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Escott found it appropriate that he’d landed in the gutter. His body twisted and popped—he was healing. But he couldn’t stand. The rain beat down on him, a burning sensation with it.

“Fuck....” He groaned, still turned on his back and writhing. “Fuck.”

In the distance, he heard his good deed paying off—just like he deserved.

“Mouse, let’s go.”

They were leaving. Serves you right, Escott. You were helping crooks. Serves you fucking right.

“But...but he’s hurt. Look, his skin’s even bruising up. The...the water hurts him?” Ice asked.

Arma’s voice grew distant. “Mouse, let’s go. We can’t be late.”

There was silence for a long while, the furious rain pounding down on the street as his only sound.

“I...I can’t. I really am hurt. I’m hurt,” Ice admitted.

“Oh, Mouse, what were you thinking?” Arma closed in. “Stay still. I can’t do much without both hands, but I can set you on your way. This is my last gift to you. I can’t give any more. Not without my other hand.”

Despite the eventual desertion, Escott took some comfort in knowing Ice would live. The fact that she could stand was a wonderment in and of itself.

“Let’s go,” Arma said.

The silence that followed gave Escott time to reflect—mostly on what was wrong with him. He stared up into the great beyond, his eyes stinging. As unreasonable as it sounded, he swore he would die in this water.

“Mouse?”

Someone was still here...lingering.

“I...I can’t. He was willing to help us.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Escott took them in.

Arma grabbed Ice by the shirt before she could rush to Escott’s aid. “Mouse...it’s happening tonight. I need your head on straight. It’s happening. It’s happening and we can’t pay. Let me remind you of that. Not with one arm. We can’t pay.”

Ice refused to budge.

“Mouse...?”

Ice met her gaze. “I’m helping him.”

“I forbid it.”

Snorting out a laugh, Ice scoffed. “Like that ever works.”

“Well what are we gonna do with him? Sash’s already there. He needs the help.”

Escott kept his eyes on Ice, willing the idiot to stop talking and actually move her ass to come help. The strain became too much, and it forced Escott to look up once more.

Two hands grabbed his right arm. When one more caught his left, he closed his eyes. Both of them were helping. It’d take both. A full grown Newbreed was heavy cargo.

“Look at his skin. Is that normal?” Ice asked.

“Just keep moving, you brat. You’ve cost us a lot of time.” The earth rumbled and both women paused. “Oh no. Would you look at that?”

Ice gasped. “It’s standing.”

Arma nodded. “Yes. It’s fucking standing. Pray that it moves and gives the enforcers something else to look at other than that barrier. We’ve gotta move faster and throw this one away.”

Escott took insult. “Fuck you.”

Struggling to drag him, Ice said, “That’s not very nice.”

Instead of them finding shelter in a building, Escott was shocked when Arma tore off a manhole and instructed Ice to drop him down into it.

Escott landed hard, water and dirt swirling around him. This wasn’t the time to be in the underground. And these idiots actually traveled the tunnels. Still, being away from the rain did help. Not fully, because thanks to that damn rain, there was a small flow of water that proved equally distressing.

Ice landed next, and then Arma.

With some effort, Escott managed to stand. He could only stumble forward before he went crashing into the ground face first.

“He looks drunk,” Arma complained. “Are you sure about him?”

“Yes. We’ll leave him in a safe place and then head to the gate. Okay?”

The world faded now and then, but Escott remained in motion, all the more so because someone kept calling to him.

One final tumble proved a dry landing. Something covered him and he decided to rest up and figure it all out later.

Ice said, “We should bring him further in.”

Judging from the proximity of Arma’s voice, the woman must have crouched. She held Escott’s cheek then the other. “I’m sorry Mouse, but I’m putting my foot down. I will punish if you keep this up. Come. We’ll reach faster if we travel under here. Shit. What was that?”

Ice ducked down, whispering, “Enforcers. I guess they’ve got the same idea.”

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“Damn. Fine. Let’s get back up.” Arma waited and growled. “He’ll be fine. His people are down here, someone’ll find him.”

That satisfied Ice who crouched down and said to Escott, “I do appreciate the rescue.”

