The front gates of the capital sector loomed in front of them. The dark sheen of the bars glistened in the sunlight. Two guards stood at attention at either side of the entrance. Only their pupils moved as they neared it. 

Mylo was nervous. The guard uniform that Willow had fitted on him was far too baggy, and it sagged over his limbs. He rolled up his sleeves and adjusted his waistband to try to sell it a bit more. There was no telling what the consequences would be if he was caught.

Willow pressed against the left entrance gate. The inward arching bars began to swing forward, creaking as they did.

Mylo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. They were almost inside.

“Willow?” The guard to the left of them questioned, breaking from his pose and walking over to them.

Willow turned to him, still holding two bars of the gate in her hands. 

“Guardsman Smith,” Willow answered. “How are you doing today?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on duty at the loop office?” he questioned. His eyes glanced over to Mylo once, but he didn’t mention anything about him just yet.

“Yes, I needed to retrieve some files I left at home,” she replied. “You can ask Jon.”

“Your unpreparedness is going to catch up to you,” Guardsman Smith responded.

“I’m well aware. It won’t happen again,” Willow said with a smile, continuing to push in the gate. Willow pushed herself between the slim gap she had made between the two entrance gates.

Mylo grabbed onto the outer rim of the gate to pull himself in with her.

The guardsman grabbed his shoulder. “I don’t recognize you,” he said.

Mylo’s heart sank.

“He’s a new recruit,” Willow lied.

“What’s your post?” the guardsman questioned.

“It’s-,” Willow started to respond.

“I want to hear it from him,” Guardsman Smith growled.

“Right- it’s the top wall,” he stuttered.

Guardsman Smith scoffed. “I just met with Leader Kimst yesterday. Their induction ceremony isn’t until next week. Why don’t you be honest now, kid? It’ll save you quite some trouble.”

Mylo’s lips quivered. He didn’t know how to respond. Should he tell him what’s going on? No, that would be stupid.

“Well?” the man questioned. The man’s grip strengthened, and his stare beat down into Mylo’s skull.

Before Mylo could answer though, there was a loud clanging sound in the near distance. 

The guard quickly turned to see what it was. 

Just parallel to where they stood was Karn. He had dropped a large bucket of red paint on the ground and was smearing it across the street with his feet. A collection of children had joined with him, rolling around in the paint and rubbing it on each other. Parents tried to wrestle their misbehaving children, yelling angrily at them and Karn.

The guard’s grip of Mylo’s shoulder loosened, and Mylo was able to break his grasp and escape through the gap into the capital sector.

“Hey!” the guard yelled. “You get back here! Wait till your father hears about this!”

Willow and Mylo sprinted down the road.

The buildings here were made of chiseled stone with intricate patterns. Large columns that touched the sky and windows arranged in circular patterns were prominent pieces of the architecture. Even the cobblestone they walked on was more pristine and smooth. 

Willow pulled Mylo into a side street tucked between two of the stone brick buildings to their right. She looked up and down the street before pushing Mylo down between two crates.

Mylo attempted to catch his breath. He felt like he might pass out. He grabbed his chest as it twanged with each beat. It didn’t matter how nervous he was or how fast he ran; it would not beat any faster. 

"Oh, I’m so dead,” Willow laughed, squeezing in beside him. She shivered as she did.

“You’re cold,” she mentioned. She grabbed his hand and rubbed it to confirm.

On the contrary her hands were piercingly hot to him, and Mylo grimaced in pain. He yanked his hand away from her. 

“Are you ok?” Willow questioned.

“What do you think?” Mylo answered. "That monster it—it’s doing something to me.”

“Sorry stupid question,” she replied. “Do you feel like it’s going to come back out?”

Mylo shook his head. “I was sleeping last time it did. Hopefully it can’t take me over when I’m awake.”

"Well, don’t pass out then. I’ve already lost my job and am grounded for years. The last thing I need is being responsible for a shadowlimb in the capital district too,” Willow said.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” Mylo apologized. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”

Willow scoffed. “I could’ve said no; hell, I could’ve gotten a promotion out of reporting you. Let’s just say there’s a bit more to it, and it's not just the debt that you’re going to owe me for generations.”

"Well, thank you regardless,” Mylo responded, looking in her direction. 

“Don’t mention it,” she nodded.

There was the scuffling of footsteps and echo of voices just to their left down the central road they had just escaped from.

“Come on, let’s go,” Willow whispered, jumping up.

Mylo pushed himself up and followed her out. They jogged to the next street over.

Willow checked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear before signaling Mylo to follow. 

The small street was empty, facing the backs of buildings and houses on either side. Some backs had gardens, and others used their space as seating areas. It was resoundingly different from the ones in the main city, whose most prominent features were piles of garbage. Many of which attracted scurrying rats. Here though the streets were clean and the garbage collected.

