Kaden

Chapter One

 I smile as I count my units. I've been busking on violin all day by now... and I've gotten 200 notes for it. Some people even factor seeing me play into their day at this point. I can play anything. Jazz, folk, fiddling... anything.

Packing up my violin, I head down the street to the bakery. Opening the door, I peek inside. The baker's son, Max, is at the stand.

"Two loaves of sourdough, please," I say. I set 20 notes down on the table. He shrugs, taking it.

"Thanks for the tip," he says. He ties back his long, dark brown hair into a ponytail and gets two loaves of bread out from the storage room. "You know, you should be careful about the soldiers. It's illegal to beg. Busking is a form of begging. They'll beat you up again, it's not like they haven't before. They might even arrest you, this time." I shrug, ignoring his warning.

"You worry too much, Max. I'm fourteen. I can take care of myself." I pause. "Any more news?" I ask.

He heaves a sigh, leaning up against the counter. "Look, Kaden... I've asked almost every single customer that's come by. Nobody knows of a 'Thais Ishikawa." He shakes his head. I can see that he's genuine. "Nobody knows where your mom is."

"I know. I kind of expected that." I sigh. "I just wanted to meet her." Max nods, and turns to face the next customer. I walk out of the store and down the road about a mile and a half to our building. I climb up the five stories, swinging inside. I drop my violin and the two loaves on the floor.

I immediately see her. "Hey, Anivia," I mutter. She turns around, flipping her black hair.

"Hey, Kadie," she replies.

"Got 200 notes. I thought I should buy some food with it," I say. Her eyes widen as I take out the money and set it down.

"What do you want to buy with it?"

"I want to buy everything we need to break into a military base," I reply. "I want to mess with the Nation. Of course, it's only 200 notes. We're gonna have to save up more in order to be able to buy anything."

"Wouldn't it be cheaper for you to just make everything we'll need?"

I don't hesitate. "Of course, but we'll need to buy some things. Some things that we'll need in order to make what we need we will never be able to find in a trash can or something."

Anivia shrugs, nodding reluctantly. "Yeah, okay. But I don't want you to get in trouble," she says. Her silky black hair cascades down her shoulders, framing her round face, dark eyes, and wide nose. She pulls her light brown blanket around herself, shivering slightly. I hesitate before walking over to her. "Kaden, I don't think you should do this. It's too dangerous."

I pause, trying to find the right words. Cold wind rushes past my face, sending chills down my spine. "Yes, but... Anivia, this was what I was meant to do. I've been doing this since I was a kid."

"Yes, and it's almost killed you so many times!" she heaves a sigh. I can tell she doesn't want to yell, and the strain in her voice is obvious. "If we're going to do all of this and survive, we need to wait until the Nation is weakened, at the very least. We just don't have the resources. We're just two girls!"

"Nobody has the resources, but everyone keeps fighting."

"Kaden, nobody is fighting besides us!!"

I stop. She yelled. I see the regret instantly flood her face. She turns away. "Plenty of people are fighting, Anivia. I have an entire network of homeless people out there. They could help us. They're willing to fight."

She doesn't respond.

"We'll need a distraction when we do it. Hopefully they'll draw the soldiers out and away from the center of the military base. We'll gather up food, place a few bombs, and then head out. It's as simple as that. You only have to come if you want to."