The journey towards Scarshot was slow and tiring. The trucks, at times, could not move faster than someone travelling at a slow walk due to the severe conditions of the roads and the weather. The snowfall had blocked some roads, ultimately making them impassable. They had traversed several areas cross-country, which had been a wholly new and treacherous aspect of the journey for both Kyto and Tabs. The roads were bad enough, but travelling across an area of land with no idea what was hidden beneath the snow-covered earth created a different level of apprehension. They had to return and find another route on more than one occasion.
For the first few days, they talked openly about various life experiences, and Kyto learned more about Crystal and Tab's past than he had been aware of. After a few days, though, the general conversation began to dry up, and being in each other’s company all the time was not uncomfortable. They had nothing to discuss being sat inside a vehicle for so long, so several periods of silence ensued. Tabs had spent some of this time reading, and Kyto had also, and he even began to teach Crystal some of the basics when either Lars or TJ took over driving.
Kyto would regularly get the radio out, and they would occasionally pick up messages from townships around the region. He would also tune into Scarshot for any updates. They seemed to broadcast an update hourly, so it was always easy to tune in when it was expected. When they stopped in the evening, the raiders set up camp. The captives remained in the vehicles under guard, but the remainder would set up a campsite, allowing Marlene to provide food for the camp with the crew that helped her. Kyto had taken the opportunity to get to know Marlene a little better and was trying to improve his technique, and even though he was not as physically able to help as the others due to his injuries, he helped with what he could. His injuries had continued to heal well with regular application of the salve. Kyto and Tabs shared a tent with Crystal at night, and they would quietly discuss how they could free Crystal from her role.
On the fifteenth day, Crystal had said they should reach Scarshot by the afternoon. The clouds were heavy in the sky, and it again looked like more snowfall was due. It was bitterly cold out, and thankfully, the vehicles had kept them dry and warm, along with the fantastic jackets that Lars had given them. They finally saw the first signs of Scarshot late that afternoon. On the approaching road, what could only be described as medieval cages containing skeletal remains hung from some of the old streetlights. They arrived late afternoon, driving up alongside a high-fenced area. It wasn’t a town so much as an old retail park. The whole of the outside of it was surrounded by fences that were topped with razor wire.
TJ approached the gate, slowing down to swerve around barrels positioned, creating a slalom course. Six heavily armed men met them; four carried evil-looking maces and two carried assault rifles. Assault rifles were rare, and Kyto had only ever seen one in a township. Their firepower was ridiculous, and to have two at the entrance meant how much they maintained their security. All six guards were wearing various types of body armour, including differing helmets and a couple who looked like they were wearing painted metal plates across their chests. One of the guards waved them forward, and Crystal rolled her window down. She recognised the guard approaching.
“Sam, how are you? I assume we are not late?” she said, smiling at the man. He was a large man and looked very muscular and a brawler.
“Hi Crystal, no, you are not late; the auctions will start in two days; you can take your usual pitch down by the south end. A couple of clients are here. The rest are expected to arrive tomorrow to view the wares before the auction, but this weather keeps some away from the chatter I heard.” Sam said.
“Thanks, Sam.” She said. The large imposing metal gates were opened, and TJ drove inside. It was like a large shopping complex of warehouses from what Tabs could see, and they proceeded to the South end of the area. There were huge parking areas in front of all the buildings, and they pulled into one outside an old store with a faded red and white target painted on it. The vehicles lined up next to each other, and immediately, the crew got to work. Unloading captives and belongings from the vehicles. Many of the group's belongings were to remain on the trucks, and the radio was not emptied.
Tabs and Kyto followed Crystal to the front of the building, entering through two large glass doors. The inside of the building had been emptied, and, in its place, general sleeping areas had been set up with camp cots. There were oil drum burners placed around the insides, and several of the group had prioritised getting them lit to warm the interior of the building, which, with a metal frame, felt bitterly cold. In the corner of the old store was a large fenced-off compound, and they watched as the captives were taken off the trucks and herded into it. They still had blankets, although no camp cots.
They made their way to the far end of the building, and several separate rooms must have been offices. Each one of the rooms had the same camp cots in them. Crystal led them into the furthest and largest one.
“This is ours.” She said, indicating to Kyto and Tabs. There was an oil burner in the room, and Crystal lit it. It kicked out a thick cloud of black smoke, making them all cough until it settled, and Crystal opened a small window behind where it was positioned, allowing the fumes to go outside. It soon began to increase the temperature in the room. Lars arrived after a few minutes, carrying their backpacks from the truck and placing them on the floor by their cots. He would be sharing the room with them, putting any planning Kyto had been thinking about on hold.
