Author's note: Thanks to everyone who is reading. It means so much to me. Please comment and vote so I know if you're liking it.

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Every Rat sat at the end of their bed in the warehouse. The door was open letting the cool night air in. Two Rat girls walked in pushing a cart ahead of them. They split up and walked towards the beds. They handed every Rat a bowl that contained their meal.

Ren looked down in her hands to see the dark brown food in the bowl. No one knew exactly what it was, but they ate it every night. Only the new Rats complained, the rest were too hungry to care. She picked up the crumbly food with her fingers and shoved it into her mouth.

Officers were posted around the warehouse watching the Rats as they shoved the grub into their mouth. Two more walked in with scanners in front of them and like the Rat girls they split up and began to scan the finger of every Rat. Ren watched them as they talked to the Rats and asked them multiple questions. As the Officer got closer Ren could see it was Mitch.

By the time he was in front of her bed Ren had already finished her small amount of food. The familiar pain of hunger stayed in her stomach. She wiped her hands on her clothes knowing that he was going to scan her finger. The usual annoying smirk was on his lips.

“Now this is going to be interesting,” he said wryly.

Ren just stared up at him. The sleeves of his uniform were pushed up, showing off the black swirls of designs covering his skin. Mr Brenner obviously didn’t know about that, he liked everything to be done properly. No Officer was allowed to change his uniforms. They were all supposed to look similar.

“Need your finger,” he ordered her. She raised her hand and Mitch forcefully pushed it against the scanner. When he let go he rolled his eyes and Ren brought her hand back towards her body. “No shock you don’t have a file. Give me your full name.”

“R…r…r,” she started to say.

“We don’t have time for this, Ren. Just tell me your last name.”

“M…Myer,” she forced off her lips. It had been so long since she had last said her name out loud.

“Age?” he asked.

“Tw…w…went…ty,” she guessed.

“Born on what day?”

“J…Januar…ry 5th,” she made another guess.

Mitch put his hand on her head and pushed it down. Ren knew he was looking at her number. After shaving your head they burn every Rat a number into the back of their neck. It was the main way they’d organize them. It confused Ren to think about why they’d want to assign every Rat a file.  

The sound of the other Officer barking something out at a Rat echoed throughout the warehouse. It was followed by the sharp sound of him slapping the Rat across the face. Ren squinted to see who it was but her vision was starting to fail her. It made her nervous as things far away started to get more and more blurry. She didn’t know how soon it was going to be until she was blind. Most of the Rats looked down at their fingers so they didn’t need to see the way he was beating the other Rat.

Mitch saw Ren trying to see the other Officer and leaned down towards her. Ren felt her body stiffen as she leaned away from him. He put his hands down on the bed beside her and she could smell the scent of dirt and soap coming off of him.

“The others aren’t like you,” his hot breath whispered into her ear. “You can’t argue. You can’t tell anyone want we do to you.”

Ren closed her eyes. There has been many times that an Officer, usually Mitch, pull her out behind the barn or warehouse and rape her. Ren always knew they targeted her because of the way she speaks. But they could just as easily do it to a Rat who can speak, if the told anyone no one would care.

“Don’t think our fun is over soon,” he said before pulling away.

When Ren opened up her eyes she realized he fingers were digging into her thin mattress. She uncurled her fingers and backed up as far as she could on her bed. She felt bad for whatever Brighty or Grey woman was married to him. Eliza moaned as she lied back down onto her bed. Ren turned her head to see the old woman in the bed next to her try to make herself comfortable. She only listened to Eliza talk a few times to the others while working. She knew it was only a matter of days before she would die.

“Can’t wait for it to be all over,” Eliza said putting the back of her hand over her eyes. Ren swallowed hard like she knew what she was thinking. Once you come to a camp it’s just a waiting game with death being your prize. It’s been four years for Ren at the farm, before that she spent eight years in a factory chained to a machine. They preferred children because of the way their small fingers could easily set the stones in the fancy Brighty jewellery.

Eliza started to cry. She didn’t want anyone to hear her, but Ren was close enough to hear her sob and heavy breaths. Her body was shaking.

“I can’t do it anymore,” she sobbed quietly into her hands. Mitch luckily didn’t hear her or he’d do what he did to Bristol a couple days ago.

The next day Eliza stole a knife from the Butcher and lied in a pool of her own blood in the back of the barn.

Jasper refused to let Shai go home after the Officer left. Others were covering the streets and he remembered about how Shai snapped at the one who gave her a file. She was likely to do that to another one and get arrested. It was something Todd had never taught her because he pissed everyone off too.

