Golden sunlight ushered out the shadows cast over Vanity Square, blessing the residents with its warm embrace once more. Hues of pink, auburn and yellow combined in the skies, rolling in one of the few motes of beauty that the district had. For many, the dawn marked the beginning of their day, their one little spark of hope to get them through the day, working just enough to leave their stomachs half empty and keep a roof over the head of their loved ones. Today would have to be the same for Kanashima, the pleasant light splitting through the lavender leaves of the willow, showing her the path to take on the day.
The morning glow of the world was one she hadn't experienced in quite some time, the late nights she spent working stole away one of the only moments of respite the world had for her after her brother passed. She spent most of her time against this tree in this very spot, but it had been forever since she slept through the entire night here. At some point she would've retreated to her sub basement apartment and slept the rest of the night and half the morning away. The last time she did this, she woke up to her name being called, her brother picking her up and moving her back inside.
It's too bright.
The sad, grey buildings reflected the sunlight back into her eyes. Shielding most of the sun with her right forearm, she observed the morning crowd coming in and out of their crude living accommodations, getting ready for the twelve and a half hour slog of a miserable shift. There was a point in time where Kanashima believed she was going to be the same slave to that unfortunate fate. Now, she felt like she had to aim higher, for a life worth living. A life worthy of the weight and sacrifices from the people before her. Was that even possible for the humans at the bottom of the food chain?
Finally stepping up from her resting position, it was time for her day to begin, starting with the tiny problem of getting access, whether legal or not, to her foreclosed apartment. Whatever little she had that wasn't on her at the time of the simulation would hopefully still be in there, that is if the ruthless leasing company hadn't sent out their cleaners yet. She was pretty close to being out of options before she resorts to actual stealing, what did she have to lose by checking it out? It's not like she was much for following rules and laws anyway, especially after what happened last night with the Nihilty duo.
Her old residence was only a hundred or so meters away from the ancient willow tree. It had a great view of the actual square, or at least it would have if it wasn't on the sub basement level. There wasn't much room to complain though, she'd take almost anything to get at least a little bit of a discount, her mother was the same way all those years ago too. Looking down and through the single short window, a small amount of artificial light peeked out.
Did I really leave the lights on? I can't even imagine the electric bill.
If somebody else already moved into that crude flat, she may as well just give up then and there. It wouldn't be like her to run up the bill, but it appeared more and more for that to be the case. That same red and yellow triangular pizza slice box sat on top of the plastic wood counter next to a half filled red and gold pack of cigarettes. They hadn't moved from that place in eight years, serving as a memento for both of the residents, and then eventually just her. She used to have something to remember her brother by, that too lost to the depths of the simulation. Maybe she'd be able to replace it, but likely not anytime soon.
The coast was perfectly clear inside if she was able to get through the electronic locks on the door. Those pants she had to sacrifice to the burial and laceration on her calf had the keys to them. Her jacket would've been fine too with the card, it too held the same programming as the apartment keys. Even if she did have one of the several options, her access was probably deactivated a few days or so after missing payment. That was just the way the corporations ran things around here, and she, lumped in with every other living person in Vanity, had no way to stand up to the oppression.
Could she get through the window? The sub basement windows were short, but with a bit of angling and diving, it was reasonable to shove a small teen through such as herself. Even if she did manage, there wouldn't be a possible way to get in without the several cameras seeing her. That and they always had a few guys during the day on lookout, some guys acting like standup citizens, always looking to catch somebody at their lowest. They might as well be criminals with the way they moved.
Dying trying to rob my own apartment. What a sad way to go. Maybe deserving.
Returning back to her spot next to the tree, she rolled one of her generated fruits in her hand. For the past several days she had eaten nothing but these succulent drupes. Normally, as with all foods, she'd be tired of eating something this much. It happened with the greasy pizza, and several other inexpensive options that were available growing up, but these delicious sweets never changed. Was the gap between fresh, real foods and whatever she grew up on really that different?
"Woah, where'd you get those Miss? They look real delicious!"
By this time of the day most of the Vanity kids that were too old and families too fiscally snuffed to go to a real school and too young to work any legal job hung out in the Square. There wasn't much to do, not even a park to hang out at, the great willow tree was all they had. It must've been odd for the children to see somebody of her age there, especially in new clothes and eating fresh fruit. She was about to dismiss the basket, despite having four left inside of the box. It wasn't her job to feed these kids, she wasn't given anything for free when she was growing up, wasting her time away in this very spot. Why should she help these kids out? Was it because she was in the same position as them? She was still in that same position, broke as can be and no way to fight back against the circumstance.
I'm not rich, and I'm not a good person. I even killed somebody earlier.
She pulled a fresh, unbitten foodstuff out of the Bountiful Basket and extended it to the kid. Gunmetal grey eyes stared at the curious little dude, his baby blue eyes widening as he stared at the burnt orange sphere. She had no intention of helping out this kid, or anybody for that matter, so what was she even doing with her precious drupe? A familiar striking blue set of eyes appeared in her mind again, pairing with a signature wide smile she longed to see again.
"Woah, thank you Miss! You're awesome- wait no, a hero!"
Morgan. He would've never killed somebody. He was a good person, the opposite of me. He would've given the kid a fruit without a second thought. Always so generous.
"I'm no hero, kid. Just… paying it forward."
