I have been in the South bloc for about a week now. I used the tarp i had brought for a roof by putting it up between two walls and some boxes. I use a brick and my backpack for a pillow. The roof was tested during the second night when it rained heavily. My head was dry, but leaving that nearly everything was wet. Thankfully the boxes were waterproofed, and i snuggled up close to them to stay warm. Next morning i got some scraps from nearby and burnt with a lighter i had found on the road to get my clothes dried up. I bought some food with the little money i had brought.

Overall, the days were barely okay. But the problem right now is that I don't have any money. And I ran out of the little food I had bought with it. I would have to do something in order to get some thing, but I don't have a clue what I should do.

Thinking about my current predicament, I was walking around South bloc's commercial area , with my face hidden under the somewhat tattered hoodey I had stolen from the orphanage. I guessed that no one would search for me, but I deemed it was better to be safe.

The commercial district is actually two worlds in one. One half is all clean stately buildings for business. This is the area where most of the big company offices are and where people come to work. The malls for rich people to shop, electronic gadget shops, high quality materials, anything you want you can get here. The roads are clean, and bustling with traffic. However this is also the region of high security. For this reason I didn't attempt to get in there.

Instead i went into the other half of the commercial district. This was a huge market covered with a tin roof, with shops set up under it,and people shouting to sell goods. I wouldn't exactly call it the underbelly, but its definitely a far cry from the clean and trim business centers. From the upper surface this region is for the sale of vegetables,fruits and other eatables in wholesale quantities. Move a little further and you will find a business of textiles, good quality and bad. Keep moving, and you will enter the region of black sales. Electronics pirated during transit being sold for the "right price", drugs which can cure all sorts of diseases made from plants of the KC-135, materials illegally mined from the Hills. I saw all of this, but kept a distance. I had heard from the people living near me at the Favella and during the time i was at the orphanage that this place saw large number of criminal activities. I mostly kept to the food stalls.

As I was walking around, thinking what I was going to do without any money, I saw a boy of probably about my own age standing behind some wood slabs kept for sale, obviously hiding. I could not see him properly, but he was a bit shorter than I was, a white shirt on his body, slippers on his feet, short cropped hair,a face covered with a dirty cloth, only the black small eyes were visible. He was looking at the fruit shop in front of him. I was somewhat intrigued, and stood around.

Soon a group of workers carrying building equipment came to the shop to buy fruits. The rushed forward calmly, and stood behind the workers who were choosing oranges. Suddenly, he pulled out of the crowd with what I saw as three oranges in his hand and started running. The shopkeeper must have noticed something, and started hollering "Thief! Thief!' He came out of his counter and looked around, but that boy was already missing, he looked around ,saw me, and pointed his stick at me angrily. I did not wait for the rest and ran in the direction the boy had gone. I was quick, having been mischievous at the orphanage, and managed to escape.

After I had gone some distance away among the different stalls and the crowds, I felt a grip on my left shoulder, I turned to see the boy was behind me. He said with an Asian accent, " I saw that you had seen me during my hit. You look hungry. Here, have an orange, and forget what you saw." He thrust an orange in my hand and was going away when I caught his shoulder and said,

"Teach me what you just did"

"What? You one of those newcomers are you? Ran out of food and money? "

" Yeah, just teach me how to steal some food, and I will go away. "

" How about I say no?"

"Then I will start screaming you are a thief. I bet the fruit shop owner isn't far away. "

He glared at me for a few moments as if trying to say" I dare you", but then he looked around, and whispered,"Come with me."

I followed him out of the market, and he walked into a side alley.

"You look hungry, so I will tell you. The key is to make sure there is some sort of distraction around when you do it. And while picking, don't slip or falter, or hesitate. Be confident, and then run."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

He then looked at me and said, "Come here tomorrow morning at 10:00, you ran really well today, I could use a partner."

"Okay, tomorrow at ten then?"

"Yeah. What's your name? I'm Hiiro . "

" Alrek. "

With that we went our ways.

