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.

Theo made sure a random person could not use his key. At first glance, it looked like an odd trinket. To get the lockpicks out, one had to press in several different places to unlatch a little wire to release the key itself. Celia hoped the bullies wouldn't figure it out.

But even though Pockmark didn't know what it was, he knew it was something.

He crouched next to Celia. "What is this thing?"

"Nothing."

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and slammed her head on the metal grate. She cried out in pain, and the blood from her nose flooded her mouth.

"I asked what it is."

"It's nothing!" Celia cried, spitting blood. "Just a stupid toy!"

"I don't believe you." Pockmarks got up and nodded to his companions.

Celia covered her head with her arms when the first kicks fell on her. And they seemed never to stop. Pockmarks were shouting something, but her mind got blank, too blinded by the pain exploding in her body with every hit. Her cries turned to pathetic whimpers, as that was all she could muster.

Pockmark must have realised she could no longer form a coherent thought or speak because the beating stopped at his command. Celia was already on the brink of consciousness, her body trembling with silent sobs.

"We don't have time for this. Let's go."

"What about this thing?"

"Toss it. I bet it's some useless junk."

A loud splash of water reached Celia's ears as the heavy step receded away from her. With a soft whimper, she finally let herself slip into the cold darkness.

***

The blackness surrounding her was cold but comforting. The pain did not disappear, but it was distant, like a bad memory. Her consciousness was floating in the dark, sluggish and calm. Maybe she could stay here. It was far better than what was waiting for her if she woke up.

But her blessed respite was interrupted by someone shaking her. The pain exploded again, and her mind was brutally snatched back to her aching body.

"Come on, little rat. It's time to wake up."

Celia raised her heavy lids and blinked a few times to make her vision less blurry. Someone was leaning over her. A face surrounded by a bob of dark hair, an eyepatch, and a scar across the pretty face.

"Lin?" she croaked.

"There you go." Lin's upturned dark eye brightened up. "Come on. We must go back. It's way past midnight already. Can you walk?"

"I'm... not sure..."

"I'll help you." Lin expertly pulled Celia to a sitting position and heaved her to her feet, ignoring her painful groans.

"I.. don't think I can do it," Celia gasped. Every muscle in her body hurt as if she had just got trampled by a mechanical horse. "Just leave me here."

"No can do." Lin wrapped Celia's arm over her shoulder, supporting her back with her other arm. "No little rat left behind on my watch. Come on! You are tougher than that. We are almost at the docks."

Celia sniffled and let the taller girl drag her slowly through the dark narrow alleys. She must have blacked out for a good couple of hours because barely any factories were still working, leaving the lowest levels of the Iron Shore shrouded in darkness. But Lin didn't seem to mind, as her steps were as sure as if her only eye could pierce all the shadows.

When they finally reached the quay and approached the small motorboat, Celia felt that she could cry from relief. If not for Lin, she would never make that short trip, just lay where she fell and waited for death.

"You're very late, Lin," a man behind the helm called, annoyance evident in his voice.

"I had to make a little detour." Lin shrugged and slowly sat Celia on the sack of something soft. "But I'm done now, so you can fire up the engine and get us out of here before Law Enforcers' patrol snatches us."

"It'll be your fault if they do!" the man snarked, but he shouted a command, and soon the whole boat trembled when the engine came to life with a low rumble.

"I thought the last boat was leaving right after sunset," Celia murmured, leaning heavily on the pile of sacks next to her.

"The last boat for you, little rats, yes." Lin plopped on the crate next to Celia. "The smugglers, though, never stop working, and night is a prime time for business."

"Oh." Celia nodded absentmindedly. It made sense, but her mind felt too sluggish to understand fully. It was too busy trying to ignore all the pain.

"They've got you good, eh?" Lin asked after a while as they left Iron shore, and the boat cut through the dark sea at top speed.

"Yes. There were three of them...."

"Sucks to be you then."

Celia frowned. "Can't you do something? It's not fair they are beating up other kids to get money."

Lin scoffed. "Do what? You are in a criminal cartel, not a private school for privileged children. I don't care how they get money, as long as they bring their share daily."

"But if they steal honestly like we do, from other people, we all would bring more money."

Laughter broke the steady splash of water. "Steal honestly! That was good. What's your name, little rat?"

"Celia," she said with a pout. She didn't see anything funny in what she said.

"Listen to me, Cee-rat." Lin leaned close to her, and their faces were barely inches apart. "Life isn't fair, and the cartel is the last place you should expect fair treatment. If you want to survive, you have to be tough and strong."

"I'm... not strong enough to stand a chance against three big boys," Celia said bitterly, leaning back, away from Lin.

"No, but you are clever. I know what you and the cripple are doing. Robbing houses instead of people on the street is quite innovative. I've never seen newbies going for that."

"You know? How?" Celia asked, flabbergasted. She tried to be sneaky with her rounds to ensure the other rats won't pick up on their methods. If too many people tried to rob houses, it would surely draw the attention of Law Enforcement.

"Oh, please. I'm supposed to evaluate your lot, no? It's my job to know what each of you is up to. And your sneaking skills are not as great as you think."

Celia's face flushed red. She felt like a little child now. Of course Lin would figure out her game. "But you didn't say anything. I thought it was against the rules."

Lin laughed again. "What rules, kid? There are no rules here. Bring me money every day, and we are all good. I don't care how you get it." She shrugged, but her face turned solemn. "But those boys who beat you up... they will be back. Now they see you as a weak and easy victim."

Celia hugged herself, ignoring the pain. "What do I do then? I can't possibly fight them. And I don't have anyone else to team up with. Surely, I will not pull Theo into this."

She realised that her brilliant strategy for surviving the trial period had flaws. The conviction that all she needed was Theo was wrong. They managed to get enough income for themselves, but they lacked the safety of the larger group. And while Theo sat on the streets and pretended to be a beggar all day while working on his gadgets, she was treading the dark alleys alone and unprotected.

"You have to outsmart them," Lin said with a smirk. "You are fast, and you seem to be at home on the sea level. You'll have to be more vigilant. Always be ready to run and have several escape routes ready in your head. You can't face them, so do everything to avoid confrontation."

"And what if it's not enough? What if they run me into a corner again?"

"Then, Cee-rat..." Lin took her hand and put something small but heavy on her palm. "You'll have to show them that this rat can bite back."

Celia looked at a little switchblade in her hands and glanced back at Lin with eyes wide.

"You mean...."

Lin shrugged. "I didn't give it to you. Do what you must do to survive, Cee-rat."

Celia closed her hand, emotions warring inside of her. On the one hand, she was relieved that now she had the means to fight back. But on the other, she was terrified of what that meant. She wasn't sure if she could use the blade to hurt someone else, even if her life depended on it.

But that was a worry for another day. Celia tucked the knife into her pocket and smiled gratefully, though dried blood tugged painfully on her skin. "Thank you, Lin."