Miscreants: Next Generation by Natalie Bennett (essential reading .txt) 📗

CHAPTER SEVEN

It took time to not only plan but also execute an elaborate escape from a certifiably bat-shit crazy man.

Time we didn’t have.

This was so risky it could be argued we’d never pull it off. But unless we wanted to wait even longer, there wasn’t any other option. Worst case scenario?

We’d fail and be killed.

I’d tried to talk Poe and Kara out of coming with me for this very reason, but all my objections fell on deaf ears.

I should have expected as much. These two deviant souls kept me grounded on some of my worst days. We’d been close since first meeting one another. That was exactly what Samael had wanted: stand-ins for the only other friend I’d had and ultimately lost.

He brought Kara back along with some other girls after a big run a few years ago. She had been in rough shape and pitifully reserved, but over time she got better.

I couldn’t remember the exact time Poet showed up, but he’d become our teddy bear of sorts. He was also one of the few men Samael didn’t lose his shit over me being close with.

They could never replace my Belladonna. One person’s shadow couldn’t fill the shape of someone else’s. I loved them, though. Their friendship was invaluable.

“You’re sure he’s going on a run?” Poet asked for the sixth time.

“She’s answered that more than twice now,” Takara replied before I could.

“Focus, buddy. We’ve got an even smaller window than we thought we’d end up with.”

“Right, sorry. Where do we go after we leave the woods?”

“I remember there being a town outside of here. We’ll have to get through it.”

“All right, I’ve got two supply bags stashed and ready to go. That won’t last us long. Whatever you want to take, make it light and preferably useful. I’ll do my best to gather more supplies, but on such short notice, don’t expect any miracles.”

“He’s right. And we need to figure out how to get hold of the Savages A-S-A-P,” Kara said.

I shook my head at her suggestion. “You don’t just ‘get hold’ of the Savages. We can’t go around inquiring about their location. That’s a quick way to die.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

“I can help with that,” an unknown voice cut in.

We ignored it, as we did with most of the people locked inside the pens. They were all in there for some reason or another. They’d be traded like currency in exchange for something, or eventually killed. The reasons for that varying.

Either way, they were irrelevant. Proselytes tended to stay away from here until it was time to remove one. That’s what made this area of the lodge site the best possible place to meet up and talk our plan through.

I chewed my lower lip, trying to remember the layout of the Badlands. Approaching random factions wasn’t an option, and we couldn’t wander around with no destination in mind. That would be just as suicidal.

It was bad enough none of us knew how extensive the Stag-Lazarus faction’s reach had become since being sequestered away.

“Give me a bit more time to think, okay? I need to go meet Samael before he sends his firing squad to find me.”

“Okay, but not much. We’ve already put this off twice. If this pans out, tomorrow is our chance to really make a break for it,” Kara pointed out.

“You’re Blue’s daughter, right?”

My reply to Takara died on my lips. We shared a look between the three of us and then turned our heads towards the pen closest to us. Now this person had my attention. I hadn’t heard Mom’s nickname in Satanas knows how long.

A middle-aged guy with messy brown hair stood away from all the other people that had been shoved inside, watching us closely.

He couldn’t have been here too long, because he was relatively clean and seemed to be sane.

“How do you know that?” Poet shifted in front of me, protectively.

I peered around his massive form, curious about what the guy was going to say.

He held up both his hands defensively and offered a smile. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. Cameron was very descriptive.”

“You know Cam?” My heart clenched at the mention of my big brother.

“I know a few things that I think would be a big help to you.”

By his tone, he wasn’t going to simply give this information freely, which was to be expected. If I were in his position and had something to bargain with, I would’ve done the same. There wasn’t much I could give this guy in exchange, though.

“Go meet Samael,” Poet ordered, his protective side rearing its head. “I’ll deal with this.”

I was reluctant to leave him alone. Not because he couldn’t handle himself or that I thought this man could bust out of the pen, but I wanted to hear what he had to say. Alas, I couldn’t risk Samael or one of his puppets catching me speaking to him. That wouldn’t go over well.

“Come on, boo,” Takara urged softly, taking hold of my hand to lead me away.

I went without further delay. I trusted Poet to get any answers he could.

“You think he was being honest?” Takara asked once we’d put some distance between us.

I lifted both shoulders in a shrug. “He knew my brother’s name, but that doesn’t mean anything. Everyone knows who he is…”

My mind drifted to the last time I saw my big brother in the flesh. I was sitting on bleachers inside an old gym. Cam had no idea I was there. I’d been in full-on Stag gear to keep myself hidden.

If he’d known how close we were, the meet would’ve turned into a bloodbath. Belladonna and her brother had been there too,