"I think you killed her, DG." Glitch said as he and DG watched Teagan, "She's been sitting by the stream for an hour now."
"I know, Glitch, but I don't understand why. It was after I told her about what has gone on the last two months that she pulled some note from her pocket."
"What did you tell her, little sister?" Azkadellia asked, walking up to the pair.
"Like I said, the last two months. My time here and the six weeks since the downfall of the witch." DG shrugged, "It wasn't until I mentioned the Longcoats."
"Well, I'm not surprised." Cain said, causing the others to jump, "Sorry, but think about it DG."
"What, besides her getting abducted, brought to the O.Z., force to…"
"Okay enough, DG. What I meant was that she is probably just being able to deal with everything. Did she say how longs she's been here?"
"A week at most, but she said that the first few days were spent in a haze. Teagan said she escaped with help and woke up with us." DG replied with a shrug.
"Teagan, that's her name?" Cain asked, seeing Raw and Jeb joining them, "You caught her right, Jeb? Was there anyone else?"
"No. She was by herself, besides the Lykainion." Jeb shrugged, "I was just surprised by how much energy she had. She was bad last night."
"That's what we're told. You and Glitch made sure Cain kept us from her, why?" Azkadellia asked.
"Yeah, she said she had blood dripping down her legs…" DG added.
"She looked like hell, Az." Jeb said, "Cuts lined her legs and arms and bruises were just everywhere. The kid basically ran until her body gave out."
"Believe us when we say it was better you didn't see." Glitch admitted, "She was almost Lykainion feed."
"Well, either way she's safe now, but what are we going to do? Does she know where the camp is?" Cain asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, we made a note of it on our map. It's up through the forest to the northwest and up the hillside." Jeb replied, "Hey, here she comes."
"How are ya, Teagan?" DG asked, "Oh, I know you met my sister Azkadellia, but the others here are Glitch, Jeb, who rescued you; Cain, and Raw. Raw is the healer I told you about." DG said, pointing to each of her friends.
"Nice to meet all of you. I'm not sure, DG. Just a lot to take in, but I wanted to thank you before I left."
"Whoa, before you 'left'? Where are you going, you don't know the way around the O.Z." Azkadellia stated, looking from Teagan to DG.
"I understand that and believe me I am grateful of your help. The guy that I ran from the camp with is waiting for me. I need to go so I can find this 'Realm of the Unwanted'." Teagan said, looking at the note in her hand again, "He said I would find you guys, but I need to go. He said he was going to help me and explain a lot more."
"Do you know who your contact is?" Cain asked, eyeing the young girl, "How can you trust him?"
"That's between myself and him, sir." Teagan replied, "He made… sure that the others in the camp didn't do anything."
"Can you at least stay long enough to explain about the camp?" Glitch asked.
"I'm not sure what to say. It's no military camp, that's for sure. The Longcoats as you call them, have made it more like some brothel." Teagan replied, "There is no discipline and mostly if the women aren't willing, they're taken, if you catch the idea."
"So what about you? You were taken…" Jeb wondered hesitantly.
"The Longcoats thought I was a young kid, before my real age got around." Teagan answered, "They thought I was like, thirteen or fourteen, but I'm really nineteen." She shrugged, trying to ignore the flashes of surprise, "Yeah, I'm small."
"At least it bought you time." Cain stated, looking around the camp, "Does your contact have a name?"
"He's an ex-Longcoat. I don't want to say anything that will jeopardize either of us." Teagan stated tightly, "No offense, but he has information for me."
Cain just huffed before walking away as Teagan was taken back. She looked to the others, but they didn't seemed to be fazed. They were either rolling their eyes or shaking their heads.
"Look, I am truly grateful for your help, but I have to go. I need to find this guy and according to his note, it's going to take me a good couple of hours just to get to the field this 'door' is at." She said before walking away, ignoring DG and Jeb's calls.
"Hey! You owe me your side of the story, remember?" DG finally said, watching Teagan stop in her tracks, "Come on, do you have to meet this guy now?"
"No, just by nightfall, but from the looks of the map he gave me it will take me a couple of hours at least to find this place." Teagan begged.
"Well, come let us hear your story then we will go from there. Maybe we could help you?" Azkadellia offered, "What harm could it do?"
"That's what I don't know, but I did make a deal with DG." Teagan sighed, rejoining the group, "What about Cain?"
"Don't worry about my father. He's like that… a lot." Jeb laughed, "Now, come and eat. DG said you only had some broth."
"Cain's your father?" Teagan asked, "Fooled me, but lead the way." She gestured, following Jeb as the rest fell in line behind her. She still felt weird, as if something was deeply wrong. Unfortunately, Teagan had been feeling that way since her arrival. Even better, a storm was rolling in, causing the group to hide inside one of the bigger huts.
