The raider wore a cheeky, almost mocking grin that proudly displayed what remained of his teeth. His eyes jumped from Curie to Lily to Curie again, unable to believe his luck.
"Good evening, ladies!" he said enthusiastically, dropping his guarded stance and opening his arms wide. "Welcome to the combat zone! Can we serve you up-oh, I mean-can I get you something to drink?" he asked, still smiling invitingly.
Curie's eyes were wider than a Radstag doe's as the raider looked at her expectantly. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth automatically, only to realize she didn't know what to say. All the conversations in her life had been so structured, so organized. Perhaps it was her new body, and all the emotions that came with it. Despite the raider's welcoming smile, something about him made Curie feel…afraid.
"Is Tommy inside?" Lily mumbled, her voice weak from exhaustion.
The raider reluctantly turned away from the gray-eyed woman and instead eyed the woman she was propping up. At first glance, she looked no different from any other scavver. Her deep red hair was rather stylish, yet practically swept to one side. In direct contrast to her colorful hair, her eyes were a deep black-no, not exactly. He looked carefully, his eyes growing wider as he conducted a closer examination of her face. The deep scar down her left brow, the blue-green eyes, her pretty, ingenuous features. Instinctively, his eyes darted to her hip, where he instantly found what he was looking for. A small revolver, the gray metal meticulously decorated with spiraling, flowery designs.
"Holy-Hey you guys! Get down here!" he called suddenly. A flurry of movement atop the raider constructions and in the fire escapes of the nearby building revealed the locations of two raiders who had been covering their friend on the ground.
"What the hell Gabe? This scavver too much for you to handle? Need us to break her legs for you too?" a woman with a mohawk teased, running her hands along her nail-studded baseball bat.
The second raider chuckled at the comment. "Can't believe we let this guy do the talking." He said, sighing with mock exasperation. Gabe ignored the teasing and pointed to the red-haired woman.
"Oh this time, you'll want to hear what I have to say." He said with a smile.
"What we have here, my friends, is none other than Lily Tourette." He said with a wide grin.
"No way." The woman said, immediately taking a step back. Beside her, the man whistled appreciatively.
"You told me all raiders are as ugly as you, Sasha." He said, a hint of awe in his voice. Despite her surprise, Sasha wasn't going to let that go; a swift kick in the shin extracted a pained cry as payment.
"Shut up, Damien. You know what would happen to you if Red Tourette found out. Keep it in your pants this time." She eyed the limp raider cautiously.
"What do you want to do with her?" she asked. Damien scratched his chin.
"We can't leave the zone until Sparta decides we're moving out again. And I don't know about you guys but deserting the gang doesn't seem like a great way to extend our lifespans." Sasha nodded in agreement.
"Just…take me to Tommy. My sister will pay well to see me safe." Lily croaked.
Gabe's hand came out of nowhere, the coarse skin of his palm connecting solidly with Lily's cheek. Curie stumbled backwards as the weight of the blow caused Lily's legs to buckle again.
Sasha stared, open-mouthed at Gabe, her heart sinking. With one blow, he had made the decision for all of them. If Lily ever managed to open her mouth in front of her sister, all of their heads would be on spikes.
"Didn't think you'd have the guts." Damien admitted, then turned towards Curie. "What do we do with the nurse?"
As the barrel of Damien's pipe pistol turned towards her, Curie finally found her tongue.
"My name is Curie. This woman is in serious need of medical attention. I'd appreciate if you could direct us to the nearest hospital."
"Of course, of course. Let me just get this for you." Gabe said with a reassuring smile, plucking the laser pistol off of Curie's belt. The woman watched helplessly, unable to stop him while her hands were full.
At her side, Lily was doing her very best not to scream in frustration. Not that she had the strength to spare on melodramatics anyways. Her stinging cheek was just one more ache for her beaten and battered body to deal with, but the humiliation of the blow was another drop towards rock bottom for her pride. To make matters worse, this dolt of a woman was going to get them both killed.
Gabe glanced at his two partners, reassured by the excitement he saw in their eyes. This was the lucky break they'd been waiting for all their lives.
"Listen, you're clearly some sort of-" the confused raider didn't manage to finish his sentence. Where moments ago, two women had been standing, now there was only empty air.
"What the-" he exclaimed, before a blinding flash and thundering noise overwhelmed his senses.