It caught him off guard when she agreed to stay without putting up much of a fight. He knew the one thing she hated the most was when people tried to take care of her. She spent so much time pretending to be a Brighty and Jasper always wished she picked up a bit of that attitude. Brighty women did nothing for themselves.

 Jasper had himself propped up on his elbow and was staring down at her. She was curled up on her side facing away from him. He could feel the warmth coming off her body.

“Are you ever goin’ to fall asleep?” she mumbled. Jasper could have sworn she was sleeping and with her eyes closed she still looked like she was.

“You goin’ to wake up just to bitch at me?” he asked wryly.

“Not if you’re going to give me that kind of attitude.”

“I was thinking.”

Shai rolled over onto her other side so she was now facing Jasper. She opened up her sleepy eyes and let them close again before stretching out her shoulders.

“I was too,” she told him.

“About what?” he asked.

“Riley.”

“You know, Shai, most guys find it an insult when their girlfriend thinks about another guy while in their bed.”

Her lips curled into a smile and she let out a faint chuckle. Jasper let himself do the same.

“I’m goin’ to go see him today,” she said.

“No,” he told her.

“I already know what you think and-“

“You know what I think about you pretending to be a Brighty. You know I’m angrier with you dating one. But now with all these extra Officers it’s definitely a no.”

“You realize I’m not askin’ for permission, right?”

Jasper let his arm fold underneath him and lied down on his bed.

“You don’t give me enough credit,” she told him.

“No. I just think you have too much self-confidence.”

“This Brighty is stupid. They know nothin’ about us and don’t think we can outsmart them. That’s why it’s so easy.” Shai slid closer and nuzzled herself into his chest. “Now go to sleep.”

They both woke up at dawn. Shai slipped out of the house before any of the parents dropped off their children. Shai was slightly surprised to see almost no Officers in the Slums. That business with the files must have only been yesterday and now they had something better to do. She weaved her way through the alleys of tall buildings back to her own apartment.

She climbed her way up the fire escape, hoping that Todd had already unlocked the window. The fear of him being arrested lived in her, as she knew he was highly likely to snap at them just like she did.

She curled her fingers around the cool metal of the window and was relieved as it slid up. She pushed in the cardboard and slid into her apartment.

Todd was standing in the middle of the room and a knife went sailing through the air and embedded itself it the sheet with the bulls-eye painted on it. Multiple other knifes were sticking up out of the wall, all very close to the centre. He turned around and stared at her with his crystal blue eyes.

“Thought you got arrested,” he told her. His hand went over to the little he set up beside him. It was covered in the knives and weapons that usually line the walls of his room.

“Thought you were too,” she said.

Todd raised his arm to line up his next shot and Shai went into her room. She took off her clothes and slipped into one of the dresses Todd stole for her a week ago. The soft grey material was high up around her neck with small yellow stones boarding it. Her arms were bare and she put on the expensive bracelet Riley gave her around her wrist. Then she slipped her pocketknife into the pockets of her dress. She let her long hair tumble down her back. She heard a slight thump as Todd’s knife hit the target.

She left her room and Todd’s hand was back over the table. He looked up at her quizzically as she adjusted the material of her dress.

“Where you going?” he asked her.

“Market,” she said. “With that Brighty.”

Todd shook his head and picked up a knife off the table. The blade was wide and lined with a serrated side and a sharp tip.

“Did you get a file?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “Why?”

“Cause they’re giving all Rats files.”

He shrugged his shoulders and spun the knife in his hand. “They missed one.”

“But they were searching all of the houses.”

“What can I say, Shai?” Todd wiped the blade out of his hand and into the wall. It impressed her that he didn’t even try to line up his shot first. “No one came here.”

“Okay.”

She headed back towards the window and moved the cardboard.

“Wait,” Todd said.

Shai spun around and stared at Todd. He had his back to her as his hand went back over to the table. Hovering over all the knives, he didn’t touch any.

“What?” she asked.

“You got a file?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Just made up some stuff.”

“Like what?”

Shai let out a deep breath and rolled her eyes at him.

“Fake name, fake birthday, that sorta thing. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” she told him.

She spun back around and continued to pull her self through the window. She had one foot down on the fire escape when Todd spoke again. His back was still turned to her.

“One question,” he said.

“What?”

“When they gave you a file did they classify you as a Rat or a Brighty?”

“I was in the Slums. So it would be a Rat.”

Todd finally turned around. He shook his thick hair out of his eyes. Shai sat on the sill and stared at him.

