Two figures move between the shadows of the alley, the layer of snow is so thick that it creaks under their boots, sinking them to the knees. The stench of gasoline permeates the misty air of the city almost in ruins. The two dodge the rubble and rusty metals that rest within the walls, these are the testimonies of what the city once lived, traces of a war. Those two figures stop the march at the end of the alley, avoiding the faint sunlight that tries to pass through the clouds.

"We are in position and ready," says one of the hooded figures in a female voice, as she climbs through a bunch of twisted metals to a broken window.

She cautiously watches the inside after pulling back the curtains. The structure seems abandoned by mold and excrement. She jumps inside, walks slowly through the woods and weak concrete, they seem about to fall to the minimum weight, looks out of the hole in the middle of the room where you see some furniture ruined by rats, fragile pipes by exposure to time. She found another room with an old, tattered mattress; but it was empty for the time being.

"It's clear, Viktor," she says again peeking out the window, "I don't think tenants will be coming, for now."

"Still keep watching, you stay up there in case you see something approaching." Her partner speaks from the floor.

Viktor crawls almost like cats until he reaches a pile of rubble, peeking a little above them, looking directly at the shopping district.

The square is small with a frozen fountain in the middle, full of locals with all kinds of goods, from moldy food to fast to second-hand fabrics. Poor people roam the aisles shopping or haggling with the owners, begging for something to eat at a reasonable cost. Although with so much noise it is impossible to understand each other. A group of elderly women complain about the tax increase, shouting to the four winds that in their time they lived better.

Viktor can hear the coins falling on a wooden plate of a man near them, you can almost taste the booty that awaits you.

"Do you see the others? I hope they don't decide to delay everything."

Midna rolls her eyes before pulling out a pocket watch made of brass, several numbers are missing, and the small stain is broken

"Now!" she says as she peeks out again and falls back outside as she slips through the rubble.

Viktor pulls out of his sweater a small hand lantern and points it towards the fruit shop; without being seen with the naked eye, he presses the power button several times, creating a mute signal in different directions throughout the square and the alley, knowing that other children wait impatiently to start the plan.

A little girl peeks out from the boxes of produce, watching the stall owner closely. This is a morbidly fat and alcohol-stinking man, his chubby fingers resting a cigar in his mouth as he counts the money earned so far, bathing the bills in fat before dropping them on his apron. She sees him with disgust when he is scratching an armpit and then smelling his fingers, he shrugs his shoulders with a growl and returns to work. She draws a grimace on her face, bends down again and backs off a little before grabbing momentum and throws the boxes with full force.

That's enough to cause chaos throughout the square. The crowd rushes towards the stalls and the fruit, attacking the owners and other boxes looking to pick up everything before the police arrive.

"Wait," Midna speaks as the children of all the alleys run among the people with the same goal.

"I know, Midna."

She snorts, taking off her hood, a black hair with the copper tips falls on her shoulders in loose curls; he looks over the boxes with his yellow eyes.

"But as we continue to wait," Viktor also mutters, taking off his hood. The two are the same, even though they are of different sex, they are twins.

He has black hair with a marked blue tone at the ends and the eyes are cobalt blue.

"Don't be desperate, all in time." She looks back at the boxes. "Let's go!"

Midna and Viktor jump on the boxes, entering the battlefield in order to find their own loot. She uses the crowd to loot people's pockets, taking the purses of the unwary. She looks out of the corner of her eye at her brother, who picks up anything from the ground, putting them in a plastic bag and the money in his sweater.

Midna raises her head, began to hear the sirens as a distant echo, followed by the lights of the police cars. She sticks two fingers in her mouth releasing a long, high-pitched whistle.

Hearing the signal, the children run in all directions to the safety of the alleys, colliding with the people in their path and holding tightly in their arms what was stolen. Leaving behind the flashing lights of the police and the scream of the people.

The twins after a while enter the ruins of another building, having to pass under a car hood that covers the entrance.

"How disgusting!" Midna covers her nose with her arm, the smell of gasoline and rust is persistent. Run one of the window curtains to close the view inward. "Sometimes I hate having such a sensitive sense of smell."

"Also the audition, but what did you expect?" replies Viktor as he finishes checking the ground floor. "Let's see what we get."

They both sit on the floor and drop things to the floor carefully, starting to check it. There is a broken bottle of Vodka, half a bunch of grapes, a bag of rice and a loaf of bread.

"Shit! Scavengers will give nothing for a broken bottle."

"Fuck and it's what they pay the most for," She curses.

"Did you have better luck?"

"Twenty-seven crowns and fifty-five pieces," Midna began to collect the money again. She searches wallets too, but ends up throwing it against the wall empty. "It's better than nothing, still."

Viktor raises his head alert when he hears something huge or heavy approach. They both look at each other, they both have the same auditory sensitivity, Viktor gets up from the ground walking to the window somewhat hunched over so as not to be seen at all.

"Do you see anything?" Ask Midna.

But he just puts a finger on his lips to keep quiet, he signals with his head to the outside. She approaches and peeks out as well, though they soon crop when the footsteps approach. They crawl to the door even using the wall to stay hidden and try to see who it is. But he just puts a finger on his lips to keep quiet, he signals with his head to the outside. She approaches and peeks out as well, though they soon crop when the footsteps approach. They crawl to the door even using the wall to stay hidden and try to see who the person is.

A huge shadow is reflected in the curtains, stopped a few steps from the door, although they can only see a part. It's huge and hard to define what it is. The two siblings can see how he lifts what they assume is the head from where pointed ears move, as if looking to perceive some noise from the alley.

Midna and Viktor hold their breath and try not to move, when he looked at the house, soaking the curtains with hot air.

