The Central City

The day had finally arrived. It was time for Elaine to say goodbye to the small village. It was not like she was going away forever but she still had an attachment towards the place where she had grown up and lived with her parents. She also had the memory of her first love or maybe it was appropriate to call him her crush since he went away before she could express her feelings. If fate was willing then she might just bump into him in the streets. This place was filled with bittersweet memories. Elaine smiled as she went over every event.

She stopped a few step away from the house and turned back one last time to look at it. "I am off Mom and Dad. I will be back. Take care of house for me."

"Grandpa, Grandma." Elaine waved at the two elderly couple who were waiting for at the bus stop. "This girl is also leaving us." Mrs. Ron was only trying hard holding back her tears but her old feeble hand couldn't help but tremble as she patted her head.

"Stay safe. The central city is not as bright as it seems. In the dark there are always predators waiting for prey. One weakness and then its game over for the weak." Mr. Ron who had seen the darkness of city could only warn the youngster before him.

"I will take care of myself and I will call you whenever I can." The bus had already arrived. Mina carried her two bags and before climbing on the bus hugged both of them tightly and warmly. "You two please take care of yourselves."

She waved at the elderly couples until they were out of her sight. This was her first time travelling alone to an unknown destination. She was little bit of nervous but she was excited as she wondered what new and exciting things were waiting for her.

She who had never travelled endured the bumpy ride for whole 18 hours for what?? Elaine stood at the bus stop empty handed. Yes she was totally robbed when she was getting off the bus. Like any other newcomer she was at first confused and after realizing what had happened understood the graveness of the situation. Those bags might have been just bags for those goons but they were her means of survival in the new city.

From the corner of her eyes she saw two men running with her bags. She shouted, "Help! There are thieves over there." Elaine pointed at the two masked man. the passer byes looked at her and to where she was pointing and they just walked away. No one gave a damn to what was happening to a stranger they had never met before and it was a normal thing to be robbed at such a crowded place. "It's her own fault." Many of them justified themselves as they ignored her plea for help.

Elaine stood as she stared unbelievably at the people who were unwilling to even show a hint of pity and sympathy. She remembered the old man's word. If she wanted to survive in this city then she had to be ready to help herself anytime. Others didn't matter but she had to be strong enough. "If others didn't come for help then so what? I can help myself." She was not called the goddesses in her school without no reason. Sports was one of her strong point. She was confident in the speed of her legs and the strength in herself.

She chased after the two men who were leisurely strolling down the road swinging her bags as if they were theirs possessions. "Wait right there you scumbags." Elaine shouted at the top of her voice at the two men. They were not expecting anyone to be chasing after them. Seeing that it was just a teenage girl the startled men were relieved as they snickered, "Seems like a young doll is chasing after us." "Maybe we should treat her better, right?"

Overconfident they stopped walking and let the girl catch up with them. "Hey there missy, is this yours?" one of the man shook the bag in his hand as he looked at Elaine his eye full of indecent glances. Elaine might have looked naïve to them but she was in no way naïve like they thought but if your opponent underestimated you then better were the chances of winning a fight. Elaine decided to play along with them.

"Yes, big brother that is mine. You can't just take my things away." Elaine made a very pitiful face outside but she felt like she could puke any moment with disgust. But despite her inner turmoil she continued with her acting. "I will be sad." 'I am god like. My acting should win Oscar.' This was the inner thought of Elaine as she continued to put on the façade of a naïve girl.

"We are lucky today, he he he." The men snickered evilly.

"Big brothers will help you then. Come and take it then missy." Both of them pointed at her bags as they started to walk towards one of the deserted alley. "She is a beauty, isn't she?" The next man whispered, "Maybe we should take her with us as well."

"Shut up. If boss finds out he will take her and we will be left with nothing." The next man retorted directly refusing the offer.

"Oh it works perfectly for me as well." Elaine silently followed behind them. She could hear their conversation and felt herself feeling even more disgusted and wanted to punch two holes in their brain but controlled her impulse. She needed the right time to take action. Some people who had seen this knew the two men were some kind of criminals and the girl was in trouble but no one was strong enough to stop her or even warn her. Elaine could see their looks but it didn't affect her anymore.

"Now shall we get started." Both of them had the drooling expression on their face as they extended their lecherous hand towards her. But they had something else waiting for them. With one swift kick she hit one of them on his knees making him fall and kneel down. Before the other person could react she used another kick to hit the stomach of another man. The fat in his fat belly served as a shock absorber only pushing him slightly.

"Tch..you fat ass." Elaine left her cute and naïve girl act behind as she smirked at the man.

"You were fooling us bitch!" The men shouted as they launched towards her but they were no match for Elaine who had trained herself in karate from her childhood. She didn't want to learn but her parents forced her and because she wanted to spend some time more with her first love, a senior in her village she joined the classes with him. She was thankful now towards them and her teacher who was strict but his training was absolutely flawless.

Elaine left the alley unscratched claiming her bags. The two men had swollen eyes and broken teeth as they laid on the ground grunting and moaning in pain.

"Just you wait…." The fat man coughed blood as he cursed under his breathe, "I will not leave you.." and lost his consciousness. The onlookers who were waiting to hear the pleas of girl were surprised looking at the unscathed girl and the villains beaten to pulp.

"Hey young lady, are you okay?" One of the onlooker asked but Elaine replied indifferently, "Don't you think your question is a bit too late?" The man was ashamed and decided to excuse himself before he felt even more guilty. The other people also had a little guilt on their face as they dispersed but Elaine was too busy to notice something so unimportant.

Now that her time was lost dealing with the two scumbags she hurried to one of the busy street that provided rent at cheap price. Elaine was also starting to feel hungry.

"Maybe I will go eat first." Elaine looked around and entered a Ramyeon shop. She rushed in as fast as she could but stopped when a man passed by her. She was in dilemma whether to turn back or not because she didn't want to be disappointed. Ignoring all the reason she turned around only to find no one who could match the image in her mind.

"I thought senior was here…Must have been my imagination … silly me." Elaine lost some of her appetite but her hunger continued so she entered the shop with a long face. She had come here to study and achieve her dream. Love and relationship: these things were not fated for her. Finding her senior was only a pipe dream for her and she didn't have high expectations anyway. Just because she liked him doesn't mean it was gonna be returned. The more she thought the more depressed she felt so she decided to push it to the back corner of her mind.

From a far corner in the street a man looked at the figure entering as he muttered to himself, "Elaine?!? What is she doing here?"