"Ebony…well she made sure to get me away from everybody else on that Mountain and then left me in a ditch to die.
When I came to…I think it was next morning. There was nobody around. It was freezing cold, but I knew I had to try and move or else I really would have been dead soon, so I started walking…until I saw the graves. I didn’t understand any of it.
I got found, too. By a really caring person who took me to his tribe. The Gaians saved my life.
You’re right. It takes a while to recover. Some wounds don’t heal that well."
Speaking of… I glance at Zandra, wondering. She never mentioned her baby in that recount of the events. There must be a reason, but I’m not going to pry, not with the rest of the tribe around.
“She always was a bitch, it was always obvious she thought she had a claim to Bray” I say and shake my head “You’re right, some wounds never really heal properly, I think we just learn to live with them a little more every day” I tell her and pause for a moment “What made you go back to the Mall? I mean the Tribe you were with, The Gaians sound pretty good” I asked not holding back my nosiness.
Patsy:
Hearing Ryan speaking those words it felt like everything was falling apart. Paul is her brother and she wanted to trust him. But Ryan did have a point, could they trust him? He was a techno after all. Just the thoughts of not being able to trust Paul made her feel like the energy was leaving her. Ofcourse Ryan was right, they didn’t know what the technos might have done to Paul in the past, what they might have promised him. Surely they had promised him something, why else would he be together with the mean ones? She thought to herself.
He didn’t want to end up back in the cafes, well neither did she. Just because they trusted Paul didn’t automatically mean that they were back there. ‘We can only trust each other’ she looked down at her fingers, as she sank down at the sofa. Ryan came in front of her and sat down. He started to speak about how she was like his own daughter that he loved her like she was his. She could feel tears swelling up behind her eyes, her lower lip shaking. What he’s saying makes sense, Paul could have killed us both. But he didn’t! Tears starts to roll down her cheeks. ”I don’t want to leave him, I’ve only just found him again” she sobs with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Ryan pulls her into a little hug and she has to fight with her own emotions. Patsy used her palm to dry her face, but the tears kept rolling. ”Why does it have to be like this? I don’t want to loose him again, it will be like loosing him all over again” she says trying not to sob. She slowly nods her head. ”Where are we going? Is it safe there?” she asks, lifting her head to look at him.
“The Gaians did more for me than I ever could repay them for,” I answer, trying to suppress an emotion. I don’t even know if ay of them got out on time, or how far the chemicals from the lab explosion spread. What if all my former friends were caught in the red zone? I don’t want to consider the possibility. But I couldn’t have warned them, I reason with myself. There wasn’t enough time.
"The Mall Rats came from the city, once things got tough, asking for my tribe’s help to fight the Chosen. So I went back. It was meant to be temporary, but then - things happened, the Chosen got defeated, Technos arrived. Life got crazy, but I thought I could make a difference. I have a little boy, so - I guess I’m trying to make sure he has the best kind of future.
Only… now we’re stuck on this island."
I let my eyes wander across the jungle foliage, trying to decide where to turn next.
All of a sudden I am knocked back into reality and everyone is offering ideas about our security. “If Ram and the others Technos are here then and if they have the zappers then we are going to have to use our surroundings to our advantage.” I suggest “Try to take them out using the trees and other items we can find and maybe if we can capture at least one of them I can make them talk. We need to know where our friends are.” I say to them looking at the Zapper on my wrist
“As for Danni to be honest I don’t know her. But we need to get back to the problem at hand” I add.
“I can always stand guard but I will need some help. So if anyone wants to volunteer by all means do so. But we need to get ready either way.” I say to the group
I nodded as I listened to what she was saying “The Mall had a way of sucking people in didn’t it. You tried to leave before but couldn’t” I said thinking about when she almost left with Sasha “You had a baby! Thats amazing… Not that I didn’t think you would one day… What I’m trying to say is congratulations, thats really really great” I smiled as I continued walking with her.
