Free Emergence by Various

her grip on the man to her other hand and tucked the freed one under her armpit for warmth. “Did you get anything? Please tell me you did.”
    “Fancy watches. A safe in the closet, lots of money.”
    “Brilliant. His keys are in his pocket. Does he live nearby?”
    “Two streets over.” Vlad already knew where he kept his keys, and reached into his right pant pocket to pluck them out. “I’ll be fast. I promise. Do you want my coat?”
    “Just go. I want to get out of these clothes and get something to eat.”
    Vlad didn’t waste another second. He left the alley and ran as fast as he could to the man’s apartment. It was above a fashion boutique. He let himself in, disabled the alarm, and stole everything he could fit into his backpack, including a clean set of sheets from the linin closet. This was always the strange part. Being in his mark’s home felt like the worst case of déjà vu . He could never shake the feeling even though he knew exactly where he was and that he’d never been there before.
    By the time he got back to Lucy, she’d given up on standing and was crouched beside the man. Her knees were scuffed and red. She’d switched hands again. Less than an hour had gone by.
    “Done.”
    “Money? Watches? All there?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then make him forget. One more mark then we’re finished.”
    Vlad grabbed the man’s hand again. He went into his memory, to when he first laid eyes on Lucy, and erased any memory he ever had of her.
     
    Then. Ten years ago…
    Mother and Father walked ahead of the children, talking in low voices Vlad couldn’t hear. Oleg and Artur were tasked with keeping track of their younger siblings. Each time Vlad slacked too far behind on the dirt path, Oleg threw a pebble at him. One hit his eye and he saw spots for minutes after. There were specs of dirt in his tears. He considered telling Mother and Father, but knew they wouldn’t care.
    It was spring. Only a few patches of snow remained in the shadowed areas of forest around them. At eight years old, Vlad was more aware of the world around him than any of his peers. He tasted the freshness of the air, appreciated the bright green of new plants. Even his sibling’s obnoxious jostling and laughter couldn’t ruin it.
    It was strange to think there were places Father called ‘concrete jungles’. Vlad had been born in the Community and had never seen a concrete jungle himself. Oleg had since he was five when Mother and Father moved from a place called St. Petersburg to the Community, but didn’t remember much. Just loud noises and lots of people.
    No one explained the world outside of the Community to the children and they didn’t ask.
    Today they were off to the Yenin’s house for dinner. Once the snow was gone and the paths between homes were easier to walk, the families spent many evenings together. Vlad didn’t enjoy the company of other kids as much as he knew he should. His own brothers and sisters were tiresome and these ones were no different. Except Petor. One day, once Petor was older, he’d look up to Vlad like how Vlad looked up to his next oldest brother, Vasily. Vlad looked forward to that.
    The family descended a gentle slope into the clearing the Yenin’s built their home in. At three bedrooms it was much bigger than Vlad’s place. Kids were already playing outside and Vlad and his siblings joined them. The only kids missing were Alina and Lev. Vlad wondered if they were sick. His entire family had been last week and illness spread quickly amongst the families.
    Mother and Father entered the house to do whatever it was grownups did. Eventually they’d call them in to eat. Vlad hoped for stew. He heard Father say the Dorofeyev family slaughtered one of their goats.
    He took to turning over slabs of rocks to see what bugs were underneath. Still not quite spring, there weren’t many. It was while he was alone behind the house that he heard the grownups talking. The windows were cracked open to let