Chapter 8

By the time 10 AM rolled around, everyone within the town, who came to the common house to eat, was served and fed. Abigail was finally able to sit down and eat some breakfast along with Stephanie, Trish, and Amy, the women all sharing a table. The food was delicious and the biscuits…she had done a fine job on them, after two burnt batches, which Stephanie had laughed about and shown her the proper way to make them. One thing about Abigail was she learned fast and absorbed information like a sponge.

"I just don't understand why that damn DOV insists on bothering us." Trish grunted, stabbing her biscuits and gravy like it personally did her wrong. "They have more than enough people and…from what I heard, Wyatt is building a huge army at alarming rates."

"Really?" That was worrisome, though Stephanie had to wonder how he did it. "Does anyone know how or where he's getting people from?"

"Nope, unfortunately not. I mean, a woman is pregnant for 9 months, right? They can't possibly have that many babies to make a 200 men army and counting." Steve did great pillow talk after Trish rocked his world and now she was discussing things with the girls, like always.

"Maybe he has magic on his side." Amy suggested, shrugging when Stephanie and Trish stared at her wide-eyed. "What? You don't think it's a possibility, given WHO our leader is?"

That was a good point. "What about you, newbie?" Stephanie asked, wanting Abigail to contribute to the conversation. "What do you think about the DOV?"

"They're sick bastards and deserve to burn for what they've done and what they continue to do." Abigail meant every word that came out of her mouth and hoped it happened one day.

"Amen to that." Stephanie laughed, then sighed as she took a long drink from her coffee cup. "It's a beautiful day outside… I wish Taker would use his magic to give us a hand for cleaning."

"Steve says it doesn't work like that." Trish said absentmindedly, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she used her biscuit to sop up more gravy from her plate. She frowned when she realized Stephanie and Amy were staring at her, eyes widening. "Forget I said that."

"Oh no, no… Steve knows how it works?"

"No… not really. No one does and let's change the subject."

Magic…so the theory Bray found out from Malcolm was true. "Magic?" Abigail sounded a little disbelieving, looking from one woman to the other and could tell they were uncomfortable with this subject. "That's how he changed his appearance, right? I wouldn't have recognized him if Stephanie hadn't called him 'boss' earlier. Last night, he had a mask on his face and his face was all cut up and bruised heavily. His hair was short too. So, he's the same guy, right?"

There was no point hiding the truth from Abigail, not after Trish opened her big mouth. "Yeah…you have to keep it hush-hush though because not everyone in Wonderful knows."

"Only a select few."

Amy looked pointedly at Trish, who had lowered her head and busied herself with her food. She'd just spilled Taker's secret to an outsider. And so had Stephanie, now that she thought about it, because of the whole 'helping clean with magic' line. These women were out of their minds sometimes.

"I won't say anything. I'll forget about it. Look see, forgotten already." Not likely, but Abigail had to ease their minds somehow and continued eating her food. "What time do we serve lunch?"

"One o'clock."

"What are we making for that today?"

"Sandwiches with chips. People can come in and make their own, so we'll get a small break and be able to clean up from breakfast."

Stephanie had breathed a silent sigh of relief, cursing herself mentally for opening her own big mouth around this stranger. Trish hadn't exactly helped with that either. Sometimes they just got carried away, but at the same time… they were usually by themselves, Abigail had just sort of been forgotten.

"I got to go run some errands around town, you want to come, Abigail? Got to do some 'shopping', and what clothes did you bring with you from Salny?" Amy asked, studying those white shoes with a frown. "You walked and hitched from Salny? Those heels and soles must be run clear through."

"They're actually not bad, but sure, I'll join you…if it's alright with Stephanie." Abigail didn't want to flake out on her obligations to the common house, glancing at the brunette and watched her nod. "I have a couple of shirts, pants, and shorts, socks, and undergarments…" She listed off the items that were in her bag, being completely truthful.

