Chapter two, Steel world.

With a weary body and cold hands, Merit took a sip from the warm drink the owner of a small restaurant in the city's slums gave her; he was also kind enough to lend her a blanket. The alley where she decided to spend her night was cold and dark, rats found comfort in such places, but she held no fear towards them, darkness wasn't a fearful thing for her, her heart was a strong one.

Living in the streets for so long, her eyes already possessed the cruel reflection of the unfairness of the underground society, what a nine year old child experienced could bring down a forty-year -old gentleman in the higher ups society. The purity of the adventurous hearts the children acquired from their daydreaming is what kept her awake through the misty slums of Ilusia, that warm drink poured down a bit of happiness into her heart, and that camera did too.

She closed her eyes, finally surrendering to the night's luring call, her hand slowly let go of the warm drink she barely finished as the warmth finally ignited her cold body, the streets were never safe, and so, she held her belongings tightly as she lied in the alley among the rubbish and unpleasant creatures. Another day lied ahead. Merit's aim was to visit The Steamhall market.

The sky, it meant life. It meant dreams and hopefulness, but in the underground world, such a thing did not exist. Down there, the sky was a metallic one. Thick darkness below it. The sunlight could never sneak in into the long streets, into the steamy factories, into the crowded market or into the tiny little houses that fell over each other.

Those who lived there were called the children of darkness. The ones who wholeheartedly chose to hide from the upper society's fulfillment, hiding from their ticking clocks and never-ending quest for industrial revolution and great development within that field.

The neckties had no place within the underground world. There, you could find the rarest machine parts to ever exist, old antiques for those who have a longing for the lost age and even robots that serve you loyally till death without keeping an eye on you to satisfy the government. It was a heaven, for some.

It was already daybreak when the sound of chirping of birds broke out of an old tree resting on the two-story long building in front of her. She opened her eyes and yawned. As soon as she was aware of what time it is, she rubbed her eyes and made sure her bag was still there.

She folded the blanket the restaurant's owner gave her and put it into her bag, from it; she grabbed a train ticket to The Steamhall market. Merit stole the ticket from a gentleman's jacket thinking that he could easily get another one. Her hands were light, she was able to sneak into any place and steal whatever she desires, and it's a gift.

The station wasn't so far away; it took her few minutes until she reached her destination. It wasn't a luxurious one like the rest, since it only led to the underground area, it was crowded with proles and low class people, but still, for Merit, she always loved riding that train. She walked few steps towards the train and avoided getting caught in the crowds. As light as her hands were, she knew she could be robbed as well.

The station smelled of sweat and dirt, mostly the underground workers and miners used this station as a rest place as it is like a bridge between the two worlds. In the background, a feminine soft voice bloomed within the heart of this turmoil, Her voice streamed within the speakers and narrow alleys were the workers slept, it was touched with innocent and purity like a medicine that poured down on their shoulders healing these wide opened wounds. For Merit, it gave her an affectionate feeling of a mother's embracing. The warmth that accompanied that voice made her drown once more into her daydreaming.

She heard the workers announcing the train's arrival. She held her bag tightly and with her tiny footsteps she cut her way through the crowds moving towards the train's entrance, in her tightened grip was the weary ticket that she was impatient to finally get rid of. Once she finally reached the entrance, she put her ticket into the machine which gave her a seat number in a matter of seconds and allowed her to go in. The envious eyes of those who couldn't afford even a ticket haunted her as she got in, she gave them one last look as she settled down in a seat beside the windows where the she can enjoy the ride.

The train was a joy ride for her, it wasn't a normal one. The train moved through the buildings and then moved down till it reached the underground station, through her window she can see the neckties drowning in their paperwork, the gigantic Milasic industries robot that was stationed in the liberation square appeared in screens throughout the entire ride. Milasic was a war robot that was still in development but makes appearances from time to time to comfort the public, Merit loved him. She loved how he was colored in red and black, how he reassured the nation that was in an imminent danger of war that they'd be safe under his protection, she was a child after all.

"Impressive, how these Milasic Industries guys keep this pile of steel intact with all these mad crowds sabotaging him almost every time" Said a man who took a seat next to Merit as she was drifting in the ride's majestic scenries , through the huge concrete buildings, each person held a vision for Merit to see.

"True.." Said Merit as she continued watching without paying him any attention.

