I hate working with the noise but sometimes you got to do what you got to do. The screams and crashing sounds coming from outside are driving me crazy though. I can't believe I'm actually one of those people now. In times of great tragedy instead of actually helping or anything I see opportunities to steal from people. Well, steal from dead people anyway I saw the family who lived here try to escape. They ran into the western kingdoms national guard, they won't be back. I press my ear closer to the safe listening for clicks, opening safes and picking locks is actually quite easy one you get the hang of it, and believe me I've stolen from people enough times to get the hang of it. A few more clicks and its open, I mentally pat myself on the back for a job well done. The loot is kind of disappointing though; they took all the cash and just left the jewelry. In order to get any money from this I'll have to sell it on the black market probably for half of its value. I'll actually be lucky if I even get that since I'm just a kid and not all that threatening. While I'm at it I might as well loot whatever is downstairs in their kitchen too. When I got there it was pretty much what I expected fruits and vegetables were there but nothing nonperishable. I wanted to put the food in my bag with the other stuff I took but I couldn't control myself, this was the first food I had been able to get in almost two days and I was starving. So I just stood there and started eating it, like an idiot. It wasn't till the stench of smoke started getting stronger and more suffocating that I knew it was time to go. I wasn't really expecting the western kingdom to set the house on fire. I mean they already killed everyone who lived here; setting the place on fire would just be over kill. Then I realized that they weren't just trying to take over Cronis, they were trying to exterminate it. I can't really blame them real; crime and villainy run this city. It's known for its king who has a grand total of 87 wives and makes his fortune in human trafficking. Kids from all over the beyond were sold to slave traders as young as 5 years old, their parents were then provided with enough money to be set for life. This is more comforting to me than anything else, I suppose it's nice to know my folks are taken care of I guess. It's easy to see now that the city is defiantly crumbling around me but I've already come this far and hurt so many people to live so I'm not going to crumble a long with it. I can already see smoke start to collect in the ceiling. After a while of choking on the smoke and shambling around there maze of a house I finally found the door. My eyes were burning and starting to fog up when I reached out for the door handle. I touched it and the burning pain was almost enough to make me cry out but I managed to hold my tough. If the military heard screaming coming from this house they would come back to free me of my worldly body. My instincts were telling me to let go of the door handle but I pushed it open anyway and made my escape. When I got out I saw that my hand was burned. It was red and swelling but I didn't have time to worry about it. I needed to get out of the city or at least find a hiding place before I started licking my wombs. This used to be a nice gated neighborhood. It was filled with rich aristocrats that had their own houses instead of living in the stockades like most people. Currently though it looked like the living accommodations in hell. Most houses were burning, the ones that weren't we being looted and trashed by the western Kingdom's military. Luckily for me though, they seemed a pretty safe distance away and were easy to spot in there ridiculous purple uniforms. I guess this a military that doesn't plan for any stealth missions. I check if any of them are looking in my general direction then make a dash for the woods. My stupid bag full of the things I stole makes a little noise as I run but by the time a few of them notice I'm well out of sight. They seemed like they had come in from the main entrance of the city which meant my only choice was to get out of the city and move through the back woods to escape. I could get there easily and fast. A life of crime has taught me every short cut, hiding place, and back ally. I reached the edge of the forest in no time dodging crowds and ducking behind what remained of our city. When I was about to go into the forest I heard voices and quickly hid myself in the brush. They were soon close enough to where I could hear their voices. It was definitely two men and a young boy. "Let me go! I don't want to go with you, please." The boy said. The men didn't answer but he continued anyway. "I'm not an escaped slave my names Nia, I have parents they going to be worried about me." There was a moment of silence and then one of the men spoke up. "All children are to be taken to the dock and sent to the Western Kingdom, those are our orders." So they weren't killing the kids? While this was kind of a relief I knew better than to mistake this for mercy. When the kids got to the Western Kingdom they would be slaves for the rest of their lives probably under the worst masters. That's if they survive the crowded sickness infested trip all the way to the Western Kingdom. I hear the boy sputter it the most pathetic way. "B-But...." Then he just started to cry. There was no way this guy would make it. I already tell by his voice, he was too weak, too innocent to live in that world, he reminded me of myself a few years ago. He was just a kid but they were forcing him into that life like they have so many others. It was enough to make my blood boil. So as quietly as I could I got my pocket knife out and held it tightly in my good hand. Soon they were so close I could see their boots and smell there sweaty bodies. I jumped out at one of the men aiming for his hand. He had a pretty good height advantage on me but I had the element of surprise. He yelled and let go of the kid who was hand cuffed in favor of holding his bloody hand. The other man grabbed the kid before he could make a run for it so the kid started to struggle and bite him. I grabbed the bleeding man by the collar and brought him down to my level head butting him. This caused him to gasp and fall forward in pain. I took this opportunity to hold the knife to his neck a tad bit to close causing droplets of blood to come out. "Let the kid go or I'll kill him," I said. The other man looked at me with disgust almost spat. "You're just like all the other Cronis trash." To that I just smiled a smile that I couldn't see but I'm pretty sure looked satanic. "Let the kid go or I'll kill him," I repeated. The man gave me a weird look, like he was conflicted but then he final let the boy go. My gray eyes locked with the boys weird red ones. "I don't care where you go just get out of here." I couldn't tell him about the path out of the city, the guards would hear and know where to find him. Just telling him to run was his best bet. I boy looked scared "But I can't" "You'll be fine" I said cutting him off. "Here" I said getting my bag with the stolen goods of my shoulder and throwing it to him. "Th-thank you... um..." he said quietly. "My name's Gereki, now run!" "Thank you Gereki!" He said and took off. That was the first time anyone had thanked me for anything. The guard was still under my knife. My only choice was to let myself get caught and escape later, it's not like I could kill him. So I groped the knife and the promptly kicked me in the stomach and dragged me to the docks.
