Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Please, please, please comment and vote. I would love to know your thoughts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind got knocked out of Shai as three kids ran into her. She always tried to avoid going to Jasper’s house because she hated the kids that consistently grabbed and clawed at her. But after Jasper scared his mom and Brodhi when he didn’t come home after the derby, he didn’t want to leave the house for too long.

She stared down at the three girls who had their arms wrapped around her legs. She held up her hands, resisting the urge to push them away. A girl with short blonde hair looked up at her and smiled to reveal she was missing her two front teeth.

“Come play with us, Shea,” she said.

“It’s Shai,” Jasper said coming down the stairs that led upstairs. “Like if you are shy about something.”

The girls let go of Shai and ran towards Japer. He knelt down as the blonde girl jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two other girls grabbed his legs. Jasper straightened his back and walked towards Shai. He walked slow and awkwardly as he dragged the girls with him. Shai couldn’t stop from laughing.

“I swear you’re even worse than Lynn with kids,” he told her.

“Don’t live in a daycare like you,” she said.

Darla came into the kitchen from outside. Her grey hair was tied up on the top of her head.

“Can I send you and Shai out to the Market to go get water?” she asked Jasper.

“Sure,” he said.

Shai let out a deep breath, happy to get out of the house full of children.

“I wanta go too!” the girl screamed.

Jasper’s eyes went big and he shook his head.

“Thanks for makin’ me go deaf, Penny,” he said. “And no. You stay here.”

She started to whine and Jasper put her down on the ground. The two other girls got off his legs and they all ran back outside.

Darla reached into her pocket and pulled out some money. Jasper ignored her, said goodbye, and started walking away. Shai followed behind him. When they got out into the hot air, Jasper threw his arm over her shoulders.

“How long do you think we can stay out for?” Jasper asked her.

“Without Brodhi panickin’? Not for long,” she answered. She looked up at Jasper and grinned. “How much do you think we can steal while we’re at the Market?”

“I’m thinkin’ you might be a kleptomaniac.”

“Wow, big word. What does it mean?”

“Heard some Officer say it once. Said it meant people who were addicted to stealing.”

Shai rolled her eyes at him. If she paid for everything she needed she would have starved many years ago. Every Rat did it, even Jasper, so she hated it when he singled her out on it.

“Thought ya didn’t steal from the Market unless you looked like a Brighty anyways,” he said. Shai looked down at her clothes and remember how every Officer will being staring at her. She wasn’t going to risk being caught.

“Forgot about that,” she mumbled.

“Is this pretending to be a Brighty starting to go to your head?” he asked wryly, ruffling her hair with his hand. She laughed and pushed him away.

When she looked back in front of her she saw three Officers standing at the end of the street. Shai froze and she felt Jasper go stiff beside her. He slipped his arm down around her waist and they continued walking in silence. They weren’t doing anything wrong, but they didn’t want any reason to raise suspicion to themselves. It was rare that they saw Officers this far away from the Market, so they must be looking for something or someone.

They walked past the Officers. Shai could feel Jasper’s arm tighten around her the closer they got to them. It annoyed her to think that Jasper thought he had to keep her safe.

“Hey!” she heard one of the Officers yell out. Her heart began to beat quicker as she turned around. One of the Officers at the end had his hand over his gun and was walking towards them. The rest were staying behind. “I need to ask you two a couple of questions.”

He took his hand of his gun and pulled out the scanner out of his pocket.

“Let me see your fingers,” he ordered them.

Jasper held out his hand first and the Officer pressed his finger against it. He looked through Jasper’s file, which was short because it mostly only consisted of the derby, and then grabbed Shai’s hand. He pressed her finger against the scanner and then rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have a file,” he said annoyed.

Of course I don’t, Shai thought. She had no idea why he was scanning them. The only time a Rat got scanned was when they were being arrested just so the Officers made sure they weren’t arresting a Brighty.

“Name?” he asked her. She furrowed her eyebrows at him.

“Why?” she snapped and then quickly regretted it. If you talked to an Officer the wrong way, that usually ended up with you in a camp.

“I need to make you a file,” he told her.

She was confused, but afraid to say anything. She already snapped at him once, she didn’t want to say anything else that would lead to her and Jasper being arrested.

