Upon arriving, it was already night.
His stomach churned due to hunger, but he did not mind.
He was already used to it.
Looking around, he found his parents along with a little gremlin by their side—his four-year-old little sister.
Kael approached them, and they turned their heads toward him in return.
"What took you so long?" His father nodded at him and asked.
His father, a thin man wearing a loose dark shirt paired with tattered and worn-out jeans, was sitting on an improvised stool made out of large plastic bottles. He has a ragged look and vibe with his curly long hair and messy beard. His eyes, though, were sharp and resolute, as though they had seen and experienced the vicissitudes of life.
"Our last teacher held us back because some of my classmates were talking about the New Infinite all day long." Kael smiled wryly and shook his head before he reached and pinched the fat cheek of his younger sister.
Kael nodded and smiled to his mother, in which she smiled back in return and offered him another improvised stool to sit on.
Though looking ragged due to her faded clothes and messy hair, the eyes of his mother still shone as bright as day as she looked at Kael proudly.
Being scavengers, their income was not great, and they barely had enough to support their daily basis.
However, even with such circumstances, both his parents were still grateful for what they had and had never complained about what they lacked. At least, none that he was aware of.
The little gremlin, his little sister, pouted and tried to slap Kael's hand away. He was quick enough to retract it with a chuckle, though.
His little sister rubbed her fat cheeks and pointed her small fingers. "Blo, you will pee pol dat!"
(Bro, you will pay for that!)
Kael merely laughed at the gremlin's little threat. This little one has always been lively and energetic. Teasing her from time to time, and her bickering back, was the funniest thing for Kael.
Honk! Honk!
The sound of a dump truck's horn resounded in the dumping site, attracting the attention of Kael and the others.
Of course, it was not only them who were here to scavenge.
Looking around, Kael could see at least seven groups of people gathering around the dumping site. Their heads turned toward the entrance where a convoy of huge dump trucks slowly inched their way to the dumping area.
"Be alert, take the most valuable first before regrouping here," his father reminded him as he stood up from the stool.
Kael, his mother, and the little gremlin nodded their heads in affirmation. Their attention focused on the huge trucks passing their way.
Kael readied the empty sack he had wrapped on his back earlier.
The trucks moved to the center of the dumping site and lined up parallel to each other.
Not long later, the trucks' dump box slowly lifted and began to unload the trash they had collected throughout the day.
With eagle eyes, Kael and the others slowly inched their way toward the center area.
As the trucks unloaded the trash, Kael and the others observed carefully from a distance away.
Scavenging for items was not as easy as it seems.
Especially with a lot of competition in place, every second and every action count.
One wrong move and another scavenger will surely take the better 'trash' away.
Hence, even before the trucks could finish unloading the 'trashes,' Kael and the others must already be done with their observation and must have already chosen their desired 'trash' to target.
The target they must choose, of course, was those that looked solid and firm, as the shallow ones will most likely just be ordinary wastes.
And not only must they choose the correct target, they must also ensure that they would be able to get it in the end, or else the effort would only be wasted.
"Now!"
The moment the last trash slid off the dump box, Kael's father screamed at the top of his lungs and stormed toward the dumping area.
Kael and his mother did not lag behind and sprinted toward their desired target one after the other.
The little gremlin could not keep up, but none of them worried about her.
Kael had a reason for calling her a little gremlin after all.
Kael locked his eyes on a particular trash bag.
Unlike the rest, this trash bag looked bulky and full of goodies.
Among the rest, this trash bag had also slid off from the farthest dump truck, so he guessed that there wouldn't be anyone that would target it aside from him.
This trash bag looked pretty solid, and whatever it was inside of it must be pretty valuable, to say the least.
However, at the corner of his eye, Kael saw another figure sprinting toward the same dump truck.
Without having to guess, Kael knew that he was also targeting the same trash bag that he had set his eyes on.
Kael did not say a word and just increased his speed.
There was no time to waste. Whoever arrives first will get the trash bag and its contents in full glory.
The man who clearly targeted the same trash also sped up upon noticing him.
Kael was calm and composed.
Though he was focused on the target, he did not forget to take note of the incoming man as well.
Scavenging was never easy, and of course, it was never peaceful.
Those who scavenged were mostly desperate people that would do almost anything to obtain what they wanted.
He had already encountered and was even in a fair share of trouble himself. Kael was not naive to think that the man would simply retreat if he happened to get close to the trash bag first.
And because his starting point was a lot closer, Kael, of course, arrived near the solid-looking trash bag first.
With quick movements, Kael grabbed the trash bag and put it inside his sack with practiced movements.
Just then, the man arrived near him and delivered a flying kick without saying a word.
Having anticipated him making a move, Kael was already prepared and hurriedly stepped to the side to dodge.
As the man landed, Kael did not waste any time and stepped toward him as well.
He raised his foot and kicked his side with massive force.
Unable to defend, the man's eyes could only widen in pain as he staggered away due to the force of the kick.
Steadying himself, the man quickly thought of revenge, but upon looking back, he realized that Kael had already sprinted away without hesitation.
"Damn it!"