Leo was visibly shaken as his hands frantically dug the mask out of the garbage. He quickly glanced at each side and made sure not to raise his hands out of the trolly. The mask looked like it had seen better days, and was covered in grime, but it was unmistakably a pure mask.
Taking off one of his gloves discretely he touched the smooth and strange material with wonder. Everyone in the slums had obviously seen a white mask before, in fact every single member of the puritans wore a pure mask on their face. However, most were familiar with the white masks of the guard.
But to actually touch one, and hold it in their hands?
Extraordinarily rare, but not unheard of.
The 3 largest gangs in this section of the slums all had a singular pure mask, the abilities of them were unknown to the general populace, but just having one was seen as a trump card that enforced their authority in the slums. Granted, if the puritans were to find out that not one, but three pure masks were in the hands of the slumfolk, the streets would be flowing in rivers of blood.
But against all odds, Leo had one in his hands!
He was unsure of what to do, and so Leo quickly stuffed the mask into his clothing. Such a sight of someone stuffing something into their clothing was not entirely uncommon, so Leo didn't particularly arouse any suspicion, even if anyone had been paying attention to him. The dump workers had a sort of unspoken agreement to leave one another alone if they noticed someone stuffing a piece of garbage away for later.
Leo had never fully appreciated the custom until now. His baggy clothing hid the mask quite easily, and unless one looked closely, they would never suspect that he had a pure mask on his person. The feeling of unease and wrongness that the mask gave him did not go away upon hiding it, instead it only worsened. Suppressing the urge to vomit from the feeling, he continued his work.
It was times like this that Leo was glad that everyone in this cursed city wore a mask, as no one would be able to see how pale his face was. Every moment with this unnatural thing against his skin was sending shivers down his entire being, and just when he thought he wouldn't last another moment he felt a hardy smack across his back. Looking back with unease he saw the familiar light-yellow cat shaped mask of his friend Cal.
The unusual shape was a dead giveaway in this place and most people in this section of the slums knew exactly who wore that mask. Cal thought it well worth the effort though, as he had spent a considerable amount of time carving a piece of wood into the proper shape before painting it the customary yellow that all the dump workers painted on their masks.
'Dumpsters' was the unofficial gang name that people called the dump workers, though they would never call themselves that, and some of them were even members of other gangs. So, while not a gang proper, they had each other's backs in a pinch.
The majority of this unity formed from when a small gang tried to steal the dump's work uniforms a few years before Leo joined. A couple of small fist fights later and the unity was solidified. Since then, a few different gangs tried their hands at stealing from the dump, but they were taken down without fail every time.
"Hey, city to Leo, ya there bud?" Cal waved his hand in front of Leo's face.
Shaking his head, Leo pushed his friends hand out of the way.
"Yeah, I'm here, just feeling a little lightheaded. I woke up late."
Leo was truly not feeling his best, though while that was originally from starving, a majority of it was now from the disturbing unease the mask was giving him. Not to mention, his nerves being on edge from the daunting task he had of keeping this thing hidden ahead of him. Maybe one day he could tell his friend of his find but today was not that day.
Cal put his hand up to his chin "Same here, I had to run to make it to the dump before the gates closed. Maybe we get lucky, and those bastards disposed of some food."
The pair sighed in unison. Both knew that it was going to be a long day.
"You going to go get a trolly or did you just come here to help me with this one?" Leo asked as he pulled another piece of garbage out to be sorted.
"I think I'll grab a trolly, more chances of some food don't ya think?" Leo could practically hear the grin on Cal's face.
"Alright then, get lost then, I'll see you in a few."
With a nod and a fist bump Cal started to walk over to find an empty trolly.
Left alone with his thoughts once more Leo could have sworn that he saw something dart across the room from out of the corner of his eye.
Great, I'm seeing things now too.
A few minutes of sorting later he finally heard the familiar sound of squeaky wheels coming towards him. Looking over he saw his friend riding the trolly like it was a toy. As Cal neared, Leo held up a moldy piece of bread in triumph.
Leo ripped off the moldy sections of the bread before splitting it for himself and Cal. The bread was hard and stale, but it was able to alleviate the hunger that had been eating at him all morning. Even this stale moldy bread was better than nothing.
The pair enjoyed their respective pieces in silence as Cal positioned hit trolly into the sorting table next to Leo. Cal gave out a satisfied sigh, well, as much as he could muster with his mostly empty stomach, as he finished off his piece of bread.
"So, I heard you've been a busy boy, hanging out with a lady and all." Cal said mischievously.
"Who the hell told you that?" Leo exclaimed.
