The People We Are

Chapter 5

They had only been there for twelve minutes, but Evelyn was beginning to wish that Vanjeet's "friends" would leave.

Daiyu was short and muscled, with strong-looking legs. Her chestnut hair was cut roughly above her shoulders, and her eyes were a deep shade of brown, almost black. When she looked up, the pair of bronze earrings she was wearing shone in the light. She wore a pair of leather shorts and a pale green tunic that was definitely too small for her.

Daniella dressed in a more feminine fashion to her companion: a short, canary-yellow skirt matched with a brown blouse. She had long blond hair, blue eyes and was quite tall for her age. Her accent was vaguely Irish.

"So," Daiyu stated, after a few moments of awkward silence. "You're Evelyn."

"Yeah," Evelyn replied bluntly, picking at her nails. "So what?"

Vanjeet, from behind a shelf, grunted in annoyance; Daiyu looked at him, then to Evelyn. "No need to be so rude," she said irritably. "We're here to help you."

"Dai, go easy on her," Daniella murmured gently. Evelyn immediately noticed the slightly male tone in her voice, the only hint that she had once been a boy. However, apart from that, you could barely tell if you hadn't have known. She smiled at Evelyn reassuringly. "After all, this is a new situation for her."

"You're damn right, it is," Evelyn remarked. "First of all, what the blue heck is this Containment Control even thinking, and second of all, you want me to throw some knives or something?"

Daiyu gave a little smirk. "Snarky, aren't you?" she said. "To answer the second question, in a bit. To the first one..." She looked away for a moment, arms folded, leaning against a cabinet. She sighed. "They're narcissistic, arrogant members of the city's upper class. They're also religious, which is probably why they hated my dads so much, 'cause gay marriage is unacceptable in the Bible, from what I heard. Anyway, whatever, I don't care about that or know much about it. What matters is that the CC is an arrogant bunch of middle-age blokes who pretend to be woke, but are far from it."

"They nearly caught me once," Daniella muttered, frowning. "I was going to a hospital- a private one, so they wouldn't catch me, to have my reassignment surgery." She saw Evelyn's bemused look, and sighed. "More about that another time. But, anyway, one CC officer- a fat guy- asked me what I was doing. I told him the truth. Stupid. Next thing I knew, the transphobic guy had brought a dozen men onto me."

"No?!" Evelyn gasped.

"Yep." Daniella's face was a mask of barely disguised fury. "I managed to get away after punching one of the officers in the nuts. Glad I don't have those anymore," she joked, laughing a little. She stopped immediately when Vanjeet gave her a look. "Anyway, as I ran, I knew they'd be on to me until they caught me again. Bet they've still got me down on that list as 'Daniel Ward' as well."

Evelyn stared at the two women in front of her. "So you're being chased down by these people. And I could be in danger because you're with me, and you're wanted. So why did you invite me to your little gang?" She directed this question at Vanjeet, a little harshly than she meant to.

"Well," Vanjeet said slowly. "You were alone out there. And don't tell me you had your pigeon, 'cause that doesn't count. You needed people. Real life people. Admit it, you're enjoying the company really, aren't you?" He grinned.

Evelyn thought about it for a moment. Sure, she liked being by herself. Just her and Albert. But, at the same time, these people did genuinely seem to be trying to help her. Not just to hide, but apparently to fight back, too. They might be wanted by the Containment Control, but in the end, Evelyn was probably going to be put in an orphanage or somewhere anyway. Imprisonment didn't seem so foreboding when she thought of it like that. What did she have to lose?

"Maybe you're right," Evelyn replied. She looked around at the other Outcasts. "Don't mean I trust you all yet, though."

"Damn, she's hard to please, that one," Daiyu smirked, leaning forward. "Well, sis, as soon as you see me chuck a knife at a wall and stick it there first try, you'll change your mind. Believe me."

"So, what- that's your skill?" Evelyn asked.

"Damn right," Daiyu quipped proudly. "I'm like the Katniss Everdeen of the knife throwing world. And I got the most pull-ups out of all of us, don't I, Mr Smart Guy?" She threw a cocky glance at Vanjeet.

"Look, you beat me by one," he sighed, but smiled. "Don't be so overzealous."

"I can't do pull-ups to save my life," Daniella huffed. "But I can fight. And I can talk my way out of most situations. I'm very convincing, you see."

"Well, you convinced me to trust you, so that must be right," Evelyn smiled. Daniella beamed. "And what's your skill, Vanjeet?"

"Hmm." He thought for a moment. "Well, I can sneak around quite well in the dark. I can also speak Hindi, of course."

"Hindi doesn't count, dummy," Daiyu laughed. "I speak Mandarin, but I'm half-Chinese, so I don't see that as a skill. It's just your mother tongue."

"True, true," Vanjeet conceded. "Anyway, I can sneak around... What else? Oh, yeah, I can run. Really, really fast, and for a long time. Stamina." 

"Ah, I see," Evelyn said. She frowned to herself. "I don't have any skills, unless you count digging around in bins for food. And taming a pigeon."

Daniella laughed. "You'll find something, don't worry. Took me ages to learn I could fight. About three years!" She smiled. "It'll come to you. Don't worry. For now, though, just-"

BANG.

"The frick?" Daiyu immediately got up to her feet, withdrawing a knife that must have been hidden in her pocket. 

BANG.

"Uhh, Van?" Daniella got up, looking to Vanjeet for help. "You didn't invite anyone else, did you?"

Vanjeet shook his head, his eyes wide. "No. Which means-"

BANG.

CRASH.

Dust and debris flew into the air, stinging Evelyn's eyes. Blindly, she reached out for something, anything, to stop her falling. Her hands encountered only air.

She hit her head hard on the floor, vaguely registering Vanjeet screaming incoherently somewhere.

And then there was pitch black.