Abigail couldn't afford anything since Wonderful didn't accept regular currency, so she had no idea why Amy wanted to drag her along. Maybe to get to know her better or snoop, either way, Abigail didn't mind the heat radiating off her as she looked around the town. It was bustling with life, everyone looked happy – tired, but happy. She'd never seen so many smiling faces in her life and it did her heart good. Whatever Undertaker did to make his people this happy, she hoped he continued to do it for a long time to come.

"Hey Red, what you need?" Ron asked when he spotted Amy coming up his walk, cocking an eyebrow at the woman trailing behind him "Shoes?" His eyes dropped down to both women's feet, taking in Amy's old red high-tops and the scuffed white shoes on the other woman's feet.

"Well this one here walked and hitched her way here from Salny." Amy explained. "I figured that distance, on that terrain, she might need her shoes either resoled or replaced."

"What'cha paying with today, Red?"

"She's got old money coins, remember what quarters look like?"

"No shit?"

"Y-Yeah…" Abigail pulled the coins out of her pocket, not leaving them in her bag for fear of thievery and showed the dark-skinned man the paper money she also had too. "They're silver coins, actually…" She dropped one in his hand and watched him survey the coin before popping it in the air, catching it with ease.

"I haven't seen these in a dog's age!" Ron hooted with a grin, knowing how valuable a single silver coin used to be back in the day…before the DOV took over most of Vesperia. "I'll take them, help yourself to whatever you want in the shop and, if I need another one for payment, I'll let you know."

"I don't really need…"

Before she could get the sentence out, Amy yanked her inside the shop to get her a new pair of shoes. Honestly, her shoes were fine, just a bit scuffed, but still comfortable. While Abigail was trying on new shoes, Amy and Ron were studying her white pair.

"Heels are…"

"Maybe she hiked barefoot?"

"Maybe. Just weird is all."

"What's weird?"

"Bossman, what you doing here?"

"Checking your roof, Ron." Taker took the shoes they were studying, recognizing them. "What's wrong with these?"

"Not a thing." That was the problem.

He raised a slow brow. "Ron… buff them out." His eyes moved around the room, finally landing on Abigail. "Red, take her out today when we go on the errands. I want you and the new girl out there with us."

"Abbie, can you ride a crotch rocket?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"A crotch rocket, honey." Ron raised a brow when she looked completely perplexed, slowly looking up at the boss. "I don't think she knows what they are."

"You been on a motorcycle before, Abbie?" Amy asked patiently, not surprised the new girl shook her head and rubbed her temples. "She can ride bitch then with me. And Taker, the new girl has a name." It was rude of him to keep referring to her as 'the new girl' instead of using her name.

Ron smirked, knowing Amy didn't beat around the bush or put up with anyone's crap in Wonderful, not even Taker.

"I know what a motorcycle is, Amy. Is that the same thing as a crotch rocket? Or are they different?"

"Don't worry about it, you'll just ride with me."

"Okay, where are we going?"

"Out. Don't worry, you'll enjoy it. Now, did you pick out a new pair of shoes?"

"Yeah." She held a pair of plain black tennis shoes that looked comfortable and held them out. "You can go ahead and throw the white ones out or keep them and resell them, if you want. I don't like white…" Never again would Abigail wear the color, already planning on making her wardrobe as colorful as possible.

"Umm…okay? Sure, thanks…"

Ron wasn't throwing them away; they were in pretty good condition and he didn't like having to re-sole or repair shoes when there were perfectly good ones laying around.

"Your name is Abigail."

"Don't mind him, he's weird." Amy rolled her eyes, then scowled when an overly large hand came down on her head, messing her hair up.

"Your name is New Girl, until otherwise."

"Now you're just doing it to irritate me." Amy watched as he walked out with Ron, shaking her head. "He pulled me outta a bad spot years ago, so… he's not so bad, not really, just… weird. And stern, sometimes. Sometimes I think he changes his mood as often as he changes his looks."

The way he said her name sent a shiver down her spine, though Abigail didn't show it. She knew better. His deep, burly, somewhat dark voice was sexy, and she could listen to him talk all day and night. There was no way that man wasn't taken already. If he wasn't, he either liked men only or wanted to be alone.

