Leading Jay and Amber along the beach where small fishing huts lined along the base of sand dunes. A figure watched them as they approached, a young man not much older than themselves, arms folded as he leaned on his doorframe. He smiled as she drew nearer and stood a little straighter.
"Well well, look who's decided to come for a visit" he smiled as Stealth reached the few steps which led up to his door. "Been a while Stel"
Amber and Jay stood at the base of the steps as the man greeted Stealth, drawing her into a warm hug
"It's good to see you Thomas," said Stealth, "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit for a while"
"Yeah well, you lead a tribe, you don't get to make many social visits, no problem" he grinned, before looking past her to Amber and Jay
Amber took in the mans appearance as he looked down at them. He had dark skin, and his hair seemed to have a life of its own as it hung in dread locks over a bandanna. But it was his eyes, which were intriguing, green and bright, and along with his friendly smile, they gave him a permanent air of contentment with his life.
Stealth turned to Amber and Jay
"Thomas, this is Amber and Jay," she said as introduction "Amber, Jay, meet Thomas"
"Amber, Jay," nodded Thomas
"Hi" replied the two politely
"Well come in, come in," exclaimed Thomas, slipping into a host type mode, ushering them up the steps and through the door of his small beach hut. Within a few minutes he had the three seated at a rickety old table and had set a battered old kettle onto a coal fire stove he had propped up against a wall.
"So," he sighed slipping into a chair between Amber and Stealth "Too what do I owe this visit. I've a feeling this isn't just a social call"
Stealth nodded a little guiltily, it had been a few months since her last visit.
"Actually I'm after some information and I'm hoping you can provide it."
First she asked Amber and Jay to explain the Mallrats situation, along with a brief outline of what had happened the past month or so. By the time they'd finished this small explanation, the kettle was whistling on the stove. The conversation paused as Thomas poured them all cups of tea.
"So how can I help?" he asked
"I need to know any information you have on the slaver tribes at the moment. Has there been any sign of them lately in these parts? Do you know of any specific places they've been trafficking? And who do we know and trust who may know the whereabouts of escaped slaves?" said Stealth, before taking a sip from the hot mug.
"Well let me think," said Thomas leaning back in his chair and looking out of the small broken window nearby as he thought "Words been quiet lately on them, you know the dirt dogs prefer the west coast and the Skulls have been lying low for months now. Rumour is they are thinking of moving on..."
"To the mainland?" asked Jay concerned
"Yes, but not that way you came, from the west onwards. It's a good five-day trip over the waters. People are afraid to go to the east mainland. News travels fast and the rumour of a new virus outbreak have stopped anyone travelling there. Some of the market traders would travel over for a few days at certain times of the year, but since the new arrived a week ago, most are afraid the virus will cross over here eventually. I doubt that's what's spooked the Skulls though, more likely they are tiring of having to compete with both the Dirts as well as people retaliating against their power. More and more are standing up against them, and they are losing people to trade slaves too, best to take their ways elsewhere."
"Good riddance," muttered Stealth under her breath
"As for where they've been trading, it depends on how far inland you go. The city is your best bet, but I don't need to tell you to watch yourselves there." He pondered for a moment looking into cup at the dregs of tea inside it "You could try the old monastery"
"The old monastery?" said Stealth, furrowing her brow "Why?"
"That's where a lot of the runway slaves end up. I know, the rumours of the place give it a bad name since the chosen tried to set up there. But since they left, I've heard nothing but good of the place. Apparently the tribe who run it are very welcoming. They usually track down runaways and give them a safe haven, and a lot of them tend to stay on there...or so I've heard"
"We could make a small detour on our journey there, go by Kes' place" said Stealth thinking aloud
"Good idea" agreed Thomas "She may be able to give you some more information on them. And try and track down the Ludars on your travels, they should be able to give you information as well"
"The Ludars, you've heard of them recently?" asked Stealth expectantly setting her empty cup on the table and leaning forward
"Not much, they were seen a few months ago, but you know what its like, trying to find a needle in a haystack if they decide to go awol"
"Who are the Ludars?" asked Amber
"Gypsy tribe of sorts, they travel around the island, tend to keep to themselves" replied Thomas "If they want you to find them, they will, no doubt as you go on your journey, if they are around, they'll know who you are and what your business is"
The conversation turned as Thomas started asking Amber and Jay of their experience with the Speleos.