“So what exactly are you guys doing anyway from everyone else? You must be wanting to get back as soon as possible especially if your son is there” I say looking at her. I did have a ping of jealous but at the same time I was glad that I didn’t have the worry of caring for a baby on this Island
My ankle was throbbing. I needed to rest it. Using my stick and help of Brady’s head I get down to the sand. I listen intently to Jay as he speaks. He does have the looks, but not the brains … bless him. He mentions security, and I take one look at Alice in her black number and think she even looks the part.
"Alice, your help out Jay won’t you and lead the security for us, right?"
The boat ride to the Island was tedious, as much as I loved the water, I loved being in it not on it for days. I knew that I had been grumpy since the first day they got on the boat but there was a slim chance that Jax could be one of the prisoners on the Island as there wasn’t much anyone who wasn’t there knew about it. Catching the sight of the Island not too far in the distance I headed off to find August.
“Finally there is land!” I grinned seeing her, as much as I hate the Techno uniforms that we were forced to wear I had to admit the fitted material did leave little to the imagination – Not that I needed to use my imagination when it came to August or some of the other Tribe members.
“Apart from getting the slaves into the cages was there anything else on the agenda for the day?” I asked her curiously, I should probably know myself but since being on the boat I hadn’t paid overly much attention to anything we had been instructed to do.
I sat trying to tune out that once again the Mall-less-rats were fighting once again, the whole thing was getting old, it was like one of those stupid shows the mother used to watch on Tv each night.
“If they hold this island wouldn’t it be safe to assume they have a good idea of the layout and have people trained for being out in the woods?” I say outloud to whoever was listening “Personally I think we need to find shelter somewhere and work on securing it”
I didn’t want to sleep outside again, I didn’t want to take on any Techno’s, to be honest I didn’t want to be on this Island either, there was no trade and it was safe to say I was completely out of my comfort zone.
Lily’s voice draws my attention back to the present and I offer her a predatory smile, “the usual… find out who is in charge and get to know them” I tell her.
We had a routine whenever we got to a new place; find who was in charge, get to know them and then ‘gently’ press for information about Jax. It kept us going, kept me going.
My fingers instinctively move to my thigh as the call of ‘land-ho’ goes round the techno’s. I didn’t mind their uniforms, although I did miss my leather, but one thing I hadn’t embraced was their technology. I hated the zappers and much preferred hand to hand combat than shooting someone in the back but I kept those thoughts to myself… I kept a lot to myself nowadays, not trusting the walls to keep secrets I wanted to whisper to Lily in the night.
I hear a noise from below deck and the first of the prisoners is brought out, I can’t help the wave of anger that goes through me but I mask it with a look of nonchalance and turn away, the only slight hint of how much it disturbs me is the way my fingers tighten on the side of the boat. The sooner we made land, the better.
I let out a low laugh “And we do so well in getting to know them” I say back. I watch as she turns away while the others start leading the prisoners out from the lower deck and lining them up ready for when we arrive on land.
I move closer to her, pressing against her back, the way we were usually went ignored by others now because it was nothing new “Just breath” I whisper in her ear, I knew the slaves was the hardest part of doing this “Focus on the end game, we’ll find him one day and I’ll make sure I get him back for you” I tell her.
Reaching land I let out the breath I was holding “Come on, let’s get off this boat” I tell her as I take a step back and watch as the prisoners are led off the boat one at a time.
She moves closer, her body pressing against mine offering a familiar comfort, although not quite the same with the uniforms separating us.
“Get him back for us…” I correct. I knew she missed him as much as I did, knew she wanted revenge against those who had taken him, those who had hurt him.
A small growl escapes my lips as I think about the last time we saw him, the last words he said to us
’August, run… damn you, run!’ I’d never run from a fight in my life and yet somehow I knew this was the one fight I wouldn’t win. My hands tighten around the sai’s I am holding and I take a step forward as something floods my body, a pain so intense I let out a howl. I feel my knees buckle and I drop to the floor, managing to raise my head for a moment as my eyes connect with Jax. He’s fighting to get to me, but one of the men in black and red hits him over the back of the head and he falls still as they drag him into the jeep. They turn to me but before they can do anything arms are surrounding me, pulling me away. I open my mouth and all that comes out is a sob. ‘It’s ok, we’ll get him back… we’ll bring him home’ the pain is intense but I manage to nod in agreement at Lily’s words, “you promise?”
