The Strays

Delilah started to laugh harder, her grip on my face tightening. “Please show our guest to her room.”

I was dragged away to the back of the theatre. Thrown into what I assumed was once a dressing room. The two guards then left, locking the door behind them so I couldn’t get out. My first instinct was to take a look around and see if I could find some way out, that didn’t involve the front door, because although it would be easy for me to pick the lock and knock out the guards, I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself until I knew my friends were safe.

As I wandered around, I couldn’t see anything that might help me find an alternative escape route. However, there was a small vent, not quite spacious enough for me to wiggle through. As I got closer to inspect it though, I realised I could hear voices carrying over from the other side.

.

“Hello? Hello?”

The voices stopped, and silence quickly created a void.

“I know you’re there. Please, just talk to me. I’m looking for my friends, and wanted to know if you’d seen them. Their names are Drew, Ty, Linc, Colt, Leo and Stitch.”

Low murmuring came through the vent, but the words were barely audible. “Who are you?” A voice I vaguely recognised finally responded.

I hesitated before offering a response. What if this was somehow a trick? What if I was supposed to build a rapport with whoever was in that room? I dismissed my worries and answered the question. They might be the only clue I had to find my friends.

“Indie, my friends call me Indie. Who are you?”

“There’s no way you’re her, this is a trick. If you are who you say, then prove it!” Another familiar voice demanded.

“How am I supposed to prove it, dumbass? Should I hand you my driver’s licence, or how about my passport? Who are you to demand that of me, anyway? I don’t know you! Do I?”

More indistinct murmuring though I could understand one of them was defending me, saying he was sure I was who I claimed to be.

“Who are you assholes? I’d think twice before lying to me.”

“It’s us, you bimbo. God, you fuck off for a few months and suddenly you’ve forgotten who your friends are.” I immediately knew who that was. It was Linc. Only he would greet me like that after so long.

I quickly wiped away a few tears as he bombarded me with questions. “What are you doing here? How did they find you? Why didn’t you put up more of a fight?”

“I’ll explain in a minute, but first I wanna know if everyone is okay. Can I speak to Stitch or Leo?”

Silence, dead silence. This couldn’t be good. “Guys, somebody needs to tell me what the hell happened. Now!”

I could hear Linc coughing awkwardly, a telltale sign he was about to lie, but Colt got there first. “They separated us from Stitch and Leo at The Paragon, there were gunshots and a couple of bodies were thrown into a van, we couldn’t see their faces, but we haven’t heard anything since, so we have to assume the worst.” His voice was so calm, monotonous and emotionless it made me want to punch him.

“You’re wrong. They can’t be gone. They just can’t.”

Linc tried to console me, voicing words of comfort through the small vent. It was pointless. I could barely hear them as my body began to shut down.

I was a wreck, curled up in a ball, head in hands. I’d promised to look after Leo. I was supposed to protect him, but I let him down. Soon enough, my despair and sorrow turned to anger. I wanted to hurt somebody. I wanted Delilah to pay.

Footsteps started to approach the door from outside, so I quickly jumped to my feet, stuffing the weapons I’d hidden on me into the vent.

“Ty, I need you to listen to me right now. Willow and the little ones are safe. I gave them coordinates to a safe house in another dead zone, the one where we kept crossing paths. I tagged it with something you’d recognise so you can find it easily. I’ve also left you guys some stuff in the vent that you can use to escape. Take Linc and the others, get them as far away as you can. I’m sure Colt can get you guys out of the city. Just promise me you’ll take Willow as well.”

“Why are you talking like we won’t cross paths again?”

“Because we probably aren’t. I don’t think I can get out of this one. In fact, even if I do, I’m determined to make these elitist pricks pay, and believe me when I say you don’t want to be around when that happens. It’s been nice knowing you Ty, keep your strays safe and don’t ever stop fighting.”

I didn’t stick around to hear his argument as I noticed the door handle starting to turn. I walked toward the door, fists raised as Wraith let himself in.