"Well not all of the tribe have taken to the life easily," said Amber, thinking of Gel and Ram trying to understand the appeal of the way the Speleos lived.
"Cave dwelling isn't the way for everyone." Grinned Thomas
"Well I must admit I do miss a bit of luxury and civilisation" said Jay with a meek smile towards Stealth "No offence"
Stealth shrugged her shoulders and smiled herself
"Non taken, it certainly isn't for everyone as Thomas says," she replied before sitting up straight "Well I guess we should be getting back, we should be on our way, make a little headway before dark"
They all stood and Thomas shook both Amber and Jays hands.
"Good luck, I hope you find what you're looking for" he said in a serious tone
"Thanks" replied Amber warmly before she and Jay headed outside once more.
"Take care of yourself Stel," said Thomas, pulling her into a bear hug
"I will Thom, I'll come and see you when we return" she said "promise"
"I'll hold you too that," he grinned as she slipped out of the hug and headed to the door herself
He watched the three from his doorway as they headed towards the market once more, whispering silently a prayer to the gods for their safety.
Once back at the market, the three met up with the rest of the group who were slowly filtering their way back to the designated meeting place.
"You get everything you needed?" asked Sully to Stealth
"Yes, all sorted" she replied, as Sully pulled her into a bear hug
"Good Luck," he said softly "Stay safe"
"We will"
The others bid a quick farewell and they headed off on their way.
"So where to first?" asked Amber as they moved on from the market place and started heading up the sand dunes
"We stay on a south easterly heading for now. We're heading for a farm where we can rest for the night. Tomorrow we can head for the old monastery and see if there is anything to find out there"
"What exactly is at this old Monastery?" asked Jay
"It was abandoned for some time. Before the virus it was owned by monks, very private, they were rarely seen. It stayed abandoned when they died out, until the Chosen came to these shores, they too stayed pretty private, possibly building up there numbers slowly, working out the basis of their ideals I guess. Then they moved on too, although a few stayed behind. It was a while before we heard anything else of them, until it was heard that they had failed in cause. A lot arrived back here, but then again, they vanished. Like Thomas said, a new tribe took it over, and I guess they're more accommodating than the Chosen were".
By this time they'd gotten over the sand dunes and started along an abandoned road, empty save for themselves.
"Kes's farm isn't that far actually, we should be there well before nightfall, three or four hours at the most. The monastery is only a few hours on afterwards, they are both along the coastal routes so we don't have to venture too near the city at the moment"
"City life not that great huh?" asked Jack who'd fallen into step by Amber and Stealth as they walked
"Ran by the Skulls, there aren't many people to be trusted there," said Stealth shaking her head "They tend not to come out that far, they prefer their concrete surroundings rather than our wide open spaces. The city is a good days walk from here. I haven't been there in years"
"So you haven't lived by the coast all your life?" asked Amber
"No, I lived in the outskirts of the city when I was a kid. The coast was where came for holidays; we owned one of the beach huts the Gulls now use as their base. When the virus hit, my brother and I, we decided to come back here. We had happier memories here..."
Stealth broke off from talking, thinking of past memories of life before the virus.
They had ventured off the long road onto the flat fields, which surrounded them, behind them the cliffs became distant, in front, nothing but fields, some rolling up into large hills. Continuously to their left the horizon was of far reaching sea and sky meeting in inadvertent angles, blurring into milky vision. Small copses of trees dotted the landscape, here and there as the headed for a larger forest ahead of them.
