Wanted and Surrounded

So they waited, Yern having to stop Sar from peeking out of the house for the first few hours of them hiding out. There was no reason to just sit, so Yern told Sar to get some sleep for a hour or two and he would stay watch. Not that he could see anything outside the house with no windows.

There still wasn't anything to do so Yern thought about Marrow and his deal with the PE's. What could make them accept a deal with a gang leader? Money didn't make any sense with their good pay from the city, if they got caught they would do jail time.

Yern thought maybe he got a deal through someone he was related to but there was no way to confirm that. Blackmail could be the answer, there has been PE's who use their status to do unsavory things. Marrow could have threatened them with something they did in their past.

Yern gave up trying to find the answer as his mind started to run in circles. Sar had woken up and was looking towards the door like he wanted to try to take a peak again. And Yern wanted to as well. They had got to the house around one and since then Yern had lost track of time with no sun to get a rough estimate from.

"You wanna look?" Yern asked with a grin on his face.

"Yea, I do." Sar responded.

"Let's look. Just long enough to try to tell what time it is. We don't know who might see us." Yern said, standing up and making his way towards the door. He waited till Sar was there with him to open it.

Outside the sun was low and rain clouds were moving above head. Yern was surprised no one was waiting on them outside the door. They took a few breaths of fresh air and went back into the house. It wasn't late enough for the PE's to be at their HQ yet. Both of them were tired of doing nothing but there was nothing that could be done.

An hour later they couldn't take it anymore and decided to leave. 'By the time we get to the clinic the PE's should be back at the HQ.' Yern thought justifying his decision. It was risky, with the possibilities of PE's spotting them or Marrow's men trying to kill them being high. There was no way the PE's weren't on high alert after the fight in the bar. And Marrow's gang would be too, especially if the man Sar stabbed in the alley died.

The sun was now fully down and there was a light drizzle. The rain didn't deter the two as they ran back the way they came from. They stopped at the alley from before to see if the man was there still. Unsurprisingly he wasn't. "So he lived. I knew I didn't hit anywhere vital." Sar said.

They made their way back to the Marketplace and spotted a group of men standing at the back entrance to it. They were blocking it and checking everyone who came out or went in. There was almost no doubt in Yern's mind they were looking for him and Sar. He wasn't even sure if they were PE's or Marrow's men.

"How are we gonna get back? We need to go through the Marketplace." Sar asked, worry in his voice. Yern was trying not to seem worried but wasn't doing well at it.

"We'll... go along the river. I think it wraps around to somewhere behind the clinic." Yern answered, trying to sound confident in his response. 

"I don't think I can swim. I've never tried." Sar said.

"Not in the river, you moron. We'd be swept away in the current." Yern said shaking his head at the boy.

They made their way towards the Brown River, still in Marrow's territory. Yern had only been here once so he had a hard time remembering where it was. After getting two bask streets confused Yern was sure he was on the right street. 

Until he saw a house that was extremely guarded. At least ten men stood around the house with weapons. He rushed Sar back around the corner they came from before they were spotted. He peaked around the corner to get another look at the house. It was at the end of the street and there were no other houses around it. The house was the size of at least three normal sized houses in the slums put together.

'This has to be Marrow's HQ. There is no other building that would be this big and well guarded. I wonder how many men are inside. Forget about the guards, what valuables are hidden in there.' Yern thought, moving back behind the house he and Sar were hiding at.

"What's so interesting over there?" Sar asked.

"I think it's Marrow's HQ. We need to remember how we got here." Yern said.

Sar agreed and they left the street the HQ was on, trying to find the right way to get to the river. After having to backtrack all the way to the Marketplace to get their bearings they found the start of the notorious Brown River.

The Brown River got its name from the brownish water that always flowed through it. Yern had no idea why the water was brown but he never thought much of it. Its notorious reputation came from how people used the fast water to get rid of anything they weren't supposed to have or get rid of someone. Yern knew a kid who was pushed into the river and was never seen again, the person who pushed him was thrown in a few days later.

Yern didn't want to never be seen again so he made sure he stayed as far from the river as he could. Now he was on it's bank using it to avoid PE's and enemy gang members, how his life had changed in the past week.

They made it around the Marketplace using the bank pretty quickly, only having one close call when Sar slipped on a rock that was wet either from the river or the slight rain that had now stopped. After they passed the never ending noises and voices that always came from the Marketplace they found a small cliff they could climb to get off the bank.

They immediately recognized where they were at when they got to the top of the cliff. They were at the back of the Circle, the small group of houses that the clinic was at the front of. Their tiredness left them as they sprinted to the clinic at the sight of their home.