"Why does he do that anyway?" She asked curiously, slipping the black tennis shoes on over her white socks. The only white thing she'd keep. "I mean, I guess it's genius to switch up your appearance, so your enemies don't know exactly what you look like, but…it's still weird. You're right, he is weird."

"Come on, let's run those errands for Stephanie before we have to go out this afternoon on the run." Amy made sure they were squared up with Ron before walking out, a basket on her arm to hold items she had to deliver and pick up. "Now… one of the reasons he changes his looks every day is because… well, when he goes out, nobody ever really knows who he is. I mean, here in Wonderful, he usually sticks to something familiar, but out there… he looks like anyone else. Keeps the DOV from realizing he's in charge, because if they know, they'll take him out. What's the Resistance without its leader?" That's what they were known as to others outside of Wonderful's walls – Undertaker's Resistance. She stopped at a stall, handing over a bottle of pills to an older woman before continuing on. "And the other… is well… this is what I heard, I mean, it's from a good source, but still… rumor. He had a brother, a younger brother. His brother died in those early years, after the Dominion happened. They set fire to the house Taker and his brother was in. Taker was…. burnt, pretty badly. So, I think that's why he changes up his appearance all the time, hiding those scars."

He was eavesdropping. Sort of. Taker was also holding a conversation with a few children, who were on their way to school. Boys and girls; children were precious here, not a resource or a means to an end like the DOV. Amy was mostly right. There was more to the story then what she knew… about his younger brother, who had died, and thinking about Glen made a valuable part of him throb in response, a hand nearly convulsing as he fought the urge to feel the spot. It had been Glen who'd had magic, something rare, something scientists back when had tried to study, but all that had been lost in the war. Glen had saved him, the younger brother had given his life, his magical essence, to ensure he would survive. Now, he carried not only scars from that day, but… a little something extra. Taker was carrying a piece of Glen with him, or… his lips twitched slightly at his own musings, within him.

Destruction was all Bray had caused all of these people, even the leader of Wonderful. Everywhere he went, he caused chaos and shed so much innocent blood. It had to stop before the world of Vesperia was lost forever. Abigail didn't know what to say to Amy's explanation regarding Undertaker changing his appearance. Were the scars really that bad? Her heart went out to him and his entire family, hating the man she used to love, the man she had followed for a decade, who had caused so much agony.

"That's awful. Nobody deserves that kind of pain. Nobody deserves to be…tortured and ripped from their homes and forced to endure what the DOV is doing! To lose loved ones and homes and memories and…Innocent people are dying and being killed on a daily basis, all for the sake of a goddamn religion one man created!" Abigail blinked, tears sliding down her cheeks and wiped them away angrily, gritting her teeth against her own pain she'd suffered at the hands of the DOV. It wasn't physical so much as mental and emotional.

"Abbie…"

"Sorry…just talking about the DOV boils my blood and it makes me so angry that innocent people are being slaughtered all for the sake of religion. Why can't we just…believe in what we want and live our lives the way we want? Why does it have to be this way?"

"I-I don't know…"

That was honestly the million-dollar question. Why did the DOV feel the need to invade towns and villages, pillage them and take their women to treat them like cattle? They were nothing except breeders.

"My family…they were killed by the DOV." She spoke quietly while they continued walking and talking, after Abbie's slight outburst. Nobody blamed her, everyone here hated the DOV with a passion and wanted them gone, wiped out, forever. It was easier said than done though. "My parents…my brother…everyone I loved and cared about was wiped out because they refused to bow down to the DOV. They refused to join them. My Mom had sent me away during the scourge and I barely made it out alive. Taker is the one who found me in the woods near Wonderful and saved my life. I owe him for that. We all do because we've all been saved by that wonderful man. That's why the community here dubbed this town as Wonderful because it truly is the best place to be right now, especially in these times."

"Amy…" Abigail wrapped her arms around the woman, hugging her close and vowed once again, silently, to make the DOV pay for every single person they hurt and destroyed. "I'm so sorry…"