Phoenix

Chapter 1 (Karla)

"That was really stupid you know?" Said, Adrian.                                                  
"Well sorry but hey! That guy had it coming." I said.
"So punching the guy in the face is him getting what he deserved?"
"Well, what would you do!" I yelled.
"First of all, I wouldn't just punch the guy! Karla, I know what he did was wrong but you can't keep doing this kind of stuff. You're only going to attract more attention to yourself," Said, Adrian.  "Do you want to get arrested again?"
"That was one time, let it go," I said annoyed. "Besides it wasn't even my fault, it was that dumb, little, spoiled b-"
"Amanda I know," He said rolling his eyes. "I still find that hard to believe."
"Yeah well believe it. You are just blinded by your stupid little crush on her!" I yelled.
At this point some people started to stare at us with a bunch of different reactions, some were concerned, others interested, and some just disgusted.
"Whatever, let's just go home." Said, Adrian.
We started leaving the market place and headed back home. Although I wouldn't even call it home, it's more of a dump. It is literally a small shack made out of garbage with the walls made out of wood, worn-out tires, some bricks for the foundation, and some blankets we use to block the holes. Sure it's small but it's all we've got, with the pieces of cloth we use as mattresses and the worn-out pillows. We got to the shack and I started to fix up the place a little bit while Adrian went off to work or better yet to find work. A little while later I decided to go out and look for scraps of food. Little did I know that this decision would be the one that would change my life forever.
I arrived at the market place looking for some scraps of food or to earn some food by doing a couple of small jobs here and there. Nothing too serious just simple jobs like helping a sales lady restock her items, watching a couple of kids, nothing too hard. But it seemed like today was not my lucky day because I seemed to not be able to get any job, there were either no jobs, or it was taken or already done, or I wasn't the right person for it. I was getting anxious and hungry, Adrian and I haven't eaten anything for the past three days, it was getting harder and harder for Adrian to get to work without any strength left in him. So I resulted to doing my back up plan, whenever I'm put in situations like this I always resort to plan B.
I rip a piece of dress off or the only part that hasn't been replaced with patches of cloth. I tie up the ends into a knot and hold it like I'm holding a purse. So as I'm passing by a food stand with fresh apples ready for me to take them, a hand grabs ahold of my arm and spins me away from the stand to face them. As I'm ready to punch whoever this was interrupting my shopping, I stop and see that it is only my friends Sarah and Bobby.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Said Sarah with a smirk on her face.
"Looks like we have a little thief here." Said Bobby holding on to my arm.
I pull away with a smirk on my face. "Hey not all of us can afford to have the luxuries you guys have."
"You guys are out of food again?" Asked Sarah.
"I thought you said your brother got a job?"
"He did but then he got fired again," I said.
"Fired?" Asked Bobby.
"Fired for what?"
"I don't know, even he doesn't know or he just doesn't want to tell me. You know he doesn't like to know about that stuff, he doesn't want to worry me."
"Yeah, I remember Adrian always being like that." Said Bobby.
"Ever since we were kids." Said Sarah.
Yeah, Sarah, Bobby, and I have been friends since childhood, we grew up in the same village and were inseparable. We've gone through everything together, and I mean everything together. My brother Adrian would hang out with us too but he eventually got too old for us and was growing up at his own pace. Which was way faster than ours, but we caught up real fast five years ago and we've been this way ever since.
"It's been a while guys how you been?" I asked.
"Pretty good," They both answered.
"How's your dad?" I asked Bobby.
Bobby looked down as he said. "He's been better."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said quickly regretting those words leaving my mouth.
"It's fine," He said still looking at the ground.
"I was going to tell you guys anyway."
"Any progress on your sister?"
"No, We've looked and looked and we still can't find her," He said now looking up at us. "It's been almost three years, I don't understand where could she have gone."
"Where have you looked?" Asked Sarah.
"We've looked here, we've looked with my relatives, we've looked in the boarders, nothing. We've searched the entire region in the past two years and nothing."
