TelTales

  Lily brought a hand up and wiped a few beads of sweat off her forehead where she y hiding, both from the morning sun as much as prying eyes. The spot was in a cluster of bushes, just below the ridgeline of some foothills near the raider’s base. It was the perfect pce to observe the footpaths leading west to the vilge and she stayed vigint, waiting to see if any of these slippery fucks were going to try and head that way today. If they did, they would have to go through her and Mist first. Them and anyone else from the vilge that was sent out to provide first line protection against this new threat.

  She'd been out here a few days now and had already been involved in some fights. However, nothing major or prolonged. Usually, they were quick engagements that pushed the raiders back and Lily had only seen one of them fall dead after it was all said and done. The defenders fared much better though, having both the time and space to y in wait and ambush their quarry. Someone did take a stray bullet to the shoulder but they would live, thankfully.

  Other than that, it was mostly quiet. Except the boots that Lily now heard off to her left. Damnit, she really wished she had a grass attuned Pal still! She waited until the footsteps were nearly on top of her before she came up to a kneeling position and leveled the rifle at the would-be attacker.

  "Whoa, whoa, it's me!" The man who’d been walking up on her instantly raised his hands, showing that he had no weapon and wasn’t a threat.

  "Fucking shit, Cyrus. I almost shot you," Lily compined before lowering her gun and putting it on safe. "What have I told you about sneaking up on me?"

  "Well, jeez, Lily. It wasn't like I was trying to. You're hard to find up here."

  Lily grunted in acknowledgement but otherwise sat back down. The older man joined her a moment ter and the small group of volunteers he brought with him broke off to accomplish other tasks and watch out over the ndscape below.

  “Anyone leave the camp recently?” Cyrus asked, a noticeable tinge of worry in his voice.

  “Not this way, no. It seems you family might be safe for another day.”

  At this, Cyrus nodded and seemed to rex a little before setting his rifle on the ground. It wasn’t as nice as Lily’s and could only fire one bullet at a time. Not that Lily ever need to hold her trigger down. It was wasteful and rarely worked out in her favor anyway.

  “That’s good,” he replied. “I checked with the other observation teams too and it seems like the only expedition for the day was headed south for some reason.”

  That bit of news had Lily’s head snapping to him, a look of concern pin on her face. “South?” Toward Juniper? Toward the others?

  “Yeah…” Cyrus confirmed, his head titling in curiosity at the reaction. “But there isn’t anything out that way. Just some ruins and beaches that people occasionally explore. All our people are safely back at the vilge.”

  Lily didn’t really care about his people in this moment, she cared very much about her people. So much so that she didn’t even bother to respond before jumping to her feet. “Mist!” She called, summoning the Katress to her side before turning back to Cyrus where he still sat partially stunned.

  “How many?”

  “What?”

  “Fucking shit, people Cyrus. How many!?”

  “Oh…uh, four or five, I think. No Pals and not heavily armed either, just pistols.”

  “When did you see them?”

  “I don’t know, maybe an hour ago?”

  Shit. Well, at least he was learning what details to watch out for. All Lily offered in response was another grunt before taking Mist’s arm and stalking off to confront this new threat.

  “What’s wrong?” Her Pal asked, both sensing the worry and seeing it in the grimace Lily wore.

  “There is a scouting party headed into the southern part of the isnd, toward Juniper and the others.”

  “Why? There isn’t anything of use over there. Not for these people.”

  “I don’t fucking know,” Lily nearly shouted before sighing. “And I don’t really care. We need to stop them.” And then she broke out into a run, Mist joining a second ter. This group didn’t have too much of a head start on them time wise but the pair was starting further away. Worse, she had to run around the raider’s encampment instead of heading in a straight line. All in all, she didn’t know how long it would take to get ahead of the scouting party, but she had to. Sure, they may not know Juniper was there but that wasn’t a risk Lily was willing to take. Not now, not again. She had to protect them if it was the st thing she did.

