The Strayers

Felice and I were sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea, when Mirenda came in. “Are you two ever going to sleep?” she muttered, slightly irritated, as she walked over to a small shelf where each of us keptour medication. In Vastor, there are no pharmacies in the normal sense, infact, there is very little here that is normal. Most of the time, you boughtmedicine from dealers who regularly traveled abroad, or you went yourself.People outside Vastor did not like seeing us. There were more prejudices aboutus than one could even count: dangerous, animalistic, uncivilized, and so on.

Felice nodded and stretched a little. “What aboutyou?” she asked Mirenda while carrying her cup to the sink. The candles, our only source of light, flickered slightly.

Just as Mirenda was about to answer, her Shadowfunk beeped. Felice and I exchanged a glance while our, you might call her adoptive mother, accepted the incoming call witha small button on the device.

“Mirenda here,” she said coldly, while she had astrange look in her eyes i couldn’t quite read.

Each of us has a Shadowfunk, though it is usually only used in emergencies.

Her face twitches as she pressed the small device toher ear and stared at us.

“Understood,” she said simply before letting the thing disappear back into her pocket.

“Kador has been taken hostage by the Lizards,” shehissed. “Mission gone wrong but that just opened a new chance…”

The Lizards were, just like us, a group of people who got together when the land collapsed. There were many such groups, and more kept forming. They fought each other to seize food and places to sleep. And most of all: they try to become the next leaders of the county to rebuild it.

I don’t really know why they call themselves the Lizards. Maybe because they’re always there. Hiding. Watching. Waiting. Youdon’t see them until it’s too late. But i feel like they’re overestimating themselves. They’re the fifth rank. Us, the Strayers and the Wardens have been fighting over the first rank for as long as anyone remembers.

Felice and I look at each other. No words. We bothknow. We move at the same time.

We couldn’t be more different. Felice is probablythe prettiest girl in Vastor, but that’s not even the thing people remember.It’s the way she carries herself. Like everything is a stage. Like every moment matters. She lives for it. For the tension, the eyes on her, the drama.

I don’t.

Most of the time, I feel like I’m just there. LikeI’m filling space. Drama doesn’t pull me in. It makes my stomach turn. It’s like watching a bad horror movie. Still, we make a good team.

The others treat us like we’re Mirenda’s right and left hand. They’re not wrong. She just never says it. She doesn’t separate us.To her, we’re all the same. All her kids. Blood never mattered.

“Take care,” Mirenda says as we pass her.

She lowers herself into the chair slowly, like eventhat takes effort now. She doesn’t come to fight with us anymore.

It’s strange to think that she was nine wheneverything fell apart. Nine, and already someone people feared. She did whatshe had to. Stole. Killed. Learned fast.

She survived alone.

In Vastor being alone is a death sentence but sheused to kill gang members just to take what marked them as part of something.Wore it so no one would look too closely. Because people mostly don’t attackgroups. They attack the ones who have no one.

But that version of her is gone. A bullet throughher shoulder made sure of that.

“Where are the others?” Felice asks, already pullingon her vest.

“On the roofs. Around the Lizards’ base,” Mirendaanswers without looking up. “Don’t even bother taking a hostage. They won’tcare if a member lives or die.”

We nod. It’s weird how the Lizards care so littlefor each other while we’re like a big family. We’d never let someone hang, ourcollars symbolize that.

The roof is rough under my arms. Cold seeps throughmy clothes as I lie flat, barely moving.

Below us, the backyard looks smaller than Iexpected. Closed in. Too closed in.

No easy exits. Felice steps into it like she ownsthat place. The rules were: come alone and bring all of our shadowfunks inexchange for Kadors life.

Their leader is already there. Two others stand withhim, holding Kador in place, a blade pressed against his throat. The weirdlyshaped sunglasses catch the light in a way that makes it hard to see theireyes. Stupid signature. Why would you choose something that makes it impossibleto see at night.

Felice’s collar makes a soft sound as she moves. Shetilts her chin just enough for it to show. The leader notices. He points at herbackpack, symbolizing he wants proof first.

Felice smiles. Of course she does.

“You dirty crawlers,” she says, her voice light,almost amused. “Too stupid to get your own funks?”

I exhale slowly through my nose. Not now.

The air feels heavier here. Colder. Like something’soff, even though nothing has happened yet. I glance at Arlo. He’s alreadylaying next to me, completely still.

We don’t need to talk. Below, Felice lifts herhands. Two fingers formed like a gun. A gesture that would look ridiculousanywhere else. Here, it’s a signal.

The leader laughs. “You Strayers shoot with yourfingers? Now I’ve seen everything.”

For a moment, nothing moves. Then two shots breakthe silence. Both of his people drop at once.

The sound echoes between the walls, too loud, toosharp.

Felice doesn’t flinch. She blows lightly over herfingers like it was her, and of course she had to wink at Nero, the leader. Hefreezes.

“What did you do?” he says. Not shouting this time.Just… confused.

I don’t take my eye off the scope.

Next to me, Arlo lets out a quiet breath that mightbe a laugh.

“How do they survive like this?” he mutters.

“Luck,” I whisper.

