Snow has been falling.
The road can no longer be seen clearly on the ground, only the icy and slippery road. After the snow fell, it was stepped on by people and cars. It melted several times and then re-frozen, resulting in this ugly appearance. White ice and dirty water were frozen in confusion. Together, there is a little melted water on the surface, and it is bumpy. If you don't pay attention, you will slip if you step on it.
This is the North 9th District, an inaccessible place within the Emerald Skirt.
Many abandoned buildings can still be seen on the streets. The temporary houses left behind during the mining boom were inherently unstable. After a lapse of ten years, no one maintained them, and they gradually became damaged and collapsed due to the corrosion of rainwater.
"Woo, woo——"
A dirty wild dog was rummaging through a trash can in the snow, trying to pull out something to eat, but it was obvious that there was only an unpopular tavern nearby, and the garbage they dumped out , it has long been visited by rats, wild cats, and carrion eagles, and there is nothing left to use.
Occasionally, a fully loaded truck, with its bright headlights on, drove through the streets in this bad weather, bringing with it some sound and movement.
"Puff..."
The trash can that had been overturned by the wild dog rolled several times on the ground and then stopped again.
As if frightened by the sound, the already skinny wild dog jumped away with its lame leg.
In the dim afternoon of falling snow, everything became quiet again.
More than twenty minutes later, a boy wearing ragged clothes walked over from the distance in the snow and fog.
He didn't walk very fast, and even took a break in the middle. He seemed to have extra precious physical strength, and his dirty cheeks were hidden under his hat, making it difficult to see clearly.
As he approached, the shabby clothes of various fabric styles came into view. These jackets or winter coats were piled up in a mess, protecting the thin body inside.
When he walked to the side of the road, he saw the overturned trash can and stopped. Then he squatted down and groped inside for a while, but like the previous ones, he found nothing useful.
Then he stood up, looked around, and finally found the slightly intact tavern hidden in the ruins.
Standing in the distance, he looked at the tavern for a long time, then slowly walked over, stopped closer to the tavern, turned around half a circle, and looked at it carefully.
Finally, he noted the location of the tavern in his mind, and then left slowly, saving his energy, and disappeared into the depths of the wind and snow just like when he came.
Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, this was just an accident, but two days later, the boy returned to the vicinity of the tavern, and he brought a companion with him.
The two children were not very old, probably less than ten years old. They were wearing random mixed-match shabby coats. They were standing in the corner of the wind and snow, carefully looking at the building with lights and a little heat.
They had no intention of entering the tavern, they just watched from a distance, and then they took turns to rest until one evening, they saw a fat woman carrying large and small bags of garbage walking out of the tavern and throwing it in a trash can far away from the tavern. Inside.
After the woman left, one person woke up his companion, and then the two of them carefully approached the trash can, tore open the contents that had just been thrown in, and began to rummage through it.
Although there are a lot of rotten things in the garbage, there are also some leftovers, semi-moldy fruits and vegetables.
The two picked up useful things, freed up a cleaner bag, packed it, and slowly left the place.
This situation was repeated several times, until they gradually figured out the time for garbage disposal in this pub, and then just set it at the designated time.
At this point in time, six times out of ten, you can harvest something useful. Although you don't have to miss it if you stay nearby, it would consume too much physical strength and energy. Moreover, they also have other taverns similar to this one. The 'location' is to be patrolled.
To them, every source of food is precious.
Of course, life won't always be so smooth.
"Uh-oh-" the bared wild dog growled, looking at the two people near the trash can. There were many knots in its dirty black fur, and there were some places where there was no hair, exposing the yellowish pus. Wound.
The snarling wild dog exposed its yellowed teeth, which exuded a putrid smell, emitting bursts of white steam in the snowy night.
Faced with such a wild dog, the two boys approached step by step with sticks and threw stones once in an attempt to scare the wild dog.
Finally, after comparing his size with the number difference between the two, the wild dog reluctantly retreated and gave way to the trash can in front of him.
The two continued to rummage through the food, picking out the edible parts, and then packed them up. But before they could leave, a dog barked and approached.
The wild dog just now came back and brought its companions. There were five dogs in total, each of different breeds, yellow, white, black and gray, but they all had similar characteristics, that is, they were dirty and thin.
After having companions, the wild dogs were not as polite and scared as before. They rushed up directly. The two of them used sticks to sweep away one or two, but they were quickly bitten by several others.
Some aimed at the openings of the trouser legs, some bit the waving wrists, and some even tried to reach behind and pounce on the neck, but they were discovered by two people, which prevented the wild dogs from succeeding.
There was pain in their feet, and their clothes were torn randomly. The two of them panicked and started beating them hard with sticks, but most of them failed, and only a few hit them.
