Alex strolled leisurely behind Marco, the Latino-looking teenager who, although not entirely trustworthy, was the boy's only option at the moment. Despite his young age, the streetwise runaway seemed to say the right things. Perhaps it was the street itself that forced children to mature faster.
Surprisingly, the youth maintained his composure. He walked carefully and kept looking around. This slightly puzzled Alex, but he didn't dwell on it. After all, his fate was not in his hands, and if the boy had wanted to harm him, he wouldn't have made such an effort to gain his trust.
"So, where are we going, Marco?" Curiosity gnawed at Alex, and he finally decided to ask the question that had been on his mind.
"First to our hideout. Need to introduce you to the others and tell you a bit about us," replied Marco cheerfully, leading the way.
"Sounds logical," Alex agreed.
"Listen, for a kid who's ended up on the streets, you're holding up pretty well. Want to share your secret?" the teenager asked unexpectedly.
"Just have good self-control," the boy snorted.
"Ha-ha, as you say, amigo. You're going to need those strong nerves," Marco laughed. "Okay, now be careful." The Latino youth held Alex by the shoulder and pointed to men standing around the corner. "See those cabrones (jerks)? Those are scavengers, and if they catch us, we're done for. They'll disassemble us and sell our organs," he said seriously, making his companion tense up. The thugs stood in a dimly lit area, apparently smoking some synthetic stuff.
"Do you have a plan?" Alex whispered, trying not to attract attention.
"Not exactly a plan. The scavengers try not to draw attention at night. Right now, the area is patrolled by the claws, and they don't engage in dismemberment. Though, that's about the only good thing about them. We'll wait a couple of minutes, and if they don't clear out, we'll have to take a detour."
The children had to wait a few minutes before the thugs finished their business and disappeared. Marco quickly slipped between the buildings, pulling his companion along. Alex didn't particularly like being treated this way, but he was willing to endure it as long as this teenager was helping him survive.
"Watch closely," the boy pointed to a crack in the bricks. "Before you go down there, you need to knock on the brick three times." The dark-haired Latino did as he described and deftly slipped into the hole.
"And why is that?" The boy followed him down, finding himself in complete darkness.
"To let those inside know a friend has arrived," the boy whispered and, finding Alex's hand, pulled him along. "Hey guys, we've got a newbie," Marco said softly to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
"And who did you manage to drag here, überwuchert (overgrown)?" came a disgruntled female voice.
"Ease up, chica (sweetie), the kid tried to rob a vending machine and got away with just a shock. We need lucky ones like him," the teenager defended his new companion.
"Who in their right mind would even think of doing that?" huffed a ten-year-old girl, whom Alex could finally see. Blonde, dirt-covered hair, peach-colored eyes, a rather cute face, and a mole on her left cheek, which the boy initially mistook for dirt. She held a LED lamp, lighting her way.
"Don't grumble so much, Inga. Remember how you tried to steal a serving of fried noodles from old man Kim? You tripped and spilled all the food on your head," Marco ratted out his friend. "Haven't Shiro and Han come yet?"
"No, unlike you, they want to bring food, not another mouth to feed," the blonde continued to complain.
"Come on, remember yourself a few months ago. Running from scavengers, and if it weren't for me and Han, there'd be one less girl in this city," Marco shook his head. "Anyway, Alex, this is Inga Engel, but you can call her Kiwi." At the mention of the nickname, the little girl hissed and then pouted unhappily.
"And why Kiwi?" the boy asked with interest.
"Well, once we managed to steal a handful of fruits, and there were a few kiwis. Inga was so hungry she decided to eat the fruit with the skin," the teenager chuckled briefly. "Anyway, I'd better show you our secret base." He emphasized "secret," causing the girl to snort in disapproval.
Marco grabbed the new team member's hand and pulled him through a narrow passage leading to a large basement, where Alex himself had recently tried to set up a base. The place was spacious and surprisingly clean, to the boy's amazement. In the corner lay two mattresses serving as beds for the children. In the middle of the room stood a lamp, apparently battery-operated.
"Quite cozy," Alex scanned the room and noted that it was also quite warm. Presumably, there was a heating system nearby, maintaining the temperature inside.
"Honestly, it was Kiwi who made us clean up here," the boy shuffled his feet sheepishly.
"Someone's got to keep things clean," Inga snorted, heading towards a part of the wall where a bucket was placed. Alex noticed water dripping into it. "See this?" the girl pointed at the iron container, and seeing Alex's nod, she continued, "You can't drink this water, but it's fine for washing, got it?" Engel asked somewhat brusquely.
"Got it, I'm not stupid," the boy approached the bucket, cupped his hands to scoop some water, and splashed it on his face. After repeating the process, Alex looked around for a mirror, but Kiwi quickly caught on to his intention and pointed behind him.
"If you want to see your face, it's over here." The girl picked up a small piece of glass from the floor and handed it to the boy roughly. "Be careful with it. It's pretty sturdy, but it's better not to drop it too often."
"I'll remember that," the boy looked at his reflection for a few seconds, sighed, and put the mirror back in its place. "Um, where's the toilet?" he asked, posing the most crucial question at the moment.
"In the right far corner, there's a door. Open it, and you'll see a cubicle. This place used to be actively used by someone but was abandoned, and now we live here."