“When an Officer scans your finger a Rat file will show up. Not this Brighty you pretend to be,” he explained to her.

“Are you telling me to stop dressing up like a Brighty?” Shai asked knitting her brows together. “We’ve been doing it for years. You’re the one who told me to go out with Riley.”

“I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m sayin’ use your common sense.”

“I am,” she said. Her voice clearly sounded annoyed. “They were scanning every Rat and giving them a file. No Rat to them would ever dare pretend to be a Brighty, so why waste time scanning Brighties?”

Todd spun back around slipped another one of the blades off the table. Shai got up off the windowsill.

“It’s not my fault if you get arrested,” she could hear Todd mumbled.

Shai closed the window without putting the cardboard up. Todd was getting on her nerves and she wanted to get away from the apartment as quickly as she could. She quickly and quietly weaved her way around the buildings. Avoiding any alleys with noise, she quickly heard the loud sounds of everyone moving around in the Market. She slipped out of the alley next to a booth and headed down towards Riley’s.

Larson, the Grey with the glasses, was selling at the front of the booth. Riley was leaning up against the pole keeping the booth up. He had an apple in his hand and taking big bites out of it. Shai remembered about how delicious that fruit was when he gave it to her the first time they met. Shai couldn’t tell if he saw her because of the dark shades on his eyes.

As she got closer, his lips did curl into a smile and he got up off the pole and walked towards her. Shai plastered a fake Brighty smile on her lips.

“Jessica,” he said right before wrapping his arms around her and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Shai said trying to add a sweetness to her voice. “Sorry I couldn’t come sooner. My grandparents have had me so busy lately. But I’m free today though.”

“Good,” Riley turned his head around and looked at Larson in the booth. He called out his name and the Grey looked up at him. “I’m going to be gone for a few hours.”

Larson just shook his head, barley looking at Riley. He laced his fingers through Shai’s and they took off into the traffic of people. She noticed that they were heading towards the Gate.

“So what have you been up to?” he asked her.

Shai chewed on the inside of her cheek as she tried to think of things a Brighty would typically do.

“Just been visiting family, seeing things in the city,” she said. She looked up to see that Riley was staring down at her. “It’s been really boring.”

“Hopefully I can change that,” he said.

Shai looked at the Gate to see something odd. Brighties were in a line to get into the city. Shai squinted her eyes better to see what they were doing.

Each Officer was scanning every Brighty to make sure they were a Brighty. Shai cursed Todd out in her head for being right, but she wasn’t going to let that change her plans. She couldn’t let Todd know he was right.

She stopped and spun around quickly. It caught Riley off guard and he almost stumbled over her. Shai just spread another one of those fake smiles across her lips.

“I don’t want to go into the City today. I’ve been stuck in it for too long. It’s boring,” she told him. “Can we just stay in the Market?”

“Your grandparents never go to the Market?” Riley asked raising an eyebrow.

“No, they say it’s full of Rats,” she said making sure to say the last word with disgust.

People moved around Riley and Shai as they stood in the middle of the street. A smirk grew across Riley’s lips as he glanced up towards the gate.

“Okay,” he said. He leaned down towards her.  Shai suspected that he was going to kiss her again, but instead he put his mouth by her ear. “Anyways, I’ve heard something about Rats that I want to share with you.”

A shiver ran down Shai’s spine and she couldn’t tell whether it was from his hot breath on her ear or if it was the fact he had information on Rats. That smirk on his face made her even more nervous. Riley hated Rats and if he was smiling about information on them, it couldn’t be good.

He started pulling her quickly past the Gates. Shai would have normally been able to keep up no problem, but the Brighty shoes she was wearing were pinching her toes making it difficult to walk this quickly. They kept walking until the booths started to become sparser. It was rare many Brighties went out this far. There was only the odd Officer patrolling.

Shai was shocked when Riley suddenly took a turn down the alley. Brighties almost never went into the Slums, especially in this part of the Market. He stopped between two large brick buildings.

“Sit,” he told her pointing to a metal staircase coming out of a backdoor. She sat down trying to look a little disgusted like any Brighty would. He sat down beside her, it was cramped and they both just fit. The shade of the buildings was cool, a relieving thing from the blazing sun. Riley slid his glasses off and rested them on the top of his head. His bright blue eyes were staring at her.

“I like coming here for some privacy,” he said. “Neither Rats nor Officers usually come here.”

“Is it safe?” Shai asked putting a fake sense of fear in her voice.

