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vote? Alex and I say we should do something about this, and of course you say we shouldn’t.”
    At once a ray of attention swarmed upon Henry.
    The lad cringed back, shielding himself beneath his blanket. “I … You want me to decide?”
    “It’s two to one,” Alex stated. He hoped Henry would side with morality over his own minute sense of adventure, which was to say none.
    Henry looked over at Rum who upheld a threatening stare with grinding teeth. Then he looked back to Sierra who sat there with a set of two wide, needy cerulean eyes. Then he turned to Alex, as he sat there, expressionless as ever.
    Pulling back a deep breath, Henry closed his eyes and said, “I-I think we … should…”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 3
     
    “Lousy Dud,” old Rum moaned, kicking ice along this sleet washed pathway.
    It wasn’t really what they were doing that annoyed him. It was how Sierra insisted they leave first thing next morning. The biting pre-dawn chill in the air did little to boost morale.
    Apparently this shop lay some two or three blocks away, near enough to where Sierra stole the wallet in the first place. Normally a journey such as this wouldn’t be a bother, except snowfall picked up the moment they set out. Steam from sewers ensured it reverted to liquid before solid placement could be maintained. It resulted in a brown sludgy sleet scattered around in places.
    Henry already showed signs of regretting his own decision. “Are we nearly there yet?” he asked.
    “You keep asking and I keep saying I’m not sure,” Sierra said.
    “Well you said it wouldn’t take too long.”
    “I said I wasn’t sure.” Sierra took another look at the note as if to reaffirm. “Let’s see, the shop is called … Jack Matters? Is it? I think that’s it. The handwriting’s so sloppy … like a child’s. If my thinking’s straight there’s a place called that somewhere around here. Can’t be coincidence.”
    “Great, our only clue is a guess riding on another guess,” Rum said.
    “And we’ll really be walking the whole way there?” Henry asked, slinking inwards as if the combination words alone brought fatigue.
    “Well what do you suppose we do? Not like we got the money for a bus. We wouldn’t have to do any of this if you’d just sided with me in the first place.”
    “Don’t listen to him Henry, he’s trying to trick you,” Sierra said.
    “What about hitch-hiking?” Henry suggested.
    “What sorry shit would pick up a pack of filthy beggars like us?” Rum stated.
    “Hey, I don t beg,” Sierra protested.
    “Either do I, but a lot of people would consider hanging around restaurants waiting for the next mound of garbage to come, as begging.”
    Henry coughed. “Smoke!”
    “If I had any you wouldn’t get one,” the old man snapped.
    Alex sniffed the breeze. “He means there’s smoke in the air. There’s quite a bit, something‘s burning.”
    They waited for a sign as if standing in wait for sunrise. It came on the horizon, a rim of flame consuming the dark morning sky. The orange glow rose over rooftops nearest to them, the smoke went up from there.
    Alex pointed at it. “Looks like it’s just on the other side of those buildings.”
    Standing staring like the others, Sierra mumbled, “Well … it is close by. Someone might be hurt.”
    “Just some old building, I‘m sure the cats got out fine,” Rum said.
    Alex walked toward it without another word.
    Sierra followed Alex. “It couldn’t hurt to check, Rum.”
    “What d’ya mean it couldn’t hurt!? It’s a bloody fire!”
    Rum followed regardless. They cut through two alleys before arriving on the correct street, a main road lined with mundane box shaped buildings. It looked like a normal street, save one burning building decorating the morning air.
    The atmosphere was one of eerie quiet, as