Willow moved up the road, cautiously keeping close to the right side of the street in case they needed to sneak down another side road. 

The streets here in the capital district all moved inward toward the city’s center. It was a consequence of the city’s circular design.

“The library is a couple streets to the right near the palace,” Willow stated.

With everyone in the capital on high alert now, it made getting there substantially more difficult. They had gotten this far though. Maybe the universe would finally let up its torment.

Willow chose another alley to turn down further up the road. This one would shoot them out onto a more populated street. 

They approached the exit of the alley when she swung  her arm against Mylo to hold him back

“I heard footsteps,” she said, pressing herself against the wall.

Her hearing must’ve been sharp because Mylo did not hear a sound until the footsteps approached closer. They rhythmically hit their peak, and Mylo could make out two figures in white guard uniforms walking past. 

Willow didn’t release him until the footsteps faded back out. “Quickly,” she instructed.

They exited the street and walked just fast enough to get by but just slow enough to not draw any attention. There were a few people walking the street. Most didn’t seem to take notice of them. Word mustn't have gotten around just yet.

They entered the next side street, where they again took a moment to collect themselves before continuing.

"Ok, so just up this next road we should be able to get to the back entrance of the library. The only issue is that it’ll be bustling with people; all of the areas around the palace are,” Willow mentioned. “I think maybe I know a way that might work, just maybe. You ready?"

Mylo was worried by the amount of mights and maybes she had to use as disclaimers in her statement. It didn’t bode confidence for their mission. She had done this stuff before though. Mylo just had to trust her.

“Let’s do this,” Mylo said, taking a deep breath.

“That’s the spirit,” she replied. She pointed a finger upwards. “Think you can climb?” 

Mylo looked up at the vertical wall she wanted them to scale. A straight ninety degrees for three stories. Mylo got sick just looking at it. He looked back at Willow, who was already positioning herself on the wall.

“You’ve done this before?” Mylo asked.

“Done this? I’m basically a professional,” she said, gripping onto a crevice between two stones and pulling herself upward. 

Mylo shook his head and walked up to the wall. He took another deep breath. He was getting tired of doing that. 

He positioned himself below Willow, hoping to follow her path upwards. He held his fingers in the crevice between two rocks. He counted down in his head from there. 

3… 2… 1…

Mylo leaped up and caught his foot on a jutting-out stone. One down, several more to go. 

He repeated the motion several times without mistake for the first two stories of the building. He saw Willow step around a window on the third. He presumed he was supposed to do the same. He repositioned himself to get out of view of the window before continuing his climb. 

Not long after, Willow had reached the roof and had to pull herself around where it hung off the building. It would be a difficult maneuver for anyone who was inexperienced.

Mylo, a couple meters below her, grabbed onto a stone just above him. 

Crack.

The rock broke and his hand slipped, causing him to lose his footing. He started to fall. For a moment, he had accepted his fate. That was before his left foot hit the wooden window sill. It broke off, but it gave Mylo enough time to grab onto the upper crest of the window. The wooden piece of the sill clattered onto the ground below him. He counted the time, over a second, before the piece hit the ground. That would be a long fall if his science classes had taught him anything.

“Mylo, are you ok?” Willow questioned.

Mylo looked up to her. He tried to nod even though he most definitely wasn’t. He had just cheated death or at least a serious injury; he knew that. 

He peered through the window he had landed on. Inside the room was a young boy who was looking at him wide-mouthed in shock. Mylo tried to give him a smile to diffuse the tension. He pulled himself up past the window, leaving the boy to try to make sense of what had just happened. 

He made it to the rock that had caused him to slip. He scowled at it, trying to express his anger with the inanimate object. He chose a different rock and pulled himself up, reaching a record height. 

Willow hung her arms down to try to assist him with the last maneuver around the overhanging roof. 

Mylo reached up, his fingertips grazing hers. He made an adjustment, climbing one stone higher. He grabbed her warm hand with his cold clammy one. 

She tried to heave him up, with surprising success. The exercise regiments in the guard must’ve been working. 

Mylo made her job easier by grabbing the edge of the roof once he was high enough. From there, he was able to heave himself over on top of it. He pulled his grasp off of her hand. It felt prickly like he had just held his hand inside of a fireplace. He massaged it with his other.

"Man, you’re heavy,” Willow commented, letting out a long exhale. She was lying against the roof shingles. “And no, I'm not calling you fat.” She looked up to him and noticed his hand. Her demeanor changed to something more akin to worry.

Mylo looked down at his hand. It was a dark red, like it had been burned. 

“Wow, that's really red,” she blurted. 

“I’m ok,” Mylo claimed, dropping his hand to his side and shaking it. “Let’s get to the library.”