Ruth and Ezra made their way back to their home. However, Ruth supposed that calling it a home was generous. The siblings were currently staying in a half-finished building. Locals called it a skyscraper, but Ruth had always thought that was a stupid name. When people could poke holes in the sky, how could a building this short possibly scrape it? It was only ten stories high.

  There was a section of the building where it was possible to squeeze between two walls and enter a natural empty space. Ruth had found it before they had to leave their old home, a derelict house scheduled to be demolished. She didn't want Ezra to have to sleep on the streets if she could help it, so she did everything she could to find sneaky places to stay.

  This place was secure enough for now, but they had to be careful when they left or came back. Construction workers had pretty regular work schedules but also worked long hours. If they missed their morning window to leave, they would be stuck hiding here all day. It also meant they couldn't come back until late, triple checking that no one was sticking around the half finished building.

  As they squeezed into their hiding place, Ruth switched on one of the portable lights she had stolen from the construction site. Their dimly lit home came into view, and a quick scan showed nothing was missing. Various pieces of clothing were piled in one corner, a spot for their packs in another. Brown paper bags sat piled in the roomiest part of their hidey hole, filled with canned foods and other non-perishable goods.

  Ezra quickly climbed into his normal spot, unrolling the blanket Ruth had purchased for him. "Ruth?" As always, her brother was soft-spoken.

  "What is it, Ezra?" She didn't look up from where she was unloading their clothes from the job.

  "Are we really bringing someone else next time?" Ruth had been expecting the question from her brother, considering Ruth hadn't included him in making the decision. Despite agreeing for the sake of the money, Ruth had reconsidered quite a few times on the way home.

  But Ruth didn't want to appear unreliable to Ezra, so she tried to seem confident. They didn't live lives where she could afford for him to see her second-guess herself. "Yeah. The money is good, that's all I care about."

  Ezra remained quiet after that. When she was done laying their clothes out to dry, she turned back to look at him. Ezra sat huddled, his knees tucked up to his chest, his arms wrapped around himself. Ruth quickly went over to him.

  "Hey buddy, what's wrong?" She gently laid an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his arm softly.

  When Ezra spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "Do you not need me anymore?"

  Ruth cursed silently. Trying to seem tough had apparently backfired on her. "Of course I need you, Ez. You're my partner, no matter what." It was easy to forget how easily his feelings could be hurt. Ruth had raised him to be tough when they were out and about, but he was pretty emotional when it was just the two of them. They only had each other to rely on, and Ruth tried to make sure he knew that. Adding someone else to the mix without asking him must have felt like a small betrayal.

  He tilted his head to peek up at her, and she smiled at him. He slowly returned the smile, then wiped his nose with his arm. "Thanks...I love you, sis."

  "I love you too, Ez."

  Once she was sure he was okay, she opened a can of beans for dinner. They couldn't heat them up, but Ezra never complained about cold food. She handed him the can and a spoon, and he ate with gusto. Ruth laid back against the clothing pile, resting for a bit.

  Her mind went back to the deal she had made with Richard. Newbies were dangerous, very dangerous. All it took was one slip-up, and the constables would catch them, confiscate their equipment, and probably beat them senseless for good measure. She had seen it happen a few times, street kids getting beat for siphoning power. After that beating would come the punishment from the gang for losing equipment, and Ruth had only heard dark rumors about that.

  Why did Richard want them to train up a new kid anyway? Ruth and Ezra always delivered and never got caught. Why was he putting them at risk like this? Besides that, why was he paying triple for it? It didn't make sense, but Ruth had given up the idea of Richard making sense a long time ago. The actions of gang members always seemed so stupid to her.

  Working with the Nosferatu gang was dangerous work, but it was also the easiest way to make reliable money. If it put food in her brother's belly...then she would do almost anything they asked her to do.

  Fortunately, they only ever asked her to siphon these days. No drug or gun running, which would probably get her killed, and aside from the occasional offer, they never tried to force her to join up. They knew that if they waited long enough, she would come knocking on their door. Everyone did.

  But she had never been asked to show someone the ropes before. When she had started doing this just after her parents had died, no one had shown her the ropes. They had sent her out with their junkiest packs and power banks, and thrown her at the nearest roof. She had gotten sunburned and had to hide out for over a week until her skin paled again. Training Ezra had been tricky, but he had heard her talking about it for years before finally going out.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  She sighed. This was all too complicated for her. Ruth was pulled out of her thoughts when Ezra tapped her foot with his own, and she sat up to take the can of beans from him. He had left her about half, and she gladly began eating. There was no use thinking about the reasons why anymore, she had agreed to a job and she would get it done.

  The days following were fairly routine. They spent the money to purchase a mix of fresh and preserved foods. The fresh food would be their reward for a job well done, the only bit of extravagance in their lives. Their days would be spent practicing sneaking and rooftop running. Ruth made Ezra practice between jobs, they both needed to be as skilled as possible to not get caught when it actually mattered.

  Ruth also spent some time scoping out the church. Richard had said they would be meeting a new girl around her age, and Ruth wanted to see if the girl was hanging around for a job. Ruth knew the faces of almost every Dhampir who worked around this part of the city, and no matter how often she watched, she never spotted a new girl the right age.

