Chapter 2

Another jail cell.

Amazing.

This cell wasn't as bad as the metal box in the Zoo. Floor to ceiling windows stood at the far end of the room, showing off the unimpressive view of run-down buildings covered in graffiti with neon advertising floating above them. The floor was covered in a thick red carpet, the sofas were pushed to the walls and draped in plastic sheets. My arms were chained to the floor this time with my legs bound and crossed as well.

In the time between passing out and waking up, someone had gone through the hassle of stitching me up. Cold Patches (trademarked) had been pressed against my ribs, straightening them. My throat was still raw and my shirt still smelt as bad as it could have. But at least I wasn't going to bleed out. It's the positives that count.

I could hear footsteps outside the door, rising and falling as people walked past. Shouting and laughter an orchestra, raving from beyond the giant windows.

I tugged at the chains around my wrist to no avail. I knew coming to the Gray was a bad idea. I knew there was nothing for me to find here. But I had to check, out of the slim chance I could find her here. And I still had to, no matter what.

"But why would she be here?" I scolded myself. "Out of every city in this damn country, you picked the Gray. Brilliant. Just getting smarter and smarter aren't we."

The oak door disappeared in a haze of blue hexagons, letting two people in mid-conversation.

"I'm telling you, that stuff doesn't work on them," a Japanese guy said as the blue hexagons came back, re-structuring the oak door. He had a bionic arm too, red instead of my gun metal silver. Long, dark hair parted in the middle and hung behind his ears.

"Oh, look, it's awake," the girl said. Her platinum blonde hair caught the fading light coming from the windows, making it ghostly pale, nearly shimmering as it swayed. She trained me with one blue soulless eye, her right eye was covered with an eye patch.

"So it is true," the Japanese dude muttered, crouching and examining me. "He does have different color eyes."

I turned away from him. "Could you not mention them? I don't like getting constant reminders."

He chuckled, long black hair falling in front of his face. "What? Insecure all of a sudden, Stray?"

"That's not my name."

"For fuck's sake." The girl crossed her arms. She was short, but she towered over me, the guns on either of her thighs seemed big. Too big. "Are you the Stray or not?"

"What's the Stray?" I asked.

"Stop. Playing. Dumb," she growled.

"With that stupid look on his face, he probably isn't playing," the boy muttered, leaning in closer. Close enough for me to smell his overbearing cologne. His eyes were dark, intrusive. Like he was looking for something.

"Then what's your name, kid?" the girl asked, squeezing a multi-colored cigarette cylinder in-between her lips, twisting off the butt and lighting it.

"You know, I heard those things can kill you. The cylinder I mean. It's a choking hazard and-"

"Then it'll be doing me a favour."

The door dissipated into blue hexagons again. Tick held a girl's hand, rough red hair fell down to her shoulders, big brown eyes scanning the room. Her small lips were knit together by a thin wire, keeping them in thin pale lines.

The girl broke free of Tick's hand and sprinted towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck and forcing her face into my chest.

"It's great to see you too, Runt." I smiled and stroked her hair. She dropped down onto the floor next to me. She bounced her leg and smiled back, eyes bouncing between Tick and I.

"Sorry I couldn't hold her off for long…" Tick's voice faded as his eyes fell onto the Japanese boy, who sat with one leg over the other, close to the blonde girl on one of the now unprotected red couches. "Hey ... Jin."

"Tick." A smile played on his lips.

"It's been a while," Tick said, clearing his throat and wringing his hands. He took a nervous step towards Jin and then stepped back.

"It has. With you traveling around so much." Jin sighed, taking the multi-colored cylinder from the girl's fingers and inhaling the rainbow of smoke. "Hopefully you're going to stay around for a while longer this time."

"Could someone explain what's going on? I'd appreciate it," I cut in, saving Tick from rubbing his hands into nubs. The awkward space and silence between them had already started to show its head, and nobody needed to sit through that, especially because my leg was cramping up from sitting like this for so long.

"Right! Dan –"

"What the hell, man? They didn't know my name yet," I hissed.

"Sorry … I just couldn't, you know, I … anyways!" He turned away from Jin's amused expression. "These guys are the Rogues" – he jerked a thumb back at the pair – "and they helped us big time at the Zoo."

"I thought we promised each other we wouldn't get mixed in with gangs or tribes, Tick."

"Aww, what's wrong Stray? Are you afraid of us?" the girl mused, twirling the cylinder between her slim fingers.

"That's not my name. I don't even know what that is." I smiled. "But maybe someone would be nice enough to tell me?"

Jin mumbled, "He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, is he?"

"Add on the one green and one blue eye and you have the entire bingo card of what makes up a loser." She put her legs up on a plastic covered coffee table, seemingly pleased with her insult.