The sound of sirens in the distance catches the attention of the three, that was enough for the mysterious animal to move away and disappear into the distance.

"That was close," the twins say at the same time, breathing a sigh of relief. But this one doesn't last long when the screaming of the police and the barking of the dogs begin to be heard every time closer. "What was missing, the Vultures!"

Between the two they collect their loot again and leave the building through another window to another street.

The twins run along the best avenues, the houses begin to look more luxurious as they go, they acquire color and brightness, the smell of gasoline disappears, chamber music is heard, and the aroma of good food fills the air. They manage to reach the main square, an open and dangerous street due to the constant vehicles that pass, a huge and red building covers an entire side of the avenue with its red wall. Tourists stroll down the street, speak in different languages and photograph people or places; some laughing at them when they see them passing by

The two throw boxes and chairs in their path to hinder their pursuers, although it is not effective. They end up crossing a bridge, getting caught between the two roads, police on both sides release the dogs, letting them approach them.

"We're trapped," Midna growls, showing the dog her teeth in an attempt to look intimidated.

"They always ruin everything," Viktor growls too. The two were gluing their backs protecting each other.

Midna looks at the dogs and then at the railing.

"Let's jump!"

"Not that we had a choice."

The two run to the railing, throwing the bag with the loot into the street and jump into the canal.

The ice water hits like needles on your body, this is viscous, sticks to clothes and skin, making it difficult to breathe and move. They barely manage to reach the surface while being swept away by the current, spitting water between coughs.

"How disgusting," Viktor tries to grab hold of something to stay afloat.

"Come on, I think it's safe to start going up."

Midna begins to swim towards the wall, avoiding the garbage that carries the water, holds her breath when he reached one of the drains and held on to it, his brother take the other side and look at each other. They laugh at being muddy with gasoline and oil, with some pieces of garbage hanging from their hair. If they go to the orphanage like this, they don't recognize them. She points to the street and he nod, starting the hard journey of climbing stone by stone, although they slip several times; but they manage to reach the street.

"Mission accomplished," Midna smiles spitting water

"Free at last."

"I wouldn't say the same thing," says a third voice.

The twins swallow out and look in front of them, noticing a pair of leather boots first before raising their gaze, finding a chubby policeman dressed in a heavy black uniform and a cap for the winter. Next to him is a large German shepherd

"Heck," they both think at the same time.

The policeman grabbed them by the sweater, maintaining his seriousness, regardless of the state of the two children and finishes pulling them out of the river, dragging them towards the patrol car that awaits them.

The twins try to let go by all means, kicking or hitting without any success. The policeman opened the back door and threw them inside, before closing the door and preventing escape. He climbs to the front, allowing the dog to climb into the passenger seat.

It starts the vehicle running down the damaged road, causing the car to move back and forth. The city is not in very good condition, a layer of black smoke covers the sky coming from the factories.

The siblings look at the military with their rifles on their shoulders, marching down the street and singing the national anthem, they are the ones who maintain the regime of the communist government.

The vehicle stops after a while in front of an orphanage, a rickety house that falls apart with a large bell on top and a neglected yard full of gray snow.

The officer descends from the vehicle, returning to the rear doors to drag the twins back through the coats, ignoring the desperate frenzy of the two children. He shakes them violently and forces Midna to ring the bell.

A few minutes pass before the door opens, showing an old woman with claw-like hands and grotesque folds on her neck.

"Good evening, officer," the old woman speaks in a hoarse voice. "How can I serve you?"

"Good evening, ma'am," the man speaks no earlier spitting aside and pushes the two children into town. "As always, these brazes cause problems."

The woman grabs the two by the arm rudely, the fire of anger shines in her eyes when she looks at them.

Midna and Viktor swallowed came out with difficulty, feeling the weight of what awaits them.

"I'm getting tired of these, ma'am, a good lesson would do them good. You don't teach them manners?"

"As if we care about that," Viktor intervenes with a frown and shrunk. He draws a half smile on his face that goes unnoticed by adults.

The old lady hits him on the back sideThe old lady hits him from the back of the head, causing him to wobble a little.

"Take care of that language, Viktor!" scolds the old lady, ignoring the boy's frivolous gaze. Grabbing the two by the ears tightly.

Kira and Viktor sn twist in pain, trying to break free.

"Well, ma'am, I'm retiring," the man makes an attempt at a smile.

"Don't worry about these two, they will already have their punishment.

The three of them see the patrol car drive away.

The old woman drags them inside the building And walking. Midna notices other children doing the cleaning work, scrubbing the floor with filthy rags.

The dining room is empty when they enter it. The old woman forces them to sit on a stool each, while she went to the kitchen and shouted orders to undress. The lady comes back with a wooden ladle, she won't even let them prepare when she starts hitting them on the back, arms and head with the object.

The twins endure in silence and still. In them there were already marks of old scars, both of fights and punishments.

When they were little, they did their best to avoid those scenes, becoming the target of the gangs; but now everything is different, learning to wear the scars with pride.

"Again! I'm getting tired with your excursions, enough food you guys are getting!"Scold the old lady moves back and forth in front of them.

"And two hundred mouths to feed," Midna murmurs, dodging a new attack by the old woman although she almost fell.

"You don't speak to me with that tone Misha."

"What tone are you referring to, old lady? And her name is Midna!" Growls Viktor.

The old woman ignores him.

"They will not get away with this one. You will help in the kitchen for the next two weeks and the director needs help in the garden."

"What!? You will not speak really!?" the twins speak at the same time horrified.

"I'm not kidding, so on the go, back to your room for you to change for something more off for dinner." the old lady points to the door.