The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC) BOOK 1

The Sky Raiders: 15

The quick decision surprised me. The buyer turned away, and an tall, muscled, stranger came into view. He gazed at us distrustfully.
He ordered us out of the cage, Cole went first, but I hesitated. We might never see Jenna or Dalton again if we leave know. And I have no doubt Cole was trying to find a way to escape now that we are out of the cage. But honestly, I didn't think it was a good idea. The guy would catch us. We had better chances just following orders.
"Come on, princess." The man said.
I jumped out of the wagon, landing beside Cole.
"Don't try anything," I whispered. "We have a better chance following orders."
He looked at me like he wanted to argue, but said nothing.
"This way." The man said, pointing to his caravan. He had a bondmark on his wrist too.
"Are you a slave to?" Cole asked. The man cuffed him around the ear, hard enough to knock him to the ground. I winced. He stayed down for a moment before getting up,
"Dont speak unless spoken to," the man said. "Get up."
The kids in the wagons were watching us,  looking scared. Jenna and Dalton looked worried.
Cole made a bad decision, and decided to fight back. He turned and kicked at the man's knee, hard. But the man swiveled, and caught Cole's ankle in one hand and knocked his other leg from under him, with a brisk kick.
Cole's back hit the ground with a flat slap. The wind must have been knocked out of him, because he struggled for breath.
"Got any fight left in you?" The man said. "I could do this all day."
"Just leave him alone." I said.
The man swung his arm, but I ducked.
"Huh," he said. "You got fast reflexes. That might keep you alive at the Raiders."
He started walking again. I yanked Cole to his feet, and we continued walking.
"Bye Happy!" Cole yelled.
"Bye!" Said a high pitched voice.
Several heads in that wagon swiveled toward the floor.
They kept walking. Well ahead of us, the buyer limped beside Ansel toward a group of burdened mules, who must have been pulling the caravan.
"Are those your mules?" Cole asked. Which earned a cuff on the year. Hard, but not hard enough to knock him down.
"You learn slower than most dogs," the man said. "Come on."
Cole opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off. "Stop talking."
The man's looked at me and nodded. "This one's got some sense."
I watch the wagons as we walked by. I saw Jenna, still in her dress and flower crown. I waved to her, trying my best not to cry.
"You guys were brave to come for us!" She called from her wagon. The other kids distanced themselves from her. "Tracy deserves to be run over by ever wagon in the line!"
I snorted softly, and I totally agreed. This is why she's my best friend.
She continued. "Their taking my wagon to the High King. Whatever that means." I gave her a thumbs up.
"This isn't over!" Cole called back. He ducked a swing from the man and dodged a kick, and jogged towards the wagon. I watched in horror as the man hit him over the head, hard. Cole curled up, cradling his skull in his hands.
"I misspoke," the man said. "I'm not willing to do this all day. Act up again, and we'll have to cart you to the brink in a wheelbarrow. On your feet."
I grabbed Cole by the arm and muttered just loud enough for him to hear. "Stop talking."
"Yes ma'am." He muttered back.
I smacked him lightly on the shoulder, smiling slightly, despite our situation. I saw Dalton in his cage, his clown makeup smeared and his costume dirty, he looked like the saddest clown ever. He shook his head, warning us not to speak. We nodded and Cole mouthed we'll find you.
Dalton waved, tears in his eyes. "We're going to the King too." He said, barely loud enough to hear. I nodded and waved at him, and we kept walking.
When we reached the mules, the buyer sat astride  a horse. A long haired man with a shiny burn scare on his chin rode next to him.
"Come here, slaves." He said. We walked over to him. "I heard to sassing Vidal. Don't speak to your betters unless we ask you a question. Is that hard to grasp?"
"I'm a quick learner," Cole said. "All it takes is a concussion or two." I elbowed him in the stomach, hard. He groaned and glared at me. I glared back.
The man laughed, holding up a hand to stay Vidal. "He was answering a question. At least one of you has some sense.
"And some sass." muttered Vidal.
The man turned to me. "A little spirit might serve you well at the Brink. A lot will serve you ill." He warned me. I nodded as he continued to me and Cole.
"You're not from here, so our treatment of slaves might seem barbaric, but you'd better get used to it. Even I don't personally cherish certain aspects of slavery, we're teaching you the order of things for your own good. I'm Durny, this is Ed, and we have some riding ahead of us. Your now the property of Adam Jones, owner of the Cliffside Salvage Yard and leader of the Sky Raiders. Don't make problems, or you'll pay dearly. Understand?" We both nodded.
He turned to Vidal. "Put them on mules, our business here is done."