I looked down at the floor, avoiding their stares. My normal wrist was raw from the weeks of being chained up. My bionic arm chafed, the once black wrist metal chipped and silver. I bit down on my tongue and pushed away the sneers and the jabs. Mum always said it was better to turn the other cheek than – I hated this saying – an eye for an eye. They were just testing me, that's what these type of people do, right?

"I think we hurt its feelings," Jin said.

"Jin," Tick snapped.

"You're the one who asked for our help," the girl said.

"I asked for you guys to repay a favour. That favour didn't include insulting my best friend." Tick glared at Jin and the girl, strong arms crossed, jaw set.

"It's cool, man," I said, smiling at him. "It's just a little fun."

"See, it's all cool, man," the girl spat. "I'm getting bored of this. What's the verdict Jin?"

"What do you mean by verdict?" Tick cut in.

Runts head was like a tennis ball, bouncing from one face to another. She had a pained look on her face with her faded eyebrows crossed. I could see her cheeks working, like she wanted to pitch in. The wire threaded through her lips kept them shut, locking her ideas away. I gently nudged her, and the pained expression dropped.

"Verdict. As in, we're going to either let him go, or shoot him," Jin drawled.

"That wasn't part of the deal." Tick stood over Jin. Their brown eyes clashed in a silent battle, sending hard glares either way.

"I vote we shoot him," the girl pitched in. She patted the guns on her thighs. "I bought new guns and I wanna see how good they are." She grinned. "Apparently they'd put a .50 caliber to shame."

"I say –"

"You don't get a say," she cut me off. She tossed the empty cigarette cylinder into the corner of the room and stood up. Her long sleeved t-shirt was baggy and tucked into slim trousers, obscuring her athletic build. She pulled out a silver pistol from a thigh holster, levelling the barrel to my head.

Runt sprung up, spreading her small arms as she stared down the blaster.

"Get out the way," the girl commanded.

"Calm down, Kira," Jin said. He was looking away from Tick, who had a triumphant smile on his face. "How about we use him. If he's actually the Stray, then he could be big help against the Gatekeepers. Think about it."

"Yeah, Kira, think about it," I tried. My stomach flipped as she clicked the safety off, a cold line of sweat ran down my back as the dark hole of the barrel seemed to grow. A flurry of butterflies beat against my throat. Dying now was a no. I haven't found her yet. We promised we'd find each other, and I haven't even come close.

"Don't say my name like we're friends," she growled.

Runt stepped towards her, the barrel now pressed against her pale forehead.

"What the hell is wrong with this kid?" she said. "Move before I show you what the inside of your head looks like."

"Kira." Jin stood up and put a hand on her shoulder.

Kira swore and shrugged it off, the gun still pressed against the child's forehead. "If we let them go then they might tell the Gatekeepers about us."

"And if he's the Stray then he could help us. A lot." Jin pushed the barrel of the pistol away from Runt.

"You know how big the bounty on his head is if he actually is the Stray? Half a million credits, Jin. That's how much. I don't know about you, but I love a pay day."

The door dissipated again, letting in a cool breeze. A woman with long braids stood at the door, a dark silhouette from the light coming from behind her. Her honey colored eyes glowed with amusement as her they locked on me. She stepped into the room, boots patting against the thick carpet. The girl and Jin stepped away as she looked down at Runt and I, her black cloak hung from strong shoulders, flowing slightly in the stiff breeze. They had medals pinned to the chest. I hadn't seen medals since…since Dad was still around.

"What's going on in here, Kira?" Her lips barely moved as she spoke, but her rich voice carried and filled the room.

"I was about to become a little richer, that's what," Kira grunted.

"You were going to shoot Stray?" The woman cocked her eyebrow in amusement.

"For the last time. That isn't my name."

"You get riled up pretty easily when it comes to being called that." Jin crossed his arms, mimicking Tick. "Sounds like someone can't accept who they really are."

"I'm not a murderer, or a terrorist, or some maniac that goes around hunting people down for the fun of it," I said. I'll admit, it came out too fast and urgent, and I winced when I finished. Crap.

Kira let out a soft laugh. "You slipped up. You said you didn't know who or what Stray was, but you listed everything people say he is."

"Or he could be the Jackal," Tick suggested, coming to my defense.

"The Jackal is an old wife's tail," Kira said, brushing Tick off. "Besides, I'm the best there is. The Jackal and I would have come across each other by now if he were real."

"Let me remind you that the Stray was an old wife's tail as well. Until I granted him the hospitality of being chained inside one of my lovely rooms that is," the girl with golden eyes said. Her fine features were twisted into amusement, a plan boiled behind her sharp eyes. "How about we have a talk, Stray? I'm a big fan of yours."