The Strays

“You ready to get started before my sanity returns?” Ty asked, leaning against my door frame as I finished packing my bag.

“I’m good to go whenever you are.”

Ty continued to watch me with a smile before walking over and grabbing my bag. I left a note for Leo, letting him know I was leaving, as well as a note for him to open in case I didn’t make it back.

We were approaching the first checkpoint when things took a turn for the worse. We’d just reached a secret exit when Ty noticed something rather alarming.

“Looks like sneaking around might be a lot more difficult than we thought.” He sighed, passing me a sheet of paper with his face sketched on it, above a price and writing that declared he was wanted alive, as was anyone travelling with him.

“I guess you aren’t just at the top of Hatter’s list. Which means Linc, Leo and Drew are probably wanted as well. God, I was so stupid coming back. You should have left me for dead, at least that way Leo and your faction would be safe.”

Ty punched me in the arm. “Don’t be so stupid. Without you, Delilah and Hatter would be unchallenged, lots of people would be in trouble, and the city would be much worse off. I know I was an arse when we first met, but you’ve done a lot to help those that mean something to you. I can respect that, even if you act like an impulsive idiot ninety percent of the time.”

I laughed at our predicament. Just over a week ago, I woke up, and we were death glaring each other. Now here he was, giving me moral support.

“We should get out of this sector whilst we can, before they tighten security in the inner sectors and we can’t get through.” We headed through the exit, leaving our sector, number ten in favour of number nine, which was essentially a no-man’s-land, like our own, making it the perfect place for anyone on the run.

As we wandered through the baron streets, my body tensed, instincts kicking in. I took out my bo staff and chucked Ty a taser. “I thought you were on good terms with whoever we’re going to visit.” He sighed, taking it from me.

“I never said that. I said it was a long shot, and this is still scavenger territory. No matter who we’re going to meet, you can’t be too careful.”

“Then why are we trusting this source of yours? How do we know he isn’t one of them?” He persisted.

“Rocky saved my arse on more than a few occasions. They’re one of my oldest friends. We go back to a time before all of this. If anyone can help us, they can.”

“So this Rocky knows your secret then, who you work for, your real name?”

“Not exactly, no. We parted ways before any of that stuff came about.”

We both grew silent as we heard something fall behind us. I crept toward the noise, staff raised whilst Ty watched my back. “Whoever you are, come out from your hiding place now, before I come looking for you.”

A red-haired girl with a barcode tattoo, referred to as a tag, stepped out from the shadows, hands raised above her head. “Oh no, Cae, don’t hurt me.” She pleaded.

My grin spread from ear to ear as I sprinted toward my friend. “Rocky, you son of a bitch, what were you thinking sneaking up on me? I could have killed you.”

“I didn’t know it was you. I just saw that Hellraiser and assumed the worst. Since when did you have a travelling companion, anyway!?”

“Wait, this is Rocky?” Ty interrupted, evidently confused.

“Yeah, I am. You got a problem with that pretty boy?”

“No, you just aren’t what I was expecting.” Ty stammered. I’d never seen him look so intimidated before. I kind of liked it.

“He thought you’d be a guy.” I whispered to her, making her laugh.

Ty turned slightly red before changing the subject. “We’re looking for somebody. He calls himself Colt. He’s around eighteen, quite athletic in build, with short, dirty blonde hair. Do you know him or where he might be?”

“That’s why you were stupid enough to risk your neck coming here? A guy?” Rocky asked as she looked at me, sounding slightly disappointed.

“It’s not like that, it’s never like that. He’s just someone I need to find before Delilah and her thugs. Do you think you can help us?”

Rocky rolled her eyes. “You always were a selfless idiot, putting your arse on the line to help others. I’m surprised you haven’t gone and joined the resistance that’s rising.”

“Have you seen the kid or not, Rocky? We don’t have time to waste and we’re too exposed out here.”

Rocky asked me and Ty to follow her into an alley, providing us with some cover as a scavenger patrol came past. “I know where your friend is. I can take you to him. He has some people nearby that took him in after he busted his arm, though they might not be too pleased to meet you.”

“I’m not well liked anyway, so their opinions of me won’t be taken too seriously as long as I can find Colt.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and get him.” Ty impatiently suggested Rocky, and I agreed. Then we were on our way. That’s when things really went awry.

We made it to the scavenger’s hovel, a decrepit warehouse near the sector’s northern border. Rocky guided us inside, but instead of finding Colt waiting for us, we were greeted by fifteen heavily armed thugs. I turned to Rocky and the exit but it was blocked; my closest friend was nowhere to be seen as we were surrounded.