“Well, don’t you look good? Have you spent the last three months working out?” He teased, leaning in the doorway.

“If you keep talking like that, Delilah might get the wrong idea about us, especially when you take into account the fact you lied to her the last time we met.”

“I’m not here on a personal visit. I was sent to come get you, so why don’t you play nice and come quietly? I’m not really in the mood to fight.” Wraith cooed as he took a step closer.

I put my hands up. “I’ll behave, but only because you’re holding my friends hostage somewhere in this building and I want to keep them safe, otherwise I’d be handing you your arse. After all, I’ve had time to recover. I’m not as fragile as I used to be.”

Wraith grabbed me by my collar and dragged me forcefully out of the room, even though I wasn’t actively trying to resist. His grip remained tight as he dragged me back to the stage where Delilah was waiting, only this time, she wasn’t alone. Tied to a chair in front of her was Stitch.

I gasped. “You’re okay, is Leo here too?”

She didn’t reply, instead Delilah spoke for her. “Leo’s been dealt with accordingly, and Stitch is only here to serve as an incentive. I want to know everything you know about your father’s work and where I can find it. Every time you lie to me or withhold something, I let my boys have some fun with your friend.”

“Some things never change, you bitch. You knew you couldn’t get to me on your own, so you decided to use my friends. It’s smart, I’ll give you that much, but what I don’t get is why you’re so interested in my father’s work, or why you were so eager to find Colt. Who is he in all of this?”

“The boy’s purpose to me is irrelevant, and you know why your father’s research is so significant. You were the closest person to him before he died, so stop acting dumb and tell me where his work is.”

I struggled against Wraith’s grip and he punched me in the stomach, forcing me to drop to the floor, groaning as I clenched my stomach. “Answer the question, slut.”

“Really? Slut? That’s the best you could come up with. How original, what are we five?”

Delilah nodded and Rocky appeared from the shadows, taking pleasure in her work as she punched Stitch in the face to make her point known. “Where is his research?” Delilah repeated impatiently.

“I don’t know. That’s the honest truth. His work was classified, and he was hardly ever around, like my mum. That’s why I spent so much time at the hospital with my aunt. Sean was closer to him than I was. He was the one with the internship after school and in the holidays, working with one of my father’s colleagues on a less classified project. He spent more time with my father than anyone. You should know that though, given that you supposedly loved him, at least that’s what you told Sean while you were dating.”

Apparently Delilah didn’t like my answer as she stormed across the room with a face like thunder and punched me hard, splitting part of my lip. I could taste the coppery liquid on my tongue and smiled, spitting my blood back in her face. “I see you’re still a coward, picking fights when you know the person can’t defend themselves. Tell you what, why don’t you tell Wraith to let go of me and then release my friends? That way, we can settle this in a fair fight. What do you say?”

“In your dreams, freak. I happen to like having the upper hand.”

“Well, nobody can say I didn’t give you a fair chance.” I sighed as I grabbed Wraith by the ankles and wrapped my legs around his waist, holding him in place as he hopelessly fell to the floor with a satisfying thud.

With cat-like reflexes I released my grip and got to my feet, slamming my foot down on Wraith’s throat before he could even lift his chest.

“I’d recommend staying put, because the slightest change in pressure could crush your oesophagus and windpipe, asphyxiating you in a matter of minutes; I doubt even Elite medics would have the skills to save you.”

Delilah gave Rocky a worrisome look. The girl moved toward Stitch, but with a bit of pressure applied to the right spot, I soon had her standing still again.

“You’re not about to kill him, Cae. You don’t have it in you. I’ve seen these trying times change people, but you still have that same hopeless innocence that made everyone trust you. That’s how I know you don’t have the capacity to kill him, or anyone, for that matter.” Delilah sighed impatiently, as though this was just a minor inconvenience.

“Really? You don’t think I’m capable of killing? Who do you think took out Hatter all those months ago?”

“Then you saved him, which further proves my point.”