“You’ll always be safe with me,” Riley said leaning in and kissing her again. Shai had to struggle to stop herself from laughing at that corny line he had just given her.

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” she asked.

“Last night General Lane came over to my house to talk to my father. I’m a pretty curious person, so I listened in. Apparently, Zimmer gave out orders so that every Rat gets a file,” he told her.

“So?” Shai couldn’t stop herself from snapping. She was suspecting him to tell her something she doesn’t know. Riley looked a little stunned by the way she spoke to him. “I mean why would the Officers waste their time like that?”

“Giving them a file helps organize them,” he said.

“And why would they need to organize them?”

“If they organize them they’ll know how many there is.”

Shai stared at Riley knitting her brows together. What he was saying wasn’t making sense to her.

“Why would they need to know how many there is?” she asked.

“That way they know when they are all gone,” he told her. “Don’t you get it? They’re going to get rid of all the Rats.”

Shai felt both her stomach and throat tighten. She knew what he was saying couldn’t possibly be right. They hated Rats, but they wouldn’t just get rid of them completely, would they?

“How?” she forced the word out of her mouth.

“Either put them all in camps or just kill them.”

“You think it will really happen?”

“Yes. Zimmer is bringing the idea to the Dyer’s in Royale. If it works for Pangella then surely they’ll do it for the rest of the Cities. Imagine going to Wickerford and there is no gate or beggars. It’s going to be amazing.”

“But they’re still people.”

“No, we are people. They are just Rats.”

Shai tore her eyes away from Riley and focused on her fingers as she twisted them together. They could all be sent to camps, but would the Officers really go to all that work? And why wouldn’t they just arrest them while giving them their files?

Shai knew that it was more likely that they would just kill them all. But how would they do it? She could already see them storming into the Slums and shooting everyone in sight. Or they could set off a curtain of fire and control it so it will char every bit of the Slums.

“Jess.” Riley’s voice knocked her out of the visions of terror that Zimmer would unleash on the Slums. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back at her. “No more depressing news. I actually wanted to take you somewhere private so I could ask you something else.”

“What?” she asked.

Riley got up from the staircase and spun around so he was facing her. He got down so he had one knee down and the other up. Shai thought it was a really odd way to sit.

“I know what I’m about to ask you may seem odd, especially since we haven’t known each other for very long. But I’ve already asked the first time we were together. I have a ring though this time,” Riley started to say. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box. He opened it and revealed a ring inside. Shai’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw it. There was a large diamond on the top with smaller ones running down the side. Selling that would give her so much money.

“It’s my great-grandmother’s and I’ve been carrying it in my pocket for the last couple days hoping for you to come back to my booth,” he started to say really quickly. “Jessica Jacobson, will you marry me? I know I haven’t asked your father yet and you still have three years, but I’d still love to marry you. If you don’t want your grandparents to know we can keep it secret for now.”

Shai knew a huge smile was on her face. She thought the bracelet he bought her was expensive, but that was nothing compared to this ring.

“Yes,” she said knowing she had to have that ring. “Of course I will.”

Riley let out a sigh of relief and took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger. He put the box back into his pocket and crushed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and then pulled back so she could see the ring. Riley sat back down beside her and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned her head in on his chest.

Shai hurried home right before Curfew. She went in through the front door suspecting Todd to still be home. She was right.

The bar was still off the front door. She put it back in front of the door when she entered and ran up the stairs. Todd’s door was closed, so she knew he was in there. She ran straight over to it and pounded on the door.

When he opened his door his dark hair was ruffled and he had his pendant on the outside of his grey shirt. Shai had her hand with the ring up and was wagging her fingers.

“Look what I got,” she said.

Todd’s blue eyes grew big and he grabbed her hand pulling it closer to his face.

“What did you do?” he asked. “Why do you have a wedding ring?”

“Riley proposed to me, so I got it,” she said.

“You realize it’s going to be harder to stop seeing this Brighty now, right?”

“No it’s not. He says we are keeping it secret for now, so no one knows I have it. Next time I see him I’m just going to tell him that I have to go home early and then Jessica Jacobson will just disappear forever.”

“At least you got a big diamond,” Todd said smirking, “princess.”

“Already told ya I ain’t an Archy.”

The sound of the bell ringing for Curfew rang through their apartment. Todd let go of Shai’s hand and shook his hair out of his eyes.

“Good. They’re worse than Brighties,” Todd mumbled.

“One more thing and it’s more important than the ring,” she told him.

He stared at her quizzically. She pushed her way into Todd’s room and told him everything that Riley had told her about Zimmer’s plans.