squirm free, but stopped when he felt the cold metal of a gun barrel being placed at his temple.
“Damn. This is a slippery S.O.B.”
“Not slippery enough it would seem.” The boss said with a chuckle. He struck a match and Daniel saw his features for the first time. It was the teenager he had run into earlier in the day. He used the match to light a cigarette and tossed it away.
“So now I’ve got you here, I wonder what I’m going to do to get my revenge.”
“Revenge for what?” Daniel struggled to say past the chokehold.
“You tossed my favorite knife in the sewer, and your stink still hasn’t washed off of me,” the leader snarled.
“Have you tried taking a bath?” Daniel asked. “It should do wonders for your hair as well,” He immediately paid for that with a kick to the stomach. He stumbled into the guy holding him and his grip loosened slightly. Feeling the change, Daniel wrenched against his arm. When that didn’t work, he bit down hard on his holder’s hand. The man screamed and let go of him. Daniel shoved him away and managed to draw his sword the rest of the way out of the sheath.
The leader sighed. “You got guts punk. If you were any other guy, I might’ve let you join. But instead, you had to toss my knife in the sewer.”
“Do you, honestly think, that I would join, your piss poor group, of slack jawed idiots?” Daniel asked, massaging his throat
The leader started towards him when one of the dark figures put a restraining hand on him. “Let him go Vlad. Do we really need to go after a guy just because he messed up you knife? You always said you hated that knife anyways.”
“Shut the hell up Dakota. You lost your right to speak when you decided we weren’t good enough for you. I’m the boss, and I say we tear this punk a new one.”
Daniel lunged at the nearest figure who danced out of his way. Following up with a slash, he managed a glancing blow that ripped whatever jacket the man was wearing. The man cursed and pulled out a baton. It extended into a dark shape that looked like a sword staff. He clicked a button and the blade lit up with electricity.
Going on the defensive, Daniel parried the blade and slid down the shaft, scoring a hit on the attacker’s arm. The man swore and swung at his legs. Daniel stepped out of the blade’s reach and as he recovered, Daniel lunged and stabbed him in the side, going deep. The man screamed and dropped to the ground, clutching at his wounds.
Daniel was turning to run when someone hit him hard in the back of the head. His vision blinked out and he collapsed to the ground.
@0@0@
It was hours before Daniel woke up again. Groaning, he managed to sit up. He immediately regretted his decision when a splitting headache lanced through his head. He curled up, clutching his head as it wracked his body. He cursed his lack of an aura. If he could generate one, this never would’ve happened.
After what seemed like ages, the headache finally passed. Sitting back up, gingerly this time, he observed his surroundings. He was still in the alleyway that he had been mugged in. His backpack was gone, as was his fleece blanket and sleeping bag. Judging from the lack of a bulge in his back pocket, they had taken his wallet as well.
Daniel groaned. While losing his wallet and backpack with his changes of clothes and emergency rations was bad enough, the missing sleeping bag and fleece was tantamount to disaster. During this time of year, the weather tended to get very cold during the night. If he had only a denim jacket to keep him war, it could become downright dangerous to sleep outside.
Wincing, he stood up. As he did, he was both surprised and relieved that they had left him with his weapons. At least he had some way of fighting as a Huntsman.
Stumbling out of the alley, he squinted at the sudden brightness. He checked his watch and through the spider web of cracks on the face, he saw that it was three in the afternoon.
Daniel reviewed his options. He couldn’t go to a homeless shelter since he was still underage and therefore subject to being sent back home. He couldn’t stay in the elements if he didn’t have anything to wear other than the clothes on his back. And somehow he doubted that the owner of A Simple Wok would let him sleep there. That left Daniel one option.
@0@0@
By the time Daniel made it to Beacon Academy, it was long past sunset, and the campus was dark and quiet.. Up close, it was even more impressive than it was from afar. The long pathway led up to a massive spire that seemed to Daniel to reach to the heavens. Fortunately, the dormitories were not at the top.
Daniel scrabbled up the wall and began creeping across the ledge. As he passed each window, he saw groups of students preparing for bed. Ignoring these, he continued on; passing by those that seemed occupied and inspecting those that did not. Eventually he found one that was completely deserted. He tested the window to find it opened from the inside. Hanging by one hand, Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out an old credit card. It had expired years ago, but he had rescued it from the garbage for instances such as these. He slid it into the crack and worked at the lock. To his horror, after only a few seconds of work, the card snapped in two. Desperate, Daniel slid the shard he still had in his hand back into the gap. He was rewarded with a click and the window swung open.
The inside was dark and barren. Lined up against a wall, there were four matressless beds. A fine layer of dust lined the fixtures and it smelled of mildew.
It was the nicest place Daniel had slept in for weeks.
Carefully, Daniel closed the window enough so that it would appear closed, but so that it would provide a quick escape should he need one. He tossed his jacket onto the ground and made his way into the adjoining bathroom. Inside there was a mirror that Daniel used to get the first glimpse of himself in weeks.
His body was covered in dirt and grime, and his clothes were torn. All over his exposed skin, he was covered in bruises and shallow cuts from the gang members. They had really done a number on him. Turning the handle on the faucet, he was rewarded with a slow but steady trickle of water. He wet his hands, and carefully dabbed at the cuts. With no Aura or anything antibacterial, he’d be risking infection. But there was little that he could do.
Having cleaned up a bit, Daniel headed back into the main room and selected the far left bed. He curled up on it, using his arm as a pillow. In seconds, he was fast asleep.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