"That's a nice necklace you have" Said the curious unknown gentleman who reached out his hands to touch Merit's neck, in a fast response, she moved her arm to block him. "What are you doing?!" She leaned away from him in fear, "I'm just curious to know what kind of a stray would have that valuable necklace, you know?" He smiled wickedly but didn't try to touch her again, to Merit, this strange encounter breathed fear into her heart. his eyes spoke of sinister thoughts, but, the train finally reached the underground station, Merit ran to the door as the gentleman didn't move, instead, he kept looking at her with a half-smile on his pale face till she finally was out of his sight.

"What's wrong with people.." She asked herself, she looked around her to make sure he isn't near her, her small footsteps led her out of the crowded station till she finally reached the underground market, The Steamhall area.

The eerie encounter kept Merit's heart beating rapidly. She covered the necklace with a shaky hand, and the farther away she walked, the calmer she was.

Lost between the white lights of the industrial districts with only a small package of biscuits and a half empty water bottle, wandering between each street vendor where parts of steel heroes were hanged on display as puppets. Her mind went so far away, swimming in memories brought by the scent of fuel and warm garlic soup, thinking that maybe she'd stumble upon what she came for this time, an old friend, a tutor and almost father figure, Mr. Forger.

Many shops went by. So many people and so many heavy metals, where could that man be? Although it has been almost Two years, he couldn't have died and he couldn't have gone out of his shell either. She thought that each time she came here, Mr. Forger would find her, he'd take her in as an apprentice as she always asked him, but her dreams were so naive. Mr. Forger would never let her into the world of steel, that's what she can never forget.

Her camera, the precious stolen one she had in her bag suddenly started vibrating violently. Merit felt scared and unable to act, she knew that if she took the camera out it probably will be snatched right out of her hand, and so, she went deeper into a small street and leaned to a wall, slowly held her bag and opened it and as she looked, her camera was shaking and flashing inside the bag as if it was about to explode. Merit didn't know what could trigger it in that place, she just took it out and held it between her tiny hands, she finally got a hold of it steadily and turned it on, and as she did, the camera opened to reveal only few pictures, and a few ones that she couldn't remember.

There were pictures of a sunset, or Milasic's great titan in the city's square, and then a sequence of blurry images that slowly turned her heart into a beating drum. A man in a black hat, he was clapping and grinning like a maniac, his hat covered most of his face and a small bot stood by him watching a scene that was revealed in the second picture.

It was a scene that looked straight out of a nightmare, red lights flashing in the sunless sky, horrified faces of the worker bees as they stumbled upon each other running from the inevitable destiny that the sky cursed them with.

"Who took these?" Merit asked herself in fright. She cannot remember how can such horrendous images appear out of the nowhere on the camera she hold on tightly even in her sleep. Forger slipped out of her head, fright and confusion made her as fragile as the biscuits in her bag. A child's mind cannot comprehend the idea of fearful ignorance. There was no boundaries between reality and fantasy for her, and most importantly, there was no one to explain anything to her.

She put the camera in her bag again, breathed deeply and decided to go back into the upper ground. Her aimless strolling ended and so was the serenity she had found after the man she encountered left. She moved, eyes fixed on the ground, confused and somehow curious, even her heart wouldn't let her take a second look, she knew that some shattered feelings are attached to those images, but her mind cannot put the puzzle together. She fetched for memories that recall such events, but found none.

And as she finally found herself in the station, she had her return ticket in a hand and the necklace she just took off in another hand, she then stood by a gutter by the station looking at her beautiful necklace that made her eyes teary yet and her face frowned, her breath let out anger and sadness, it was a complicated feeling, a memory she held on that slowly drowned her in melancholy, her reflection in the water reflected what terrible things did this girl see, but it was all unpunished. Merit spread her hand in the free wind and threw it, she looked away, "I can't hold on to you anymore..." she sighed, leaving the precious silver locket behind, a locket that had a small picture of a lady, "A stray cannot hold on to such a precious necklace." She sighed and walked away.

She decided not to show the world what images this camera took, instead, she decided to search for an old friend called Ross, an expert in such devices as she can remember, he is in the upper ground area. Merit knew he is a man she can trust, that man in the picture, the one with the black hat, was familiar, Merit knew she saw a glimpse of him somewhere before, maybe Ross could figure out who is he, or how such images appeared out of nowhere on her camera.

In the Far distance, a man wearing a black hat appeared right from behind a pole, silent and still, only observing. The aura of evil and ill intentions was visible, but not to Merit, the day was over, but it was only starting to the black hat agent. The camera and the hidden memories are to be dug out of the girl's mind, that's all to be done, the next blackout is not so far away, and Merit's dismay was a goal.