“Fuck you,” Escott wheezed. This abandonment felt a bit too familiar to Lilah’s.

Silence followed, and then footsteps, and Escott leaned his head back because he knew...he was alone. Eventually, he decided to rest. Sleep came frighteningly fast. The sound of gunfire dragged him awake. Gunfire and shouting.

Enforcers didn’t like to shoot. They could, but avoided it, especially underground where the noise might attract a curious imp looking to feed. The rain had stopped. As far down as Escott was, somehow, he knew, it had stopped. This wasn’t enforcers, it was something else.

“Mouse, help me.”

“Arma, duck!”

Boom.

Escott’s eyes flickered open. “What in the hell...?” He needed a minute to adjust to the dim tunnel. One blink then two and he felt renewed. A coarse blanket covered him, but he shrugged it off.

“Arma!” Ice screamed.

“Just keep going. We’ve come too far. Just keep going. Shit. No, no, don’t go that way, love. Come. Come this way.”

A small body rushed past. Escott had to turn and make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“Arma?” a child called.

“I’m here. I’m over here, love. You must come this way. You must come to the dark. Come on.”

Children. And not just one.

“I’ll get him,” someone else said.

A scream followed. It was then that it occurred to Escott, his presence caused a scare—rather, his glowing eyes did.

“There’s a monster. Arma, there’s a monster.”

Heavy footfall brought people closer. “Gavas! He’s still here,” Arma marveled.

“Arma?”

Two more voices called out and then a scream.

“We have to go.” Ice barreled toward them, a cannon on her shoulder. “We have to go.”

Now Arma was the reluctant one. “One’s wandered.”

Ice surveyed the tunnel and ran ahead. Gunfire had her racing back. “Arma.”

Arma pushed past her, and whatever she was carrying was strong enough to send fire shooting down the tunnels. It didn’t last long before she doubled back.

“You lot go. Go. I have to find him.”

Unlike Ice with long white hair, the newcomer who helped them had long blond hair. He looked younger, too. Despite that, his words held conviction and anger. “Are you going to sacrifice all of us? After we’ve come so far?”

Arma looked back down the tunnel.

Ice did as well. “I’ll go.”

With that, Arma caught her by the chest barehanded. “No. No. Absolutely not. You stand out. You’re our damn light source for fuck’s sakes.”

Another scream gave them pause. Arma tried to compose herself. “I can’t leave him.”

“We have to,” the blond said. “We really have to.”

Arma looked him in the eye. “I didn’t leave any of you, Sash. And you weren’t that easy to bring.”

The blond nodded. “I know. But we’ll die without you. I don’t know what to do with them.” He gestured to Ice. “Mar doesn’t know what to do with them. None of us fucking know, Arma.”

The next scream made Arma’s breath hitch. She grabbed the cannon from Ice. “I can’t leave anyone. Not even one. We’ve already lost two. Get the rest to safety. But I can’t.”

“A one-armed warrior,” Escott drawled. “That’s new.” It took some effort for him to stand, but he felt good when he could stretch. “What am I looking for?”

The three of them stared at him, stupid and speechless.

“It talks,” the blond said.

Arma muttered, “Mind your manners.”

Their suspicion was understandable. “I come from a long line of crooks turned enforcers,” Escott explained. “My Pop’s always said, if you’re gonna hang for standing around watching a crime, might as well be guilty. Don’t get guiltier than breaching our borders, so what am I looking for?”

Ice was the only one to rush to him. “Small boy, age five. He’s got short brown hair.”

Escott raised an eyebrow at her. “You talk like he’ll be hard to spot down here. Who’s got him?”

Arma swallowed hard. “Enforcers.”

Gasping, Escott said, “Of course....”

Ice didn’t seem to care. “Please. Please get him back. You have to get him back.”

Escott wasn’t sure of that. One glance behind him showed a wagon filled with children of various ages. Some carried babies.

“What in the hell is this?”

“Please,” Ice said again. “I know you’ll help us. Please.”

Escott stared the girl down, wondering where all this confidence came from. Best to figure it out after finding the straggler, though. Escott dragged a claw along Ice’s cheek then tasted the blood. With this pure essence, he could follow Ice’s scent and find them anywhere in the city.

