“This is a gang settlement?” I asked, my pulse quickening.
“Depends what you mean,” he answered. “Gangs don’t live there, but they control it. The villagers trade almost everything they have to gangs for protection. It’s constantly changing hands, though. Last time we were there, it was held by the Skulls.”
I couldn’t suppress a giggle. “The Skulls? That’s so cheesy.”
John’s lips twitched. “Yeah, well, let’s just say the guys who join those groups aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. But what they lack in brains, they make up for with bullets. So, stay on your guard.”
“Always do,” I said with more conviction than I felt.
We stopped for the hunt, but it didn’t take long. John shot a couple geese, one after the other, before turning to me and Asha with a critical eye.
“If we’re doing this,” he said to Kimmy, “we have to make these two stand out less.”
I raised an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Asha. To my surprise, she nodded.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What’s wrong with how we look? We’re dressed the same as you.”
The corner of John’s mouth lifted. “Yeah, but you both have that whole mystical-elf shit going on, and this isn’t a place where you want to be noticed.”
I didn’t really know what he meant, but Asha and I did our best to disguise ourselves under John and Kimmy’s instruction. I braided my hair and wore the hood of my jacket up, since John said that red hair would attract attention. Asha did the same as John arranged a scarf I’d knitted around the lower half of my face.
“Good,” he said in approval, then stooped down and grabbed a handful of dirt.
“Hey!” I squeaked as he smeared some on my forehead.
He grinned at my outrage. “Sorry. Hold still, baby.”
I shot him a glare but allowed him to streak more dirt across my cheeks with his thumbs. His touch was gentle, precise, and his eyes narrowed with focus. It was a bizarre moment to yearn for him, but the way he touched me with such care, even during this absurd task, lit my heart like a match.
“There,” John murmured as he finished. “A regular slum dweller, grime and all.”
I laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
“If it helps, you’re still a beautiful slum dweller.”
“Always the charmer,” I replied wryly.
“Just trying to live up to my reputation as a gallant gentleman,” he said with a shrug, making me laugh again.
“You’re good, Ash,” Kimmy said decisively, backing away from Asha.
Asha’s cheeks were slightly flushed under the dirt that Kimmy had applied, and her eyes lingered on Kimmy’s hands. She met my eye, then instantly looked away, her expression almost bashful. I resisted the urge to smile as we mounted our bikes again.
We followed the remains of a lonely road. In contrast to earlier, John was quiet and serious, and I tried to adopt the same attitude, even if my stomach was churning with nerves. After about an hour, we coasted downhill towards a tall wooden fence, stretching around a tiny village situated at a fork in the old road. One path led into the village, while the other continued through the woods.
The fence around the settlement was rotted in places and half-haphazardly thrown together, with planks jutting out in odd directions and bullet holes dotting them. There was an opening where an exceptionally tall, hulking man stood, leaning against a post and cleaning his fingernails with a knife. I didn’t know why he bothered, since his nails were black with grime and by the stench of him, he was unfamiliar with the concept of soap. He was armed with a shotgun slung over his shoulder. Despite the chilly autumn air, he wore a shirt with torn-off sleeves, baring large, muscular arms with a messy tattoo of what looked to be a feather. Most peculiar of all, he wore a black eyepatch over his left eye.
Asha’s bike slowed ahead of us, and John followed suit beside me. He frowned at the man with the eye patch, and I gave him an inquiring look.
“He’s new,” he said in a low voice. “Let me handle this, okay? And when we get inside, stick together.”
I nodded. I had no desire to talk to Eye Patch, who could’ve squashed me like a bug, given half the chance. Fear bubbled just under the surface, but I was determined to keep it under control.
John led the way to the entrance. Kimmy and Asha flanked me on either side, linking arms with me, and I kept my eyes trained on the ground as Eye Patch towered over me.
“Your business?” he said to John in a deep, gravelly voice.
“Trade,” John replied, keeping his tone even. He held up his game bag in demonstration.