Below, Kador is already moving. He slips free,closes the distance, and reaches into Felice’s backpack.

“You want Shadowfunks?” he says quietly. “I think abullet in your head will suit you better.”

The leader doesn’t react.

“Where are the others?” Kador asks. “You didn’t comehere with just two people.” Silence.

Then a soft beep in our funks earpieces.

Mirenda. “End it. Then come back.”

“Understood.” we whisper

Arlo fires before Kador even pulls the weapon fromthe bag pack . Nero drops instantly.

For a second, everything is still again.

Too still.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say quietly.

Because this isn’t over. It never is.

Somewhere out there, the rest of them are watching.And next time, they won’t make the same mistake.

We run across the roofs back to our base. I thinkthat’s what makes us the Strayers. We climb, we move, we run everywhere. Still,I can’t stop thinking that the collars are a stupid signature. I’m not afucking dog you can take for walks. None of us are. But if Mirenda chose it, wewear it.

I sigh while Kador keeps complaining that he didn’tget the chance to hang Nero’s head at the entrance of the Lizards’ base.

Beside of kadors mutters we make no sound while werace over the roofs of the destroyed city.

Suddenly, Arlo stops and looks up into the sky. Healways does that when he tries to focus on something he just heard. With asmall gesture, I signal the others to stop so he can listen.

Arlo has incredible hearing, but unfortunately hiseyesight is terrible.

“I hear a child crying,” he whispers, still staringinto the night sky.

Felice and I exchange a look, already knowing whatthat means.

“Follow me,” he whispers, climbing down the side ofthe building with incredible speed. We all follow him.

The air feels tense.

“Something is wrong,” Kador and I whisper at thesame time.

We spot the child. Beaten up, nothing but skin andbones. It’s like I can feel Felice’s heart break at the sight.

“Back up!” Arlo shouts at us. But it’s too late.Everything happens too fast.

At least twenty Lizards jump out their hiding spotsand point their guns at us. A trap.

“Good evening,” hisses one of them. Silvia. Nero’sclosest companion and she wears a dirty grin.

“The oh so ruthless Strayers,” she says mockingly.“Or should I say scrap dogs?” She tilts her head. “You don’t even flinch whenkilling a thousand people, but you run straight into a trap the moment you heara crying child.”

She laughs. I grit my teeth. This is not good. Notgood at all.

I look around to see who actually followed us downfrom the roofs. Maelis is gone.

She’s only fourteen, our newest member. We found herthe same way we found that child, the one that turned out to be a bait.

Almost all of us were found like that at some point.In a world like this, nobody wants a child. Nobody wants another mouth to feedwhen they barely have enough for themselves.

And yet, babies happen by accident. And most of thetime, they end up in some alley, left to die. Felice and I were one of them.

Mirenda has a big heart. Maybe too big.

So every time she found a baby or a child, she tookthem in, fed them, trained them, even when she had almost nothing. That’s howthe Strayers came together.

Now we’re known. Respected. Others join us too. Butwe never forgot our codex: a child in need becomes part of the family.

And now it looks like that might be our downfall.

Silvia hisses like a snake as she circles the cryingboy like a predator. And like always Kador can’t hide the disgust on his face.“Holy shit, that’s embarrassing,” he mutters. Silvia’s glare snaps up to him.“Embarrassing?”

I close my eyes for a second, hoping he’ll juststop. We are really not in a position to make things worse.

“Yeah, embarrassing. Just because you callyourselves Lizards doesn’t make it any less pathetic when you hiss like one,”he says with a quiet laugh. My stomach tightens. Silvia is shaking with anger,barely holding it together. “It’s like we’d start barking at you just becausewe’re Strayers.”

He really doesn’t know when to stop.

“Shoot him!” she screams fumming. One of her menraises his gun, finger resting on the trigger as he takes aim. For a moment,everything seems to hold still.

But he doesn’t fire.

He just freezes, eyes wide, like something caughthim off guard. The silence that follows is heavy. So quiet I can hear my pulsein my ears.

Slowly, he drops to his knees.

And finally reveals what’s behind him.

Maelis.

My chest tightens. She stands there, blood drippingfrom the blade in her hand, looking straight at me with that same expression.Always searching. Waiting for a sign that she did something right. I know shewould do anything just to hear someone say they’re proud of her.

Silvia is still focused on Kador, expecting him tofall, not even noticing that one of her men is already down.

“SHOOT!” she shouts again, turning around angry andimpatient.

“Now,” I whisper.

Everything breaks at once.

Voices rise, movement everywhere. The Lizards shout,hissing curses as the tension snaps. I move quickly, climbing up onto the roofto get distance. Close fights were never my strength. Distance is.

From above, I force myself to focus, to analyze.

Something isn’t right. Only three of them areactually firing.

Why?

I lift the scope, trying to follow the movementbelow, but it’s too tight, too fast. One wrong shot and I could hit one ofours.

“Stop!”

The word cuts through everything. All movementfreezes.

I look down. Silvia is holding the knife close tothe child again, her grip tense.

Not good.

My earpiece crackles. Mirenda’s voice is sharp.“Where the hell are you?”

