Because #ThugLyfe Part Four: Trapped

Well, it's definitely been a while.

...

I couldn't have been asleep more than ten minutes before I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake. I cracked an eye open. 

Ugh sunlight.

"You. Small one. Up." There was snickering.

I could've punched Fonts square in the face  right then and there.

"Maeve's outside waiting for you," he smirked, prying the blanket that was still clenched in between my fingertips.

I let out a groan, which he mocked, before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

What time is it?

Tugging a random flannel around my waist in case it was still cold outside, I made my way over to the rope ladder that hung outside the entrance.

Still not quite awake, I almost took a wrong step, missing the ladder completely, and had it not been for the hand tugging my T-shirt back, I would've dropped at least twenty feet to my death.

"Whoa! Jesus, Maya, be careful!" Claire looked at me with alarmed eyes. I gave her a sheepish smile in return.

"Maeve, you sure about letting Little Miss Klutzy Dunce Elf here handle blades this early in the morning?" C called down. 

Apparently he'd seen what happened -_-

I stuck my tongue out at him. He winked. I sighed.

"Oh, shush you!" Maeve called back in my defense. 

"Maya, just be more careful this time," Claire eyed me wearily as I grabbed hold of the rope ladder.

"Yes mother," I teased, rolling my eyes at her.

The next four hours were spent learning how to duel and deflect and stab only if very, very necessary. Nothing fatal. 

Deflecting I was good at. Aiming... not so much.

By four o'clock, Maeve and I sat by a tree stump near the foot of The Cave, sweaty and exhausted. 

"How's the apprentice coming along?" Tom grinned from up above.

Maeve threw him two thumbs up.

I slumped against her shoulder.

"Hey Maeve?"

"Hmm?"

"I..." I took a deep breath, "I just don't know if I'm cut out for this 'gang' business..." 

Her posture seemed to stiffen but her tone remained gentle.

"Well, hun, nobody's born knowing what they're cut out for. You'll grow into it," she assured me.

"I kinda wanna go back home," I mumbled, biting my lip.

She only clenched her fist for a second, but I still saw it. The gentleness was more forced this time.

"Maya, darling, you know as good as anyone that that's not an option anymore. You knew the second you jumped off that balcony that it was over," she said before getting up and climbing the ladder again, not looking back.

Shit, maybe I shouldn't have said that.

I took one good look at my surroundings and just for a split second debated running away.

No, they know you too well. You'd be caught in ten minutes.

Reluctantly, I made my way back up the rope ladder, not very eager for what was to come.

"There's my flannel!" 

Max made it a point to storm up to me while crossing her arms over her chest, looking at me expectantly with a playful smirk.

My brows furrowed for a second before I remembered the dark grey flannel tied around my waist. 

"Oh!" 

I quickly unwrapped it from myself before apologizing and handing it to her.

"Hey Maya?"

I turned around to see Tom addressing me.

"How about we put some of those weapon checking skills to use?" he hinted, as if everyone had been expecting me to start a while ago.

"Right," I mumbled, wiping the dirt and grime from my scraped hands as I let him lead me to the tiny room Emma had been "practicing" in the night before.

The second I stepped inside, I knew why it stank so much. 

The walls were littered with shelves upon shelves of some really strange looking chemicals, each with their own Do not touch or die symbol. There was a singular wooden table in the middle of the room. It had two drawers and metal scraps lying across its surface. I assumed this was Zoe's grenade station. 

Tom turned to face me again, the scar over his eye seeming a bit more noticeable in this light, before turning back to gesture to it all.

"Here's where you'll be doing the loading and sharpening. The knives are in the top drawer and the guns are at the bottom. Zoe's crap is literally everywhere so... Well, just don't touch any of it--deadly chemicals; you don't wanna get mixed up in that stuff. You need help with anything and you holler, got it?" he spun around to face me, leaning one arm back on the desk.

"Yessir," I quipped, drawing out a long sigh.

"Alright troublemaker, get to work," the redhead gave me a smirk before leaving the room.

I stared at the safety hazard that was the table in front of me.

Well, it's now or never, isn't it?

..........

People were running in and out of that little room like madmen. 

"Maya, hand me my whip."

"Short stuff, grab the revolver."

"Dear, could you pass me my knives?"

"Hand me that gun over there, Hobbit."

"Pass the grenade, just don't chuck it!"

I was handing out weapons and machinery quicker than I could even register what I was passing around.

Gunpowder dusted my cheeks and grease smeared my forehead while cuts traced themselves along my hands and arms. Time was ticking and the gang had business to do.

