“Does this hurt?” Patchwork asked, tightening another bandage on Xole’s other leg.

  He winced, “N…no.”

  “Err…” Snap glanced over his shoulder, then, back. “Just practice slowly until you can get the hang of it.”

  “Da hang of it?” Salamander said, “Can he get da hang of it before we leave in a few hours?”

  Trix held a blade to Xole’s terrified face, “Will this help?” she said.

  “I don’t think either or will do you any good!” Patchwork said.

  “As long as he’s with one of us then the Stutter-Step isn’t incredibly necessary for this assignment.” Abbas said. “The young one’s already proven capable of handling his Gi and Aculty…to an extent. If all goes well, that is all he will need.”

  “But Abbas I need to learn more!” Xole leaned forward, wincing again. “OW—I mean—I can’t just rely on trying to hold people in place, especially if it takes that much out of me.”

  The large man looked at him. He knelt down next to him, “Young one, I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Unless similar traits are shared, one’s techniques are usually exclusive to the individual.” He tapped the older boy’s chest, “Especially in your case.”

  Xole’s head went down, “Well, how did you learn your Talent?”

  Abbas gave a rare smile and stood up. “That’s a very good question.” He put his cane away and held his hands up shoulder high. There were large and thick—like massive baseball mitts— filled with callus and covered with scars, “These hands.”

  Xole looked puzzled, “You’re...hands?”

  “Yes,” he answered looking at them, “These hands have plunged through endless mounds of dirt and cash. Bliss and blood. They’ve touched the finest of houses and the coldest of cells.” He squeezed them into vein bulged fist. “They’ve experienced all the world has to offer, and so they shall give back to it what is deserved.”

  ‘Like Salamander,’ Xole looked at the man, then his hands. “So I give the world…what I have to offer?”

  The large man almost chuckled. “You’re starting to get it.”

  The door to Zone 1 opened, Sunshine, Johnny and Sammy Tears all filled in. Sunshine stepped ahead of the twins at her sides. “Abbas, we’re ready to move.”

  Everyone else turned, their focus immediately sharpened. Abbas stepped ahead to the three. “Do you have all the information?”

  “His route, van number, pickup and drop off date, all of it,” She answered giving him back the GPS, “Whoever gave you that made this a whole lot easier for us. In fact if I could meet the handsome bastard I’d probably kiss him.”

  Sammy’s face became an exaggerated smile of concern, “Hey, remember what we said, Sunny? No dating ‘till you’re at least our age.”

  “Be quiet, uncle!” she snapped, “and that’s impossible when you say it every year!”

  “I’ll be sure to tell him,” Abbas smiled. He looked back at the rest of the Groundhogs, expression changed. “Everyone, tonight we take a step of no return. We’ll more than likely be facing Red Collars alongside law enforcement. Snap?”

  The young man rolled in a chalkboard with a diagram of two well drawn buildings, the front one being larger than the other.

  Sammy pinched his index and thumb fingers, “Great attention to detail, Abbas! You get an A-plus in my book.”

  “Why thank you.”

  Johnny shook his head.

  “Now,” the large man began, “The Head Precinct is said to be the largest in the state and one of the strongest in the nation, naturally boasting of the most on-hand officers. This, of course, was before their Bodily division was taken down by us.”

  The Groundhogs snickered.

  “However, we can expect a rather offensive resistance in its stead to make up for it. This large one here is the main building. That is not our primary target, nor the forensics lab and in the back.” He swirled his cane in the middle, “it will be this space here

  Using his cane, he pointed to a stick figure covered in circles and squares.

  “Eh, your figures could still use some work, but you kept the human form in mind so that’s a thumbs up!”

  “Your input is always appreciated, Sammy.”

  Johnny rolled his eyes.

  “Now, our Blue Collared opponents will be mostly Material, as well as what’s left of their Bodily reserves.” He tapped the coagulation of shapes on the figure, “We can expect them to jump straight to their T4-Suits. For those new, it is modified hard plastic body armor over a woven fusion of fibers and metals. Lightweight and quite impact resistant to standard Bodily types, meaning any attempt to strike it without a sufficient amount of Gi will be utterly futile.” He looked back to the group, “With that being said, Johnny and his family will take the main building.”

  “Your stick figure looks amazing!” Sunshine blurted.

  Abbas chuckled, shaking the room, “This isn’t a punishment, Sunshine, you and your family will stall until we arrive. Pick them off from the outside and do not enter.”