“You have nowhere to run, and your weapons are useless. Surrender now, behave, and there won’t be any reason to hurt you, but if you try to resist, things could get ugly.” One of them warned. I looked over at Ty and he nodded his head. We both threw down our weapons, and I tossed over my bag before we put our hands on our heads.

“Where’s Rocky? What did you do with her?” The scavengers simply laughed in response.

“I’m fine Cae, you shouldn’t worry about me, worry about yourself and the pretty boy.” Rocky cooed.

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself as Rocky’s friends restrained me and Ty.

“You planned this, didn’t you? Somehow, you knew we were coming here to find you.” Ty deduced.

“More than just a pretty face, aren’t we? Yes, I’ve had people monitoring the borders since your young friend arrived, then when they saw you, an out-of-place Hellraiser, and an unidentified girl sneak in, they told me; I knew it had to be Cae, you see our people, we know whenever anybody crosses our border, this was the last place I’d seen her, it was our meeting place, only she’d be reckless enough to think she could sneak through Scavenger territory.” Rocky confessed, a sinister look on her face.

“Why did you betray me, though? You’re like family to me.”

“Things change. You left me behind. We could have made a new start together, but you never tried to find me, instead you let me believe you were dead. I grieved for you, and then on the day of Miles’ execution, I saw you again. You came back for him. I thought you’d try to find me next, but I didn’t hear a whisper. You just vanished again. I kept my ear to the ground about anything strange happening in the city. After Hatter was attacked, I knew something was going on, then my boys spotted you with the Hellraiser. I thought you were finally returning for me now you were strong enough, but you just planned to use me.” She shouted in anger, her nostrils flared.

“Wow, you really know how to pick your friend’s, Indie. This one has abandonment issues, another one stalked you out of obsession. I swear you’re a magnet for unstable personalities.” Ty mocked, earning him a right hook to the jaw. He spat on the floor. “You hit like a bloody girl.” I couldn’t help but laugh slightly at that infuriating Rocky further.

“Search them!” She demanded, and I felt myself thrown against a wall, my hands bound behind my back as I was roughly patted down.

“Hate to break it to you, but I really don’t like it rough, especially not the first time. Though your direct nature is intriguing, given that we just met.” I teased, hoping to distract him so he wouldn’t find my lock picks or razor blades.

“She’s clean, boss.” The thug informed her as his friend finished searching mine and came to the same conclusion. Rocky wasn’t satisfied as she walked toward me, pulling up my shirt and stripping off the bandages covering my recently healed wounds, revealing the concealed contraband I’d hidden beneath. I sighed, deeply disappointed. “You know me too well.”

Rocky didn’t reply as she moved over to Ty, slowly and methodically caressing his torso, then his legs, as she made sure he had no hidden tricks. “Take him away and put him upstairs with his friend.” Rocky ordered, obviously content with the results of her brief inspection.

“What should we do with her?” The thug that patted me down asked, no doubt referring to me as his friends dragged Ty away.

Rocky pondered her options for a moment before deciding. “Tie her up in the basement, post two guards to watch her. She’s a tricky one and we wouldn’t want her or her friends leaving before they’re evaluated.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rocky’s face lit up. “The scavengers have found a creative way to make ends meet since the last time you visited the city. Everybody has a price they’re willing to pay for the right person, especially fugitives like you and your friends.”

“What the hell happened to you?”

Her eyes glazed over like ice. Cold and unforgiving. “You did.”

With that said, I was thrown over the thug’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried away, eventually being tossed into a vast, dark room that was lined with empty cages. Once on the floor, I tried to kick out and scurry away, but the thug easily grabbed me by the ankle, dragging me toward a wooden pillar near the entrance. My hands were still tied behind my back, so I couldn’t resist or fight back. As he fixed me firmly to the pillar, the wood and rope chafing my wrists, rubbing them raw as I struggled.

Once my upper body was secured, he moved onto my legs, binding my ankles together so tightly they were practically one.

“You should let me and my friends go. We have people, dangerous people, who will come looking for us.”

The thug simply laughed, climbing on top of me and calmly stroking a piece of hair out of my eyes, his lips mere inches from mine. “Nobody’s coming for you, sweetheart.” He whispered in my ear before tying a gag around my mouth.

I could see him undressing me with his eyes, as his hand slowly traced my body, getting lower and lower.

“Quit messing around mate, you know the boss doesn’t like damaged goods.” His friend called from the doorway, prompting him to climb off of me.

