“What in the fuck have I got myself into this time…” I panted aloud running from a group of three men all armed with bats yelling angrily.

“You brat you really think you can get away with this? Do you know who we are?” One of the more out of shape ones frustratedly screamed. 

When stealing I usually try to do my best to go unnoticed for this specific reason. The upper districts have all the best goods hoarded to the rich but they’re also the biggest cry babies. Either running to the police or have bodyguards to protect their own goods. Luckily for me they all are too soft for their own good rarely able to actually deal with a thief when they arise, more or less one of my caliber.  

“Yeah yeah fatso if you wanted to keep this bag so bad maybe you shouldn’t of boasted so much about it in the open.” 

“You’re gonna pay for this hear me you’ll wish you were dead, get him!” 

Couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that and be tempted to fuck with that group of overweight hot shots dressed in gold more. My appearance being muscular with a small chest, tall, with short black hair, and grey eyes, usually gets me misgendered. Transitioning for the past few years and being twenty now it shouldn’t bother me but I got pissed anyway. 

Climbing up the side of an apartment building stairway via a ladder hanging slightly down I taunted them dangling the bag above.  

“Come and get it asshats maybe if you jump high enough you can reach.” 

Not wanting to play my games the leader of the group reached out grabbing the ladder clumsy in an attempt to reach me. Looking around I found a brick laying on the scaffold beside me and proceeded to drop it square on his head. 

“OW!” He screamed falling a good few feet with a loud thud and a nice bruise with blood begging to spew from his nose. 

“Serves you right, and I ain’t a guy dickhead next time you’ll get two bricks to the head.”

Climbing further up with the bag I looted on my back I huffed it rooftop to rooftop to try to make it back to the poor mans district. Still feeling the adrenaline of being chased I couldn’t help but laugh as the cold air hit my face rapidly. 

Once I felt comfortable I was out of sight I looped back around to my main path to my apartment. There was a big bride that separated both the poor and rich districts typically patrolled by police to prevent “illegal crossing”. But at night it was easy to avoid being seen especially if you climb on the upper ridges of the bride. And so that’s what I did I stopped halfway though to open the goodies taking a seat, feet dangling far up in the air. 

“That fatso leader better of not been lying or I’ll be getting in shit for nothing.” 

Opening the seemingly plain burlap sack revealed a beautiful array of impossibly large jewels, green, red, blue, purple, of all shapes and sizes. Feeling the surface and reflecting the light through they seemed to be the real deal too. 

“Hahaha I’m gonna make a fortune outta this pops is gonna love me.” 

Hopping up and moving along I squeezed my way through the narrow streets of the lower district even more on guard now with my haul until finally getting to my dingy run down apartment I called home. 

“Hey Mom, I’m home!” I yelled out as I usually did despite hating her guts. 

“Ah, you’re back so late, did you bring anything back to eat or are you still as useless as usual.” 

My gut churned at her snide remarks, if it wasn’t for pop’s wish for me to take care of her I would’ve left her a long time ago. 

“No mom, I got us some stuff to get food though I just need some time. There should be leftovers in the fridge that’s the best I can do.” 

“You weren’t out stealing again was ya? You know how I feel about that.” 

“No I wasn’t,” I stated hastily hiding the bag I napped under my shirt.

Getting up from her chair she reached out slamming me against the wall hand on my throat. 

“Good, because I still have use for you, you need to keep me alive got that? You’re already a failure of a daughter.” 

Releasing me I collapsed to the floor to my knees feeling my throat which I could already tell was going to bruise. 

“That bitch, I’ll be gone soon enough.” 

Picking myself up to my room and throwing the gems on my bed I came to the conclusion this was finally my chance to escape. With the money I’d get from this heist not only could I give mom something to survive on her own but I could move to the upper distract and get to have some level of respect. Not the disgust us at the poor mans district people usually receive. 

Tomorrow I was gonna go to pop’s pawn shop to see how much this stuff was really worth and then take my weight in gold. 

Waking up my back was sore as per usual thanks to my wooden plank like bed but the morning felt especially refreshing. The smog in the city was as looming as ever but the promise to never have to live in this stench again was so much sweeter. 

Busting in the shop I threw the bag on the counter loudly, “ Hey pops you won’t believe what I just scored!” 

Jumping like a cat would ten feet off the air appeared my pops not too happy, “Chirst Val didn’t anyone ever tell you to knock? Ah but it’s good to see you again kiddo.” 

“You gotta hear this I ran by this group of guys by chance total buffoons bragging how they got a bag full of treasures for some person as a gift.”

“Huh, uh, alright, this was in the upper district? What else did they say, the full name maybe of who it was for?

“Ah yeah yeah it was and no never caught the name. Anyway I punched em in the gut and ran like hell ended up with a ton of these fancy jewels.” 

Using a magnifying glass and a flashlight pops opened the bag and started to look at one of the gems. 

“Does your mom know that you’re doing this with me?” 

“Thieving? Ah nah, frankly I’m only around her cause of you still, but, not anymore with this everything changes. 

“I know you were kiddo and I know how she is, I just, we’re not on good terms but she needs help. But I can’t be the one to do that for her.” 

“I think we both know that’s bullshit pops, but I owed you one, consider my debt paid now and she’ll have enough money to take care of herself. But like I was saying-“ 

“Wait a moment.” 

He suddenly stopped his idle chatter and froze as if he saw a tiger with blood red eyes. Still looking at the gem something caught at his attention which is rather off putting as he’s not easily distraught. 

“What colour suits were those men wearing Val?” 

“Why haha you hoping I’ll buy you a pair with my cut of the money no way.” 

“What. Colour?” 

“Uh, purple, with a lot of gold on em think there was some silver too why pops?” 

“Shit. This isn’t good look at the engraving on this.” 

Passing over the magnifying glass and gem I looked and saw what I believe was a crest a lion with wings holding a sword. 

“What’s that supposed to be some sort of makers mark?” 

“No, that’s the crest of the Crescentic house, one of the leading gangs in the upper district.”

“Shit what why, there’s no way gang members would be flashing their goods in public just like that?” 

“It doesn’t matter now you need to run if they find out it was you who stole from them. If they find you oh god, don’t let them find you kiddo.”

Stashing the jewels under the desk he grabbed a knife and what looked like a ticket of some kind. 

“Take this and go to the ferry as soon as you can. Go to the city over and once you’re there grab a flight somewhere out of state anywhere really. Here’s some cash.” 

“What about you, I can’t leave you like this?” 

“I should've let you go and cut yourself off from your mother a long time ago. Don’t worry about us you should be thinking much more about yourself, now run.”