Episode Twenty-Five - The Scavengers

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height


 "Drop your weapons!"

  "Drop your weapons!"

"You're outnumbered five to one. Do the math, dumbass."

 Guns were aimed and ready on both sides, drifting between targets.

Alex couldn't tell who to keep her weapon on. Their faces all blurred into a mass, like a giant monster taking a single form.

Rollo and Cicero placed themselves between the two groups. Alex's eyes flitted over her shoulder, and she saw Ace with a steady hand, intently staring ahead without a single word. How she wished she could have such a calm demeanor.

 "Didn't you hear me? You're outnumbered. Drop your weapons before we decide this is a waste of our time." A woman, who appeared to be the group's leader, stepped forward. 

Her completely shaved head had a tattoo of a snake that wound around her scalp and down past her left ear. The red ink stood out stark against her pale, white skin.

There was a look on the stranger's face that made Alex want to surrender immediately.

"Maybe we should, uh, listen to her," Alex whispered.

Everyone ignored her suggestion, and an intense standoff ensued. No one lowered their guns, but no one fired, either.

Alex wondered why the strangers didn't just shoot them. They could easily do so. Manpower was definitely on their side, and they were all heavily armed.

"There isn't any food left in this city. We've taken everything that's been perma-preserved. All that's left is dust. You should drop your weapons and take your leave." Her tone was confident and cool.

  "The thing is, we're not alone. And our friends really want us to get out of here with some food," Cicero said.

A look of confusion crossed the woman's face. Her eyes dragged across each of them, lingering on their arms. She appeared to be searching for something and apparently didn't find whatever it was. A slew of curse words left her lips.

"Ah, hell." The woman lowered her gun. "Tell me you didn't bring that idiotic, gunslinging cowboy into this city."

Weapons all around dropped to their wielders' side. The static in the air disappeared. At least these strangers didn't want to kill them anymore.

Though, Alex couldn't figure out if Edric played a bad or good role in the scenario they found themselves in.

 "That's the fastest, gunslinging cowboy to you." Edric's voice rang out.

They all turned to see Edric, Daniel and Greg walking down the adjoining street toward them.

Edric shook his head after he spoke. "Nope. No, I heard it as soon as I said it. Doesn't sound that cool to me. Maybe just 'the fastest gunslinger'?"

 "Cut it out," the woman interrupted. "Just tell me what you're doing here. You know this part of the Wildlands is ours."

Alex glanced out of the corner of her eye to Cicero, watching closely for a reaction at the mention of the Wildlands. Barely a twitch distracted him from the interaction in front of them. Surely he had to have noticed what this strange woman said. The only other time anyone had mentioned the Wildlands to Cicero had been when she told him of her dreams.

It didn't seem like he noticed. Or, at least, he didn't show any sign of noticing. Cicero was more concerned about the new arrivals in front of them. Understandable, but Alex was hoping for at least a little reaction.

 "Come on, Vida, I didn't know this city was part of your territory. We've been coming here for ages," Edric said.

"Recently claimed," Vida stated. She looked around at the others standing behind her. "We've been expanding."

 "I must have been left out of the group mailing list. I don't think I got my 'Happy Birthday' notice, either, now that I think about it. Have to admit, that stings a little." Edric held his arms out beside him.

 "Can we talk?" Vida looked behind her, dismissing her people with a sharp nod of her head. 

Without hesitation, they all disbanded, leaving Vida alone. She turned back around with a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose until the edges turned pale. 

"Please tell me why you're bringing people without an Avoider mark out into the desert." Vida placed a hand to her wrist as if to solidify a point.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't know you'd be here," Edric's voice lowered considerably.

 "Do we know her?" Cicero questioned. He looked Vida up and down as she walked over to them.

 "I do. She's one of us, undercover with that group of Avoiders," Edric answered, gesturing toward the group of people loitering near a building not too far off. "You can trust her," he added.

"You guys shouldn't be out this way. It's not safe. There's been patrols heading out further than normal recently. I heard rumors of a riot down in Marksberg, and a couple escaped citizens." Vida dragged her eyes across them. "Surely you had nothing to do with that one."

 "We didn't have a choice. These are desperate times. You would know if you checked in more frequently. And we're running low on food over at the bunker," Edric said.

There was an unsure look back at the rest of her group before Vida turned to Edric. She gnawed on her bottom lip, a peeling piece of skin showing she probably did that frequently. 

"Fine," Vida grumbled. A hand outstretched in front of her.

Alex could see the mark of an Avoider tattooed neatly amongst a colorful array of flowers on her wrist.

"Give me something to trade for a box of perma-preserves," Vida said.

 "We have nothing to trade, Vida. What, do you think I carry a damn supply crate in my pocket? We've got empty boxes and bags, that's it."

 Vida frowned, clearly unamused with the reply. She dropped her hand back to her side. "I can't help you, then. If I just give you a box for nothing they will suspect something's up. It took me way too many years to get in their ranks, let alone become their General."

 "I might have something," Rollo said.

Eyes all turned to the Keeper. She had dropped to her knees and pulled something from her backpack. A small, perfectly intact microchip reflected the sunlight between her fingers.

 "What use is that?" Vida asked.

 "I pulled it from an A.I. There should be some useful technology in there." Rollo handed the chip over to Vida, who took it rather quickly once she heard what it was.

  "More than useful. This technology is rare out here," Vida mused, flipping the object over and over in her palm. "This will get you two boxes of food."

 A grumble sounded from Edric. "Hold on, now. As harmless as that is in your hand, Vida, it's beyond dangerous with the Avoiders. The chip holds memory files, and I heard how these dumbasses got ahold of it in the first place. You're going to have to reset that thing before even handing it over to your guys."

"I'm not as stupid as I look," Vida shot. "I'll wipe it as soon as we get back to our city." She raised a hand over her head, two fingers up and visible.

Within seconds, her people carried two boxes of food over and placed them at their feet.

Curiously, Alex watched as the Avoiders set down the boxes and disappeared back to where they had been standing. They listened and obeyed without question or a single word. She wished she could have that effect on people, but only every once in a while. 

"So, it's General Camacho now, huh?" Edric toyed. He knelt down and picked up a box while Daniel picked up the other. "Has a nice ring to it," he continued with a grin.

It was obvious Vida tried to hide her own smile, but the deepening of a dimple on each cheek gave away her poor attempt.

Alex looked between the two with a raised brow. Oh, they so have a thing.

 "Just take your food and get out of here." Vida shook her head. She gave one last look at the chip in her hand before tucking it into a pocket at her hip. 


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net