AARGH, HOW DID HE GET INTO THE SEWERS AGAIN? Iris awoke to a bright shining sun, blue sky, and - oh - a dumpster. That's where the sewer smell oozed from. Iris shuddered. As he regained his composure, he surveyed his surroundings. The trash most likely softened the fall, save a few bruises. However, his clothes were fetid, and he needed food. Plus, he was wanted for murder, albeit one he didn't commit. Thus, he needed to proceed with caution. Then again, he was termed a criminal, so he could be a little rough. Jumping out of the trash, he waited in the alley until someone with clothes his size passed by. It took a while, but, soon enough, a boy his age came along. As he passed the entrance, Iris grabbed him and dragged him inside.
"Strip. No questions. Now.", Iris said as he held the struggling boy firm.
"N-no!", The boy yelled, obviously appalled the thought of doing such for someone his age and gender.
Iris brandished a shard of glass.
"Aargh! Get that away from me. I'll tell on you!", The boy said, wriggling.
As Iris calmly inched it closer to the boy's throat, panic was soon written all over his face.
"F-f-f-fine! I'll, I'll undress!", The boy stammered. Iris held firm.
"Please. Please! Unhand me so I can undress!"
Iris, satisfied with his catch, released the boy so he could efficiently remove his clothes. The boy instantly backed away, and something glinted in his hand, before a shot echoed in the alley, and white-hot pain erupted from his left arm.
"Gyaah!", Iris cried out, clutching the wound. The boy chuckled.
"Not so tough now, are you?", he said, full of glee.
Iris seethed.
"Well, maybe if I stick a bullet in your skull…"
Now Iris was pissed. He really wanted to burn this guy, but he already tried consciously controlling pure heat, and it didn't work this time. He needed something to burn, and the entire place was damp and smelly. Wait, smelly. Trash that smelt could still be burnt, for some reason beyond Iris. But it was a gamble. Using the sun's rays as fuel, Iris directed and focused the heat to the trash. Nothing happened. Another shot rang out as a bullet barely missed him, slicing his cheek.
"Tsk. I missed.", The boy muttered.
Guess I'll have to go hand-to-hand, Iris thought. As he took a step forward though, the dumpster suddenly shuddered, before combusting with a boom. Iris, though shocked, quickly controlled the flames and sent them towards the boy, who was still shocked from the explosion.
"Gotcha!", Iris said.
However, the flames harmlessly cascaded past the boy, who was now back to his senses.
"So you know how to create fire? That gives me the leverage I need!", The boy announced.
His gun barrel turned yellow-hot, and Iris knew he was in trouble. He parkour-ed off the walls, but upon breaking into the harsh sunlight, was stunned, losing his balance. That was what saved him, however, as a ball of blue flames missed his head.
"Stop dodging my attacks!", The boy yelled, frustrated.
Iris, who hung to a rooftop, quickly scrambled out of sight, much to the annoyance of Alley-Boy, who continued to yell in the distance.
+ + + + + +
Iris tugged at the itchy blue ribbon in his hair. His whole outfit was ridiculous, even for a girl! The girl who he'd taken it from was a multicolored-eyed freak who'd heard him mumbling about his failures in trying to acquire new clothing, thought it was her he was talking about, stripped down to her underwear (not like that, bro(or hoe (or I don't know) ).), and ran away crying. Still taken aback, he sat by the roadside, the ever-painful bullet wound threatening to ruin his new article of clothing. And caravans. Caravans with their mud splashing.
"Now, I really need some foo-"
Iris couldn't finish his sentence, as a handwritten flyer carried by the wind found solace on his sweaty forehead.
"What the-"
Iris removed the flyer to read its contents:
FROM THE INA EMBER DEPARTMENT
New recruits for the Ember Corps are to arrive for admission latest on the first of January. The entrance exam will commence at 9:00am sharp on the first of January. All recruits are required to bring their Arin identification papers.
Remember, you are doing a service to your country, and city. You represent equality and justice!
-The Ember Hearth
You represent equality and justice! Yeah, cheap shit. Iris scrunched up the paper and threw it on the road, kissing his teeth. Then he went to pick it up again. In truth, he needed this. Embers obviously had better fire creation than a regular Arin civilian. They were specially trained, and Iris needed that. The problem was, he didn't have an Arin identification card. Sneaking in would be impossible - it did belong to Embers, after all.
Grrr.
Iris clutched his stomach. It growled again. He checked his skinny jeans for anything useful. Finding some shiny coins, a tiny sweet, and white wooden circles, he threw away everything everything else apart from the coins. Happy with his findings, he began looking for an eatery. This part was rather easy, compared to everything he'd been through today, as advertisements with directions were everywhere. People down here really got hungry. Straightening his pink blouse, having finally arrived at O Ta Lenu Eatery, a seemingly simple restaurant, he entered inside. Instantly, the aroma of well-cooked dishes hit him, and his mouth watered. The whole place looked odd, though - with signboards and the like displaying all sorts of weird names and numbers, random groups of people in lines, tables with cloths over them, and (paper?) plates, the whole place was nothing like what he was used to up in Oke. Finally, however, Iris saw something he recognized - a cashier. He quickly walked up to the guy, a young man in his twenties with bad stubble, and proudly placed his coins on the counter.
"I'll get something good and filling. This is my first meal here, after all. Keep the change.", Iris said with a smirk.
The cashier regarded him, the coins, the him again.
"Sorry, sir, but that's not - that's not money.", He said curtly, "And, please, go to the back of the line if you want to order. With real money, not chocolate."
Iris turned around to see a lot of angry, confused faces. So this wasn't valuable currency? All that freak stuffed in these blood-draining jeans was useless? Tired and defeated, Iris solemnly turned towards the door. As he reached for the handle, the door burst open, and a girl rushed in; before stopping in front of the line.
"Oh no!", she said, "This line is sooo long…"
Did she sound familiar? Iris brushed the thought aside. No one paid any attention to her comment, until one man looked in her direction, and the blood drained from his face. Almost falling in the process, he ran out of the restaurant. People began to do the same, some even dropping half-eaten food, others jumping through windows hoping to avoid her, until only Iris, the cashier, and the girl remained inside. The cashier, too shocked to move, remained frozen in place.
"Oh, the line is gone? Joy! Please can I get a burger and fries?", she said sweetly.
The cashier didn't move. Iris was getting really confused.
"Please, can I get a burger and fries?", she repeated, a sinister trail in the voice.
The cashier barely managed to nod, before dashing into the kitchen and dashing back out with the food. Iris didn't remember the service being this efficient. The mysterious girl took her order, a takeaway and turned to leave. Was that a green eye just now? Never mind, she hadn't paid for the meal she was about to eat.
"Hey.", Iris said, grabbing her arm. The cashier's jaw dropped. "You haven't paid for your meal yet." The cashier's heart tumbled out.
She paused.
"What do you mean?", she said innocently, not even looking Iris in the face. "It's on the house, right?"
"Yes ma!", the cashier screamed, though it seemed like he was begging. For his life.
"Thanks for the clarification." She continued on, but Iris held her arm even tighter.
"You made everyone leave - no, run, from this restaurant. The cashier is deathly afraid of you, and you not paying for your meals is suddenly okay. Who are you, and how dare you?", Iris yelled.
But, instantly, a cold pressure fell on Iris. Whoever this girl was, for her to be able to do this, she was dangerous. As he let go, she spun around, confusion, recognition, then anger passed her face in quick succession.
It was the freak. HOLY INA.