Book 1: Shattered Harmony

Chapter 37: Inky

Sing for Me

Chapter 36

Inky

It was slightly overcast and their was still rain in the forecast. A young girl with jet black hair and dark blue eyes ran across a sand long. Her red shirt was faded so much that it almost looked brown. Her pants were so baggy that she was stepping on them. They were held up by an old cable. Finally bursting through the doors as the printing press where she had a job. Within were dozens of children working on random things. A man sat on an old moldy chair in the back looking over a newspaper and chewing on a cigar. Every so often he'd puff on it and hum loudly.

"Yo Sai!" The girl ran over and handed him a little bag. He smiled and lay his news paper down.

"Ah what did you give me today Inky?" He held out his hand within was a healthy amount of jewelry and wallets. He smiled and looked inside the wallets and then looked up at her. "Did you take any?" He asked. Inky looked a bit iffy.

"Dude I didn't take nothin'. I don't want something here. Its to hot." She told him. She turned and walked toward the machines.

"Empty your pockets then." He stood up glaring down at her.

"Dude I told you..." She glared at the man. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the man. She made a pained noise having been hit across the face. She gasped feeling Sai pulling her pockets out.

"Dude I ain't got nothin!" She kicked at him and stood back up adjusting her shirt and pants. "Perv..." She walked toward the machines.

"Inky get on that printing press the inks almost gone." Sai yelled. Inky grumbled and put her hand on the bottom of the barrel and a bunch of ink began to flow from her pores. She pulled up a cloth to cover her nose. She hated the smell of the machines almost that of a burnt tire smell. It made her sick sometimes.

Later on that night she grabbed a sandwich from the local deli and when she says grabbed she stole it. It was the only way she could eat sometimes. She was only given one meal at the press and mostly it wasn't enough to feed a kitten. She had tried to run away from the press before and she was found, and beat. She sat and looked around the old sand lot. Their used to be a lot of trucks out here, now they were all abandoned, and rusted. An opera house was on the other side of the lot. It was also broken down and decrepit. She looked around at the lot as she stuffed the last of the hoggy into her mouth. She hopped down from the rusted out truck and gasped as her leg caught the metal. It bled freely. She grumbled and pulled the cloth she used to cover her mouth and wound it around her leg before running off again. She stopped at the edge of the city seeing lots of people in kimonos.

"Hey..." She smiled and looked around. "Now this is what I'm talkin about." She leaned on a building and checked her pockets. She pulled out some gloves and cleared her throat. "Dinner is served." She walked into the crowd. Eventually walking out and pulled out a black velvet back and put everything she had gotten within it. She ran down an alleyway and pulled out a brick on a building and fit it inside. She turned back and looked back at the crowd. "Nothing wrong with a bit of fun right?" She said putting another velvet bag into her pocket and walked back into the crowd. She stopped seeing a man with odd skin. She had seen her fair share of nindroids, but this was different he was different, and so tall. He looked down at her and winked. His hand held a womans as she looked around the stalls. Now she looked like she had a pretty penny. She walked over and bumped into her and apologized. The blond just giggled and helped her back up.

"You okay?" She asked. Inky wasn't sure what to make of this woman. Not a lot of people would turn to help a street rat up off the ground after she fell.