4 Ruby District (3)

August 1st

aloysia

There. I've packed my bags, packed all the food and packages of instant ramen I had left, all my crummy clothes, and a rather large jar of dirt and potatoes. I have the fake forged papers. I hook on my belt, hanging low on my hips, carrying knives and little gadgets and coils of wire.

I've blown a kiss goodbye to my home of rubble, Kennedy's old home. I'm ready.

I carry a backpack on my back and a duffel bag over by shoulder. Nearing the plaza, I start to hear shrill laughter, slurred speech, and groans from fist fights. When I have to jump across a large gap to another roof, I throw my bags with all my strength to the other side, then jump from there. Maybe I jumped a little wrong, and in mid-air, I think, 'I'm not going to make it', so I change my plan of landing on my feet and rolling on the roof to landing with my arms gripping the edge. My stomach and thighs hit the concrete hard, and I groan softly, shutting my eyes for a few seconds, then hook my elbows on the edge. I swing my right leg over and pull myself up from there.

I start to jog. I swear I can feel it. I can sense it. The smell of fried chicken and hot dogs and meat on skewers being sold on the streets of the city, wafting over to my nose and tongue. I close my eyes slightly and sigh. I'm almost there. 'Freedom'.

Instead, I almost trip on somebody's leg. Some guy laying against the edge of the roof, the dull moonlight revealing wavy dark hair and a cocky smile. 'What are you doing here?' I think, almost irritated. Usually nobody else bothered to go to the roofs, only me.

"Care for a kiss?" he slurs. The guy stands up slowly, rubbing his neck. "Whatcha got there? Are you leaving? Are you crazy?"

He starts to approach me, and I kick his balls. "Get out of my way," I snap, growling at him bent over on the floor. I walk off, and as I glance over the edge, I can see I'm just above the heart of the plaza, some bonfires set around to give off light. People gamble on brawls, and when they lose, more sloppy fights break out. I wrinkle my nose in disgust and soon, the plaza is behind me, and all around me is darkness.

I can still see the outline of buildings. It's a full moon tonight, but it still helps even though it's cloudy and smoky.

About thirty minutes later, lights illuminate my surroundings from distant city towers, trains zipping between skyscrapers fifty feet in the air. I start to feel a smile blossoming on my face.

There's a lame fence about twenty feet in front of me. Past that, some garbage, then a heavy security preventing any illegal or sick people from coming in. The thing is, there's a loophole that Kennedy and I use every so often. An short opening underground, right under the noses of the guards.

I make sure to put on some gloves, then I swing open the manhole in the ground and climb under. Instead of dropping down the ladder and waddling in the sewer, I pull myself through another tunnel close to the surface and crawl through. My bags and I barely fit, I have to crouch pretty low. The air is stale and everything is dark. Five minutes later, I pass the security above me. Another five minutes later and I'm right below an alley. I come back up through another manhole and tuck my gloves back in my belt.

I'm in. But this time, it's different. I'm going to stay in.

The place I'm at is far from downtown, but far enough from the security place. The buildings here are all the same height and not super tall, so nobody will see me if I sleep on the roof. I seem to have grown fond of roofs lately.

I climb up an emergency ladder all the way up to the top of a library. I find a nice spot in the middle and lay down. I'm not tired though. No, I'm tingling with excitement. I don't think I'll be able to sleep.

Tomorrow, I turn sixteen. Tomorrow, I'll "update" my "papers" and I'll be able to get a job or get a real place to live or enroll into a school. I'll be able to walk around the streets of the city and talk to actual people without the fear of being caught. Oh my gosh, I've just realized, the only people I've ever talked to are Kennedy, Liam, my old foster parents, and the criminals that linger in my old abandoned hometown. I'll probably be awkward as hell.

Somebody's hands reach up to grip the edge of the roof. I spring up and wrap my hand around a knife on my belt, a bolt of fear striking me, when I realize the person climbing up is Kennedy and I relax. She's still in her factory work clothes, a gray stiff uniform with hand prints of ash and soot where she had swiped her hands on.

