I'm going to keep them around.

"Let's just... Keep them around." You manage.

"Keep them?" Ashley asks while the others start to laugh.

You look up. "I'm serious. We might not have a use for them, but you're telling me that there isn't a farm or a village that would be glad to take these girls for work?"

"Work?" Ashley shakes his head. "These girls are just fuckable slabs of meat."

"Fuck you!" Arabella spits.

"I suppose we don't really have anything else to with them in the meantime." He continued, sucking his teeth. "Sure, let's keep the mutties."

Ashley tells the others to tie them up because its “better safe than sorry”, so you help the others tie up Arabella, Mikko and apparently “Gwendolion”, who don’t put up much of a fight. You surround the fire and start talking. Honestly speaking, this didn’t end up horribly. You’re glad you didn’t resist the others, but feel kind of bad you just helped assist the capture of not just the girl you had forced yourself on the night before, but also got her friends caught in too. While the others chat, you can hear the girly quietly talk to each other too. Every time you stop, they stop too. You figure it’s probably nothing, but it does make you wonder what they are scheming.

All considering however, the night starts to become more and more quiet; allowing everyone (aside from yourself) to fall asleep. Gwendolion and Mikko seem to have fallen asleep too, leaving you and Arabella to be only awake. You go over to her and kneel before you apologize for the situation. It doesn’t surprise you that she doesn’t reply, but it does prompt you to apologize for the night before too. This one causes her to become flustered and her face to flare up in a pitched red color, indicating intense embarrassment.

“Shut up,” she spits. “And go away.”

All the air leaves your lungs as you exhale. “The best I can do is make sure you’re let off in the right direction.”

“Idiot! There is no right direction.” She deadpans. “Just go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”

You stand up to leave and she doesn’t stop you. So you sit near where the others are sleeping. However, it isn’t very long before you hear someone whispering again. You stoke the fire, listening to their conversation. It makes nonsense, but every so often they express worry and discomfort. Arabella doesn’t offer any kind of reinsurance, which probably means she’s feeling too hopeless to do anything. Perhaps you should kill them? Let them go? You sigh and adjust your gaze to where they stare blankly.

Eventually, Mikko lets out a pathetic whine, loudly complaining about how pointless being alive was now. You blinked and then let out an annoyed exhale, wondering if you had made their lives that much more useless. And if you did, could they actually make a new living? You never bothered looking at the ups and downs of being an NSH. You knew that a lot of them were “pampered” slaves, used as either maids, farmhands, and apparently substitute gun runners during off seasons when no one with a right mind would want to be out doing dirty work. Perhaps this all they knew and what they could do? Maybe their owner was more brutal than you thought and all that fear and hopelessness was coming from experience, not thought.

...Maybe you could use them? You think about all the shit you left at the tavern, all the equipment you haul, and the annoying side stuff you have to keep track of. Contracts, names, campgrounds, betting on partners being decent and normal - decent and actually willing to the cut of the contract.

The longer you listened to them, the more you played with the thought of having them. The males seemed eager to be working for whoever their owner was while the females are breaking their backs because they have to. You wondered what would happen if you took them in and trained to care about you. You clean your teeth, now stoking the fire. The flames brighten, igniting the three figures in the corner. You let a small curse part from your throat before you get up.

“Who’s your boss?” You knelt down, a few feet away from them.

“A-Amari,” Gwendolion stammered. “We’re all members of the Automatic Rifle Syndicate.”

You nod. That name didn't do anything to you, but you wanted to show them concern. “Are you a big group or something?”

Gwendolion, surprised by your initial introduction to her conversation, tries to answer you, but Mikko kicks her. “Shut up, Gwen!”

You turn to Mikko. “Hey, hey...I just want to help. I didn’t mean for things to get so bloody. I really want to help.” It’s why I’m still fucking here actually…

“Please tell me more about your group so I can help more. I really want to see what I can do for you both.”

Gwendolion blushed, but Mikko didn’t seem all that fazed. “We can’t say anything about what we do, or will be introduced to conditioning.”

Conditioning? “What do you mean by that? You all look incredibly healthy. Fit, feed, and cared for.”

“Of course, we’re being used to run weapons to the factions here,” she darts her gaze at Arabella, who hasn’t said anything since you returned. “That’s all I should really say.”

“But, how big is your group? Is someone going to take you back and put you in circulation again? I can tell the three of you deserve better.”

“Get out of here, you fucking monster.” Arabella kicks your feet, but is too far away to really inflict any damage. “You can’t be trusted!”

“Doesn’t sound like Amari can be trusted either...Look, I have a plan that’ll benefit all four of us.” You look behind you. Ashely and everyone else is still asleep, but they didn’t really seem to care you were going to do with them anyway. “Clearly, you’re uncomfortable with your owner-”

“Master Amari is terrible…” Gwendolion says.

“- and I need someone to keep track of my gear while I go in and out of my area of operation. Now, listen...I know that we haven’t had all that great of a track record here, but I am more than willing to offer you guys someplace new to live at, and a better lifestyle. I’m not going to punish you or expect any deadlines. You familiar with cleaning guns and whatever?”

