It was still early morning when we finally heard the first sound of other civilisation. A distant horn echoed eerily through the morning mist, a cold pale blue sky growing brighter over head. Condensation billowed out of our mouths as normal on such a frosty morning and our clothes were wet from the cold night.

  Not a word had been spoken since Norton had revealed where we were headed, the ominous Silent Bar. I had wondered for the past hour about what and where this place was but dared not ask. A tenuous bond was left between Norton and I and I wasn’t prepared to make it any shorter – especially when he had my strained life in his childish hands.

  Luno Place was larger than I had ever imagined but from the original unkempt end, it had now turned to a relatively clean park with a clear path nearing. Where it led to still remained a secret but occasionally a deep rumbling horn erupted in the distance with some soft clanging accompanying its retirement.

  The grass was still long and weedy, but the path soon revealed itself to be pebbled and clean of rubbish and bullet shells that normally littered most sidewalks in most areas. An old seat bench with a few colourful designs from graffiti sat beside the path on the way, but to my surprise it was mostly intact. Off through the thinning trees off the path I noticed a dissembled swing set with a few spray paint cans left nearby – finally, some hint of normal scenery.

  As much as I had loved to see a clean, beautiful world, seeing as best as it got worried me. It didn’t feel normal and made me feel uncomfortable. Then suddenly Norton stopped.
  “What?” I asked, crouching and surveying the area, breath abated.

  He stood silent for a moment, his chubby cheeks becoming my centre of focus. Then finally he turned around, a few freckles on his cheek seemingly staring at me.
  “Cover that suit. Get out your normal clothes, we’re nearly there.” No please or thank-you. That’s how he was though I guess. Trained by ‘them’, he was obviously accustomed to giving out orders without any form of manners or respect.

  I sighed and took off the backpack Tran had given me, relieved it hadn’t been wrecked during the last fight. I took out the woollen cloak and threw it over my head while shoving the helmet back in the back to replace it with my tattered and blood-stained beanie. There, all normal again.
  “Good. Now we’re entering the busy trade district of Silent Cove, the centre of operations for the enemy. This area carries out a lot of the operations aimed at suppressing any rebellions of order by the Hierarchy.” He turned back around and crouched down, smelling the air and stroking one of the blades he’d taken from me.

  “Who?” I asked, once again the mystery decided to deepen.
  “The Hierarchy,” Norton said, “the men who have been terrorising the cities here for years now. They’re the men who killed Tran, the group that have killed thousands of innocent people in the name of power and a dirty leadership. You clearly have no idea.”
  I could have punched the idiot kid.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked.
  “I said we were going to the enemy didn’t I? I just didn’t outline who they were. Now you know, stop asking questions, we need to move before it gets too late.”
  Without another word he stood back up and began to walk along the path. I waited for a moment before walking after him, frustrating rising to boil point. It wasn’t long before we finally exited Luno Place and thankfully the sky wasn’t too bright.

  The scene before me wasn’t past anything I hadn’t seen before, but the activity for this time of the morning surprised me. An old, rusty four-wheel drive rumbled past the exit of the park along a muddy road, condensation rolling out of the exhaust pipe with crates moving about in its rear section. Two armed men sat in the front two seats and eyed Norton and I with suspicion. The vehicle rumbled past though and I watched it head down a bustling, muddy street to what looked like a deteriorating dock. And there, sitting patiently was a dormant boat being loaded with supplies and crates.
  A shout echoed through the street as the four-wheel drive pulled up and an armed man ordered the vehicle to unlock its rear hatch. I turned to look at Norton who looked forward, down the street and it was at this time I noticed his blades had vanished.

  “They’re in a safe place,” he said eerily, answering my thoughts which sent chills down my spine. His vision seemed fixed upon a crumbling, domed building just across the road. With a slight nod he took a step onto the muddy street and began to walk, the first rays of sunlight striking the trees in Luno Place. The fresh air spiked at my face and I felt my cheeks burn – this had to be one of the coolest mornings yet.

  I sighed and followed, savouring the feeling of a road that wasn’t crumbling and the actual feel of mud. I hadn’t walked on mud, even with boots on, in several years. Yet I also didn’t realise that I had been this close to a body of water.

  Without a word we walked across the road, passed a few men who took no notice of either of us and walked through the threshold and into the domed structure. Inside was a simple desk, a bucket next to it that was half filled with mouldy water, a waiting chair and dead wall clock that hung above the desk.

  As soon as we entered a tired-looking woman with striking black hair and a pale face met us, her eyes piercing through my conscience. She didn’t smile, instead she seemed to frown – no business these days was good business.

  “What?” A few shards of spit flecked over the counter as she revealed yellowing teeth and horrible breath.
  Norton looked through a door to the left and then back to the lady. “My uncle and I got no place. Rioters took our home.” I looked down with disbelief at the sudden sadness that took hold in Norton’s voice and was shocked as tears began to form. “He’s too tired to talk about it, he needs rest. The poor man carried me all night. We need a space … Please?” A single tear rolled down his chubby cheek and dampened a few freckles. He broke his eye contact with the witch-like woman and stood there, silent and resolute.

