The Lantern Bearers

chapter 37: a bitter farewell, a hollow end

As i held them at gunpoint, Yui was ready in case they tried anything.

"Uhm....." said the woman.

I ked at her and pointed my gun at her, to which she jumped, startled by my sudden movement.

"Alright, tell me who you are and what you want." I demanded.

"Hol' up there pardner! We're unarmed and mean no harm or trouble! My name is Sazuka and this is Xylu! We don't mean y'all no harm! Just didn't take into account that there'd be campers on the road!" She said, shaking a bit.

Xylu would remain level headed and calm, even at gunpoint. However, i instantly knew who he was, the Shadow Strider. He's a hybrid agent that works under the Hive Strider as part of the raid unit, and as part of the same assassin unit karma is over. He is deemed the runt of the corp, due to his age and green experience, a rookie if you will.

Upon further inspection, i would note then spliced cat parts on his body. The cat-like claws, the tail, ears, fur patches, and thin whiskers that were barely visible.

He is part of an artificial "race" known as "the spliced". Humans that were subjugated to animal/human hybrid operations, all in the name of a sick goal to make "super soldiers" for the Capital.

A true wonderland of hypocrisy and ulterior motives, despite saying and preaching that "it's the safest place on earth and has many opportunities!".....what a load of shit.

"What do we do master? That truck is rather large and could carry us all, as well as our cargo." Yui commented.

I would stare into Sazuka's eyes for any sign of deceit or trickery, all i found was fear and submission.

I lowered my gun and sighed.

"Listen, we need to borrow your truck. We have a young mother of sixteen that just gave birth to a child yesterday...i think. I lost track of time. We need to get them both to the-" i said before she interrupted me.

"Say no more, sugah plum! We be happier than a possum in a fruit field to help you folks out! That sounds plumb serious!" Sazuka said.....colorfully.

"Very much so, she had to give birth without any pain medication and on an old couch no less. Luckily, a friend of ours was experienced in childbirth with his own kids." I explained.

"Thank goodness!" She said with a sigh of relief.

"Can we trust them?" Xylu said abruptly.

"Huh? What do you mean, sugah?" Sazuka said.

"How can we trust them? They have guns, we have a vehicle, and those are hard to come by! What if they knock us in the head or something??" He said.

Yui looked at me.

"Master....." she said with a worried tone.

"Ya know.....a glow in the dark, is a glow of opportunity." I said to him.

He was stunned by the phrase, but showed subtle signs. The girls were puzzled by it, but xylu knew what it meant. It was a phrase that belonged strider to strider to see if they were still a strider or if someone took their cloak and killed them.

I tilted my head and nodded towards a nearby rock, as if to beckon him to talk in private. He would nod and followed as we both walked over there.

Once we were out of earshot, we started the conversation.

"Shadow strider, you gotta leave the organization while you can." I said bluntly.

"Why should i? It's high pay, my room there is top of the line and clean, fresh clean food and drink! All i have to do is kill people i don't give a rats ass about! Sounds like a great deal to me!" He said with a smirk.