U.S.S.A HellField

Chapter 14 An eyeing stranger

Ajeej was silent the entire time we escorted him to the buggy. After I put him in the back with his hands cuffed, I looked back at where I saw that light but there was nothing there but empty clifftops. I got in the front with Alice then drove us away from the Astutia family estate, I couldn't help but get that terrible feeling in my gut that I had done something awful. - "I saw how you were fighting her, I couldn't help but see that you still fight like how you normally would, you have more strength and as much speed as I do if not more, yet you still fight like a normal person." Alice said while admiring the knife in her hand. - "I am a normal person, I just fight in the only way I know how to, the way I've learned to. Just with a few added tools here and there. and as soon as we get home I'm never putting this armor on again." She said. I hoped that would be sooner rather than later, this place seemed to be getting more dangerous the longer we were here.

- "How did you find us? Our home has been kept a secret since before my great-grandmother was even born." He said as if he was pleading for an answer, should I tell him it was all his fault or make something up? It's not like he deserves a comforting lie. - "Show him the rocks." I said to Alice. She pulled out several of the garden rocks from a pocket and showed them to him. - "How were you able to track me from a few pebbles?" I'll have to leave that up to Alice to explain, even though I didn't quite fully understand how other than from when we found his vehicle's tire tracks. - "Let's just say you left us enough of a breadcrumb trail to lead us to you." I could see his confused expression in the rearview mirror. - "What is a breadcrumb trail? I have never heard of that before." Alice looked exasperated, I just shrugged at her. - "Oh my bad, I suppose you wouldn't know human terminology." I swear if there was one word I could use to describe Bi'lans whenever I spoke to them, it would be...confused. -"Human, is that what you two are?" He asked us. - "Yes." I answered.

It took us 30 minutes to get to Bloodrust. I liked this lack of traffic, though there were a few vehicles on the road, luckily none of them seemed to be pirates. After we turned him in, we needed to get our stuff and find a new place to stay in the meantime. When we got to the parking lot, there was a large carriage with two of those horse\camel creatures attached to it, there was also a guard there protecting the carriage. I got out and went to get our bounty from the back. I opened the backdoor and pulled him out, surprisingly, he didn't even resist. We walked him to the front gate, he was taking his sweet time. - "Hey, who's this red-blooded sap you're dragging in?" The guard asked, hissing almost like a snake. -"This is Ajeej Astutia." I said, pushing him forward. - "Really? Oh wow, it is him, where was the little bastard hiding?" I wasn't sure if telling them was a good idea, these idiots would likely get themselves killed raiding the place. - "He was hiding out in the middle of nowhere, thought he could hide out in the fields." I wasn't sure if they'd buy it this time, just had to hope they would.

-"Damn green rats, always scurrying in the fields, if you hadn't caught him then one of the Eldlitches would've." What the hell was an Eldlitch? Doesn't sound like an animal. The other guard behind him smacked him on the head with his upper arm, the - "Don't say their name out loud you idiot, you want to attract them heThese these people still held onto primitive superstitions but seeing how dangerous this place is, maybe they had good reason to be. The guard I was talking to rubbed his head and then apologized. -"One thing, where do I take living bounties?" I asked. - "Oh, yeah right you're new here, take him over to the precinct. It's on the hill above the guild." He said, gesturing with 3 of his 4 hands.- "We're done here now?" I asked matter of factly. "Yeah go on ahead." I nodded then we entered the town. - "Why did you lie to them about where you found me?" He questioned me. - "It's because he's a big softy. You're lucky he's being so nice" Alice said, nudging me. - "No, there's no point in telling them, we're not here to fix problems, we just want to leave." Ajeej didn't say anything.