The Tribe

Chapter Eight

     It was easier than I thought. Mostly straight, one turn and the sun was bright enough to shine light through the man hole, making it ten times easier to find.  I climbed up the ladder, surprised by how heavy the slab actually was. I managed to push it out of the way though, and climb out.

     I did a quick scout of my surroundings before high tailing it out of there. On instinct I headed for the Loco camp. There was a high chance that Zoot wouldn't be there, but it was worth a shot anyway.

     Not being with the Locos, I finally understood how hard it must be to live on the streets. Always having to look over your shoulder, sleep with one eye open. At least in the mall you have a little bit of security, a lot of people sleep in skips, and cardboard forts.

     Because I've been away from the tribe for so long, there may be a small matter called 'desertion' which Zoot doesn't take lightly. Hopefully by bringing him the news of Trudy's baby, I would be let off an able to rejoin or exchange information for my freedom. That was the plan anyway, with Zoot ideas hardly ever went to plan.

|~|

"It's a girl!" Amber announced, as the mall could hear the screams of the little baby. The group cheered, Ryan louder than anybody as he had just won the bet. Adjusting themselves, they got to their feet, all of them gathering their little gifts.

     Salene let them all through and one by one they smiled at the baby and gave Trudy their present.
"Has anyone seen Maia?" Amber asked as the last person gave them their gift. "the last time I saw her I asked her to bring me some sheets."

     "No one's seen her since then?" Bray asked.

     Lex cast a sidewards smirk and Amber shook her head. "What, Lex?" She demanded.

     "Don't tell me it hasn't come to you losers yet?" Lex said. He waited, with his arms folded across his chest, staring at the rest of the group who cast unsure eyes at eachother.
"She's done a runner, back to her old tribe, to bring them here."

     Amber looked at Bray and Trudy. "She wouldn't, she agreed to our terms."

     "She agreed did she?" Lex mocked, "She's a Loco Amber, she lied."

     Amber cursed under her breath, "What are we going to do?" Amber looked at Bray. "We aren't equiped for something like this."

     "I'll go out, have a look for her. Perhaps this is a big misunderstanding." Bray said, grabbing his bag from the end of the bed, and his skateboard from outside the room.

     "Oh, it better be, or I'll scratch her eyes out." Zandra hissed.

|~|

     I could hear the sirens blaring somewhere close. Find the car, find Zoot. He wasn't at the camp, which is what I had already suspected. I ducked behind dumpsters, watching for people, strays, but most importantly, watching for the Locos. The sirens got louder, as I walked towards the end of the street. Before I turned, they did.

Ebony and Zoot, arm in arm riding the top of police car. The car stopped as soon as it saw me, and I had no doubt in my mind that Zoot was considering to run me over.
He looked just as ruthless as ever, and Ebony just had a calculating smile which she knew would make me feel uneasy.

Zoot and Ebony slid down the front of the car and walked towards me. He was not happy to see me, not at all.
     "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Those guys that tried to join our tribe, I followed them." Zoot tensed when I said 'our tribe'. I could feel Ebony's eyes bore into mine, even though I purposefully didn't look at them. "There, I met Trudy and Bray."

Zoot showed no sign of surprise or contentment. He kept his expression somber.     "What has this got to do with me?"

"The thing is, Trudy's gone into labor." I said, hoping to convey some emotion out of him. "And I believe the child's yours."

I said it slowly, low enough so that Ebony couldn't hear. Zoot still showed no emotion. He stood there, his dreadlocks blowing slightly in the wind. The lights were still flashing on the car, Locos surrounded it, ready to pounce into action on command. Suddenly my face swung to the side. A bolt of pain, shot through my cheek, and my hand flew up there as though I could numb the pain.

"You hit me." I muttered, forcing myself to remove the pain, anger and frustration from my eyes. He didn't say anything, only looked at me with narrow eyes and a tight jaw.
     "Believe what you want." I said, "from this point I don't care."

     Zoot's evil smirk spread, as though he had waited so long to hear those words escape my lips.
    "And you think you can just walk away from all this?" He asked.

     I shrugged, "I don't see why I can't."

     Zoot glanced back at his tribe. It felt like I was guinea pig, about to be part of an unplanned experiment.
     "You made a oath to me. And the only way out, is death. Is that your wish?"

     I saw Ebony snicker, her a wicked smile spreading across her face. I wanted to wipe it off her face with a sucker punch to the jaw. Instead, I challenged Zoot with a raised head, and pursed lips. He may have been able to walk all over me before, but now that I no longer accepted to be involved in his Tribe, I didn't really see much point in letting him tell me what to do any longer.

     "I'll tell you what." I said, leaning in close so that only Zoot could hear my whisper.
    "I'll take you to Trudy and the baby, and then you let me go. I'll leave the city, you don't follow me or harm in any way. What do you say?"

     Zoot leaned back, assessing my body language and facial expressions, deciding whether or not to trust me. He looked at me for awhile before finally saying something.
     "What makes you think that I should trust you."

     I raised my head even higher, hoping to show him that I was challenging his leadership role.
     "You can't. But let's be honest I have been by your side since this all started, did everything you asked me to do, I think I've proven myself."

     Zoot narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.
     "Very well." He said. "Meet me three days from now, in front of the rusty trains. And if you don't show, I have dogs that can hunt and I promise you i'll do things that will make you beg for death."

     "Three days from now. See you then." I turned my back, giving Ebony a nasty glare before I walked down the alleyway and back towards the mall.