Story: Albino (temporary title) ch. 4 Tech by Kelsie

Tech

Shiro trudged through the snow into
the dump, with Acorn not too far behind him. Despite the darkness of the late
night hours, Shiro made his way perfectly to a large fridge lying uselessly in
a heap of broken wood. Propping his bike against an old scratching post, Shiro
leaned forward and pulled up the door of the fridge. The monster of a cooling device had had its'
back torn out, and was now posted as a disguise for the opening to their
hideaway.
Acorn, coming up behind Shiro,
whistled a shrill birdcall into the hole, and leaned her ear to hear a reply.
With a muffled thump, a light turned on below them and a ladder was forced into
the opening. Small hands reached up and took the bike from Shiro, and their
owner ran excitedly around the two teens on the ladder until they reached the
floor.
A rather energetic six year old, who
had propped up the ladder for them, bounced up and down on his heels as Shiro
came forward and ruffled his uncombed brown hair. Dressed in a long sleeved red
sweatshirt and a pair of hand-me-down jeans, the boy was as constantly hyper as
his nickname suggested. They called him Rocket.
"I keep trying to figure out
how you get that ladder in the air, Rocket." Shiro commented fondly.
"Have you been good today?" Shiro absently pulled off his cloak and hung
it on a dilapidated hat stand by the wall. Rocket raced around the room,
talking so fast that Shiro had a tough time figuring out what he was saying.
Maybe something about flying? He left Acorn in Rocket's clutches and escaped
through a door.
As Shiro made his way down the
quiet, seemingly deserted hallway, he began to think again about the girl in
the snow, wondered if she was an orphan like them, if she had parents, or
siblings. The only siblings here were Acorn and-
"Where are you going Shiro?
Your room is down the other hallway!" Samuel said. The small teen was
standing in the doorway of his room, looking frail in the strobe lights coming
from behind him. His left arm hung uselessly by his side.
"Still up Tech?" Shiro
said as he dragged his attention away from Samuel's arm. "You should get
some sleep..." Shiro already knew the boy would be up all night. He always
was. The kid spent all night on his
computer, surfing the web and finding deals for Shiro to check out.
"Too busy." Samuel sighed.
"I'm waiting for the next orders to come in, looking for new ones, and
trying to learn Japanese." Samuel scratched his useless arm and glanced
anxiously at the glow coming from his doorway. "I need to get back to
work. How 'bout you go to sleep yourself, you look queasy. 'Night." The
boy returned to his cave, slamming the door behind him.
The noise echoed down the corridor,
and mixed with the thumps of Shiro's shoes as he turned towards the room he
shared with Cardinal. He rapped lightly on the door, before pulling the knob
outward and stepping in.
The room was a peculiar sight to be
honest, half clean and half messy, with two boats placed on either side. One of
the boats was stacked up on a tall mound of crates, with a ladder tossed carelessly
on the floor beside it. The hollowed out shell was completely engulfed in a
mess of pillows and blankets, and a freckled arm stuck out over the side.
Snoring issued from inside. Glow-in-the-dark stars were plastered to the
ceiling, and several model airplanes hang precariously over half of the room. Drawings
of gliders and airplanes littered the floor, and piles of laundry created an
obstacle course to the bed. A cluttered desk was propped up in the corner,
creaking ominously as Shiro tip-toed to his side of the room.
In direct contrast, Shiro's side was
neat and orderly, his boat-bed was neatly made, and his clothes were stacked cleanly
on his spotless desk. Shiro sat onto his bed, holding his head in his hands.
With a thump he collapsed into the cushions and pillows that made the boat a
suitable bed, rubbed his eyes and stared up at his blank side of the ceiling. He
closed his eyes, but sleep just wouldn't come. Across the room, his best friend
groaned and flopped onto his stomach, snoring loudly. Shiro pulled on a pair of
moth-eaten earmuffs and continued to stare moodily at the ceiling.
This had originally been Acorn's
room, when he had first took her in, on that night so long ago, but was passed
on to Shiro when she found a better one. Now she slept in a fabric and yarn
store a few rooms down, where she used the materials to make and patch up the
groups' clothes. For some strange reason, she enjoyed that. It was nearly
impossible to Navigate through her room and Shiro hardly new how she did it.
String and yarn strung from all the many hooks and notches, a literal
spider-web of fabric. She had apparently been infatuated with crafts since she
was little, or, that’s how Samuel described it anyway.
Samuel… Shiro rolled over. Samuel was Acorn’s little brother.
His arm was hurt in an accident, a car crash that killed their parents. He was
in bad shape that night, when Acorn found them, and they were certain that he
was dying. He drifted in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherently in his
sleep. After nearly a week, he was growing weaker, pale as a sheet and barely
breathing. That was when Asa came. He stumbled into the dump and ran smack into
Shiro, but didn’t seem any more than a bit alarmed at his appearance. Asa knew
a bit more about taking care of sick people than they did, and soon Samuel was
looking much better. But his arm… well it wouldn’t work anymore. Asa thought
that maybe, it was something to do with his spine, but they were way too poor
for a hospital visit.
A month after Samuel’s recovery, they found the computer lab
a few doors down from the main storage room. Samuel claimed it as his room,
along with nearly all of the electronics inside. He taught himself to type with
one hand, and Shiro how to read; and soon the boy had gained himself a
nickname. Tech. The boy spent most of his time on the computer, looking for
trades on zMoat. Turns out a lot of people like vintage clothes and old bike
gear. Of course, most people request an address to send their money to, so
Shiro often made trips to disclosed areas to make the switch. Samuel made all
of the transactions. He kept accounts and bank notes, and organized the grocery
list. He didn’t get out much.
He seemed to be convinced he could still ride a bike. With
one arm. On busy streets. Of course the older kids had all refused, but he
often had tried to sneak out. That is until the argument.
Shiro pulled his pillow over his head as Cardinal’s snoring
reached a crescendo. It was hard for a person to hear himself think in there.
The fight was bad. Samuel had tried to sneak out with his
bike again, and was nearly hit by a car. When Shiro and Asa finally found him,
he was shaking on the side of the road. That night, Asa and Samuel were simply
talking, when war broke out. Samuel was on his feet, yelling that ‘just because
he was a cripple doesn’t mean he can’t do anything right’ and Asa was shouting,
face red and temper rising, ‘that after all he had done, Samuel still didn’t
trust him’ . It went on for several heated minutes before Asa suddenly yelled
out: “STOP BEING SUCH A BABY, MARIE!!!!!” Then there was silence. Asa went
paler than Shiro, and simply turned and walked out of the room. The next day he
apologized to Tech and said he could do as he wished, as long as he was
careful. But Samuel hadn’t tried to sneak out since.
Shiro
often wondered who Marie was, but no-one knew much about Asa’s past. Only that
he was studying medicine, and had no family. There were always shadows under
his eyes, and he didn’t sleep well. But he didn’t talk about his past. Not many
kids here did. Shiro’s eyes closed. Maybe he’d ask the girl about her past
tomorrow. Maybe she wouldn’t scream when she saw him. Maybe.

~K
~A
~H