Chapter 1 - Before (1)

Darkness acted as a veil, shrouding the street in an eerie cover. Breaking through the darkness, was moonlight and the musty, yellow streetlights on the roadside, Occasionally exposing a small group of teenagers, which from appearance appeared no older than 16. Light pattering of footsteps, echoed around the night, as the group stole their way with utter confidence towards a lonesome house, isolated from the rest.

"This is the one right." A short, fat man said, his voice muffled by the black mask covering his entire head. In response, another man, with an entirely opposite build, quietly nodded, simultaneously covering his mouth with his index finger. Catching on the first guy, nodded in acceptance.

The third person, appearing average in both height and size, stepped forwards, holding a small piece of metal connected to a handle that was barely the length of a pencil. It seamlessly slid through the door's lock and after a few minutes, a small click resounded around the group.

The sound filled the boys with anxiety and ecstasy as the door slowly opened. A long creak followed, which the group visibly recoiled at, but were quickly won over as the adrenaline forced them inside.

The house's interior was incredibly clean, and in some places even spotless, which allowed the dim light to bounce around effortlessly, making the hallway seem somewhat luminescent. A solitary clock hung on the wall, surrounded by a variety of decorative painting and other sentimental items. On the left, a long hallway ran towards the other end of the house, leading into many other rooms. Whereas on the right, tall stairs ascended towards the upper floor.

The tall skinny man suddenly whispered, "Me and fatty here'll take the lower floors. You two take the upper area. Remember, only small things."

And like that, the group split up into the two opposites, and two people who could be mistaken for each other at any moment, at least while their faces where covered. 

Despite the duo's best efforts of stealth, the stairs triumphed many times as creaking noises loudly resounded around the stairwell. The group had known that the owner was out, but that changed nothing to help their nerves.

Upon reaching the top of the stairwell, 4 doors crowded around the curved handrail, insinuating that the pair should further split up. Glancing at each other and the doors, they like-mindedly nodded and walked in opposite directions around the stairs.

A few seconds later, the gloved hands of the slightly taller man were outstretched towards the closest door handle. With a small clinking sound the door quickly hung ajar, showing a large room, littered with comfortable chairs facing towards the side wall. 'Damn this guys even got a projector room. There gotta be something worth taking from this guy around the place.'

Minutes passed by as he looked around the room searching for something valuable, but in the end he gave up, as he found nothing of value which was also small enough to take with ease. He trekked back into the curved hallway over looking the stairs and made his way towards the other door, hoping for better luck.

Inside of the second room, a huge king size bed lay against the wall surrounded by draws on either side. A solitary glint of light stood on the right most desk, catching the mans eye instantly. Perched on the desk, a small golden ring appealed towards its visitor. 'Jackpot.' Moments later, the ring had been snatched of its resting place, stuffed into his pockets.

The masked individual, hurriedly checked around the rest of the room, but to no avail. The ring was the only thing there, with each draw being empty or only having some socks and pants in them.

Finished with his allocated rooms, the thief retreated back towards the stairs, coincidentally at the same time as his look alike partner.

The duo crossed the stairs, which wailed with every step, and finally met back with the rest of the group. Seconds slowly passed as the group just stood there. The stubby man broke the silence first, "This house was a bust, better luck upstairs?" The two shook their head in unison, the smaller one, visibly appalled by the barebone living conditions of houses' owner.

Making their way backwards towards the front door, the squad stepped back onto the stone path outside, and quietly shut the door. 

And then... light illuminated the entire area. The headlights of a fast approaching car streamed down the small road. Red and blue lights alternating off a spherical lamp on the roof.

Thrown into disarray, the boys darted in opposite directions, sticking to their original pairs. Running at full speed, the duo were quickly making distance. But not enough, the car turned a sharp 90 degrees, chasing after them and hastily blocking their path. The slightly taller of the two went to make a break for it, but hastily stopped after looking forward.

10 metres ahead, two police officers had pistols pointed towards their skulls, their fingers on the trigger. "You are under arrest, do not resist. " The man from the passenger side shouted, unbothered about waking up the surrounding neighbourhood.

Time seemed to freeze, and before either of the duo knew it, their hands were pulled behind their backs, cold hard iron clamped into their wrists. Their masks were suddenly pulled off, their identities now privy to the officers.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you, if you do not have an attorney, one will be provided to you. Is this clear?" Leaving no time to answer, the boys were yanked into the backseat of the flashing vehicle. The doors were slammed shut, muffling but not removing the voices of the officers.

"Just some fucking kids."

"Got called out late for this shit."

They then proceeded to use a radio of some sort, assumedly calling in the boys actions. After all was said and done, the officers stepped back into the vehicle, promptly set the engine into another gear, and started slowly straggling away.

15 minutes later, the cars engine sputtered out as a station loomed ahead. The officers cordially dragged the two boys out of their shop, with about the same grace as a blind marksman.

The large sliding doors automatically opened for the cops, revealing a pristine white room, with marble spotted floors, and a large counter. Behind the counter, a woman with frayed black hair sat, large dark spots hanging under her eyes.

Unable to gather more information about the entrance, the two kids were whisked down separate corridors as heavy footsteps filled the area.

Eventually, the officer stopped walking, grabbed a key off his belt, and turned to the kid. The officer went on to unlock the handcuffs and then put them back on seconds later after the boy's hands were moved in front of him.

Taking another set of keys off his belt, the cop barged the door open. "In you go, little twerp." Giving a rough push as the boy stumbled in, he disdainfully said, "You get one call. That's it. Another officer will be here soon." The door slammed shut, trapping the kid in a small room, vastly different to the foyer and visibly dirty.

A small metal chair hid beneath a rectangular table made out of silver steel; at the centre of the table, a large phone lay. The boy made large strides towards the chair, and quickly sat down.

Minutes passed, but no attempt for the phone was made, the kid as still as a statue. Until, a small clinking sound came from the door. It swung open and another older officer lay in its place. "Hey kid, your name is Lucas right?" Lucas slightly pulled away before succumbing to his fate.

"Yeah that's me. What about it?"

"You're free to go." The man said, grabbing a key out of his pocket and releasing the handcuffs. He pulled Lucas up, and escorted him out. 

Meanwhile Lucas completely bewildered, stressed about what was happening. 'Huh.' He had no idea why he was released but had no qualms with the way things were going, and he wasn't willing to ruin this opportunity, but slowly built up the courage to ask a question burning in his mind.

By the time, they had made it back towards the sliding doors he was ready. "Is my pal also getting released or... No?", his voice wavering more with every word.

The tall man looked down at him, and eventually responded. "You should really be thinking about your own ass kid. Someone just got you released and even wiped this off your personal record. Someone like that has a lot of power in the government. Oh and no, your 'pal' here'll probably just get some community service and a stain on his record. Still pretty bad considering his chances of getting a good job are now pretty much zero." The sliding doors opened and a wave of cold air, cut him off.

Now outside of the station, the man started back up. "Look, kid, Lucas, whatever it is... You got lucky today, but that ain't always going to happen. You gotta get your life under control, or you're just gonna end right back here, and trust me when i say people who come here don't live very happy lives. You getting me?"

Lucas stifled a gulp as he slowly nodded, unconsciously straightening his back as he finally realised the true gravity of his predicament.

"Ok kid, find your way home now. Don't let me see you over here again." With that, the aged man walked back inside, the doors whirring by, blasting hot air outwards at Lucas.

'What just happened.'

Stuffing his gloved hands into his hoodie, he slowly walked away, before being hastily swallowed by the darkness.