Emma stood by the doorway, crimson lips fixed in a permanent smile, a hazy expression taking over her eyes as if she were already in character.

"We need to get a move on, people. Let's go, go, go!" Fonts shouted at my side, throwing a jacket over his shoulders.

I watched as everyone seemed to form a line, holding out their weapons as Fonts checked them out the door.

First Max, then Zoe, then Emma, then T, then Claire, then C, then Maeve, then Tom, and Gibb.

"Dude, your fly's open,"

"Ah, fuck!" Gibb shuffled out the door with his head down as he zipped up his pants.

"Well, what are you waiting for, scrub? You gotta check out, too," Fonts held out his hand for me to take as I stepped from behind the counter, wiping my other grimy hand on my jeans.

I realized I'd already given away all the weapons in the room, not leaving any left for me.

Then was that our boss produced a singular dagger and the teensiest hand gun from his coat pocket.

"For you," he said as he tucked the dagger into the side of my belt and told me the gun was already loaded.

"Oh dear God..." I didn't quite know what to say.

"Don't think you're getting away with them that easily. You're testing them out on ground level, okay?" he laughed, playfully shoving me so I would follow the rest of the line into the other room and down the rope ladder.

"Just make sure not to kill any of us, kay Maya?" Tiernan stuck his tongue out at me, only causing me to roll my eyes at him.

"I'm not, would you relax?" I defended, trying my very best to seem more confident than I actually was.

C took a stand opposite me, taking off his shades to give me a look that asked if I was ready.

After nodding my consent, I assumed the defense position, hoping to God I wouldn't be standing on my deathbed.

I watched out of the sides of my eyes as the rest of them formed a sort of half circle around me.

Don't fuck up. Don't fuck up. Don't fuck up.

The first bullet shot. 

Not from me, but from C, and I dodged it just in time. I aimed one back at him and it just barely grazed his shoulder.

Another three bullets, one after the other, came thundering down on the ground near my feet so I was forced to hop from one foot to another while aiming my next shot.

Caellum felt like surprising me there and then, so he took out an 8 inch blade, casting aside his Glock 17, forcing me to pull out my 6 inch dagger.

One could say we were about to sword fight.

"Come on, Hobbit, I'm not gonna hurt you," C spoke condescendingly, motioning for me to come closer.

There were hoots of laughter from behind.

"Oh, I'm not afraid of that," I snarled back, inching my way closer.

"Whoa, watch out guys, this one's deadly!" Fonts teased.

Just as we were about to strike, we heard the distant churning of wheels.

"Shit, that's Toothless, we gotta go," Max signaled for us to follow her lead.

Sighing but slightly relieved that I didn't have to sword fight someone nearly two feet taller than me, I tucked my dagger back into my belt, making my way over to the rest of the gang.

"Hey," C grabbed the back of my hoodie, "good fight, kiddo,"

"Yeah, yeah," I stuck my tongue out at him for good measure.

"Hurry up!"

We were booking it now--Goddammit I'm running outta breath--and we were gonna have to skedaddle in order to jump on time.

We came to a little clearing, it wasn't the same one we jumped onto the other night, but I'm assuming there were "train stations" all around the forest.

"Here she comes..."

We all looked to the left only to see the speedy old train coming at us full blast.

Here goes nothing.

My friends looked oddly like spiders as they jumped onto the train, each landing elegantly onto the platform. I had a bit of a shaky landing, but hey--it was only my second time.

Zoe, Emma, Claire, Max, and Maeve all started shouting and screaming enthusiastically as they charged up the other flights, similar to the fangirling shouts I'd heard years before, except this time it was for...well, murder.

Urgh.

Meanwhile, C, T, Tom, Fonts, and Gibb took their posts by the ground level.

"Hey, short stuff, there're some more grenades down in the lower compartment; I think Zoe was asking about them earlier. Could you go down and get them?" Fonts turned to face me, one arm leaning against a column.

"Uh, sure..." I unbolted the trap door at the center of the platform, slightly wary as to what I would actually find down there.

Just don't touch anything that says EXPLOSIVE, FLAMMABLE, or TOXIC.

The stairs were steep and the lighting was dim--dimmer than the lighting upstairs at least, and that was saying something. I walked further into the dingy room, careful not to step on anything accidentally for fear of setting something off.

This place could be full of land mines for all I know.

It was a tiny, cramped room, but similar to Zoe's station back at The Cave, it was littered with shelves all over the walls. In the far corner there seemed to be a tattered cushion that served as a makeshift chair for anyone who came down here to work.

Then I heard a slam and then there was a click.

Scrambling back up the wooden steps, I found the trap door bolted shut.