  “I’ll need some money. You got any?” Her mood hadn’t changed, but there was promise that Norton could have them pass as uncle and nephew.
  “Yeah, but only a bit. We only need one night then we’re going to take a boat and try and find a new place.” Norton reached into my bag and pulled out some dirtied notes and my astonishment grew. I didn’t have any cash; he must have brought some with him.
  The woman snatched what he had and threw a key at me. “It’s down the hall to the right. Be out by ten in the morning or I’ll get one of the boys to get you out.” With that she turned around and disappeared into a room behind the wall where a shower of abuse began to be exhaled from a male. The door closed and the shouting dimmed. Well, at least she had a roof over her head, I thought.
  Norton didn’t wait for anything and used the key to get through the first door. I followed silently until he opened our room, let me and him in, and then closed the door. To my gratitude there was a bed, a single, but still a bed.

  Its mouldy covers and moth bitten pillow didn’t look overly inviting but as soon as I fell onto its mattress I didn’t care. I rolled my bag off, took my boots off and nestled under the thin sheet for warmth and breathed a quiet “Thank-you” to Norton.
  I lied there for a minute, my eyes struggling to remain open. The past night was one of survival, and again the question of whether I could survive tugged at my thoughts. They were interrupted when I felt a fellow body snuggle into the other side of the mattress and the heat from both of us sent me to sleep.
  “Get your rest, we’ll need it for tonight …” and a distant horn bellowing in the distance was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

A ringing bell was the first thing that brought me to life. It was dark, pitch-black in fact before some headlights skimmed past the windows lighting the room for a split second. Laughter, rumbling of vehicles, and a deep, echoing bass pulsated through the room.

  A gap on the other side of the bed revealed that Norton was already up and I sighed deeply before rubbing my eyes and scratching my stubbled neck being wary of the scabs. I was warm under the thin sheet but felt the coolness of night beginning to fill the room.

  In an effort I pulled away the sheet and sat up placing my hands on my forehead, burying my head in my palms. A chill came over me and my joints ached beyond belief. I just hoped there wouldn’t be any fighting. My ageing body couldn’t take much more in such a short space of time.
  I removed my palms and looked up into the dark recesses of the room. A television was there, its monitor smashed in with bullet shells littered beside the tattered couch. I sniffed and forced myself up and stumbled my way to the bathroom.

  The light switch didn’t work so I washed my face, the frozen water stinging my face and making me wake up. God, days like this made me wish I was dead.
  As I stared at my reflection the door clicked and Norton entered, I could tell by his chubby silhouette.
  “Oh good, you’re up. I just did some scouting, shouldn’t be hard getting into the Bar for you.” He threw a packet of something onto the bed before throwing some coins into my bag.
  “Me?” I looked at him silently, watching him as he took a seat on the tattered coach and began unwrapping something before munching away on it.

  “Yes. Well they wouldn’t allow an eleven year-old into a bar would they?” He remained with his back turned, the icy chill of the evening seeping into my figure. I had to put my boots on; I was losing too much heat through my feet.
  Once again I shuffled across the room before sitting down on the bed and strapping my boots on. After I picked up the package Norton had left and found out it was heated stew. Ripping off the attached spoon I ate away while a few minutes passed in silence. Norton finally got up and threw the wrapper out the window.

  “You’re going to the Silent Bar, the most popular spot for the Hierarchy. Most of their leaders go there, especially on nights like tonight – strippers night.” I almost coughed. Norton had said it so simply as if it was a boring event. “You’ll find them in the offices upstairs, but I’m not expecting you to go there. Find out plans through conversation, I’ll do the rest.”

  I looked at him as he pulled a thick, black cloak out of a little pack that had been resting on his stomach. Without it he looked relatively slim and soon disposed of the bag in a back pocket after clothing himself in the dark cloak. Only his eyes and forehead was visible.
  “I wondered how you could have been fat … Not in this time.” He didn’t even smile but walked to the window and placed a hand on the ledge.

  “We’ll meet during the night. Stay out of trouble. Meet at the dock by one in the morning, it’s now eleven – that’s when our barge leaves. Just get on there, don’t bother trying to meet me.” And without another word he slipped out of the window and down the thin alleyway that gapped the domed structure and what must have been the Silent Bar.
  With a grunt I threw the rest of the soup out of the window listening as the dregs splashed against a dented and ruined alloy bin. I then adjusted my woollen cloak and hoisted my backpack, my helmet inside with some spare cash.

  As I left the front room of the domed building I let the keys to the room drop inside the full bucket. Drops fell from the roof and the key made a lot of the water near the top splash and overflow. The door to the back room was closed and the light off.
  I walked into the fresh air, noticing for the first time that it was raining. A lot of yelling came from down the street and numerous cars were parked while a few more rolled into the avenue. Some laughter cackled the night air and the flashing lights of the barge could be seen in the distance. And there to my left was a group of men laughing their way into the Silent Bar. A troop of ladies clad only in a feathery red jacket and a thick layer of make-up were escorted into the room with a troop of armed men. Instantly I heard the room begin to cheer and whoop and I couldn’t help but smile – how pathetic.