They unpacked their needed belongings, and Crystal showed them where the ablutions were. Outside the back of the building, there were what could only be described as containers that had been converted into a toilet and shower block. The shower block was provided hot water from a water tank heated by a wood fire. The heating method was a standard mechanism Kyto had seen in several townships, where providing hot water to individual properties was too tricky, so communal facilities were set up. The fire underneath the tank had already been lit, and Tabs said she wanted to freshen up.
The stalls were all open inside, so Kyto stood outside while Tabs showered. They took turns freshening up and returned to the building after washing off the grime from the road trip. Crystal went next, and Lars stood guard. The other members of her council showered before the remainder of the group was allowed to use the facilities. As per many things Kyto had witnessed since joining the group, they were civilised in their behaviours and manners. The expectation of violence and infighting had not been apparent; only one minor scuffle had occurred, and that had been stopped almost immediately by other members.
The Radstim users of the group had set up in one corner of the building, and as Kyto walked past from the ablutions, he heard them discussing a meeting they were arranging with one of the guards, who sold some of the best stims. Watching their behaviour and interactions was all so strange and alien to him.
The rest of the raid group finished setting up their areas, and TJ came to speak to Crystal. They left the room talking.
“This place is like a fortress,” Kyto said to Tabs.
“Yeah, they have guards everywhere. I saw them dotted around the perimeter as we drove in.” She said.
“We need to look around and see what’s what.” He said.
They got up from their cots, and Lars immediately blocked the doorway.
“Come on, Lars, let us through,” Kyto said.
Lars shook his head.
“We only want to look around,” Tabs added.
Lars would not move. He wasn’t threatening them but would not step out of the doorway. They tried reasoning with him, but he wouldn’t budge. They sat on their cots and talked about nothing important until Crystal returned.
“Sorry,” she said, “I just had to get an update on the other groups here. Only two others are here, and only one more may likely show. The radio chatter we heard is still current. A few buyers have pulled out due to the conditions, which could work either way for us profit-wise.”
“Is that a good or bad thing,” asked Tabs.
“Both of the other groups here now are our strongest rivals for sales, and there is a lot of history between the groups. Last time here, there was a fight between one of our members and theirs. It ended up with their member dying from a stab wound. It all happened because he accused the other of cheating at a dice game.” Crystal said. “We stopped it escalating by handing him over to them, which didn’t go down well, but it was better than a mass brawl.”
Tabs could imagine what they had done to the man handed over and involuntarily shivered. However, she could not get used to Crystal speaking as the raiders being hers. She had blocked off most memories of being with the raiders, but things had returned to her over the past two weeks. She had woken Kyto a few nights, calling out in her sleep or even sobbing. “So, what is the good part?” she asked.
“With only three other groups, we can profit more due to the reduced number of captives for sale. Either the other groups have had no luck sourcing goods or cannot get here due to the weather.” She said.
Kyto pulled a face at the thought of selling the captives for profits and classing them as goods. “I will never accept it.” He said.
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“You don’t have to. That is my responsibility, and I hold all the guilt.” Crystal replied.
“So, you feel bad about it.” Tabs asked.
“Of course I do, who would not? Only the truly evil would not feel anything about doing what we do. I have seen hardened raiders break on occasion, but it is the way of the world we live in.” Crystal said.
Lars nodded his head in agreement. He made some hand gestures to Crystal, which she had never seen him do until now. “What was that?” Tabs asked.
“It is how we talk,” Crystal said. “Lars just reminded me about TJ.” Lars nodded his head again.
“TJ?” Kyto asked.
“Yeah, he broke three years back now. We were holed up down south and had been caught during the storm season. We could not cross back to our next grounds due to flooding, so we stayed there for an extra cycle. That is a long time to keep the same captives. Normally, we only hold them for no more than a couple of months, usually only a couple of weeks, if we can work it well to reduce the need to feed and keep them before we move them to Scarshot. The auctions only run seasonally, so there are only four per year. We don’t raid permanently, which may come as a shock.” She said.
