The Meaning Of Eternity (TMOE #1)

Chapter 20: Wrong

He'd stayed up too late. Two nights of little sleep wasn't the worst scenario but Lucius had to yawn as he watched the wagon full of crates approach. Wet snowflakes hit the ground, adding to the already sloshy excuse of a winter, and most of the Shallow Reapers had huddled together on the side of the storage house in order to escape the merciless wind coming from the harbor.

Lucius didn't have the luxury to be one of them. He probably could've been, and should've been, but he had to be the face of the group and do the talking this time. The delivery for the day was supposedly more important than usual, so not only did he figure he had to be there in person, he'd brought the entire gang as well. Not because he thought it was necessary but as a gesture to show Anthony that he was dependable when needed to be.

Using minimal effort he nodded to the men driving the wagon, adjusting his hood as a gust of wind wanted to tear it off his head.

A moment of awkward staring ensued as the men jumped down from the wagon and got in position to unload the goods, seemingly waiting for something.

Lucius cocked an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"Not even gonna lift a finger to help?" one of the men driving the wagon asked and Lucius scoffed, briefly glancing over towards the rest of the Reapers appearing from behind the corner.

"That's not what we're here for."

"Guess you wouldn't be much help anyway." The man sneered at him as he grabbed a crate. "Not with that sorry excuse of a frame."

Lucius' mouth almost fell open. The man must've had no clue of who he was addressing.

Another worker bumped the man's shoulder.

"Hey, lay off." He then gave Lucius an apologetic nod before hurrying to continue his job. The other man however, wouldn't lay off at all.

"What? I'm supposed to be scared because this one's some kind of leader? He's just a kid. Seems like the last person to hire as a guard."

Lucius closed his eyes. He was not in the mood. He just wanted to go back to bed, and now people decided to undermine him out of the blue?

"Maybe you should worry about your own job before you bitch about mine," he suggested as he sent the man a scalding glare. "I don't see you doing a whole lot of unloading aside from the useless crap coming out of your mouth."

"What was that!?" The man took a step forward but Lucius refused to back away, and instead smiled as the other worker tried pulling him away.

"Hey, I—I told you to stop," the second man hissed. "We don't want any trouble with them."

"Just... Move along." Lucius waved his hand dismissively and turned his head away. He was done. "I'm not gonna waste energy on trash anyway."

To his shock and confusion the worker was not done, and he wrinkled his eyebrows as he was pulled back by his collar.

"Trash, huh?" the man growled, and Lucius' eyes glazed over. There it was. The occasional person who'd dare to talk back, and then his gang would beat him to nothing. It'd been thrilling at first, but at the moment it just seemed old.

"Trash indeed, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't get filth all over my—"

The world spun around, and Lucius' eyes widened as pain spread across his cheek and he struggled to regain balance on wet cobblestones. He needed a moment to process it all. A man had punched him. A nobody. Someone Lucius had called trash had actually punched him in front of his gang.

"I—I'm so sorry!" the other man sputtered as he pulled his friend away. The latter spat on the ground.

"Teach you to act all high and mighty."