"Damnit!"
"Out of the way!"
...
The night was chilly. The wind that carried the heavy snow all over the streets. The weather was really bad but the people walking at this hour wore their winter coats yet deep within an alley, where only the moonlight shone, a small kid sat clutching bags of trash all over him. The pungent smell was assualting the kid's nostrils but his face did not show any discomfort only lifelessness. Frost was building up on his face as he shivered with vigor.
"I'm tired.." A faint voice escaped his flaky, dry mouth.
He began grabbing a few more trash from the heap near him and placed near his face to escape the cold. Few of those were plastic like bottles, wrappers, and plastic bags. His eyes lids fell slowly and slowly until he dozed off.
Alone, with his back behind a dumpster, he slept.
....
When midnight struck, the wind howled louder and louder. Few people stayed out, but there were still those who had things to do at night. However, the area of the little boy, the streets were empty. Few hours later, the area was lit up by a yellow light. It blinked in rhythym and made the streets into some kind of dance floor. Beeping sounds accompanied the lights.
"Sid, get the dumpster, you lost the bet." A man's laughed broke the silence of the street.
"Tch." Sid said. He started walking as his boots left heavy imprints on the snow. His coat was colored yellow and green and at the back of it, the words 'Garbage Collector' were engraved.
Sid walked into the alley, it was well lit enough for him to not need a flashlight. His gaze shifted on the wall where a small street light was lodged.
"Stupid owner, can't change a light bulb, hmph!" Evidently, he was in a bad mood. The bet he lost made him do the dirty work by himself until the sun shined. He walked deeper into the alley, picking up trash and placing them inside the black plastic bag. Abruptly, he stopped. His showed the complex emotions of angst and resentment. At the edge of the dumpster, piles and piles of garbaged was stacked up.
"Damnit!!!" He shouted.
"Come on man, move it faster!" The other guy yelled.
No choice, Sid picked up everything one by one. He opened the dumpster and threw everything in. Piece by piece he worked until he unearthed a young face. He jumped in fright. Seeing all the trash on the kid he knew immediately that he was responsible for the mess.
"It's you! You did this!" He pulled the kid wearing worn out, dirty clothes out of the trash heap. Just like a skeleton, the kid was dragged with little effort. Sid threw him on the ground and started kicking his stomach.
"Its. Your. FAULT!" He growled in a hushed voice as he gave the last kick which made the kid spew blood. Moments later footsteps were heard across the alley.
"What's taking so lo-"
"My God, Sid! What happened to that kid?!" The other man ran towards the little boy.
When he heard his partner calling out, he snapped back to reality. What he did, he didn't think he was capable of, was already done. Despise. He regretted lashing out on a stray kid. Still, he would not man up on this accident as he said-
"I-I found him like this.. I don't know, should we call and ambulance?" His speech, incoherent, his lies believable. His partner fell for it.
"Ah. But we can't.. We'll get charged money.." The man said. Money was important, probably more important than a kid half-way through death's door.
"Let's just go get the dumpster and leave then, morning is coming anyways, someone else would help him." He said. Guilt filled his heart but it was every man for themselves.
"R-Right.. lets.." The other man also knew it's wrong, to turn a blind eye on a 6-year old kid but they didn't have a choice. At least the kid was breathing since he was wheezing from time to time.
"Please....."
"W-Water..."
The two garbage men looked at each other. Sid nodded and the other man ran back to the truck. With the man gone, Sid crouched and whispered sorry to the boy. About half a minute later, the man came back hold a plastic bag with food and water. He placed it near the boy and the got back to work.
....
After placing the empty dumpster back, the kid barely moved an inch. They decided to place him inside the dumpster. They kept one of the doors opened. This way the boy was protected from mother nature. After all that, they left.
The boy started crawling for the plastic bag. His body ached, his thinking was clouded but there was something that he needed to do. Survive. Inching closer he finally got the water bottle. It took him a good minute just to open the bottle cap, hastily he drank the water. As he drank, his face began heating up as tears fell like a waterfall. Sobbing sounds echoed inside a dumpster in the middle of a dark alley at midnight.
Life was cold, he thought.
....
Bang!
The loud noise startled the kid away. A black garbage back was thrown into the dumpster that produced the noise tha woke him up. He ate the sumptous meal last night. He now looked like a kid rather than a skeleton. After his meal he fell asleep.
'Can't stay.' He stood up and pushed the other door open. In the past, climbing out was always a struggle for him. But being in the same situation before, he learned some tricks. He climbed out using the garbage bag as a stool. He made it out eventually. The air was cool, alot more friendly than last night. The sun was half asleep as the rays were not as blinding as it could be.
The kid left the alley as he planned to walk on the street, maybe scavenge for food. On his first turn, he bumped on someone. Fear kicked in and he raised his hands in defense. He expected pain as usual but there was nothing. He only felt his hand's being pushed down in a gentle manner. A man wearing a black suit and shades was right before his eyes.
"Do you want to live?" The man crouched and asked the boy.
The boy nodded in response.
"Then tell me your name."
"...Mitchell"