Leave it to Lunaria to make an alleyway feel sterile. Wasting time here felt like a defanged replica of Aiden’s old life, free from the stresses of fighting over half-rotten scraps or fending off his sleeping spot from being used as a bathroom. Even the recycling bin he dug through felt too clean to be real.

  He got some reading material out of it, a torn box with instructions on how to assemble a bench. It boasted three easy-to-clean seats. So exciting, it nearly put him to sleep, but sleeping wasn’t an option now that his lookout left. Only the business-sized recycling bin stood between him and whatever nosy pig passed by. There were worse ways to spend his time.

  Sometimes his mind wandered to that kid and the way he stumbled off in a huff. Aiden did ditch him when the cops showed up, but Little Summers screwed up his one job. Two could be mad.

  Though it wasn’t like Aiden totally left him to fry; he kept an eye on things from afar just in case he had to step in. That kid needed an arrest no more than a blow to the head. Summers could stay mad if he wanted to. Aiden only hoped he took that bluff about Jun to heart.

  Footsteps came down the alley, followed by a sigh. Either someone from the laundromat had something to throw away or someone ratted him out for digging in the recycling bin. With no time to run, he had to get crafty. He pretended to look for his wallet, mentally practicing his most respectable ‘Hello, Officer.’

  But it was just some random kid digging in the bin. The sight of Aiden clearly freaked him out. Once he calmed down, he muttered something under his breath, then opened with “Look. There’s an eleven-year-old boy running around, about five-foot-three, with red hair and freckles. Have you seen him?”

  “No.” Aiden matched his attitude, hoping it would get this freckled boy to go away.

  It didn’t. Instead, he stomped around, sighing way too loud. His giant backpack rustled with every stomp. He dressed like some sort of robot, complete with a circuit patterned jumpsuit and some kind of hi-tech monocle covering half of his glasses. With less spacepunks on this street, it made it feel like he was trying to get as many people to notice him as possible.

  “He’s not here. Move. Can’t you see I’m tryin’ to get away from people?”

  “I wish I could do that. Seems to be the hot new trend!”

  Aiden weighed his options. Letting Monocle Boy stay around could cause unwanted attention, but if the wrong person saw him scare him off, Aiden knew he’d end up in a lot more trouble.

  “Half my family’s in on it. Even my little brother. He can barely throw his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper, and now he thinks he can run off on his own. Can you believe that?” At least Summers stayed quiet.

  Aiden sighed. “If you’re gonna keep whining, do me a favor and keep a lookout for cops.”

  “Why? Are you…?” Monocle Boy trailed off, realizing whatever question he meant to ask was not smart. “Sorry to disturb you, sir. Whatever your story is, I don’t need to know.”

  That was more like it.

  “But if you’re willing to hear me out,” he stopped just when Aiden thought he might actually leave this time, “it all started over money. Thanks to my expert handling of our finances, we were under budget this month. So naturally, I should be the one who gets to spend it, right?”

  Aiden shrugged with an ‘I don’t know’ sound.

  “But nooo, I just had to open my big mouth. So my little brother Kyle gets the idea to have all of us decide what we want to spend it on as if I don’t pull most of the weight. Hasn’t anyone ever heard of a meritocracy?”

  He hadn’t. Whatever it meant, it wasn’t worth making this conversation longer.

  “I do the cooking. I do the finances. I’m the one who has to go behind everyone and remind them to get their chores done. I’m the one who’s responsible when one of them decides to get hurt or go missing. Why should I have to share?” Monocle Boy left barely any room for an answer. “Exactly, there’s no reason! See? You get it.”

  Aiden stuck his neck out to see Monocle Boy’s black and red ponytail facing him. If he played it smoothly enough, he might be able to sneak by him and find another spot to pass time. It’s not like the kid needed his input. Then again, so long as he didn’t, was it really so bad to stick around? It wouldn’t have been the first time he sat through someone talking to themself.

  “Kyle wants us to buy swimsuits so we can go to the beach. He says it’s so we can bond more. But I gotta ask, who has the time? Not me. Aaron said we should get a camera in order to make money. Not a bad idea from the guy who did the Crowd Surf Challenge off of our house.”

  Either a crowd caught him, they lived outside of the dome, or Aaron was a pancake. Aiden placed his bets on option #2.

  “The problem is, we have different creative visions.” The real problem was the sound of Monocle Boy’s footsteps coming closer. “He wants to create overly-edited vlogs.” Just before Aiden could shoo him back to his post, the boy thumbed to the side, mouthing ‘Cop incoming.’

  Aiden gladly took the hint and pretended to be someone who just happened to be walking out of the alley. Monocle Boy dug through the recycling bin again, continuing to whine about vlogs. He also held his earpiece as if on a call. Good to know the kid had enough sense to make a cover story for talking to himself.

  “Hey, you! Stop what you’re doing.”

  Two steps out of the alley and Aiden heard the voice of the pig from earlier. If she wanted his attention, she’d have to call again. He was too busy unclenching his muscles.

  “Yeah, you. What do you think you’re doing? That’s private property.”