"Well, you're easy to find," Kennedy mutters.

I sigh and scratch the back of my neck. Kennedy starts walking towards me, wiping her hands on her uniform. "You know," I say, "I tried to not be seen, but two minutes later you found me."

"You were literally laying in the middle of the roof. I just had to glance from another building's roof to spot you."

I scowl. "I mean, normal people won't be going onto roofs to look for me." I brighten up and grin. "I got in through the tunnel, piece of cake. I have your papers, which are absolutely awesome, by the way. Why did you come looking for me?"

Kennedy smiles. She has auburn curly hair and soft blue eyes. She's a mom, and she's been through a lot, but she's only 32, and she still looks really young. "Did I ever tell you that your mother was a dancer?"

I swallow, then gesture that we sit down. Kennedy rarely talks about my mom or dad. I sit with my knees close to my chest, and Kennedy sits with her legs crossed. She picks at her uniform, scratching at the rough fabric. "I've seen you dance before," she starts. "Maybe you thought I wasn't looking, but I saw. And I saw that you are really happy when you dance. It's like you're glowing."

I blush. "Jeez, well, thank you?"

Kennedy laughs softly. "Anyway, I know a lot more about you than you think. Remember when you were little, I used to take you to the movies every Saturday?" I nod, picking at the nail of my thumb. "After that, you would always act out scenes passionately, and you'd make me and Liam watch you act something out. It would range from romantic to dramatic to the rich brat that ruled the school she went to."

"Pfft." I smile slightly. "Yeah, I remember."

"You sing a lot. You're good at it, too. Guess what; your parents were both singers too."

"Then how come they were stuck in that crummy old place?" I try to remember my old home, already collapsed after years of abandonment, two small rooms in an old apartment.

"You know, the Lune district used to be a rich fancy place. Your parents used to perform a lot. Then, a little before you were born, the economy crashed big time. Even this city got hurt some, but not too much. Many people fled, and a main part of the Lune district got infected with the plague, and everyone thought that the rest would soon go up in flames, too."

There's a silence between us, not tense, just a quiet calmness. There's a cool breeze that ruffles my clothes and smoothes back my hair. Then Kennedy sighs and lays down on her back, and I lay down next to her.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter what life used to be like, huh?" She stretches her arms and then folds them behind her head. "Well, all I'm saying is, you certainly took after your parents without realizing it. And you should do something with that talent of yours."

I snort. "What talent?"

"I'm serious, Aloysia! You really are a great dancer and singer, and actress. I'm saying you should enroll in an arts school."

I blink at her. "Wait, what?"

"An arts school! Where your classmates will have the same interests as you. You'll love it there, you'll learn more about dancing and singing and theatre and you'll improve so much. It's in the Rubys district, not far from where I live. It's nice and sunny there too."

"Kennedy, I'm not sure—"

"Well, what else is there to do? Get a job? C'mon!" Kennedy pushes me playfully. "Look at me, I'll become an old lady at this rate, and the only thing she has accomplished is making soap and mixing chemicals at a factory in her life."

"That's not true! You helped me live on my own, and now you helped me come here."

Kennedy sighs. "Yeah, but what I'm saying is, you could do so much with your life. You're young, turning sixteen tomorrow! Go to school while you can, an arts school which you'll love, and study something that you have a passion for. And maybe, I don't know, become a celebrity and get famous and all—"

I laugh at that. "Yeah, no way. Okay Kennedy, I'll think about it. But maybe you should use some of your advice. You're not that old, either. Maybe you can do something great too."

Kennedy gets quiet at that. We stare up at the stars, more like the handful of stars that managed to shine through the thick smoke in the sky. I feel a little sad at that, in my chest unfurling, that this world has become so trashed and abused. Families have fallen apart. The government is a joke. For every successful city, there are dozens of districts dying of incurable diseases. And all because of—

"Aloysia," Kennedy whispers. I turn my head to her. "Have you ever considered… that you might be a mutant?"

