Prologue

It’s not fair that Rose has to live like this. Hells, she’s only six-years old! Our side of Blackwater is no place for her. She is head-strong though, nothing ever seems to faze her. I stay awake at night wondering how she could possibly sleep through the noises of the drunks walking through the street, pissing and shouting abuse. Sometimes they shout at no one, sometimes themselves; they like to sing too and more than often a fight will break out. And when they clear off, the howls from the Goners " those sick-in-the-head folk from the Hold " echo and vibrate through the walls. It gives me a headache, I wonder if they’re trying to infect me with their sickness. Rose once told me she doesn’t like it when it gets too quiet. I laughed at her: it’s never quiet.

Aside from the noise, it’s the smell that keeps me awake. The putrid odour of rotting human waste will never be something my nose will just ‘get used to’. I think she doesn’t mind it because she doesn’t remember a time when it was any different. Sometimes, I think it’s a good job that she can’t see how filthy our den is. When I asked her how she gets to sleep, she told me it was easy because she knew I was there to protect her.

But I can’t protect her from sickness. She was sick for over a week the last time she grazed her knee. What if next time that happens, I get sick too? Who will look after her then? We haven’t really got any friends left since Lysa was accepted by the Matrons. Sol and Jaren disappeared a month before she left too, we’ll never see them again. Us Rats go missing all of the time. We don’t have families to report us missing and the Guards don’t care enough about us to remember to do anything. They hate us all because we cause them the most trouble. Stealing isn’t an ideal way to live, but most of the time we don’t have any other options.

It’s dangerous though, I’ve known Rats meet fates worse than starving to death when an angry landlord has found them somewhere they weren’t supposed to be.

Most of the time I think we’d be better off without the other Rats, and even though Rose misses Lysa something fierce, and it was nice to have someone to look after her when I couldn’t, now she’s left, I think we have to leave too. The other Rats at The Shelter pick on Rose. She acts like she doesn’t care, and maybe it’s because she’s too young to, but one day she will, and soon. Soon the teasing and name-calling will turn into torment, beatings and much worse than I want to think about. I hate them anyway, I hate them all. The Rats, the Guards, everyone in this stinking, flea-ridden town. Blackwater is a disgusting place, and I need to get Rose out of it.

Author's Note

This is the only chapter that is in first person, I'm not sure entirely if it works, but I feel it does add a little something into the character of Kael, before I get into the story. What do you think?

Reviews

[Joel]

I like all the capitalized insider terms that tease the reader into wanting more. You have a first person narrator kind of summarizing the fictional universe. Could you anchor these summative observations to a specific scene/event happening in the now? Also, can we know right away the relationship to the speaker and Rose? Either he tells us she is his sister or just a physical description of whether they are near each other, are they doing something together etc.,I like the details and the very dark world. I get the feeling of a down and out somebody with a high level of understanding of their current environment which is always a fun POV.

[Sarah Wilson]

Very teasing! get you hooked! Good job! Maybe describe the shelter or something just to get the reader more "in the scene"?

[Ella]

I think it sounds amazing so far. I like the first person because i can get a feeling of the character on a more personal level. Awesome!

[Jonny B. Mitchell]

I love being able to feel, smell and hear everything that I am reading. I can relate and it makes for a very good piece. I really dig it. Great job!

[James Grey]

Thank you very much!

[S. Moncayo]

I really like how it starts off in first person... It gives you an opportunity to feel sympathy and empathy for the character. Fantastic Work!

Is the beginning a typo? Hell is not plural. Or is it a type of slang?

[James Grey]

Thank you very much :) If you enjoy it, please keep reading! Also, 'Hells' is a slang term.