''Everything is all right Aisha, your brother will return soon..." Nicholas stopped in his tracks as he saw that Abram was bleeding from his shoulders. Aisha stood up and walked towards him. Nicholas stood still. They were in what was one of their many hideouts, the run-down remains of an office building, illuminated only by a fire kept alive by thrown away wood and paper. He had gone and taken around a path, hoping to keep the devil off their track for long enough.

"There are more of those things every day...Argia really is a cursed city." Aisha complained as she looked for whatever emergency supplies they still had left, just barely enough, but it was hard to know what the claws of a devil could do to a man, and she knew it as she desperately tried to get a hold of some bands and alcohol. They knew barely anything about medicine, but doing this at least kept them alive.

''That was still too damn crazy. W could have helped him too? Maybe if we both had... "'' Nicholas came close to the light of the fireplace as she tried to do what he could with her wounds and calmly rejected her words by shaking his head.

''Never mind that... did you both manage to find something to eat?" She asked him.

"Well, we put stuff in our mouths, I guess. Our latest excursion wasn't in vain. We managed to scram enough money for a few more days.'' Nicholas sighed as the topic changed.

''These demons, I don't get it. What is the point of summoning anything like that if you just end up like an animal and then just infest the streets like a vermin?" Aisha screamed as she threw the alcohol while Abram groaned trying to hold on to the pain. Neither of the two of them thought his wound was getting any better.

''Most people that summon demons don't end up turning into thralls, only the stupid ones do.''Nicholas threw a newspaper to keep the flames going a little longer.

''You are already stupid as hell for summoning one.''Aisha sat down on the floor in front of her brother, the tiredness of all that running coming back to her again.

''Big deal, even if you don't turn into a thrall, there is always a price to pay." Abram arrived and left his coat to the side as he tried to recover his breath. He was hungry, but he knew that if they didn't offer any food, there probably wasn't any left. They both stared at him with concern, but he seemed to be in good shape and with nothing missing.

Nicholas sat as well in the middle, and the three of them remained around the fire that kept the darkness of the city at bay.

''What a show, taking on a thrall all by yourself. It seems you can handle anything, Abram. It is just like that time we got surrounded by the wolf pack gang. Tell me is that demon really out of our backs now?

''I think someone shot at it, I have no clue who did it, I was already running as far as I could by then. Honestly, all I managed to do was get myself horribly wounded. There is no fighting a demon, those things don't ever die. "

''But you can die, so please don't do anything that dumb again. We really can't keep going like this...'' Abram had his throat dry and could only nod at his sister's words.

''We are not going to make enough money to get out of the creek district at this rate. It would be easier if we could at least get the protection of a gang or something. Not the wolves though, not after what happened. " Nicholas interjected with a tired tone of voice.

''Their leader already made a pact with a demon. We wouldn't be any safer. They would just force us to work for them. Same for all the other gangs fighting for scraps in this district. We need to find a way to live somewhere else, in a safer part of town... else I think our luck is going to run out, we all know that. "'' Nicholas didn't seem to find her reply any more convincing and Abraham was just too tired to even argue.

''You can't make it anywhere inside the city without a demon, not unless you work for someone with a devil to help you along. A mere human can't protect himself someone else has to do it for you, like Abram here that keeps saving our hides." Abram smirked at his comment, but Aisha didn't find that to be fun at all. If anything, she seemed to shrivel down in shame.

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"The only reason we are on the outskirts of the city is that someone was going to sacrifice us to summon the devil. That is the only reason we even met. Who even knows where our families are by now? Honestly, all we can do is try to find a good shelter in this city. There had to be a safer place. "'Abram fixed his cap as he passed his hand over the knife in his pocket, making sure it was well hidden.

''We should at least have a way to live in center town... Mr. Collins is a very nice man. He can figure something out. "''Aisha said, 'The two of them had heard that before and they would have to give the same answer again.'

''Only because he doesn't know that we make a living by stealing. The folks there have no tolerance for thieves, and I don't blame them. The people we have stolen from don't have that much, not even the wolves and snakes. "Abram said with tiredness in every word.

''It is all the fault of those snake slavers...''Aisha said with her voice running out.

"It doesn't matter, no one took us by force, but I'm starting to understand why our parents did something like that. They may have been hungry or tired enough to lose their senses and sell us, but it sure is hard to keep them on with an empty stomach. " There it was again, that silence that crept in when they had to wonder about tomorrow again. They were always too tired to do so, but when it happened, after much struggle, all that came out of it was this detached silence.

''I think I'm going to take a nap, Nicholas, you keep the first watch tonight." Nicholas nodded in silence as Abram stood up.

''You are going to drop off like a rock, won't you? Please go ahead." Abram did just that, leaving Aisha and Nicholas to continue the depressing conversation on their own. No one wanted to evade the topic more than him, but they both knew he deserved his rest.

''He is hiding something, isn't he? There is no way he could have just fought a demon like that. I know we call him our brother, but he never really spoke about his family or anything before he came to this city. "As soon as Abram was gone, Nicholas spoke to Aisha with concern.

''Who cares? He must have his reasons. You don't speak that much about your family either. "'' She always disliked that side of him, Nicholas never trusted anyone, not even the few people still around him.

''No point in babbling about people I don't remember, I didn't see him again, but you have to admit that there was something unnatural about Abram. "''Nicholas stood up, throwing what was left of the wood into the fireplace, and continued.

"I think he made a deal with the devil. Aisha, do you remember when we first met him? Back when those traders kidnapped us. "' Aisha stared daggers at him but found it hard to speak back.

''Why are we alive now? As far as I remember, they all died, and yet, we are still alive. Can you remember what happened? It all feels so hazy to me. "'' She was struggling visibly now, as she looked back at the darkness, Abram had gone deeper to take a nap. When he slept, he did so completely.

''When did we meet Abram exactly? He was like our brother, but I can't remember. I think the problem is that he is protecting us. If he were to join a gang, I'm sure he could have a more plentiful life. He is the only one of us that can make it. '' Nicholas stood up, wandering about behind her as he looked around the room.

''I know... I can't recall either, I think it is just that something traumatic happened. That can make people lose their memories, right? It doesn't matter he has always done everything he could for us, just look at how wounded he is. Someone like him would never make a deal with a demon. "'' She was staring at the fire flickering and growing as it distorted the shadows around her.

''Right, all we can do is hope that if everything goes wrong, he will protect us again, but that won't last forever. This place is too terrible for one person to survive on it, let alone protect anyone else like that. Not for a human anyway." Nicholas went quiet as she continued staring at the fire. She was thinking back, trying to remember. It was so disorienting how she couldn't quite recall what had been. It wasn't the first time, but somehow she was sure she could remember a lot more. Not just that day, it almost felt like they had simply been together as a family without any beginning.

''I think only one of us will really survive this city, and that will be Abram, but I can't just accept that if only one person survives then. " Nicholas stopped talking and a cold silence fell between them. Aisha was taken out of her thoughts immediately as she was roughly grabbed by the neck and a piece of cloth. She knew there was something on it and that slowly her vision began to grow hazy. She tried to fight back while kicking as he continued to choke her.

''I'm going to survive this city, I'm sorry, but I won't die! " Nicholas screamed at her ear in desperation.

Soon enough, the fireplace was extinguished and their abandoned safe room was left in the eerie cold darkness. There had been three people struggling in that place, but as Abram wakes up that coming morning, he will find no one but himself.