I rolled my eyes and lightly pushed down, just enough to make Wraith gasp. “I saved him because if I didn’t, my friends would have died and my name is Indie, not Cae. She’s dead to me. A lot about me has changed, but one thing will always stay the same, I will always have what it takes to stand up to you, no matter who has your back or the mind games you might play, I’ve learned a lot about protecting myself and the people I love though, so now I have a lot more than a lack of impulse control on my side, that’s why I’m prepared to make a deal, you can let Stitch go, as well as me, then I’ll let Wraith go. It’s pretty straightforward, really.”

Delilah pretended to think about my offer, but I already knew her answer, which was why I turned my attention to Rocky.

Reluctantly, the girl untied my friend, much to her leader’s dismay. Just as she let Stitch go, the rest of my captured team came bursting through the doors. I was both relieved and infuriated by the sight of them.

“Hope we’re not too late for the party. I think our invitations got lost in the post!” Linc declared with a cocky grin. Both Ty and I rolled our eyes, but he couldn’t hide his grin. Neither could I. The moment soon dissipated though, as anger set in. “I thought I told you guys to leave!”

“We couldn’t hear you too clearly through the vent. I thought you said you needed us to come and help you, but it looks like you’re doing pretty well on your own.“. “Oh hey Stitch. Glad to see you’re alive and kicking. Is Leo here too?”

Stitch shook her head. “No, it’s just me. They split us up and took him somewhere else. I don’t know where.”

Linc raised his stun gun and shrugged his shoulders, before focusing on Delilah as Colt trained my Glock 45 on Rocky. “That’s cool. I’m sure we’ll find him again soon.”

Rocky attempted to grab Stitch, but Colt shook his head. “Don’t move because there’s nothing I would love more than to put a round or two in your leg right now.” He threatened, and the anger in his eyes had me genuinely convinced. Clearly, he still wasn’t over whatever she had done to him whilst he was her prisoner.

“I really hate to be ‘that’ guy, but we should probably leave before any more bad guys show up.” Ty stated, drawing attention to the reality of our situation.

I looked down at Wraith and smiled. “I think it’s safe to say I won this battle. Now, unless you want permanent damage, I don’t recommend moving until my friends and I have left.”

He coughed slightly as he laughed. “You’re not making it out of here, at least not alive. This place is crawling with armed soldiers.”

Drew rolled his eyes yet again. “They aren’t the only ones that are armed and I’ve seen your friends fight. The odds are definitely in our favour. Now we should probably disappear, Indie.”

I removed my foot from Wraith’s chest and walked over to my friends, who backed out slowly, refusing to let Delilah or the others out of their sights.

“Don’t worry, Indie, we’ll take proper care of Leo. You can bet he’ll be an invaluable asset to our team.” Wraith taunted as his voice slowly began to fade.

I turned to go back, but Drew grabbed a hold of me. “We will find Leo, I promise you we will, but he wouldn’t want you doing it this way. He wouldn’t want you getting hurt. Wraith is only saying that shit to provoke you, because he knows it’s the only way he can win.”

I knew he was right, but every step I took towards that exit sign hurt. It was like losing my family all over again.

As we spoke, a loud ringing pierced my eardrums. Somebody had sounded the alarm, and we’d have seconds before we were caught. We all looked at each other, the same thought echoed through all of our minds. RUN!

Drew grabbed my hand, pulling me along as the sound of gunfire started to ring out behind us. We all ducked a corner for cover, but Stitch had already been hit. The exit was only a few feet away, but the enforcers were closing in.

“Indie help me get Stitch to her feet, Colt lay down some cover, Linc I need you and Ty to get that door open as quickly as possible.” Drew ordered, causing everyone to scatter. Linc and Ty both sprinted for the door as Colt opened fire on the guys that were trying to kill us. “Could you guys hurry up? I know Stitch is hurt, but I’m running low on ammunition.” He complained as I helped Drew lift our friend up off the ground.

We were so close to the door when Stitch’s legs gave out; she was too weak from the blood loss to make it any further.

