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July 31st, 2030, 1:56 am                                                                                                           

The sidewalk underneath my feet is completely barren and creates a void below me. Gray bullets strike my body and forms puddles in the void. Misty glares of white light bleed through the dim unknown ahead. A low crash ruminates in the area.

My mom would always tell me, "You've done it multiple times already, so you know what it takes to make it. That doesn't mean that it'll be a walk in the park. You can't go in there overconfident, or else you will be setting yourself up to fail." Well, this is exactly my feelings now. I shouldn't be this nervous about this run, but I guess that I am. This is my fifth time sneaking into the Castle, yet it is just as nerve-wracking as the first, back in April. Tonight is the first night that I'm doing this with my vision obscured.

The plan is simple, and the same as always; climb the twenty-foot fence, sneak in a open first floor window, then see how far you can get without getting arrested. Perhaps, even, grabbing some of those seriously expensive items that just collect dust in that huge mansion. I bet the Emperor doesn't know that half of that shit is even in his house. The members of the Imperial Guard that patrol the Castle probably know his house better than the leader himself.

The Castle is the closed-off home of the Emperor, and the Imperial Guard's wartime nucleus. During the day, the Castle has certain rooms open to the public, yet it is still heavily guarded. I would have zero chance stealing anything in that place, and with my status around the Empire, I wouldn't even be able to step foot onto the premises without getting arrested.

It would be quite unfair to not explain why my presence would create hostility. To put it bluntly, I'm the Empire's most wanted criminal. I think that it has been this way since mid-March, when a couple of so-called "friends" yanked me into trouble with the law, and for four months, I've been too afraid to show my face around anyone who would rat me out to the Imperial Guard.

That being said, my only real hobby now is sneaking into the Castle, walking around until I alert a guard, then get my ass out of there. Believe me, it's much more difficult than you would think, especially when the Imperial Guard is shooting at you. I've only gotten grazed by a bullet once, and I got lucky with another one that whizzed right by my nose. Scary stuff, but it's only that way if you're nervous, and I'm not. Well, maybe a little.

The only form of defense that I possess is my trusty metal baseball bat that I've owned since my days playing tee ball. There are faint red marks that are splattered all around the thick part. It's kinda odd, considering I don't remember hitting anyone with this bat. Nonetheless, this bat protects me, even when I don't exactly need it. Good insurance, if you ask me.

I breathe in and shake my head like a wet dog. The time to act is now.

I hop off of the ledge of the Imperial Bank and onto the roof. The bank is right across the street from the Castle, and I use it as my vantage point to plan my runs. Thanks to this damn rain, I'm going into this without any inkling of what my path is. I always tell myself that whenever I'm in doubt, I should just run. Run, and never turn back.

On the alley side of the bank, there is a metal staircase that stops halfway down the wall and leads into the building. Instead of entering the bank and definitely getting caught, a lumpy pile of black garbage bags sit idly on the floor of the alley. I spring off of the rusty edge and land on the side of my body into the trash. God, it reeks.

As I sift myself out of the garbage, I overhear a couple of guys talking on the sidewalk just outside of the alley. I didn't see them when I was on top of the bank. I really hope that they're just clueless citizens that wouldn't mind seeing me sneak around. If they end up being in the Imperial Guard, this run is over before it even started. I crouch down and walk over to the corner slowly to try and listen to them.

"No, that's what I said. Lucy still didn't really believe me, and ratted me out to Timo this morning. Now, I've got the whole Guard watching me and making sure I don't screw up."

"Lucy needs to realize that people have lives outside of the Guard, Jimbo. I still think you should've gone to that seminar, though."

"Eric, you're no help at all."

All right, so they're both members of the Imperial Guard. What are they doing out here, though? They should be patrolling the Castle within the walls, not across the street. Maybe they're off duty. That would be a lucky break for me.

My vision is like looking through a window, with the raindrops resting on the glass. Through the glass, I see blurry lights across the road, high up off of the ground, and not connected to the Castle.  I'm pretty sure those are the light posts that are in the front courtyard, if I remember from last time. Great, now I'll be spotted for sure. I better just pray that no one recognizes me.

The thick cylinder figure of a silver trashcan near the sidewalk reflects a sudden appearance of light, and I stop immediately. An armored, heavy truck whizzes down the street, past the alleyway, sloshing up rainwater along the way. That was definitely a close one. Those trucks are filled with guards with a ridiculous amount of padding and machine guns. I've even seen one guard hop out of one of those trucks with metal, almost robotic armor. I'm just lucky it wasn't after me. There will probably be more of them; I should get moving.

"What's the latest on that Tross kid?"

I pause.

"What do you mean? We haven't caught him yet." The one called Jimbo replies with tension. "No one has heard of his whereabouts in three days. New record. Maybe he fled Oltima or someone finally killed him. Either way, I'd be happy."

I'm just going to try not to think about what Jimbo said too much. I need to focus on controlling myself when I'm inside the walls. That is, if I can even get by these clowns. Maybe I should just make a run for it. Who says I won't get away? If I've gotten away before, I can run again.

I take a deep breath. You can do this.

In a burst of speed, I sprint out from the alley and wait for one of them to say something. Halfway across the street, I swivel toward them as they just stand there, stiff. Neither guard even glanced over at me. I'm standing in the middle of the road, and neither of them see me? I've seen some pretty stupid guards in my life, but these two are just on a whole new level. It can't be that dark out, or raining too hard, could it?

What the hell am I doing? If they don't notice me, then I am free to just pass them before they do. I need to keep running.

The only thing separating the courtyard and I is a twenty-foot metal fence. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the fence is slippery, so I should definitely be careful climbing over this thing. My bat is also a huge problem; metal against metal, to a person in stealth, is the loudest noise possible. I should make sure that my bat is out of the way of the fence.

