Legendary

Chapter Five: Run From Your Problems

     The thunder was fading by the time the two girls slipped out of the apartment, wrapped in hooded rain ponchos with small bags slung over their shoulders, but the rain hadn't let up. They didn't mind, really, since the day had been long and hot and the rain was cool.

     Technically they did own a small transport but using that would risk arising too much suspicion.

     Besides, running through the rainy night was more fun anyway.

     Pretty much every street in the mid-levels looked like a back alley, and they were always deserted at night, so the pair were free to run about the roads undisturbed. Drumming rain masked the sounds they made purposely splashing through the large puddles that had gathered on the pavement.

     Kyber City and its outskirts were arranged like a massive spiral that rose in its center. The lower levels were at the farthest reaches at the edge of the spiral, essentially at the base of a small mountain. It was sheltered and easy to ignore, so it generally suffered, but on the bright side it also meant people got away with the illegal things they were forced to do to survive. From there the land and city sloped up into the mid levels, making up the largest portion of the spiral where the largest amount of people lived. The closer you got to the heart of the city, the fancier and more elaborate the architecture became.

     The train station they were heading for mainly served the Lows despite being situated on the edge of what was considered the Mids.

     When they arrived at the train station they found it predictably deserted. The train wouldn't even stop at that station so late at night. Everything was dark and quiet with only a few 'necessity' lights on to illuminate the dark metal structure.

     The station was simple, like most in the Lows and Low-Mid levels, consisting of one long, covered platform on either side of the track. The platforms were studded with beams that supported a simple metal roof. The two platform roofs never connected, the only enclosed areas in the station were the bathrooms and the ticket booth.

     A grassy field surrounded the station for a handful of yards in either direction. It was a natural patch, not maintained like the parks in Kyber City, so the grass was mostly brownish and packed with weeds. It was also the only 'open' space they had to cross before arriving at the station.

     Becca stopped at the edge of the walkway they were following, looking out over the grass. This was the only spot on their route besides the station itself where she didn't feel safe. A stretch of space where they were vulnerable to surprise attacks from above, or anywhere around if someone was able to hide low enough.

     Like a rabbit, she waited, still and silent, straining her ears for any sound, keeping her eyes wide to catch any flash of motion that might signal danger. Unfortunately the rain and wind from the storm made it hard to pick out what might be a threat and what might be harmless. After a few moments of her heart pounding and all her senses straining, she ducked out into the open space, trusting Elaina to follow her.

     She did, keeping close to Becca's side just like she had the entire time, and within seconds both of them hopped gracefully up the station's short stairway and up onto the platform.

     The advertisement was easy to spot, mounted on one of the posts beside where the passengers would be waiting to board.

     Elaina flipped her hood back from her head with a smile, hurrying over to the bright screen and pulling out some of her tools, the simpler ones she had left home from the tournament and that hadn't been lost in the fire. Breaking the sign wouldn't take long, ad signage in the Lows was generally pretty self-contained, without any Network connectivity. Hacking signage was literal child's play, something punk kids did on their way home from school.