CHAPTER 3
1312 Words
The outside world was nothing like what Kael had always imagined. From the towers of his uncle's house, he had never really thought of what went down in the outside world with the ordinary people.
The air was filled with all sorts of smoke, stench and odor coming from nowhere in particular.
Kael stood in the midst of the crowd and carefully stared at his environment. In between all the rush, nobody noticed him standing there like an odd piece in a game of puzzle.
Kael was astonished by the things he saw, metal scraps laying around unused and uncared for, he didn't have to be told that these people did not care about engineering as much as they did for their survival.
Some of the women had old and worn out gowns on, nothing like he'd ever seen his aunt wear while the men wore trousers with more patches than a broken face.
Noise came from every angle of the city, a baby wailed somewhere in the crowd and from where he was standing, Kael could see two men tearing each other's shirts while bystanders watched and laughed.
Out of nowhere, a wheel truck hit from behind and the driver screamed at him.
“Move out of the way if you've got nothing important to do.” The man behind the wheels screamed at him.
Kael looked around and saw that he was really the only one standing unlike everyone else. He started working in no direction, with several thoughts on his mind.
“Why did that man save me? What will uncle do when he finds out I'm gone? What if he sends his men after me?”
He thought about going back to the firm but as he walked, his hands collided with the necklace his parents gave him before they passed away.
“Hold on tight to life, my son. Don't let your life be cut away from you.” His mother had said with tears in her eyes.
Kael looked around and figured that if he was going to survive, he needed to get a job that would help him feed so without taking too much time, he found a nearby Robotics company just like his uncle's and walked in.
The cold atmosphere in the air felt like a reminder of his office. He looked around and saw men and women dressed in suits, sitting around. The minute he stepped in, they all turned their eyes to him.
“Good day, uhm, I saw the sign outside that says you're looking for an engineer. I would like to apply for the position.” He said to the only lady who gave him listening ears.
Before he could speak, a man waltzed out of a room, wearing an expensive suit and a Rolex wristwatch. Merely looking at the man, Kael knew he was the boss.
However, the man didn't seem to take too much liking to him as he kept staring down at him like a peasant.
“Who let this peasant in?” The man barked, his voice filling the room.
The other people in the room lowered their eyes and none of them said a word. Seeing as nobody would talk, he turned to Kael.
“What do you want?” He asked wearily.
“The job, I…I want to apply for the job.” Kael stuttered nervously. He lowered his eyes as well before speaking to the man.
To his surprise, the man broke out laughing quite aggressively.
“You? A beggar wants to apply for a job at my firm?” The sarcasm and mockery in his voice plunged through Kael's heart.
“I'm good at what I do. I…” The man didn't let him finish.
“What do you want to do with those hands, huh? They look just as soft as a baby's butt.” The man laughed even louder.
“Get out now or I'll get security to push you out.” His voice had gone from mocking to seriously offended.
With his head lowered, Kael walked out of the firm in shame with tears clinging to his eyes. The scorching sun gave him a proper welcome by biting his skin so hard he almost tore his clothes.
His stomach rumbled in hunger just as a sharp pain tore through his chest.
“Watch where you're going, young man.” Someone yelled at him from a crowd. Everything felt new and strange to him but seeing metal scraps around gave him )”hope of building something of his own.
“I might start building my own machines.” He thought to himself as he paused at a cafe to watch the news.
Until something strange caught his eyes.
A small group of people stood away from him but for some reason, they were staring at him intently. At first, Kael thought of it as nothing until he saw a child pointing at him.
He thought little of it again before going to sit outside a cafe. Thoughts of his future and how he'd always wanted to launch his Robots on live TV swarmed his mind.
A few minutes later, he stood up to leave when an announcement from the television stopped him in his tracks.
“The search for a criminal, Kael Draven has begun. There's a reward of twenty thousand dollars for anyone who finds him first.” The TV presenter said while his picture was clearly displayed on the screen.
Other people had started to notice him and the faster he walked to get away from them, the more they seemed to crowd around him.
Kael's heart started to beat faster than ever, he would never have imagined that his uncle would go as far as doing that to him.
His heart was filled with fear knowing that these people were desperate to get the bounty placed on him so they would do anything to get him.
He hastened his pace and luckily, he found himself in a place without posters of his face. He found a good hiding spot in an abandoned house and decided to wait until the fuss was over.
In his hiding place, Kael thought about his uncle's family and how much they clearly hated him.
His heart refused to believe that the same man who promised to nurture him into settlement was the same person who placed a bounty on him.
A thick stench of cigarettes made his abode an unbearable spot to hide but he knew he was better off hiding than getting mobbed by the crowd outside.
His stomach churned in hunger but there was nothing around for him to eat and when he realized there was nothing more he could do about the people chasing him, he decided to sleep for a little while.
A few minutes later, Kael felt someone tapping him really hard. At first, he thought he was dreaming about being back in the dungeon since the entire place smelled like smoke but the tapping soon turned to stronger hits that caused him to open his eyes.
To his shock, the abandoned house he was in was on fire and the smoke had started to seep into the room he was in.
“What are you standing there for?” Kael suddenly heard a voice yell at him in the smoke.
The smoke clawed at his lungs, and his chest convulsed as he coughed blood into his sleeve. The world before him was tilted, blurry and red.
“I'm trying to save you from the fire, you can't just give up.” The voice roared through the flames.
Kael squinted but the smoke was so thick that he couldn't see the stranger's face, just an outstretched arm in the fire.
His fingers brushed against theirs but just as he was about to take it, he collapsed.
- Writer
