Carbo

“So, whatcha doing Ratface?” greeted the grinning bastard. Eugo didn’t respond, attempting to stay loyal to the ignorance he was showing earlier. The fat pig realised what his target was doing and realised he would have to provoke him for a response.

“Hey,” he asked, dragging out the ‘hey’ with unnecessary smugness, “Eugo, I’ve always wondered what your relationship with Little Miss Rust-Bucket is… you guys gonna be coming out soon or should I…”

Eugo proceeded to deck the lil shit in front of him. The bastard dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. A dull thud echoed outside, paired with a symphony of cracking bones. “Shit.” Eugo knew this would cause the Mutt’s parents to berate him later. 

Sick of his face and running out of names to call him, Eugo dragged George’s limp body outside, dropping him upon the metallic floor. Eugo felt a strong urge to bash the pomp-faced kid even more. 

Just observing his irritating face caused Eugo to question how such a creature could exist. Sprawled out below him, Eugo smirked down at his victim, his outline boldened by nearby candles.

Climbing down from his high horse Eugo was greeted with a pile of dusty grey stones…

Each day of Eugo’s life mostly consisted of shovelling coal, and on few occasions eating. Today was one such day, where other than the encounter with George; caused Eugo to see great interest in metal’s oxidation. 

His best friend stood beside him and was similarly bored with existence. 

She too had a golden shine hidden by a caustic layer, and stood long and tall, although she could also burn coal. Betty was a round steam engine who bumbled away at her duties loyally. Having partly created the machine Eugo would often place his achievements high on a pedestal.

Created from slabs of polished copper, rusted copper and slightly burnt copper, the machine mirrored Eugo’s haphazard style in fashion. Whether this justifies the glow in Eugo’s eyes whenever he observed the machine, is for society to decide.

Instead, George decided to pay a visit, and unfortunately this meant Eugo had to deal with him. He had seen the rat sneak into his home moments earlier and had hoped plain ignorance would’ve caused his departure. It did not.

Considering this was the first time Eugo had stopped shovelling coal in a few days he decided to take the time to stroll outside and maybe find some food; while escaping George’s parents. 

Born with an empty stomach and raised into a plume of steam, these traits seemed to define Eugo’s appearance from birth. Tall and thin with a face caked in soot, meant it was near impossible to find his onyx hair and eyes hiding in the common lamplight. 

Eugo had come to hate the sight of these candles outside, an unpleasant reminder of his monotonous day. Cursing the candlelight ahead of him, he vowed to one day escape the hideous contraptions.

Outside for the first time in a week, Eugo stopped to admire the Scorcher’s greatest creation. His eyes gleamed at the power of steam limitless and beautiful, the one luxury he could keep from the Spotless. 

In their grand castle at the centre of the city the Spotless were exactly as they sounded, living in their miraculously clean residence as though soot had never existed.

Simply known as “the castle” by most of the Scorchers, it stood several levels high above their lowly residences. There was only one notable entrance into the castle, and it was rarely found without an accompanying guard. While the Scorchers may have had spears and shovels, the spotless has guns, and lots of them.

Eugo was indifferent to the spotless, though they may live in “luxury” in their castle he never found himself batting an eye at them, although others did. He did concede that food suspiciously vanished in the presence of the Spotless, and Eugo also noted that the trail often led to the castle. 

Nonetheless it was a sight to behold, the grandeur the castle displayed overruled any power steam once had. Two hands wound themselves around the castle, screeching the time to those below. One of many landmarks that would render him breathless. What made it so notable was its contrast against the slums below.

Although Eugo didn't have time to do his usual walk in the dome, noting he would have to be home within an hour. The first few minutes of his walk had undergone the least change over the past nineteen years of his life. 

In the first kilometre he would encounter Gruff Joe “pissin’ in the sidewalk,” so many times that the ground had even gained a sulphur tone. Slightly further down was George’s shack, upon thought he could have carried him there… “That’s a shit idea Eugo.” Unintentionally voicing his opinions to those passing by.

