Chapter 6

Zine stumbled into his new apartment, walking past his small pile of boxes he hadn't gotten around to unpacking yet. He went into his tiny new bedroom, then threw his glasses and mask on to the floor.

He changed his sweater to his second favorite, black zipper hoodie, that said in white, “I’ll sic myself on you.”

He kicked off his boots, and flopped on his bed. He was glad that it arrived before him, so he didn't have to sleep on the, most likely, dirty floor.

Though, it wouldn't have been the worst place he slept in, he thought.

He hadn't really changed into pajamas, nor even taken off his gloves or leggings, but he really didn't care.

It's not like I sweat anyways…I earned a nice sum of money at the ring. More than I thought I would, and it had so many people, so of course the earnings would be better, Zine sifted through his thoughts.

He was on his stomach in his old bed, and he had to cover it with extra blankets because the springs in the mattress were poking through. If you weren't careful, you would end up having a metal spring cut into your leg in the middle of the night.

He remembered the first time it happened; he woke up in pain and had to pry the stuck spring out of his calf, and that's when he started the whole ‘blankets are now under not over you’ thing.

He wasn't going to waste money on a new mattress, unless there was a sale, they are too expensive. He could always buy an air mattress, but how would he blow it up? With his breath? Would that work? He should just stick with his tetanus-giving mattress for now.

Zine breathed in and calmed down, after relaxing a bit, he wondered where his gun had gone. Guns were technically illegal for minors but an old man with a funny accent had given him one he had invented on the black market.

Zine really didn't quite get how it worked, but by taking out 2 parts it would switch between seeming like a fake toy prop that didn't work, and being a knockout dart gun.

The man had heard about Zine’s home life and offered him the gun. He remembered the old man's gruff voice, saying to use it to protect himself, and he also mentioned how he wished he could adopt him, but he was not technically a legal citizen.

He could almost hear the man's laugh, and he smiled to himself.

He breathed in again, and drifted into black.