Lies of the Line

Chapter 11

I had no idea where I was going and I was almost certain Adrienne had no clue either. She was walking down the street in front of me mumbling directions to herself. She would stop in front of an alley, and look down it before moving on, but two paces past it she would turn around and bump into me before walking back and turning into the alley she had just passed. We were trying to walk through Green's Burrow, but Adrienne stopped and looked at every building we passed, reading the big, white, chipped letters on the windows trying to determine if it was the right one. This caused me to bump into her since I was watching my feet and trying to not step in the mud. Green's Burrow was almost a city in itself. It was sector, something Cephille had a lot of. The people of the lower class lived and worked there and had made it into a thriving part of the city, just without the money the other sectors had.

"I know it's Green's something, but I'm not sure if it's Green's town or Green's lane," Adrienne said over her shoulder at me. She stopped in the middle of the street and looked to the left and then to the right. Not looking where I was walking, I bumped into her again. She turned around and smiled at me.

"It was definitely Green's Burrow." She motioned with her hands around the large open space. The crowded alley had opened up and a new street ran through the one we were walking on creating an intersection. There were balconies to homes jutting out over the street. People walked around without a care in the world, caring baskets with food, clothes, and small livestock.

"It's like its own little town." She turned back around and started walking again. I picked up my pace and followed her through the streets. Instead of looking at the ground, I was looking up. There were people throwing bathwater over the balconies and tossing things down to one another. Someone dropped a cat down to a woman passing who caught the very frightened cat in a basket and kept walking. A few children running past us trundled through a puddle kicking up mud and water everywhere. They screamed in delight as it rained down on them. They continued running down the streets laughing. People didn't stare as long as those on the street, they glanced over our holeless clothing before shrugging to themselves and moving on. Adrienne walked down the street and past a building with three letters on the window since all the others had fallen off. G, J, and A were the only ones remaining.

The outline of the rest of the letters showed that it had once said, Gaff, John, and Mark Anchorage. The business had run down and the building was abandoned and overrun with rodents.

"I found it." Adrienne said from in front of me. She pointed to the gap between the anchorage and the home next to it. There were a few lanterns on the street, but they couldn't overpower the darkness that consumed the stones.

Adrienne turned down the path, trying to avoid the large holes in the road and failing several times. I reluctantly followed her, trying to learn from her mistakes, but stepping into a hole filled with muddy water. It sprayed upwards and painted my shirt with small brown splotches. "Gross," I muttered to myself. I stopped and pulled my foot from the muck before shaking it off, flinging more dirt around.

"Would you stop playing around, we have places to be Lilac." Adrienne turned and looked at me. "We're already close to being late. I'll wash the boots and the shirt for you when we get back if you hurry." She turned back around and stared at the ground intently, trying to avoid the potholes herself. I took a deep breath before looking up and stumbling through the dark alley. I splashed through every hole and grimaced when splotches of mud flew back into my face.

I guess this is the simpler life; getting my hands dirty.

I wiped the mud off my cheek, catching up to Adrienne. The end of the alley flared in a bell shape, giving way to a walled-in space where five people were sitting in chairs. Three men and two women. All five stood once we passed through the threshold and into their hiding spot.