Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 8 - UNPROVOKED

Yes, this is a day late, but it's twice the length of a normal chapter, so I'll just assume I'm forgiven. Welcome to Pakistan, Denmark, Sweden and Indonesia :)

Sam came around the corner. His trolley was nearly overflowing with food, so he'd done better than me. He stopped just beside the Tesco employee and plastered on a tired smile. "What's going on?"

"Are these your children, sir?"

"No, they're my brothers," Sam said. "Adopted — if you're wondering about the resemblance. Is their word good enough, or do we have to go and fetch their birth certificates?"

We definitely did not have their birth certificates, so this had better work. The man glanced between Sam and the boys and me, his eyes narrowing. He'd clearly given up on all four of us.

"They're disagreeing, actually," he sighed.

Sam caught Matty's eye and held it. "Have you been telling lies again, kiddo?"

Matty wasn't scared of him. No one was scared of him — he was a big teddy bear. No, Sam got his obedience by emotional blackmail, and it worked every single damn time. Even as I watched, Matty began to fiddle with the zip of his jacket and shift his weight from foot to foot.

"Yeah, we have," the boy muttered. He turned to the human with a sheepish smile. "Can we go now?"

"I suppose so," he said. "But if I hear another disturbance, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"They aren't going to make a sound," Sam promised. He took the boys by their collars and marched them towards me. I caught handfuls of their jackets and turned them around, ready for our escape. With my body as cover, I knocked their heads together, which only made them laugh, of course.

"Ha," Poppy shouted at them. "Shit brains."

The Tesco employee frowned at her, but we were already heading down the aisle. We were pretty damn far from the cheese section. Sam and I were going as fast as we could without drawing attention to ourselves. The boys followed at our heels of their own accord, nearly tripping over their own feet as they tried to keep up.

"I hope you're proud of yourselves," I told them. "There's flockies here."

"Really?" Ahmed demanded, looking far too excited for my liking. "Awesome."

"We can help," Matty insisted. "We can fight 'em."

"No, you can't," Sam said sternly. "If anyone throws a punch, you two are going to take Jess and Poppy to the nearest humans and look pathetic."

Matty and Ahmed exchanged dismayed looks. "We are not."

"Yes, you are, or you can explain to Skye that the girls got hurt because you were too busy playing at being raiders."

Twin groans. They didn't complain again, though — underneath all the bullshit, they were good kids.

"What's the plan?" I asked Sam.

"You're the only raider here, Eva. You're in charge," he told me. "So ... what is the plan?"

I winced. I didn't like being in the spotlight much — dangerous situations weren't half as fun when you were the one responsible for getting everyone out in one piece. "I was thinking we could just bail...?"

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's Bryn. Give him five minutes and they'll be feeding him cookies and milk."

"It's Bryn," Sam said, wincing. "He's going to get his pretty head smashed in."

"And would that be so awful?" I leaned on my trolley and let it carry me for a few steps. "I've had a headache since the day he was born."