Past:

9 years old.

The Underground City. A smorgasbord of criminals and the soon-to-be dead. Rarely did anyone make it out of this hell hole. Surviving down here was hard enough with a family, but being on your own made it near impossible to live past your teenage years. Either you starve to death, get murdered, or sold into slavery. This place made it hard for an orphan to survive.

But I'm still here.

Maybe it's because I'm so small, no one notices me, or maybe because I've figured out the ins and outs of this whole city. Stealing became much easier. Today had been no different. This group of thugs were known to spend hours at the tavern, drinking their lives away. Stupidly, they always left their back window unlatched.

I'd taken a quick shower, happy to get the dirt off my body. Being dirty in the underground city was unavoidable if you didn't have a nice place like this, which had running water. That also meant, they could afford better food. With my wet hair tied up on my head, I tore of a piece of bread that had been left out on the table. It wasn't stale… yum!

The front door slamming open startled me. A man narrowed his eyes at me and said, "A little thief, I see."

Shit!

Bolting for the window, I climbed out, sprinting down the street. Taking a glance behind me, I saw him gaining on me. Turning corners didn't deter him. Higher ground would be my best chance. A lot of these thugs had a tough time climbing that high. At the next house, I climbed up, putting my knee in the window to balance. The only issue was the window shutters were gone, and I tumbled head first into the house. Hitting the ground knocked the air out of me.

"I told you we should have replaced that sooner," A man's voice said. He leaned over me. "It's just a kid." His grey eyes showing amusement as he laughed, making his dark blond hair shake. "She's cute."

"Get out of our house.," the second man replied. Unlike the first one, this man had dark black hair and grey-blue eyes, and a scowl on his face. He seemed to be in a bad mood.

Loud banging on the door made both look away. Drawing his blade, the blond man turned the door handle. "Can I help you?"

"Farlan?" The brute who had been previously been chasing me looked shocked. His eyes shifted to me. "Do you know this kid? She broke into our house."

To my surprise, Farlan didn't turn me over. Instead he gave the man some coins. "This should cover whatever she took. Sorry that she bothered you, Joban." With a few more exchanged words, Farlan shut the door. His attention turned back to me.

I sat up on the floor, rubbing my head. Why did he do that? The reasons filtered through my mind. They wanted me for money? To sell me? Maybe to use me as bargaining material since I was wanted for stealing? My body tensed, ready to run again.

"You're Cori Sommers, aren't you?" Farlan asked. When I didn't answer, he walked towards me. "I know because of that scar on your neck."

My hand flew to cover the scar on the side of my neck. Usually my hair covered it. "So what if I am?" I asked, slowly scooting back. I'd never make it out of here before he caught me.

Farlan bent down onto one knee. "You broke into a house owned by some pretty well-known thugs. You have to be pretty brave to do that."

Rolling my eyes, I scoffed. "Don't talk to me like I'm some stupid child. The weak don't survive down here."

"What did you take?" The other man asked from his seat at the table. His stare sent a chill through me.

"Levi-"

"A shower and a bite of bread," I answered, twirling a piece of my wet hair that had fallen down around my finger. At least it wasn't a lie. Normally, I'd take things of value to sell in order to get some money.

"That's all?" Farlan asked, shocked.

I shrugged. "The place I live at doesn't have a shower, so I borrow them from other people. The bath house is way too expensive." It wasn't that I couldn't afford it, because I had a stash of money, but if I spent it on that, I wouldn't be able to eat, or gamble. Gambling was fun. The adult drunks underestimated me because I was so little.

Farlan laughed, helping me up. "Sounds like someone I know," he said, tossing a look to Levi. He didn't elaborate, but by the looks of this place, it was Levi. Most people can't be bothered to clean this much, because it's all dirty anyways.

My eyes landed on the map on the table. "Is that the floorplan to the Schroder Complex?" I asked, moving closer to get a better look. There were rumors that this existed but I didn't think I'd ever get to see it!

Levi stood from his chair and slammed his knife into the table right in front of my hand, barely missing. "Hands off, brat."

Narrowing my eyes, I rubbed my hand. "Who wants to see an incomplete map anyways?" I asked.

"Incomplete?" Farlan asked, sharing a look with Levi. How could they not know that? If he's 'the Levi' everyone talks about, then why couldn't he see that this map isn't complete.

"They're not stupid enough to make a layout with all their hidden rooms."

"What do you know about the place?" Levi asked, still staring at me like I was a child.

Turning away dramatically to stare out the window, I replied, "Nothing that's free."

Farlan laughed again, though nothing about this seemed funny. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw he was laughing at Levi, who stared daggers at me. "I did pay that man to leave you alone. I'd hoped you were Cori, and that you'd help us out."

"I didn't ask you to do that," I said, folding my arms. Charity was rare. I'd take all I could get. Plus, with my name getting around, it's more likely I'll end up on someone's hit list soon.

Levi spoke next. "You can use our shower whenever you want."

Silence followed his proposal for a few moments. I chewed on my lip. Money only gets you so far. And I do love to take showers… "Fine, deal," I replied, sliding down into the seat at the table. Twirling the pencil around in my hand, I told them everything, marking down the rooms. There was a back entrance not listed on the map, but it was so easy to break into. The secret rooms were scattered. And there was also a staircase to a basement level. "That's pretty much it. I don't know much about the basement level, since I've only ever been there once."

Farlan set a bowl in of potato soup and some bread down in front of me. Ruffling my hair, he said, "For all your hard work. Thank you, Cori."

I happily accepted the free meal, swatting his hand away. "I go in there a lot. Their inventory guy sucks at his job, so they usually don't even know I've stolen anything," I said with a spoonful of warm soup. It made me happy to have a real warm meal.

Levi and Farlan looked over the map while I ate. Any questions, I had the answer for. If I wanted to, I could probably go work for them, but I prefer to be on my own. It makes things simple. No one else had to look for me, and vice versa. That way, when it came to it, I would leave without anyone else.

"Where do you live?" Farlan asked from the doorway. Both of them watched me skip down the stairs. I think they've taken a liking to me.

"I don't tell strangers where I live," I answered with a grin, waving before I disappeared into the streets.

They weren't so bad. Most people I meet down here only want something from me. It felt more like a mutual agreement with them. Levi called me a brat too much, but after a while, I got used to going around to their house for my free showers and they almost always fed me. Farlan tried multiple times to get me to give up where I stayed, but I didn't have the heart to tell them that I didn't live anywhere. Alleyways made the best spot for hiding out. For once, having someone else to count on wasn't so bad.