I clench my jaw, knowing I can’t answer right now.

Silvia straightens slowly, and that thin grinspreads across her face again. “Listen up, doggies. You give me yourShadowfunks and your weapons, and the child lives. The rest of you walk away.”

And then it clicks. They’re running low!

That’s why only three of them were shooting.

No one moves. No one even dares to breathe.

The Shadowfunks are everything. Without them, welose each other. We fall apart. It’s our only chance to communicate sincemembers are literally straying all over the city. Selas built them for exactlythat reason, an old friend of Mirenda, obsessed with tech and smart enough tokeep us connected when everything else fell apart.

But our codex is law. A child in need becomesfamily. And right now, that rule might cost us everything.

I slowly realize that I’m lost. I don’t know what todo, and that might be the worst feeling there is. My brain races through everypossibility, but none of them feel right. If I shoot silvia, another Lizardwill kill the boy. If I don’t...

“You wish,” Kador hisses. “That boy means nothing tous.”

My heart drops. What the fuck? I can see how tensehis shoulders are. He’s bluffing! Trying to make her believe she can’t putpressure on us with that hostage.

Felice nods slowly. “Who is he to us?” Her voice issteady and icecold. That girl belongs in Hollywood, not in this dirt hole. Ijust know her skin is crawling as she speaks, but she doesn't flinch.

Silvia lets out an angry, shrill scream. Before Ican even process what’s happening, she drives the blade across the boy’sthroat.

Everything freezes. For one second, time stops. Theearth itself seems to stay still. Then, reality crashes back in: we fucked up.

Instinct takes over. I pull the trigger, aimingstraight for Silvia’s head.

But the moment breaks. It’s not clean. My throat isdry, my pulse is everywhere, and I miss. I only hit her shoulder.

How the hell is this possible? I don’t miss. i nevermiss!

Kador is the first to snap back into action. Helunges forward, wrapping his arm around Silvia’s throat. Tight. I watch as herface slowly turns purple. I’ve seen that sight a million times, but I worryabout Maelis. She’s too young for this.

But there’s no time to think. I grab my sniper andclimb down from the roof with practiced speed. As my boots hit the ground, Itake a deep, steadying breath.

“Lizards, listen up!” I shout, my voice echoing inthe silence. “Your leader is dead. His closest companion has maybe two minutesleft before she runs out of air.” I pray with every pore of my body thatthey’ll actually care about saving one of their own. Just this once.

“Drop your weapons and leave,” I hiss, staringstraight into those black sunglasses. “We’ll let Silvia go once you’re out ofsight. We know where your base is now, and our people won't hesitate to blowthe whole place to hell if you don't listen.”

The adrenaline makes me feel like my veins are aboutto explode.

“Oh, and give me my Shadowfunk back,” Kador adds,his tone annoyingly chill. That guy will be the death of me one day.

The Lizards exchange stressed glares while Silviamakes horrible, choking noises. The veins in her eyes begin to pop, turning thewhites into a dark, bloody red. They’re tense, but so are we. Finally, one ofthem drops his gun, and the others follow. They run toward a secret entranceand slam the trapdoor shut behind them.

The tension doesn't break. Felice runs toward theboy while Kador finally lets go of Silvia's throat. She collapses, gasping andchoking for air as she sinks to the ground. Felice kneels by the boy,desperately searching for a pulse.

“Don’t bother,” Silvia chokes out, a cruel rasp inher voice. “If I want to kill a rat, I do it right.”

That’s too much . Way too much.

Felice jumps up, twirls in the air, and kicksSilvia’s head with unbelievable force. A gut wrenching crack rings out throughthe alley. I quickly press Maelis’s face into my chest, trying to shield herfrom the sight.

Silvia is dead. That’s for sure.

On the way home, we run in silence while the sunbegins to rise. Luckily, one of the Lizards actually dropped Kador’s Shadowfunkbefore running off. But this fight isn't over. We broke the deal to let Silvialive, and we killed their leader. A massive revenge must be waiting for us.

Still, for now, I know they can’t attack. Lizardsaren't known for their intelligence, they rely on dirty play and luck. Andright now, they’re running low on weapons and ammo. With both Nero and Silviadead, they must be in total chaos.

No one says a word until we reach the woods wherethe entrance to our bunker is hidden. Inside, a furious Mirenda is waiting. Shescreams at us for what feels like half an hour before she finally stops.

“I’m glad you’re all alive,” she mutters, turning onher heel to head to bed.

We all stare at the ground. None of us dared to tellher how badly we fucked up, or that an innocent child had to die because of it.

We head to the sleeping quarters, filled with rowsof bunk beds. We all sleep together. Young, old, male, female. Except forMirenda. It's not because we love being crowded, it’s just safer and morepractical.

Before I climb into my own bed, I walk over toMaelis and tuck her in.

“Good night,” I whisper. My heart wrenches as shedoesn’t answer, just staring blankly into the air. “Oh, and Maelis?”

She hums softly.

“You did great today,” I whisper, pulling myselftogether. “I’m proud of you.”

She finally looks at me. “Really?”

I nod with a forced smile. “Really.”