The Prince of Arc - Part I

Chapter 5 - Henry Harris

5.

After breakfast, mom talked to me some more about staying in Borders. She has set up a place to stay in some neighborhood on the Arc side of the city. I'm acting as if I am from a small town in the northern part of Arc, and I came to the city to work in one of the factories. Cam will be my brother who came to work with me. The person we are staying with is Henry Harris, a federal agent from Arc City, and he will be acting as our landlord.

Now it's 7:30 and we're just getting done with dinner.

"Are you guys almost done?" I hear my mother's voice calling from out in the hallway. We are the last people in the dining hall, so she must be getting impatient.

"Yeah," I say, shoving the last piece of garlic bread down my throat. We had spaghetti for dinner, and both Cam and I got seconds, knowing we weren't going to have this good of food for a while.

"Well come on then," My mother says, poking her head into the doorway.

We got up and followed her down the hallway, then to a door that led outside, we turned to the back of the house, and got in a car.

The car brought us to the closest bus stop, where two worn-down suitcases sat beside a bench next to the train tracks. My mother, Cam, and I all get out and walk towards the bench.

"The train is going to be early, so we needed to hurry. You should be fine now." She stops right in front of the bench, and gives both Cam and I a hug. "I gave Henry a phone, so if you need anything just tell him to call me."

The sound of a train grows increasingly louder and I begin to see it in the distance. "Did dad decide on a date for the conference yet?" I shout, trying to be louder than the train.

"Yes, it's going to be on Wednesday," She responds.

"So we have 3 days?" Cam complains.

"Yes, that's plenty of time just to catch up on their rumors. The conference is at 6 P.M. on the City Hall steps, so make sure you're there. Oh, and don't forget to change!"

The train begins to slow down as it approaches. Within seconds, it comes to a complete stop and the door opens into the entry car. After one last goodbye, we board with our old suitcases. The doors close, and we wave my mom goodbye.

I set my suitcase down on the ground and sit in one of the train's booths. We are on a public train, because that way when we arrive we won't seem suspicious. (It'd be really weird if two normal Borders citizens came off a fancy, private train.) We are the first stop the train comes to, that way we can change before anyone sees us.

"Do you want to change first?" Cam asks, sitting down beside me. "I don't care either way."

"Neither do I, you can go. I want to see what mom packed for me." I say, picking up my suitcase and setting it down on my lap.

"Ok, do you see a bathroom?" He asks, looking up and down the aisles. "Isn't a lavatory a fancy name for one?" He asks, staring at the 'PUBLIC LAVATORY' sign above a small room at the back of the car.

"Yeah, I think so."

And with that, he got up, took his suitcase and went into the small room. I look back down at my suitcase. I unzip it and see 3 outfits for me to wear. (Makes sense, 3 outfits- 3 days.) Then I see a notebook pressed up against the side closest to me. Opening it, I see that someone has already written in it;

'Blake- Write down anything you think can help us in here, just in case you forget. Your guys' fake IDs are in the pocket on the back cover of this notebook. It has your fake names and anything else you'll need to know in order to remain hidden. Good luck, I love you! –Mom'