  Much of the morning and early afternoon was spent in that sprint, running as fast as she could through the trees. Once they made it through the foothills that separated Juniper’s peninsu from this part of the isnd, Lily turned course and headed off the path. Her only chance was to use her knowledge of the surrounding area to get ahead, and then deal with, the party before it got too far along.

  There were a few pces she felt an ambush had a high likelihood of succeeding but she had to get to them first, which is why she ignored the first few that popped into her head and pressed on instead. For what must’ve been hours, the only sound between them was the fall of boots on grass and dirt and leaves. She only occasionally spoke to Mist, confirming this or that or pnning for what would come. Not that it was overly complicated.

  At one point, Lily finally took a break long enough to peer down from where she perched on the high ground that ran along one side of the valley, opposite the beach. Through her binocurs, she eventually found the group making their way through the floor of the valley, still along the single path that had been worn down over time. The path that eventually led to the ruins Juniper and the others inhabited. Good, she wasn’t too te. In reality, these raiders would have quite a lot to search before they found anything or anyone. However, Lily wasn’t taking any chances.

  She dropped the binocurs away from her eyes and looked over to Mist where she knelt beside her. “It’s five,” Lily reported with a shake of her head. “Let’s deal with them as they start to climb the other side.”Mist only nodded and stood tall. Of course, she meant exactly one thing and she was gd that Juniper wasn’t with her right now.

  After repacking, Lily started running again, off toward where she pnned to set up her ambush. She knew the perfect spot too, a pce down a few drops from the pool they all used to bathe. She knew there she’d have the elevation and vegetation advantage. When she arrived, she immediately removed her backpack and ditched behind some nearby rocks. Then, she id down underneath some bushes close to the edge, her rifle ying across folded arms. A magazine y off to the size, ready to be grabbed and inserted as soon as she emptied the current one.

  In the silence, she strained to hear anything and for the second time that day, she wished she had a grass-attuned Pal at her side. If this was going to turn into a prolonged fight between the vilge and the raiders, she just might have to rethink her one Pal policy. She looked over to Mist then, who knelt a few feet away behind the thick trunk of a tree. She removed her hat when they arrived and Lily could see here catlike ears turned this way and that, searching out the slightest sound. Well, at least she had those. A few minutes ter, she saw those ear go rigid and Lily knew it was time. A few moments ter and the first shouts could be heard coming from further down.

  “Do you even know where their fucking camp is?” A man’s voice asked.

  “No, I don’t but that bitch has to live somewhere in this valley.” This time it was a woman who responded and she was clearly angry about something.

  “I don’t understand why you care so much, so she took that Jolthog, who gives a shit? Didn’t you shoot it? It will probably die.”

  “I do! She took my gun too; it makes me look weak.”

  Lily had no idea what the fuck they were talking about but they were being incredibly loud. How this group managed to accumute as much power as they had was beyond her. While she listened, she brought the rifle to her cheek and let herself get centered in the comforting feel of smooth wood against her skin. She saw the first person appear; a blonde woman who had her head turned back toward whoever was following her. Perhaps the speaker, then? Either way, they were all dressed in the familiar bck of the raider camp so Lily knew she had the right people.

  Steady…

  Lily squeezed and flexed her dominant hand a few times before bringing it to the stock. She then extended her pointer finger along the wood of the rifle, just above the trigger and its guard.

  Not yet…

  She did her best to slow her breathing, pulling in steady, long breaths before letting them out in a constant stream. The second and third individuals came into view and now the group was probably only 30 meters away and completely oblivious.

  Almost…

  Her finger came down and brushed the metal of the trigger guard before ying on the trigger itself, Lily titled her head ever so slightly, using her right eye to lineup the sights at the front and rear of the barrel. She didn’t need to look over to know that Mist was simirly summoning her power, getting ready to act as soon as she heard that first shot ring out.

  When the fifth person came into view, Lily took in one final breath, focused the weapon center mass on the first woman in the line, and squeezed the trigger with a slow, constant pressure. The shot broke the silence of the afternoon and the blonde instantly dropped after blood erupted from her chest. Lily wasted no time, shifting targets to the man behind her before simirly firing again. He too dropped a second ter, a look of confusion still on his face even as he died.