Gunfire broke out, the erratic kind—and it wasn’t directed at them. Escott leapt on his hands and feet and charged down the tunnel.

He only needed to turn the corner to find out why. Two yellow eyes came his way, and two more. Imps. His heart pounded and he thought to find out if it was friend or foe, but one pounced. He jumped back.

“Wait,” Escott pleaded. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Fresssssshhh mea’t,” the second one announced, and blocked his path.

Voices closed in, a wailing child with it. Imps...three of them, and they had the kid.

The final imp held the boy up by one leg, carrying him like a toy.

Now Escott doubted the story of enforcers taking the boy. He could only guess that someone did, and then promptly abandoned him to the imps to save themselves.

The three imps converged. Escott decided not to make any sudden movements.

One imp flung the boy as if he was little more than a doll. “Tooo younnng.”

Escott caught him. A struggling child was one thing but fighting three imps with one was another.

Another one appraised Escott and hissed. “Dirty breeee’d. And he smeeeellls of sss’ugar. Thisss one’sss sssick.” He spat at Escott’s feet. The acid of the saliva sizzled on the floor.

Walking on their hands and feet, they lumbered away.

Escott watched them until they were gone, disbelieving, he let out a sigh of relief. The boy cried in his grip and he tried to pat his back. Coming from a big family meant getting used to tears, but this one was hard to bear.

“Shhh. You’re safe.” Whatever had poisoned Escott kept them alive.

Now for the bigger problem...taking this child to HQ or back to his people. Who were his people, again?

“Arma. I want my Arma,” the boy cried.

Escott let out a sigh and decided to find Arma and the rest of them. Something struck him from behind.

“No,” Ice wailed.

Another blow to the back of the knees sent Escott folding. He tried to stand, but something heavy struck his head—that fucking cannon.

“Mar, shut up.”

“Sash, you don’t have to hit him that hard. He’s just helped us.”

“He’s an enforcer. Are you forgetting that?” Two more heavy strikes came with the boy’s scream. “There.”

It wasn’t enough, not by a long shot. In fact, Escott was ready to rise now. He stayed down, though. The blond was afraid of him. He had every right to be.

“That’s enough,” Arma said.

Escott had a feeling that cannon was raised high to strike him again.

“Sasha! I said that’s enough.” Maybe Arma stepped in front of the teen—it wasn’t like she could hold the crying child with one hand and stop the blond with the next. “Come. They’re probably hungry. We should go.”

A rustle sounded and Escott told himself to stay down. Don’t get up and slap the shit out of that kid for hitting him after all he tried to do for them.

Someone else lingered.

“Mouse...” Arma said. “Please. There’s nothing for you here. Please come.”

Ice muttered, “I’m not leaving him down here. I’m...I’m going to get him help.”

Arma didn’t have an answer for some time. “He’ll manage.” She didn’t seem all that certain because she said, “I’m sure of it.”

Silence.

Letting out a sigh, Arma said, “Okay. But you hit that alarm on the street above and you leg it back to us. Understood?”

“Yeah,” Ice promised. “Stay safe.”

They separated, Arma and Sasha traveling with the children, and Ice climbing out of the underground.

After they were good and gone, Escott sighed, more than ready to stand up and put an end to this day. Someone jumped down and rushed to him.

“Don’t worry,” Ice said, “I’ve called for help. I’ve got the gun, too, in case any imps come. Don’t worry.”

Escott marveled at the irony. He scared the imps, and yet, here was this girl looking to protect him instead. Standing now would show Ice how worthless her efforts were, so Escott remained still, certain the girl would run away at the first sight of an enforcer rescue.

Stone scraping stone above meant someone had found them. Ice sat beside him. And when someone jumped down, Ice still sat there.

“He’s hurt. He needs a medic,” Ice insisted. “He’s hurt.”

“Essy....” Someone rushed to them but slowed in his stride and said, “Fucking hell, Essy, get up and stop being an idiot.” The Newbreed enforcer turned his attention on Ice next. “You’re under arrest, by the way.”