As they reached the forest, they had a short rest, they hadn't been walking for long, but Stealth knew it would take them a little longer to go through the forest area.
Salene sat by Amber on a fallen tree trunk, setting her rucksack down at her feet and pulling a small gourd of water out from it.
"Its beautiful here isn't it?" she said, taking in the view
Amber nodded a soft smile on her lips
"Beautiful" she agreed
"Amber, do you think...do you think we'll find any of them?" asked Salene softly as they stared into the distance
"Honestly...yes I do, I just get this feeling, deep down inside, that we are going to find some, maybe one person, maybe five. I just, I don't know, I just have this feeling"
"I keep thinking, maybe if I believe hard enough that we will. Then I think I'm just fooling myself, that it's easier than believing the alternative," said Salene quietly
Amber slipped an arm around her friend as they sat.
"I've been thinking a lot the past few weeks, everything we've been through. We got so busy surviving that we never seemed to stop and see what we'd created for ourselves." Said Amber softly "Despite everything, we found each other. Despite not knowing each other we stuck together. We became a family, we became, I dunno, connected. I was thinking about the Gaians today, after what Thomas told us. The Ludars sound a lot like them. They'll find us if they want to. Remember how to find the gaians you just needed to wander sometimes, if they wanted to be found they'd find you, not the other way around. I guess we're like that, if our people want to be found, we will find them, however long it takes, we'll see everyone again one day"
"Yeah, I was thinking about them the other day. What with the virus outbreak, I just hope, I hope their all ok, I hope Mouse is ok" said Salene, her voice faltering as she thought of the little innocent girl she'd left in the tender care of the Gaian people.
"We both know how capable the Gaians are at looking out for themselves, they'll be fine" reassured Amber
Ebony sat by Slade, thinking about the journey they were undertaking.
"What you thinking about?" asked Slade softly into her ear, head bent close to hers
"Oh nothing much" sighed Ebony "Nothing important"
"You seem to be doing a lot of thinking about nothing," said Slade
Ebony sighed and slipped a hand into his. She was lying; her thoughts were busy and heavy and showed no sign of clearing. She had been wondering why she was there, the only reason Amber wanted her there was because they needed her fighting skills if they came across any problems. Was that all she meant to the others, a glorified heavy there to take on the dirty work. Wasn't that who she was, what she was? A street fighter, who was once a powerful leader of a rogue tribe, who wormed her way into the uneasy trust of another Tribe, with the potential to have equal power as the Locos but through honesty and hard work rather than, Power and Chaos.
She'd been drawn by that potential, but her own poisoned idea of how that power should be weaned had gained their distrust and caused them all to have a rocky relationship. More than once she'd screwed them over and more than once they'd welcomed her back, not with open arms, but still ever willing to offer another chance. Still why else would she be on this journey? She wasn't close to those they were looking for was she? Did she feel any loss at the missing Mallrats?
They were questions that had been on her mind the past few days
"I'm just trying to figure out why I'm here" whispered Ebony to Slade who was patiently watching her
"You're here because Amber asked you to be here. Because the others want you here" he replied
"They want me here for reassurance if anything goes wrong and they need out of a bad situation" said Ebony harshly
"Hey," said Slade, calming her as he brushed his lips along her neck speaking in hushed tones to her "Better to be wanted than not right? Look Ebony, they've offered you a new chance, to start over. After the first virus, we had to start over, and we did anyway we could. Now a second virus hit and we got thrown together, and we have to deal again, start over, give them a chance like they are giving you one"
Ebony sighed and turned her face to his with a soft smile
"God you can be a sap when you want to be you know that" she said with a giggle
"But?" grinned Slade
"But I guess you could be right" she replied before he pulled her into a soft kiss
The kiss was broken as a person in front of them cleared their throat. They both looked up to see Lex standing before them.
"If you two are quite finished, we're on the move again" he said "Don't worry, in a few hours, you'll be able to get a room"