The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 12

They peered at the small community in the pre-dawn light. They'd done a mixture of walking and running to stay warm in the chill night air. Now, they had problems. "So we need food, clothes, and water," Hokulani stated, to which he nodded agreement. "And we have no money, virtually no clothes, and are obviously not human, especially as we're nearly naked." He nodded again. "And we're obviously not from around here, given how pale we are." Another nod. "We're screwed."

"We're about to become thieves, unless you have a better idea." He could tell she was processing through the same data he had earlier. The punishment for stealing was brutal. Of course, the punishment for being some sort of Western Abomination would probably not be much greater. Further, Hokulani's attire was likely to be criminal, as well. ISIS didn't tolerate lewd women, and they still held significant influence in the area.

"We're in a bad spot, regardless. See anything promising?"

He scanned carefully. Nobody was moving, yet. All the homes were closed. Most were small, designed to keep the heat out, both by natural means and air conditioning. On the outskirts, the only advantage was they were more spread out, so if they could break in, they might be able to have time to deal with the consequences before anyone came to interfere.

Aoloa finally nodded towards a few somewhat isolated home not far away. "Let's see if we can see inside those. We want a home with both a man and woman. If we can break in and get out again without incident, that would be ideal. Regardless, we can't be seen in town during daylight, I suspect. Strangers will stick out."

With her nod of assent, they headed towards the homes. The first appeared to have a large family, more trouble than it was worth. The second had only a man living inside. The third had a couple with two small children. They switched to using their private comms link, using the software and HUD to communicate with each other instead of words.

Hokulani proved adept and picking locks with her nails. They were simple enough, and the two entered silently, closing the door softly behind them. Glancing over at her, Aoloa had to smile at her lithe figure as her eyes glowed softly in the light that leaked in through the windows. She matched his smile, before returning to their task at hand.

They avoided the children's room and slipped into the adults' room. Alarm clocks were the first issue. A quick inspection revealed they only had fifteen minutes before the alarms would go off and they would be discovered. He set a ten minute countdown on their HUDs as she began searching through the small closet.

After two minutes, they were rapidly pulling on the loose robes that would serve to protect and cover them. It was a shame to watch Hokulani wrap her head in the scarves, but they knew it was necessary. Next issue was water.

They'd successfully hunted up some food during their run to town, so that wasn't an issue, but they had to have water for the day. For that, they swiped a couple of canteens and got them filled with minimal effort. With two minutes left on the countdown, they slipped back out and locked the door.

"Now what?" she whispered.

"Someplace to hide and rest for the day." Looking over the barren landscape, he saw nothing promising. "Let's see if we can spot a building with an shaded roof. If we can tuck in, we'll probably be able to remain hidden. If not, we'll have to start traveling on foot towards the next town."

Hokulani gave him a pleading look. "I'm not a dog. I need to sleep."

He nodded agreement. "Me, too, but only if it's safe."

It took them a while, they got a few curious glances, before they found the ideal place. a two story building with a ledge they could tuck back on to weather the day. They had no trouble leaping up and hiding away on it. Then it was just a matter of sleeping the day away, sipping at their canteens regularly.