Huff. Huff. Huff.
For quite some time, the only thing Alex can do is pant. His chest heaves up and down, and his legs burn. Not only is he sleep-deprived, but he's also walked a several-mile hike, ran the last few blocks, and has experienced more anxiety and fear than almost any other time in his life!
Huff. Huff. Huff.
He's doubled over, his head almost to his knees. Sweat drips to the ground, and drops of saliva fall from his gaping mouth. His hood has long since blown off in the wind, and his long, grayish-green raincoat is wrinkled and disheveled.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
Finally, after a few minutes, Alex slows his breathing and wipes the sweat from his forehead. He straightens his back, wipes the wrinkles out of his raincoat, and puts his hood back up. He adjusts the tan backpack to be between his shoulder blades again, and at long last, lets out a sigh of relief.
He's currently inside a large, rectangular room with a carpeted floor and a high ceiling. Mounds of trash are piled up in the corners and strewn about the edges of the room. Scattered around it are blankets, sleeping bags, and, if you're really bougie, a few small tents. In the very center of the room is a metal barrel with flames leaping inside. It both warms and illuminates the area. A few unwashed people, wearing rags, are warming their hands by it.
This is one of the few finished buildings within Tetanus Town. It's been set up as a communal sleeping quarters. However, no one stays here longer than a few nights; the cops will periodically arrest the people here for loitering to meet their quotas.
Most of those who are still awake are staring wide-eyed at Alex. Obviously, he made quite the commotion coming in. He ignores them, overjoyed just to be somewhere safe.
I made it. I'm safe. There's no way someone will target me while I'm here. No one would dare try to kill me when I'm surrounded by so many people. I just need to sell the rat, get some food, and go to sleep. I'll deal with the rest tomorrow.
After making a mental schedule, Alex gains a slight sense of control over the situation. Granted, it's not much, but it's better than nothing. So, he grabs the straps of his backpack and steps forward to put his plan into action.
"Hahaha, geez, kid!" Immediately after making his decision, Alex hears an elderly woman's voice coming from behind him. "What's got you so spooked!?"
Recognizing the voice, Alex inwardly laments his lack of luck, turns to face the woman, and, with a smile, says, "I was about to be set on fire by a psychopath who loves killing rats."
The elderly woman, Lovia Brink, only laughs harder at this. Her voice is hoarse and grating, with small bits of spittle flying out of her mouth. Her hair is long and greasy, her skin thin and wrinkled, her nose long and warty, and her eyes teasing. She wears a long, tattered black dress with many patches, a shabby black veil hat, and old leather gloves. When Alex first met her, his immediate thought was that witches somehow existed, and she was one.
Lovia cackles loudly and hard until a coughing fit stops her. After she hacks up a bit of mucus onto the ground, she turns back to Alex, her eyes glinting with amusement. "You sure they didn't already light your ass on fire? I've known you since you were half your size! And I've never seen you run that fast!"
Alex pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out an audible sigh. Lovia is one of the few people who are even more irritating than he is.
"I'm sure. Is anyone at the market?" The market is where the people of Tetanus Town trade goods. Originally, they traded with each other wherever they pleased, but that led to people running off without paying. So, the market was established so there would be plenty of witnesses around. However, there might not be anyone there this late at night.
"Who knows!" Lovia cackles again. "You'll just have to check it out for yourself. But first," Lovia reaches into the folds of her tattered dress and takes out a bottle, a bit smaller than her palm, that's filled with amber liquid, "you've gotta try this."
"I've told you before. I don't like the taste of alcohol. I'm not even of age! Do you want the cops to come?"
Lovia shoves the small bottle towards Alex. "That's because you've never had the good stuff! Plus, if the police come, I'll just die on them! Can't arrest a corpse!"
Goddammit. "Fine! If that makes you go away!" Alex snatches the small bottle, unscrews the red cap, and unceremoniously pours the liquid down his throat.
He immediately gags and falls into a fit of coughs.
As he doubles over in a coughing fit, he hears Lovia's cackle resound in his ears. "What made you think I had the good stuff!? Ahahahahaha!"
For a moment, Alex thinks about stabbing Lovia, but eventually chooses not to. Someday, though... He finishes coughing, stands up straight, deliberately ignores Lovia's next words, and walks away.
After a few steps, he makes it to the emergency exit of the communal sleeping quarters. He pushes the door open and shivers a little as a cold breeze blows into the room. Then he walks out and makes his way to the market.
Tetanus Town isn't that large, so it's fairly easy to navigate. There are two decrepit, but fully finished, buildings, a handful of half-finished buildings, and one or two vacant lots where the ground has been leveled, but construction had never started there.
Probably the most iconic part of Tetanus Town is the Tower of Rust.
The Tower of Rust is what people call the massive, ten-story, steel building frame that's at the very edge of Tetanus Town. It's taller than any of the buildings in the area and is so rusty that there's an active betting pool for when it'll collapse under its own weight. The most popular bet is two years from now.
Alex makes it to the market within a few minutes. It takes place in one of the vacant lots that never had construction done.
The ground is bare, except for flattened dirt and some weeds here and there. A few barrel fires illuminate the area, and a couple of rudimentary benches surround the fires.
Unlike stereotypical markets, there aren't any stalls or stores; those would be ransacked when everyone's asleep. Instead, people gather around the barrel fires and call out what goods they're willing to trade. Those who are looking to buy roam between barrel fires, asking for what they're looking for.
Alex looks towards the bonfires. Most of them are empty, but one near the corner has a few people sitting at it. They're all warming their hands over the fire and talking to each other in joking tones.
Not the worst, but not the best either. I hope someone's willing to buy.
Alex confidently strides over the barren dirt towards the group. Most of them are dressed in raggedy clothes with varying degrees of shabbiness, but Alex recognizes one.
He's a tall, thin man wearing an extremely expensive, extremely dirty, three-piece suit. Long, greasy black hair veils his amber eyes and long nose. He still seems a little sickly, but appears to be doing better. Currently, he's laughing at a joke with the person sitting next to him. It's the man from the dumpster!
Alex's lips curve upward as he chuckles inwardly. You tried so hard to look cool, just for me to find you like this. Then, he takes off his backpack and lets it fall to the ground with a loud noise.
Thump!
At the noise, the people stop talking and look towards Alex, but he ignores them. Instead, Alex unzips the backpack and pulls out the large, singed rat. He holds it out for all of them to see and gives them the smile of a salesman.
"What I have here is an eleven inch rat. Not including the tail of course. I killed it just a few hours ago, so you know it's fresh! This is a rare opportunity, a rat this big can feed you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if you ration it wisely! I have no need for it, but maybe one of you does. And all you need to get it is something of equal or greater value!"
As he speaks, Alex spreads out his arms to accentuate the value of the rat. Then, he waits for replies.
The people in the group look at amongst themselves, and then begin to think. After a few moments, one of them speaks up. "I've got nothin'."
Encouraged by this, the other members also speak.
"Same."
"Not hungry."
"Too gross for me."
After the last one gives his response, Alex looks towards the man in the suit. He chuckles a little and says, "Well, I can't let you go home empty-handed." He places his hand into his suit's pocket. "So I'll trade you this."
The man in the suit takes his fist out and presents it to Alex. Then he opens it to reveal a small, exquisite whistle.