Empire of Shadows

Eighteen- or nineteen-year-olds are legally almost adults, but emotionally, they’re far from mature.

Elvin felt a deep sense of injustice. He had been fine at home until war broke out. His family, not wanting to see him dragged to a pointless death on the battlefield, sold their house to gather enough money to send him to the Federation.

He had thought this would be a “journey of growth.” After all, everything he’d heard about the Federation from the Empire was positive and beautiful.

Rumors said the air was sweet, the donuts delicious, food and clothing were freely distributed on the streets, and even those without a penny could find hospitals willing to treat them.

These tales painted such an alluring picture that everyone who came to the Federation was filled with hope and imagination for a new life.

But after arriving, everything had turned out to be horrible.

The air was thick with the smell of manure, burnt motor oil, and car exhaust. The people were unfriendly, every face sharp with self-interest and disdain, looking at him as if he were trash.

There was no sweet-smelling air, no taste of donuts.

It was as if the whole world was against him. No matter how much he endured, even his right to be exploited and oppressed was being taken away. The resentment, hate, and disgust inside him surged uncontrollably.Elvin was not the type to show his emotions easily, unlike Ethan, who openly wore his happiness and frustrations. Elvin hid his feelings, but even he couldn’t hold back this much pain.

Seeing Elvin struggle to contain his tears, Lance gave him a tight hug. “Everything will pass, Elvin. Everything will get better.”

“But right now, we need to take care of your wounds. If they get infected, it’ll be serious.”

“As for everything else, leave it to me.”

He quickly gathered up his friends hiding in an alley. Most were injured, but thankfully, no one had any broken bones.

It was luck amidst misfortune. An old man on the street once told Lance that after breaking his leg, he waited two weeks to see a doctor, only to be told his bones had started to heal incorrectly.

The man had two options:

One, have his partially healed bone re-broken and treated properly, including a cast and wheelchair, which would cost around two thousand five hundred dollars—money he didn’t have on his twenty-seven-dollar monthly income.

Two, undergo a minor correction and live with a permanent limp. The doctor would try a brace to see if that helped, for a cost of three hundred seventy dollars.

In the end, he paid forty dollars for the consultation and went home. With the help of friends, he forced the bones back into alignment and used copper pipes to brace it himself. Now, he had a slight limp, but unless you looked closely, it wasn’t noticeable. ɌА𐌽о𝐛ËṦ

If any of Lance’s friends had broken bones, they would likely end up with permanent damage, but luckily no one did.

Lance led them to a pharmacy, which was closed, with an iron gate barring entry. Jingang City’s nights weren’t safe, and pharmacies were often targeted for their valuable supplies.

“We need some medical supplies,” he said.

A cautious voice answered from within, “What do you need?”

“Gauze, bandages, alcohol, and some anti-inflammatory meds. And a suture kit. How many needles per pack?”

“Ten.”

“Then two packs.”

The clerk quickly gathered the items, bagged them in a paper sack, and passed them through the gate. “It would normally be twenty-one dollars and fifteen cents, but I’ll settle for twenty-one.”

Lance thanked him, handing over the money he had set aside for the Finance Company.

People were drifting around in the darkness, but Lance’s group was large, and they looked like they’d just been in a fight, so nobody dared approach.

Glancing around, Lance whispered, “Let’s get out of here…”

The Federation government governed the city until eight p.m., after which the gangs took over. It was best to avoid being seen with a large group at night to prevent misunderstandings.

They found a narrow alley, where Lance used a streetlight to clean their wounds.

Morale was low, and everyone seemed to have lost the drive they’d once had when talking about dreams.

Lance knew that wouldn’t do, so as he stitched up Mello’s trembling wounds, he asked, “Did you recognize any of those who attacked you?”

The question shifted their focus a bit, easing the tension.

“I did,” one friend said. “I’ve seen one of them at the docks a few times, but I don’t know what he does.”

Under the dim streetlight, their eyes glinted, watching Lance with a look of hope.

Lance tightened the thread, causing Mello to shiver in pain. The freshly snapped twig he bit down on had been chewed to bits, its bitter sap filling his mouth but not dulling the agony.

Even so, this usually silent, unassuming guy looked at Lance with a fire in his eyes.

“We can’t just let this go,” Lance said, applying the last of the antiseptic powder, which cost a hefty nineteen dollars and eighty cents for a small ten-milliliter bottle. “You didn’t get hurt for nothing.”

“We’re going to pay them back. An eye for an eye, blood for blood!”

“If we don’t stand up for ourselves, people will keep walking all over us!”

In that moment, a surge of determination swept through his friends, replacing their exhaustion with a sense of purpose.

Ethan stamped his foot. “Lance is right! An eye for an eye, blood for blood!”

They all repeated it, their resolve solidifying.

After a while, when the adrenaline wore off and reason returned, they started thinking about what to do in the coming days.

Lance already had a plan. “You don’t need to worry too much about money. For now, hide in the storm drains.”

“This chaos won’t last long. Jingang City is one of the Federation’s most important economic hubs. The big shots won’t let things spiral out of control over this.”

“Whether it’s the capitalists or the politicians, they’ll reach a resolution soon.”

“So remember—wait it out.”

“Don’t get caught up in any incidents. They’d use you as an example to scare others!”

“When things settle down, we’ll go get justice!”

“Don’t act alone, and avoid trouble. But if you get into a confrontation somewhere secluded…”

Lance’s eyes glinted like knives in the night. “Take them out, hide, and then come find me.”

For safety, Lance didn’t walk them back. In fact, with so many of them, he didn’t need to.

Instead, they escorted him back to the bakery. Lance hugged each of them before they slipped away into the night.

In the pitch-black darkness, the future was as obscured as the shadows around them, instilling a sense of fear.

But in that same darkness, a small spark had been lit—a stubborn, unyielding flame.