Others

      Orvud was a quiet city of the inner wall of Sina. Its northern location provided a quiet life for its inhabitants, as quiet as it could be within walls behind which titans walked, hungry to eat people. The garrison of this city had proven itself to be at least inexperienced, if not inept. The police corps was a bit more skilled, aided by the crime that occasionally leaked out of the Underground City. Mostly theft and robbery, less often murder. Murders. No doubt Orvud was much safer in that regard, than neighboring Mitra, where not only civilians, but also Military Police officers and high-ranking officials had been killed recently. There were already rumors that it was all the work of one man, and while the people above the ground didn’t know much about him yet, the people of the Underground City knew much more about him and called him Kenny the Ripper.       They knew that he worked only for himself, that he was cold-blooded and calculating, that he was cruel sometimes just on a whim, that he trusted no one. However, he was sometimes seen in the taverns, where he would go in his hat and long bloodstained cloak for a drink of whiskey, and then occasionally head to a whorehouse. He did so without fear, because he knew: no one would dare touch him. He was feared and respected in equal measures. No one wanted to breathe through a cut across the throat. He was reckoned to be able to commit a series of murders in the most important, most guarded city of Mitras, where the royal family lived. Not everyone had been able to travel to the capital, surrounded by high walls and vigilant military guards, without repercussions.       Not that the Ripper was the only lawbreaker to rise through the mud, but he was undoubtedly the most successful and famous. There were others, most often small groups of people who made a living out of breaking the law, sometimes of their own free will and desires, sometimes hired by the rich from above. These consisted of the dregs of society, street children, who had no other way, but to steal. They were of no use to anyone, but maybe to each other, realizing that by sticking together they were increasing their chances of survival in this dirty and unfair world. One of these groups consisted of six people, whose ages ranged from thirteen to nineteen. A boy of thirteen named Matt and his friend of fourteen William, a girl of sixteen called Kiva, brothers of seventeen: Josh and Jim, and the oldest and most important Al. And none of them had any idea, how a few days of being in Orvud were going to develop. Al, a tall and fair-haired young man with green eyes, had lived the longer of them all, and they trusted the leadership to him unconditionally. He’d been able to bring them together, make himself known to several gangs. And they were in sufficient demand by the standards of the underground to be rewarded with a life without hunger, even if only for a while.       The eldest among them, he usually negotiated the assignments and planned the job, and this usually led to their success. They were almost always hired for burglaries, but there were occasions, when they were called in by larger gangs for tasks such as distracting the police, while the others did their jobs without the eyes of the cops. Today they had been hired for a very unusual purpose. “Yeah, quite an unusual job,” Kiva thought as she walked down the street to the meeting point with the others. The second in command of this squad was the lowly Kiva. She occupied the role of Al’s right hand, and because she had a shrewd mind and coolness, she was able to look at the situation from a different point of view.       But her comrades in arms and misfortune considered her main trait to be the general understanding, that shone in her dark blue eyes, often half-closed as if from boredom. It was sometimes disconcerting; with all her bored look she never missed any of the details. She knew, how to calm Al down, when his rage exceeded the bounds of reason, because she realized, that this rage was caused primarily by fear for his friends, for what little they still had. Always smoothing over the rare, but inevitable conflicts in the team. The girl usually spent her time with the others, watching the training and occasionally allowing herself to fool around: for example, joining Matt and Willie in their climbing of empty houses or in a playful wrestling match with brothers Josh and Jim.       Now she was walking next to Al from the pub, where the latest customer had found them. The man, dressed in gray clothes, described to them the details of the work to be done and, promising them a generous reward upon completion, gave them a sack of gold coins, a weighty one. No one objected, no one argued, so in about twenty minutes everyone left as if nothing had happened. “Why do you think they came to us with this, Kiv?”       Al was as curious as she was about the work to be done, about the unconventionality of it. “Come to think of it, Mr. Denberg had come to us several times before, perhaps he didn’t want to take the risk of hiring new and unfamiliar people.” Denberg was worried for his life and paid them money for his security for a week. That’s how long it would take him to get everything packed and ready to leave far away from Orvud. Beyond that city, he supposed, he would be safe.       And the quite logical question: “Who did the merchant cross the road?”, they were given no clear answer, only a meager one: 'A bigwig from Yarckel'. Al continued: “In any case, a favorable offer for us. Now we need to think through the action, and then go upstairs tonight and get to Orvud. Best to be there by tomorrow morning.” Kiva smiled: the thought of the sky, the fresh air, the stars, all the things they couldn’t see underground, made her happy. “Seven whole days on the surface, wouldn’t be any better if it weren’t for this odd job. Guarding a rich man, it’s funny.” Glancing at Al, she noticed that a plan of action had already begun to form in his head. It was evident from the look in his eyes. As they passed the market, they stole some rotten apples. As they moved closer to the meeting point with the others, Kiva thought about the job at hand: “This is a strange case, maybe I think so, because we’ve never encountered it before today. Protecting, in this case, meant killing first, I wonder if Al realizes that.” They had killed, but rarely.       