Sneaking Out

Noah was a heavier sleeper than I expected.

I waited until she fell asleep before grabbing my bag and heading to the bathroom. I knew there wasn't much time, it was already late into the night. I changed out of my pajamas and into my darkest clothes, tugging my sneakers on without bothering with socks. Peeking back into the room, I was glad to see that Noah was still sleeping.

Silently, I crept out of the bathroom and at the last minute decided to stuff my bag under my blanket. It was a bigger lump than I would have liked, but I was hoping to be back before Noah woke.

Slipping out into the hall, I found Tyler waiting for me. He glanced over to me, then hurried down the stairs to the bar. I followed him as quietly as I could.

The bar was dark and empty, the barkeep long gone. Luckily the door locked from the inside, and if there was any alarm system it wasn't being used. We managed to get outside without a problem, leaving the door unlocked behind us so we would be able to get back in.

The streets were eerily silent. The streetlamps and most of the lights in the buildings had been put out, leaving only the moon and stars to light our way.

"It shouldn't take us too long," Tyler said as we strode along the street. "Eventually we'll be found by the Fire Gang, find out if Damaen's got Lily, and rescue her."

"What then?" I asked, glancing down every side street we passed. "I doubt they'll just let us walk out."

"So we'll sneak," he said with a shrug. "We'll figure it out."

I sighed and nodded. Thinking back to the map I'd found, I watched the street signs, and turned down a street with a name I recognized.

"Where are we going?" Tyler asked as he trotted after me.

"The Citadel," I told him. "Mi'ta told me earlier that it used to be a hangout for criminals, but no one knows what it's used for anymore. I figure Damaen's probably made it his headquarters."

We continued through Senth, making our way to the Citadel. Once or twice we got lost, wandering around before we managed to find our way back to the main street. Three times we had to duck into an alley to hide from a police officer whizzing by on his hovering motorcycle. Only once did we see anyone else.

We spotted the two men in the town square, near the shapeless fountain. One was cleaning what looked like blood off a knife with his shirt. He was short with a wide chest and shoulders, his clothes unkempt. His companion was taller but just as wide, a pale scar across his expressionless face. He was apparently keeping watch, though he didn't notice Tyler and I hiding in the shadows of a building.

A third man was on the ground at their feet, lying in a growing puddle of dark blood. A gun had dropped several feet away, glinting coldly in the moonlight.

Tyler swore softly at the scene. I pulled him further into the shadows when the scarred man glanced our way.

"Well, that was fun," the shorter man said loudly, tucking his knife away. "Let's get back, before Damaen decides to skin us."

The scarred man's sweeping gaze fell on his companion. "What, Torik?" he asked flatly. "Are you afraid of Damaen?"

Torik bristled immediately. "No, I'm not afraid of him," he snarled. He turned and stalked away, toward one of the side streets.

"Aren't you going to finish him off?" the taller one asked, indicating the man on the ground. With a grimace, I realized the man was still alive, despite all the blood he'd lost.

"Let 'im bleed to death," Torik replied casually. With a shrug, the taller man followed him.

We waited until they wer gone before we rushed to the fallen man's side, kneeling next to him. His face was pale and sweaty and twisted with pain. His hair was matted to his face and neck. He gripped his stomach with both hands, his shirt stained red, blood seeping through his fingers.

"S**t," I muttered, panicking. The man was barely conscious, his breathing shallow. "What do we do?"

"I don't think there's anything we can do," Tyler said, pained. "He's lost too much blood. We'd have to get him to a hospital, and we don't know where one is. We'd probably kill him trying to move him."

"So what are we going to do, just let him die?" I asked shakily. Against my better reasoning, I lifted the man's hand, the limb slack in my fingers. A deep gash split his stomach, no longer bleeding.

"He's already dead, Jai," Tyler said quietly. "C-Come on, you're going to get all bloody..."

I hesitated, staring at the man, before gently lowering his arm. I stood and smoothed down my shirt, mostly for something to do with my trembling hands. It was hard to swallow, my heart racing in my chest, but I did my best to calm down. I spotted the gun on the ground and picked it up, looking it over. It was small and smooth, uncomfortable in my hand, but I'd rather have a mismatched weapon than none at all.

"What are we going to do now?" Tyler asked, watching me.

I sighed and tucked the gun under my belt, hiding it under my shirt. I gave one last glance to the dead man before turning to Tyler. "We're going to find Damaen."

We managed to catch up with Torik and his companion, keeping to the shadows and running as lightly as we could. When we found them, they had reached a tall white building. There were no windows, and a single wooden door that the two men entered through.

"That must be the Citadel," I said, nearing the buidling cautiously. I avoided the door, moving along the wall until I reached the edge. Around the corner the building continued on, forming a large square.

"So you were right," Tyler said. "What do we do now? I doubt we'll be allowed to just walk in."

"You're right," a voice said suddenly, and we whirled around.

