Masters of the Sky

Chapter 16 Survive

15 years ago

Celia sneaked through the narrow alleys of the sea-level platform. The sun had already set, and the gloom-coated Iron Shore was illuminated only by still-working factories, giving off an otherworldly orange and red glow. Most street rats had already scampered back to the hideout, but she hoped to catch the last boat.

It's been two weeks since she was made into a slave, and thanks to her new-found friend, they were both doing very well. Unlike the rest of the kids, they didn't have to pickpocket or con people, risking getting caught at every attempt. Instead, Celia was making rounds across all lower neighbourhoods using Theo's universal key. Most of the houses were empty during the day as people were busy working from dusk to nightfall to get paid enough to survive.

Did she feel bad about stealing their money earned through hours of hard work? Maybe a little. But it was either them or her, so there was that. She also didn't always find coins in people's homes. Those were scarce to come by, so she nicked whatever had any remote value she could quickly sell or barter for something better. Today wasn't her lucky day; despite visiting over twenty houses, she barely found anything useful. Times were harsh, and there was not much money going around. And so she made extra rounds to make sure she had enough money to return to Lin, to get Theo and her a decent meal. She almost made it to the docks, where the last smuggling boat was due to leave in the next couple of minutes.

Almost.

Two rough dark shapes separated from the shadows to block her way. Celia squinted her eyes and recognised the boys from their new rats' group. She never bothered to learn their names, but they must have been a few years older than her because both were almost twice her size.

"Look who's here," the boy on the right said in a mocking singsong tone. A pale orange glow from a nearby factory showed several pockmarks on his face.

"It's that scrawny kid that keeps the cripple company," added his companion, crossing beefy arms on his chest. "And somehow, they always get enough money to keep Lin off their backs."

"I don't want any trouble," Celia said, taking a step back. She had no chance against those two. It was apparent how they got their share of loots─they beat up other kids and took theirs. But before she managed to back away further, her back hit someone who immediately caught her arms, locking them in a painful hold. She struggled to get free, but the third boy was too strong. "Ow! Let go of me!"

"No use in resisting, kid. Just give us money, and you're free to go," Pockmarks said with a smug smile.

"Go to hell!" Celia growled and spat, hoping to catch the foot of whoever was holding her.

Pockmarks laughed. "Look at that! The girl has some fight in her!" He strolled toward her, and before she could spit in his face, his fist slammed into her stomach. Celia groaned and doubled over as blinding pain blurred her vision.

"Such an idiot."

Celia tried to catch her breath as the thug's greedy hands plucked out her bag and checked her pockets. He scoffed. "That's all you got today? It's hardly worth my spit!"

Celia barely managed to straighten when his fist hit her again. This time her knees buckled, and she fell on the metal grate under her feet as the boy holding her let her arms go. Brownish water sloshed beneath her as if mocking her while she struggled to breathe again.

"Hey, what's that?" Beefy Arms asked. Celia raised her head to see the boy holding Theo's universal key.

"Show me." Pockmark snatched the gadget and looked at it from different angles.