What Makes a Hero?

Ideally, for your enjoyment - an excerpt from Chapter 3 of my current project "Rumjack" (publishing 2016).

Rumjack is the origin story of a Victorian era vigilante of sorts - perhaps the world's first "steampunk superhero." And for the history buffs, I've strived to be as historically accurate as possible (for a fictional adventure story). For context, the protagonist "Ethan" has lost his memory, only to find himself alone and lost in the squalor of Five Points, a slum notorious for it crime and disease:

"Five Points?" Ethan asked.

Dermott replied by extended his arm, truncheon still in hand, and Ethan stumbled forward. The two officers watched suspiciously until finally disappeared around the corner.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," said Dermott.

"Ain't that the truth," said his companion.

Ethan turned the corner and kept walking, not sure where to go or when to stop. He crossed each street, pausing from time to time. Mulberry Street. Little Water Street. Anthony Street. Cross Street. Orange Street. He walked this circuit more times than he could count, and still dazed, finally stopped. He tried to take in his surroundings, make sense of it all. The very weight of all the misery and sins of the world seemed to be crushing this place. Rooftops and eaves sagged and leaned at precarious angles, beams visibly rotting. Patched and broken windows. Narrow alleys adjoining streets, both reeking with dirt and filth. Tottering ramshackle stairways crawled up the sides of these buildings, leading from the squalid streets to even less reputable places. The place was wholly loathsome and decayed, save for a mission house in the distance shining like a gold coin on the edge of a cesspool.

"Rumjack" ©2015 By James Stover. All Right Reserved.