"Hey, guys, let me out!" I started pounding on the boards that held it together.

There was another click as if an extra lock had been latched on.

"This isn't funny, let me the fuck out!" I tried shouting as loudly as I possibly could but it was no use.

Those bastards locked me in.

"I swear to God, if you don't let me out..." my hands were getting tired of smacking splintered wood and soon the only thing I could hear was the dull rumbling of the engine.

I took another look around the room.

It was small, dark, the air was thick and it reeked of toxic chemicals.

Are they trying to kill me?

After a while, all the voices from upstairs had vanished. They'd left without me.

It's gonna be a long night.

..........

One lost voice, two bloody hands and three panic attacks later, I managed to somehow fall asleep on the bottom steps that led to the trap door.

I hadn't even noticed when they'd returned, let alone when they unlocked the door.

It must've been around 3am.

I heard footsteps getting closer and jumbled conversation coming from above.

"Oh my God, is that blood on her hands?"

"Guys, I told you it wasn't a good idea..."

"She was about to break code... We had to..."

"Don't be a fucker, she didn't need that!"

I felt arms lifting me up but maybe I was too groggy or it was too dark for me to even recognize who it was.

"...huh?" I rubbed at my eyes to try and get them to focus.

"Hey, little one. We're back," 

That was Gibb's voice. I could recognize that anywhere.

Somehow the sketchy light bulb that hung from ground level's ceiling made me remember what had happened.

My eyes narrowed.

"You fucking bastards locked me in there!" I pushed myself off of him and scrambled to get on my own feet.

I was not about to let them get away with this that easily.

"You fucking knew how much I hate the dark!" I charged at Fonts.

"I'm fucking claustrophobic, did you remember that?!" 

Tiernan, probably realizing I was about to pummel our leader to the ground, took hold of my waist, so I took to clawing his arms.

"Ni me intentes de detener, maricón! ¿Es que no entienden lo que me hicieron pasar? Coño, los odio a toditos!"

"Whoa! Down, tiger!" C managed to pin down my arms so I wouldn't be a threat to anyone else. Probably.

I turned to the rest of them.

"And you guys didn't do anything! Why would you do that to me?" my voice was already gone, but I was reaching decibels unknown to man by this point.

"Maya, calm down, they can explain," Zoe tried defending them, but I held my glare on all the guys, who seemed to have come up with the brilliant plan.

C looked down at me as if trying to speak to a small child.

Goddammit.

"I'm gonna let you go now, but you have to promise not to hurt anyone, okay?" he tried making my eyes meet his but I was still too keen on glaring at everyone else.

"Not like she could hurt us if she tried..." Tom snickered, causing the rest of the crew to sneer at me.

"Fuck off, Thomas!" I had about had it with all of them at this point.

"Hey, cool it, short stuff," Fonts had been silent this whole time, almost as if he were trying to let me burn myself out before he said anything.

"We told them it wasn't a good idea," Claire stubbornly crossed her arms, looking unhappy with the boys as well.

"But why would they do it in the first place?!" I wanted answers and soon.

"Listen kid, Maeve told us what you said to her earlier today, about not being sure about this whole thing and we get it, but doubt isn't really our thing. Either you run with us or you don't," Fonts explained.

"Yep. And if we let you run off back home, we couldn't risk you blabbing off to everyone else about our headquarters or our plans or any of that. So our only other choice was to kill you," Maeve's eyes seemed to stare right through me.

My heart just about stopped.

Well, great, you were right--they are trying to kill you.

"But we didn't have the heart to finish you off yet, so we thought an unexpected little spin inside Toothless would be punishment enough," Gibb carried on.

"Well if the point was to terrorize me, then it sure as hell worked," I said with a slight laugh, hoping that the more I agreed as to how scary it was, the less they'd want to kill me.

"That wasn't the only reason why; we also just didn't think you were ready for tonight..." Tiernan gave me a sheepish grin that said he was sorry and for some reason it was so impossible not to forgive them.

I did feel somewhat defeated though.

"You did work very hard, we'll give you that--it's only been a day!" Emma gave me a smile underneath her wild mane of brown hair.

"Yeah, you'll be kickass in no time," Max winked at me, flipping her blue/green braid over her shoulder.

"Ooo looks like someone just got the legendary kickass blessing from our secret weapon. She doesn't hand those lightly, you know," Claire smirked at me, and I looked back at Max only to find a smug grin plastered on her face.

"Well, thanks, I guess," I tried laughing it off, the exhaustion of the night's events finally catching up to me.

"Oh Jesus, Maya, we should maybe patch those hands up sometime soon..." Gibb motioned to both my hands which had now stained the sides of my jeans with blood.

