Gunner's Paradise

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Natalya, Cindy, and Sheldon were all sitting at Ralph's shop. Although he had gone through it a million times in his mind, he couldn't figure what would be the best words or the best thing to say to Ralph to give them refuge. He knew it was asking too much, but he was shocked about what Cindy said. He also didn't want to deny the fact that she had foreseen the last night events and he didn't want to make the same mistakes.

The silence was overbearing for them all but no one wanted to break it. I guess they were all thinking the same thing. He thought about how to speak to Ralph, sigh; I guess I have to get down on my knees and beg today.

We could offer to pay to stay but I don't think we would have enough to make it worth his while and then they are three of us.

Natalya looked at them, trying to keep a cheerful face. "Don't worry everyone, everything will be fine," she tried to sound calm, but it was clear she was not herself, "Please, just let me do the talking to Ralph."

It came out almost as a plea as Sheldon just listened. He didn't want to argue with her and Cindy had not even paid either of them any mind; She just sat there in her own world. From the grumbling of their stomachs, they were all hungry yet that seemed to matter the least at this moment.

Cindy began humming a tune to herself. It sounded familiar to him. Sheldon thought and as he paid closer attention, he realized it was a song to Zantaro. He began humming it as well and not too long Natalya joined in. They were so into the humming that they didn't realize Ralph was now there standing in front of them.

"Huhhh..." Ralph uttered inaudible words.

He had the look of surprise written all over his face. His features made him resemble a dog, one that was on a show Sheldon watched a long time ago. It was such a funny expression that Cindy couldn't help but laugh. Sheldon also found himself laughing too but far more quietly than Cindy.

"Good morning," he said, trying to break the awkwardness and stumbling over his words he began, "What can...Why are...Is there something ...How can I help you?"

"We need somewhere to stay for a while." Natalya responded, "We have nowhere to go and nowhere to stay."

"Come, let's talk inside," Ralph looked around to make sure no one in the area was paying attention to the conversation. It could be dangerous for the kids, especially if he had to refuse.

They entered, and Ralph shut the door behind them. He made sure it still displayed the closed sign as the children took up positions in the shop.

Sheldon saw this as his opportunity to take control of the situation and impress Natalya in some way. 

"Mr. Ralph," said Sheldon assertively, "if you help us, we will be willing to pay you. Although we have little money to start, we can do any chore or additional work that you need us to do." He bowed his head to him. "But we sincerely need your help."

Ralph looked at him for a while. "Fine, you can stay on the condition that you help out around the house. I don't live in a big house and it will be a squeeze for all of us, but I can't turn down children in need of help. I think if I do that, I am destroying what little hope may be left in this City. Truly, I want to ask what happened or what you did but I don't want to know. I think it's best if I know nothing and you just please keep a low profile here as this is also a place where I work."

Ralph gave them the directions to his house. Seeing they looked hungry, he offered to give them some money to buy something to eat, but the children all refused in unison.

Sheldon was glad he didn't have to tell him what had happened as he didn't know how Ralph might have reacted to it. For now, he knew that the School and those monsters there would be a threat although they left. They had done nothing wrong, and no one had seen him so, we should be fine he said to himself, we should be fine.

He looked at Cindy and Natalya; their spirits seemed to have lifted. "Let's go and get something to eat guys, we can't be hungry forever."

Natalya smiled and for once, it was genuine. She held his hand, which made him instinctively smile and tugged him. "Let's go," as Cindy followed quietly behind. Ralph watched them as they left the shop.

They arrived at the Public Eatery. The lines were long from various food stalls, separated in different points and sections. The area where people sat was crowded. There were so many people compared to what they had in their plates. The most common items were merely bread and biscuits, nothing really solid. Everyone was watching each other to see what the other person bought and how much they spent. Food was king here and those who could afford were the most vulnerable to robberies and fights. Therefore, people normally came in groups, but this created many fights. The Public Eatery had its security and the White Fist Gang owned it so fights weren't common unless the person who started it didn't wish to live. However, outside of here, the alleys were fair game to anyone.

Sheldon had made sure before he got here he would spend the exact money for their food. He didn't want to pull out too much as he learned his lesson the hard way before and he wasn't about to learn it again.