Before Iott

The Dump

"Stop thief!" The shop owner shouted into the streets. I ran down the bustling sidewalks, dodging mindless bodies as they continued about their monotonous daily lives. Only one person tried to chase after me, and their attempt was short lived. I skid around a corner and dashed down a narrow alley, jumping the short fence at the end of it. My pursuer gave up at the fence- just as I had predicted. Jay had always said to use your skills and your enemy's weaknesses to your advantage. My strength was my athletic abilities. Unfortunate for my pursuer, his weakness was precisely that. The man shrugged and walked away. He assumed a kid wasn't worth his time, so I got off scott free yet again. I continued down the alley until I came out the other side. From there, I maneuvered through the streets until I reached our alley.

Jay had dubbed it 'The Dump' and the name stuck. Early on, he'd set up, on the left side, two small mattresses with blankets- which, I must say, was a pain to steal- and lit the area at night with an oil lamp. We had a small table and makeshift cabinet made of miscellaneous planks of wood we found, and used our pillows as seats as well as on the beds. I threw the bag of food on the table and jumped on my bed, landing face down, sinking into the mattress and relaxing. I let out a deep breath into my pillow. "You're here early." A gruff but kind voice said. I was too tired to even look up at Jay. "Yeaff, I goff uf earwy." I said, muffled by the pillow. "What?" Jay laughed.

I flipped over and faced him. His black hair was short and messily spiked up, and the high collar of his green jacket almost covered his entire neck. "I said, I got up early." I repeated myself.

"What alien came and replaced you? Since when do you ever get out of bed before ten o'clock?"

"Since this morning."

"Sure, we'll see how long that schedule lasts." Jay bent down and ruffled my maroon-red hair and smiled. Whenever he smiled, it seemed to light up his whole face. "So, you try and overdo your load again?" He asked.

"I paired it down like you told me to. Sheesh, have faith in me sometimes. It's on the table." I replied. Jay picked up the plastic bag and pulled out its contents- two loaves of bread, a wheel of cheese, two gallons of milk, a package of sausages, and a bundle of carrots. "I thought I told you not to go overboard." "I didn't, that's totally a normal amount." "No it isn't, and you know it. One of these days you'll get caught trying to overdo yourself." Jay scolded. I know he's worried about me, but a little trust would be nice. I know what I'm doing, I mean I learned everything from him. "If I was going to get caught, it would have happened before now. Besides, we deserve to have a little something now and again." "Fine, just don't do it again Xane." Jay took out a cutting knife from the cabinet, as well as two worn plates. He cut one of the loaves of bread into slices, and pulled out the cheese and sausages to be divided. "I call first dibs on the sausage!" I said.

"Of course you goof," Jay chuckled. "Wouldn't have it any other way."