Chapter 31 Samuel

Inside the spaceship was a usual sitting arrangement just like in planes. They occupied their seats and the shuttle started moving. It raises from the dock with a rumbling sound, giving a jolt to the passengers. Within a few seconds, it was in the sky. From above they could see the island, surrounded by the vast sea, waterfalls, cliffs, the ports and the mysterious sea with the high tides.

Very soon the scene outside moved in flashes and they very soon reached the place. However, it was not Caito. They were standing outside the Alchemy town.

"Hey, Are not we supposed to go to Caito," Brandon enquired.

"Caito. This ship only ferries between Sanka and Alchemy town. Did you not ask?"

By that time the shuttle was already leaving. They were scammed. They had no option but to go into the town.

In front of them, there was a crowd of people. Many people in uniform were registering the information of the visitors and checking their identity cards.

There were an enormous marble gate and a big crowd of people in front of it. Beyond the gate, there was nothing. People were going in through the gate and disappearing. It was a pocket dimension. It was only accessible through that door.

There were security guards who were checking the identity of the people. They did not have any identity cards. They had only a little money. They still tried to get into the city. They were already scammed once, betrayed too. What worse could happen to them?

Thinking that Samuel went into the crowd. When asked for identity, he simply said he lost his as they were mugged. The guard sends them to the administration office to get them remade.

And that was it. There wasn't much checking or anything. They went to the administration as directed and got their IDs made. As simple as that. They could have lied about anything and made a temporary ID all for free. IDs were only mandatory when entering a big city or getting a job in a bigger organization. Alchemy town did not need IDs. It was only a formality.

In the administration office, they got info about welfare association where they could get temporary shelter and financial aid. They moved into the welfare office. Inside was a big fat-bellied man, the person-in-charge for the welfare association. He was bending on his seat and working on papers. He was hardly looking up at the crowd of people standing outside his office. Another person handed over multiple forms to the people.

"Please fill this form and wait in line. One form per group."

The man was repeating the lines again and again. Samuel took a form and fill it.

The form was simple. It was asking about the no. of people in the group, their age and skill if any. He filled the form accordingly.

He was soon called into the office.

"Aren't you from Sanka? Why are you in the Welfare office?" The man asked before Samuel could say anything.

"We were kicked out."

"…. Four adults and eight minors. You can check the recruitment office for available jobs. And send the minors to the academy. The rest info you can get there." The man stuffed a paper in his hand. It had approved written on it. The secretary took the paper and said, "You have been allocated dorms in the eastern region. The address is written here. Room nos are also mentioned. Just go the place and show this form, they will take you there."

The secretary elaborated as he saw the confusion on Samuel's face. The place wasn't far away. They reached it very soon. The rooms were dormitory-style. One room had eight beddings. There were no beds. And nothing else. The bathrooms and other facilities were shared. They were allotted two rooms. Eight in one and four in the other one. The other room was shared with the other four people. They were a family.

"This is the worst", Jun blurted out. He was extremely displeased with the arrangements. They had seen worse. It was a nightmare and it had no end.

"This is temporary. We will figure out something", Suho said comforting Jun.

"Seriously living in the wild would be better. I'm not sharing a room with that family. They look unhygienic"

"Jun."

"What?"

Not many were in favour of sharing the room with the other family. In the end, Samuel, Aadil, Ian and Brandon took the room.

Because they were already destitute they didn't have anything on them. For not misusing whatever money they had, it was unanimously decided that Samuel handles all the finances. Also, only five of them could be employed they were going to be in reds for a long time. So they had to compromise.

The next day, Samuel and Suho looked for vacancies. Jun and others went to the academy for registration. Jun was frustrated because unlike Suho he had no option other than going to school. The school was tough. There were too many languages to learn and the history of the place was about 10000 years. Besides, there were thirteen galaxies with 252 livable planets. Thinking about it made Jun's head hurt.

The other guys were also upset from the system. Some of them well past in their 30s. One of them was banker, another was a software engineer. And other jobs which had no use in their current predicament. There were similar jobs but their skill won't match the planet's requirement.

They could still do other menial jobs but their ego won't agree to that. It was better to educate themselves.

Very soon all of them were employed. Samuel got apprentice work in a pharmaceutical company. Aadil got a maintenance job in the town's port. He aimed to learn to pilot. Brandon had applied to a position in the library. He soon got in as there were not many applicants.

Their days in Alchemy town passed by peacefully. They hadn't heard anything from Tamara and other women. Kiara and Aarav were still missing. There was discord increasing between them. There were only six of them making money and the remaining six were dependant on them. They were adult technically but here they were not. It was humiliating. They had to cut their finances. They were barely making anything but also save money to go out of the planet. There were only Samuel and Brandon whose family were taken away. Rest of them had no relation whatsoever. They might have been influenced in the spur of the moment. But it had become unbearable now.