While wandering he noticed a woman, she lay lonesome against a plank of metal. Ragged clothes laid upon pale skin, ill-fitting on the woman’s malnourished body. She rested beneath him, though of similar age. They wore similar clothes but differed in the cuts and tears found among them. They sported midnight tinted hair, yet it differed in length. 

He emitted life, yet...

The corpse was overlooked, the wandering eyes of pedestrians scanned past. Those that met the husk greeted it with ignorance or disgust. Eugo experienced a far-off emotion, uncertain and afraid he supressed it. His face tightened as a sharp tooth drew blood from the mouth. 

Limited by the weak bones that carried him he walked on. 

The sensation passed faster than a bullet, as the emotion disappeared faster than it had arrived. Colour had returned to his eyes, and the woman’s presence dissipated.

§

Eugo then began to approach on his Local Announcement Centre, littered with hundreds of small glass tubes originating from the castle. They carried letters and funnily enough announcements for the Scorchers below. 

Eugo didn’t think today was mail day… although he hadn’t looked at the clock for so long that he honestly had no clue. Not that he really cared about the capsules, they rarely contained anything important and tended to focus on the lack of food, which was fairly common.

Just last week… “was it last week?” this common habit of Eugo’s tended to cause several stray eyes to wander over. Either way, he reminisced to a message regarding the “increase in attempted food production has allowed for a cube of meat per person”. 

He never knew why it was always meat that came in cubes… admittedly he didn't care.

Eugo morbidly enjoyed the upcoming attraction of his walk, the Iron Maiden. Found on the very outskirts of the slums most tended to avoid it, or not encounter it at all. Especially considering slum’s function as a maze, most people memorized a path and stuck to it. Although the tight spaces often meant steam engines and/or sharp metal protruded from either side.

The Iron Maiden (named by yours truly) was a much more claustrophobic path than most. With glowing metal thorns decorated on either side the obstacle provided an enjoyable challenge to Eugo. 

He proudly wore the scars of this challenge on both arms. Other slips had caused blistered feet and once he almost lost an eye. Francis discovered the cause of the Iron Maiden’s heat to be a set of steam engines slightly below the surface. The harnessed heat crawled into the tips of the sharp prongs either side.

Eugo skidded past the spikes, carefully ensuring the ground didn’t burn through his worn sandals. For the first time in several years, he noticed how short the barbs had become, he assumed it had something to do with the heat. 

Continuing onwards Eugo made his way towards one of many town centres. Arriving at the center he noticed that a new store had opened, Yorlock’s Emporium. He knew Yorlock… he was most certainly insane, and that was all there way too him. Suffice to say he wasn’t visiting the new somehow brightly coloured store, although it was more varying shades of brown.

Other attractions in the town centre included several other questionable stores like Yorlock’s, a shovel-smith and a prostitute. Eugo knew most of the people throughout the town but remembering he had to finish his coal quota, a twist of his feet pointed him back home.

Jumping back past the Iron Maiden, collecting his daily announcement (food rations are staying steady) and avoiding Gruff Joe’s oddly lecherous gaze. Eugo entered his candle-free garage and found George to have disappeared to who knows where… although a trail of blood led out of the door. 

Back at home, he prepared himself to finish his coal quota. Such was life in the sunless dome, the steel sheets climbing endlessly into an abyss overhead. Only when the Scorchers worked at their best could you vaguely see the domes central point overhead. A lack of hard work meant an increase in candlelight, “so many fucking candles!”

Cursing the stubs of wax, he re-entered his home. Having inherited it from his father, it came with most basic living necessities… and a coal shovelling job. 

His home itself was fairly small, but it housed many important necessities for the boy. He owned many common items for a teen, such as a fire-poker, chisel, spear and shovel. He personally liked his shovel, it could both transport his essential coal, and attack Spotless bureaucrats. 

Other landmarks included a floor that had evolved from grey to brown, and a table which gave an average of four splinters per use.

Before getting back to work, Eugo always took some time to admire his work (…mainly Betty). Ever since he inherited Betty, he had made a multitude of modifications. Coated in a gleam of silver, and with twice the storage capacity; he felt himself blush at his own magnificence.

Something told him he should probably get back to work. Scooping some coal, watching it burn as the steam trailed away through a pipe. All the while staring blankly into wall ahead.