"Right," I suddenly became self conscious and was grateful when Emma started talking about how badly she'd messed with her victims' heads.

"Come on, dear, let's get you cleaned up," Claire took it upon herself to fix up my raw hands, cracked from hours of whacking splintered wood.

"I'm really sorry about tonight, it really wasn't a good idea..." she went off.

"Claire, it's fine," I reassured her, "Hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

If only I knew how true that statement was about to become.

..........

Aaaaaaand there you have it. Sorry, I know it's been months.

Writer's block is a bitch.

I can't guarantee the next one will be up soon, but I can try :)

Hasta la próxima!

Much love xoxo

Maya

Because #ThugLyfe Part Three: The Cave

Ta daaaa!

Here goes part three :)

..........

It must've been 'round midday when I woke up next.

Funnily enough, nobody else seemed to be awake. It took a full 360 to notice my friends' bodies strewn across the length of the treehouse. It was quite the sight XD

Maeve and Claire were a mess of tangled limbs thrown across the love-seat. T lay on the ground at their feet, an arm flung across his face to shut out the light. Emma was sprawled face down atop the makeshift coffee table, mangled hair covering her entire face. Zoe had fallen asleep at Emma's side in a sitting position, head between her knees. Sawyer was curled up under a flimsy blanket about five feet away from me. Gibb and Tom both had taken off their coats to serve as pillows. Although, the best sight of all had to be Fonts and Caellum, knowingly or perhaps unknowingly spooning one another on top of the beat up sofa that lay tucked into the corner of the room.

Just as I was about to burst into hysterics, I noticed Max was, in fact, awake. 

She gave me a pointed look that said, "Don't make a sound,"

I could see the sparkling amusement in her eyes from across the room as she tiptoed over to them. 

She retrieved something that looked like a camera out of her pocket and then was that I realized she'd been taking various shots of the two. 

Cuddling gangsters at their finest.

In case any of you were wondering, Caellum was the little spoon. 

As soon as Max gave me the okay, I let out an uncontrollable stream of giggles, waking just about everyone up (except Emma, who was probably extremely hung over).

"Maya, shut up, God," Tiernan grumbled, rubbing tiresomely at his eyes.

I threw him an apologetic smile before pointing at the source of my laughter, but he didn't even have to look.

"What the--?"

"MATTHEW FONTS, DETATCH YOUR CROTCH FROM MY ASS THIS INSTANT!"

"Oh, so that's what happened," Maeve said, shrugging it off as any other day-to-day event.

The rest of us burst into fits of laughter at the sight of C's and Fonts's horrified faces.

"Yeah, Fonts, get it!" Tom teased, failing to keep a straight face.

"Don't screw with me, Ginger," Fonts mock-threatened, pulling a gun out of his coat pocket.

"Oh, but I was looking forward to it," Tom winked, pushing the boss's buttons more than he probably should.

Luckily, Fonts didn't really care enough to react, satisfied with simply pushing Caellum off the couch.

"Guys, be quiet, my headache's being a bitch," Emma squirmed to a sitting position on the floor, grabbing hold of her temples painfully.

"Probably should've thought of that when you were downing four beers, Em," Gibb stated, unconsciously running a hand through his matted curls.

"Fuck off, Michael,"

"Suit yourself," Gibb laughed, throwing his hands up in surrender before making his way over to sit next to Sawyer.

"Alright, alright, settle down people. What's the plan for today?" Claire took charge, getting up before walking over to lean against the window shutters.

"I say we show little Hobbit here what she signed up for," Caellum smirked, a certain glint in his eye that I didn't quite like.

My brows furrowed as I waited for someone to explain further.

"Whoa, slow down, punk; it's only her first day," Maeve spoke on my behalf, shooting him a warning glare.

"Yeah, C, don't push it," Claire huffed, tucking away her red bandana into her belt.

"No, I think he's right. She's gotta learn sooner or later," and before I knew what was happening, the blue-haired girl had thrown a dagger my way. 

Had it not been for sheer adrenaline, I don't think I would've dodged it.

"Jesus, Max! He meant tell her what we do, not throw a fucking knife at her face!" Gibb said, pulling me into a side hug.

My eyes travelled to the glint of metal by my side. 

I still hadn't said a word. My heart was pumping too loud.

"Well, she dodged it, didn't she?" Max gestured towards my otherwise unharmed figure.

"You're okay, right Maya?" she asked.

I found that all I could do in response was nod.

"See? She's fine. You're gonna have to do an awful lot of dodging from now on," she said nonchalantly, tossing the blue braid over her shoulder.

I gulped.