Peter and Chris who were in their 60s, had found some menial jobs. One was working in a pub and other was working for a merchant. They could not bear to support the group anymore. They decided to separate from them. Samuel could not stop them. They were well passed into their retirement age and they had to work to feed properly grown adults. It was exhausting. With them gone, their finances dwindle. When others asked about if he was keeping any savings, Samuel replied negatively. There wasn't much left after their daily expenses. Even if he wanted it was impossible to save anything.

Ian suggested that they could collect food from the jungle. This way they could cut their food expense. The suggestion was accepted by everyone. The other people who could only attend the academy took up the gathering job. They would go into jungle early in the morning and collect edible fruits, vegetables and sometimes livestock on their way. As they had the guardian blessings they were not attacked by animals.

Philip who was a banker, one day met with a guy who was a hunter. He told him that they could make enough money to last a lifetime if they hunt certain animals. Their parts were expensive in a certain market. Philip realised that what the man was saying was something illegal. But who cared about legality when they were suffering. It was also humiliating to rely on other people. The man informed him about the task and asked him to deliver it to a certain place. He would be rewarded handsomely.

Philip checked the detail of the animal. What the guy wanted was a silver wolf. They were only found in Taiba. One adult wolf was about 10 metres tall. It was ferocious and lived in packs. Philip thought about it. The target was a difficult opponent. He could not do it alone. He asked the other guys. They all agreed. It was just a wolf. Even if it were illegal, they won't be sentenced to death probably. Except for Samuel, Ian, Brandon, Aadil and Suho, the rest of them agreed. The other five weren't even in know-how. Philip wanted to include Suho too because of his healing ability. Jun was against it as he very well knows how Suho was righteous and stubborn.

They made arrangements secretly. The day they were about to go, Suho had already noticed the peculiarities. He asked the jin and he spewed everything. Suho tried to stop them but they had already decided. Jun harshly said to him, "it is easy for you because you have awakened this super ability. Unlike you, we have to beg others for a living. I don't care about the means. I'm doing it for survival"

"There are other things you could do for survival. This is illegal. You will go to jail for this"

"Is this anywhere better. You won't understand it"

With that they left, Suho followed them. He was worried. If anything goes wrong he can at least heal them. They soon reach the den where the wolves lived. They only needed to hunt one. But they lived in packs. They somehow had to separate one from the group. They had prepared anaesthesia, bows, guns and other weapons. The anaesthesia which they had prepared was a herb which could put an elephant to sleep. They had worn a mask to avoid smelling it accidentally. They put the anaesthesia in the air. Soon all the animal in the pack fell one by one. They went and pulled one adult wolf with them. They had secured it carefully. They were afraid of it waking in the middle and hunting them.

The wolf was heavy for the five of them they were ecstatic from the thought of money they will get. Suho came out and advised them to leave the wolf. It was very dangerous. Philip who was tired from his nagging said, "if you are afraid that it will wake up and hurt us. Then why not we just kill it."

He then pulled out a machete they had arranged and plunged it into the abdomen of the wolf. The wolf bled out and regain consciousness. It was not dead. He howled and tried to break free from the bondage. Scared Philip raised the machete again. Before the machete could reach the wolfs head., the wolf bit his head off. Others were scared out of wits and ran away. While running away, they were attacked by other animals. Even small animals were attacking them. They didn't cause much harm but it was surprising. Because of the blessing, these animals won't even come near them. But now they were targeted. Claude who was running at the back was attacked by many small porcupines. He was bitten everywhere. Suho pulled him out of there. They barely reached the town. In the town, some guards were looking frantic. When they tried to enter the city, they got thrown off. There seemed to be a barrier which won't let them in. The guards came out. They said they were being arrested for breaking the law. They asked them to surrender.

They were totally in trouble. They had just committed a crime and the authorities already knew it. They could not grasp the situation at all. They ran away with the best they could. The guards pursued them but left after following them for a few distances. They were banished out of the city. They decided to stay nearby and try to contact Samuel. They got into a treehouse near the town. It was made for travellers as a resting place.

They had to keep an eye out as they were constantly attacked by the animals. Samuel soon came looking for them. He came to the treehouse as it was the only place people could take shelter in the jungle. Since it was night, even the police were not looking out for them. He inquired what had happened and explained why they were in the current dilemma. The silver wolf was a sacred animal. It didn't need protection. It only meant they cannot be hunted. When they attacked the animal, their blessing was nullified. The authorities got the message from the guardian that some people broke the law and the barrier was built on the gate forbidding the wrongdoers.

He said to them that he will try to do what he could. They have to survive in the wild for the time being. After Samuel left, they were attacked a few more times. They couldn't stay in one place. They were already tired from fighting back. Suho was at his limits from using his powers.