As I sat in my hot, dingy alleyway, I picked out mold from a loaf of bread as the clouds above began to gather. This horrible excuse of a meal turned my empty stomach and got me dry heaving a couple times. Even with my bottom of the barrel standards, I set the loaf to the side. It might've been the only food I found today, but starving was better than that.

 

Maybe one of the stores had a change of heart and will be interested in hiring me?...

 

That thought sparked some hope, but every place in town already kicked me out once when I asked for work. Some of them did so twice, so the hope didn't last long. Still, it was better than not doing anything.

Standing up, I walked down the dusty road of this small town to the general store. Buildings loosely packed together left plenty of space for people like me, but I'd never so much as seen anyone else like that.

It wasn't long until I got to the store, but as soon as my foot hit the wood floor, "Get out!"  barked the owner, "I told you already, I don't want you scaring away my customers."

"I just want some work. I'll do whatever you need."

"No. I can smell you from here, and I don't need people thinking this is a place for rotten smelling thieves, now get out here."

"Please Mister, if I don't get work then the only thing I'd have to eat is a moldy loaf of bread…"

He reached down below the counter and held up his gun. "Then find somewhere else to make your money." He didn't point it at me, but I got the point. I stopped talking, turned around and walked out without another word.

Went just about the same way every other place did. If you smell a little and steal a couple bits of food, then everyone hates you.

Dragging my feet down the road, I thought of what to do.

 

I could try begging, but that's been getting harder since everyone in this godsdamned town thought I was just stealing because it was easy. So nobody likes me very much.

If I could actually get enough water to wash myself then maybe that'd help, but I got chased off the last time I tried to do that with the water from the well.

Maybe make my own shop on the side of the road? If I can't get a job in a shop already running, what chance do I got for starting my own? And what would I even sell?

 

After a couple minutes of walking, I ended up back on the other side of town where my alleyway was and walked down it. Of course the bread was still there. Taunting me.

With a sigh, I went back to sitting down and grabbed the loaf to continue picking out the bad parts, but as if to continue the taunting, a smell hit my nose that turned my head towards the street. A man carrying a wrapped paper bag that smelled way better than anything I could ever afford helped me make a split-second decision. I tossed the bread aside and stood up. I didn't even get out of the alleyway before my mouth started watering.

Sorry mister, but I wasn't going to be eating moldy bread today.

Walking out of the alleyway, I saw he had a wife and kid. A moment of hesitation made me freeze up, but one look back at the disgusting mess of green bread got me marching forward again.

The beating of my heart quickened with every step I took. My shaking hands itching to reach out and grab it. My eyes dead set on the food and blocking out the entire rest of the world. Right before they would make it to the next alley, I'd run up and snag it.

In three…

My breath became harder to come by as my fingers tingled.

Two…

The sun blazed down on me, and everything began spinning.

One…

They looked back and saw me, and that's when I sprinted forward and cut in between the guy and his wife, accidentally knocking the kid down.

"Thief!" The guy cried out as I turned the corner in one of the alleyways.

All I had to do was run. Through the alleyway and don't pay any mind to the pressure on my chest. I turned the corner and kept running, but not even five seconds after I made it out of the alley, a heavy thud knocked into me from behind and sent me down onto the dirt. Next thing I knew, he grabbed the package and pulled, but I held it tight. "I need to eat something. Please just let me have this!"

"What's going on here?" Another voice I knew called out. The sheriff of this town.

"This women knocked over my daughter trying to steal our food."

The sheriff walked closer. "Again, Scarlet!?" By now, a crowd was gathering around us. "I warned you what'd happen if you tried this again."

"Please," I said, clenching the food like my life depended on it. "All I had to eat was some moldy bread. I need this. Please…"

The sheriff grabbed me by the hand and yanked me up. "Giving you a talking to did no good." He grabbed the package of food and ripped it from my hands. At this point, I stopped fighting him, and instead stared at the ground as more people walked up to judge me. "Locking you up ain't doing no good either. So I think you should up and leave this town and don't come back."

The crowd kept growing, and just from seeing their faces, I could tell they didn't like me any better. "Where do you expect me to go?"

The sheriff put his hands on his belt. "Anywhere but here." 

Looking between him and everyone else, I wasn't sure why I was bothering to stay in this place anymore. If they were just going to treat me like a pest, then none of them were worth a damn. "Fine, I'll get my stuff and leave." Before I walked past them, he grabbed me and threw me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me.

"I said you ain't welcome here anymore."

Looking up at him, and in between coughs, "I'm not leaving my stuff behind."

"What stuff? You ain't got stuff, and I don't want you running and hiding away somewhere in this town. So I'm not leaving this spot until I see you walk down that road outta town, and if you so much as turn around," he took out his gun, "I'll be doing what I should've done after the third, fourth and fifth time you tried to steal."

A year in this place and still nothing to show for it. Just another bunch of people that want me gone, so if they're so keen on kicking me out, then fine.

I got up, turned around and started walking without looking back, and without a plan. But one thing was for sure, this small town stuff wasn't working out. Everyone knew everyone and they all talked. I needed somewhere big. Some place I could hide out in. I needed the city. I knew it was this way, but I had no idea how far it was. Not that I had a choice to stay or go, so I'll just have to tough out the journey. However long it'd be.

Meanwhile, the clouds began to grow darker as I made my way out of sight of that backwater town. Couldn't have happened at a better time to give me some shade.

There wasn't a lot that went on down that path. The flat grasslands that stretched for miles with mountains in the background. One dirt road that cut straight through the middle. It'd be beautiful if it weren't for my stomach growling like a rabid dog. The last couple days of only scraps of food finally started to weigh down on my body. Everything was becoming sluggish, but all there was to do was keep going.

 

###

 

An hour later, the blackened clouds began to rain. Something welcome to cool me down. And a little rain like this never scared me too much, so I kept moving.

 

###

 

Three hours since the rain started, and after all this time, it turned into a nasty storm. Rain and wind pelted me from the front as my legs wobbled with each step. The dirt road became nothing but a bed of mud that my feet sank into with every step, and thanks to my old shoes that barely fit, they got pulled off in the mud more times than I could count. Eventually, I figured it wasn't worth the time or energy to keep digging them up and putting them back on, so I stopped bothering and kept working my way through the mud with my bare feet.

 

###

 

Five hours of pulling my feet from the muddy path to the city, and five hours this storm never let up. My arms waved limp at my sides as exhaustion set in. My legs burned hotter than fire every time I pulled them from the mud that wanted to eat me whole. My stomach growled loud enough to make it past the rain, wind and lightning.

Exhaustion.

Pain.

Hunger.

Frustration.

My legs shook just to keep me standing up right, but when I went to pull my foot out to take another step, I didn't get it out all the way and tripped over myself. Giving me a face full of mud and covering me head to toe in the stuff.

 

—

Being pushed into the dirt and stared at by towns folk.

—

 

Everything swirling around inside me came through in a rage filled scream as I pushed myself up. Tears mixed with rainwater and mud as I yelled my throat raw, and kept yelling until I ran out of breath. The moment the yelling stopped, my arms gave out and I fell back into the mud.

The night grew colder and sent shivers down my entire body. With the last of my energy, I put all I had left in me to push myself onto my back, where I stared blankly up at the pitch-black sky. All that anger vanished. Replaced by nothing but the one question. Was this the end?

My glossy eyes closed themselves, as I passed out.