“Indie, I know you’re not stupid, but you can’t work miracles. It’s too late for me now, you have to let me go, otherwise you, Ty and everyone else are going to end up the same way.” She sighed, coughing up blood as I held her.

“Don’t say that. I can save you. No man left behind. You just have to make it outside.”

Stitch grabbed my hand. “There’s no poultice in the world that’ll fix this. I’m just sorry we couldn’t learn more from each other.”

“Colt, give me your gun!” Drew barked authoritatively.

The young man tossed it over reluctantly. “What are you planning?”

“Get her out of here, I’ll buy you guys some time.” Drew explained quickly.

I grabbed his arm. “I already lost Leo and Stitch. I’m not losing you too.”

In that moment, something unexpected happened. Drew leaned in and kissed me. “This isn’t goodbye Indie.”

Colt grabbed me by the waist and pulled me away, Stitch’s limp, lifeless body falling as he dragged me to my feet. Ty ran back into the building to help pull me out as Drew led the enemy fire away from us.

I could barely breathe as the boys forced me back to the safe-house. It was like walking blindly through fog. I had gone to that building to bring the closest thing I had to family home, instead I got them killed. As we walked through the warehouse doors, we were greeted by an overjoyed Willow. She was glad to see us, though it broke me further as I watched that joy seep into confusion. Ty took her by the hand and explained what had happened to Stitch and Drew. Willow burst into tears as Ty held her close. He was desperate to console her as he processed the loss himself. As for me, I wandered off to my workshop on the floor above by myself.

“So that’s it, huh? You’re not planning to say anything, no half-baked plans or words of wisdom to help your friends downstairs heal?” Colt spat venomously as he followed me.

“What am I supposed to say? Am I supposed to tell them it gets easier, that as long as we stay together, we’re untouchable? I’m sorry but this isn’t some kids’ game, this is real. There are no happy endings and if you idiots had listened to me to start with, maybe, just maybe, we’d all still be here. That didn’t happen, though. Stitch is dead, Drew probably is too. We can’t change that, and God only knows what happened to Leo.”

Colt squared up to me, pressing my body to the wall. “I had you pegged as a lot of things, Indie, but I never thought of you as a quitter. Those people down there need a leader if they hope to stand a chance of surviving this. It’s about time you stepped up and proved that you really are the badass everyone believes you to be.”

I pushed Colt away. “The reason I have my reputation is that I took risks. I worked alone. I can’t do that stuff if I have half a dozen people to worry about. If I had left The Paragon the moment I woke up, none of this would be happening. Now I’m left with another choice. I can either do my job and handle it alone, or I can protect those kids, but I can’t do both; if you look at this realistically, you know that. Tell me, what would you do? Would you put those kids in danger in the name of protecting them, or would you get as far away from them as possible?”

“You don’t always have to do everything alone. We can get Willow and the kids to the E.A.D base camp outside of the city, then the others can help us take Delilah down as a team.”

“You work for the E.A.D. That’s why Delilah wants you.” I put my palm to my head, furious that I hadn’t seen it before. “Well, I’ve got news for you. We aren’t the same. I work with the rebels, not under them. I don’t have your attachments or connections. That’s why they send me in to do the reckless stuff that would get most people killed. They recruited me because I was hostile, defensive, I don’t trust easily, and I’m pretty much incapable of forming healthy attachments. It meant I was perfect for the field, it also meant I was the least likely to lose focus on my task whilst in the city. I work alone. It’s how I survive. Just look at the chaos caused when I tried to let people in. You’re right about one thing, though. Linc and the others do need a leader, but it’s not me. Ty managed for so long by himself, but that was when it was a matter of survival. Now they’re going to be hunted and I don’t think Ty can manage on his own. They’re going to need you, so it’s up to you to keep them safe for me just until this is over. Promise me you’ll do that. Give me your word.”

“I promise.” Colt sighed, laying the conversation to rest, not wanting to push me further.