Jared stayed quiet and still as the workers unloaded the barrels onto the dock. Gerald said, "I'm hungry, let's get something to eat."
The other worker nodded, and they left the barrels unattended. Now, it was his chance to escape. Jared lifted the barrel's lid off his head and bolted down the street. Where he was didn't matter. What mattered was that he was free, and he'd escaped a hellhole. He wandered the depths of the city amongst the glowing streets' lights. His stomach growled, and he smelled food from the dumpster beside the brick red building. He climbed the ladder next to the dumpster and opened the black lid. A pizza box sat on top of the black garbage bags. He grabbed the pizza box and climbed down the ladder. When he opened the pizza box, he found the food was fresh, but the crust was burnt. Which is why it was thrown into the trash because it couldn't be sold.
He ate the entire pizza; the burnt crust didn't bother him. Afterwards, he threw the box back into the dumpster. On the pavement was an old blanket and a mattress. He dragged the mattress and placed it underneath the rooftop of the restaurant with the sign on the window out of Business. Wrapped himself with the blanket and fell asleep.
Several hours later, a gentle nudge woke him. Jared's eyes fluttered open. The cold, damp air of the alley hung heavy, and the first thing he saw was Pat. He rose from the grimy mattress, the burlap sack slipping to the ground.
"You're here," Jared said, the words a raw whisper. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Pat's smile was grim. "This isn't a place for you."
"You broke your promise!" Tears streamed down Jared's face, the cold wind making them burn. "You said you would look after my mother!"
"I had to leave," Pat said, his smile gone. "It was an emergency. It wasn't safe."
Jared nodded. He'd remembered when the Zo-pak army raided through the streets of Cascadia. A gruesome image, one that he wanted to erase from his memory.
"Please, come with me to the refugee centre. I can provide you with accommodations."
"Okay, I'll go with you." Jared's decision was a gamble. He was homeless, but he was also free. To follow Pat was to put his life in someone else's hands again, but what choice did he have? The memory of the medical bills flashed in his mind, a debt that had almost ruined him. He followed Pat out of the alley, a knot forming in his stomach. Pat's car, a dark, gleaming sedan, waited at the curb. As the door opened, the interior remained shrouded in shadow. Jared sat on the black cushioned seat beside a man he was not sure he could trust.