Rusting Chains

Chapter 2

Burning, burning were my bare feet from all the running, but I couldn't stop, I couldn't stop or else I'd get caught. It didn't help that the sun was at its peak and the road was made of stones, yet it didn't stop me from running as fast as my stubby feet could. I dropped a few pieces of jewelry on my way, but it's fine; it's only cheap jewelry that the merchant would overprice just for the sake of profit. I continue to run, even bumping into vendors trying to make a living out of their small carts and weighing scales.

"I'm sorry," I yelled back at the vendors, who gave me angry looks. It didn't bother me if they tried to chase me or hunt me down with pitchforks or blades; I could easily outrun any of them on any day of the week.

I hurried into a dark alleyway and climbed a rusty ladder that was usually there when I wanted to get a good look at my surroundings. I stuffed the jewels into my duffle bag and threw them on my back before I started to grab the ladder and make my way to the rooftop. The town wasn't that big, but it was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. Although there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the view was beautiful to look at, you could see the river that separated the land from the other tribes. To my right was a fast ocean filled with wonder and mystery while ships stayed afloat on its mirroring surface, and to my left were mountains of varying sizes, each coated with green that stretched as far as I could see.

I started to catch my breath as I held onto the duffle bag of jewels. I never thought I would see myself going down the path of thievery, but I can't just go back now.

It had been a year since getting kicked out of the orphanage. Miss Agatha was through with us and tossed us out in the rain along with the rest of what we had left. I was able to find a place where my brothers and I could stay until we got back on our feet.

As luck would have it, Mai, Zai, Pai, and I found an abandoned garage with plenty of unused stuff. "Wow! I wonder who used to keep all this stuff!" Mai said, climbing on a pile of boxes. I told them to be careful since some of the boxes were written with warning signs like DO NOT TOUCH or SHARP OBJECTS. I guess that was enough to have them settle down.

"It looks pretty decent for a home," Pai said, moving a few boxes aside. We started to clean things up and even found some discarded furniture and made that garage into our new home, at least until I found a new place for us to stay. But it's what worked at the time.

I sat up on the roof of the house and noticed a cloud in the shape of a cat playing with a ball of yarn; how cute. I thought before remembering I was resting on a bag of heavy jewels. I jumped down and started to stealthily run to a different street. It was empty, and that's usually a good sign.

A shadow loomed over me as I walked down the empty road. "Whatcha got there this time, Gai?" A loud and haughty voice spoke from behind. "This?" I said, pointing to the bag. "Just something the boss would want since he's having a guest later," I said, patting the bag. "It better be something good."

Going down a path of thievery is one thing, but joining a gang is another. After finding a place to stay, I would go out and about to find a job, but I guess not many places are open to kids my age; they would ask for a diploma or a certificate of graduation before I could apply anywhere. And don't get me started on the education. Imagine not being able to get a job just because you had to re-take a year in preliminary school. That's just outrageous!