“It was coming to the three-month point, and TJ, unbeknownst to me, had been seeing one of the captives. He honestly thought he had won her over, and just before we got to Scarshot to sell them, he told me about this woman and that he wanted her to stay. I had no problems with it as we have had several join the group, as you can see by the increase in women. When TJ spoke to her, though, she flatly rejected him and told him she had only slept with him to pass the time. He took it hard, and after a heavy night on nectar, he broke down while talking to me and told me that he had fallen in love with her and didn’t want her to go. I explained to him that it was her decision, that I could do nothing to change her mind, and that I would never force a captive to remain in the group unless they wanted to.” She finished.
“But he never shows emotion.” Tabs said, “Whenever I speak to him, he is always short and sharp, and that’s it.”
“He is like that with everyone unless he trusts you, which he doesn’t. He thinks I am stupid, even allowing you to travel with us. He wanted me to leave you both behind. I told him it would never happen, and he accepted it, albeit begrudgingly. Between him and Lars here, they are my two most trusted and closest friends.” Crystal said.
The term friend to Kyto seemed such a strange concept between raiders.
“We wanted to look around,” Tabs said, “but Lars wouldn’t let us leave.”
“No, he wouldn’t. I asked him to keep you here for your safety,” Crystal stated. “If you go outside, especially without wearing raider tags, you will get too many looks.” She dug into a bag and pulled out two flashes with the dripping fang emblem emblazoned on them. “Here, put these on. Also, Lars or I will be with you if you go anywhere. All it will take is for you to walk into the wrong group, and trouble may start.”
“Lars, can you give them a tour please? I will meet you at the pit in about an hour. I have some business I need to finish off here first.” She said.
Kyto and Tabs put the flashes on. Neither of them felt good wearing a raider tag, but they could understand the reasons behind it. Lars led them out of the building. Snow started falling again, and the late afternoon sky was dark and heavy. Two other large buildings had trucks parked outside. They could see the light cast by the burning barrels inside. Around the site itself, there were several buildings that they could also see which looked occupied.
There were separate lots that each raiding group had been assigned. They could hear a general uproar from the two areas where the others were housed. Laughing, shouting, and swearing. It looked like a fight had broken out at one of them, and two men were rolling about in the snow outside, being cheered on by other raiders. Lars pointed over at one of the groups where the fight was occurring. He signalled a slash across his throat. “They're your main rivals?” Tabs asked.
Lars nodded. The group was larger than their group, looking at the number of trucks parked outside. All the trucks the raiders had were similar. They were old military vehicles with tarpaulined awnings covering the backs.
Lars led them on a tour of the site. He pointed out several locations, and although they could not understand the movements he made with his hands, they got the gist of what he was saying.
They continued through the site, following the road towards two massive warehouses some distance from the main area. Kyto saw a sign that had been erected and looked new; hand-painted were the words ‘Auction House’. He saw Tabs shudder and had forgotten how she must be feeling reliving this episode of her life. She seemed okay, and he reached out and squeezed her hand slightly. She turned, and half smiled at him. He wished he knew what was going through her mind.
Sheer terror filled Tab's mind as they approached the Auction House. She recognised the exterior from the last time she had been here. She shuddered uncontrollably at the memory of being led into the building and placed in viewing cages. She instinctively reached up, placing her hand inside the hood she had drawn around her face, and rubbed at the scar on the back of her neck. Thankfully, her hair had grown long enough over the past few months that it now covered the spot, so it was not on display when she walked around.
The far end of the area was all fenced off, and as they walked the perimeter of the site, it appeared that only half of it was used. Every few hundred feet, they passed a lookout post. They lost count of how many in total, and not all of them were manned, but this place had been designed to keep people in as well as out. It reminded Kyto of the factory setup just on a massive scale.
“Lars,” a man called, walking out from the Auction House in a booming, jovial voice.
Lars turned and smiled at a large man with a huge moustache that was pristinely waxed to points on either side of his large, round face. He was wearing a suit, of all things. “I hope you have some decent stock for the auction. The current pickings are pretty poor.” He said he paid no attention to either Kyto or Tabs. Lars held up his fingers, indicating forty-three.
“Very nice. I guess, as always, Crystal has looked after them as usual. She does have a way with her captives. They always fetch the better rates.” He said. “I guess you are in your usual spot?” he asked.
Lars nodded.
“No problem, I will say hi to her and the boys.” He said.
The man headed past them and started towards where they had set up.
“I am guessing he is the Auctioneer?” Kyto asked.
Tabs recognised the man who had left the building, remembering him running the auction when she had been sold. He was an obnoxious man who gloated over the captives. She remembered his visits to the cages and his comments about various people as if he were viewing slabs of meat.