There was a silence, Bobby turned to look at the ground while Sarah tried to comfort him by patting his arm. I sensed that my silence was needed, this was normal every time Bobby mentioned his sister. But I honestly can't blame him, I've been there, hell I'm still there. I know what it's like to lose someone and feel helpless, trust me I've been stuck there for the past five years.
"Maybe we should change the subject," I said. "How about you Sarah? How are your parents?" "Um, they've been better," Said Sarah. "They still haven't been the same since the fire but they're getting better."
"Oh yeah, did you guys ever managed to get fix your stuff?"
"No the fire managed to do some serious damage and we can't seem to be able to fix it or find the rest of it."
"Oh yeah, I know what that's like, I mean at least you managed to salvage some of your stuff." "Speaking of stuff, did you manage to find your grandma's necklace?" Asked Bobby
"No," I said looking down. "It got destroyed in the fire."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up I-"
"No it's fine," I said looking up at both of them. "It was five years ago, I gave up about a month ago."
There was yet again another awkward silence, although I can't blame them we haven't seen each other in three months after Adrian and I moved from our original spot. We haven't had a permanent home since our village got burned down in the fire five years ago. A village fire was started out of nowhere and burned down the entire village, a lot of good people were lost that day, including some people close to me. Since then my brother and I have been homeless and have been living on our own for five years. I was only ten at the time, just a little kid forced to grow up, and Adrian had to give up the rest of his childhood to try and provide for both of us. Adrian and I have been so busy moving around trying to get by unnoticed by the guards or they will send me to an orphanage since Adrian isn't allowed to take care of me even though he is eighteen. But because he isn't enlisted or married he can't take care of his fifteen-year-old sister. That is one of the laws we have here in Sarudnoh the Silver Region, and the guards are even harder here in Uruan the capital. That's why it's been awkward anytime I run into Sarah and Bobby, I haven't seen them in months because we always take extreme routes to escape the guards.  
Sarah breaks the silence by buying me the apples and some more food for Adrian and me. We walk away from the market place continuing to talk and catch up with each other. A couple of hours pass by and I got too distracted because I forgot about the sundown bell which means that I have to start to go back before the guards find me.  If I got caught then that meant I would probably get arrested again. Just as I was about to tell Bobby and Sarah that I had to leave. A hand stops me before I could do anything. I turn around and glare at the sight of the arrogant, stuck-up blond bombshell I had before me.
"What do you want Amanda?" I ask annoyed.
"Ouch, what's with the attitude." She replies with a smirk.
"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Asked Sarah.
"What I can't go to a market place to get some food."
"I don't buy it" I respond, "Your dad is the captain of the guard, I've never seen you come to get food yourself, you have servants for that."
"Well, what if I wanted a change of pace."
"Cut the crap Amanda, what do you really want?"
"Aw come on you still don't think that I'm a spoiled brat do you?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
"Hmph," She says as her eyes start to slowly narrow and glare at me. "Straight to the point as always. Oh well, you never were really a fun one. But you are right I do need something." 
I knew it, she never wasted her precious breath on me unless she was desperate. She always tried to get her paw on anything she wanted, no matter what.
"Well, I guess you do know me" She answered as she rolled her eyes. "Well since I'm not one who likes to waste her time, I'll just get right on to the point. I need you to get something for me."
"What do you mean by get?" Asked Bobby.
"Oh, she knows what I mean?" Said Amanda with a smirk.
"You're asking her to steal!?" Exclaimed Sarah.
"It's not like she hasn't done it before."
"What!?" Exclaimed Bobby.
"No way! Absolutely not!" Yelled Sarah.
"Well, I wasn't asking you was I. Besides I won't take no for an answer."
"Oh really well let me teach you. No!" I answered.
"I'm not interested in anything to do with you."
"You might want to rethink that."
"And why is that?"
"Why don't you ask Adrian?"
"What?"
"You heard me." She said with the same smirk on her face.
"What about my brother?" I said starting to become anxious.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Now I will tell you but only if you accept my offer."
"Which is?"
"I need someone with your skills to get something for me. And trust me this is something that you can't refuse."
If I had known what the offer was in the first place, trust me, I would've never wanted to hear it. This was the start of my journey waiting just for me outside of Uruan.