The Locket

Cassie crept out of her hiding place, scanning the ground for movement. Sand vipers were common on disposal day, and their venom was so toxic it would kill you instantly. She stepped lightly around the dust bed where the Union dumped the personal belongings of its victims. Sometimes you could find valuable things to trade for dinerii. Sometimes you would get enough dinerii for a meal, sometimes it wouldn’t even be enough for table scraps. It all depended on how much the Trade Lord, Arman, thought it was worth. As the Union had dumped its “trash” into the Lower Level, Cassie had caught a glimpse of something shiny. Shiny was good. If it was shiny it would probably be valuable.

When she found the place she had seen it fall, she began to dig slowly. She moved the sand carefully with her spade, making sure to stay as still as possible. She saw the glint of sunlight on gold. Carefully she lifted it out of the sand. It was a beautiful heart shaped locket. She marveled at the intricate gold scrollwork surrounding the ruby that was set in its middle. She popped it open. A young boy stared back at her, with big soulful brown eyes. As Cassie gazed at it, she realized, If the locket is here, this child is missing someone who loved him very much. She closed it and held it to her heart as a wave of emotion swept over her. She remembered what it felt like to be loved. She determined that she would find the child. She put the locket around her neck, and quickly found more “junk” to trade.

She stood in line at Arman’s booth with a sack full of odd items. When it was her turn, she swung the sack up onto Arman’s table. It was so tall it came up to her chin.

“Ah, Scrap, my favorite little scavenger!” he said, leaning down to pinch her cheek.

“It’s Cassie,” she responded soberly.

“Eh...well, let’s see what we have here,” he mused, emptying the sack.

He inspected the contents of the bag for several minutes before he said, “Eh. No good. That’ll get you ten dinerii.”

“What?! What a rip off! This stuff is worth way more than that!” she angrily exclaimed.

“No, no. Ten dinerii, take it or leave it… but,” he added, catching a glimpse of the locket around her neck, “that could get you eighty.”

The other people in line gasped. Cassie looked down at the locket for a moment.

“Forget it. It’s not for sale,” she replied, reaching for her dinerii.

“WHAT?!” Arman thundered, smacking her hand away, “You must be crazy!”

“I said FORGET IT! I’m not selling this!” she grabbed her dinerii and began to walk away.

In a last effort to obtain the locket for himself, Arman spluttered, “STOP! Stop that thief!”

Immediately, the other scavengers dropped their sacks and began to chase after her. The reward for catching a thief was two thousand dinerii, enough for a week’s worth of meals. Cassie began to run. Her pursuers were fast, but she was faster. She ran through the trade center, dodging booths, people, and goods. She hurdled a table, but got her foot caught in some wire. She fell, and the whole booth came crashing down. She managed to crawl out before anyone caught her, but then she saw some movements in the sand. Quick, little, slithering motions. Oh no! Sand vipers! She looked over her shoulder and saw she was still being chased by a few of the stronger scavengers. She waited, remaining completely still. Her pursuers, thinking she had stopped to catch her breath, continued on. She waited until they were almost on top of her, and then she jumped onto a nearby rock. The scavengers realized what was happening just in time to be bitten by the sand vipers. Cassie hid out in the rock for a few minutes to see if anyone else was chasing her.

She moved quickly and quietly through the rocks. You didn’t have to worry about sand vipers there, but you did have to contend with the rockies. The rockies were small birdlike creatures with sharp beaks. If you disturbed their nests, they would all swarm at you, pecking you full of holes until you bled out.

As she climbed through the rocks she began to think. That child is somewhere in the Upper Level. How will I get there? When I do, how will I find him? There must be hundreds of children that look like him up there. She opened the locket again. There he was, staring back at her. His beautiful brown eyes penetrated her soul. I have to try.

She continued to move through the rocks as the sun began to set. Rockies weren’t a problem at night, but plenty of other things were. She began to climb faster, her path lit by the moon. Suddenly a piercing howl broke the silence. Cassie’s heart began to pound and sweat poured down her face. She climbed faster. More howls answered it. She went faster. The end of the rock formation was now in sight. She could see a gate in the distance. The howls broke out again, this time closer. Faster, faster, she told herself. She could see the gate more clearly. Her feet touched down on the sand again. She looked back in time to see the wolves chasing after her, mouths foaming and eyes red. She pushed herself to run as fast as she could. She got up to the gate and tried to pull it open. It was locked. The wolves were gaining on her. She climbed up the bars and tried to jump over, but found something was blocking her. A shield, she realized. The wolves were at her heels, jaws snapping, foam flying, and eyes burning. She clung to the bars of the gate, inches away from their mouths. She could feel their hot breath on her ankles. Her palms, slick with sweat, were slipping.

“LET ME IN! SOMEBODY PLEASE, LET ME IN!” she screamed. Nothing. “LET ME IN! HELP ME, PLEASE!”

Finally, someone in a Union uniform came to her aid and disabled the shield. With the last of her strength, she pulled herself up and over the gate just in time for the shield to go back up. She collapsed onto the ground in front of the guard, panting.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Cassie. Cassie Stevens,” she panted.

“Where did you get that?”

“What?”

“That locket.”

For the first time, she looked up at his face. A pair of soulful brown eyes, like the ones in the picture, stared at her.

“It’s you?!”

“I asked you a question, trash. Where did you get that?”

“I - I found it. I didn’t steal it, I swear! It was disposal day! I found it!”

“It was my mother’s.”

“Y-your mother’s?”

He silently glared at her.

“Traitor!” she exclaimed.

He ripped the locket from her neck and left her. She yelled after him, “TRAITOR!”