Thieves

Chapter 1

"Scar!!! Look what I got!!!" a bedraggled six year old said, running into what looked like abandoned apartments. The kid was a little girl with short brown hair and bright eyes that seemed to be always looking for an adventure. She looked up expectantly as she handed a small wad of bills to the boy who had been lying on the floor with papers scatter around him on the floor.

Scar's head snapped up. It was obvious to see where his name came from. Under his longish black hair was a scar that trailed from his eye to his chin. He didn't often tell the story of how he had gotten. "Hey there, munchkin," he said, half smiling. He opened his hand for her to drop the bills in his hand. He gently took them and counted them quickly. His eyes were kind of proud as he looked at her. "I think that Dez has found us some food money!" he called so the rest of the house could hear. "Looks like we don't have to steal tonight!"

The rest of the few in their small family of thieves were downstairs in a moment. The youngest was Dez, at age six, and the oldest was the leader, Scar, at age seventeen. The others all fell somewhere in between. They had a good guess on all of their ages but none of them were a hundred percent sure. Their birthdays fell on the day they had joined the family. Few of them had actually ever met their parents. Most of them were orphans that had run away or been left on the street and found each other by chance.

A tall girl with long red hair ran over to Dez and gave her a big hug. "Awesome, little girl. You are going to grow up and fit right in with this family," she said, picking her up and spinning in a circle. She smiled as Dez laughed happily. She looked about fifteen and seemed like the happy-go-lucky kind of person.

"Will you calm down, Gloria?!?! You act like everything that girl does is a great achievement," growled a boy with short blond hair. He wore a scowl that didn't belong on a ten year olds face. He had had one of the worst times growing up. He had been passed from family to family until he finally ran away at about eight.

Scar rolled his eyes, tapping his foot. "Gloria, Nath. Will you two shut up? I swear. I would think you two are related. By blood. Not by bond," he said, shaking his head. He looked around and sighed. There was one person missing. Every family had to have the lazy person, right? Their family's was Gray. "GRAY!!!" His voice resonated through the house.

They all heard a thud something hit the floor. "Coming!!!" called a groggy voice. Gray must have fallen asleep again. Then he fell off the couch. Scar shook his head as a boy with gray eyes came downstairs. "What? I was sleeping," he muttered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Scar folded his arms across his chest as he looked at him. "You are almost fourteen. You don't need naps everyday. Especially not when you're a thief like the rest of us," he chastised. He was always getting after Gray for not doing his part and helping with the family.

Gray shrugged, unmoved. He usually ignored these types of things. He turned to look at Dez. "Hey, Dez. Looks like you found dinner," he said, smiling at her. He had managed to hear what was going on while he was asleep.

Dez smiled as she looked at Gray over Gloria's shoulder. "Yep. I did!!!" she said happily. The little girl was the only one who didn't have issues with anyone with in the family. She was too young for that.

A knock sounded on the door.

Scar's head snapped towards it and every one went silence. They never had visitors. "Police!!! Open up!!!"

Scar looked at his 'family.' "Everyone, hide and don't make a noise. You all have your spots," he murmured to them. The group scattered except for Scar. He easily hid the money in a none to obvious spot. He waited for a moment before heading towards the door. "Hello. Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked them in a quiet and polite voice, completely different from earlier.

The police looked at the boy in surprise. "We have noticed that lately little kids have been coming in and out of here without ever seeing the adults," one of them said. The one standing in the back nodded. "Son, what's you name?"

Scar looked practically astonished at the fact that they thought there were kids living here without an adult. He was smirking inwardly, though. He was glad he was a good actor. "I'm James Fritsgarold, sir. And I can assure you it is only me living here. I moved out just recently from my parents place. There may have been a few people living here before. I don't know. Maybe the group of kids you are searching for have moved on," he said, easily feeding them the lie. He had something planned in case this happened since they had moved in. The fake name and all.

The police scrutinized Scar for a moment to see if he was lying before nodding. "We see. Thank you, son. Please, let us know if you see any of those kids come back around here," one of them said. The other smiled slightly at him. "We will be off now. Have to find those kids and make sure they are safe." They turned to leave.

Scar nodded. "Of course. I will help if I can," he said, waving slightly in a polite good bye. He closed the door after they were well out of sight and hearing. He turned away from the door. "Ok. Come on out guys. They're gone!!!"

Things squeaking and footsteps were heard all over the house as the kids came out of their hiding spots. They were used to be in hiding. Not in their own home, but they could live. It was probably time for the group to find a new place to stay. That might be difficult but they could live.