"Anywayyy, we have a big mission coming up. Tomorrow night, actually. And we're hoping to get you up to par by then so we don't have to lock you up in here, okay, kiddo?" Fonts explained, adjusting the cuffs of his leather jacket while looking my way.

"W-What exactly do you me-ean?" I stumbled across my words, feeling like my throat had closed up.

"It means we gotta train you to kill, kid," Tom informed me, walking over to lean against the doorframe.

Well darn.

"To--To what?! You want me to kill people?!" I just about shrieked, ready to jump up and confront him myself, but Gibb's arm tightened around my shoulders, preventing me from going anywhere.

"You're gonna have to if you wanna survive around these people, honey," Sawyer chimed in, twirling her favored dagger casually between her fingers.

I gave them all bewildered looks.

"No. No fucking way. I am not going to be responsible for the death of another human being," I concluded, shoving Gibb's arm off of me before standing up.

I hadn't really realized until then that I had no way of escape. I was pretty much cornered by everyone else in the room some way or another.

"Fine,"

Everyone looked to Claire in shock.

"We're not gonna train you to kill anyone, sweetie, but you gotta learn to defend yourself. We deal with dangerous people and most of them are experts in murder. Once they know you're part of us, trust me, love, they will find any way they can to access your weakness. Don't let them get to that, okay Maya?" Claire's eyes never left mine, almost as if looking away would break the promise.

I tossed the words around my brain for a while, knowing I couldn't really leave them now.

"Okay," I finally agreed, watching everyone exhale simultaneously.

"I'll learn to defend, not kill, but then what use will I be to you guys? I wouldn't be anything but another burden to carry around," I sighed.

They were all silent for a while.

"Weapons."

We all looked to Zoe with perplexed expressions. This was the first word she'd said all morning (or afternoon, I should probably say).

"She could be in charge of our weapons. You know... Sharpening knives, loading the guns... You guys take enough time as it is getting ready before missions," she sent the others a knowing smirk.

"Hey, the only reason you're any faster is 'cause all you have to manage are little poison grenades," T stuck his tongue out at her, resulting in a who-can-stick-their-tongue-out-farther competition with Zoe.

"Knock it off, you two," Maeve rolled her eyes at their childish behavior.

"I think that could work," I watched the gears switch around in Fonts's head.

"She wouldn't necessarily have to come with us on every mission, but she could make sure the ones she doesn't participate in run smoothly by being in charge of the weapons," he concluded.

I have no clue why they all think leaving knives and guns with me is a good idea.

That is never a good idea.

"Um... cool?" I attempted to break the awkward silence that followed.

"Awesome. Now, Gibb, C, Maeve--go grab us the noms. Zoe--make sure Emma doesn't puke all over my stuff. Max--teach Maya how to sharpen a knife. Tom--show her how to load a gun. The rest of you idiots come with me so we can discuss the blueprints for tomorrow night," Fonts took off his jacket, revealing a white T-shirt and a spiraling scar that travelled up his arm and disappeared into his chest.

Max and Tom stared down at me with amused looks.

This should be fun.

..........

"OW!"

"Dammit, Maya, I told you to be more careful!" Max sighed in exasperation, tending to probably about the ninth cut I'd managed to give myself in the span of an hour.

Loading guns wasn't this hard.

Tom had taken all of twenty minutes teaching me how to handle the guns and how to make sure they wouldn't go off with a bang when we weren't expecting them to.

Granted, I did shoot three holes into the roof by accident, but he promised not to tell Fonts, so it was fine.

"Having trouble there, hun?" Maeve walked poked her head through the doorway, biting back a smile at my expense.

"I'm fine, Maeve. I can do this," I shooed her off for the sake of my pride.

Max rolled her eyes at me.

"Okayyy, if you say so," she sing-songed, stepping into the other room to meet the others.

With a little determination, I mastered the art of sharpening knives an hour and five cuts later.

"Whoa, who dumped you in the shredder?" C remarked as I walked begrudgingly into the common room.

"Don't start," I warned him, not bothering to throw him a death glare.

The gang was strewn around the room, similar to this morning, but this time holding various slices of pizza.

Seeing as I hadn't eaten in close to 24 hours, I snagged C's pizza as payback for his little comment earlier, taking a bite before smiling triumphantly up at him.

"Damn," was all he said as stared at his empty hand.

"You guys get everything ready for tomorrow?" Max asked, taking a box for herself and setting it atop her lap.

"Yeah, pretty much," T replied, almost inhaling another four pieces in the next two seconds.

"Where's Emma?" I wondered, stretching my legs out underneath me.

"Practicing," was the only response I got.