"Oh, a lil birdy I know saw you and a certain Haily spending some time together on our last day off. Ya better hurry up there bud, you better mask her up before some other guy beats you to it."
Leo could feel his face flush red but maintained his composure.
"Yeah? I could say the same about you, when are you masking up Katie. It's been what two or three years now you've been seeing her?" Leo yelled loud enough for the other dump workers to hear.
"First off, keep you voice down" Cal said very seriously, "Second off, fuck you, I'm working on it."
The pair burst out into a laugh as they continued to sort the trash. Leo was certain that Cal really meant what he said. When Cal and Katie first started seeing each other, Cal came into work and told Leo right away that this was the girl he was going to give a mask.
Giving a mask, or masking, was the slumfolks tradition of pairing with each other as a family unit. There was no particular ceremony, just give the girl a mask that you make yourself and if she accepts then you both begin to live together. Leo has heard of a similar tradition that the puritans performed call marriage, but he wasn't sure about the mechanics as all the puritans wore those unnatural white masks.
He wasn't sure if things were going to get to that point with Katie, as they've only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks. Now that Leo thought about it though, he was about the same age that his father was when he gave a mask to Leo's mother.
Masking, huh.
"Leeeeeeoooooo, what are ya thinking about there bud?"
"I just realized, I turn 20 this year meanwhile my dad and mom masked up at 21."
"You've been thinking a lot today. Leaving me lonely over here, I might catch a cold." Cal hugged himself and began to shiver.
Leo chuckled and punched him in the arm "Yeah yeah yeah."
***
As the day progressed, Leo's condition continued to worsen, only managing to stay functioning due to his friend's attentiveness and their conversation. The pair had managed to find another 2 pieces of food thrown out by the puritans that weren't completely rotted and still edible, which was a great boon to both of their moods.
Cal could tell something was wrong but simply assumed that Leo was coming down with a sickness. It wasn't entirely uncommon in the slums, and Cal himself has had a few days in his life where he also fell awfully ill. His goal at that point was just to make sure Leo could make it through the day so that he could afford dinner and shelter for next few days.
At one point, Leo's began to have difficulty with some of the trash and the pair simply merged their trolly piles to finish the day. The two of them clocked out, collected their pay for the day and headed towards the exit as the gates began to open.
Leo's body was dripping in sweat as they walked out; his inner set of clothing were soaked through long ago from the pressure the mask was pushing onto body. Leo had been drinking the water provided, but even then, his lips were parched. He even spent money on an additional ration of water which made Cal extremely worried about Leo's wellbeing.
In the end though, Leo never brought it up and Cal didn't force the issue.
Leo originally had plans with Haily tonight, but he didn't dare risk exposing her to the masks terrible influence. Walking to the meeting location the pair had discussed at their last outing; Leo sat there and began waiting.
He eyes felt extremely heavy, his body felt cold and the mask presence crushing his soul.
How the hell do those damn puritans wear these things all day every day!
Leo cursed those wicked bastards. Maybe this mask was especially defective, why else would it be thrown out without being properly destroyed if it wasn't? As he thought about it though, Leo came to a realization. What if the mask only exuded a presence on those not wearing the mask?
A hint of greed flashed in his eyes. He looked around to see if Haily was in sight. Still not here, but that was to be expected, Leo was early due to clocking out sooner than usual after all.
Trying to stand up, Leo's legs felt like those granite statues that the puritans insist on placing on buildings. Impossibly heavy, and absolutely unmoving.
He strained but was eventually able to stand. Leo looked around and ducked into the first dark alley he could see.
Leo pushed himself into the dark corners trying to find a semblance of privacy, before retrieving the mask from underneath his clothing. His fingers trembled as he took off his own mask revealing a disfigured face.
Black hair that has clearly not been combed his entire life, a crooked nose from repeated fights, large and heinous scars given so graciously from his torture at the hands of the puritans, and slim cheeks brought to him by the brutal lifestyle of one who lived in the slums. All things considered, Leo was considered quite attractive by slumfolk standards.
Turning the mask over Leo saw red symbols on the inside of the mask, but they made no sense to him, nor could he read to begin with. As he brought it to his face, Leo felt like he couldn't breath due to the crushing feeling of unease and otherworldliness that the pure mask exuded.
Yet he persisted, placing the mask onto his face. Unlike the crappy masks the slumfolk wore, it didn't need a strap to hold it in place. Instead, it just rested on his face like it belonged, as if falling off of a face was beneath it.
Then Leo heard an unfamiliar voice talk, squarely and unmistakenly directed towards himself.
"Hey, you. Over there crouched down with a dumpster mask in your hand, you're in the Hollow's territory. You best be ready to pay tribute for walking down our lane."