Under the Cover of Darkness

Chapter 13 - Murky Depths

Deep in the alleyways of the capital's south side was a small shack in the midst of a small clearing that had been unaffected by the earliest construction of the city. In these parts of town, where the 'roads' were merely four foot wide alleys, crime was the most rampant. With no law enforcement or governing body able to control the madness of the forgotten part of town, most people found that it was kill or be killed. The section was home to all those people with nothing to live for, their hopes and dreams of making it big in one of the most successful city in Netueeia.

Most of the structures in the area were also the first to be established when Ardor's capital was founded. For that reason, most buildings in the southern side of town were wooden, flammable, and extremely pernicious. Furthermore, the primary purpose for the south side of the city was residency. Apartments and small taverns made up the majority of this block. Also, these dangerous living spaces were no longer under the jurisdiction of the city, but instead by corrupted landlords, who used desperate people and cheap living conditions to make a fortune.

In the shack surrounded on all sides by uninviting and uninhabited architecture that towered a floor and a half above it, a fifteen year old girl lay in a bed, a bed which consisted of a mattress stolen from a nearby apartment building, a folded towel for a pillow, and a thin, cold, linen blanket. Being surrounded by cold stone and wood and having a lack of sunlight, the temperature in the clearing was around five degrees lower than the rest of the city, even in the summer.

The wooden shack consisted of a low hanging, crooked, front door that led into what had become her home. Her bed lined a far wall and the only thing separating her bedroom from the rest of the house was a bath curtain she hung up to provide a little bit of privacy. Outside of the bedroom was the rest of the house. There was a dilapidated table that had a missing leg and two chairs, both equally squalor. A small bookshelf housed the remainder of the girl's possessions. All the clothes she owned, weapons she stole to help protect herself, and other aggregations of miscellaneous items.

Not having any sunlight also made the clearing extremely dark in the mornings, so the girl often times wouldn't know it was morning until nearly the afternoon. At ten o'clock that morning, she stared up at the fragile, wooden ceiling and thought of the boy she had met nearly two months ago. He seemed so scared, like she was, and ever since she broke her ankle being chased by Graham's henchman, she had been bedridden. In turn, she spent most of her day with her thoughts, alone.

"Good morning!" an old lady's voice called from one of the thin alleyways. It was a warm and welcoming voice, one that had lately become familiar to the girl. Preparing for the old woman's arrival, she sat up in her bed and tore down the makeshift privacy wall but made no effort to get up from the dusty mattress.

"Mornin' Betty," the girl answered from inside the shack while she sat cross legged awaiting the arrival of the old Cumaro.

The squeaky door was flung open, and a Cumaro woman of about four feet waltzed in with a steaming bowl of soup in her small, shriveled hands. She had an infectious grin on her face as she prudently handed the bowl of soup to the injured Etherlen. In reply, the girl smiled back at her compatriot, but almost immediately the old lady began, "You know, Haley, you really ought to get out one of these days. Being cooped up in here for months can not be good for a young girl like yourself. And besides if you are gonna stay in this ramshackle fort, then at least clean it."

"Well, make up your mind. Just yesterday, you told me to not go outside in fear of me hurting my ankle again," Haley bickered.

Betty, who had a satchel hanging from her neck, took a dusting brush from it and began to clean the dust that had become ubiquitous. After a couple seconds of silence, the old Cumaro said, "I know, but I just don't want you playing the role of guardian angel. It isn't healthy. You need to realize, Haley, that we live in the underbelly of one of the most corrupted places in Ardor. You can't help every person on the street..."