Sawyer raised her eyebrows towards a door in the corner of the room, one I hadn't noticed 'till now.

I waited until the rest were caught up in banter to make my way across the room. 

The wooden slabs were dirty and worn; it was almost as if it wasn't a door at all. It took less than ten seconds standing in front of it for me to notice the putrid stench that was coming from the other side. My eyes searched for a handle, or a switch, or something that would allow me to get to the other side.

"Ah, ah, ah,"

I jumped, turning around to find Tiernan looking down at me with a condescending smirk.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," he warned, gesturing towards the door.

"Why not?" I crossed my arms over my chest with a huff.

"Emma has a real talent for going... well... nuts," he explained.

Something about the way he said it caused a shiver to run down my spine.

I forget that these guys are next to psychopathic.

"Oh,"

Deciding it was best not to take my chances, I let him lead me back to the rest of the group, where Gibb was in the middle of telling a story about something stupid he and Tom did as kids.

I sat down next to Maeve, who wrapped a gentle arm around my shoulders, careful not to bump any of the cuts around my arms.

"Rough training, huh?" she murmured, red flecks of hair falling into her eyes.

"Tell me about it," I sighed, resting my head on her shoulder. 

"The worst is almost over; after I teach you defense tomorrow, you'll be perfectly fine," she assured me, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.

Then was that I noticed the various tattoos that circled themselves around her arms. Upon closer inspection, I noticed they were all made out of battle scars.

Maeve, you are one kickass fighter.

When I asked her about the tattoos, she told me she asked Max to build them from the designs of her scars. 

Apparently Max was designated tattoo artist, too.

I shut my eyes, trying my best not to think about the scary training I'd receive the next morning, or the dangerous mission my best friends would undertake that night.

..........

That took me a surprisingly long amount of time to come up with. Sorry about that.

I hope the next one doesn't take as long to write...

I also hope that you enjoyed :)

Hasta la próxima!

Much love xoxo

Maya

Because #ThugLyfe Part Two: The Woods

As promised, here is the second part to my distinctly absurd dream.

Enjoy.

..........

I don't know if you've ever tried taking in your surroundings when you're encompassed by constantly flashing scenery but just for the record--it's pretty fuckin' hard. Not to mention nauseating.

Although, just to give you some vague sense of environment, the gang train--otherwise known as Toothless (after the Night Fury in How to Train Your Dragon)--probably travelled at the speed of light, but it was just slow enough to give its next victims a scare. It didn't have walls--only poles to hold onto--plus a floor, a roof, and the occasional stone-cold bench. Pretty stable if you ask me... Apparently, the purpose of this was to show the public that we weren't afraid of displaying ourselves—that we got a kick out of causing them terror. 

Siiiick.

I figured it was nearing 2am--not one light in sight, 'cept maybe the singular crackling bulb that hung loosely from the train's ceiling, giving off a dim yellow glow. 


According to Tom, we were headed straight for The Cave. In case you were wondering, The Cave isn't actually a cave--it's a tree, but it goes by The Cave. 

Makes total sense.

"How much longer?" I sighed from my spot on the ground.


"Patience, child, patience," Maeve teased knowingly.


I watched as she grabbed onto a pole near the edge of our car, emerald eyes flickering back and forth to the pitch black darkness of the sky.


I noticed how the continuous rocking of the train made her vibrant red hair bounce in its ponytail, tumbling over her shoulder onto a blood red flannel; dark black boots dug their heels into the ground so as to keep their balance, barely hiding the hilt of Maeve's infamous machete.


Emma hiccupped from the bench to my right; wild mane covering her red lipstick and the large green bottle in her hands.


She was wasted.


Brandt, in turn, sat next to her dressed in a dashing black suit, of course, because why wouldn't he?




“I think we’ve got about five more minutes to go,” he said, eyeing his watch before letting his gaze rest on me.

I sighed again.

I sure could go for some ice cream right about now.

The trap door by my foot gave a jerk, so I moved out of the way only to have Sawyer’s fist punch right through the wooden slabs, revealing the three people below.

“Sawyerrr! I told you to stop doing thattt...” Gibb pouted, letting tufts of curls fall into his eyes as he followed the others out of the hidden compartment. 

“And I told you not to get in the way,” was her simple retort.

Claire and Sawyer stood up swiftly, dusting themselves off in seemingly effortless badass-ery. 

Adjusting the bandana atop her head, Claire suggested we start calling in the others to jump.

As I mentioned before, Toothless never stopped. Not for us or for anybody. 

"Zomo! Come on, we gotta go," Tom shouted over his shoulder as he jogged down the stairs followed by T, C, Fonts and Max. 