I blink the memory away as the steel drops inside my mind once more, those memories were dangerous, too dangerous to let out, because if anyone knew…
We reach the docks and the others start unloading the prisoners but I reach out and take Lily’s arm steering her towards land. No one questions us, they’d learn the hard way that if they tried they got hurt. “Well, this place looks worse than the one we left” I grumble, “let’s hope they have a bar… or at least something that passes as liquor.”
I have just been thrown back into damned cell. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. They haven’t broken me yet. It’s only a matter of time though. Until then I’ll keep fighting back and keep fighting them and their computer program. That program though. Whatever it is, it’s starting to break me. Slowly but surely. I don’t know how long they have been running it on me now. All I know for certain is that I am grateful they haven’t found Amber yet. This place I keep getting put up in when they hook me up, looks like my perfect place. Sometimes she is there and sometimes she is not. But when she is, she doesn’t have our child. No way she would be there without them. The imperfections help me know it’s not real. I keep having shorter and well kept hair and am clean shaved. Since being here I have grown out a beard and stop grooming my hair.
What really keeps me reminded that it isn’t real is thinking about Amber and the baby. I like to imagine that we had a boy and that she named him Martin. I imagine him with Amber’s beautiful eyes and my hair. Everything else he got from his mother. Hopefully soon I’ll know. Some day. Some day Soon.
I pray she knows I think about them for countless hours since being here. Especially when I get thrown in this cell alone and with no lights. Hopefully she has not moved on. I have had very minimal contact with people aside from Techno’s. There is one in particular who really seems to hate me. I know she’s a girl but every time I see her she has one of the Techno masks on. I’ll never forget the day I first saw her. She took charge over me. At the end of the first month after seeing her is when I discovered how close an eye she kept on me.
A day I have regretted ever since. I was punished and an innocent girl was killed. I gave her some of my food and water. Only to be found out. That shout.
“Take him away, He broke rule 678, sharing rations.” Her voice was and still is familiar to me. Her hair looked different. I still can’t say for sure it was her. She does like to come and yell at me and degrade me. She made me watch as I was dragged away, as that innocent girl was grabbed by two others and killed by one of those laser things. I am reminded of it every time that officer sees me. Like she did today
I’ll be fine though. Soon, I’ll be out of here. They don’t stop to think that I watch and I know now, where I will do it and how. I have the final steps to my escape. Fools like to talk a lot. I look out the window of this cramped cell. Damn it! Sleep is taking me. Unless she turns up. I better remember this plan when I wake up. It’s time to get out of here and find my future wife.
