Street Vermin

The night passed by in a state of uncertainty and fear. As soon as it was 8 AM, Thomas arrived at the mansion. The front gates opened automatically, letting him through. On the back seat of his car was a wedding dress which he had procured with great difficulty.

He could not help but wonder at what made their boss decide to get married all of a sudden. Even if Alex was threatening the girl, why would Lucas care so much? Was this girl related to Lucas somehow? It did not seem she recognized him.

Thomas parked the car and picked up the dress, heading straight for the study where his boss was at. Lucas was on the phone, talking to someone.

"How's her health now?" he asked over the phone. The person on the other end was saying something which Thomas could not hear.

"Keep me updated on her condition," he ordered and hung up. Turning around, he saw Thomas standing at the door.

"Sir, I got the dress and a few other clothes for the...er...madam," Thomas informed him.

"Give it to her when she arrives," Lucas said in an aloof tone.

"Sir, if I may ask," Thomas began. "Why are you so confident that she will agree to this marriage? After all, it's a contract marriage and quite a complicated one. I've read all the terms and frankly, I am a little surprised that you've agreed to do this."

"She'll come," Lucas said in a quiet yet firm tone. "Her father's life is on the line. She'll agree to it. And I can bet you that she will not even read the agreement."

Thomas did not know how to respond to that. His boss simply turned away, silently dismissing him. Thomas left the room, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.

Lucas was staring at the city beneath him which was slowly beginning to liven up. He could see people moving like tiny ants on the roads, busy with their own lives and too ignorant of what was going on elsewhere. They were always like this. Blind, dumb and deaf to others. It was something he was all too familiar with…

….

The boy was running through the streets, panting heavily. Rain poured down heavily from the sky, each drop feeling heavier than a stone as the droplets hit him. The street was crowded and packed with people but the boy pushed everyone away from his way.

Cars sped past him at dangerous speeds. His vision was blurry and his hair dripping wet but he would not stop running at all. The chilly air whipped him and the ground beneath his feet was slippery with wet snow. The boy kept on slipping and sliding but managed to keep his balance as he ran through the crowd.

The girl was unconscious on his back and she was barely breathing. Blood gushed out of her forehead and she was weakly whimpering. She was cold and her pulse was falling drastically. There was no time to waste and if she was not taken to the hospital, she would die.

He kept on running but he was quickly losing his strength. Heaving her up, he stepped on the busy road, trying to get a lift.

"HELP!" he yelled at one of the passing cars but it did not stop. He went around, trying to stop a vehicle in the hopes of getting a ride to the hospital but no one would stop. Passerbys whispered and pointed at them but did not pause to help them. They were suspicious and wary, unwilling to help the distressed boy who was frantically asking for help.

"Please, save her!" He begged one of the walkers but his plea was ignored once again. He rushed to stop a woman who was talking on the phone.

"Please help us!" he pleaded with the woman. "Call an ambulance, please!"

"Buzz off kid!" she snapped at him and walked away.

The girl groaned on his back, her insides getting colder. He had wrapped her up in his jacket but the rain was worsening her condition. The boy spun around, confused and hopeless. The whole city had changed a lot in three years and he no longer remembered the way to the hospital.

"I'll take you there!" he promised her. "Hold on, okay? Just hold on!"

"Lu...ke…" she moaned. "She…I…"

He hushed her. "You'll be fine!" he told her. "The nightmare's over! Don't think about her, okay? Don't!"

The girl was trying to hold on to her life but her vision was beginning to fade. Black spots appeared in front of her as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her body was weak but she used every ounce of her willpower to stay awake. Something was scaring her, stopping her from fainting. It felt as if she fainted that day, she would never be able to go back to Luke.

Lucas felt her hand tighten around his shoulder. She was now clinging on to him, desperately trying to hold on. His shirt was becoming damp not with rain but with her blood. He approached more people for help but to his dismay, no one was heeded to him.

"Street vermin!" one man cursed at him. Lucas' eyes flared up at his words.

That was right. They were nothing more than street vermin to these people. Dirty, smelly and unwanted brats.

Lucas' expression hardened and he heaved up the girl on his back. He scavenged his pocket and found the blunt knife he carried with him that night. There were a couple of hard looking men standing at a corner and they had a shiny car. He steadied the girl and marched up to them.

"Did ya see the look on his face when Stan pointed the gun at him?" one of the men chortled. "And-"

He felt something poke his back. His partner, a middle aged man with dark brown hair and beady eyes, froze in alarm.

"Kid, what the hell are you doing?" the beady eyed man demanded but his partner shushed him.

"Gimme your car keys!" Lucas demanded in a cold tone. The man raised an eyebrow and slowly turned around. He was in his forties with a golden tooth and a balding hairline. The man studied the young teenager who was carrying a bleeding girl on his back.

The boy was good looking but his handsome features were marred by infinite sadness and hardships. He was desperately holding on to the barely alive girl, unwilling to give up on her as if she was the single most important thing in his life. The man was slightly amused by the determination on the boy's face, curious about their story.

"She won't survive," the man pointed out. "You're fighting a losing battle."

"Gimme your car keys!" Lucas demanded. "Otherwise, I'll kill you!"

"Can you even drive, boy?" the beady eyed man scoffed but Lucas did not care about all that. He needed to get her to the hospital. He held the knife up but the man laughed.

"Put the knife away, kid," the brown haired man said. "It ain't gonna kill anyone."

Lucas did not betray his fear but to his surprise, the man held out his keys and threw it at him. He caught it with one hand while the other one held his friend. The man motioned to his friend.

"Take them to the hospital," the man said, "And you…"

He turned to Lucas and put a card in his pocket. "If you need money, I can give it to you in return for a favor. Let's see if you can save her, kid."

The beady eyed man nodded and led the kids to the car. Lucas lay his friend on the back seat before getting into the car. The engine was revved up and soon, the car sped towards the hospital.

Lucas kept on glancing at the girl on the back seat, worried that she was going to die. But the girl was still holding onto her consciousness, fighting with all her willpower.

"Lu...ke…" She held out her shaky hand towards him, wanting to hold him.

"Hold her hand," the beady eyed man said. "It might be the last time you two will hold hands."

"She'll be fine!" Lucas hissed. The man did not reply but Lucas held the girl's hand. In her dire state, she gave him a small smile. She was not afraid because she knew that he would not let her die. He was always going to save her.

"Moun...tains…" she whispered as her eyes closed, her fatigue finally breaking her will to stay awake.

The last thing she saw was a single drop of tear rolling from his eye.

.....

*Present*

The doorbell rang. Lucas did not pay much attention to it and continued to stare at the city below. He faintly heard footsteps approaching his way and soon, there was a knock on the door.

"Sir, Miss Cheng is here," Thomas declared. Lucas slowly turned around to face a nervous looking Lillian who did not dare to look him in the eye. Thomas quietly backed away, leaving them alone. Lillian was a little startled when the door closed behind her.

She was scared of the man in front of her, intimidated by his dark aura and twisted personality. The man was truly dangerous and she feared for the safety of her family and herself. Her heart pounded hard in fear and she felt as if he would kill her any moment with his gaze alone.

But no matter how much she tried, she could not find another way to protect her loved ones.

Taking a deep breath, she directly faced him. Her face still betrayed her fear but there was no time for that. She must save her family.

"Speak," Lucas ordered her.

"I…" she began. "I…"

Lucas waited for her decision, looking at her with his cold eyes which were devoid of all emotions.

"I agree to your proposal!" she finally managed to utter. "I'll marry you."