I loitered most of the following day. We ate breakfast and Almoner ran off to do a shift on the wall. It was still cold outside so I opted for more warm bed time. After finally catching up on all my beauty sleep I crawled out of the aged abode and ventured to see what other common folk were up to.


    I saw quite a number of them walk around with riffles on their back and felt sudden urge to go back and bury my head in the pillow.


    Braving the cracked up pavement regardless, I found out that the wry stares I was getting weren’t imagined – which was odd. I even wore an ordinary t-shirt for once. Nevertheless, I was happy to finally stumble upon some normalcy. I waved to a couple of frowning women. Smiled blindingly at the scowling gangbangers. I could almost affix familiar faces from the city onto these people. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.


    Sadly, not all were leering from a distance.


    “… And now you crawl out of that brat’s place,” a pushy nuisance spoke at me again and yet again I ignored him. I didn’t like this particular specimen from the last visit, but then the brazen asshole wasn’t bothering me directly. Perhaps I was worth the effort now that my face wasn’t all swollen. “I knew…”


    I turned and jumped up in pretend surprise. Right on time too - his paw was about to land on my shoulder. “Oh, good lord, say something next time!” I exclaimed.


    Hefty man’s eyes narrowed, unsure if I was insulting or just not entirely here. Some days I wasn’t sure either. He settled on me being daft in favour of achieving his goal, “Shall we go to my place?”


    Such an everyday suggestion. Better, even, as my usual place of business was an alley or a literal hole in the wall. And yet, there was no reason for me to be living that life anymore. I rocked on my heels, grinning. “And why would I do that?” I asked befuddled.


    The arm ended up slung over my shoulder anyway. “Oh, don’t play coy. I knew you were the type since I first saw you,” sleazebag whispered to my ear. I didn’t ask for details. I probably did look every bit of what I was. This was essentially just another brash client, I just didn’t have the need for money any more.


    I wish I had cigarettes to light up and pretend he wasn’t here again. Perhaps I could pull one out of his pocket? Man’s other hand landed to pat my chest and interfered with the grand plans. He insisted once again, “I can show you good time, you won’t regret it.”


    Turns out I was ignoring him like a champ even without a prop. I sighed, because it was tiresome being so good at escaping my problems one way or the other. Or making them worse. It was dice roll.


    I scoffed with genuine amusement. Tapped my lips with a finger, pretending to be in deep though and said, “Highly doubt that.” As his grip tightened, I went on, “First of all, I would be showing you good time.” The confused man stopped squeezing my nape. I shrugged with my pondering arm, purposefully aggravating the guy some more. “But why would I? I mean look at yourself. When was it you even shaved? Or, oof, washed?”


    “Listen here, you whore,” the other arm of his gripped my throat, but the amateur was terrible at this and my voice box was free to keep throwing insults.


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    I nodded along, “Hookers are your only hope of getting laid.” I was too tired to be on my best behaviour and frankly several bruises would have done good job of reminding me to occasionally shut up. This wasn’t a guy who’d take a simple no for an answer anyway. I’d have to demolish him, make him truly loathe the sight of me.


    In a flash everything changed - and not for the worse. Mild shock. I blinked and found the man lying on the pavement and another standing over him. The dead eyes bore into me accusingly. Or with constipation. I had no idea.


    “Hiii,” my energetic wave was accompanied by a pitched greeting. Having already said everything I planned to, I turned and walked off. I already hated this day. Should have just gone back and napped.


    “I met a very pale, very upset red headed rapist,” toneless words caught up to me but didn’t register immediately and I kept walking. Then they did and angry annoyance flared up.


    “He’s not… What?” Was all I managed as I turned on my heel and stared, unable to hope.


    “Had you not gone into hiding yesterday, I would have told you sooner,” Priest explained crossing his arms and staring. He was being accusatory, then.


    “Had you had more than two expressions, I may have gotten clearer clue,” I retorted.


    “Two?” he asked seeming almost intrigued, but I didn’t feel like cracking pooping jokes all of a sudden. If they met it had to be after I was taken.


    “When?” I asked, clenching my fingers to stop them from shaking.


    “Earlier yesterday. He handed me a bag of supplies and promised me more if I knew anything about your whereabouts,” tired-looking man in charge recounted in complete monotone. “Thanks for the supplies, by the way.”


    I fell onto my knees, muttering, “He’s alive?”


    “Barely,” Priest said impassively and an image popped into my head of forlorn redhead forcing himself to move through the pain and bleeding stitches to find a way out. He was always so unstoppably stubborn. I had to get back before he hurt himself more, because he would.


    “I… need to go,” I muttered to nobody in particular and scrambled up to stumble in a vague direction of the city, cutting though someone’s yard. I would jack a car, but I couldn’t drive. I needed to move anyway. Physically do something about this.


    “You plan on walking,” deadpan tone ridiculed my choices from several steps away. “You smell like us now but you’re not a mouth, are you?”


    I glanced over my shoulder, astounded by proclamation. Thank fuck for the little miracles. “Now why would you say something so hurtful?”


    Priest stared at me and I turned away. It was too piercing to bear. The demon would probably don this exact vast emptiness on his face if it was ever revealed.


    “Scent can only do so much. There has to be intelligence to be warned off by it, or a nose to catch it in first place. You won’t make far,” I was quietly informed.


    “No, you stink!” I pointed at him indignantly and worriedly glanced towards the church and outdoorsy amenities.


    Soundlessly following man kept talking, “Parts of your body have been replaced. That’s not gonna wash off.”


    I grit my restored teeth and squeezed fists, stopping hands from rubbing together to reassure myself they were really mine. “Why do you care anyway?” I hissed at him.


    “Chance are he’ll follow you to make sure you live and I might need help with the interlopers,” man in charge admitted solemnly.


    “Didn’t you get them already? What was with all the noise whole morning?” The distant crackle of gunfire on full auto roused me irrevocably, and the bastards didn’t even have decency to be all dead. Rude.


    Priest’s eyes kept boring into my soul as he spoke, “Something else has found them. Since they don’t need to pretend they aren’t here anymore, I expect some progress today. So if you pipe down and wait a bit, I’ll drive you back myself.”


    “Ugh, why didn’t you just go in and kill them days ago?” I muttered, annoyed about this inconvenience. There was about zero chance they were here on peace mission.


    “Because there’re a lot of machine guns and I''d need to gorge incessantly to replace what I lose,” he informed me unenthusiastically. That was a lot of information and I wondered if townspeople who badgered him got this exact answer or was I privy to family secrets now.


    I shrugged and whispered conspiratorially, “I prefer to slack off ‘til the last minute, too.”


    “Your rapist buddy will be fine. He had horde of kids and women telling him to sit down,” Priest looked off into the direction city was at, too.


    “Not like he listens,” I muttered and scowled in remembrance of his words. “You call him that again and you’ll wake up to nasty surprises in your boots.”


    “Terrifying,” his dead fish stare landed back on me. It would be, I silently pledged. I was of no use in a brawl, but I’d teach this oddball the horror of anticipation. “They ran out of other brands at the fair?” the intense man asked coarsely and I stared back at the local overlord. He had to be shrewd to deserve the position and likely was much older than he looked. Priest knew when he saw a killer. Was that astute man’s way of being placating? Such a wise elder.


    “Something like that,” I muttered, boxing up my ideas of being minor menace. For now. “I’ll be around,” I promised vaguely and walked off, away from the shortcut towards wilderness.