Gravel crunched under Hunter’s boots as he passed through the packed back alleys of the Savage Lands. A painted woman with eyes that looked older than time leaned out of a doorway, whispering an offer. Hunter shook his head without breaking stride, his gaze fixed on the alley ahead. He hated the Savage Lands. The desperation clung to the air like a disease. He’d almost made it through unscathed when a cry of protest snagged his attention.

Not my problem, he thought, but his feet had already stopped moving.

A redheaded young woman fought against a much larger man. She kicked him in the shins, but the man didn’t even flinch. He yanked her arm hard enough to make Hunter wince, then ducked, shoving his shoulder into her gut and threw her over his shoulder.

Keep moving. You can’t stop for everyone with shit luck, or you’ll be here all night.

Hunter looked back at the girl as she raised her gaze through her copper hair to his. Their eyes locked a moment. Bright blue swirled around her pupils and reflected the moonlight back at him. Then she was gone, disappearing around the bend.

“Damn it!”

Hunter scanned the surrounding people to make sure no one was watching and followed the pair down the alley. When he got to the corner, Hunter pressed his back against the wall and peered around it. The man had the girl pressed up against the brick wall of a dead end. He was leaning in to kiss her when she raised a knee to her attacker’s groin, doubling him over. As she tried to move past the man, he gripped her by the hair and threw her to the ground.

Hunter pressed himself against the wall once more, released a long breath, and stepped around the corner. “Hey man. Everything all right back here?”

The man turned to Hunter and spat, “Mind your own business. I bought and paid for this one. Now bug off.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s none of my business. But can I ask how much you paid for her?”

“Why don’t you go buy one yourself and leave me to mine?” He put a boot on her abdomen, pressing down. She groaned and scraped at the dirty leather, trying to shove him off, but his stance was set.

“I’d like to make you an offer for that one.”

The man’s greedy eyes lit up, but flicked down to the woman that was already proving to be more trouble than he’d likely anticipated tonight. “How much?”

“A hundred.”

“Are you serious?” The man chuckled.

Hunter shrugged. “What can I say? I have a thing for redheads.”

The man turned to the woman and then squinted at Hunter. “Make it fifty, but after I’m done with her.”

“That’s not going to work.”

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“Then you can piss off.”

Hunter stepped forward. “You’re going to regret this.”

The sound of a switchblade click cut through the foul rot of the alley as a toothless grin spread across the man’s face. “We’ll see about that.”

Hunter balled his fists and braced himself as the stranger lumbered towards him. “I don’t want to hurt you,” Hunter lied. From the moment he’d locked eyes with the girl, hurting him was the only thing on his mind.

Hunter watched the knife as he stepped forward. Another, much larger shimmer of a metal flashed in the moonlight. A trash can flew through the air and crashed into the man’s head. He fell to the ground in a heap. In a heartbeat, the girl was standing over top of the man, kicking and punching him in the face. The crack of bone and the thud of flesh punctuated the silence as she rained blows on the unconscious man. After several more crunching shots, she brushed her copper hair behind both ears and looked at Hunter.

Her eyes, blazing with a cold fury, narrowed as she glared at Hunter. Her fists were clenched, and her shoulders were tense. “I didn’t need your help.”

“I can see that.” Hunter looked down at the unconscious man laying in a pool of his own blood. Looking back at her, Hunter thought that despite the anger and resourcefulness, there was something about her that said he shouldn’t leave her alone. But he’d been wrong before. “Well, I’m sure you don’t need my help to get out of here in one piece. You know, with that tracker the hawker activated in you right before he sold you to this idiot.” Hunter turned and began to walk away. “Good luck.”

“Wait!”

He paused, “What?”

“What tracker?”

“When you first got taken, did you get injected with something?”

“How did you know someone took me?”

“Does it matter?”

“To me it does.”

Hunter sighed. “In this world, you’re either taken or given as a payment of debt. Between your looks and your woeful ignorance about how this works tells me you weren’t given away. Now answer my question. When you were taken, were you injected with something?”

“Yes. In the right shoulder blade.” She reached her arm up, like she was trying to feel the spot, then dropped her bloodied hand lamely at her side.

“That figures. They like to implant them in places hard for a person to get at themselves. Hawkers implant trackers into their… property so they can be found if they don’t come back. Did he scan a device over it before you left?”

The girl nodded.

“That’s how they activate the tracker. It’ll be just a matter of time before they find you.”

“And you can help me with that?”

Hunter turned back to the girl. “I have a friend. If he can’t remove it, he should at least be able to disable it.”

“He would help me?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “One of the few that would. He’s a good man.”

“And you?”

Hunter shrugged. He felt suddenly uncomfortable.

“It seems like you know a lot about how hawkers work.”

“When you’ve lived here for as long as I have, you pick up on things.”

“How do I know this isn’t some trick?”

“You don’t. One way or the other, I’m leaving. Come with me or not. But I’d decide soon if I were you.”

They both looked at the man stirring on the ground. She kicked him in the face once more. The crunch of a broken nose echoed off the nearby walls. Hunter ruefully made a mental note not to get on this woman’s bad side.

“Where’s your friend live?”

“Not far. But we’re not going to his house.”

“Then where are we going?”

“Someplace safe. But first I have to make a call.”

She hesitated, her gaze flickering between Hunter and the unconscious man. Trusting him was insane, but staying here was a death sentence. She took a deep breath. "Fine," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Let's go."

“Thank you…”

“Hunter.”

“Thank you, Hunter. My name is Ella.”