“If you’re looking for several little stinky mutants, they should be right here,” a refugee in rags said obediently to a city guard in armor walking next to him.
The middle-aged baker woman was following behind the guard with a depressed look.
The guard slammed the door of the shelter open and scanned the room quickly, but without seeing anything.
“Not a soul. Well?” He then looked at their guide with a pair of sharp eyes.
“But... But I just saw them going in there!” The refugee also looked inside and sweated.
“Taking me for a fool?” The guard grew impatient.
The refugee quickly knelt down. “They were here a minute ago, honest! Oh, wait! A wicked woman used to live here before. I think she dug a cellar somewhere nearby. That’s where they’re hiding!”
“A woman?” The guard approached the cellar entrance at the back of the shelter.
“Yeah! She’s big, stingy, and always speaks terrible things.” The guide glanced at the fat baker behind and quickly changed his words. “Ahem. Anyway, those who knew her all hated her. She disappeared a month ago. After that, two little brats—I mean three, took her place. But one of them also left later. I think the kids are onto some no good. Maybe they murdered the woman and took her home.”
The baker chipped in while clenching her teeth, “The monsters! They killed my Nini!”
“A stingy woman, you say?” The guard didn’t mind the baker’s outburst. “Did she do anything bad to you refugees? And what did you lot do to her?”
This guard had always been loyal to the city’s cause and was not easily swayed by one-sided indictment. In his view, if a refugee considered a citizen to be “evil and stingy”, then the citizen probably didn’t do anything.
The refugee guide laughed it off and didn’t protest.
“What’s this... smell?” The guard frowned when approaching a door leading below. “Guess part of your words were true.”
He pushed the door slightly ajar but couldn’t go any further. There were shadows moving at the other side, and they were probably those who were barring the entrance.
“Foolish.” The guard unsheathed his sword and took the door down in one swing.
Inside the cellar, two kids—one taller and one shorter—looked at him in trembling forms.
“That’s the little sh*t!” The baker woman cried, “A sailor told me they murdered my child, my poor Nini...”
The guard went further inside and saw a half-rotten corpse beside the stairs, which still had maggots crawling all over it.
“That must be the woman I talked about!” the refugee yelled from behind. “So she died down here.”
The guard checked the body and realized what the refugee claimed was probably true, that the owner of the shelter died as soon as these children moved in.
Then he glanced at the crying baker.
“What a cruel world, giving birth to such young criminals...”
There was nowhere to hide in the cellar, leaving Chaira and Aarni cornered to a wall, while the baby cot holding Guina was behind them.
“Did you kill this woman?” the guard asked while walking to them.
No response.
“Did you just push an innocent girl into the sea?”
Again, silence.
“No matter. A passing marine saw what you did. As a sergeant working for the city, I shall arrest you. You’ll be fine if we find proof that cleanses your guilt. But if you resist...” He lifted his sharp weapon, causing the children to shiver badly.
Aarni suddenly pushed his brother away. He walked to the guard and pointed to himself while moaning madly.
The guard noticed Aarni’s lack of tongue and widened his eyes. The refugee outside did tell him there was a mute kid living here, but he didn’t expect that it was the result of another brutal crime.
Chaira quickly dragged Aarni back and stepped ahead. “It has nothing to do with him. I pushed that girl. Her mother—” He glared at the baker at the door. “She insulted us and released her filthy dog upon us. I did it out of defense!”
“That’s because you wouldn’t get away from my shop—”
“We’ll see about that,” the guard interrupted them. “Come with me. All of you.”
“Fine! Just take me.” Chaira surrendered.
“We must see to the other victim as well. I’m taking ALL of you. Don’t make me repeat this.”
“We didn’t kill that woman!” Chaira scowled.
“We’ll find out at the court.”
“You can’t take both me and Aarni away! Who’s going to take care of my sister?!”
“Sister?” The guard turned back and looked at the cot in the corner.
“Huh? They have a sister?” The refugee also wondered.
“My word! She—who did this?” The guard lost his calm for a moment while looking into the cot. He was tasked to resent crimes and evil, and this unfortunate girl was more than enough to raise his alarm.
Someone left the girl here to suffer for the rest of her life!
The refugee guide also went to check the cot out of curiosity, leaving the baker woman standing alone at the cellar’s door.
When no one was looking, she slowly took out a butter knife from her apron.
I don’t care what reason they have. I’m getting revenge for my daughter! Chaira, is it? I’m killing this murderer so that this world has one less future thug to worry about. I’ll take his brother down too if I have a chance!
While everyone was focused on the cot either out of caution or surprise, the baker carefully approached them from their back.
As soon as she sank her weapon into Chaira’s stomach, the guard was alerted and kicked her away.
“Heh heh... You’ll not die alone, Nini. Mama helped you...” The woman gasped on the floor.
“You—” The guard couldn’t believe that there was another murder so soon under his watch.
“Chai... ra... Chaira!” Aarni somehow made out several coherent words as he knelt beside his bleeding brother.
“*Slurp* What’s going on out there?” Guina also stopped playing dead and quickly stirred in her cot. “Chaira? Answer me!”
“I’m... fine...” Chaira tried to comfort Guina while coughing blood.
“You don’t sound fine!” Guina was almost crying. “Sir, tell me Chaira’s safe!”
“He’s—” The guard looked at Chaira’s dilating pupils and found it difficult to make up a lie.
The baker woman laughed madly over the children’s sorrow.
Aarni felt the arm of his brother gone cold and placed his head on the floor.
Out of the corner of one eye, Aarni saw a bloody knife nearby, which was dropped by the baker.
Then he looked at Chaira, who was no longer breathing.
I’m sorry, Guina. I’m sorry, Vonman... I’m so pathetic. Farewell.
He picked up the knife and stabbed it into his own chest.
As he felt the numbing pain coursing through his body, he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling his name.
“Aarni?”
Aarni saw another shadow showing up at the door, who was coming to him.
Vonman... Brother. So glad I get to see you again...
Aarni’s final smile was fixed on his dying body.