Chapter 17
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“I do not buy it.” I snap at the boys as they give me a ridiculous hanged dog expression. “You have been chasing pussy like it is your god given right.” I sweep the gun I confiscated at them. “It is going to stop. Now!” I push outward with my anger. I do to them on purpose what I did to Nimrod by accident. I am awash with pain of every girl they have accosted, for every bung hole they tried to fill. They cringe away from me in fear. It is glorious! The power to inspire this kind of emotions. I begin to plan what else I can do to them while I have them in my power.
“You leave those boys alone!” My head comes up and an inspired grin crosses my face. Ah, the father has come, the worst of the lot. I look over my shoulder, to see him pointing a gun at me. I will bet that one is loaded.
“I teach humility.” I say coldly to him. “You have not done so.”
“Boys, Get.” He says over my shoulder to his sons. They giggle in relief. So I growl at them and they flee up the hill in fear, as is right and proper.
“What is wrong with Billy?” Father asks as he makes he way over the rocks. Slowly and carefully.
“I believe he has what the boxing world refers to, as a glass jaw.” I raise a smug eyebrow. “I knocked him out with one punch.”
“What are you, girl, some new type of fighter class?” He stops about 10 feet away. The gun never wavers.
“I am a healer from the Compound of the Kindred, They call me Chronos.” I put the shot-gun down and lean over to pick up my skirt.
“Hold it right there?” He tenses up and starts to pull the trigger back. I calmly stop and look over at him. My fanny up in the air. “Don’t touch anything.”
I stand back up slowly. This guy is seriously stressed.
“I was going to put my skirt back on. It is getting a little to chilly to be standing out here talking.” I keep my voice calm and smooth.
“I don’t care. Now you are going to take that chain off and toss it over here.” He instructs.
I hiss this command, I really don’t want to lose my only weapon on this planet. “It is nothing.” I lie, “Just a pretty.” My hands go to finger the chain. I have not taken it off in the last week. and the last time I trusted the world to be sane I got kidnapped. I will not be caught without it again.
“Do it girl.” He almost sounds frightened. He starts to draw the trigger back again. “Or I will shoot you where you stand.”
“Very well.” I sigh, as I start to undo the loop around my waist. I move with exasperated slowness. I keep my eyes on him. He never even hears Catherine come up behind him and club him over the head. I give her a nod of thanks.
“Did you want some of this or can I get dressed now?” I ask sarcastically and gesture to my nakedness from the waist down. I really am not enjoying standing there freezing my butt off. Literally.
“Oh please. You’re such a show off,” Catherine gives a shivers of disgust, but she actually looks amused.
“You caught me with my pants down, again.” I have to laugh at myself. I step out of the water and put my skirt back on. Not that it makes me any warmer but at least now I am not getting any wetter.
Catherine laughs right back at me.
“What do we do about these two?” She asks as she pats the men down looking for more weapons.
“Well, I knocked out the boy for being a jerk. His father on the other hand, I would like to talk to. Do you think we could tie him up somewhere so I can interrogate him? Or would that be too much?” I ask.
She sighs at me, a great long torturous sigh. “He’s Brin’s father, you sure you want to do this?” She eyes him, clearly upset with the idea.
“Hmm. right,” I grin and wink back at her. ” Let us see if we can wake him up then, shall we?”
“Fine.” Catherine goes over to the stream and shoots dagger at me as she pulls off her blouse and soaks it full of ice cold water. She stalks back up to where I have been standing over the two men and rings out her blouse over his head.
Brin’s father sputters and shrieks as he wakes up. “What? Who?”
“You are fine hero.” I kneel down next him. “Just a little knock.” I gently brush my hand over his head to check the damage. A small lump for a couple of days. He cringes back at my touch. “Do not be such a baby.”
Catherine smiles and waves down at him.
He starts to scramble away from us. Why is this guy so frightened of us? Catherine and I share a look of disgust.
“You are going to hurt yourself if you keep crawling backward.” Catherine decides to mention.
“We are not here to hurt you. We do not even care about you.” I tell him.
“But you are one of them!” He rants. “You can’t be human! I saw what you did to my boys.”
“I am a healer.” I say, again. “I have been trained to protect myself.”
“One of what?” Catherine asks as suspicion blooms in her voice. Good question.
“She is a Hunter Killer.” He says pointing at me, maintaining his manic delusions. “They are enhanced Soldiers.”
Catherine gives me a look, suspicion coming into her face now.
“Oh really.” I snarl at her. “I am not a Hunter Killer. I may be named a chaotic but I am no ones soldier.”
“How do you know of this Soldier?” I look at him. “Speak.”
He sighs and seems to fold into himself. “I was member of the Neo states.”
“Neo states? What the hell is that?” I ask in disbelief. I am surprised that I have found a source of real information so fast. I figure I would have to do some serious travel and kick some ass to get it.
He licks his dry lips and starts talking. “It is what is left of the United State of America after the war.” He sounds doubtful that we don’t know anything about the Neo states.
Again, Catherine and I share a look of what the hell is he talking about.
“Never heard of it.” I say.
“They’re still out there?” Catherine sucks in a breath of surprise. “We haven’t heard any thing.”
I raise my hand. “Mention the whole cloistered thing.” I smirk at her.
“Fine.” She huffs back a me.
I narrow my eyes in suspicion. “They would not by any chance be interested in biological warfare. Would they?” I have to ask.
“The science end maybe. We didn’t hear much, only rumor and stuff.” he says.
I turn to Catherine. “I think maybe this gentleman should talk to the Kindred?”
“I’m thinking you’re right.” Now she has lost her suspicion of me and is just plain scared. Not that I blame her. If these are the guys who have been giving the Kindred all these plagues, then we might be in some trouble.
“I am Chronos, I really am a healer. Green hair not with-standing, we are not here to hurt you.” I hold out my hand to him. He sits for a minute and thinks. Then he reaches up and takes my hand. I haul him to his feet.
“I’m Rich.” He says. “We should go back to the house. If you would give me a hand with Billy.”
Catherine gives a shrug and walks over to the slumbering boy. She picks him up and tosses him over her shoulder.
“Lead the way Rich.” She grins back at him.
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