  When the day finally came, Ruth and Ezra packed their bags of clothes and headed toward the church. The building stood apart from everything nearby, isolated from the rest of the city. It was closer to the city center, the power plant that cut the city down the middle visible in the distance. This close to the center, the city ceiling was far enough above that the high spires of the church didn't even come close to touching it. Even the support beams for other buildings didn't approach the square where the church was located. It was like the church was claiming to be better than all the other buildings around it, untouchable in every way.

  Ruth led her brother around to the side of the building where a soup kitchen had been set up by the priests and nuns. Ruth and her brother got in line and began casually scanning for Johnny. The church did this event every other day, and the Nosferatu gang had seen it as an opportunity to look for troubled youth looking to make a quick buck.

  They got their food and sat at the gathered tables, careful to keep their bags in their laps as they ate. Letting another homeless person steal their clothes would be a stupid mistake to make. They idly munched on the plain meal until Ruth finally spotted Johnny approaching the throng of people and nudged her brother. "He's here. Eat a bit slower."

  They never approached too quickly, lest they draw unwanted attention. Instead, they finished their food slowly as Johnny got his own bowl. The Ghoul was a regular here, and he quickly grabbed a seat with some kids and teens that Ruth knew were siphoners. As they finished their food, the kids all wandered off in different directions, no doubt heading to pickup points for their equipment.

  When Ruth and Ezra finished, they made sure to walk by Johnny's table on their way to return their bowls. He saw them, then quickly finished his own food. As they walked off toward an alley, Johnny meandered behind them. Despite how little Ruth thought of him, he was at least competent enough to not seem too suspicious about it.

  They stopped in an alley a street away, and a few minutes later Johnny walked between the buildings. Ruth glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby. "Hey, Johnny. Where's the rookie?"

  Johnny smiled awkwardly, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. "Uh, you'll meet her at the pickup point. She's waiting with the gear."

  Ruth's eyebrows shot up. That was weird. Why would a new girl already be with the equipment when the experienced siphoners didn't even know its location yet? "Really? Why?"

  Johnny seemed a bit nervous. "I don't really think I should talk about this..."

  "Come on, Johnny. I just want to know what I'm getting into." Ruth knew that pressing Johnny for answers usually yielded results. Despite the fact that he was much bigger and older than her, the man was a pushover and a gossip at heart. He also seemed really anxious around her for some reason.

  Johnny glanced around, as if nervous he would be overheard. Then he leaned in, whispering, "I overheard Richard talking about how this girl is the daughter of one of the Thralls. Her dad wants her to get some experience with the gang from the ground up."

  Ruth felt alarm bells go off in her head. Thralls were the rank above Ghouls like Richard and Johnny. They ran whole areas of the city, blocks of businesses and homes under their 'protection.' Ruth and Ezra were supposed to escort the daughter of a guy who could have them killed without a second thought.

  Ezra spoke up, surprising both Ruth and Johnny, "Isn't she too important for that? I thought only homeless kids like us did si- I mean...this kinda stuff."

  Ruth patted him on the head, glad her lesson about never saying the word siphon out loud had stuck. "He has a point, Johnny. If this all goes sideways, I don't want to get offed by an angry Thrall."

  Johnny's eyes widened in panic as he saw them grow more nervous. "No! It's fine!" his voice was still hushed, but he tried to be as insistent as he could. "You two are the best we have around here! We-We'll pay triple! Quadruple!" He seemed desperate, like he needed this to work out.

  Ruth hadn't been aiming for more pay, but the idea of four times the normal amount was enticing. "Okay, Johnny. But I want full pay even if we have to come back without a full bank. Making sure the girl stays safe is going to be my main priority."

  Johnny's face broke into a nervous grin, and he nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Totally!"

  Ruth sighed, already regretting the decision. This was all seeming a bit sketchy to her. "Just give me the details for pickup and drop-off, and we'll do the rest."

  Johnny relayed the details to them and quickly wandered back to the church square, no doubt to scout out more kids to work. Ruth and Ezra made their way to the pickup point, a warehouse a few blocks away. Ezra seemed excited at the idea of so much money, but Ruth only grew more nervous as they approached their destination. In her experience, if a deal seemed too good to be true, it often was.

  Ruth made sure Ezra kept an eye out as they approached the warehouse, carefully watching for any signs of a trap. She knew he was careful, but she took every chance she could to build good habits in her brother.

  The warehouse was on ground level, with other buildings using its roof for support. This far into the city, buildings tended to get higher off the ground, often layering on top of each other unless they were tall enough to approach the city ceiling by themself. The ceiling loomed far above, hanging lights illuminating the buildings and streets. Walkways and elevated trams ran above their heads, casting shadows down on the ground that danced as people and trams moved along them.

  Ruth examined the warehouse door. She ignored the main cargo doors and brought Ezra to the side entrance. It wasn't locked, so she opened it slowly, peering into the room.

  The building was mostly empty, but Ruth spotted a girl sitting on a crate in the middle of the warehouse. She looked to be the right age, and Ruth started to make her way inside before suddenly freezing. The girl was holding something, idly twirling it in her hands without a care in the world. Ruth stared, her body unwilling to move as she saw what the girl was holding.

  It was a flash gun.