“Perhaps we can have some fun next time.” The thug smiled before disappearing to join his friend. I wanted to be sick, revolted to the core by the brute’s perverted darkness, but I also wanted to cry, lash out, frustrated and annoyed at myself for having been so naïve.

I don’t know how long I was kept in the darkness with nothing but my own self loathing and anger, though it seemed like forever, when the only time I ever saw any light was when I could use the toilet. That was when I heard them, the shouts and wailing cries. The only comfort I could take was knowing they didn’t belong to Ty. Eventually the cries became too much, slowly consuming my mind and soul. I would do anything to be free, which is why what I had to do wasn’t nearly as scary or painful as it should have been. Once I was certain I wouldn’t be heard, I bit down firmly on the gag. I was thankful it was there to mute my screams as I jerked my thumb at an unnatural angle, causing it to pop. The pain made my eyes well up as I slipped through the bindings on one of my wrists, quickly getting to work on the other. This was before somebody came to check on me. With both hands now free, I popped my finger back into place. I wriggled it to check I had done no permanent damage, then patiently I waited for an opportunity to present itself.

Eventually it did. The two guards watching me turned their backs briefly, having just checked to make sure I was behaving. Obviously, in their minds, I was just a scared girl, tied up and unable to do anything. They severely underestimated me and I could use that to my advantage, quickly slipping from the rope that secured me to the pillar before freeing my ankles. Then I disappeared into the darkness, using its cover to shield me.

I watched as one of them turned around, a look of dismay on his face as he noticed I was missing. “That bloody bitch! She’s escaped!”

“Should we tell the boss?” The partner asked, unsure about what to do.

“No, we’ll be skinned alive. We just have to find her. After all, she can’t have gotten far. We’re blocking the only exit.” The first one deduced before leaving his post to come and find me. “Come on out and I promise not to hurt you.”

I responded by knocking him out, before swiftly moving on to his partner, who was only a little younger than me. “I’m willing to give you a choice kid, let me walk past you right now and I won’t hurt you, or you can try to stop me and wind up like your friend.” The boy opted to lunge at me, causing me to react by slamming my knee into his balls, before throwing him into a wall and finally punching him in the face until he lost consciousness.

With both the guards out cold, I dragged them to the pillar where I had been tied up and bound them in my place; not before stripping the younger one of his uniform. After all, nobody would second guess a guard roaming the halls.

I quickly changed and headed upstairs toward the entrance where we had come in. I stashed my clothes nearby so I could grab them on my way out, then continued walking toward the area where I had previously heard the screams. Calmly, I walked up the metal staircase, trying my best to avoid suspicion.

“You there, stop.” A voice commanded. I took a deep breath and did as I was told, turning to face them. “What are you doing up here? This isn’t your post.”

“I was sent to check on the prisoners, make sure they’re in reasonable health and to tend to any injuries.”

“Who sent you?” He persisted.

“Rocky. She said that the two prisoners she was sending me to check on were special and needed to be monitored closely.” At that moment, my heart caught in my chest. Was I busted? Could I take him on if it came to it? My mind raced, but my scrutiniser dismissed me with a wave of his hand, evidently convinced by my story. I quickly sped off so that I couldn’t be interrogated further, hoping to get to my people before somebody figured out who I really was.

I finally made it to the top of the staircase; except where I had expected a singular open space like the lower levels, I instead found a narrow corridor lined with doors, all of which were padlocked except one, which simply had a rusted deadbolt. I figured that would be a reasonable place to look. After all, why would you padlock every other room, unless you knew whoever was in that one couldn’t escape anyway and therefore wouldn’t need the extra security?

I slid the stiff bolt back and tensed as I entered the room, grinning slightly at the sight of Ty, who had been stripped down to his underwear. He was strung up by his feet and his hands were bound behind his back like mine had been. Colt was in a similar predicament, strung up beside him.

“Well Colt, look at that. Now they’re sending in girls to do their dirty work.” Ty mocked, obviously not recognising me.

“What? Don’t you think a girl can handle such a task?”

“No, I’ve met a few that could, but you don’t look like the right sort.” Ty persisted and Colt laughed, finally having faced me.

“Well, if that’s the case, I may not be the one to help free you, either.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Because Linc would be unbearable if I returned home without you.” I took off my cap and with a smirk, happy to finally one up to him.

“Wait, she’s your backup?” Colt asked in disbelief.

“No, he’s mine.”

Ty glared at me. “Just get us down, you pain in the arse.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I quite like the view.”

“God Sake Indie.” Ty cursed, his face slightly red.