Battery City Rebels: Part One

This was the reason Indigo avoided making ties. They could be, and would be, exploited. It had taken the Dracs only seconds to figure out her weakness. And all she'd had to do to tip them off was get laid in the desert. She felt stupid. And guilty. And the roiling feeling in her stomach had nothing to do with the fact that she'd been captured. And everything to do with the fact that Ghoul was being led to a van right beside her.

They were brought back to the highway, where a white van sat waiting. It was a collection van and the primary reason why they hadn't been killed on the spot. A Drac opened the back and pushed them in with two other captives. A teenage girl with short black hair and a younger girl roughly the same age as the Girl.

"Take a seat and enjoy the ride," the Drac said. They sat on benches opposite one another. Ghoul beside the older girl and Indigo near the child. The doors shut.

"Do we have a plan?" Ghoul whispered when they were alone.

"Just follow my lead." He nodded.

The Dracs climbed into the front. One left in another car, and the other two joined them in the van. Then they were on the road to Battery City. Indigo kept her eyes glued to the front, watching the highway stretch out before them. Then she glanced back to see if the car had followed. But there was no sign of it. Whoever it was had been tasked with scouting. Dracs were low-level. Known for being expendable until they could prove they were worthy of moving up the ladder. Which meant that the vast majority of them weren't very smart. She turned back to Ghoul, who was watching her. He nodded to let her know he was ready for whatever she was planning.

She slid her tied hands up her back and pulled at the switchblade attached to the belt beneath her shirt. It took a few good tugs to get it free, but she had a good enough grip to saw at the ropes. The kids were watching, smart enough to figure out what was going on. The teen glanced at the Dracs. The little girl scooted closer to block Indigo from view.

Once she got her hands free, she turned slightly. The girl had lived this life long enough to know what was happening. She turned her back, pushing her bound-up hands directly against Indigo's so she could cut her free.

"Stay still, understand me?" she whispered.

"Yes," the little one whispered back.

When she was free, they returned to their docile positions, hands behind their backs. She felt around for a piece of rope and almost laughed at how easy it was. Once ray guns were invented, they became the primary concern. Everyone forgot about the danger of retro rifles and knives. Knives had only really become useful for hunting or general desert safety. Which wasn't entirely unfair. If she was close enough to use a knife on a Drac, chances of survival were already low. But they had their uses. Beyond shredding them through tights for easy sex.

Luck was on their side. Or maybe whichever gods or entities were still watching over them. They were in a van, and there was still a chance they could fail and get everyone killed. But an accidental death in a car wreck was preferable to whatever they had planned for them in Battery City. Right now, they were just a couple of rebels screwing around in the desert. And the Dracs didn't realize who they'd captured, or they might have searched her a little better.

She waited for the right moment to leap into action. When both of the Dracs had gotten comfortable and were chatting about how lucky their find was. She jumped from her seat and swung her arm around, shoving the iridescent blade into the neck of the Drac in the passenger seat. The van swerved in the panic, and she lost her balance. But she'd been expecting that and was back on her feet quickly enough to wrap the rope around the driver's throat.

"Pull over," she instructed.

"You won't kill me," he replied, pressing down on the gas.

"You really want to test me? I'd rather die in a crash than let you take these kids to Battery City. And the more of you I take to hell with me, the happier I'll be to go. So test me. I dare you." She squeezed the rope tighter. Not enough to cut off his breathing just yet, but enough so that he knew she wasn't playing games. "C'mon, Drac. What have you got to lose? You've already lost your mind."

"I'll pull over if you promise to let me go."

"Of course I'll let you go. I'm not like you. Now pull over." He slowed the van and pulled it to the side of the highway. "Give me your keys." He hesitated. "Give me your fucking keys!" He yanked them out of the ignition and handed them back. "Keep your hands where I can see them. Both of them."

"You think I can't reach my gun faster than you can choke me?"

"I think I like my chances right now. Please test me. I like it." He gripped the steering wheel. One hand on either side. But she still didn't trust him. So she kept her eyes on them, only taking her own off him long enough to toss the keys into the back. "Little girl?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"What's your name?"

"I haven't earned one yet. My mom just called me Baby."

"Are you squeamish, Baby?"

"Not at all."

"Do you think you could pull this knife out of this Drac for me?"

"I'll try." She appeared at the front and got to work on the knife. It was lodged deep enough to give her trouble. But she managed not to cringe. "You got it in there real good."

"He insulted me."

"That wasn't him," the driver whispered, struggling to breathe through the rope around his throat.

"Oh. Well—I'm sure he deserved it anyway."

Baby yanked a few more times before the knife came loose. The Drac slumped forward, and she didn't seem the least bit bothered by it. She handed it out, and the driver got wise. He moved for his gun, but Indigo pulled the knife back and jammed it into his throat. He finally began to struggle, gurgling through the blood in his windpipe.

"I don't make deals with Dracs," she informed him. She wasn't sure if he had gotten the message. But she was, at least, convinced that he was dead. Or about to be, anyway.

She yanked the knife out and let his body slump forward over the steering wheel. She wiped the blood off the blade on his pristine white shirt and then returned to the back to let them free. Ghoul turned his back on her, giving her access to the ropes around his wrists.

"Good gods," he said, peering over his shoulder at her. "Now I am a little scared of you." She smiled.

"You still think I'm cute, at least?"

"Hell yeah. And I'm pretty sure I want to marry you." She laughed because she didn't think he actually meant it. Not that her heart didn't twinge a little anyway. She got him free and moved to the other girl.

"What's your name?" she asked as she sawed on the ropes.

"Dary," she said.

"Where did they pick you guys up?"

"We've been with them for a few days. We were in one of the unnumbered zones."

"Were you traveling together?"

"We were with a larger group, but we got separated. I've only known the kid for a week, and I couldn't let her make the trip alone. We were just trying to find out way back to our group."

"Where were you guys headed?"

"Up north. We heard there's a safe haven up that way. Dracs and Scarecrow don't usually go much farther than Zone Six. At least that's what they told us."

"Sometimes they do. Especially if cams spot a large group."

"They weren't lying," Ghoul informed them as he collected the weapons from the dead Dracs. "There is a safe haven. It's where the families are."

"Who's families?"

"Ours."

"Oh. I didn't realize you… Never mind. It's not important. Is it really safe?"

"As safe as can be expected. Definitely safer than the inner zones. It's undergrown. Low radiation levels. We go up at least once a year to touch base and make supply runs. We'd go more often but don't want to risk leading the wrong people there." She nodded slowly.

"Let's see if we can get out of here."

She moved back into the front and leaned over the dead Drac to open the passenger side door. She shoved his body out onto the dirt and shut the door again. She turned to do the same to the driver but had apparently not gotten the knife deep enough. He shot out at her and grasped her by the front of her throat. She let out one startled yelp before Ghoul shot him in the back of the head with his green gun, lighting up the inside of the van with a brief flash of light.

"Shit," she whispered as the Drac slumped against her, covering her chest in blood.

"Babe, c'mon. We talked about this," Ghoul said, sliding his gun back into his holster.

"Right. Vigilant." He got the door open and shoved the Drac out the door. Then he hopped into the front seat and turned the keys into the ignition. "Where are we going?"

"Back to the nearest Dead Pegasus." She tried to wipe the blood from her skin in vain. "I don't want to risk them tracking the van to us. So we'll dump it there and put out a call to Doctor D. He can get the guys to come get us."

"Okay."

"You guys keep watch in the back, alright?"

"No problem," Dary said, taking up her post at the van's back window. Indigo climbed into the passenger seat as Ghoul turned the car on the road.