Shadow Thief

1 - The Thief

When I heard the thumping of footsteps, I turned to see police filing behind a slowly moving carriage. Oh shit! Did the man I kill really mean that much? Was he some kind of noble? I'd have to lay low for a while.

I made the hour long run to the slums on the roofs of houses. I was welcomed by the slipping of a few ceiling tiles when I reached my district, the Orchid district. Seriously, it was called Orchid. Most of the districts were named based off parts of plants or flowers. Orchid was on the west side of the city. To the north was Rosemary, to the south Evergreen, and to the east was Maple. On the dead center of the city, where I'd just came from, was the Pacific Rose. You wanna know what they names it after? A freakin Apple. Yes there's an apple named the pacific rose. And that's also the name of the center of our city. I guess it's better than banana, but still.

I'd switched from the roofs to the streets, not having to worry about the police chasing me. I tapped my purse where the ring, pages, and watch still sat comfortably.

It's been a long time since any police've made their way around here. This districts overrun by crime and the government gave up on it. It also meant that we had to make money for ourselves cause the government didn't support us. Thievery became a common source of income for a lot of us. However, the second we stepped foot into wealthier districts we were free game and usually got arrested. Well, not me.

Before I went out to sell my wares, I went home to change out of this dress. I walked down the center of the street, the sides were too crowded with couples and stalls. Down the centers I had to dodge men and women on horses, running children, pickpockets and the wandering hands of drunken men.

When I finally reached my house which was in a less crowded part of the district, I pulled out my key and opened the door. I had to force the rusted aluminum door open, but I managed to slip in. The inside of my house consisted of a bed and a bathroom, seriously that's it. Unlike a lot of the city, I had running water so I didn't worry much about that. Here in Orchid, we'd managed to come up with our own water supply facilities without the governments help. It was actually a bit cheaper because it used water from a river that flowed through the area.

I know what you're thinking, they have running water and they still use horses? What time period is this?

To answer that question, it's 2138. A while ago, when they realized how polluted the world was becoming, the government outlawed the use of cars in fear that the pollution would start acting as poison and attack our lounges. Eventually, they found that the power plants were starting to store an 'unsafe' amount of electricity and if it kept going on like that, it's cause a mass explosion, and I mean on a nuclear level, that would kill most of the population. Oops.

After changing from my shiny green dress into a T-shirt and jeans, my comfy clothes and the only pair of jeans I had, I left my house once again. By now, the sun was already down and the sky had filled with stars. They were much brighter after pollution and electricity use went down. Living in this screwed up society wasn't actually that bad. I'd learned to make the most of my pathetic little life.

Anyway, I walked down the streets, my black converse making footprints in the mud. I made a few turns, dodging a few more pickpockets and finally turned into a building without a name. When the door opened the little bell in the corner made a small ding. The man behind the counter looked at me and then smiled.

"Hey there, little miss!" Ravi was, in a way, one of the few friends I could actually trust. Ironically, he worked in the blackmarket, one of the shadiest businesses in the city of Lament.

"Ravi! How's business?" I made my way over to him.

"Good, good. Now, what've you got for me today Miss Shadow?"

With a Cheshire smile, I set the ring and watch onto the counter. With a warm smile, he took the ring and inspected it closely. He turned it over and upside down looking at the inside of the silver but mostly the jewel. Next he took the watch, opening it and making sure it worked and then playing with the chain.

"Alright." He wasn't wearing his usually smile which concerned me. "I can only give you three hundred for the watch."

"What!? Come on Ravi can't you give me like a friends deal or something? Do you have those?"

"Sorry but I don't."

"Well can you make one just for me?"

"I'm sorry, Shadow, this is the best I can give you for the watch."

He let me sulk in my own self pity for a minute before he smiled again.

"The ring, however, I can give you ten thousand pages for."

"Seriously!? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, that's a loot of money, but ten thousand- that's a fourth of my bounty!"

"Well, it's an emerald so it'd be highway robbery not to give you anything less. I'll go grab your money."

He went back into his shop and came back carrying a wad of pages.

"In cash, just how you like it."

With a smile and a thanks, I shoved the wad of cash back into my bag and left. Ravi's always been good to me, he's always given me the best deals since I came in ten years ago with a gun. Oh, did I forget to mention? Guns were outlawed across the globe. People thought it'd help end wars. It didn't, wars are just a hell of a lot longer now and more gruesome.

When I reached home, I dumped my money in my safe and closed the door. I plopped onto my bed and drifted off into dreamland.