  Johnny nodded quickly, shooting a glance at the other two who begrudgingly followed suit. Abbas turned, “The rest of us will pursue Skinner and retrieve him as swiftly as possible in the meantime.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement, but Xole felt uneasy. “What about the Red Collars?” he asked remembering back to the shaved woman, “W-what if they appear again?”

  Everyone exchanged unsure glances and shrugs. Xole began to look anxious.

  “Young one,” Abbas said, “focus on the mission at hand for now. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “But what if she—”

  “Trust me, young one,” he looked on at everyone, “and that goes for each and every one of you. This will no longer be a stone thrown, but our first arrow fired to the beast. If we can make it bleed, we can make it fall. So I must ask you all, are you prepared to do what needs to be done?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The room was silent. Xole took a few breaths, then, looked up with a look of determination in his eyes. Snap stepped ahead of all the Groundhogs, grinning from the corner of his mouth. “C’mon, is that even a question?! Let’s do this thing!”

  The other Groundhogs cheered in agreement and filed out of the Zone. Xole followed but quickly looked over his shoulder at an orange tent, feeling a sense of familiarity.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, “Is Shakar coming too?”

  Trix looked over at Abbas who looked at Xole.

  “No,” he said. “Will that be an issue?”

  “Probably…” He noticed Yesfir again, who nodded to him. He glanced back “Probably not.”

  “I’ve cleared the evening train for us, sir,” Sunshine said to Abbas. “And I’ve secured several exit points in case things go—”

  “They won’t,” Abbas said, “From here on out there will be no more running. The only path we go is forward from here on out.”

  She looked at the man, wide eyed. Then she nodded quickly. “Sir, yes sir!”

  The huge doors creaked open to the usual commotion that was Zone 2. Abbas led the way and everyone filed behind him. Xole felt the sound completely escape the room and everyone halted their business, buying, strolling, even the usual barking was abruptly snuffed. He saw their gazes fixed on them, their faces in wonder as they marched through the center of the Zone. Suddenly, someone shouted.

  “Go and get our guy!”

  “Yeah!” another yelled, “show those Collard Cunts what Haven’s bout!”

  “We’ll be rooting ya on from here!!”

  More and more people shouted and cheered, joining on to a deafening roar of excitement. Xole couldn’t help but look on with a smile, he almost wanted to wave back but stopped himself. He looked over to Patchwork at his shoulder but the doctor just looked on ahead, his face glum and sad as usual. He looked ahead again. His body filled with excitement as the entered the steps to the train station.

  Shakar watched the group disappear below. He turned and walked over to the communication center, which—thanks to the Groundhogs spectacle—was clear enough for him to get a phone booth. The vested man nodded at him.

  “Three minutes,” he said letting him in.

  Shakar took the phone and dialed the number. The phone was answered before the first ring was finished.

  “Where were you?!” the female voice demanded. “Any longer and we’d have taken your name off our list!”

  “Well if I were that easy to kill then my removal would be well deserved.” Shakar answered, nodding in agreement.

  “Knock it off! Especially considering where you are, we thought you’d been—mounted to say the least.”

  Shakar was impressed. “Huh. I suppose I should listen to you more often.”

  The voice groaned, “Anyways, last we spoke you were telling me about your Special Talented one, correct?”

  “Yes,” Shakar said. His gaze narrowed. “And I believe you were in the middle of explaining something that I ‘wouldn’t like’.”

  “Right, the phone,” She said with a pause. “It’s its potential.”

  ‘…Well, looks like she’s right,’ he thought.

  “There’s something off with the internal workings, something almost artificial.” She sighed, “If our research deems prudent, it could very well be the thing they’ve been looking for. A perfect fit.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Tell me, are you compromised right now?”

  “Never mind that, tell me what you mean.”

  “Shakar, I need to ensure this line is safe.”

  “And I need to ensure I’m safe—!” he quickly pulled back from the phone and looked around, seeing the vested man tap on the window and hold one finger up to him, tapping his wrist. He shook his head and took a breath, picking it up again. “Are you still there?”

  “Yes…but I think this should be the last time we speak for now. Just keep an eye on that phone for now.”

  “…”

  “And don’t do anything that would endanger it. We need it functioning smooth like butter, remember?”

  “You say that,” he said, “But in that regard wouldn’t his demise be a good thing for us?” he thought about the Groundhogs, “Especially if he were to become a liability?”

  “And miss our chance to pull the trigger?” meaning kill him

  “…”

  “Shakar.”

  “Happy and healthy, understood,” He said and hung up. He leaned against the glass, his hand dropping the phone to hold his head.

