The Fire Escape

“Stop, Police!” The girl heard behind her as she hurled herself down the alley. She didn't stop, she didn't even look back. “Great" she thought “This was not in the plan.” She leaped like a cat over the low stone wall at the end of the alley and smiled. “No matter” she could lose them in no time. She knew this city better then anyone. And besides, she was fast. Before the war, when she was only ten, she had been the fastest runner in her school. She wouldn't get caught, she couldn't get caught. A girl, alone, out after dark, without a permit. She shook her head “No.. she wouldn't get caught.” “Do they know I stole the locket?” She wondered. “Probably not, It's just a patrol" Her hand went to her breast pocket, and she felt the hard, heart shape of the locket beneath the fabric. She could get a good price for it at the underground market tomorrow, of that she was certain.

It had taken her three months to pull this one off. Three months of planning and scheming, patiently waiting for the right time to make her move. And everything had gone well, until she was spotted by the patrol. “Fool! I should have stopped and tried to bluff my way out" she thought “maybe they wouldn't have asked for my papers. Well it's to late now.”

As she ran, the hood of her black leather jacket flew off her head, and trailed along behind her, exposing her short raven black hair. Dressed all in black, (the only color she ever wore) her long legs pumping, the girl ran out into a busy street. Weaving in and out of traffic, she dodged a small van with It’s horn blaring, barely missing her. She could hear the policemen swearing behind her. She left the noisy street and headed down a narrow alley. There was a fire escape ahead. “Perfect" she thought and picked up the pace. She jumped, kicked off the wall, grabbed the fire escape, and pulled herself up.

Taking the stairs two at a time, the girl reached the top landing, then climbed on to the railing and began to scale the bricks to the rooftop. “It's only 10 feet” she told herself “You’ve done this before. Just don't look down, don’t look down" She could hear her pursuers yelling on the street below. “ They won’t follow me this way” she thought. “And by the time they come up through the building, I’m going to be long gone” On the rooftop the girl didn't hesitate for a moment. Running across the roof to the other side she leaped over the edge, gaping the three foot space between the buildings, and landed in a crouch on the other side. She crossed the next roof in only a few seconds and jumped again. This time her landing wasn't so perfect. She rolled, sprang to her feet, crossed the next roof, and was over the gap in no time.

She had just crossed the fourth roof and was climbing down to the fire escape. When she heard the policemen burst out onto the rooftop four buildings away. She grinned “They have no idea where I’ve gone" she quietly made her way down the fire escape and silently dropped in to the alley below. Then, as casually as she could she walked to the end of the alley and turned right onto the busy street.

“I can't go home tonight” the girl thought “I better not risk it" As she walked she pulled her jacket closer around her. It was cold for this time of year. She could feel the weight of the locket in her pocket, and she laughed. She had the locket, her ticket out of here. With the money she got from selling the locket she could buy the right papers to get out of the city. She would make her way towards the coast, then leave the country for good. She had no idea what she would find. The media said that war was still raging in the rest of the world. But that had to be propaganda. Either way it didn't matter, she was willing to take the risk.

She turned down a dimly lit side street, then stopped and casually looked around, the street was empty. She then walked up to the wall of a building and rhythmically rapped five times. The wall opened a crack. “lighthouse" the girl said. The camouflaged door opened just wide enough for her to enter then closed quickly behind her.

The speakeasy was poorly lit and full of smoke, and as the girl made her way towards the bar she finally felt like she could relax. She whispered in the bartenders ear and slipped him some coins. He beckoned for her to follow him then led her down a long, dark hallway, stopping at the last door on the right.

Inside, the bedroom was small, and the ceiling low. The girl shrugged off her leather jacket and lay down on the hard, narrow bed. She pulled out the locket and slowly turned it over in her hands. Tomorrow she thought as she drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow.