Gatekeeper Short Story: Guilt and Guile

“COME ON, GUILT!”

Ducking and weaving between people, leaping and dodging over levitating packs of cargo, Guile pulled his little sister Guilt along with the Gravitas guard in hot pursuit. They had finally successfully stolen, and then sold, something of value on the black market, and he was not about to give up the precious pouch of gold he now held. It represented a full week of not worrying about their meals, which for both of them was a level of financial security they scarcely dared dream of.

“Stop! You are under arrest!”

As Guile ignored the guard, an arrow whizzed past him, leaving his ear ringing with how close it had been to putting a hole in his head. The crowd began to disperse, running from the violent conflict as they only feared for their own safety. Guile saw the arrow turn around and fly back towards him, so he did his best to redirect it.

Summoning whatever meager gravity casting he could, he tried to wrest control of the projectile away from its owner. It’s path changed just enough to narrowly miss hitting him square in the chest, but it still left a nasty cut on his arm, simultaneously cutting a new tear in his already patchwork long sleeve shirt. He swore under his breath, not wanting Guilt to scold him again for his language.

No longer having the crowd to give him cover, Guile took to the sky, pulling himself along with his gravity casting as fast as he could. Guilt slowed him down, but she tried her best to use her own power over gravity to keep both of them moving. She was shaking from fear, and had trouble focusing her efforts on their escape in her panic. Guile knew it was on him to get them out of this situation.

The guard, not only an adult but also a fully trained gravity caster, effortlessly caught up to them in midair, grabbing both Guilt and Guile roughly by the collars of their necks. He pulled them back down to the ground as they kicked and struggled, pulling them in to the nearest building. It was abandoned, just like many of the decrepit buildings were, but even if it wasn’t the guard wouldn’t care. Guile distinctly remembered a similar time where their apprehension at the hands of a guard had interrupted a family’s dinner, who continued eating as they tried to ignore the two orphans being beat senseless by a government sanctioned authority.

The guard threw them against the stone wall, and both knew better than to try running again. At this range, a gravity caster of this caliber could break individual bones to make a point. Their captor wore an angry frown to match his oppressive black uniform, having streaks of royal purple along the sleeves. Guile had been told the patterns could be used to determine rank, but he cared little for such details.

The guard crossed his arm. “I know what you have. Why don’t you two stop being difficult, and cough it up?”

Guile gave a disrespectful smile. “Are you sure you have the right guys? I mean, Gravitas is a pretty crowded place. Maybe you are mistaken.”

The guard’s frown deepened as he grew more enraged. “I am not mistaken. I have a warrant out for your arrest. You are well over fifteen thousand IR, which makes you a dangerous criminal.”

Guilt stood up, while Guile shook his head at her, trying to get her to sit back down. She just looked back at him with sad eyes, knowing what she must do. She pulled out the bag of gold, which she had silently nabbed from Guile, handing it to the guard. “We are sorry for not paying the tax… here it is.”

The guard took a gold coin out, holding it up to gleam in the dim light. “Normally, you would get some of this back… after all, the tax is only ninety five percent of all earnings. Food, water, and housing are all paid for, so such an amount is perfectly acceptable… don’t you agree?”

Guile bit his tongue as he fumed. They were marked as criminals, and so they received none of those things. The guard continued as he put the gold coin back in the pouch. “...but given you were criminals running from lawful authority, I think I’ll take the rest for… damages. Consider this a final warning; either correct your behavior, or your IR will increase even more. At that point, you will not be able to hide anywhere. You will be caught, dead or alive.”

The guard left, and Guile turned his anger at Guilt. “GUILT! What the rift were you THINKING!?”

Guilt, looking suddenly calm and collected, held up a much larger pouch. “I was thinking we should trade. He got our gold… so I got his.”

Guile looked at the pouch in disbelief, a smile growing across his face. He yanked open the pouch and saw the wondrous shining of gold and silver, filling the fat wallet to its very limit. A week was out of the question, this amount of money would keep them fed for a month. “Guilt… good work. You pulled the Thieves Exchange on him!”

Guilt smiled back. “I learned from the best.”

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Story set in the fictional universe in my published novel.

Same post on Minds