  ‘Did I really just say that?’ his mind wandered back to his last talk with Xole, then, him marching off with the Groundhogs. The sight made his hand twitch, and he shot a glance to it—like coins slipping through his fingers. He smacked it against the glass and let out a slow exhale. ‘I suppose I did this to myself—for the better or for worse.’

  Leaving the phone booth, Shakar watched masses of excited people talk amongst themselves about the Groundhogs. One in particular caught his attention; an elderly woman in gray, smiling and making her way forward to the booth. He saw her eyes meet his and the smile instantly vanished. She made almost a squawking sound and pivot so hard he swore she’d twisted an ankle. Her strutting legs cartoonishly kicked themselves back, stumbling through people as she made a beeline back into the crowd. He shook his head and made his way back to Zone 3 before hearing a familiar voice call out to him.

  “Hey, you! Don’t be shy come over here!”

  Shakar turned around to see the bread woman he’d met from much earlier at her stand along with the children on the broken equipment, who were now enjoying fresh baked goods from her stand. She waved to him, motioning to an empty stool next to the skinny kid known as Toddy. Seeing no other option, he went over and took a seat. The kid spun to him, his face lit up.

  “Hey I remember you. You’re the guy with the funny hat!”

  “I’m sorry,” Shakar said, “But I don’t seem to remember you.”

  “B-but we talked at the playground! Remember I asked ya to play and—”

  “He’s just pulling your leg, Toddy,” The woman laughed. She gave Shakar a few slices of bread filled with raisins, still warm. “Eat up. It’s about to get real festive tonight.”

  The fat kid known as Dimples looked over to him, face full of raisin bread, “She gmeans gwere gonna get a fwhole wotta fighters ta fight fose fupid collars—!”

  “Stop it, Dimp!” the girl in the sweater said, “You spitting bread everywhere!”

  “Gno I’m gnot!” he spat.

  Shakar looked at the kids, then, the woman, “Did Xole know about this?”

  “Who?” she said, “Oh, you mean the spirit boy! Oh, I’m not sure. But don’t look so glum now, Haven’s about to make some big moves.” She raised a cup of Groundwater to him, “So bottom’s up, today’s a good day!”

  “…” He decided to smile and clink his cup against hers. He sipped his drink, “Hmm, refreshing.” He spoke. He relaxed in his seat. “I wonder if our guest upstairs would like some?”

  “Whaddya mean?” Toddy said, “everyone here’s had Groundwater.”

  “Oh no, Tommy, I mean our guest above them.”

  The woman stopped smiling.

  “Above?” he said, “So like a zone fo—”

  “Kids!” the woman interjected, “I need to clean up soon and this, honest gentlemen’s, offered me help. But we could use a few extra hands…”

  And just like that, the kids were gone.

  She turned to Shakar, her face flush, “What’s the big idea, you?”

  “There’s nothing big about what I just said,” he replied sipping his drink again, “not anymore at least.”

  “Listen here, I don’t know what problem you got with the Groundhogs, but you’d better keep those kids out of it—!”

  “I think that’s the problem.” He replied, facing her now. He sat down his cup. “Rather than them grow up to hate others for their money, you’ve inherently taught them to kill others for it instead.”

  “You shut your mouth!” she snapped, slamming her cup the table. A few people stopped to look at what was going on, to which she smiled and waved until they were gone. “What they did down here was take folks like me—folks without direction—and gave them an answer, a solution!”

  “You didn’t give them a solution you gave them an alternative and it’s poisoning their minds!”

  “Don’t talk down on me like you didn’t help the Groundhogs stomp those cops out at the bank! What you become some kind of ‘saint’ over night?!”

  “Oh, I never proclaimed myself to be.” He gestured, “Especially alongside children. I believe he was called the ‘spirit boy’?”

  “Boy—!” she cut herself off, cupping her hands and taking a few deep breaths.

  “Take your time.”

  She shot him a flared glare, her shoulders rising with her breath before dropping as she closed her eyes. “What’s your angle here? What do you want?”

  “I want to know why you lied about the ‘free lunch’,” He replied. “Because it seems there is a cost to this place. You see that’s the part I haven’t figured out yet.”

  She gave him a sour look. Huffing, she began wiping the table, “This is survival, you understand? We don’t get a chance to be pretty cause the world ain’t.” she shook her head, “You can see yourself someplace else now.”

  Sliding off his seat, Shakar returned his uneaten bread. “That isn’t a miracle, miss, it’s a fogged reflection.” He started to leave, “But for a moment I believed it to be true, and maybe you can again too.”

  “…Dallah.”

  His head cocked back, “Excuse me?”

  “My name’s Dallah.”

  He gave a delayed nod and walked off, “I won’t forget that.”