The Price of Sugar and Rust

"Can I have some?"

The voice didn't sound like the rough, booming shouts of the heavy-set villagers James had been watching all morning. It was low, quiet, and far too close to his left ear.

James froze. Years of working in high-voltage particle labs had trained his body not to leap or scream when a power line snapped, but his heart violently hit his ribs anyway. Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head, keeping his thumb pressed tight against the plastic wrapper of his cream bun.

...****************...

Leaning against a rickety wooden wagon frame was a tall, lean man He had sharp, dark eyes, dark hair pulled back with a scrap of leather, and a heavy gray coat held together with rusted copper clasps James’s internal alarm bells ring loud and clear.

??? :- "I asked," tilting head toward James's hands, "if I could have some of that."

James :- instinctively pulled the bun back against his chest. "It's... it's just bread."

???:- It doesn't look like bread," replied smoothly, pushing off the wagon. As he shifted his weight, his boot lightly brushed against a fallen wooden beam—a beam thick enough that James would have needed a crowbar and two assistants to nudge it. he casually kicked it three feet out of his path as if it were a clump of dried grass.

James :- swallowed hard, his mind flashing back to the locals he had just seen effortlessly smashing brick walls. 💭Smash me like a potato, He could literally do it with a toe tap.💭

(i used this 💭 as thinking or thought)

James :- Who are you?" (his voice wavering slightly before he managed to pull himself together.) "And why are you following me?"

??? :- My name is Arak," (said, while taking two slow steps closer) .And I wasn't following you until you pulled out a white cushion that smells like sugar in the middle of the scrap quarter. Your clothes don't have seams, your boots don't make a sound, and you’ve been staring at that glowing glass bracelet on your arm for the last two hours."

James :- (he reached under his jacket collar, his palm sweating against the casing of his hidden diagnostic scanner.) "I'm a traveler. A scholar."

Arak :- You're an idiot," (Arak corrected mildly. He held out a wide, calloused hand, palm up.) "Half the cushion. In exchange, I don't go down to the precinct warden and tell him a stranger in rubber clothes is spying on the iron yards."

James :-. (The skin was rough, scarred across the knuckles, and stained dark with metal dust.)"That's extortion,"he muttered.

Arak :- "That's a fair trade," (Arak said.) "Now break it."

James carefully pulled the cream bun in two. A dollop of thick vanilla cream spilled over his thumb. He held out the larger half, keeping his feet planted firmly on the cobblestone in case he needed to sprint—though deep down, he knew this man could probably catch him in two strides

Arak took the piece. He didn't eat it immediately. He lifted it to the pale sunlight, squeezed the crust gently with two fingers, brought it to his nose, and frowned

James :- "It feels like air,"

"It's a cream bun," James grumbled, taking a tiny bite of his remaining piece. The artificial sugar hit his tongue, bringing a sudden, sharp ache of homesickness that almost made his throat close up. "Standard issue where I come from

Arak took a tentative bite.

He stopped moving entirely. His eyes widened just a fraction, the lazy, confident smirk vanishing from his face. He chewed slowly, staring down at the half-eaten pastry in his hand as if it had just spoken to him in a foreign language

Arak :- What is this?" (he asked. His voice lost all its dry sarcasm.) "It's... soft. It tastes like sweet clouds."

James :- "It's vanilla cream," (James said ,while wiping his thumb on his trousers.) "They sell them in vending machines back home."

Arak :- A machine makes this?"(he swallowed the rest of the bun in one bite, licking a tiny trace of cream from his thumb with a look of pure disbelief. He wiped his hands on his coat and looked down at James with renewed interest.)" Well, scholar... considering you look like a strong gust of wind would break your spine, you're going to need someone to walk you out of this alley."

James :- I don't need a guide," (said quickly, adjusting his glasses.) "I'm heading back to my... my temporary camp as soon as I run a diagnostic on the atmospheric pressure."

Arak :- "I didn't say I was offering to be your guide," (Arak said, his tone instantly flattening as his dark eyes flicked toward the mouth of the alleyway.) "I said you need someone to walk you out. Because three men with iron pipes have been trailing you since you crossed the bridge."

James:- (felt the color drain from his face.)"What?

Arak :- Don't look," (commanded in a low whisper, stepping casually sideways to block James from the main street.) "Just look at me. Do you have anything in that bag that hits hard?"

James :- I... I have a high-frequency soldering iron and a geological scanner."

Arak stared at him for a long beat. "So, no."

James :- "They're scientific tools!" (James hissed back).

Arak :- "They're scrap metal to Bram and his boys," Arak said calmly. He reached inside his heavy gray coat and pulled out a short, solid rod of forged iron, worn smooth where his palm gripped it. "When I step forward, stay right behind my left shoulder. Do not run. If you run, they will catch you before you reach the corner. These men run down wild mountain goats for dinner."

Before James could ask another question, the heavy scuff of iron-soled boots echoed off the damp stone walls behind them.

???:- Hey! Arak!" (a harsh, raspy voice shouted.) "What do you have there? A fresh soft-skin from the high towns?

"

Arak didn't turn his back completely. He angled his body, keeping both James and the three tall, thick-set figures in his line of sight. "He's with me, Bram. Move along."

...The man named Bram stepped into the alley light. He was broad-shouldered, wearing a leather apron coated in black soot, and held a four-foot length of rusted iron chain wrapped around his right forearm. Behind him stood two others, both carrying thick wooden clubs reinforced with iron bands....

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