“Shai,” she said.

“Shai what?” he asked.

Her heart started to beat even faster again. She’s never needed a last name before and she can’t remember her full name. Trying to think of Todd’s didn’t help her either, he had never told her it.

“Nicholby,” Jasper told the Officer. Shai had to stop from looking at Jasper confused. He mustn’t know that she’ll be in the Brighty system as part of his family.

“Age?” the Officer asked.

“Seventeen,” she guessed.

“Born on what day?”

“December 2nd.”

She made sure she stuck with the date she told Riley. Making that same mistake again, especially to an Officer, would be difficult to lie her way out of.

The Officer reached out and grabbed Shai’s hand again, putting it back over the scanner. There was a sharp pain in her finger and then he let her hand go. Shai looked at the bead of blood starting to slide down her finger and put it in her mouth like she always did when she cut her finger.

“That’s all,” the Officer said turning around and walking back towards the other Officers. Jasper put his arm back around her waist and they started walking away too.

“What do ya think that was about?” she asked him in a whisper.

Jasper looked over his shoulder and Shai followed his gaze. The Officers continued to walk away deeper into the Slums.

“Must be giving every Rat a file, I guess,” Jasper said.

“Why would they do that?” she asked.

Jasper rolled his eyes at her.

“How am I suppose to know?” he asked wryly.

“Yeah, you only know I’m your wife now,” she told him, poking her finger into his ribs. He laughed and squirmed away from her.

“What else was I suppose to do?” he said defensively. “You choked.”

“Did not!” she yelled at him.

“Yeah you did. Hope ya don’t do that with the Brighty,” he said continuing to chuckle.

“Please, I never choke. Woulda been in a camp by now if I did.”

The noise of the Market became audible to them. Shai kissed Jasper and they walked into the Market.

First thing that Shai noticed was the increase of Officers. It looked like how the Officers lined the streets in Bright. The all stood statue like, with their hands on the strap of their gun. Their eyes were on the Rats as they walked down the cobblestone street.

“Second weird thing today,” Jasper whispered to her.

“Coincidence?” she asked.

Jasper shrugged his shoulders and they went into the traffic of people walking. They weaved their way down to the water booth. Shai couldn’t stop herself from looking around at all the Officers.

Another thing Shai noticed was that there were no beggars hanging around the Market. There was always Rats or their children begging Brighties for money, but so far Shai hadn’t seen any. Officers didn’t arrest beggars unless the Brighties complained about harassment, but the increase of Officers must also mean an increase in arrests.

Jasper cut his way out of the crowd and went to the booth that sold water. Shai was close behind him. The white sheets draped over the booth, shading the Seller from the heat. An Officer stood beside the booth; he watched Shai and Jasper closely.

The Seller reminded Shai of an actual Rat. He had a long face and two large front teeth. His black hair was greasy and balding in the back. Shai knew he was definitely not a Brighty and most likely a Grey.

“Two jugs,” Jasper told the seller.

The Seller pulled two of the plastic jugs out from under the counter and place them under the spouts that were connected to a tank. The Officer watched them closer making sure they wouldn’t steal it. Shai thought the idea was comical. What kind of idiot can think that they can run away from a Market full of Officers while carrying jugs of water?

“Fifty dollars,” the Seller told them.

Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled some money and handed it over to the Seller. He heaved the jugs up onto the counter. Jasper pulled them off the counter with one in each hand. Shai soon ripped one out of his hands and carried it herself.

They made their way back into the traffic of people. The jug was heavy and Shai made sure to keep a tight grip on it before someone took it out of her hands. They weaved their way back out of the Market and began walking back to Jasper’s house.

The Officers were still scanning any Rat they saw on the streets and were giving them all files. A couple of Officers were at the doors of houses. One woman had four kids huddled around her. Each one screamed as the scanner took a sample of their blood.

A hoarse voice started yelling a couple of doors down. An older man was standing on the steps to his house. Most of the singles were peeled off the roof and the front windows were boarded up. Two Officers walked out of the house, one holding a little girl, the other a little boy. They started walking away from the house back towards the Market. Shai knew they were taking them to the Base.