Just as the two were shaking off the wild dog that was hanging on their bodies and tearing at their trousers, a big dog that had been barking suddenly pounced on one of the boys and threw him down in the snow.
When you step on it, the big dog's wet mouth and teeth are clearly visible, blocking the sky. The sour fishy smell it emits makes you dizzy, and then goes straight to the throat.
Fortunately, this time, the boy who fell on the ground finally noticed it in advance, and put his hand in front of his neck, so that the big dog could only bite the palm of his hand. The teeth penetrated the flesh, got stuck in the bones of the hand, and pulled the nerves, making the boy on the ground The pain was so painful that I almost fainted.
After breaking free from the wild dog beside him, another boy rushed over and beat the big dog hard with a stick, but it had no effect. After tasting the smell of blood, the wild dog became even crazier and bit again. It landed on the chin for the first time, tearing the flesh with its teeth.
Seeing this, the boy who was still standing finally remembered something. He hurriedly let go of the stick, fumbled for a small knife from his arms, held it in his hand and thrust it at the wild dog below.
"Ouch--" The wild dog screamed in pain and hurriedly jumped away, and finally came to a rescue.
After that, the two panted again and picked up sticks and knives to confront the five wild dogs. At this time, both sides were injured, and they became more cautious.
Time gradually passed, and the palms exposed to the air gradually became numb from the cold. The wet and bleeding palms always made the two boys uneasy.
However, they did not run away. Running in the snow was not only physically demanding, but once they fell, it would also be extremely scary for the other party to find an opportunity.
The wild dog kept barking for a long time, and finally attracted people who came to the tavern.
An adult came over cursing and saw five wild dogs surrounding him. He roared and scared away these hesitant guys. Hungry wild dogs like them have limited physical strength. They can deal with children. If they come to name Adults definitely can't be beaten.
After seeing the two children who were besieged clearly, the big man with thick arms frowned, cursed a few times, and told them to leave quickly.
Supporting their injured companion, the two boys slowly disappeared into the wind and snow.
Without suitable medical conditions, it was unknown whether they were infected with rabies virus, and they had lost a lot of blood. The future for the two of them was not optimistic.
————
"If I hadn't held you up that day, you would have died in the snow." When Greed mentioned this to Valk a few years later, the other party thought for a while.
"How do I remember that you were bitten by a dog, and then I helped you back."
"That's because you remembered it wrong. You were bitten. If you don't believe me, look at the palm of your hand. There are probably scars on it." Greed responded.
Valk did have injuries on his palms, or he had injuries all over his body. Sometimes he couldn't even remember where these injuries came from.
"Okay." Valk was always a bit clumsy to Greed who could speak, so he stopped arguing.
The sight of wandering on the streets and fighting for food with wild dogs and rats is already a distant thing. They now live in a small church and were adopted by a kind pastor. This is also an orphanage with many people similar to them. children.
Many of the children have congenital defects, or have some abnormal mental personalities due to their childhood experiences. Among them, they are considered to be in relatively good condition.
It was winter again, and they were sitting in the church hall with other children. Although the heating effect was not good because of the large space, it was already a very friendly environment compared to the wild where frostbite could easily occur.
A dozen children sat on both sides of the long table, waiting quietly. The clock on the wall moved slowly. It was almost 7pm, when Boyce hurried back.
"Hey, good evening." He walked into the hall carrying a large package and waved to the children.
"Hello, Pastor Boyce~" the children replied happily. Although some of them were still dull, they also called like their companions.
"Okay, hello kids, this is today's food." There was a smile on his face, then he put the package in his hand on the table and opened it. Inside was the cheap bread he just bought. Although the taste was average, the portion was sufficient. .
Sitting in a room that was not cold, these children grabbed bread and ate it haphazardly, while Pastor Boyce watched from the side, with a mixture of joy and disgust in his eyes, which was very complicated.
Time passed slowly, and the children who used to be no more than ten years old gradually grew up. Some were still as dull as when they were children, some began to become rebellious, and some just muddle along, enjoying the food given by the pastor every day with peace of mind.
Pastor Boyce also saw this situation, and his attitude gradually changed.
For dull children, he only needs to check in occasionally. For those who are rebellious, he will try to discipline and admonish them. If they fail, he will just ignore them. For those who are muddle along, he will let them find some work. Finally, for those who are smarter and more obedient, he will teach them patiently and occasionally give them some extra delicious food.
It seemed like a good move, but these children soon realized the difference in treatment. Some began to please Pastor Boyce, and some began to cry to Pastor Boyce, saying that they were bullied and were hungry. In this way, the pastor You can give them delicious food, or be more tolerant of them temporarily.
