Chronograde

Chapter 1 - Years

Suli knelt in the pit of mud and slid her hands through the slop, feeling around carefully. Her fingertips ran over bits of rock and clods of dirt, even passed over something wriggling, but she'd been looking for ten minutes now and hadn't found most of the pile of coins she'd dropped. Her arms were caked with mud up to her elbows and the act of wiping the sweat off her brow left long trails of dirt on her forehead. She knelt next to the mud puddle and whimpered softly. Four dollars' worth of coins she'd earned, four dollars and she'd only found thirty cents. Thirty cents couldn't get you anything to eat and definitely wouldn't get her a newspaper— she was going to be in so much trouble with Vim and Mouse. Tonight they would not be able to sleep in the pantry and would have to rough it on the street again, for the second consecutive week of skipping dues.

Suli scratched at her lice-bitten head viciously as she glared at the mud puddle— glared as if it had been the idiot to trip over the pavement and send the handful of coins flying. She finally stood on her thin legs and left it, a rumble growing inside her and the hint of the embarrassment to come touching her pale cheeks, giving them momentary color. It was almost sunset and she needed to get back to Vim and Mouse as soon as possible. This was the Mongrel territory of Tin Town— the tightly packed brick and stone buildings, the winding alleys, the makeshift tin and aluminum homes leaning against dumpsters and sewage drains— all of this was not where she was welcome. If she lingered any longer someone might stumble upon her.

The sun was setting now. She could see the burning orange sky through the missing slats of the overhanging rooftops. She began to jog down the alley, her shoes making a light plodding sound over the compacted dirt. Though it was sweltering out she wore a baggy blue sweater— or, at least, it had once been blue. She'd been able to patch up the holes in it for four years but now it was more a ragged cloth than an actual article of clothing. Still, it was all she had. Her tattered white skirt which had faded over the years into a cloudy grey flowed behind her, several sizes too small, but it did its job. It was just not practical to own a wardrobe of clothes when you were an orphan living on the streets. Living day to day, you couldn't afford to be picky about any material possessions. They were so fleeting.

As Suli crossed a small bridge into familiar, safe territory she slowed, her chest pounding. A couple years ago that run wouldn't have fazed her, but now it was getting hard to breathe. She felt a hard lump in her chest and fought from bursting out into another coughing fit. Can't get sick again, she thought. Not after I've lost all of our money. Not after I've betrayed Vim and Mouse.

An old bridge connected Mongrel territory to the other side of Tin Town. It had been a makeshift crossing for years, built of old wooden boards and pieces of scrap found by people living here in an attempt to cross the river. Technically, Suli was trespassing and would be arrested if she was found using this bridge, but this area was never policed. There was no law in Tin Town as it was rarely enforced.

The fat, frothy river beneath the bridge rolled on in grey whorls, swollen by recent rains. Piles of debris floated along, riding the current down and out into the sea several miles south. It separated the East and West slums, deliberately dividing Mongrel and Shaver territory . That was its purpose-- it was a man-made river, carved through to keep separate the warring gangs that controlled Tin Town and hopefully curb the movement of the growing poor further North-- into the wealthy districts of Pendula.

Centermost of the city stood the twelve spires of Time. The city had been constructed around these original towers and the further from the center you went, the more dangerous it got. From the bridge in Tin Town, Suli could just catch the tops of the spires glinting in the evening sun. She had looked at that glint for eleven years, always wondering what it was like to look out over Pendula from one of the towers. It was probably a lot different, but she couldn't imagine seeing the ugly sprawl that was Tin Town from such a glamorous place. Suli wondered if anyone ever looked down and even noticed them.