Could this day get any better…?
Ask and you shall receive, Teagan drifted into her thoughts again. She was resting against the side of the hut they were all in, eyes closed and listening to the storm. Though more of a thunderstorm, rain had a lulling effect on Teagan as she waiting for Wyatt Cain.
He and Jeb were out making rounds to set up security and whatever else. Longcoats had been spotted a few miles away, making it harder for her to escape. All she wanted was to get to him, get her things and.
"Teagan, you awake?" Raw asked, shaking her shoulder before whispering, "Raw can feel what Teagan feels. Teagan doesn't want to stay?"
"It's not that, Raw." Teagan smiled, trying not to be a freaked out. Though she shouldn't be surprised by anything, but Raw's kind was still taking time getting use to, "My head and heart are in a lot of places at once."
"You sure like to be vague, you know that?" Cain said, walking through the door, "Is there any straight answer that you can give us?"
"Besides the fact that you're a dick? That's pretty straight forward." Teagan said, rising to her feet to meet Cain's glare, "Why are you so insistent that I talk? I have no idea where the hell I am or who to trust!"
"We saved you from the Longcoats and being food." Cain stated back, trying hard not to yell at the young woman.
"Like the Longcoats saved me from the storm. I feel I should trust you, but I can't and I'm sorry. You all are really freaking me out!" Teagan said, shoving past Cain and out into the storm.
"'Freaking me out'?" Cain asked, turning to DG, "She's scared of us."
"Yeah, I'll go get her." DG nodded, starting to head out the door.
"No way, Princess. You stay in here, out of the storm. I'll get her…" Cain said, pulling his hat further down, "All of you stay put." He rushed back out into the storm, quickly spotting the young woman.
Teagan was walking along the bank, heading upstream. She was doing her best ignore everything, including the storm. Cain had to run to catch up to her before she disappeared into the forest. Teagan was just to the edge of the tree line when she stopped dead.
With a quick flash of lightening, Cain was able to see a cloaked figure standing meters away. In the blink of an eye, Cain unholstered his gun and aimed it at the figure as he walked behind Teagan.
"Teagan, behind me." Cain ordered, "Show yourself."
"Oh Cain, is that anyway to greet an old friend?" The figured mocked, walking from the trees. The hood was pulled down and Cain immediately cocked his gun.
"It's you!" Teagan yelled, running from behind Cain and hugging the figure, "I thought you were hiding."
"I was, but I couldn't get to the Realm. Too many Longcoats patrolling."
"You have some nerve Zero." Cain said, aiming his gun between Zero's eyes, "Teagan, get away from him."
"No, he's the one I told you about." Teagan pleaded, "Don't shoot him."
"I just came by to give her this." Zero said, handing Teagan a small rut sack, "Buh bye." Zero said, turning on his heel and disappearing into the forest.
"Damnit!" Cain said, taking a few steps towards Teagan, "Now will you explain?" He asked, kneeling down to be eye level with the woman. Teagan just nodded and followed Cain back to the camp and into the hut. Neither said anything as he shook out his coat and fedora and Teagan found her spot back against the wall. She ignored the others as she went through her rut sack.
"Zero." Cain finally said, looking at the others, "Zero was her contact and the one that helped her escape."
"How do you know, she tell you?" DG asked, looking from Teagan to Cain.
"No, he met us at the tree line, by the stream. He came, gave Teagan that sack and ran off." Cain replied, sitting at the table, "She agreed to explain herself."
Catching the hint, Teagan placed the sack aside and stared at the others, "Want me to tell a story or just answer your questions?"
"Just a quick rundown, hon." Azkadellia smiled, "We just want to know what is going on within the Longcoat camp."
"Okay, basically I was walking to my brother's. I was on the main road to this 'ugly' town when I saw the Longcoats for the first time. There were only a few of them, but they were talking about a trip of ages. Saying that if people went with them that untold wealth in all varieties would be at their disposal.
"Many of the citizens went along with this idea. Mainly because most of these people were killers, thieves, or prostitutes, so that is what you are up against. As far as I go, I found my brother's house, but no one was there. Though I saw foul play, as if someone had ransacked his house.
"That's when the Longcoats found me. Seeing me snoop around the house, they ambushed, tied and blindfolded me. I heard the storm before I saw it, having wiggled the blindfold. Then I blacked out and found myself in the home of the Zero, the under house arrest ex-Longcoat." Teagan finished.
"Well, we will take this into account of our mission. Why not rest some more, see what Zero brought you?" Glitch said, nodding to the others.
When the group was crowded around Cain at the table, no one had really anything to say. No one knew what to say or do, yet, "How bad is this, DG?"