The youngster shook his tiny head, small black strings of hair flopped around the top. His familiar azure eyes adopted this sort of look she had only ever seen in small dogs before. That paired with his skin darker than her own tan finally made it click.
He looks way too much like Morgan. Like when I was six.
"You're my hero! You shared your precious treasures with me!"
"Whatever you want to think. They're infinite to me anyway."
Closing the lid of the ornate basket, she popped the top off of it a few moments later, revealing seven copies of the same beautiful morsel in the kid's hand. Shaking her head, she let out a sigh. It was hard to believe just yesterday she killed some desperate victim of circumstance, and not even twelve hours later, she was giving another desperate kid food. There was no reason for her to be giving them to the kid, neither was there any reason to show off her most valuable possession. Just how much was his resemblance to Morgan going to make her sweet on him?
"Wow Miss, that's so cool! Are you an Electrogen? My mom always said you guys have the coolest stuff with the arma- whatever you call it! I always wanted to meet one! I wanna be an Electrogen too when I get older! You're so lucky Miss!"
Lucky? If he counted all the times she courted death and managed to survive, then sure, she was lucky. She still couldn't move her left arm, the gaping wound in her shoulder preventing the action. That was unlucky. Getting cornered by three random goons and proceeding to get not only infected, but accelerated so much she couldn't even pay her month's rent before she got evicted? Even more unlucky. Shaking her head at the ecstatic kid, she placed her one good hand on his opposite shoulder.
"This is hardly a gift, kid. Call it the silver lining in a horrific life."
"How could a hero have such a bad life?"
"I'm no hero, I'm not like my brother. I'm just doing what he would've."
Kanashima leaned back against the giant trunk, growing exhausted from keeping up the conversation with the kid. There was a time in her childhood where she too was infatuated by the promise of superpowers, but that dream was shattered the day Morgan left for good. If she could do any good service beyond the free fruit, it would be dissuading this kid from following in her footsteps. Unfortunately, he resembled Morgan in more ways than just looks, stubborn as can be in his beliefs.
"Just you wait, Miss Hero! You're a good person, luck will come to you too! My momma always said that!"
No murderer is ever a good person, much less a hero. Was I really this disillusioned?
"Stop calling me that. I'm hardly a good person, much less a hero."
His brown lips curled downward, staring at the downtrodden grey eyes. He lingered for a few moments before taking her right hand into both of his.
"Your brother would think so! You gave me fruit!"
"Trust me, I've done enough to offset that."
"Whatever you say, Miss! You're still a hero in my book!"
Talking to this kid was utterly exhausting. No matter what she said, for some reason he kept on insisting this talk about heroes and good morals. All these things Morgan absolutely was, and all the things that Kanashima wasn't, and likely never will be. And yet, she was the one alive, and Morgan was not. She somehow held onto life better than Morgan, so now it was her turn to live it for the both of them. At least the kid was right about one thing, her brother would've absolutely thought it was good and right to give the flowery fruit.
He was always so kind. Why are you doing this to me, kid?
"Whatever. Believe what you want to believe. And stop calling me Miss, I'm hardly that old."
For a kid who loved to dig his heels deep into his beliefs, he had an easy enough time respecting her wishes, at least the simple vocal ones. However much she tried, her eyes seemed to roll on their own.
"Then what is your name? Oh, I should give mine first! My momma always said it was respectful to give your own name first. I'm Marcel!"
"...Kanashima."
"Thank you, Big sis!"
What's the point in asking for my name if you're just going to call me that embarrassing title? I'm too tired for this.
"Sure. Why not."
"I'll see you around, Big Sis!"
God I hope not.
Marcel sprinted off with another one of the sizable drupes, waving back at Kanashima. He only made it about five meters before his foot caught one of the thick ancient roots of the tree, throwing him forward. She could've sworn that she saw a small purple spark right on the toes of his shoe as it happened.
"Totally fine! Don't worry about me, Big Sis!"
What the hell was that? Am I that tired, dehydrated and malnourished that I'm hallucinating? This is so not good, I need to get into my apartment. I also probably need medical attention, or system maintenance? How does this program work? Maybe a specialized Electrogen…
Polishing off the rest of the Bountiful Basket's contents, her eyes watched as the young Morgan lookalike ran around to his friends, boasting about the delicious fruit he was gifted. They seemed to all be infatuated with the virus and the idea of an Electrogen, pretending to be like the big and famous heroes of recent history, both real and fiction. If only they knew and respected the horrors ALFA hid, but it wasn't her responsibility anymore. She did her best to warn them. If those immature children didn't take heed from her words, then that's their own fault. Since when did she care so much about other people? She had to save herself first, and she wasn't sure if she could even do that.
Maybe Morgan could. He always believed saving himself and helping others were one in the same. For him, maybe it was. Could I say the same about me?
Walking away, she let the fruit basket retreat back into her internal storage. Four pairs of eyes shimmered in amazement as the scarlet strings exploded outward and connected pathways to the fingers on her right hand. About four meters until she would've been out of earshot, she shook her head at the final vocalized thought.
"I really wanna be able to do that!"
Yeah kid, it is definitely not worth the trade off. I suppose it is cool.
Maybe the kid was right, and luck was bound to come for her too. If so, she'll need all of it that she can get. Believe it or not, she wasn't all too keen on meeting face to fist with the ruthless guards of the building, or anybody with authority for that matter.
But first, I desperately need water.