Blood Ashes

Chapter 3

I do not know why but searching for people with powers became usual.

One day I was back from my tailor shop when I saw soldiers getting in and out of the houses. The family that lived there just stood on the stairs waiting for it to pass. It had to pass.

One soldier would investigate the house, top to bottom and that was not nice to investigate. It was not theirs so they turned things in and out not caring for it. For us, on the other side, that meant everything because we worked out blood and sweat to get that.

Another soldier was standing on the stairs with a family taking their names. If they see anything it is normal, they take them one by one in one specific room in their house. After that, the testing is getting its final stage.

Chills run down my spine as I saw them walking out of that house. Family, happy that everything is over walked in it slamming the doors.

My feet took me to the end of the street, rushing toward smiths store. I did not care for people looking at me. This was man sector and you could not see a woman in here.

"Jasper," I whispered when he finished with one soldier and turned to drink some water.
"Imrie," he said fast crossing the room to face me, "what are you doing here?"

"They are checking houses," I say whispering but even I noticed how my voice is shaky. I could not stop fear from running through my body.

"Calm down," he said hugging me but I heard real words to my ear.
"Leave until the night. When I am at home. Hide somewhere and wait. Everything will be okay,"

I looked at his deep brown eyes and nodded. There was that compassion. He practically raised me. Our parents died in some storm, they both were tailors and they wanted material for Warriors.

It was Winter Fight, I remembered that Jasper told me. I was ten when that happened; he was fourteen. From that day he stood up and take care of me. Worked, and slowly he made his way to this shop and this role. I did not know every detail but one thing was sure; he knew how to take care of the controls.

Somehow. If they would come when I was home alone a minute later he would wait in front of the doors telling me that everything will be okay, how he knew, I never found out.

If they wanted to know my name and age, I would tell them, but only after I saw him nodding behind the soldier. My brother was everything for me and I could not risk losing him.

"Everything will be okay?" I whispered looking at him.
"Do not worry, baby. Everything will be okay," he smiled and took one part of my dress.
"Better disappear, they dislike women here,"

I nodded, and he kissed me on the cheek.

Running through streets I tried to avoid every look in this part until I was safe behind my machine. I looked around not sure what to do, but I had a job.

If I will finish that tuxedo in Kassian's house I had to deliver a dress for a miss. Darin a day before.

Our workplace was simple. We had three lines of machines and age divided us. It was twelve of us between sixteen and eighteen.

I was in the middle at the beginning, my birthday was in January but Rana was on a third one. Her birthday was in September.

A big room with sounds of tailoring every minute. In the back of the room, we had closets for cloth we make and nothing else.

Everything we needed from thread to needle we had to buy. It was safe in my basket next to my feet.

I still had shivers of fear whenever soldiers would walk past our window but I had to calm myself.