Four men stood behind us, regarding us with suspicious interest. By their rough appearances, dirty skin and ragged clothes, I assumed that they were part of the gang.

"You two are awfully bold, coming here alone so late at night," the man in front said. He was big, tall and wide, his head shaved bald. A gun as long as his arm hung across his broad back.

The men behind him were slightly less fearsome, but only slightly. They were all strong, with mean-looking eyes. Two of them appeared to be of the same race, with green skin and brown hair in dreadlocks as thick as my wrist. The last of them had tan skin with a faint tinge of purple, and a third eye in the middle of his forehead.

For a moment, I was too surprised and nervous to speak. I barely noticed as Tyler neared me protectively. When I managed to find my voice, I hoped I sounded braver than I felt when I asked, "Where's Damaen?"

"What's it to you, little girl?" the bald man sneered, unsurprised, as though he'd anticipated my question. He eyed me with cold amusement.

I thought quickly, knowing my answer could either save our lives or get us killed on the spot. I carefully kept my nervousness from my eyes as I avoided breaking eye-contact with the bald man. "We want to join the gang," I said finally.

Tyler's hand tightened slightly around my arm.

The bald man and the two green men looked surprised. The three-eyed man merely watched me, his face blank. He almost looked bored.

"Really." The bald man raised an eyebrow, considering us. "Why's that?"

"We want to see Damaen," Tyler insisted.

"Persistent," the bald man observed, and I couldn't determine if he was annoyed or amused. He glanced to the three-eyed man, who simply stared in return, before he shrugged and turned back to us. "Very well," he said to my surprise. "We'll take you to Damaen.

The green men looked at him in surprise. The three-eyed man merely stared, completely unfazed. Ignoring his companions, the bald man led us into the Citadel without another word.

Tyler and I exchanged a glance before hurrying after him.

The interior of the building wasn't what I expected. There was a large room that was almost bare, a few desks and chairs scattered about, coated in a layer of dust. The bald man led us across the room, revealing a staircase that was half-hidden behind one of the desks. We followed him down the stone steps, Tyler lingering close to my side.

The staircase was long and dark, making me feel claustrophobic. Tyler's hand tight around mine didn't help, but I brushed off the feeling and gripped his fingers in return.

Finally, a light appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Soft voices reached my ears, though they quieted when whoever was down there heard our footsteps. As we reached the bottom of the stairs I looked around, squinting in the light as I observed our new surroundings.

We were in a large room, almost twice the size of the room above us, several doors lining the walls. Wooden tables and chairs were scattered about, some of them on their sides, looking dejected. A large bonfire burned in the center of the room, giving off waves of heat. A black tapestry hung from the wall, a picture of a flame sewn into it. The room was almost full of men and women observing our arrival; in a far corner I spotted Torik and his scarred companion, watching us.

"Damaen, these kids are here to see you."

A loud bang puncuated the bald mans' sentence. He fell against the stairs and almost immediately went limp, blood blossoming across his chest.

Tyler swore, and I pushed him back against the wall, moving in front of him. I turned to run, ready to push him up the stairs ahead of me, but stopped when I found we were still surrounded by the bald man's three companions.

"Plenty of people come to see me," a voice said. "That doesn't mean you should actually bring them down here." There was a loud sigh. "Bring them over."

A hand jabbed my back, pushing me forward. Tyler clung to my hand, staying close to me as we were directed past several of the gang members. We were put in front of an older man with shaggy blond hair, who was cleaning a gun with his shirt.

It was a moment before I realized that this was the man who had spoken. "Where's Damaen?" I asked, my throat tightening with dread.

The man glanced up, his eyes cold and glaring. "I am Damaen."

"You aren't," Tyler protested, sounding as panicked as I was beginning to feel. "Damaen was taller, and had red hair."

"I see." Damaen tucked his gun under his belt and crossed his thick arms over his chest. "So I guess that in your desperate search, the possibility of there being two people with the same name completely passed you by."

My blood ran cold, and my mind became blank.

'Oh god, what have we gotten ourselves into now?'

"They said they wanted to join the gang," one of the green-skinned men said. This drew faint laughter from many of the people in the room.

"Really." Damaen observed us and didn't look impressed. "Why?"

"We like violence," I said without thinking, still dazed. It earned another bout of laughter, though I suspected this one was with me instead of against me.

Damaen snorted at that. "Do you?"

"Do you think this blood is hers?" Tyler asked suddenly, pointing to my shirt. "We killed a guy."

I blinked and looked down, surprised to find blood staining my shirt and hands. It confused me, until I remembered handling the dead man in the square. I tried to hide how sick I felt.

"Hm." Damaen examined my bloody shirt, then looked at the three-eyed man behind me. "Test them."

I felt the man's gaze on my back and froze. It was only a few seconds before the stare passed, and I could relax a little. I wasn't sure how we would be tested, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"They're lying," the man said suddenly. "They didn't kill anyone." He paused. "And the girl's got a gun."