Lars nodded and indicated that they should head back towards the centre again.
Lars showed them around the remainder of the site. There were areas assigned for clients, and the names of different businesses were written on plaques hung outside. Tabs froze, and a look of sheer terror crossed her face, gripping Kyto’s arm tightly. “What is it?” Kyto asked. She just pointed at a sign that read, ‘Montgomery Metals’. Kyto suddenly realised the issue; that was the name of the factory from which he had helped her escape. “Don’t worry.” He said.
“But what if they ….” Tabs started to say and glanced at Lars.
“He knows,” Kyto said, “Lars was there when I first explained to Crystal what had happened and how we met.”
Lars looked at Tabs with a kindly, knowing look and smiled at her softly.
“What if they recognise me?” she said.
“I doubt they will. You look nothing like you did when I helped you escape.” He said. “For a start, you are wearing clothes.” He chuckled, and Lars raised an eyebrow.
Tabs hit him hard in the shoulder, frowning at him.
“Honestly, you have changed so much. Your hair is completely different, and I doubt they ever saw you once you were cleaned up and fed?” he stated.
“No,” she said sullenly.
They continued walking until they approached a large building with a faded and broken sign on its wall. It said ‘Walmart’ and hung just below it was another sign which read, ‘The Pit’. At the entrance doors were two armed guards; they both were carrying a variant of a shotgun similar to the one Lars had. As they approached, the guards looked them over before one of them opened the door and let them inside.
Inside, there were several areas sectioned off and a large bar. There were already groups of raiders sitting around drinking nectar and other concoctions and looking at the glasses they had. They could smell food cooking, and over in a corner, they saw two large spits with some variety of Wild Ones slowly cooking on them. What caught Kyto’s attention was the cage in the middle of the area. He could see blood on the floor as they walked past it, and some of it looked fresh. Lars walked them to a set of tables off the side of the cage, separated from the main areas with a rope. He offered for them to sit down.
They had not been sat down long when a woman dressed in hardly anything walked over to them carrying a tray. She had a collar around her neck, “Can I get you anything?” she asked.
Lars signalled for three drinks.
“We don’t drink nectar,” Kyto mentioned to Lars.
Lars indicated to the woman one, pointed up, then two, and pointed down.
“One normal, two pure.” She said, smiling at them and hurrying off towards the bar.
Moments later, she returned with three glasses on the tray, placing the first down in front of Lars and then the other two down for Tabs and Kyto.
A lively bunch of raiders off to one side of the bar stood around a table, playing a dice game. In another area, tables were also set up for card games.
They were in the process of finishing off their drinks when Crystal, TJ and two others arrived. Crystal shrugged off her jacket as she entered. Several raiders stopped and turned, following her as she crossed the bar. One of the raiders whistled in appreciation before being swiftly silenced by his companions and a glare from TJ. Crystal looked stunning. She had changed from her travelling clothes and was wearing a tight-fitting pair of bottoms and a skimpy top accentuating her figure, and her plaited hair fell down her back. She was a picture of beauty and walked over to where they sat, oozing confidence. Tabs saw Crystal nod toward another roped-off area, and a table where a man was sitting alone returned the nod. Tabs had not noticed him before sitting alone to one side, but he appeared the size of a mountain when looking at him. He was solid muscle, and his arms were bigger than her thighs.
Crystal sat down, apologising to them, “Sorry I got caught up with Shep. He never stops talking. No wonder he runs the auctions, as I am sure he talks clients into submission. He has checked the goods and thinks we have the best so far. It will just depend on what the last group brings with them. We can have a couple of drinks and food here. Then we will head back. TJ and Jo will watch the team tonight when it starts getting busier. We take turns staying in the evenings. I will do tomorrow with Lars, and Mitch is staying back at the block heading security.”
“Security?” Tabs asked.
“It is not unknown for other groups to take advantage while their crews are partying. Even some captives were taken during one auction. The row that it caused was ridiculous. Some raiders believe it is theirs for the taking if it is not bolted down.” She said.
The bar gradually started to fill up as the evening set in. It was getting louder and boisterous, and a few minor scuffles had broken out, but nothing serious. “Let’s head back,” Crystal said, “we will see enough tomorrow if it’s like normal, and the fights are scheduled for then as well. TJ, you all good?” she asked him.
“Yeah, we will be fine; we will let you know if anything happens.” He said.
They got up and left, heading back to the block, leaving TJ and Jo to watch over the group.