It’s easy to die.

Sungkyu stretched out on the roof, arms behind his head. In the far east the sun was rising, pale golden rays falling on the land and staining the clouds pink. It was the only time of the day where the Precinct actually looked more like a part of the normal world, he knew. He knew that by the time the sun was halfway in the sky it would no longer be seen, and the inhabitants of the Precinct will be awake and will have missed out once again on something beautiful.

He remembered a time when he used to live in a world that wasn’t always gray and cold and smelt like rust and decay. He remembered having the mild, comforting glow of the sun eternally on his skin. He remembered having his hair tossed around by a pleasant wind that didn’t bite at his face and try to get under his skin.

But that world always made him remember the swish of her hair in that pleasant wind. The way her eyes sparkled in the sun.

And then it just hurt.

It was easy to die, Sungkyu mused, closing his eyes and letting the light wash over his eyelids. You only had to lose your soul. You didn’t even need to lose your body. As long as your soul was dead and your memories only serving to haunt you, you knew you were dead.

Maybe he was dead right then and didn’t know it.

But then there was a scuffle to his right and CL’s ears appeared in the small window that opened to the roof. Her head popped out soon after. “Breakfast, Skyu.” Yup, he definitely wasn’t dead. She had on her trademark smile and usual lollipop sticking out from the corner of as she rested her arms against the roof. “How was the sunrise today?”

“Better before you came,” he said out loud without opening his eyes, not meanly, but not jokingly either. He had lost his joking tone a couple of years ago, and it didn’t seem to want to come back. CL made a noise between a groan and a ‘hmph!’ and he knew she had disappeared. He opened his eyes and looked towards the sky.

“Don’t come down here,” he told the sun as it smiled down mockingly on him. “Don’t ever come down here.”

-

“Jepp,” Min called out, hanging on to the doorknob as if she was afraid of falling. “It’s morning, wake up. CL’s made breakfast and she told me to tell you that you need to go to Valera to get more supplies. Sungkyu has delivery jobs today.” No one replied.

Min edged into the room timidly, squatting down beside the low futon that was propped slightly off the floor by a simple wooden frame. The bed sheets were strewn around, random pillows scattered amongst the disorder. She hovered her hand uncertainly over the surface, cocked her head to one side, then selected a pillow and lifted it up. She was greeted with messy blond hair and wordless mumbling.

“Jepp.” She reached out and shook his shoulder a little hesitantly. He grunted and rolled away, snatching the pillow back from her and covering his head with it.

“Min, is he up yet?” CL’s voice came through the doorway.

“No,” Min called back obediently. “Wake up, breakfast is ready.” She prodded at him again.

“Go away,” Jepp simply gumbled, flapping his hand languidly around. Min set her lips in a thin line, then got up and left. Sleepy Jepp always treated her like this – made her feel unwanted. But she’d have her revenge on him. Just he wait. She entered the tiny kitchen and shook her head at CL.

Jepp, left alone, sighed and buried his head deeper into the comforting darkness of his sheets. It was way too early for him to be getting up, especially when he had such a late night last night. This was CL’s way of getting back at him for forgetting to get her a souvenir from Aboveground when he went the last week, he was sure of it. His eyelids closed and his mind began to slip away from him again…

“Hey!” someone yelled out. “The food’s going cold, and after all the things you haven’t done for me, you’d think you’d be a little more grateful!” Jepp raised his head and stared, bleary-eyed at the rabbit-eared girl in his doorway, the grin on her face a tad too evil, a frying pan in her hand. His eyes widened. Min popped out behind her.

“I told you,” she mouthed, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

“I’m up, I’m up!” Jepp exclaimed, shooting out of the bed. He backed away as CL advanced on him, and his back hit the small cupboard behind him. He put his hands up in surrender. “I’m awake, alright? Put that thing down, you crazy lady!”

“Swear to me that the next time someone tries to wake you up you won’t smack them around the head!”

“I swear – what?!” Jepp glanced back at Min, who shrugged and let her old blank expression paint over her face. He narrowed his eyes at her before letting out an awkward laugh. “Min’s lying to you, CL.”

“Don’t be stupid, Min doesn’t lie, she doesn’t know how to,” CL raised an eyebrow at him, holding the frying pan in both hands and raising it over her shoulder. “Hurry up and swear already, the food’s getting even colder.”

“If you let me go now we can all be happy and go eat,” Jepp grinned his usual unaffected smile, though his eyes flitted back and forth, searching for a way out. “Deal?”

“I’m not stupid,” she blinked at him. “I – hey!” She let out a yell and dropped the frying pan in surprise as Jepp suddenly rushed at her, hoisting her over his shoulder and running out of the bedroom and into the living room. She kicked out and struggled against him. “Jepp, put me down you bleached freak!” Jepp dumped her on the couch and leaned over, hands on either side of her. She stared up into his face.

“My hair is not bleached,” he growled, eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she felt a little shiver crawl up her spine. But a second later his expression switched entirely and he grinned. “All good?” He straightened and strode jauntily into the kitchen, further messing up the back of his hair and stretching. “So what’s for breakfast?” Sungkyu looked up from where he had been sitting at the small table set in the centre. “Hey, Gyu. Had a good morning?”

