The Bloodline System

Author's Note: Unedited

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"No," Emma shook his head.

"Here, I got you some beef Jerky," Emma's big brother said while pulling some food out of the cloth hidden within his tattered outfit.

Emma eyes brightened up as he spotted the meal and quickly collected it. He wasted no time in devouring it as he had barely eaten anything throughout the day.

Sam brought out some other food items from where he had hidden them within his clothes and moved to drop some on a three legged table within this small space.

"Sarah," He whispered to the little girl laying beside thier mother.

She looked no older than two years of age but she opened her eyes the instant she felt a tug.

"Big brother, I smell something delicious..." Drool escaped the side of her lips as she voiced out.

Sam had to tell her to 'shush' as well before passing her some food.

Emma passed out immediately after devouring what his big brother brought back home.

He was later awakened by the sound of loud voices in the living room.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT! YOU DISOBEDIENT CHILD!"

"Mum, Emma and Sarah can barely eat each day, do you expect me to watch them starve?"

"YOU IDIOT FEEDING THEM BY COMMITTING CRIME IS NOT THE WAY TO GO,"

"It is already a crime that we live in such a state! We lost dad to a crime! It is a crime that we never got justice! It is a crime that only the rich get to live without fear of going hungry in this city! Since the world is full of crime, no one should blame me for joining in!"

Pah!

Emma slowly sat up after witnessing his mum slap his big brother.

"YOUR FATHER DIED DOING THE RIGHT THING. DO NOT DISHONOUR HIM WITH YOUR ACTIONS,"

"Mum..." Emma couldn't really understand what was happening but he subconsciously voiced out.

Sam slowly tilted his face to the side without touching his chin before replying.

"If dishonoring him feeds Emma and Sarah... I'll do so as many times as I can," Sam eyes reddened as he voiced out.

Before their mother could retort, Sam turned around and stormed out of the small apartment.

"Mum why are you arguing with big brother?" Emma said while standing to feet.

"Don't go bey bruther..." Sarah voiced incoherently but Sam was already gone.

Emma was only around six years old at the time so he didn't understand a lot but he knew Sam was involved in things their mother didn't agree to.

################

'If I was bigger and stronger, maybe I could have stopped him,' E.E's mind had been plagued by this same thought many times in the past.

"Big brother... you need to stop blaming yourself," Sarah voiced out as she walked out of the kitchen to find E.E staring at the holographic portrait.

"Hmm am I that see through?" E.E inquired.

--‐---------------------------

Zwwhiiii~

A dark figure suddenly appeared in front of a twenty storey building and moved in.

There was a couple of people moving about the place as it seemed like a trading center. The people in the vicinity were all dressed nicely except for the dark figure.

They glanced in disgust but couldn't do anything about it. Anyone in the upper district definitely had a permit and could stay here for a limited period of time even if they were from the slums.

The dark figure used the elevator to get to the last floor and proceeded to move towards one of the shops on this floor.

"Thank you, do come again," A matured and feminine voice resounded from within as the figure walked in.

It was a store with different kinds of traditional attires. The dark figure had an expression of fascination as he stared at these outfits. He had never seen any fabric that looked like this before.

The dark skinned and slightly chubby woman with a curly afro hair who had just spoken a while ago was chatting with another customer who was checking out these fabrics.

-"This one,"

"That's a gele. It serves the same purpose with a headtie but more fashionable,"</>

-"What about this one?"

"That's called an Ankara... it was used a lot in the 21st century..."

She was suddenly cut short by the voice of the dark figure.

"Mrs Elebhose,"

"I'll be right with you," She thought it was a regular customer.

"It can't wait," The dark figure which happened to be Gustav moved closer to her.

"I need you to come with me immediately," Gustav added.

"Don't interrupt riff raff! As you can see she's busy," The female customer she was attending to sparked.

"Please madam Glamorgan, I won't be tolerating the use of such language in my store. Everyone bears equal importance within this premises. Thank you," Mrs Elebhose quickly cut the customer off before they could utter any more derogatory remarks.

"And you sir, you'll have to wait your turn," She turned to Gustav before voicing out.

The customer was surprised Mrs Elebhose treated the dirty looking dark person with respect. None of them were aware she was a slum dweller as well since she dressed pretty well for a commoner.

"I'm not here to buy anything. E.E sent me," Gustav uttered these words expecting a reaction but to his surprise...

"Who is that? If he is a dealer you'll have to tell him I have my store full at the moment and won't be needing any material for a month," Mrs Elebhose quickly voiced out in a bid to avoid misunderstanding.

"No no not that," Gustav instantly realised she wasn't aware of her son's nickname.

"Emma... your son... he sent me,"

The long awaited reaction finally appeared on Mrs Elebhose face after Gustav's clarification.

"My boy is here? Where is he?" A joyful expression could be seen on her face as she voiced out.

"He is not here here but he's back at the apartment. He asked me to come get you," Gustav responded.

"Madam Glamorgan, I apologise but the bot will have to attend to you now," Mrs Elebhose said and quickly followed Gustav to a secluded part of the store.

Before the customer could even complain an humanoid bot had already walked up to her and began doing explanations in place of Mrs Elebhose.

"What's going on? How can i trust you to be truly sent by my son?" Mrs Elebhose questioned with a suspicious look.

"He said to tell you the word Sam so you'd believe,"

"I haven't heard he say that name in years... okay I believe you. But what is the problem? He is a MBO officer, he could have easily bypassed the permit protocols with his title," She voiced with a tone of confusion.

"Everything will be explained when we get back... put this on your forehead," Gustav stated while passing a metallic looking button to her.

Her facial expression still displayed confoundment but she did as she was told.

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"Sigh~" Sarah let out a little sigh and proceeded to kneel in front of E.E.

"We know you've masked the guilt all these years by trying to be just as lively as he used to... I barely remember him since I was so little when it happened but his vivid smiles and how he always brightened up place is etched in my heart..." Sarah stated lengthily.

"Whenever I asked him for something, he would put himself in harmways just to make sure I got it so yes I am also to blame for what happened... He could turn the world upside down just to make sure both of us didn't go hungry..." Just recalling these memories made E.E teary eyed.

They were so poor in the slums, going days without food was a normal occurrence but his big brother always made sure he never suffered the same fate.

"I can feel big brother Sam was a great brother who did all he could to provide for us.

The same way you're also the best big brother in the world. Mother and I would not have been able to move from the previous area if not for you.

So please, do not harbor guilt for what you had no power to change. I love you and so does mum. That's all that matters now and I'm sure big brother Sam wouldn't want you to feel guilty as well," Sarah said with a comforting tone.

"Haha you're right... he would want me to enjoy life and just like he wished, I managed to make friends... the best pals anyone could ask for," Memories flashed through his mind as tears trickled down his face.

Sarah reached out and pulled her big brother into a heartfelt embrace as they shed tears together.

Fwwowossshhhh~

A moment later, the sound of whooshing air disturbed the peace of the environment.

"Mom," E.E voiced out as soon as he spotted the two figures that had appeared in the living room.

"My boy? Why do you look like that?" Mrs Elebhose blurted with a look of confusion.

"I should probably temporarily restore your looks," Gustav said before reaching out for E.E.