Alone

Chapter 18: New Friends?

Burbick POV

I hate this village! I want to leave and travel to the Impirial City, where my talents will be considered useful instead of weird. Then people will want to be near me and I'll have money and possibly fame and definitely power!

Until then, I am stuck here wasting away my talents by working in a tavern and having to deal with belligerent drunks all day...everyday. None of them can even understand what I'm saying half the time so they treat me like garbage. They have been treating me this way my whole life.

Hi, my name is Burbick or Burbs or Burbie...but everyone just calls me "Hey you." Even my family has always treated me worse than the dirt under their feet.

I'm a genius...plain and simple. I'm not trying to brag either because trust me, here in this village, you don't want to be smart. You especially don't want to be smart enough to realize how shitty your life is.

The rest of the people here don't realize how crappy it is and so they are blissfully unaware of how much better it could be.

In the Imperial city they value knowledge and encourage progress. If you're lucky enough to be born there or in a close by town you're treated with respect and given many opportunities. Where I was born though, you're lucky if you don't end up living on the streets, especially if you don't have any useful skills that can help with basically manual labor.

So being a genius here really really sucks.

My family owns this tavern so I've been working here my whole life. I've never really had a formal education but I've read every book available and have even built my own device like what they have in the Imperial city. It's a screen hooked up to a black box with machine parts that stores and displays information and I can find anything I want and even communicate with people from all over the continent. We can exchange ideas, keep in contact, and many other wonderful things. It's just called the machine and I built mine when I was only a boy and it has opened up my eyes immensely to what this world and even our solar system has to offer.

I keep it in the basement of the tavern because no one ever goes down there and I'm at the tavern all day, everyday so I might as well do what I can to enjoy it.

Like I previously stated my family owns this tavern but we are in no way wealthy...not even close. The whole family works and lives here in uncomfortably close quarters. We live above the tavern in a small two bedroom apartment. My parents obviously share one room while my older brother and I share the other and my little sister sleeps on the couch.

Although the tavern is always full and busy we don't bring in alot of profit and what little we do have we have to give to the thugs that run this town. If we don't, they say they won't offer us their protection but the only thing we need protection from is them. That is how the whole village is run though. Everyone here whether they run a*****e in the market or own a nearby farm has to pay for "protection " from these thug lords.

Tonight, it is my turn to give them their weekly dues. Usually my father or my older brother handles this, considering most people in the village think I'm weird and generally don't associate with me but they're both gone for a few days to get more supplies for the tavern, so it's up to me.

I'm not looking forward to it at all! People may be uncomfortable around me but believe me the feeling is mutual. Not only that but when you deal with these thugs you have to be very careful. If you mess it up or somehow insult them, you could get severely hurt or they will just kill you and display your body as a warning to anyone else whose considering going against them or not paying. That hasn't happened in a long time though since everyone is too afraid to try. I know I am.

All I want to do is close up the tavern, quickly pay the thugs, and then come back here and relax in my basement getaway. Only a few more hours to go...

***

I've been waiting by this dark creepy alley for 45 minutes and they're still not here. Of course, these jerks can take as long as they want though, I would be the one in trouble if I was to make them wait.

I hate thinking about all the money I'm about to just give away to these thugs! If I didn't care for the well being of my family, I would take this money and use it to run away to the Impirial City and make a better life for myself. All the things I could do with this money and all the money we have given over the years could have made a better life not only for me but my whole family as well. I would even use it to make the town better and perhaps someday build a school.

The jerks that do get the money don't do anything for the town, they don't even "protect" people or businesses like they're supposed to. There are still alot of robberies, assaults, and even murder.

I wish I could encourage the whole town to rise up against these foes together but no one would ever listen to me, they don't spare me a moment even now.

I just need to continue to save the little amount I get each week and one day I will be able to leave this place and follow my dreams. One day, I will see the world, make new discoveries, and my intelligence will be appreciated. For now, I'm cold and alone, waiting in a dark alley way for a group of jerks to come take my hard earned money in exchange for unfulfilled promises of protection.

I can hear something far down the alley but when I'm about to go investigate, that's when I see lights coming towards me down the road. This must be the thugs, only they could afford such a nice vehicle in this village.

I'm beginning to feel hot and the sweat is starting to bead on my forehead. I don't know why I am nervous all of a sudden, I have nothing to hide from these people. It's probably just my regular awkwardness that's making me nervous. Like I explained, I'm not very good at talking to the people here. I'm too smart for my own good sometimes and with these people I need to be especially careful. If I accidentally insult someone at the tavern or the market I might get punched but if I do it now, I will definitely be killed.

The car pulls over and a very tall and large man gets out of the back seat. He has sunglasses on, although it's almost the middle of the night and his silver hair is slicked back and pulled into a low pony tail. He starts to walk over to me and my mouth gets dry and I lose all feeling in my hands. I drop the envelope with all the money and it lands slightly in a puddle close to the enormous goon.

I try to form an I'm sorry smile and rush to get the envelope. He stares me down and I hear a low grumble come from him like he's growling at me.

"I am very sorry sir, please I don't mean any disrespect, I swear," I hold my hands up in mock surrender while bowing in front of him and slowly backing away. "I have everything we owe you for the week. It's not much but it's all we have. I'm sorry sir," I slowly hand him the envelope which he rips out of my hands.

He opens it up and starts to silently count the money. When he is finished he looks at me and I cannot tell what he's thinking because of those stupid sunglasses. I start to panic and my breathing becomes rapid and shallow.

He steps forward and grabs me by the collar of my shirt and pushes me hard against the brick wall of the alley. "What the hell is this? How do expect us to protect you and your business when you don't provide us with enough incentive to keep you safe? I suppose I will just have to take the difference out of you somehow." That is when he grins and starts to laugh and it's so terrifying I'm shaking all over.

He winds up his fist and aimes it directly at my face. His fist makes contact with my jaw and I fall out of his grip to the ground. Damn, that punch was hard and I'm hoping my jaw is just bruised and nothing is broken. I stay down on the ground, hoping I appear too pathetic to hit anymore. I don't care if it's sad that I'm so afraid, that punch hurt and I really don't want another.

He brings his foot back and then towards me and kicks me right in my gut. I yelp out in pain and ball up while still on the ground. I don't think I can handle anymore pain so I try to get up quickly and get away from this guy.

"I am truly sorry and I will try to have more for you next week, please just let me leave sir, please."

"I don't think you fully understand what is happening here. It's been quite some time since we made an example of someone and I think all of you are starting to relax and think you don't have to pay anymore. I'm gonna use you and make a clear warning for everyone. " He menacingly stalks towards me and I try to back away.

I will not be used for their purposes! I fake him out by pretending like I'm going to turn left but instead I go right and slide past him. The alley is in front of me and its the only way I can go to get away from him. I start running down the alley with the goon on my heels.

The alley way is very dark and I know he cannot see since he's wearing sunglasses at night like a douchebag so while I'm running I knock over some trash cans and he trips over them and falls on the ground. I can finally get away from him and so I run as fast as I can down the alley towards home.

As I get closer to the opposite end of the creepy dark alley, I can start to make out 2 distinct shapes coming towards me. Before I can slow myself down, I run right into the first shape. We both crash into each other hard and everything we had goes flying all over.

I am again on the dirty wet ground and in more pain. Tonight is not my night. I try to gather myself together and look at the person I ran into.

I'm completely blown away when I finally get a good look at him and then I see his female companion. I have never seen people that look like them ever and the only thing that comes out of my mouth is "Wow, who and what the hell are you people?"