  “What?” came Monocle Boy’s voice. “But it’s garbage.”

  “It’s recycled. All recyclables are property of Turner Recycling Company.” She sounded calm enough to let him off the hook.

  But he continued to open his big mouth. “Since when was that a thing? Who cares if a piece of cardboard goes missing here and there? There’s so many different ways to reuse it. Technically, if I were to take it, I’d be doing their job for them.”

  “...Have you done this before?” Her footsteps approached the alley. Aiden’s stopped. If this kid spoke any more, he might just get himself in big trouble. And Aiden knew he would, because at that age, he did the same thing.

  “Please excuse him, Officer. He’s looking for his little brother.” Aiden could not believe the words coming out of his own mouth. He turned to the boy. “Hey kid, I don’t think he’s in there.”

  “And you are…?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Remembering Summers’ advice, he whipped out his ID.

  “Oh, I take it you’re with–” She covered her mouth. “Sorry. Top secret business.”

  Sure, he’d roll with that. Anything to prevent him from saying anything that could and would be used against him.

  She turned to the kid. “You’re looking for your brother? Can you give me a name and description?”

  Monocle Boy was smart enough not to bring up the recycling bin again. While he described his brother, Aiden took the time to zone out. His insides twitched. Blood pumped through his veins as if he’d ran a marathon. Years of instinct told him to get away from this lady. He fought against it just to stay still.

  “There. Just sent word out to the guys on Appenine.” She put away her walkie-talkie. “I’ll keep an eye out in the surrounding area, and the precinct’ll send you a message if we find him, okay? We’ll also send one over to your house. Your parents must be so worried.”

  “Thank you, Officer. I really appreciate it.” Monocle Boy spoke like a model citizen. “And sorry for my tone earlier. I was just a little frustrated about my brother.”

  “I get it. Just keep outta those recycling bins, and we’ll be fine.” She smiled and waved to them both. “You boys have a good one.”

  Aiden leaned against the laundromat after she finally left, keeping an eye on her to make sure she kept walking. Things could’ve gone worse. They didn’t, but stressing out about it was not how he wanted to spend his day.

  “If Mom catches wind of this, he’s gonna be so grounded.” Monocle Boy dropped the goody two-shoes act. “Anyway, thanks for stepping in.”

  Aiden grunted. He checked to make sure no pigs were in earshot. “What were you doing anyway? There’s nothing good in there, just cardboard.”

  “That is the good stuff. How else am I gonna revive the use of practical effects?”

  “Huh??”

  “I’m an aspiring filmmaker.” the boy told him. “But movies these days, they all rely on green screens and digital effects that’ll look cheap in ten years. Props never die. And I can’t make props without materials. Cardboard’s like gold to me. This isn’t even the first time I stole–”

  “Shhh! Don’t say it out loud.” Aiden hissed through his teeth. Then he spoke at a normal volume. “And don’t do crime when you know cops are coming.”

  “But–Ohhhh. I get it.” A silent realization would’ve been nicer. “Wait, why were you hiding anyway? She didn’t seem to care.”

  “None of your business.”

  “Got it.”

  With his job done and no reason to hide, Aiden took a walk around the block. His own handsomeness startled him as he walked past storefront windows.

  So did the kid following him. “So, uh, what kind of movies do you like?”

  Aiden stared back at him, confused. He showed no signs of leaving. Might as well answer. “Haven’t watched many. I think the last one I sat through all the way was some documentary about people who died and came back to life.”

  “That sounds like it could be interesting.” The boy adjusted his glasses-monocle. “Were there reenactments?”

  “No. All I remember is a buncha people talkin’.” That and the way the other group home kids looked at Aiden during the interviews with people who saw flames instead of the pearly gates.

  “Nevermind, that’s boring.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You should check out old sci-fi and horror movies. Some drag a little, but when they get good, they get really good. Recently, I’ve been getting into kaiju. You know, like Gorisaur.”

  “The big lizard that blows up cities?” He’d vaguely heard of it.

  “Yeah. Though if you check out any of the movies, I highly recommend you find one with King Beros.” Monocle Boy motioned to the three-headed wolf thing on his shirt. “He’s Gorisaur’s biggest enemy, and they have superpowered wrestling matches!”

  “Huh.” That sounded better than the documentary.

  “And the best part,” he continued hyping it up, “is that you see real sets getting destroyed! Real smoke! Real explosions!”

  Aiden didn’t know if he’d sit around for an hour to watch all that, but he saw the appeal. “What are they fighting over?”

  “Usually the fate of the Earth. King Beros wants to destroy it.”

  “I thought that was Gorisaur’s thing.”

  “Well, yeah. Gorisaur was created through humanity’s hubris, greed, and misuse of power.” Monocle Boy counted on his fingers. “He has a lot of reasons to hate Earth. But if some other monster tries to destroy it and crown himself king, he’s not gonna spare Gorisaur.”

  Aiden’s pace slowed down. “So it’s the same problem as humanity but a different guy. He can’t let himself be a victim of the same injustice twice. I respect it.”