Pastor Boyce didn't know these little thoughts at first, but he gradually became aware of them over time. From then on, he became more indifferent, or treated them differently.
He would check on those children with good personalities and intelligence almost every day. For those children who didn't like them, he would just give them some food every day. The pastor would only respond indifferently to their complaints and cries.
In the eyes of some children, Pastor Boyce is a friendly and patient person who is very worthy of respect, while in the eyes of other children, Pastor Boyce is a strict and indifferent person, and in the eyes of some children, Pastor Boyce is just a fool. A hypocritical person who saves children to gain a good reputation.
If three children separately told their images of Pastor Boyce, one might think that these are three different people, but all three answers are true and they are talking about the same person.
When he was fifteen years old, as usual, Greed came back from playing outside and was very hungry, so he rummaged through the cupboards in the church, hoping to find something to eat. It happened that Pastor Boyce also entered the kitchen and saw someone rummaging through the cupboards. His.
"Are you looking for something?" The pastor's expression was a little cold.
"Yes." Greed felt something was wrong and stopped.
"Not here." The pastor said, looked at the empty countertop, and then left.
Soon after, the priest came back again, holding a bag of bread crumbs towards Grid, but before the bag of bread crumbs could fly to Grid's hand, it fell to the ground, together with the dirty floor.
"Take it and eat it." The pastor glanced at him, then turned and left.
Although Greed slowly picked it up, a particularly uncomfortable feeling also arose in his heart.
That would be fine if pastors were like this to everyone, but alas it's not.
Another one often praises Pastor Boyce and says Lord Boyce is great. The girl who follows Pastor Boyce will always get the pastor’s smile, and he will buy the girl more expensive and delicious food. He even taught her some extraordinary knowledge, trying to help her slowly master the power.
One time, the sponsor invited the pastor to have a drink with him, and Greed followed him secretly, wondering if he could get some delicious food.
This was also the time when he heard Pastor Boyce’s true heart and thoughts.
"Well, although rescuing children may seem like a great thing to others, some children really... make me feel sick just looking at them. I have been trying to get over this feeling, but later I discovered that there is a reason why some kids were thrown away. "..." He spoke a little unclearly because he was drunk, and occasionally slapped the table with his hand.
"Like a rat in the ditch, stupid, deceitful, sneaky, and lazy. Who would want a child like this?"
"If there weren't some good kids among them, I really wouldn't be able to stay..."
"You know, last month I specially prepared some things to make a big cake for everyone at the winter festival, but the things disappeared after being placed in the cupboard the next day... Then I went to the kitchen and saw that again The guy was sneaking around and I wanted to get a stick and beat him up.”
"But I can't do that because my reputation will be ruined."
"Even if you have a wild dog, it's still better than some people."
"Hahaha, calm down, Pastor Boyce, we all know how difficult it is for you. Think about it more than ten years ago, who were the people who came here during the mining craze? Weren't they all thieves who didn't do well? Robbers, gangsters and the like, the bastards they left behind will naturally not be able to get better."
"It's just that there are many 'good people' in the Federation. They live a good life and have endless kindness. If we want them to consume and pay, we have to decorate it with something, don't you think?"
"Come on, come on, have some more drinks, and have a good sleep tonight. Tomorrow we will take pictures of the church environment and surroundings, and then match it with some provocative music, and it will be done."
"As for those muddy dogs you mentioned that can't hold up the wall, just give them some food to prevent them from starving to death. It doesn't take a second. They are just wild dogs that no one wants on the street. Some of them are even 'human' 'It doesn't even count, why bother with yourself."
"Hahaha……"
Laughter echoed in the tavern, but Greed slowly left with steps.
It's still snowing in the sky outside, and the heavy white snow makes the whole world gray and especially quiet.
In the snow, he silently stepped on the icy road step by step, looking at the sludge frozen together with the white snow. His feet and fingers were cold. This reminded him of a long time ago, which seemed to be the same, walking on an icy snowy night. , like a dirty wild dog.
Just living is enough, isn't it? Being alive should be a happy thing, but for some reason, he is not as happy as before.
Thank you for your support in Hang2021~
Thank you for being in a daze, pen and ink, KujyoMiki
_Kevin_, beta molan, üβερmeνし
Luo Yi, the apostle of love, pray for seconds at the end of the day, starry sky and sea of purple clouds, Archbishop Lilina, Barbatos' dog, sunset, a little salted fish~zZZ, angel of destruction, ryan_c, let me indulge, sunset, sleep Rewards from book friends such as Rain, a Smoke and Ink Range, SpongeBob SquarePants 0123, cloudrainbow, Book Friends 20190714135023023, etc.
(End of chapter)
