“Just stay quiet,” I ordered my friend. She was four years younger than me and she was actually more like a little sister. I watched after her. On streets like these, people needed someone who they could trust.

Another line of police passed by as we sat, tucked in a thin alleyway between two high-rise buildings.

“Where are they going, anyway?” Sable asked, her blue eyes trusting my every being. I sighed. Apparently, she couldn’t follow my simple rule. But I had to give her a break now and again. I chose to leave my family, for their safety. Hers was forced from her, never to be seen again – dead.

“My guess is that they have some sort of meeting,” I lied. She caught my bluff and looked at me, aggravated.

“They’re looking for you, aren’t they?”

“Well… sort of. They’re looking for that.” I point my finger up at a giant electronic billboard. My name, with a realistic 3D composite, shined down on the city. “It doesn’t even look like me,” I muttered to myself, offended. If I was going to be the city’s most wanted criminal, I at least wanted them to put some effort in to trying to find me. But instead, they put up an ad, let the people search for a reward they’ll never get.

“Listen,” I turned to Sable, “I have to run a few errands. I need you to stay here for a couple hours so no one sees you with me. We’ll rendezvous at the abandoned hotel at midnight.”

“It’s going to be freezing in another hour. I left my jacket when we had to run from the cops last. I didn’t have time to think. It was kind of a rude awakening.”

“Well, that’s exactly why I picked this alley for you. There are a few exhausts back there, way in the dark. They’re from the residents’ clothes dryers. Should be nice and warm,” I explained. She looked back to her hiding spot. Then she had her arms wrapped around me. She did this every time I had to leave. She knew she might not see me again. I tried not to think about it. Thinking like that could get you killed.

“I’ll get you another jacket,” I promised. “And I’ll try and snag a sleeping bag too.”
Sable nodded and made her way in to the alley. I made sure she was enshrouded in darkness before leaving. If I kept my hood up, head down, and shuffled along the street like the other lemmings, I’d be safe on the way to visit my family.

They still thought I was dead. I had to keep them out of my affairs so they wouldn’t be imprisoned or tortured. But there were a few things I had to get out of the house for my future project against the government. And to do that, my family had to know I was alive. I’ve been “dead” to them for eight months now. Enough time for the police to realize that my family truly knew nothing about what I’ve been up to. They wouldn’t be bothered any more. But it’s still not safe for me to stay for more than twenty minutes, tops. Police continuously check houses to make sure families aren’t hiding me.

As I approach my house, I realize immediately that something’s off – in the air. It feels colder, the skies seem darker. All in all, the place seems… empty. And that’s when I see the eviction sign on the front door. My family was gone, like Sable’s. But maybe, hopefully, my family was still alive. I had to find them.