They all agreed, that such cases should be avoided. If only because their kind were always the first to go to waste. The pair walked for another half hour at a brisk pace, and finally found themselves on the outskirts, not far from the lousiest of slums even by the standards of this city. Some of it was empty, but it wasn’t too far from where they lived, each of them separately. The smell of dirt and trash hit the nose at first, but after a while it wasn’t so noticeable. People get used to this sort of thing. There, at their usual meeting and training place, the others were already waiting. Kiv silently raised her hand in greeting and Al said hello to everyone: “Good day everyone, I hope you’ve had enough rest.” “I think it’s good enough for the new job!” Josh chuckled. They all remembered the last case, which hadn’t caused them much trouble.       What could be so hard about causing a riot in the center of Underground City, gathering all the cops around you, and then quickly and stealthily disappearing into the countless streets? “I think I’ll do better this time,” Matt said timidly. This time everyone laughed, and Al patted the head of the youngest member of their group. And Matt’s faithful friend, Willie, kicked Al in the leg with an exclamation: “Today I’m sure I’ll put you on your backs, the boys taught me such techniques!”       For a few minutes, Al let himself be distracted from the seriousness of the situation, and for fifteen minutes he, Will and Matt were fooling around with each other, while the brothers, choking on their laughter, cheered up one or the other. Kiva smiled genuinely as she watched the scene. They were a family, twisted and frayed and wrong, but they had each other. Even if only for those moments, when earning money brought them all together in one place.       That thought warmed even more, than the thought of open skies and rustling wind. “How important it is for us, lost and unwanted, to feel, that we are not alone.” The girl often thought that without each other they could well have survived, but together life was filled with at least a small ray of light. They were all different, they were not given much, but if they were together, why not hold on to each other. Finally Al stopped fiddling, easily scattering the two boys, pleased to note, that they were growing up and their movements were becoming more tactful. He gave them two apples, Kiv tossed the apples to Jim and Josh. Everyone took their seats and prepared to listen to what their commander would tell them. “We’ve got a job in Orvud, guarding a bigwig, for whom we stole a couple of books from church zealots. You remember. Why anyone’s thinking of killing him or who, he didn’t say, and I don’t think it matters. As long as he pays well. We’ll be up there for a week and then we’ll come down. I don’t want to get mixed up in any more trouble.” “Well, my brother and I are fine with that,” Josh said. “Do you have any idea what we’re going to do?” He was picking pips out of the apple and throwing them up, while he asked.       They took off, were out of sight for a moment, and then fell to the ground. “Yeah, I’ve already thought about, how we’re gonna do it. We’ll go up tonight and by next day we’ll be in Orvud for sure. We’ll accompany our employer without being seen, or we’ll lose that all-important element of surprise. But, Matt and Will, you’ll stay on the edge of town and go back if you have to. You can do, what you want during the day, but don’t leave the camp after sundown, you’re our reserve in case we have to leave. You understand me? I should remind you, that I will not tolerate arguments or noncompliance.”       Everyone nodded silently, and each of them interpreted the reminder in their own way. Jim was the first to break the silence: “Do you think the four of us can make it?” Kiva ran a hand through her dark hair, which reached her shoulder blades, and answered, running her fingers through the strands. She sat on the wreckage of the barrel, to Jim’s left. “More than that, a lot of people in the night shadows might be too conspicuous, and we might get killed first. I don’t want to risk it,” she smiled a little when she saw the disappointed eyes of the younger ones and continued,” Matt and Willie can walk the streets during the day and watch, they won’t be noticed, maybe they’ll see someone or hear something, something interesting.” Al clenched his fingers on his chin, approval read in his greenish eyes. He continued: “There are four of us, and we can all be inconspicuous, so we’ll keep a short distance from him as he moves. You, Jim, and your brother will move along the rooftops, so you can warn everyone and strike from above. Kiv, you’ll take the back alleys and I’ll take the front. Denberg will have his own guards as well, but he preferred the extra insurance. Ha, sure, scum like us aren’t to be spared,” he spat. “I think we’re pretty clear on this, and we’ll figure it out as we go along. If there are no questions or objections, I have nothing more to add.” “Everything is clear and accessible as always, we should take the necessary things. Al, my brother and I will go, and I’ll see you tonight at the ascent to the surface, hopefully we’ll get through this time without any problems,” Josh and Jim, two brothers with brown hair and lean figures, always inseparable, headed for their homes. Al, after seeing them off with a glance, turned to the other three: “I’m going to go take a break too, while I have time, and I suggest you do the same.” And he was off. Kiva and the two smaller ones were left.       “Rest won’t be bad, but we shouldn’t forget about practicing either,” the girl pulled out her knife, twirled it around and turned to the boys. “Warm up a little?” They gladly pulled out their knives. They all needed to sharpen their skills to survive. She spent about forty minutes training them in the use of the weapon. Mett and Willie looked at the techniques, she showed them, with delight and tried to repeat everything. They were still children, and they tried as only children can do. In the morning, while she and Al went to make arrangements for work, the lanky brothers practiced hand-to-hand combat with Matt and Josh.       Though none of them said it out loud, it was all a show of concern. In their world, all those skills could save lives and feed. “I think that’s enough,” Kiv said with a satisfied nod and a smile with an open look that was rarely seen, " you should get ready for departure, small ones, it won’t be such an easy task. So it’s best you take a break. Just like me.” “Good, Kiva. I’m waiting for us to go,” Mett said enthusiastically and nudged William, who didn’t want to look like a child, even though he was eager to go up.       The two of them left together, interjecting phrases about who had been better at training today. “And yet they are still children and I would leave them here, the task might be too dangerous for them, they haven’t had to kill yet,” the thought flashed through Kiva’s mind, but there was no other way for their kind, they had to learn to survive. Kicking the barrel she had been sitting on during the mini-meeting, the short girl headed away from the outskirts towards her home, at least the place, she could call home.