Cruel World (The Tribe Book 1)

2. Friend or Fiend? (Pt II)

Amber is quick to respond, while everyone else remains in shock.

"How do you get to the sewers?" she asks, looking between Jack and I. "Down past the old stalls, past the back stairs, metal doors, haven't been secured," Jack answers.

"Alright you three, decision time. If you want to stay, you play by my rules, and you play fair. If not, I have no problem selling you to Zoot. What will it be?" I shoot at them, looking at Lex in particular. He reluctantly nods, so I tell Jack to pull up the grate and let them into the mall.

"Alright, Zandra and Salene, take the kids up to the café, keep them distracted and keep them quiet till we know what's going on, please. Amber and Dal, you guys scout and tell us if you hear someone in the sewers, Lex and Ryan go with them please in case something happens."

And with that, everyone does what they're asked without complaint, sensing the tone of authority and deciding not to test it. Jack comes downstairs and we wait for the four to come back. We hear the door creak open as they enter the sewers, along with the squeaking of rats, when we hear the scraping of the manhole cover moving.

Everything goes quiet, until Lex and Ryan chase after them, following them out into the city outside.

3rd Person POV

As the pair chase the intruder, they notice the limp, regardless of his speed. They chase him along the train lines, eventually losing sight of him at the creek bridge. Without knowing, the run directly over his head, as he hides in the pipe underneath, waiting for the footsteps to die off before coming back out.

Lex and Ryan run too far and end up in the Locos trainyard, witnessing a mass bonfire where the Locos are burning old books. Seeing a chance, they run off, as the Locos are not aware of their involvement with Jack and Alleia.

Back at the mall, Jack has joined Amber and Dal outside the sewers with a few crude weapons, waiting in case the intruder comes back. They hear footsteps and quickly cease talking, with Amber leading them into the sewers to find the source. They don't even make it down the steps before coming upon him.

"It's alright, put down your weapons. I'm a friend."

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Alleia's POV

I hear the footsteps walking back from the sewers and stiffen in my place, giving Salene a look telling them to stay there. I walk towards the other side of the mall where the sewers lie, and call out.

"Jack, you alright?" I call. "Yeah," echoes back to me, "We have the guy, says he means us no harm." They come around the corner, and my breathe leaves my body when I see who is with them.

"Bray?"

"Oh my god, Leia," he mutters, before closing the distance and bringing me into a hug.

It takes a second before I hug him back, eyes tearing up at the sight of my best friend from before. The hug ends and I turn to everyone, Jack having realised who he is, smiles lightly before calling up to the girls and Paul saying it's safe. We carry on up the stairs to the rest of the group, where he introduces himself and goes through a mini interrogation.

"Where did you come from? How do you know Alleia?" Zandra asks, eyeing him up a bit.

"She is, or was I guess, my best friend before the virus hit, and some stuff happened. I don't mean any harm, I've been travelling around looking for somewhere safe to stay a while," Bray says, but I could sense he was leaving something out. I realise it must be about Trudy and I make a mental note to ask later when we are alone.

While the group waits for Lex and Ryan to return, Bray entertains the little ones with old magic tricks. I watch from a distance, as I prepare some veggie risotto, cutting up some watermelon from our roof garden for people who want it, while I wait for the risotto to finish cooking.

I smile at the joy in the kids eyes, remembering how Bray has always been great with kids. I finish up the food and put the watermelon slices on the bench for people to take and serve everyone with food, putting less for the kids as they won't eat as much, and giving the older kids equal amounts.

At this time, Lex and Ryan come up the steps, Lex going red when he sees the intruder in the group.

"What's he doing here?" "Stop it Lex, he just wants shelter. Besides, Alleia made food," Amber cuts in.

"He ain't getting any till he calms the hell down," I call from the back of the café, leaning against the wall and observing as I eat my food.

"Can't he speak for himself?" Lex asks, briefly acknowledging me with a nod. "We've already got one deaf one here -."

"LEX!" I shout, death glaring. He goes slightly pale knowing he's pissed me off, and decides to take another route.

"Bray are you dumb?" "I don't shoot my mouth off Lex, do you call that dumb?" Bray dishes back, smirking ever so slightly at him.

Lex glares back, but shuts his mouth. At this, I give him food, having already given it to Ryan, and he sits quietly and eats, accepting defeat and knowing that I would have already made a choice if he was trustworthy or not.

We finish up dinner, Amber deciding she will clean up and practically pushing me out of the kitchen when I try to help, both of us laughing hard. I concede and make my way to the kids room, tucking them in, reading them a story and giving Cloe her teddy from Ryan.

Once all the kids fell asleep, I stop reading, quietly getting up and placing the book on a table. I make my way downstairs to find Bray in the old surf shop, deciding now is the time to talk about my concerns.

"I don't believe for a second that you would've left Trudy, not when she's pregnant. Where are you keeping her right now?" I ask bluntly. He sits there gaping like a fish for a while, before telling me she's in the old tunnels.

"Bray you've gotta go get her, you can't leave her much longer on her own, and without food." With that, I lead him to the café, grabbing some tinned fruit for Trudy, knowing she's vegetarian. He leaves through the sewers early in the morning to get her, me seeing him off and keeping watch until he's gone.

"And now we wait for the others to wake up."

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The other are up, and boy have they noticed. Most trust me when I say he'll be back and he hasn't stolen for no reason, but some (Lex) want to keep picking a fight. He opens his mouth to kick off when the sewer door opens, and footsteps are heard. He and I are at the bottom of the group, halfway down the stairs when Bray comes around with Trudy.

"Alleia?" Trudy exclaims, shocked at the sight of me. "Hey Trudy. How's the baby?"