The 7th Child

Chapter 15: The Boy in the Rain

May, 2016

Progressively over time, Legai started to take care of himself. He got back on a work out regimen, the same one he had back at The Facility, and ate more and more, though not usually through the most legal means. He kept it simple, an item swiped from the store or a local market and stuffed into the old and slightly moldy pockets of his hoodie. Nothing too big, cause he couldn't spend too much time trying to stuff it in his coat, but not too small either, or else he nor Tyler would be able to survive. Due to the fact that his space was limited, and he had to reduce noise levels as much as possible, boxes of cookies and bags of chips were out of the question. His limited diet of small fruits and vegetables only boosted his healthy living style, so he was happy either way. It's not like they could catch him either, cause outside of wearing his hood up everywhere he went outside of his alley home with Tyler, over the months he learned secret entrances and exits in shops, stores ect. to keep from being caught by any sensors that would usually detect a stolen item, even to the point of learning how to access the rooftops of certain buildings. Tyler didn't exactly approve of this brazenly illegal conduct, but this is the most he's eaten and the most consistently he's eaten in a long time. And for a man who was slowly aging with every day, he needed all he could get, so if it brought food then it brought food.

One night Legai returned, climbing down the fire escape that hung above their spot that was attached to the abandoned apartment building beside them, the rusted bars and steps shaking and clanking with every step as he hopped down from level to level. He dropped to the ground, his old shoes creasing as he hit the pavement with a large thud that was sprinkled with the crunchy sound of tiny pebbles scraping the bottom of his shoe. He bent his knees as he braced the fall, causing an apple to fall out of his pocket as it folded open, and rolled on the ground away from him. "You gotta leave that one for the birds now." Tyler said with a raspy voice and a light smile, softly pointing at the apple that was now speckled with dirt and debris. Legai rose up from his crouched stance, glancing over at the apple and placing his hands in his hoodie pockets to hold the rest of the food still, "Yeah," He said walking towards Tyler, "Guess that means more for me." He smiled, looking back at Tyler as his face glowed in the flickering light of the fire that he had lit earlier. He walked over and sat down in a crouched position across from Tyler, placing the rudimentary fire built out of a barrel that was cut down to a third of its height so it would be the right height for sitting between the both of them. "Hey, I saved your life Legai, you owe me." Tyler rebuts, pointing at Legai mockingly. Legai shakes his head, "My lord, how many times are you gonna throw that in my face?" He asked, laughing. "As many times as it takes for you to pass the dang potato." Tyler answers, reaching out for the food around the fire. Legai takes out the potato in his pocket, tossing it over the fire, and landing it in Tyler's hand as it hits his palm with a soft thud.

Tyler grabbed an old rod, holding it out over the fire to some-what sterilize it, before impaling it into the potato and roasting it over the open fire. Legai watched silently, pulling an orange out of his pocket, peeling it, and placing the peels into a jar that was halfway filled with other fruit peels such as lemons or apples, and halfway filled with water, forming a make-shift juice out of them. He ate the orange slices as Tyler roasted the potato, laying it so close over the fire that the embers floating with each crack mostly collided with it. "Remember, we still wanna be able to eat the potato." Legai jokes, wiping orange juice from his bottom lip as he talks through chews. Tyler chuckled, "You know I've been roasting potatoes long before you came along, right?" He replied. "Before me? Before me you couldn't even afford a potato." Legai responded with a wide toothed grin. They both shared a short laugh as Tyler finished roasting and they shared the potato, splitting down the middle with a rough hand-made tear.