Titans - March of Progress

Sain trudged along the narrow, cobbled street, head down and hands tucked into his coat pockets. He walked in an exhausted manner, his body slouched forward, and shoulders slumped. Yet every now and then Sain looked up and flicked his eyes around his surroundings, scanning the area around him.

The cobble street he traversed was bustling with dozens of people walking around him at any given time, going to and from their homes or workplaces. Most walked in silence, and Sain saw looks of exhaustion, and strangely, worry upon their faces. He did not think too much about it though. People often had much to worry about in this city.

Sain just turned his attention away from the people around him, and instead focused his attention forward, and kept walking down the narrow, cobbled street. Over time, the people around him thinned out, disappearing into the shanty brick homes that lined the narrow street, all crammed up hard against one another.

The streets started to darken as he walked, the sun setting and creating eerie shadows that seemed to take on a life of their own between the closely packed buildings. The shadows got even more eerie and twisted as the lamp lighters came out with their poles and started their evening runs. Sain watched one figure in particular, slowly approaching him.

The lamp lighter would stop and raise their pole, a very faint light on its tip, and then a new light would flare as the gas caught inside the lamp pole, and the lamp lighter would be seen clearly for a brief moment before becoming a smudge in the darkness as they continued forward. Sain just pursed his lips, thinking it was a boring job, but someone had to do it.

As the distance between Sain and the lamp lighter shrunk, he sped up his pace, the darkness creeping in ever tighter, so much so that he felt as though it would swallow him soon. After a minute or so of walking, he reached the lamp lighter, and the worker turned to look at Sain for the barest moment before carrying on. Sain caught a glimpse of a long graying beard, and the twinkle of eyes beneath a drawn hood attached to his heavy woolen coat, which was drawn tight about the man's torso. He was definitely prepared for the cold night.

Sain offered a polite nod and continued on his way, paying the man no more heed as he pulled his own coat tighter about himself, and flipped his collar up to cover his neck and fight the chill creeping in. I wish I had brought my own hood, or at least a cap to keep my head warm.

Sighing, Sain exhaled a breath, watching it fog before him. It was getting cold fast.

Sain just focused his eyes in front and continued on, a bit more at ease now that there was light around him. That ease all but vanished a few minutes later though as he noticed movement further down the road. A group of hooded figures had gathered out the front of one of the shanty houses and were basically blocking the narrow street.

Sain slowed his pace as he approached, wanting to give the group ample opportunity to either move on or disperse, so he would not have to walk through them. But as he walked, one of the figures turned to look at him and just pointed a finger to indicate him.

Feeling a stab of fear run through him, Sain froze to the spot as the figure moved closer, pulling down a cloth mask attached to their hood. Sain instantly recognized Youm, one of Jalel's followers from the other day. Seeing Youm did not cause him to unfreeze or relax, and instead he just tensed up even more.

"Sain. Get your ass over here. We have been waiting for you. Jalel wants words" the youth stated brusquely and to the point. Sain just gulped, eyes widening in fear as a dozen thoughts ran through his brain of what could be about to happen. Youm seemed to either guess at the thoughts or read them on Sain's face because he just grinned.

"Chill out kid. Jalel said he would give you another chance to strut your stuff. Ricky said you were the one teaching him after all" Youm stated as he came to a halt in front of the frozen, silent and clearly scared Sain. Youm just lifted his right hand and dropped it onto Sain's left shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Sain jolted at the contact, and he just gulped again and swallowed, wetting his suddenly dry mouth so he could speak.

"What? Um... ok. Like right now? I just finished work, so I am tired as" Sain rambled squeakily in a rushed torrent of words and Youm just frowned and tightened his grip on Sain's shoulder, causing him to gasp and recoil a bit.

"So what? Jalel calls, you answer. Got that you little shit? Now move" Youm stated bluntly under his breath with what sounded like a threatening tone. Sain just gulped again and nodded meekly, before looking down at the ground. Youm seemed to take that as a yes, and so loosened his grip and then completely dropped his hand from Sain's shoulder.

"Good. Now follow me" Youm stated and turned around and started walking. Sain swallowed nervously and started after Youm. The other hooded figures, three in total, fell in behind Sain as well and he felt another stab of fear. Why were they herding him? All the other fearful thoughts from earlier just came rushing back as he walked. Was he about to get lynched? Punished for disobeying Jalel yesterday?

