District Four

The two soared through the air above the suburbs, the strong wind battering their faces as golden rays of an oblique sun bathed them, warming their skin. The city below looked like a chaotic mosaic of colors and shapes, distorting as the buildings zipped by. None of this intimidated them. On the contrary, each leap, each spin through the air felt like a silent conversation with gravity, a challenge they embraced as they pressed forward.

Leo felt adrenaline building in his chest. For a brief moment, he managed to push aside the shadows haunting him since Lucy’s death. In that instant, as his feet hit the rooftops with precision, he allowed himself to relax. The wind surrounded him, and the weight he carried seemed to dissolve into the air.

“Looks like Rubi really can work miracles!” Diego shouted, his voice rising above the wind.

Leo smirked slightly. “I’ve been doing this long before I had these,” he replied, a hint of pride in his tone. “The difference now is that I can go even farther.”

Since childhood, Leo had ventured across rooftops, alleys, and ruins in the suburbs. Climbing, jumping, and running along narrow surfaces had been his way of feeling there was more beyond the weight of the city. The amplifying boots were an extension of who he already was, but now, with every leap, he almost believed he could touch the clouds.

He glanced at Diego, who was leading the way. Leo already knew Diego was agile and fast, but seeing him in action was different. Diego seemed to glide between obstacles, his movements flowing as if the environment were shaped just for him. He vaulted over dangerous gaps with an ease that made it look effortless. Each landing was smooth and precise. Leo almost stumbled while watching him but quickly adjusted his pace, a mix of admiration and competitiveness growing inside him.

“How long have you been doing this?” Leo shouted, narrowing the gap between them.

Diego turned his head, offering a confident smile. “When you grow up in a place like this, you learn or you don’t survive. It’s a simple choice.”

The words hit Leo with unexpected weight. It was true—the suburbs didn’t forgive weakness. Leo understood that, but somehow, Diego seemed to have mastered this world with a familiarity that set him apart. Perhaps he was the first to truly understand what it meant to see the suburbs from above.

The two finally slowed down as they reached the top of a lower building. Ahead, District Four revealed itself in all its confusion and energy. From above, it looked like a chaotic anthill, with makeshift stalls and crowds moving in patterns that defied logic. Leo approached the edge of the roof, his eyes absorbing the scene.

Diego stood silently at his side, his hands gripping the edge. His gaze was fixed on the market below, yet his eyes seemed to search for something beyond the present. Something in his posture—the slightly tense shoulders, the faint crease in his brow—suggested a weight Leo couldn’t decipher.

“This place never changes,” Diego said finally, his voice low, almost a murmur. He didn’t look at Leo as he spoke, his eyes still locked on the movement below.

Leo noticed the subtle melancholy in Diego’s expression as if this place were an open wound he couldn’t heal. The silence stretched between them, filled with the muffled sounds of the crowd. But Diego offered no further explanation. The weight of the moment seemed to be something he carried alone.

“Let’s go down,” Diego said, pulling away from the edge and rolling his shoulders as if preparing for something inevitable.

As they descended to street level, Leo was immediately engulfed by the district’s vibrant chaos. The smells struck him like a wave—spices sharp enough to sting his nostrils, the tang of rusty metal, and the pervasive, clinging odor of sweat mingling with the heat of the crowd. Stalls crowded together, forming tight corridors, while vendors shouted to attract anyone passing by.

The chaos pressed in on Leo. The shouting, the frantic movement, the crush of bodies—it all made him long for space, for air. He knew the suburbs were chaotic, but this was different. It wasn’t the organized chaos of his neighborhood, where people knew each other. Here, anonymity reigned, and the weight of survival was etched onto every face around him.

He watched children in tattered clothes running between the stalls, some laughing, others with sharp, wary eyes that seemed older than they should. A girl passed by him, clutching something hidden under her shirt, while a vendor yelled after her. Diego simply kept walking, his steps firm and his face impassive.

“Is this normal?” Leo asked hesitantly.

Diego chuckled dryly. “Depends. Around here, survival comes first. Everything else is optional.”

Leo glanced away, unsure how to respond. The boy slipping a small package to an older man was a scene too familiar—a silent reminder of what desperation could drive someone to do.

“And you?” Leo asked after a long moment. “Have you ever had to… do that?”

Diego paused for a moment, long enough for the silence to become uncomfortable. When he resumed walking, his answer was short. “Growing up here doesn’t leave you many options.”

As they moved forward, the market’s chaos seemed to press down on him. The makeshift stalls, the shouting offers, and the hardened expressions of the people made him feel like everything here was fleeting, ready to collapse at any moment. He saw a man trying to fix a toppled stall while arguing with a woman, the two yelling but not really listening to each other.

Diego stopped in front of a discreet entrance between two worn buildings. The market’s noise still vibrated behind them, but here, in the shadows of the buildings, the atmosphere was stifling.

“This is it,” Diego said, his voice lower.

Leo frowned. “Here?”

“What you saw out there isn’t the real District Four,” Diego explained. “What matters is down below.”

“Down below?” Leo asked, trying to mask his unease.

Diego pointed to the entrance. “The tunnels. This is where we’ll find the informant. In the heart of District Four, far from the facade you just saw.”

A chill ran down Leo’s spine. He had heard stories about the underground market, but hearing it directly from Diego was different. Real. Frightening.

Diego stepped forward, his expression grave. “Once we’re down there, hesitation can kill. Every second matters. Stick close, and don’t lose focus.”

Leo nodded, swallowing hard as they approached the shadowed entrance. The market’s clamor dimmed behind them, replaced by a suffocating stillness that sent a chill down his spine. The air felt heavier as if it carried secrets no one dared to reveal.

Diego glanced back at him over his shoulder. “Ready?”

Leo inhaled deeply, his pulse hammering as he stepped into the oppressive darkness. The tunnel loomed ahead, a gateway to secrets and dangers that demanded courage he wasn’t sure he had.