I reach up to grab the highest rung of the fence that I can. As I pull my body up, my feet find a rail that is closer to the ground. I alternate the hand that carries my bat as I ascend, and I try not to glance down at all. Through all this, Jimbo and Eric pay no mind to me at all. When I make it to the top, I step down the fence like a ladder, and hop onto the grass in the courtyard in front of the Castle. I'm hidden behind a couple of shrubs along the gate, and I can see what's going on now at ground level.

My next mission is to search for an open window that I can step through to get into the Castle. Here's the biggest problem; no one keeps windows open when it rains, especially this hard. I guess I'll just have to make a new opportunity for myself, and it should be quick. I don't want to get drenched any more than I already am.

"Quiet night, Lieutenant, eh?" A female guard over by the closest lamppost crossed her arms. "Besides the rain, of course. It'd be a nice evening if I wasn't soaking wet."

The Lieutenant looks over at the woman. "It's too quiet, if you ask me."

"It's like this every night, you know. It's no different than it was last night."

"True," The man sighs. "Something just seems off, you know?" Is he talking about me? I think that might be my cue to get moving.

There are balconies above the first floor windows all around the perimeter of the courtyard, and each of them have a guard with a watchful eye. From where I'm hiding to the huge front doors, I can see eight guards pacing throughout the gardens. The closest window is thirty feet away, to my right.

Well, I guess this run was eventful while it lasted. No point in not trying, though.

I hurdle over the bush and bound toward the window. When I reach the steel wall on the window sill, my hand cranks the handle beside it as fast as I can. The iron curtain folds upward, and light from the Castle's interior floods outside. I slip inside, and turn the handle located on the wall to close the curtain. It slams down, yet it's the only thing I hear.

Damn, the Lieutenant was right; something does seem a bit off. Why is no one seeing me run through the garden, or why didn't those two guys notice me sneak right behind them? I must've gotten the blind Imperial Guard patrol tonight. What if it's the rain, or the dark? What if it's luck? That would be some ridiculous luck, if you ask me.

The inside of the Castle looks a lot more modern than if you saw it from the courtyard. The lights are encased in clear orbs on the ceiling, yet there are posts against the walls beside doors that are switched on as well. I'm in the first right hallway, staring down to the foyer, which happens to be completely dark. Towering doors line along the right wall, and a lump forms in my throat. If any of these doors open, I have nowhere to hide, and escaping would be a serious challenge.

On small, circular tables in between the doors and windows, there are several different artifacts that sit idly. This is what saddens me about this mansion; these beautiful items just collect dust, and the Emperor has no clue they're even here. I am one-hundred percent positive that there is a black market somewhere in this city that would buy these for their definition of a fortune. I think that it's about time I make these prized possessions worth something, instead of just being able to look at them. I'll be sure to grab some on my way out.

One of the doors ahead of me swings open, and two guards in formal attire walk out, side by side. I dive to the door side, and hold myself flat against the wall. If they look down this way, there is no way I'd get away. The two men start the other way, but I glance over at them to wait until they're gone.

"Where the hell is Major Talbot nowadays, anyway? He told the entire squad that he would be back yesterday, and he obviously isn't around. He's been gone for a couple months now." The guard on the left turns to his partner and asks.

The guard on the right shrugs. "It must be taking a long time to get over. It seems like everyone has lost someone these days. He'll be back soon, Private, I'm sure of it." Both men go to the right and head down the second hallway on the right side. That was a close one.

I continue down the red-carpeted path to the foyer. What that guard said was quite accurate, about how everyone has lost someone. I don't know what it is about this period of time, but it seems like everyday you hear about a person dying in a freak accident, or an unsuspected suicide, or something entirely random. It's almost as if a supernatural presence has a grip on the Empire and makes it do all this crazy shit. It makes me wonder what happened to Major Talbot.

I'm still wondering what happened to my bat. These dark red spots are a mystery to me, and I have no idea how they got there. I understand that it is definitely blood, but I haven't hit anyone with this, much less to death. If I have, I don't remember doing so.

"Hold it right there, Tross."

I freeze up and turn my head slowly to the left when I reach the dimly-lit foyer. A guard, probably no older than I am, points a gun right in between my eyes. His hands are shaking, and his eyes are bouncing around the room. He must now be recognizing the magnitude of the situation he's in at the moment. He has the Empire's most wanted criminal staring down the barrel of his gun.

My head pounds, and I contemplate running back. The voice that circles in my mind is telling me to crack his skull open with my bat, but I know he'll shoot me before I can. I have no time to waste. The guard could yell, and everyone on the grounds would be on me in seconds.

I grab his gun and twist myself out of the line of fire. He pulls the trigger, and an ear-piercing pop spits out. I drop my bat to be able to get a hold of the gun with both hands, and I attempt to wrestle it out of his grasp. He tries almost twice as hard, but in his haste, the gun slips out of his hand and into mine.

I throw the pistol over his head for him to chase down. As he swivels to run after his gun, I pick my bat off of the ground and sprint behind him. The guard dives to his weapon, and tries to adjust to shoot me. I stand over him, holding my bat with a tight grip. Tears are running down his face, and his hands are still shaking. He seems to forget about his gun, realizing he can't stop me from hitting him.

"Oh, God, please don't kill me!" The young guard sobs, having a loose hold on his gun at his side. "Please, just let me live! I didn't-"

I swing my bat as hard as I can, aiming for his head. His body folds to the side, and I hit him again. I don't finish hitting him in the head until he stops crying. A lake of blood forms behind his right ear and waterfalls down his blank face.

I just killed someone. I don't know how to feel about this.

"Hey! There he is!"

I stare at my bat. Those blood stains...

"Try and run, Tross! You're a dead man!"

That wasn't me.