  “Woah. You should join the forums.” Monocle Boy stared up at him, blissfully unaware of the chaos that might cause. “People love talking about that kinda stuff there. I just like watching big monsters fight, but trust me, do not hang around the power-scaling forum. All they know how to do is get mad and be wrong.”

  Aiden knew that tone on- and offline. “Got banned?”

  “Temporarily! And for the record, I was right. If Chrysala hadn’t butted in, Gorisaur would’ve been toast against King Beros; a 1v1 would kill him. There is nothing to debate!” He took a moment to calm himself down. “Now I stick to the prop-building forum. People there appreciate what I have to offer.”

  As Aiden rounded the street corner, Monocle Boy sped up to match his pace.

  He shoved his phone in Aiden’s face. “These are some of my projects.”

  Pictures of cardboard buildings, swords, and other creations scrolled past Aiden’s eyes. Obviously, they weren’t real, but they were pretty detailed. “Cool.”

  “Thanks.” The kid smiled.

  Further up, a video played. A freckled hand poured powder into a bottle of soda and screwed the cap back on. Soda bubbled from brown to white in an instant. Snickering turned to panic as the bottle swelled to almost double the size, and–

  He scrolled back down in a hurry. “And that’s all my projects.” Of the skills he had, playing it cool wasn’t one of them. He clamped his phone to his wrist with a sigh. “There’s so much more I want to make, but I just don’t have the time anymore. This wouldn’t be a problem if my sister didn’t run off.”

  Aiden wondered if running away really meant anything in a city this enclosed. Someone would probably find his brother within a day. Though if his sister’s old enough, she could’ve just moved out of the house.

  “She has years of experience with all these responsibilities, and then, she decides to dump them on me after some measly crash course. Now she gets to frolic around town with her boyfriend. It’s not fair.” Monocle Boy threw his hands into the air. “I’m fifteen! How does she expect me to have a life when I’m stuck doing the family taxes?”

  “I dunno. Ask her how she did it.”

  For an answer with no thought behind it, it shut him up for a moment. It also slowed him down. Aiden kept walking ahead, but looking back, he saw some sort of realization play out over Monocle Boy’s face. It didn’t seem like a pleasant one.

  By this point, Aiden stood at the crossing to the next block. Footsteps hurried up behind him. He wondered how long this kid would follow along. “Don’t you have a brother to look for?”

  “I-I was planning on getting back to it. Besides, the police are on it.”

  Sure, they couldn’t make it worse. Probably. “Still, you’re better off looking for him too. Didn’t you say you need him back before your mom finds out?”

  “Right.”

  This did not get the kid to stop following him. Instead, he straggled along, asking random people about his brother every few steps. Each time, he caught back up to Aiden. No one had a clue where the child was.

  Until Aiden passed a lady on the next corner. “With a yella shirt?”

  “You’ve seen him??”

  “Yeah, down on Apennine hangin’ around a boy in a bullseye shirt and glasses. I think they were headin’ somewhere around here, but I’m not sure.”

  That sounded too familiar. He looked over his shoulder to see a tall, thin, dark-skinned woman with white hair. Something about her felt familiar, too, but he didn’t remember her from any of the ships he’d been stationed on.

  And then the realization hit hard enough to turn him around. “Bullseye shirt? I know that kid.”

  “You do?” Monocle Boy’s head snapped toward him.

  “Ya do?” The woman eyed him more warily.

  Aiden pretended to not pay attention during the briefing, but he memorized Hook’s face just in case a moment like this came along. From the looks of it, she was headed east. Away from Jun, luckily. Toward the captains’ groups, not so much. “Does bullseye kid know where you’re goin’?”

  “No…?”

  “Good. He’s a plant. There’s some other ones you’re gonna wanna avoid. If you see a dude in mirror shades and a cape with a girl in a moon shirt, do not let them see you.”

  Her eyes widened. She took a step back, nodding and smiling like a hostage at gunpoint.

  “The other two you gotta watch out for is a guy in star-shaped 3D glasses and–”

  She sped off as he tried to find the words to describe what Leon wore.

  “Wait!” Aiden cursed under his breath. As tall and gruff as he was, no good would come out of chasing her. He did his best. The rest was up to her. Instead, he booked it in the opposite direction. If Summers was on his way back to the alley, it’d be really annoying if he and the other kid brother got lost looking for Aiden and Monocle Boy.

  “Do you know her?” Monocle Boy scrambled to keep up.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “The alley. Your brother might be there.”

  They wasted no more words, looping around the two blocks back to where they started from. Relief hit Aiden when he saw the red-headed boy waiting for them.

  But not the one he expected.

  This boy wore blue and looked as old as Monocle Boy. He stared at his brother, wide-eyed. “Russell?”

  “Kyle? What are you doing here so early?”

  “You’ll never believe who I ran into!”

  Aiden walked past that family reunion to take his place in the alley. Or at least he would’ve had someone not scared him witless.

  “Yo. ‘Sup, dude?” One of his crewmates, but not the one he expected.

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