I?: The Girl Who Ran: The Altruism Test- Currently Shelved

{I: Tatiana} Lonely Lightbulb

Tatiana Schivoski pressed her hot forehead against the cool glass. The rickety bus rattled and jumped underneath her, groaning for a rest. Or maybe it was the driver groaning. Her fellow passengers were silent, most of them slowly rousing themselves as a welcome sign came into view. The sign was vandalized with vulgar words, the most prominent of which said 'TURN BACK!' in hot pink letters. But underneath the spray paint, in the dusky light, Tatiana could barely see the original faded golden letters and numbers.

'Welcome to Gotham City! Established in 1635.' Apparently the current residences disagreed with the cheery welcome. The bus rolled over a deep pothole and jolted, throwing the passengers six inches up into the air before letting them fall again. Tatiana heard unanimous moans as the bus screamed to a stop at the old sign.

"Why are we stopping here?" Tatiana turned to ask the person beside her, a middle-aged man with guarded eyes.

The man shrugged and replied with a Boston accent, "It's the end of the route, buses won't enter the city." He stood and reached over her to his bags, letting his scratchy scarf fall into her face.

"Why not?" She persisted and swiped the scarf away.

The man looked at her, frowning in distaste, "They just won't, not after what happened last year." He yanked his backpack down and jumped into the line that was gushing out of the aisle and onto the cracked sidewalk.

Tatiana sighed and grabbed her own bag. A golden backpack that used to be her best friend's. The rest of her belongings, though there weren't many to speak of, had gone ahead of her. To her new home. A dirt cheap, one-bedroom apartment on Park Row. Tatiana swung the backpack onto her shoulders and pulled her turtleneck's collar up. Her hand caught on her necklace, a lightning bolt charm bouncing on her fingertips. She frowned with the reminder of why she was here. She lifted her head and walked down the narrow stairway onto the sidewalk. The bus's doors clipped her backpack as they closed and the vehicle sped away.

Everyone started drifting away on two streets. One went straight and was cracked, most of the concrete slabs were missing corners. Weeds grew through the crevices. The other that went to the left was clean and newly paved. A map was one of the only things she'd been able to see online for Gotham. No addresses, no websites, and no news, aside from fluff stories about Bruce Wayne spilling wine down a supermodel's dress. A very intelligent person, he seemed to be. Compared to some of the other rich socialites, at least.

She pulled her tiny phone with the weathered case out of her pocket and headed straight, following the GPS's route. As she walked, the half moon brightened in the sky, making the white streak in Tatiana's dark hair seem to glow. She shoved her free hand in her pocket and huffed, trying to keep warm in the freezing temperatures. The exercise warmed her up soon enough, and she admired the architecture as she passed. Huge towers with swooping arches, banks guarded by stone gargoyles, and an enormous cathedral ornamented by a high steeple and stained glass windows, some of which had been shattered. Christmas covered most of the storefronts, adding a holiday theme to the quiet streets. The place was a marvelous mix of electricity and stone, modernity and age, light and darkness.

"I think we are going to like it here, Tatiana, " she said to herself absentmindedly as she continued on. The only problem was the quiet. It was unnerving.

A shadow passed the sidewalk in front of her, ducking into an alleyway.

Her shoulders tensed and she pushed up her glasses, "Hello?" She strode forward to the alley the shadow had disappeared into. She stopped. She probably should not go in there. It was rule #1 for living in big cities. Never go into an alley. You'll get mugged. Tatiana glanced at her phone and sighed. She had to go in there anyway to get to Park Row. She considered taking a detour. No, who knows how long it would take for her to get to her apartment then.