Stop rambling to yourself and let sleep take you, Bray. You need your energy. @Everyone
I hold Patsy as she cries, I understand her feeling of not wanting to loose Paul again but I am unsure if he can be trusted, who knows what the techno’s have said or done to him… I lift Patsy chin and use my sleeve to wipe her eyes…
“ok” I sigh softly “I want to keep you safe but I don’t want to see you so upset”
I get up and walk to the other side of the room
“I don’t know what the techno’s have done to Paul, I don’t know if he will give us away…” I say knowing this is hard for her to hear " I do know he wanted you to go with him and he wanted to keep you safe so" I sigh as I rub my face with my hands “We might be ok here for a while”
I walk back and sit down beside Patsy who is looking at me
“If I sense one bit of danger, we are moving…” I say… “I love you like my own and I promised I would keep you safe and I can’t do that if we are found or seperated, I know you can’t lose Paul again, we know he is safe and well and who knows we may be able to get him on our side” I sigh again
I have a nervous feeling in my stomach, not knowing if we will be found and thrown back in a cage like an animal or forced at laser point to go on work parties… I look into a bag that holds the food we have, there’s one bottle of rainwater left and a handful of nuts and berries we were lucky to find… I close my eyes and lean back against the wall, tired and hungry… I rub my hands across my brow and eyes…
“We need to find some food” I sigh softly “We can’t survive on this”
Memories flood my mind, memories of how things were at the beginning of the virus when we found the mall and the supply of food…
“mmm” I groan at the thought of opening a can of creamed rice and eating it, a belly rumbling brings me back to the real world “Here” I say softly handing Patsy the last of the nuts and berries “You need these more than I do”
I let out a small laugh “I’m sure nothing can be worse then the last place, at least we have a beach and I’m sure we can find a secluded section where we can top up our tans and avoid any tan lines” I say trying to cheer her up abit “And I bet this place will have some kind of bar, even the Techno’s know if their tribe have nothing to do in their free time they will get into trouble”
I look around, lots of beach and lots of tree’s “There must be more to the Island then this, you know the Techno’s as much as I do and there is always more going on then what we can see, we’ve been doing this for a long time now and they see us as one of them, we’re getting closer August, we must be”
“I don’t know,” I reply smiling slightly, “we saw worse in our time at the circus than since we’ve been with the techno’s.” Her next words make my smile grow, “working on tan lines sounds more appealing” I agree “would be nice to be out of these uniforms… they are a bit restrictive.”
The others have finished unloading the prisoners as Lily and I make our way off the boat and onto shore. “We’ll go and check in with the commander” I tell one of the other techno’s as we pass. “Come on,” I gesture for Lily to join me as we walk away from the dock and towards what can only be the techno building, “we are getting closer, we have to be.” Reaching the building I glance at Lily before reaching out and tucking a stray hair back into her bun, “let’s do this.”
I nodded “That is true, however, we looked so much better when we were in Tribe Circus, give me corsets, mini skirts and heels any day” I smiled “Times were different but we always looked good doing it” I turn watching as the boat is cleared.
“Like me, my hair just wants to be wild” I say with a playful smile knowing that it wouldn’t be long until a few more strands are slipping lose “Who is the Commander here?” I ask knowing she will already know the answer because she will have a plan in place already. She always did.
“Don’t I know it,” I sigh, “I miss clothes that actually worked to my advantage. These are just… restrictive.” Id always felt more comfortable in corsets and leather, with knives strapped to my wrists and thighs. I still wore the strap on my wrist that had previously carried the blade Jax had given me, now just another empty replica of the life we were trying to get back.
“I know, but wild and techno don’t go together,” I tell her quietly “save the wild for later… I promise we can put it to good use.” Hearing her question I tilt my head slightly “one of these days you’re going to find out information before I do,” I tease her. “Lieutenant General Luke is in charge of the island, I don’t know much about him… gossips is… slim.”
I listen to her as we walk “I miss your clothes too if that makes you feel any better” I say in a sing song voice “Oh please, your the brains of this operation and I handle the programs and software side of it” oddly enough it had been one thing that I had picked up a lot easier then I had thought possible, who knew that I was a bit of a nerd.
“If its slim means he is pretty closed off, he might not be as easy to get close to… However I’m sure those who are his closest circle can be persuaded to help us get closer” I said pursing my lips together “Alright, let’s go make ourselves known” I said heading into the building, head held high and walking with authority.
Her comment makes me smile slightly and I just shake my head. “I’m the brains? Then we are both screwed,” I laugh quietly, “I still don’t understand how you picked up all that computer stuff though… it makes no sense to me at all.”
I know Lily’s right, the lack of information about ‘Luke’ makes him very difficult to get close to. “We need to work out the hierarchy here… find out who is his second and so on.” I had some information but a lot of it seemed out of date. “One thing I’ve noticed… there aren’t many female techno’s on the island, let’s use that to our advantage.” I tell her quietly.
Nodding as we enter the building I plaster on my best smile, my fingers moving up to smooth my hair as we look around. “This place has a weird vibe,” I comment quietly.