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Chapter 2: A Night With The Homeless In Gotham
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"Well, I guess thank you for having me, and I'm Ian, just Ian."
Ralf took a bite from the apple in his hand before lifting it and saying, "Want a bite?"
"Nah, I'm not hungry, not yet at least."
"Well, this is your first lesson, be an opportunist. Take every opportunity before you no matter how small. That bite of apple could save your day someday.
I will also give you some extra advice if you stay here. Never ever argue with anyone, be a good boy. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain so we can really do anything."
"I see, I'll make sure to keep that in mind," Ian responded a smile was still on his face seemingly not bothered by the circumstances around him.
Ralf thought nothing of Ian's strangeness, he just assumed his wife was that much of a bitch that even such circumstances were acceptable for him.
Ralf raised his brows as he seized up Ian from top to bottom, then he pointed out something.
"You actually smell good as if you've just taken a shower. That probably won't matter that much, but you're also good-looking... Hmm.
I'll give you a week or two before you start to smell like the rest of us. Before that, keep a low profile else people will start eyeing you... For several reasons. Fitting in is another piece of advice for you."
"Do you usually help everyone like this?" Ian curiously asked.
"Sometimes, I've been there, I needed that help at one point, and someone did help, so I understand.
Anyway, follow me inside, you can stay in my place for a while if you can call it that." Ralf started walking inside the warehouse directly after saying that while stroking his long grey sticky beard.
As he had just said, it wasn't much of a place as much of a blanket spread in an area with a lot of garbage around.
"Oi, uncle Ralf, who's the new kid?" In Ralf's place were two people, both seem like middle-aged men, they look and smell just as bad as Ralf but that seemed to be the normality around here.
Ian also wanted to get more information first before doing anything else. He wanted to verify whether this is actually happening or he just had a concussion and he's actually lying in the hospital like always.
"Yeah, I'll just give him a place by the side there." Ralf casually responded. He seemed to be the boss of the place, not the warehouse but just this small corner.
"Then as we say to all newcomers, everyone here fetches their living for themselves, don't expect sympathy from anyone."
The other middle-aged man also added, "Also, did you get robbed? You seem fresh for a homeless."
Ian sat down on the blanket while answering, "Yeah, I kinda was robbed of my house and all of my stuff." He technically didn't lie.
The middle-aged man raised his brows, "Oh?"
Ralf then explained in Ian's place, "You know marriage problems, and perhaps divorce. The greatest legal robbery to ever exist."
"Oh, I understand." The two beggars eyed Ian with sympathy and understanding, "It happens to the best of us."
"I guess but I'm not worried, I rather see this as a fortune. I will surely make the best of it." Ian said while observing the surroundings, the people to be specific.
'It's all too real. I can feel pain clearly and everything I observed so far says that this is reality. I was never one to stay in disbelief for long, so I'll indeed make the best of it.
Most importantly, if I'm truly in the world I think I am, then the possibilities all endless, and if my gift works in here, then what lies before me is a magical adventure... I can't wait to let all my.'
His thought process was interrupted by one of the middle-aged men, "Right, surely everything is gonna be alright. That's what we all think before realizing the painful reality..."
"Enough of the gloomy talk. We'll stay together for a while so let me introduce you to each other. This is Ian and those two are mike and barney." Ralf interrupted them and said.
The three nodded at each other, then Ian said, "Do you have any recent newspaper? The one I have is quite old. Also, any spare shoes?"
"Quite the guy we have here huh, but here, these were my old ones so they're in a bad state," Mike said before handing him a pair of brown dirty shoes.
Ralf brought a newspaper from his large brown coat and handed it to him, "I just picked this one today, give it back when you're done with it."
"You're also keeping up with that bat shit? Crazy things happening in the world, ain't that right." Barney casually said while picking up a bottle of wine.
Ian smiled and nodded. He had already got the answer he wanted but still continued to read through the newspaper.
'I am really in a fictional universe... Just what the fuck is going on? I gotta say though, I'm already hooked, I very much like where this is going.'
As one may have already understood, he's quite the strange man with a strange gift. After all, he has seen and experienced things that are kind of magical, not as much as this but experiences that made him numb to certain emotions.
"By the way, have this, it's quite cold this time of day," Ralf said while handing him a brown sweater, quite dirty with a few holes.
Ian took it and wore it right away with no change in his expression which led Ralf to ask the question, "You don't seem bothered by all of this, used to such stuff?"
"Yeah, I've gone through worse. I like to camp outside and go adventuring in dangerous circumstances, so I've had to deal with a lot."
Ian started stroking his chin while saying so. He then said something strange, something that baffled the trio, quietly enough for only the three men to hear.
"Want to rob a store and get some cash?" He said casually as if it's the easiest thing to do.
"What nonsense are you speaking? Want us to get shot?" Ralf responded, apprehension apparent in his voice.
One might think that it's easy to do such a thing in a corrupted city but it's the opposite.
You'll likely face a corrupt cop, and they'll likely shoot you down without a second thought before taking their 'service fees' from the store manager.
There are so many possibilities on how things would go and death is many of them. To a certain extent, meeting Batman is a fortune, he'll at least leave you alive.
Ian released a small smile, "You said it yourselves, we have nothing to lose. If we get shot down then whatever. Think about it, why take a bite of the apple when we can take a box of apples for ourselves.
Are you willing to stay like this forever just waiting for opportunities to get to you? Let's create them ourselves."