The Rise of Io Read Online Free Page A

property, he technically owned both and tried to evict her. She sent him on his way with a ruined shirt, a pint less blood and the need to see a doctor to get his leg stitched up.
    Ella’s footsteps clanged against the rusty catwalk stairs attached to the side of the cluster. The sound was soon joined by a low husky barking, and the two sounds alternated in the night. “Hello, Burglar Alarm,” she chirped, as the dog met her at the top of the stairs. The stray bitch lived at the side of the catwalk near the end of the stairway around the corner from her container. She had lived there ever since Ella first moved in. Ella would feel like something was wrong if she didn’t hear the ugly mutt’s greeting every time she came home.
    â€œThat’s far enough,” she said, as the dog followed her to her container. Their relationship only went so far. Burglar Alarm probably had more fleas than the kindergarten down the street. Ella dug a scrap of food she had stolen from Coward and tossed it into the dog’s nest. The mangy black-and-brown mutt scarfed it down and wagged her tail. Ella tossed her another piece, then went inside.
    She closed her front door with a hollow thunk followed by the lighter-sounding click of the lock. She took a deep breath, and slowly let the air leave her weary body. It had been a much longer day than she had anticipated, and she couldn’t wait to go to bed.
    First though, she scanned the inside of her home. Everything seemed in place, nothing was moved or stolen. She had forgotten to lock her door one morning, and some drunk had tried to rob her. The guy had broken into her container and made a mess of the place. Fortunately, Burglar Alarm prevented him from leaving, trapping the man inside. Unfortunately, that meant there was someone trying to club her over the head when she came home. Luckily, drunks weren’t too quick or accurate, and she had sent him off tumbling down the stairs.
    She had wondered why the dog was acting so crazy when she returned. Now, Ella always took Burglar Alarm’s warnings seriously, and she checked every nook and cranny every time she returned to the container.
    Ella’s two containers were welded together and connected by an opening in the middle. Ella had to hire welders to cut that for her after she took possession of the container from Old Nagu. The left side was the living room and kitchen, containing a lumpy sofa, a cardboard box, a small television, a portable burner and a mini-fridge.
    The other room was her bedroom. It was smaller, since she had converted the last fifth of the container into a hidden room behind the closet that held her valuables. It was also a place to hide if things got rough. She had learned her lesson after she had scared off the drunk and found almost everything she owned that was worth selling stuffed into a pillowcase.
    Thank goodness for Burglar Alarm and her ugly face and that mean-sounding bark.
    After Ella did a pass of her rooms and double-checked the locks, she took off her clothes and tossed them into a basket. They would need washing soon. There was some blood on them. She wasn’t sure if it was hers or belonged to one of the several men she had scuffled with tonight. Bodily fluids were where she drew the line when it came to laundry. Besides, she had hidden in a pile of garbage.
    Ella frowned. For the first time, she noticed a bandage on her side. She touched it gingerly and grimaced. That stung. She looked in her cracked mirror and raised an arm. Her fingers pawed at the edge of the wrap and she peeled it back. There was a long red gash held together by some sort of glue. Whoever patched her up had done a neat job. It was probably Coward. She grudgingly felt bad for beating him up.
    Oh well, she would apologize next time she saw him. No wait, she had promised to cut off his balls. If Ella had one weakness, it was keeping her word. That was one of the reasons she was so popular in Crate Town.