As the thoughts ran rampant through his mind, he kept walking, and he looked around himself continuously, seeing practically no one on the streets, save for the single person hurrying home. It was only just after sundown, so the streets should still be somewhat busy. The streets were however, eerily quiet. And strange. Why were the streets empty? Had the people he earlier who bore worried looks, been aware of something he was not. Some incidents in the area?

Youm turned to the left suddenly, heading down an alley, and Sain moved after him, the silence of the streets disappearing from his mind as he focused once more on Youm's path of travel. He could barely see the youth now, the darkness in the alley was so deep. The moonlight barely made its way into the narrow passage, blocked out by the overhanging roofs and balconies of the shanty houses that made up the majority of the slum districts.

After a few minutes of walking through a series of interconnected alleys, Youm came to a sudden stop beside a door, and just turned, looking around him and the group, peering down the alley both ways, his eyes squinted. Sain just stood there silently, not sure what was really going on as his heart beat rapidly in his chest, his fear coming right back, now tinged with feelings of anxiety. He clenched his palms, feeling his hands cold and clammy.

After a few moments of silence, Youm just lifted a hand and bashed on the door, twice fast, and then three times slowly, then a pause and one more knock. After the knocks, silence fell back in the alley, and Sain swore he could hear his heart hammering in his ears as it beat like it was going to explode.

A noise sounded from inside the building, followed by a series of rasps and clicks from behind the door, and then the door opened suddenly, spilling a wash of flickering light out into the alley. A figure appeared from inside the building and just stood inside the door frame as a look was cast at Youm, then the others in the group.

As the figure surveyed the group, Sain looked up into the figures face, seeing a hood drawn over their head. Sain only made out a jawline, with a few patches of thin facial hair, any other features hidden in shadow due to the light coming from inside the building. Sain just gulped once more, eyes still wide and feeling even more nervous now. After a few moments, the figure stepped aside, and gestured with a hand for everyone to follow. Youm moved inside, and Sain shuffled in after him, followed by the other three.

Sain sighed as he felt the warmth of the room wash over him and he looked up at the ceiling, a lit lantern hanging from a chain fixed to what may have originally been a chandelier fixture. He caught a strong smell of body odor as well, and a general musty smell. It instantly made him want to sneeze. Sain lifted his hand and cuffed at his nose with a thumb, sniffling.

"Everyone's in the cellar. There are a couple more groups we are waiting on" stated the hooded figure who closed the door behind the group, and spent a few moments pulling locks into place, each one either rattling or rasping. He then moved over to a chair propped up against the wall behind the door and picked up a piece of paper there, with various scribbles and notes on it. The youth simply picked up a lead pencil beside it and drew a line through a few names.

Sain leaned forward to look, his nervousness and fear being pushed aside by a sense of curiosity at the scribbled words, and who else had the skill to read and write in this gang. His curiosity was not sated however, as he felt a hand clasp his shoulder and he was pulled away. He turned, stumbling a little and saw Youm who just bore a look of irritation.

"Head in the game Sain. Follow me and don't snoop over shit" Youm grunted and then let go of Sain before turning away and walking down a narrow hallway to a door set on the left side of the hall. Sain paused a moment in hesitation, his nervousness and anxiety coming right back. He clenched his hands once more, feeling them cold and clammy still. So, he just shoved them into his coat pockets.

Sain's hesitation disappeared as he felt a hand press into his shoulder, and then push. He staggered a little as he was shoved by one of the others behind him, but he got the idea and followed after Youm quietly, looking down at the floor of the house nervously. His eyes stayed glued to the old, weathered floorboards, scuffed and scratched by the passage of many feet. There was also a lot of loose dirt on the floor, with the outlines of many footprints, crossing over each other, and going in all directions, hinting at a large amount of recent foot traffic.

Sain glanced up briefly as he saw Youm's feet, and looked into the youth's face, seeing him gritting his teeth, and staring at the door, his hand on the handle but unmoving. Sain blinked as a realization hit him. Even Youm seemed to be on edge. Nervous as well maybe. The realization actually made Sain feel a little better, and he stood up that bit straighter.

And then Youm turned the handle and opened the door. Instantly a wave of hushed voices and whispers washed over the small group, and Youm moved inside the room, Sain following right after.