The girls nod. You look at Arabella who doesn’t seem to be on board yet. So you continue your selling points. “If your people won’t go off looking for the rest of you, I will give you a better life. Granted, it was polished and perfect, but I’ll treat you fairly and I won’t throw you under the bus.”

“Then maybe we should-” Gwendolion perks up to the others, but Arabella snaps at her.

“Gwendolion! Would you just shut up!?”

You interject. “OK… I have to ask. GwendoLION?”

Arabella groans. “Like a dandelion. There’s more to it, but that’s mostly all of it.” She answers.

“Right. Well, listen Arabella. If you don’t want any part of this, then you’re free to go off on your own. I’m not twisting anyone’s arm here. I just need some help, and you guys seem to be down on your luck…”

“We’ll join you!” Mikko leaps. “My sister and I will make ourselves perfect for your needs! Cooking! Cleaning! Maintaining! Personal care and helpers!”

“Yes! Yes! We will! Just- just keep away from Amari! We’ll do everything you need and help you with everything you face!” Gwendolion leapt too, offering the same promise. “Anything! Don’t discard us away, please! Please!”

That didn’t take a whole lot of work for the SISTERS. So you look back at Arabella, the one you really need to make up for. She seems unsure, but as she looks at the sisters, you are able to gauge she’s close to accepting.

“Arabella please come with us! You deserve so much better! Surely, whoever this man is better than Amari!” Mikko says, no idea that you nearly raped her. “No more forced-”

“Mikko. Stop right there.” A flare of anger burns in Arabella’s eyes as she raises her voice. “If you two idiots are going with this contractor, then I might stick close to you.”

“Yes!” Gwendolion cheers, shortly after her sister.

Arabella looks back at you though. “However, once we get out of this place, I’d like to sit down all together and talk about some rules.”

“Yeah, I can’t have you three fucking my shit up while I’m out or causing any trouble. So, I’m glad we have a basic understanding of that already. Until we’re out of here though, I’m sure Ashley and the others would like it if you were all under restraints still…”

The three of them fall into silence. “I’m...Gonna go to sleep now. I suggest you all do the same. It sounds like we have a long day ahead of us still…”

...

...

Nights in new places never treated you that well. You stared at the star littered sky through the cracks of the building while your mind ran rampant with memories. Perhaps it was because you weren’t alone you felt comfortable enough to recall personal moments in life.

The first time you botched a contract.

The first time you killed someone.

The first time someone hugged you for finding their child.

The first time you...almost forced yourself on a girl…

You turned to your side. Ashley and the others were sound asleep. Even Arabella and the other girls. Did everyone else have a clear conscience besides you? If that were the case, you weren’t exactly happy with yourself. You reached out for your gun and made way for the exit to take a walk through the area. The snow that had previously fallen a few hours earlier was now covering the entire forest in a pure white color. The silence of the world was much more pronounced than what you were used to. No matter. You went ahead and started to lean against the structure.

The light was very prominent as it reflected off the snow. The ground sparkled as much as the sky did, giving the surface a very surreal impression. It was warmer than expected too. Your breath misted with every exhale, but the air didn’t snap or gnaw at your exposed nose or finger tips. You circled around the building and then paused in front of the entry/exit to lean against what was left of the front. The wall moaned, threatening to cave in at first, but when you eased your full weight against it, the integrity proved better than previously thought.

You stuffed your hands in your pockets, feeling wide awake. Strangely, you didn’t feel exposed or in danger. The forest was empty and the lack of noise assured you of that. It was a welcoming change to you since the last few days had been busier than usual. You couldn’t help but think of Delilah as you started to sink further into your own thoughts. You eventually drifted your gaze upward towards the dark sky. Stars, untouched by the disaster man had made for himself, looked as good as good as it did to the first man. What was Delilah up to? Sleeping, probably. Perhaps she was in bed thinking too?

You closed your eyes and relaxed. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. Clearing your mind, you tried your best to find an inner peace so you could return to the others and find rest like the rest. You aren’t exactly sure how long you were out there when you heard something, the noise eased you back into reality. Mikko and Gwendolion poked their heads out.

“I hope you’re not trying to run away,” you sighed, noticing that they still had their wrists tied together. “What are you two doing out here?”

Mikko stepped forward. “You weren’t inside.”

Gwendolion stepped closer too, but she chose not to say anything. Mikko continued. “What’s wrong?”

You shrugged. You didn’t really want to talk to them, but then you supposed if they were going to be around; you best get used to it… “I got some things to think about.”

They both surrounded you. One your left and then another on your right. If they looked even remotely threatened you might’ve tried to break free of their pincher. “What are you thinking about?”

“Sex, drugs, rocks and snow.” You sarcastically tell Mikko, which surprisingly prompts her to laugh slightly. She stuffs her hand into her breast pocket to present to you a pack of cigarettes. An older pack, perhaps from the 50’s? Anything that wasn’t from the 80’s now was deemed vintage…

You watch Mikko offer it. “Do you smoke?”

You looked at her - the brightness of her eyes twinkled in the current setting. You swallowed and looked around before looking at the pack she was handing you.