Wait a minute…that voice. It sounded so familiar…

I tilted my head curiously to the side.

The ‘captain’ clicked his tongue and pulled me up firmly with one hand. Firmly, but not roughly. This is definitely not the captain. I glared intently into the shadows where his face was hidden. Now that I was standing up, I realised that he wasn’t that tall after all. My head reached up to his chin. The whites of one of his eyes vanished for a split second. A wink.

He pulled down the brim of his hat with another hand.

“Well, now that I have our little bandit, you boys run along and do your thing.” He dismissed the soldiers with a wave of his hand, and pulled me forward by the arm. The soldiers stepped to either side, clearing a path for him.

Instead of stepping towards the light, however, the captain turned the other way and headed deeper into the alley.

“Wait, sir-“ A soldier started.

“Hush, I know where I’m going. It’s a shortcut.” His voice was calm, and he kept up his slow pace, but his grip on my arm tightened.

Silence, for a few more moments.

“He’s an imposter! Get him!”

I whipped my head around to see a man in a crimson red uniform standing proudly in the sunlight. I shuddered at the raw fury in his voice.

“.” My captor mumbled under his breath.

He flung his hat backward, into the face of the nearest soldier, and started running, his grip on my arm tight.

I nearly stumbled and fell flat on my face.

We ran through a maze of alleyways, leaving the darkness once or twice to dash across a fast-moving road or a busy marketplace. Finally, we turned a corner and all the smells of the sewer came up to meet us.

Darkcity.

Silence fell upon its inhabitants as they gazed upon its newest arrivals. A hushed murmur grew and spread, slowly escalating into a uniform growl.

“The Captain! Get him!”

Before they could lunge forward, I stepped before the man in red and put up my arms.

“WAIT.”

The growls died down slightly.

“Shut up…you fools…it’s…Yoseob.” I gasped for breath, still winded by the mad dash through the city. “He stole the Sky Guard Captain’s uniform. Again.”

An almost uniform “Urgh” resounded through Darkcity as everybody rolled their eyes, setting down whatever makeshift weapons they had picked up and returning to whatever they were doing.

Grunts and shrieks resounded from a dark corner.

I rolled my eyes. Disgusting. Regaining my composture, I turned around and placed a hand on my hips, staring at the boy who was now sitting on the ground.

“Yah. What do you think you were doing?”

Instead of answering my question, the boy on the ground started to pick at the uniform instead. Pulling at the buttons and well-done seams, he said, “This uniform is really something, don’t you think. Just look at that handiwork. Wow...You never see something like this in Darkcity-“ I silenced him by grabbing his collar and pulling his face close to mine.

“I asked you. What were you doing?” I put the full intensity of my rage into my eyes, glaring him down.

His shining eyes widened in the flickering torch light. His eyebrows knit together and his mouth tightened in a line.

“I just saved your life. Shouldn’t you be grateful?”

I clicked my tongue impatiently.

“I know you didn’t intend to, but somehow you did. Now can you please tell me what you were intending to do with the Sky Captain’s uniform?”

He grabbed my hands firmly and pulled them away. Yoseob was strong. It was just that he seldom chose to show his strength.

The humour vanished from his eyes as he stared at me with an intensity which almost made me flinch.

“Yah. You know why. Don’t bother asking.”

He flung my hands aside and walked away.

I sat down on the floor, running a hand through my hair. It came away sticky with blood.

Disgusting. I’m gonna have to patch up that cut later. But that silly boy…

I turned to look at Yoseob, who was storming away smartly in his stolen uniform.

What am I going to do about him?