My heart stops for a moment. A laugh bubbles up my throat. "Kennedy, what the heck?"

"Your grandmother could control water, you know."

I sigh and rub my eyes. "In the past ten minutes, I have learned more about my family than I ever have in all my almost sixteen years."

"It's just… maybe it skipped a generation and came to you. You've never gotten sick. Not even the simplest colds. And one time…" Kennedy's brows furrow as she thinks deeply. "Ah, never mind. But still—"

"C'mon, are you drunk? Let's get you back home. Pfft, me, a mutant. An unnatural, environment-wrecking, happiness-sucking mutant. If I were a mutant, I'd have some lame power like, sleeping for more than twelve hours. I'm good at sleeping for a long time, you know."

"Why do you hate mutants so much?" Kennedy sighs as I walk her to the ladder on the side of the building.

"Because they're the reason that the world is falling apart," I say grimly. "The fact that mutants exist and don't bother to fix the diseases they've brought is the reason that my parents are dead."

"That's not true—"

"Ah, hush. C'mon, it's late."

"Wait, Aloysia." I stop, and I realize I was literally shoving her down the ladder. I help her back up and bite my lip.

"Sorry. I got carried away."

"That's alright. Anyway, there's another reason that I came looking for you. Bring your bags with you, I've found a place for you to stay."

I suck in a breath. "Huh?"

"I was going to give it to you whether you went to the arts school or not. Anyway, it's a small apartment by the school, and it's in a good neighborhood…"

I crush her with a hug. "Oh," I gasp, "you didn't have to! You've already done so much for me…" I pull back. "Oh, Kennedy, I can't take the place. I'll never stop owing you."

"It's alright. I bought it using the money you gave Liam, the pouch of gold coins? But you'll have to get a part-time job to pay the rent. The first five months are already paid for."

Tears brim my eyes. "Oh, Kennedy, I'm gonna cry…"'

"Hey, what for?" Kennedy grins and pats my head. "You're a tough girl. Don't cry over this. C'mon, let's move you into that apartment, huh?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

So I grab my bags, climb down the ladder, and follow Kennedy like a lost puppy. I did have a puppy before, but he died soon from an animal disease after I got him. It was really sad.

"Wait, don't I have to go to some police station and show them the papers?"

Kennedy shakes her head. "Nah. That's just too suspicious. We'll have them at the school, and you'll be in the system when you enroll. Don't worry."

"Oh." I look around, and can't help gasping at the sight of a bright glowing skyscrapers, advertisements flashing off one of it's screens, different colors of light scattering from the very top.

The buildings just get taller and flashier as we head deeper downtown.

Finally, after loads of walking, we pass the downtown stage and walk into a more rural, calmer district. The buildings are wider and shorter, and their roofs are tiles of ruby red.

"Welcome to Rubys," Kennedy says, reading my mind.

We arrive at a huge apartment complex with several rooms and floors. "Oh, shoot," Kennedy mumbles. "I'm so stupid."

"What?" I ask, feeling dumb.

"It's closed. Of course, it's like past midnight. And you can't enroll yet anyway, because you're still fifteen." She frowns at me sadly. "I'm really sorry, Aloysia. After all that walking—"

"No, no, it's fine." I smile brightly. "I'm not tired at all! I'll just find a place to sleep for the night, and I'll move in tomorrow."

"Yeah. Okay." Kennedy rubs her forehead. "I'm just really tired, I guess. Agh, I'm so stupid. Well, I can't stay here, Liam's waiting for me at home. And remember, I got a room for you under your name, Aloysia Rosaline, room 301." I nod. We hug one more time, and then Kennedy leaves and I go to the back of the apartment complex, where the trash cans are, and find a place to settle that's far enough from the stench of the trash but still close to the apartment. I rest my head on the duffel bag, hug my backpack, and fall asleep instantly, exhausted.