  I bridged the gap to the entrance in a few seconds and walked straight in. A small runway of flashing lights and muddy carpet led the way into a flashing, bustling and warm room. Eyes immediately fastened upon my shaggy appearance but I wasn’t that different compared to most. Instead of waiting any longer I walked into the bustling mass to instantly be shoved about by people running to the bar and people moving about the busy room. I quickly scanned the lower level and found two dance floors, both already filling with naked ladies dancing on tables with males flooding to the floor around them, cash in hand and dancing rudely about them, touching the ladies and whooping at them.

  I strolled through the room for a bit, going from dance floor to dance floor, scanning the groups at the different tables and searching for men drinking on their own. I even dared a glance above through the glass floor of the offices above. Dark figures paced slowly around, examining the events below and talking with other figures.

  Lights flashed on and off and all around the bar as music pumped from massive speakers nearby the men manning the music. I finally found one man looking friendly enough to share some company. I walked over and sat down next to him, looking about the room casually. He leant over.
  “Some party, eh?” He already sounded half-drunk.
  “Yeah,” I shouted over the music. “I really like coming to this place!”
  He chuckled and hiccoughed lazily before nodding and taking another swab of drink. “These strippers are the best from over the bay! Boss brought ‘em in as a reward for our work the other night. Shoulda seen those … hic … hopeless idiots run. I caught one woman and did her before sending a bomb off near her friends.” He laughed again, this time finishing the glass and slamming it down on the dirty bench below. Swaying a bit he looked over at me, eyes glazed and smiling. I was ready to knock his block off, his actions were sick.

  I forced a laugh however and continued to look about, occasionally glancing up through the glass roof at the big bosses. “I was drunk that night. What happened again?”
  He stopped swaying and crossed his brow, trying to concentrate. “Oh, I thought all groups were s’posed to kill those hopeless fucks?”
  I shook my head quickly and looked about again. “I only arrived here today, they need some back-up I was told.” Acting a part of a regime wasn’t as easy as I had thought.
  “Ah! Well … hic … well welcome, mate! Welcome to the … hic … Silent Cove!” He swayed so far this time he slipped off his seat and onto the floor before laughing hysterically. “Help ya mate up!” I bent down to help him up as he broke out into another stream of laughter. This was nuts, how was I going to get any information out of him?

  “Look,” he sputtered, his last gulp of drink obviously starting to take its effect, “those Federation fuckers aren’t gonna last much longer. See the way we slaughtered them at the Tradeway?” He hiccoughed again and swayed violently before I put a hand on him and stabilised him, my full attention now on him. “They had no idea!” He laughed again before attempting to become serious. “No, no! They really don’t know what’s coming. Them over in the bay’ll soon be gone. And Hierarchy will rule again!” He attempted a cheer but hiccoughed halfway through, causing him to jump before laughing again and swaying violently. A few men nearby raised half empty glasses and joined in cheering but also begun to sway.

  I leaned forward, getting close before whispering my last question:
  “What are the Federation planning on doing?” I held my breath as the man’s glazed eyes rolled over my face, his vision becoming jumpy and ghostly.
  “Why,” he said as his voice rolled his words together, “those fuckers are trying to destroy us. Trying to plant bombs they are, trying to choke the Hierarchy of their supplies … hic … and their life support as the big boss said. But they won’t, we on top of ‘em!” A wavering smile covered his face as his eyes rolled back and he slumped off the chair falling into a pit of hysterical laughs. Drugs, I thought.
  
Another hour and a half went by without another sober enough man to talk with so I headed toward the barge early. The strippers had pulled some interesting tricks while several had already left to return to some of the men’s cars. The bosses had done nothing interesting and I hadn’t been able to even see any of their faces. All in all, the only interesting part of the night was when three guys had a punch-up which quickly ended when one was stabbed and the other shot. Both ended up dead and lying in the gutter but the party continued on. It pained me to see that the Federation, who were obviously the Hierarchy’s enemies, weren’t here to take advantage of this opportunity.
  
I was nearly at the barge, being able to see the flashing lights not far off, when shouts began to come from the bar. I turned to look back down the street to see a crowd of stumbling men trying to get out of the Silent Bar. Then suddenly a flash of light split through the upper floors, the windows shattered and flames licked the windows and roof.
  
The crowd of men that had been leaving the bar had fallen in a wave. I crouched suddenly as the deafening blow turned the night sky to a bright midday. Sirens immediately began to blare as people emerged from buildings along the street, armed and ready. My heart began to race before the domed structure next to the Silent Bar was turned into a ball of flames. Another closer to me erupted into a deafening explosion before the barge behind me rumbled eerily. Screaming men came running from below deck on fire and the vessel quickly submerged.
  
The Federation had attacked …