"I know, I know! I'll be right down!" was her fleeting reply.

We heard a quick pitter-pattering of steps before Zoe tumbled down the stairs, tugging her leather coat back on in a hurry.

"We almost there?" Sawyer flicked a purple strand of hair out of her face while looking to Fonts who stood planted by the northern pole (no pun intended--I swear).

"Yeah, just after this next turn," Fonts trailed off, looking ahead as a captain would in his ship.

I watched as everyone (minus Brandt) started to back up to the rear of the car.

Taking note of my perplexed expression, C waved me over. I took a few uneasy steps towards him before he grabbed a hold of my shoulder, looked down, eyebrows raised, and asked, "You ready to jump on your own, kiddo?"

"Um..."

"Here, I'll go with you," Maeve winked, offering a small smile my way.

"See you guys on the flip side," Brandt smirked, straightening his blazer before standing up to get out of our way.

"We'll catch you later, kay, man?" 

I'd been told Brandt had to stay; he'd get off somewhere else because his job was to make sure we never got caught. His job was to relocate us if The Cave's location ever leaked. Therefore, Brandt was always on the run.

"For fuck's sake, someone grab hold of Emma," Fonts rolled his eyes, exasperated.

T sighed before making his way to her, clutching one arm in one hand and the green bottle in the other, chucking it to the empty blackness flashing past the train.

"Okay, three... two..." 

I became hyper aware of everything around me, especially the moment Tom got to one.

Quicker than wind, each one of them jumped; first Fonts, then C, then Gibb and Sawyer, then Max, then Claire, then T with a disoriented Emma, then Tom and Zoe, and finally Maeve and I.

I remember her squeezing my hand in order for me to get ready.

Holy shit, I'm really doing this, aren't I?

I remember picking up speed as we dashed past Brandt; I remember the moment my foot left the edge of the car--the second my insides turned to absolute mush.

I swear to God, if I don't come out alive--

And then there was the ground. I mean pure forest ground.

Ow.

One by one, I heard the thuds of denim and leather hit the dirt beneath us.

Mostly everyone managed to tuck and roll into a graceful stop, followed by standing up swiftly and dusting themselves off. Everyone minus Emma and myself, that is. 

Emma lay in some sort of heap by Tiernan's feet, giggling and hiccuping to herself as she brushed the wild mane out of her eyes.

"C'mon, Em, up you go," 

Claire bent down to grab both of Emma's hands, pulling her to her feet and adjusting the trench coat that was falling off her shoulders.

Meanwhile, I sorta kinda maybe possibly may have landed on my face.

Thankfully, it was too dark for anyone to really notice... heh heh... heh... heh.

It took a few minutes before my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I looked around and the longer I looked, the more confused I was as to where we were.

"Um, guys...?" I spoke timidly.

"'Sup, short stuff?" Fonts turned around to address me.

"Uh... is this The Cave...?" I wondered.

I mean, we were kinda in the middle of nowhere...

"Pfffttt yeahhhh no—we’ve still got about five miles to go, Maya," Gibb laughed, sticking his tongue out at me.

Great.

"Onwards and upwards, bitches," were Fonts's words of encouragement as we trudged through the pitch-black woods.

..........

I must've bumped into about twenty trees within the first ten minutes of our hike before Max huffed in annoyance.

"Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"Flashlight," the blue-haired boss commanded, waiting a few moments as Claire fished through the pockets of Emma's trench coat, pulling out a flashlight.

Claire chucked it to Max, who threw it to me, and we all know I can't catch for shit.

No, it didn't hit my face. I deflected it just in time, thank you very much.

"Nice catch," Sawyer teased, poking me in the side.

"Ha ha, very funny," I rolled my eyes, picking up the small device and switching it on, only to squint at the tiny bright light that protruded from it.

"Haha! Maya's blind!" Tiernan singsonged.

I flashed the light in his eyes for good measure.

It took about ten seconds of awkward silence before C started humming the Pink Panther theme song under his breath, pretending to walk around in the dark stealthily.

It took about ten seconds more before the rest of us caught on.

"Do doo... do doo... do doo, do doo, do doo, do doo, do dooooooooooo..."

Some gangsters they are.

……….

I hated to pull the whiny card, but it was nearing 4am now and my feet hurt and I was tired and hungry and wanted to figure out what this damn Cave thing was.

“Are we there yet?” I grumbled, picking my feet up as if they were anchors, letting the weight of my red converse drag me down.

“Oh, no—we actually passed it a few miles back; we just felt the need to keep walking,” Caellum poked, casually scratching his goatee.

I threw him a glare in the dark. 