A faint grin settled on Sungkyu’s lips. “Better than yours anyway.”

Jepp laughed out loud. “It’s not everyday you get a frying pan shoved in your face. Really wakes you up. You should try it sometime,” he winked at the other boy and grabbed a plate from the drying rack.

“Maybe,” Sungkyu said, and went back to staring at his eggs.

-

CL was wiping the glasses dry when the door tinkled and she looked up, smiling at the tall man who entered the small snack bar and sat down in front of her. “Hello,” she greeted him, setting the glass down and pressing her hands against the counter surface. “What can I do for you today?”

“Just a dry ale, thank you,” the man replied, taking off his hat. He was rather young, almost the same age as CL herself, and he had the straightest nose she had ever seen in a long time. She nodded and grabbed a bottle from the freezer behind her, popping the cap open and pouring out the drink with speed. The man accepted the drink, looking around as he drank. CL picked up her cloth and continued drying the rest of the glasses, stealing glances at him every once in a while.

“You’re not from around here,” she said kindly as he topped up his glass. The door tinkled again and she looked up to see a young man grinning at her, stalking over and plopping himself down on the stool beside the stranger. “Oh, hi Key.” She smiled at him. “The usual?”

“Yeah,” the newcomer – Key – replied, flicking his fringe out of his eye. He had interesting hair, almost bowl-like but with a lopsided front that half-covered his left eye. It was dark brown, almost black with red streaks running down his fringe. He was also dressed rather immaculately in a blazer and boots, all in black save for the bright red scarf around his neck. He caught the stranger looking and smiled at him. “Hello, I haven’t seen you around here before.” He stuck out a hand. “I’m Key. You’re new?”

The stranger shook his hand. “My name is Seulong. I’m from Clove… the western side of Level.” Key nodded, sipping on the drink that CL passed to him. “So what brings you here to the Precinct?” he asked, setting the drink down. CL leant her elbows over the counter, interested.

“I’m a journalist. Right now I’m investigating local legends, and I heard that the Precinct was one of the best places to start. I’ve heard a lot about the old church nearby,” he explained rather enthusiastically. “You guys are locals, could you tell me something about that church?” Key and CL exchanged glances.

“There are lots of legends about the church,” Key started a little hesitantly. CL pinched his elbow lightly. “But CL could tell you more about them, she’s been here longer than I have.”

“Hmm…” CL rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Ooh, I know! There’s the legend about the girl with the scythe. She lives in the church and she’s always in lacy, black dresses, and she carries around this scythe that has a black blade and a silver handle. People say that only stays in the church, but,” she lowered her voice, and Seulong leaned in a little, “I’ve seen her wander the streets. Sometimes when I’m here clearing up and it’s all dark I see this silver flash through the window and I know it’s her walking past. Once she even looked up. Just for a second, then she disappeared.”

“What did she look like?” Seulong asked, breathless. Beside him, Key blinked and downed the rest of his drink, looking bemused.

“She had these great sad eyes, and a mouth that looked like it would never smile again,” CL looked like she had wandered off into a trance. “And she had this black streak coming down from the corner of her left eye, down her cheek like this.” She traced her finger down her own cheek. She blinked, and seemed to snap out of her trance. “People say she’s a ghost that will haunt the Precinct forever, but I think she’s here to protect us all, poor darling.” She smiled brightly and popped another lemon sherbet into . “Maybe if you stay long enough you might see her.”

“I want to go see the church for myself,” Seulong announced, his eyes shining in the dim gaslight. “It sounds amazing!” Over his head Key and CL exchanged glances again.

“I wouldn’t go in alone,” Key said. “That place is a death trap. If you want, I can go with you during the day. Maybe tomorrow?” Seulong nodded enthusiastically before setting his hat back on his head and standing up. “I’ll see you here tomorrow morning then,” he smiled and pushed a few coins across the table. “Thanks for the information, guys.” He tipped his hat at them and left. Key watched him walked away, then chuckled and held his glass up to CL.

“You, my dear, are the best actress this place has ever had,” he laughed and CL took the empty glass from him.

“You know what to do, Key,” she said warningly. Key waved a hand around dismissively, flicking his hair out his eye again.

“You can always count on me, darling,” he smirked. “Now would you like to know some interesting information I dug up about our friend Seulong there?”

-

“Min,” Jepp appeared in her doorway, grinning as per usual. She jumped slightly, looking at him over her shoulder from where she had been sprawled on her bed, a book in her hand. Outside the sky was it’s usual desolate gray, and a light fog had settled over the ground. “Sungkyu won’t be back til tomorrow so you know what this means.”

“What?” she asked, shifting and sitting up cross-legged.

“You’ll be coming with me for the Taking today.” Jepp gave her a thumbs up. “Let’s go kick some Snatcher .” Min stared at him for a few seconds, then recovered and picked up a small silver cylinder from the floor beside her.

“Okay,” she simply said, her eyes blank, and the cylinder in her hand extended into a pole that finally manifested into a silver-handled scythe with a black blade.