Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

Arkana, Federation of the South

Two weeks ago

RAYNE

My eyes wandered to a gold charm bracelet — the star of the display. The small heart-shaped charms glimmered under artificial lighting. My eyes darted to the other side of the jewelry section, where my friend, Zander, was trying on several pairs of smart sunglasses. He was making silly faces in front of a mirror.

I swept my hand over the other bracelets on display, tracing their intricate carvings, until arriving at the golden charm bracelet I liked. Briefly glancing at the price tag, I realized buying the bracelet was out of the picture. Even if I had enough Southern Points in my account, it was silly to pay an equivalent of eight-hundred-dollars for a bracelet. Nonetheless, I still picked it up and enjoyed the weight of pure gold in my hands.

A bad thought swiveled through my mind, like a pinball machine. It would look good on my friend, Nova, complimenting her dark, chocolate-colored eyes. Trying to stop my conscience from dissuading me, I quickly stuffed the bracelet into my back pocket. My eyes zipped back and forth the whole time, making sure no one was watching.

Zander came over, wearing a pair of oversized blue sunglasses. "Looks like you got everything you wanted," he stated with a grin like he could read my mind. That's probably why we got along so well.

I was good at conning. Not to brag, but I could almost con my way out of practically anything, but I wasn't as versed in the art of stealing. Zander was a petty thief and he was determined to teach me the skill. I feared getting caught, but he was dauntless.

An electric current tingled down my spine. I had stolen a few items of little value, but this time was different. I had never felt an explosive rush like this before. The thought of my family came up. My father provided me with some extra spending points, but if I used them, then he would ask me twenty questions. That would only cause more problems.

"Let's go." I pulled on Zander's shoulder.

He followed closely behind me and stuffed the sunglasses into the pocket of his jacket. "What, you haven't had enough?"

As we were leaving, I reached into my pocket and set the bracelet on one of the display stands, making sure Zander wasn't watching me. After thinking about it, the bracelet wasn't all that great. It definitely wasn't worth the risk of getting caught.

We exited the massive department store and followed behind a group of middle school girls ogling over their tablet communicators. I hated this city. I hated all the ugly vases in the display windows of the overly priced boutique stores. It was boring and humid. Repeatedly, I had tried to convince Nova to run away with me, but she too feared getting caught. Then the issue of money came into play.

"Have you ever wanted to do something bigger?" Zander turned to me as we passed a row of stores.

I stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "Like robbing a bank?"

He nodded.

"I mean sure, but you know what would happen if you get caught," I said.

I knew the answer, 20 plus years for anyone who committed a class two felony. If someone died, that would bump it up to a class one felony, meaning an automatic death sentence. Most areas had similar laws. Lawmakers thought it would be a deterrent for criminals to keep the crime rates low, especially with all that was going on with the damaged atmosphere. Of course, the tunnels were still buzzing with illegal activity, but tunnel members were smart about it.