"You're pretty smart for your age," Alex noted.
"My parents were ripperdocs in the past, and they taught me a lot. But one fine day, someone from the Maelstrom gang refused to pay for their services and just shot them," she shrugged, causing the boy to be taken aback. The way she calmly spoke about the death of her loved ones didn't sit well with him. Not so much because of Kiwi herself, but because a child her age had already stopped perceiving the value of human life.
"And what are ripperdocs?" the boy picked out another unfamiliar word.
"Oh yeah, you wouldn't know about them," the girl nodded knowingly. "Basically, they're like doctors, but they work independently. Ripperdocs come in various types, but most prefer to work illegally for some gang. The police don't bother them as much, but sometimes they do raid them."
"Did yours work for one of those gangs?" the boy tilted his head inquisitively.
"Exactly, but that doesn't matter now... Listen closely, Alex, or whatever your name is. Marco wouldn't have offered his help just like that, so you must have caught his eye somehow. Try to live up to his trust. You can't survive alone on the streets, and the sooner you realize that, the better for all of us. Got it?" Inga looked at the boy seriously, towering over him by half a head.
"Yeah," trying to suppress a smile, the boy replied. The girl in front of him was trying to act important, establishing a kind of hierarchy. It was amusing to watch a child's efforts to appear tougher than she was. The boy just decided to play along for now. He could tolerate Engel's difficult character but better establish certain boundaries later. Otherwise, there might be consequences that wouldn't allow them to see Alex as an equal.
"Okay, Kiwi, that's enough torture for our amigo. Here, you must be starving," Marco said, pulling a stiff piece of flatbread from inside his clothing, which Alex gratefully accepted. After biting off a piece, he exhaled contentedly and, breaking off half, offered it to Inga.
"Don't worry about me, think about yourself," the girl waved him off and walked over to the lying mattress. She picked up a book lying on it and then flopped onto the bed, absorbed in the yellowed pages.
"Thanks," Alex quickly finished the flatbread, which, though resembling cardboard, managed to temporarily quell his hunger – a crucial achievement in his current situation.
Suddenly, three rhythmic knocks sounded, to which Marco immediately responded by picking up the lamp in the center of the room. Alex decided to follow the teenager to meet his new, albeit unfortunate, friends. The boys were quite agile and entered the hideout within seconds, squeezing through the narrow passage. Once inside, they began to inspect the new member of their gang.
"Got a new addition? I'm Han, by the way," said the first boy, an Asian-looking youth with a friendly smile. He extended his hand for a handshake. Han had black hair, typical of most native Asians, almond-shaped eyes, and a childishly plump face.
"Alex," the boy responded, shaking his hand and noting the surprisingly strong grip for a child.
"I'm Shiro," announced another boy, waving cheerfully at the newcomer. Unlike Han, Shiro had more pronounced European features – regular eye shape, light blond hair, bright blue eyes, and softer facial contours. He appeared to be about ten years old.
"You're early. Anything happen, amigos?" Marco leaned against the wall and looked inquiringly at his friends.
"The claws and scavengers had a little war near the flea market. We didn't want to risk much and kept it small," Han shook his head in dissatisfaction.
"The main thing is you're back safe," Marco smiled. "Choombas, tomorrow we need to show our comrade around the hot spots and how we work. I'll pair up with him, and you team up with Kiwi."
"Okay, but we'll have to leave early in the morning. Lots of cops around at noon, and he probably can't run from them without blowing our hideout," Shiro approached Alex, sizing him up and assessing his capabilities.
"Don't worry, my intuition tells me this amigo won't let us down," Marco smiled, placing a hand on the newcomer's shoulder.
"I can't promise anything, but I'll try to help," the boy said, scratching his head awkwardly, suddenly remembering the nearby basement he had found, almost similar to their current hideout. "Listen, Marco, I found a basement not far from here with a decent mattress. We should grab it," he suggested, not keen on the idea of sleeping on a cold stone floor.
"If we're going to get it, we need to do it now," Marco thought for a moment and then pulled Alex along. "Shiro, Han, come on, we'll get it done faster together."
The group of children quickly left their hideout and stealthily made their way to the location their new friend had pointed out. They didn't like the idea of venturing into scavenger territory, but those guys had bigger problems than a few street kids at the moment.
Reaching the other basement was uneventful, except for having to hide from a couple of patrolling 'claws.' They seemed quite displeased and were evidently looking for someone, but the orphaned group didn't pay much attention to their conversation, unlike Alex.
He caught parts of their conversation and didn't like what he heard. They were looking for a child who, from the snippets of phrases, resembled him. This was probably why the scavengers were being chased. The claws were looking for Alex, and he would need to disguise himself somehow. His clothes were quite noticeable, but he had no other options. He would have to be extra careful for a while...
With some effort, the friends managed to bring the mattress back to their hideout, though it took some wrangling to fit it through the narrow passage. They placed it in a corner next to the other two, allowing all five of them to comfortably fit. Inga was still reading, ignoring the others, but as soon as the boys finished their work, she closed her book and looked at them attentively.
"If you want to wake up tomorrow, you better go to sleep now," she said seriously.
"We were just about to. Alex, do you snore?" Marco asked.
"I don't think so," the boy replied thoughtfully.
"Great, then take the spot by the wall and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow starts your first day..."