M-15, III

“Linden?” The man leant over his comrade’s side, and lightly tapped the downed man’s cold cheek. “Come on, Linden!” The man reared his hand back and made contact with Linden Gray’s pale cheek.
Stirring, Linden blinked open his liquid gold eyes and squinted up at the man who had just slapped him. “You could have just waited, Oliver.” Sitting up, Linden swatted Oliver’s hovering form away. “I wasn’t dead.”
“You could have fooled me.” Oliver’s toothy grin popped onto his chubby, round face as he sat in the nearest chair. There were constant gun-shots outside, but both men tuned them out. Linden scoffed, “I was snoring! A dead man, by my standards, does not snore!”
Oliver frowned, “Maybe in your world. But in mine, dead men snore.” Oliver winked lightly at Linden and then rose to his feet. “Besides, turns out you weren’t dead!”
“No, really?” Linden followed Oliver towards the brown wood door that had been closed tightly about a metre away from the door. Oliver twisted the knob, and looked over his shoulder.
“Lily said to get dressed. It’s our shift.” Linden groaned and closed the wooden door behind Oliver’s chubby figure. His friend hobbled around the living room, and then Linden fully closed the door. He turned around and walked over to the foggy white screen that held Linden’s black and red suit hanging neatly on a hook. With a dull feeling, Linden pulled off his pyjamas and quickly dressed in the blood red and jet black uniform, which contoured to his body, hugging his manly “shapes”.
There was a rap at the door just as Linden was about to turn the knob to join Oliver in the living room. Instead the door burst open, knocking him to the ground.
“Whoa, slow down Oliver!” Linden chuckled and then looked up, and exhaled. He scrambled to his feet, and bowed in front of Lily Kagan, “Good day, Kagan.”

“Lindy, right?” Lily smiled coyly, and pressed her hand against the side of her head, feeling her auburn hair.
“Linden, Kagan” Peering around the door, Linden spotted Oliver standing near the front door, frozen in a stiff stance. “May I ask what you’ve come here for? I Oliver and I were about to head out to work our shift in look-out.” Basically, they stood in the same five-foot area and watched for escaping Abrocambie citizens.
“Oh, right.” Lily batted her hazel eyes “You Linden aren’t working with Oliver,” she motioned lazily towards Oliver’s massive form. “… for a few days. You are working with Ethan to find two escaped Abrocambies’.”
Linden stepped back, stunned. Ethan was a fair soul; he was in his early twenties and had just been recruited. He had a Hawaiian surfer-boy tan, with messy brown-black hair, and oddly enough, dazzling light blue eyes. The boy was a god, in all.
“Ethan?” Linden regained composure.
“Yes. Is that an issue?”
“No, Kagan.” Linden bit his lip, “B-but, well, isn’t he a little new to be going hunting?”
Lily laughed out loud; a quick bark of laughter. “He’s been in the system for almost a year. Where have you been?”
“Watching to make sure no-one escaped, which Peer and Alex failed at.” Oliver and Linden had shifts, and every few hours they would switch off with Peer and Alex; two more Soho recruits. Soho was much like a bully. And Abrocambie was just a small child who hadn’t hit puberty, making the small town easy to run; easy target. Queen Lily Kagan was the lead role in this drama role. She bossed everyone around, and yet never usually lifted a finger.
This was, well, new.
“Oh give them a break. You’ve been at their necks since they started in 81’.”
“So wait, Kagan, you can boss everyone around and yet when I try to speak my mind you tell me I can’t? How is that even fair?!”
Lily snorted. “You are so weird, Lindy. I am Queen Lily Kagan, ruler of Abrocambie and soon to be beyond. How’s that for fair?” Lily turned on her heel, “And don’t expect me to be all nice, Lindy. You know the rules!”
Linden shuttered as Lily slammed the front door closed. Linden then looked at Oliver who had gained some mobility once more.
“How’s that for my stand-out code?” Linden chuckled, and then added “You think you can work the shift alone?”
“I have no choice. I’m not like you; you saw me, I froze when she walked in the room. Yet alone tell her I can’t work a shift by myself?” Oliver rolled his eyes. “No thank you.”
Linden laughed and rolled his liquid gold eyes at the same time. “You are such a wimp, Oliver. But I better go learn more about these two escapees’.”
Oliver nodded, “Just don’t get yourself killed, Linden. I know you won’t, but just… don’t.” Linden nodded and grabbed his gun, walking out of the small mud hut.