The little girl sucked on her fingers as her big brown eyes watched the man. The little boy’s face was red and tears were running down his cheeks.

“Papa!” he was screaming out. He had one hand stretched out towards the man as he furiously kicked his feet.

“Ya can’t do this! They’re just children!” the man yelled.

The Officer he was yelling at was looking at his tablet and typing; not even bothering to glance up at the man.

“Children work best in factories. Anyways, you failed to report that you had children in the house,” he told the man. “Not only are they being arrested, but you are too.”

Hatred twisted into the man’s saggy face. The Officer slipped the tablet into his pocket and pulled a pair of handcuffs. Shai had gotten close enough that she could hear the metal clang together. The man let out a growl and lunged at the Officer. His fingers were curling as he reached for the Officer’s throat. In one quick motion the Officer reached for his gun and fired it.

Shai’s ears rang with the loud shot. She had heard the Officers use their guns from the inside of the apartment, but she had never been this close to an Officer shooting a Rat. She couldn’t help but stop and stare at the man as he lied on the ground screaming. His shoulder was stained with blood that was quickly spreading out to the rest of his shirt. Another Officer came running over to the scene.

“Shai,” Jasper growled through his teeth.

She shot her head up at Jasper who was nervously looking back at the other Officer coming towards the man. Shai got her feet moving and hurried away. She kept her eyes down on the road, not wanting to look at either the man or Officers.

“Take him to the truck so he can be sent to the Butchers,” the Officer who shot him instructed the other.

“But he didn’t die,” the other Officer pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter. He will eventually.”

When they got back to the house, the door was wide open. Jasper quickly hurried into the house and Shai was right behind him. All of the kids were in a line in the kitchen and an Officer was at the end. He had a scanner in his hand and was asking the kids questions. Darla was on her knees next to the kid who was in the front of the line. Lynn was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs rubbing her enormous stomach. Brodhi was at the back of the line of children trying to keep them quiet. They all looked at Jasper and Shai as they entered.

Darla’s face was overcome with relief as she put her hand on her chest. The Officer looked at them and the kid in the front ran to the back with Brodhi. He lifted him up onto his hip. Shai and Jasper set the jugs down onto the floor. 

“Fingers,” the Officer ordered them.

Jasper gave him his hand and then did Shai. He nodded their head and they both sat down on a chair in the kitchen. The kids who were fileless got assigned one. Luckily, most had remembered their last names. If they didn’t know it they were assigned one if their parents had already had files or were assigned one randomly. Some screamed out in pain with the prick and others squeezed their eyes together bracing themselves for the pain. When they were done they ran to either Brodhi or Jasper. Penny ran up to Shai and sat on her lap. It made Shai uncomfortable but she didn’t say anything.

With the last kid, Darla got up off her knees. She put her hand on her back and winced as she stretched it.

“What is all this about?” she asked the Officer as he started to walk away.

Brodhi’s eyes grew big and he snapped his head up from the kids to his mother. Depending on the Officer, many would arrest you for just asking questions. They called it harassment. The Officer turned around on his heels. Shai felt Penny nuzzle her face into her chest. She tried to put her arms comfortingly around the girl.

“Excuse me?” the Officer asked.

“I want to know what this is all about. You’re goin’ to just-“ Darla started to say.

“Mom,” Brodhi snapped.

Shai looked over to see multiple kids clinging to Jasper. He was trying to keep calm, but Shai knew him well enough to know he was panicking on the inside.

“What I’m doing is trying to organize you filthy creatures,” the Officer told her.

“Why though?” she asked.

Her eyebrows were knitted together. Shai knew that Darla had become more confused and forgetful lately, and she assumed that Darla didn’t know what she was doing.

“I’m sorry for my mother. She’s not trying to cause trouble,” Brodhi explained to the Officer. He walked away from the group of kids surrounding him; they stayed behind, as they wanted to stay as far away from the Officer as possible. Brodhi put his hands on his mother’s shoulders and pulled her away and back towards the group of kids. The Officer scowled at them.

“She wasted my time. You Rats are really good for nothing,” he told them. He looked around the room and smirk grew across his lips. “Well, not nothing. You’ll serve a purpose when you’re in the camps.”