Mihel quietly circled around the front door and reached a small alleyway in between the bakery and another residential building. The light from the main street did not reach here and there was a towering wall at the end of the alley, blocking the path from the parallel street.
Mihel searched the back wall of the bakery for any kind of door or window, through which he could gain sight or even hear anything about the whereabouts inside. He found a small door with a metal frame but to his dismay the door was tightly shut. He tried pushing it slightly but it refused to budge.
The red wall had no other openings. It was a continuous arrangement of the same bricks, arranged neatly.
'This must be the door they use to take out the waste…' He pondered as he spotted a dump placed near the furthest wall. 'I could wait for someone to come out but Lady knows how long that would take.'
He looked up to the top of the building. The top had ridges that jutted out on either side. The building of the bakery almost touched the top of the building next to it. A wild idea formed in his head. He ran out of the alley and searched for the entrance to the adjacent building. It was a grandly carved wooden door, with metal engravings attached.
Mihel entered the building and was greeted with a dimly lit lobby. The place gave off the feeling of extreme luxury and grandiose lifestyle. There were golden-framed paintings hanging on the wall, many low tables with seats scattered across the wide space. A well-dressed man in a golden suit greeted him.
"Good Evening Sir, Are you looking for a room?" The man spoke as if not expecting him to reply. There was also some hint of scorn in his voice.
But the thought of being treated inferior due to his clothing barely registered in Mihel's mind.
"Is there anyway to access your roof? I have an emergency." He replied frantically.
The man simply raised both his eyebrows, as if assessing the messy, badly dressed boy in front of him. "Sure we can, but why do you have to be on the roof?"
"One of my friends got lost in these maze-like streets. I want to have a higher view to search for him."
"Sure…" The man replied, definitely unconvinced. "I'll accompany you to the roof and I'll assist you in finding your friend." The man swiftly went behind his reception and took out a bunch of keys and gestured for Mihel to follow him.
'Damn!...How will I cross to the other building now…with this guy around...'
The man put one of the keys into a metal door beside the reception. Mihel's mind raced as he stepped into a small cage hidden behind the wired door. He suddenly froze and worry crept into his heart, sensing this was some trap but the suited man simply pressed a button on the inside wall. Suddenly the cage jerked upwards and started climbing in a slow pace. There was the loud growl of a machine working hard and the rattling of chains.
For Mihel this was a new experience and for a moment it made him forget about why he was there. After a while of constant shaking movement upwards, the cage banged into some metal above and it came to a stop. The man pushed open the caged wall and they walked into the open roof of the building.
Mihel stood at the center for a second before shaking himself and coming to his senses. He stood at the edge facing the bakery. He stared at the gap. There was a slight breeze, cool and slightly comforting. But a intent gaze pricked at the back of his neck constantly.
'I can make that for sure. Take a deep breath in…calm down.'
"So, any descriptions of your lost friend?" The man asked, standing at the opposite end, looking out on the street.
Mihel held his breath and rushed forward jumping with all his might. He crossed the distance and rolled on the surface of the bakery's roof.
"HEY! Where are you going? Come back!" Came a shout from behind but Mihel was already on the stairs leading down into the building. He didn't have much time before he was caught. He rushed down past several floors until the staircase ended. It wasn't the last floor as Mihel could hear the bustle of the bakery underneath. There was only one room on this floor and it stood there with its door wide open.
Mihel cautiously entered and to his surprise it was some kind of storage room. The room held stacks of wooden boxes. Mihel silently lifted the lid off from one of the containers in front of him. Before he could peer inside, his ears caught the sound of conversation happening below him.
He knelt to the ground and placed his ear to the ground.
"-ll who…you…Can't be…ruin me?...Message?...work…back…"
The voices were muffled and Mihel could barely make out anything that was useful to him. Suddenly a loud sound, as if a door was violently thrown open, was heard from below. A lot of shouting followed and Mihel sensed it wasn't too long before he would be caught. He quickly put the lid back on the box, barely getting a glance at what was inside. He then rushed up the staircase to the roof. He had to make his escape quickly, but he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
'Let's hope the man went to report it to granny Mui...'
He stood at the edge from where he had jumped onto the building. Looking around and calming himself down he decided to get back on the roof of the posh apartment. Mihel jumped and crossed the gap as easily as the first time. He then pulled a lever, which assumed would bring the cage back up. He waited quietly until the rattling box came and he quickly opened the door to step in. He scanned the many buttons on the wall. They were marked with numbers. Making a quick decision he jammed '0', expecting it to be the floor from which he had entered.
The cage rumbled to a start and started descending in its usual slow pace. Mihel was fidgeting inside, anxious to escape from this building. This time the sound of the motor seemed like a hungry beast and it didn't help in calming himself.
After a while the cage stopped and Mihel pushed the door open into a dark spacious area. It certainly wasn't the warm, welcoming lobby. The place smelled of rot and disease. Mihel pressed a random button on the wall and quickly exited the cage.
There were almost no actual flooring. It was all natural dirt and stones. There were occasional pillars which supported the earthy ceiling from collapsing.
The dark was getting nauseating and Mihel started to sweat. There were many shelves lining the walls but they were all empty right now. Mihel walked a few paces in a direction when he stumbled upon a ladder propped upright on a side of the room. He slowly climbed it until he felt a circular metal plate above his head. He slowly pushed it open with his hands and light washed down on him from above.
He climbed on to the floor and lay there taking in deep breaths. He jerked awake when he noticed there was someone else in the room. He quickly stood up but to his relief it was a young girl, barely older than himself, sitting on a chair.
Mihel stared at the girl who stared right back at him with red eyes, and to his horror he realized the girl's legs were brutally broken. They twisted in a direction not naturally possible. He gulped at the painful sight. The beautiful face of the girl was scarred in many places and swollen above the forehead.
"What happened to you?" he whispered quietly to the girl. "Can I help you in any way?" he gulped.
She shook her head and just stared at him in silence. Suddenly her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming towards the room.
"Go…" she whispered, pointing to a door to her side.
Mihel stared for a second longer before twisting the handle and walking out into the open air. He was back in the dark alleyway and he noticed that the door he had gone through now was the same one he had noticed before. He glanced once more inside and the pale girl stared back at him. Her soft features engraved themselves in his mind and he found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the crippled girl. She gave him a final nod and Mihel closed the door, a unusual sadness weighed in his heart.
Mihel waited at the edge of the wall, just before entering the street. He could hear loud shouting coming from the entrance of the bakery. The voices were somewhat familiar.
"Thank you, son. This man was causing a ruckus in my shop! Free meal next time for you, dear."
Mihel started to walk to the street but was suddenly swallowed by a black fog. He was blinded for a second and he took a step back, fists raised. He stared up at the roof of another building, parallel to the street in front of him.
There was a small chimney issuing smoke and he noticed a figure leaning against it, coat fluttering in the light breeze.
'These people…'