Noah breathed heavily as a droplet of sweat ran down the length of his face, and he looked harshly at the safe he was trying to break into. He knew once it was open that there would be immense treasures in store for him. Captain Ajax, the man he was stealing from, went on many adventures and brought back all his exotic, expensive finding home and put them in his cleverly hidden safe. Noah had gained Ajax’s trust after several months of living with him after the death of his parents. Ajax was Noah’s only living family member and had not been caught for his heinous crimes, so Noah had been sent to live with him even though he loathed him with every fiber of his being and he did not feel any remorse when stealing from him. Suddenly, Noah heard loud thundering footsteps coming from outside of the office door and he held his breath his muscles were locked in place. He knew if anyone were come into the office he would be caught and then sent away. For good. The footsteps quickly passed and Noah let out a breath of relief and focused on putting the last number into the safe code. He tugged at the safe handle and it opened slowly revealing glittering gemstones, shiny gold, crisp bills, and various other treasures. Noah wanted to shout out and celebrate his victory, but he knew he had to be quiet. He tugged open his black bag and scooped up the treasures shoving them into the back until there was nothing left in the safe. The bag snapped shut and Noah threw it over his shoulder quietly tiptoeing to the window. He threw the window open and slipped out into the cold, dark night into the city of Tregaron, quickly closing the window quietly behind him. The sounds of speeding traffic sounded below him and Noah gulped looking down from the enormous height. A shrill alarm sounded and the sound of running sounded inside of where Noah had just escaped from. Noah looked at his beloved town, well once beloved, there were rows of perfect houses that were identical and little shops on every corner. Every single door was the same color blue or red. The hedges were trimmed just right and the grass was always freshly cut. In the dark the city, Tregaron, was illuminated with the soft glow of lights surrounding the town. Tregaron was breathtakingly beautiful, the absolute perfect tourist attraction to escape. Noah knew better though, the city held dark secrets and twisted lives. Noah looked around for an escape route and saw a ladder leading to the top of the roof. He grabbed it and yanked it down further and placed his hands on the slippery bar pulling his body up with all the strength he had. After almost falling to his death several times he made it to the top and threw himself onto the roof. The roof was expansive with plants and tables in various places. Moonlight guided him across the roof as he ran keeping his grip tight on the bag. The next building was most likely only a foot away and if he ran fast enough he could jump from this building to another. Noah picked up speed running as fast as he could and jumped.
He barely made it to the ledge and had his breath knocked out of him for a good five minutes. Noah smiled with victory as he peered into his bag of new treasures. At every noise though Noah was paranoid his eyes searching the darkness that surrounded him waiting for Ajax to come out of the shadows, to kill him as he had killed their parents. Noah couldn’t remember the last time he had a full meal in his stomach. His bed was made of moldy straw and a moth eaten blanket. Many nights he had curled up under the tiny blanket and shivered all night long, most often he was sick. The least Ajax could spare was his treasures to pay for Noah’s new life. He picks up the heavy bag of jewels and looks around to see where the best escape route is. The only way down to the road below is the fire escape. Noah moves quickly keeping low on the rooftop moving towards the shaky, rusty staircase. Terrified of heights Noah’s legs are wobbling as he descends down the long staircase growing closer and closer to the busy street, bright with lights. He sees a group of policemen speaking in hushed tones and one of them lifted a picture up of a boy with a scrawny long face. He had striking hazel eyes a small slightly crooked nose, from being broken, and thin pale lips that were turned down in a grimace. The picture had been taken of Noah a few months ago and now was on a wanted poster in the police’s gloved hand. Noah’s knuckles turned white as he gripped harshly onto the bag and he ducked his head turning into the alleyway. He heard shouts fill his ears as one of the policemen pointed towards him and yelled for the others to follow him. Noah picked up his pace running as fast as his legs could carry him afraid that one of the cops would catch him. Being caught was not an option to Noah, he was not ready to face Ajax knowing that would ultimately lead to death for stealing from him. The police were getting closer to Noah as he reached the end of the alleyway stopping at a dead end. The only chance of escaping was to scale the wall and cross to the street. He knew this would be dangerous with all of the oncoming traffic zooming past him at the speed of light. His vision blurred and the next thing he remembered was his head slamming into the gravel.
There was a blinding white blankness, that is all Noah could see. He tried to move but he was paralyzed. It felt like he was breathing underwater and his chest felt heavy. All of the sudden something ice cold splashed onto his face and he gasped for breath, it felt like he was drowning. Finally his eyes snapped open and a hazy face appeared above him, his eyes could not seem to focus. He tried to talk but nothing came out, he felt a sharp pang on his right cheek. Next his vision focused on a very familiar face with eyes black as coal, hair to match, scarred tan skin, a permanently frowning mouth, and a sharp narrow nose. Ajax’s eyes were haunting with untold secrets in them. Noah had been caught red handed. Suddenly everything went black.
When Noah awoke he was in a soft, warm bed with light shining through a bay window. The curtains were a bright, sheer white and the rest of the room colors were different shades of blue, green, and some red. Noah realized that he was back in his old room, what a terrible dream he thought as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair. The door opened and Noah peered towards it.
“Hello, brother,” Ajax stepped into the room and locked the door.