Science, Eternal Life, and a Traveling Circus 2

Chapter One

The girl lay unconscious in the street, her wits pushed to their end. Her dark curls shivered in the inconstant wind. Derrick lit a cigarette and bent over her, brows raised. He crouched and prodded her and delved into her pockets.

Northwood was a humble mining town and its population was small. At this time of day, the residents were mostly at work. On the edge of the town, on the road to the great walled city, all was quiet. Dry gusts blew dust between buildings and gently rattled foggy windows. The empty streets were dusted with a grimy black film of coal residue.

From the nearby alley, Abraham Walters quaked with a gun in hand, jaw clenched. He started towards his green-coated companion with a finger raised and shaking, but halted at the sight of a yellow frock in the corner of his eye. He retreated into hiding once more.

Derrick puffed smoke and sorted through the girl's belongings, oblivious. A grin lit up his dark face and he slid a handful of gears into his pocket. He stood up and looked towards the alley, drawing a long puff from his green-ended cigarette.

"Hey!"

The man jumped up and swivelled. His eyes locked on the familiar woman in yellow and his grin faltered to a grimace. He held up his hands and smiled over his cigarette, releasing a stream of smoke through his nostrils. "Ms. Marsh, let's not make a scene."

But, the woman's eyes were on the child that sprawled on the cobblestone. With a crooked nose and blood and filth caked on her face, she looked pitiful and beaten. A deep burn festered on her neck in the shape of a handprint and bruises battered her exposed skin in off-color swatches. Ms. Marsh paled and gawked at Derrick, aghast. She covered her mouth and her eyes hardened towards him.

The Eternal shook his head quickly.

"Now, I didn't—" he faltered as her brows lowered and her colorless cheeks flushed crimson. Stepping back, he tried to turn but the woman caught him squarely in the groin with the heel of her leather lace-up boot. He winced, eyes crossed, and dropped to his knees, where he curled up and clutched his tenders in agony. He chewed his lip and rocked.

The woman in yellow sniffed, stuck up her chin, and patted down her skirts. "You are a foul man, Derrick."

"Blast it, woman!" Derrick swore through clenched teeth. "I didn't—"

"This girl has nothing to do with you." She knelt beside the child and dabbed the girl's cheeks with an embroidered handkerchief. The girl softly moaned. "You had best leave her alone from here on."

"Yeah," Derrick spat. "Whatever."

Ms. Marsh patted the child's cheek. "Alyn. Alyn, come to."

The girl jolted awake and scrambled back in a panic. Ms. Marsh waved her hands.

"It's all right, dear! You are all right. Come with me and I'll fix you up." She extended a delicate hand, and the child peered at it over heavy breaths. "It's just me. It's Evelyn. We met last night."

Her wide eyes quivered over Derrick, wet, and she darted to the woman in yellow and grabbed tight hold of her wrist and her hand.

Derrick scowled at the pair as he watched them drift back towards the town, towards the woman's prized flower shop. He propped himself up and spat curses to the cobblestone. His crisp green jacket was soiled by the black dust. He started to bat at the stains with his fingers, chewing on his cigarette.

The oversized trousers of his stick-thin partner-in-crime shuffled into his peripheral and he looked up. Abraham reared and kicked the Eternal again in the groin with all the strength his weak form could muster. Derrick cried out and crumpled.