The Gap

He had to run through the same day a few times. It was hard to make those guards talk. But he had finally acquired it, their weaknesses.

The first guard has a soft spot for children, he must have told the second guard to not hit me again during my first run. The second guard is total scum. He is only moved when there are mentions of pretty women around. So the plan is simple. Lure the second guard away, and then get through the first guard using our charm as children.

I asked Loretta to make a pretty doll that can move and talk, she eyed me as if I were doing something suspicious when I did. But now that the preparations are ready, we were getting out of that house.

They had one final conversation about it.

****************

Loretta saw Somen's unnaturally focused eyes. He hadn't look like he slept a day yet.

Faking indifference, Loretta asked Somen, "Have you slept yet?" As she placed a cup of stale tea by his side. It was the best they could afford with their non-existent wages.

"I haven't. Been awake a few days now." He replied, and thanked her for the tea, no matter how tasteless the leaves were.

"This is your.. 7th run now, right?" She asked, her tone heavy with concern. She hadn't realized it yet, but when your brother is your only remaining acquaintance you can rely on, you get pretty scared when they get hurt.

He stretched his hands and back, "Yeah." 

"You scared things will change?"

"I'm rooting for it. We've been here so long, we don't know what normal is." Somen replied, without a hint of doubt in his voice. He laid his hands on Loretta's head and patted her hair, "I dunno about me, but you should know what normal feels like."

She catches his hand and looks at him seriously, "Hey, we ain't normal, simple as that. I'll be there, no matter how weird you are."

He laughs dryly at her comment, "Thanks."

She looks at him. His face is filled with scars from the past. His hands are so calloused. If he hadn't been born, then, he wouldn't have had to go through such pain.

Hesitantly, she asks, "Say, do you regret being born?"

"I mean, our parents were total ass, but I don't regret being born."

"Why?"

"I mean, I'm living--"

"Surviving." She corrects him.

"May have been that way for the first few years of my life, but I've got you Lo." He pushes his arm down to pat her head again, "You make it feel like I'm still living."

Tears start to well. Imagine how great life would have been.

"Don't speak as if it's our last moment." Loretta snaps. It's tough to face feelings of sadness. It is better for them to be vented as anger.

"Alright then." He hops off the desk and slurps down the tea in one go. "It's time."

***************

The puppet that Loretta made whistled and walked down the streets. It flaunted its figure, swaying its hips side to side as if it were asking to get catcalled. The second guard soon took notice and whistled at it, and it picked up on the cue and took it farther away.

Now it's time for us to go.

We walked down the street with rags covering our head. I came forward and asked the guard,

"Sir, would you let us leave?" Mimicking the best voice of a child as I could muster. Seeing as how I wasn't able to grow taller than a small boy and Loretta is still developing, he looks at us for a moment and then shuffles to the side without a word.

"Thank you." I whisper and as I tiptoed my way out of the gate, I could finally feel the air clearing. Like the smell of piss is go-

"Sir-- Get away." Loretta squirmed. She shuffled under the hood as the large guard caught her in his hand. 

What is he doing?

He takes off the rags on her head and picks her up. He is drooling. 

He likes children.

My rage is boiling. I take out the taser that I had Loretta prepare and I jump to snag it straight in his neck. BZZT!

He falls to the ground, frothing at the mouth as I tug Loretta away and run for our lives. 

It almost wasn't any different. The air still felt as if it hitched in my throat, like lava pouring down my lungs. I almost didn't realize that we had been sprinting for the last ten minutes and that was the reason why the air was scorching.

But at long last, there it was. The view of the commoner's market. Filled with people. Normal people. The moment our feet steps in that land, we will have finally escaped.

[A layer of your existence is being engraved into the soil.]

"Hey, Lo? What's this?" I point to the message.

She takes a moment to huff and catch her breath. I forgot that she wasn't as used to running away like I was. She was still good. In all ways.

[Congratulations, you are now level 2!]

"Look! Lo! It says I'm level 2!"

She heaves, "Yeah.. That's what that message means. It's like your achievements are being realized."

"So getting out of that place is considered an achievement.. Wait, Lo, what level are you?"

"I dunno? 30? They gave me it each time I made a new droid or something."

Ah. I feel embarrassed. I should change the topic.

"We should go there now! No time to waste! Full speed ahead!" I shout. Damn, air has never tasted so good.

As I finish shouting, she hits me on the head and scolds, "You think we can go in there looking like this?!"

Right. We look like beggars. I mean, that isn't really that far off. I'll just steal some and go back in time. 

Time to hatch a new plan. First is to slither my way inside the market. The guards should be drowsy during this time. It should be easy.

I walk over to the entrance of the market and immediately get spotted by a mother hurdling her children, imploring that they follow her order. She meets my eyes, and she makes this terrified face that gives me the impression that I've done something to offend her and she scurries her children, dragging them along the gates. Fortunately, the guards seem to be asleep.

I walk inside the market, the nightlife bustling and lit up by the iridescence of jarred fireflies and one of the greatest inventions, the lightbulb. The slums were scarce with them. The night-time would be the most dangerous part of living there. No matter your age, name, gender, going outside during the night was a surefire way to get mugged.

I walk along and meet the eyes of several merchants. Their gazes flee from my own as if I were a roach scrambling my way across the streets. Some looked scared. No, most of them did. They thought I was there to mug them. I couldn't blame them.

Out of nowhere, a tall woman approaches me. She has a white-colored dress and smells faintly of squeezed poppies. A kidnapper?

She beckoned me closer, "Hey sweetie. Are you lost?" She tries to close the gap between us, but I step back. She doesn't look fazed and asks me again, "Where are your parents? They ought to take care of a cute child like you."

Urgh. Fake words are even nastier than telling me the truth. My face is riddled with scars. I am not cute. You are trying to swindle me, miss.

I turn my back on her and disappear off into the crowds of people looking through the newest items in the market. From their disappointed looks, not much gets here. The middle and upper capital must still be gatekeeping things to themselves. I hear them murmur, "If only we had those clothes that those kids wore."

How ungrateful. Tsk.

I see laundry hung up from a thin line stretched over two windows inside an alley. I leap up at the door frame and with a timed second jump, I am able to snatch a pair of shirts and shorts. 

...

I do another jump and secure a dress for Loretta to wear.

[Heaven is surprised at your shamelessness.]