New Gods of North America.

Chapter 672 Fireworks
It was completely dark when the Oburn family huddled around the dining table, performing their usual pre-dinner prayers.
Ten-year-old Owen had always thought this kind of thing was meaningless, but most Erlan families in the community had this habit, so he had long since become accustomed to it and continued to do it as usual.

This is common in families who believe in the Holy Spirit, and it is said that many native Americans do this daily as well.
Unfortunately, the ideas adopted by the Erlan people seem to come from a place called the "Holy Church," which is said to differ from the Church of Windsor and the Church of the Holy Spirit in the New World in many aspects, and believers may even become enemies because of this.

It's strange that even though everyone worships the same "one true God" and uses the exact same parts of the Bible, there's an inexplicable underlying hostility between them.
I heard from the adults that the Erlans were targeted by the Kingdom of Windsor in the Old World, and they were also difficult to be accepted by the Americans in the New World. However, because of the differences among a small number of people, they were able to enjoy the treatment of pagans.

According to the brothers' jokes, it's only because it's no longer the dark Middle Ages that we're left, otherwise everyone might still be waging a "holy war" against each other.
So they all advised Irving to stay away from strangers who approached him about faith, saying that those people were definitely not good people.

After the prayers, everyone began to have dinner together.
The Oburn family wasn't considered a "large family" in the community. Owen was his parents' sixth child. Although his father was getting older, thanks to his older siblings, the family ate quite well. At least Owen didn't have to worry about going hungry like some of his peers in the community.
The main dish was still boiled potatoes, accompanied by a traditional stew soup. However, today the soup was luxuriously topped with chunks of meat and butter. Although not much, it was a hearty meal for a non-holiday occasion.

Irving used a wooden spoon to ladle the thick soup onto the potatoes, then took a big, delicious bite, finding it exceptionally sweet.

The father, who was no longer able to do heavy physical work due to his injuries, didn't seem to be in a very good mood at the moment.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking to his eldest son: "Ryan, I heard that your Mr. O'Sullivan was taken away by the local police today?"

Owen saw his elder brother nod, and then his sister-in-law smiled and said, "Father, it's rare that Ryan has time to rest at home today, so let's not talk about work anymore. Try the soup I made today; I added a lot of meat to it."

The father took a bite and even praised it, but couldn't help asking again, "I heard they're targeting gangs in the dock area this time. It shouldn't affect you, right? If it really doesn't work out, you can find another job."

The older brother forced a smile: "It's alright, you don't need to worry. Mr. O'Sullivan is just cooperating with the investigation, he'll be released on bail soon. Ava heard them say that today, you don't need to pay attention to those rumors."

The other brothers echoed their eldest brother's words. The father, who was already quiet, fell silent after that, burying his head in his food.

Irving didn't pay much attention to these things. However, after dinner, his older brother came over and chatted with him, telling him to stay home as much as possible for the next few days, and even secretly slipped him a few candies.

That's why Irving noticed his eldest brother, along with his second brother Rowan and fourth brother Osin, before going to sleep, seemingly preparing to go out.
Nighttime lighting was expensive, so except when having dinner together, the kerosene lamps in the house were never turned up too bright, in order to save more money to buy food, so everyone went to bed early.

Owen leaned over curiously and asked a question. His older brother Ryan patted his head, signaling him to be quiet: "We still have work to do. You're a little man now, and you need to be responsible for protecting others at home."

With not enough rooms in the house, Owen returned to his little space at the bottom of the stairs, sucking on a candy, and noticed that everyone seemed a bit strange today.
So he tossed and turned in his little bed a few times, and finally decided to sneak out to see what his brothers were up to.

……

The community is large enough that Irving and his friends could play there all day long.

However, when he saw his brothers gathering with a group of people and leaving the community in batches, he hesitated for a moment.

His family never allowed him to leave the community without permission, especially his usually mild-mannered older brother Ryan, who would get very angry every time he saw him.
So Irving, who was familiar with the route, didn't follow too closely, but just watched them from a distance. Several times he was almost spotted by Ryan, who was looking back.

After that, Irving watched Blood and Fire.

What appeared first was fire, and fireworks at that, rising far away in another direction from the dock area.
Ryan and his team quietly worked outside a house for a while. After glancing at the sky, they quickened their pace. Then, a fire lit up, drawing a trail in the air before landing and creating a bright, ever-expanding area.

Exclamations and curses rang out, followed by two or three people rushing out. Ryan and his group hid in the shadows. The figures drew near to each other and then moved away again, creating an even louder commotion.

Those who emerged quickly collapsed one after another, pools of blood slowly flowing from beneath them, spreading like shadows in the firelight.

Screams soon came from inside the house, people were rushing towards them from the other end of the street, and then a cry of "Help!" Owen saw fireworks rising into the sky.

"Bang—" "Bang."

Two fireworks exploded one after the other, one at a distance and the other at a distance. The distant one was quite a distance away from the previous one.

A while ago, when Irving was at home, he also saw fireworks rising everywhere at night, but at the time, he did not realize that the fireworks that bloomed so beautifully in the night sky actually represented such a meaning.

Irving panicked; his legs seemed to go weak. Ryan and the others had run in a farther direction, and he dared not continue following.

So he could only turn back quickly in the alley, retracing his steps to get home as fast as possible and forget what he had just seen.

This wasn't done by Ryan and his team.

I didn't see anything.

You absolutely mustn't tell anyone, not even your father, he'll worry.
In particular, he couldn't let his youngest sister, Saoirse, know that that wretched woman, Owen, wet the bed once in a while, and the next morning she could make him the laughingstock of the whole neighborhood while she was doing her needlework.

Then, as soon as Irving returned to the neighborhood, he saw fireworks rising in front of him.

A louder commotion arose from a distance. From houses in the nearby blocks, several men, cursing and carrying sticks, emerged from their homes and went into the street, seemingly searching for the perpetrator.
Irving took a detour, intending to avoid his familiar yet angry neighbors and prevent them from wondering why he was there so late.

Unexpectedly, he had only run around two corners when he was knocked down by a figure in the alley.

"Damn it!" The other person was also knocked back by Irving.

"This child also looks like an Erlan."

"Let's do it while we're at it. Hurry up, those guys are still looking for us."

A figure in the group quickly turned and walked towards Irving. Irving had just jumped up to try and escape when the other person kicked him in the chest.
Owen's buttocks hit the ground, and pain shot through his entire back. He could only scramble backward, trying to get away from the dagger the other man was holding.

A large foot stomped hard on his abdomen, and a gleaming blade stabbed down from above, seemingly aimed at his throat.
"boom!"

Another firework burst in the night sky, but Owen heard gunshots nearby.

The dagger was spun around and knocked away, striking the ground with a metallic sound. The hand that had been holding it was now covered in blood, with drops of blood splattering onto Owen's face.

A man wearing a red armband appeared on the other side of the alley, the muzzle of his revolver still smoking.
Owen knew this was another unpleasant outsider in the community, but he had heard from Ciarán, a big kid in the neighborhood, that if he cooperated with these people, they would at least not hurt the Erlan people without reason like other gangs.

The other person looked like a valiant swordsman from a story, walking alone towards the group of villains who had turned around at the commotion:

"Don't move! I'll try my best to get you to the gallows alive."

(End of this chapter)