“C, stop being a dick,” was Tom’s playful retort in my defense.

Thanks Tom.

“I’m just messing with her, Jesus,” C pretended to be highly offended, slapping a hand to his chest.

“All right, settle down, ladies; you’re both pretty,” Max smirked, throwing each of them a punch before going back to leading the way.

Maeve rolled her eyes, and then looked to me.

“Two more miles, sweetheart,” she laughed, patting me on the back sympathetically as I huffed.

“W-We should… we shouldd jusst toootallyy go caaamping right now!” was the first thing I heard Emma say all night.

She raised her arm in the air triumphantly—I don’t know what for—but it clearly made her feel victorious when she started chanting really loud camp songs.

"C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song! C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song! And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong! But it'll help if you sing alonggggg!!!!"

“Emma, stop. You’re intoxicated. Literally, what the fuck are you doing?” Fonts just shook his head. 

He didn’t even seem the slightest bit surprised at this behavior.

When the hell did Emma become an alcoholic?

Emma, in turn, shushed him quite dramatically before resuming her campfire song.

“Em,” Zoe let go of Tom’s arm, “Shh, it’s quiet time now, come on,” she urged her sister to walk with her, taking hold of her arm, practically tugging her along as we made our way over some enormous roots.

It was then that we heard the first snap.

Almost instinctively, everyone’s ears—including Emma’s—perked up.

We stopped.

“Nobody. Breathe.”

I watched as the atmosphere dropped to a dangerous mood.

Eyes narrowed to slits and hands started moving towards coat pockets and pant pockets and boot buckles and waistbands.

The moment I saw Gibb pull out a revolver, I was scared shitless.

Damn, my friends are murderers. I forgot that minor detail.

I watched as Claire let loose the flannel tied at her waist, revealing an assortment of knives tucked into her belt.

Sawyer pulled open her leather jacket, taking out the sharpest of a large collection of daggers.

Maeve pulled out her foot-long machete, waiting for the next sign of attack.

Max retrieved something that looked like a whip lined with barbed wire.

Jesus Christ, that thing was scary.

The guys drew a variety of guns out of hoodies, jackets, jeans, and boots.

That left Zoe, Emma and I unarmed. 

Well,  fuck.

I noticed how everyone’s attention was fixed on Fonts despite the fact that glances were darting everywhere.

His eyes were dark and determined, feet set steadily in a stance that allowed him to move quickly, if necessary.

Another snap.

Weapons were aimed.

I could feel everyone’s breathing match mine and I could almost see the gears switching in their heads.

This was not a game. This was real life.

I felt T tug on my sweater so I stepped half an inch closer.

Another snap. A gunshot. A howl.

It all happened so quickly that it took several moments to register the enormous coyote dead at Tom's feet.

My heart caught in my throat as I stared at the wildly majestic creature, then trailed to Tom's face and I somehow just noticed the old scar that cut across his eyebrow and it all clicked.

"Okay, guys, that was a close call--Thanks man," Fonts nodded towards the redhead, giving him a look of respect.

"We should get going," Max stated, eyeing the dead coyote.

I think pure adrenaline was the only thing that let me walk, or in this case run, any faster.

Unfortunately, no amount of adrenaline will ever make up what I lack in height, so I was slowing down the rest significantly.

It didn't take long for T to say, "Hop on," so with no amount of pride left, I accepted the piggy-back ride that would carry me to our fateful destination.

..........

I can't remember the moment I was let down, but I remember looking up to see something resembling a giant fortress.

"Home, sweet home," Gibb sighed in fake admiration, gesturing towards the treehouse built atop four ridiculously large oak trees.

The trees stood like pillars, forming part of the magnificent structure.

"Welcome to The Cave, little one," C ruffled my hair, causing me to put what little energy I had left into a weak huff of disapproval.

"Awesome possum," I yawned, lifting a hand to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes.

"Aww, is it past someone's bed time?" Fonts sneered patronizingly. 

I flipped him the bird, not even bothering to throw another glare.

"Knock it off, Fonts," Sawyer rolled her eyes, making her way over to me.

"Let's get you to bed, love," she said.

I tried to protest but the next thing I remember is being curled up in a corner, a flimsy blanket thrown over me, and the silent whooshing of the breeze outside.

..........

There goes a lame attempt at Part Two.

Emma, I am so so sorry. I honestly could not tell you why my subconscious chose to make you a raging alcoholic. Please don't hate me.

As for the rest of you goobers, I hope you enjoyed and please pester me to write the next part because without your motivation, I wouldn't... Teehee.

Hasta la próxima,

Much love xoxo

Maya