  "What the fuck!?" It took the others in group a few seconds to overcome their shock but, when they did, they all raised their pistols and started firing back. Most bullets went well wide of where she y but the few that got close were easily reflected by a wall of energy put forth by Mist.

  Again, Lily didn't look to her Pal and only started firing more, trying to hit another woman that moved behind a log. She ran out of bullets before she did and quickly hit the magazine release, pulled the empty one free, and smmed a new one home. Before she pulled the trigger again, she saw a rock the size of her fist lift off the ground next to her and take off much faster than any human could ever throw. The sickening crunch that sounded, in addition to the scream, informed her that another of the raiders was out of the fight. Permanently.

  But she couldn’t let up now, Lily started firing again and by the third bullet, the head that had been peaking over the log suddenly snapped back and disappeared from sight. It was about this time that the fifth person figured out they were fucked and then broke and ran, disappearing around the bend a moment ter.

  “Go,” Lily said. “And be careful.”

  “Always am.” A moment ter, Mist jumped down and began running off in the direction of the idiot trying to run. Did they really think they were going to make it back? Didn’t they know they were dead already?

  Lily sighed a moment ter and removed her finger from the trigger before standing and looking down at the carnage. She made herself look, of course. Refused to turn away from scene now. She was about to move down and start the cleanup but then she heard running behind her. Again, she spun and dropped to her knee, leveling her weapon at the woman who appeared from the forest behind her.

  “Juniper…”

  “Lily!?”

  Lily flipped the safety on and then stood again to meet her friend before she got too close.

  “Stop Juniper, don’t come over here!” She slung her weapon over her shoulder and then held out her arms. More to get the woman to stop but Juniper didn’t, she walked right up to her and wrapped her in a hug and then squeezed her tight. Lily felt words bubble to the surface and then die in her throat as she struggled to piece them together in a coherent way.

  “I was so worried,” Juniper said, filling the silence where Lily could not. “I heard gunshots and I just panicked.”

  “But you didn’t know it was me. What if there was danger?” The adrenaline of the ambush had her on edge and her words were a bit harsher than she meant. However, if Juniper noticed, she didn’t show it.

  She only pulled back and stared into Lily’s eyes before subtly shaking her head. “And what if you’d been hurt? What if you needed my help? Besides–” Juniper paused and pointed back toward Flora, who waived when Lily put eyes on the Glumos. “Flora knew it was you and that there were others.”

  That’s right, Juniper had her Pals and was really starting to understand how to use them. It impressed Lily and helped her rex just a little bit. “But I’m not hurt, I’m fine.” As she spoke, she reached up and cupped the side of Juniper’s face, running a thumb along her cheek where some dirt had gathered. “It will take more than a couple undisciplined goons to hurt me.” And then she remembered that was the hand that pulled the trigger, that killed those “goons” down below. She knew how much Juniper abhorred violence and the thought of touching her with those very same fingers became too much. So, Lily pulled them back, much to the surprise of her friend, and then cleared her throat.

  “Listen to me, I need to clean up this mess. Alone. There are things I don’t want you to see down there.” Juniper narrowed her eyes and looked like she was about to argue but Lily lifted a hand to cut her off. “Please, Juniper, just this once do what I ask. I don’t want you thinking less of me.” She knew Lily was a killer but to actually see the results of her actions was something completely different.

  Juniper stood quiet for a moment, chewing on her lip, obviously wanting to ignore the request. In truth, that was one of the things that endeared her so much to Lily. But mercifully, she relented with a nod of her head. In addition to pulling her back into a hug.

  “I won’t think less of you, Lily. Ever. So, please don’t worry about such a thing.”

  Another moment and Juniper stepped back and took in a deep breath. “I should go let everyone know it’s okay. I told them to hide while I was gone.”

  Lily nodded in agreement and looked over her shoulder where she knew the bloody results of her effort remained. "When I'm done, I'll come to camp. We have lots to discuss."

  Juniper finally let out a chuckle before nodding her head in an exaggerated manner. "You have no idea how true those words are."

  "Oh, Juniper...what have you done now?"