................................................................

The next day we met at the same alley at the time. Hiiro was a boy of around my age, and he lived in the favella too. His parents had died in the army, and he was left with an aunt, from whom he ran away after being used as common laborer. He had come to the commercial district two years earlier, but before that he used to live in the east bloc.

Hiiro took me with him to another part of the market. A bakery was the target. As soon as a crowd came in, we went in, and got two bread packs, and we were immediately off. I heard a few shouts behind but he told me " Keep running."

After we had managed to run away, we had we whatever we had stolen. We waited for a few hours and went to another part of the market to steal some fruits that were being sold. We called it a day after that.

........................

This kind of cheap hits went on for a few weeks. Hiiro kept teaching me ways of the street. Some days we nearly got caught, but Hiiro's plans of escape, and my ability to run really fast, helped save us from the cops. But, by that time, i had learned parkour. Basically, i was already accustomed to climbing walls and jumping down from areas. During one of the hits, me and Hiiro were partnered with a guy called Asuka to steal a shipment of spices. The whole thing went off smoothely, but the cops dropped in at the very end, and we had to haul it. After the run Asuka said i could be good at parkour. I had seen him at it, and asked him if he could teach me. He agreed to do so. After about two weeks, numerous cuts and bruises, i was somewhat okay with it. Hiiro could not learn this as his left arm had broken once, which, due to improper healing, was not usable at full strength.

One day Hiiro stated teaching me about picking pockets. He taught me how to keep touches soft, so that the person would not feel anything, and to grab everything quickly. He taught me a few other things. After that, I practiced on him a while. After innumerable attempts, Hiiro decided I was fit for the streets, although I still couldn't properly get past his reflexes. By this time he had started calling me AL.

"AL, I got a tip from a guy at the faceless that a guy would be coming to the black markets worth a lot of cash with him. And we need to get a hold of some of it. They will be bringing a shipment of electronics. I know you run well, so you will be causing a distraction, while I do the actual pick pocketing. As I soon as I give the signal, pick up a box of electronics, and run, coz this one may get dangerous. "

" Dangerous? ", I asked.

" Yeah. We might face guns, or worse the police. Now I'm going to be right behind you as soon as i get my hands on some cash, and you don't stop for no reason. "

I was pretty scared, but I didn't hesitate for long, hunger and empty pockets took care of that. Hiiro had told me that he had his sources, and that a bald guy would be the man in charge of the shipment.

The shipment was to reach the market at around 5 o' clock in the evening. We waited for it among the alleys. Three men in working clothes came soon with carts carrying the cartons, while a bald guy wearing better clothes came behind them. The people carrying the cartons dropped the carts. Before a group could gather before the carts, i rushed in, grabbed two cartons, and dashed. The cartons had handles, which i put around my arms, and then shimmied up the nearest wall. I heard cries of "Thief!" behind me, even a gunshot, but i did not care, i just had to run as far as possible. A location in the favella was the rendezvous point. Basically, the favella is kind of like a labyrinth, so tracking there was quite difficult.

I kept running as fast as i could along the shortest route to the favella, hoping Hiiro was safe too. I was nearly away from the market, and was about to jump from a tarp roof, when i felt i was far enough and decided to wait for Hiiro. I waited on the roof, catching my breath, when i saw Hiiro on the alley under me. Thankfully no one was chasing him. I dropped down in front of him.

"Whoa Al, don't scare me like that. What are you doing here? I told you to get to the favella."

"I needed to catch my breath. Don't worry no one is chasing you. Did you get the cash?"

He smiled at that, put his hands in his pockets, and took out a bundle of notes.

"The guy was rich, i got two bundles, his pockets were loaded."

He gave me a bundle. I was looking at it, as i never had so much cash in my hands.

At this moment, someone came from an alley behind Hiiro and caught hold of him. His hand was on Hiiro's throat in an instant, a knife in that hand.

"Now man, i want that stash of cash in your hand if you want your mate alive."