We suddenly burst from the trees to discover a collection of buildings not unlike those Taylor and I had explored outside The Wall. These buildings weren't old and in disrepair though, they were sleek and well maintained. The windows were all barred with thick, metal shutters and all but one of the buildings was locked up tight.
The door of the house directly ahead of us was wide open and a beautiful girl was running straight towards us brandishing a machete. She had long, white-blond hair that flew out behind her, sparkling in the moonlight a
lmost as much as the lethal looking blade in her hand.
“Go!" she shouted, barely sparing us a glance as we charged past her and through the door into the house.
I collapsed, gasping on the floor inside and watched the view back through the doorway as Kaloo appeared between the trees, pursued by a pack of the enraged cougars.
The girl spun, her hair flying about her like a silver cloak and ran next to Kaloo through the door which Coal slammed shut behind them. He snapped a heavy metal bar down to reinforce it just as the sounds of large bodies smashing into the building filled the air.
I held my breath, waiting for them to find a way inside as the door rattled beneath the assault. The metal shutters screeched as they ran their claws along it but the house was locked down firmly. We were safe.
Just as I started to breathe again, the stunning blonde girl leapt at Coal.
She wrapped her arms around him and he caught her up off of the floor in a bear hug, spinning her around.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to do that to me?" she demanded, slapping his chest with the palms of her hands.
She was tall and crazily beautiful with full lips and wide eyes. She was anything but delicate though. With the machete hanging from her hip and a definite athleticism to her build, she looked like she could easily hold her own in a fight.
“Sorry." Coal smirked like he wasn’t sorry at all and set her feet down on the floor again. "It wasn't really planned, I was just meant to be grabbing some guns but everything took a bit of a turn."
"Yeah, I noticed you collected some strays. No offence," she added, throwing a grin in our direction.
“I got the guns too." He stepped back and started unstrapping the small arsenal that was attached to his body in every thinkable way. "And plenty of knives." They clinked down onto the table as well. When he was finished, the table held a pretty impressive pile of weapons. “That should keep us fed for a while.”
“Did you get hurt?" she asked, barely sparing the weapons a glance. She stood on tiptoes to inspect him, gripping his face between her hands and tutted at every scratch or bruise she discovered. He stood patiently for a few moments while she gave him the once over and I could see a smile playing around his lips at the treatment.
“Get off," he complained, shoving her aside playfully. "Stop playing mother hen."
“And what about Kaloo? She came flying in here like a bat out of hell, dragging some unconscious stranger behind her and as soon as I cut her free of him she shot back into the forest to find you." The girl crouched down next to the big dog who had collapsed, panting on the ground and checked her for wounds too. Kaloo seemed to enjoy the attention and her tail thumped against the tiles as she rolled over to have her belly tickled.
"It would take more than a horde of cougars to take down Kaloo," Coal said teasingly, like we hadn’t all just come stupidly close to being eaten. He looked over to where Laurie and I were standing awkwardly in the corner. "I should introduce you. This is Laurie the Warden and Maya the convict." He gestured to us as the girl's big eyes widened to take us in. "Oh and Taylor." He waved a hand at Taylor who had half fallen out of his litter and was sprawled across the floor.
"From the city?" she asked, looking horrified.
"Long story," Coal sighed.
“I'll bet." The girl gazed at us with unconcealed curiosity.
“Hi," I said shyly, suddenly very aware of the blood and filth that smothered me from head to toe.
“And this-" Coal indicated the blonde girl, pulling her up from the floor where she was crouched by Kaloo, "-is my sister, Alicia." A knot unfurled in my stomach which I refused to acknowledge and I smiled in greeting.
“You don't look very alike," I said, taking in Coal's broad ruggedness, dark hair and tanned skin and Alicia's dazzling fairness.
“Well we were found together as children. Both babies a few days old, left together in one basket so they presumed we were twins," she shrugged. "It's good enough for us."
“You were found in a basket?" Laurie asked, her lips parting in horror.
They both laughed at the looks on our faces.
“I'm not saying the stork delivered us." Alicia shrugged. "I'm sure it's a much darker story than that. It's not that uncommon out here, some people don't like to stay living in towns like we do and they travel from place to place alone or in small groups instead. It's not really a life that lends itself to bringing up children so if a woman finds herself pregnant they often leave babies outside our infirmaries to be cared for. So one way or another, here we are."
“Here we are," Coal repeated grabbing hold of Alicia and ruffling her hair. She ducked out from under his arm and backhanded him playfully around the head.
They were so natural together it made my chest tighten to think of Taylor laying unconscious on the floor. I moved over and sank down next to him, rearranging his limbs to make him more comfortable. I pulled his head into my lap and pushed his hair aside. His breathing was steady and he looked peaceful but it wasn’t right for him to be unconscious for this long. There was something seriously wrong with him and the longer it went on, the more concerned I grew for his recovery.