Then Randidly frowned He had planned to head then to the shanty town where his hovel was and Maude and Jude were staying but his attention was caught by a group of people in the small farming compound there
Because he recognized quite a few of them
Randidly felt a headache brewing Why had Nathan and company turned up here
Well Randidly looked at his arms At least he could get the illusion touched up
Chapter 540
Tatiana looked at the kid in front of her with her eyes narrowed Step away from her We appreciate your help but we will take over now
A kid he was even if he was built like a linebacker and carried an iron wrecking ball like it was just a balloon He shook his head slowly his eyes never leaving hers The poor girl was sitting behind him on the ground shivering Tatiana knew rationally that the kid had probably carried the poor girl here but now he was a violent male presence He needed to leave
And if he wouldnÆt willingly she would make him
Pushing her body to the limits Tatiana rushed forward while drawing a stun baton Having no real animosity with the kid she set the baton to its stun mode Then eyeing his physique as she shot forward towards him she upped the charge to incapacitate If she had learned one thing from Baloo it was to never underestimate someone based on their appearance
And this fucking kid looked the part of battle veteran much more than Baloo did
Much to her surprise the kid deftly flicked his wrist and sent that dangerous metal ball careening forward She rolled to the side and drew a small caliber plasma pistol She only fired twice aiming for his extremities but he moved his arm and leg and stepped toward her his face filled with aggression
What she needs right now isnÆt violence Tatiana said doing her best to keep her voice even
The kid sneered at her Real rich from the bitch who started the fight
At the word bitch Tatiana felt her heart grow cold This time when she raised the pistol she shot a dozen times burning quickly through her Mana The whole point was to impress upon him the danger of pissing her off To follow up she upped the charge on her baton once more and rushed forward
But then her instincts screamed to her and she leaped to the side The huge iron ball came shooting back and would have smashed her to the side had she remained standing there
As the ball arrived back before him the kid twisted and kicked and the ball was launched towards Tatiana just as she completed the throw of her stun baton aiming for his head But then her eyes widened
Three times she used her Quickstep moving backward away from the ball But even then it had arrived before her in less than a second She had no time
Her eyes flicked upwards shocked at this kidÆs power Suddenly a voice whispered that she had been too hasty to jump to conclusions when she saw the wounded women in his arms He wanted to protect her too She shouldnÆt have started the fight
But he was a dick for responding so aggressively for sure
She saw him calmly reaching for the iron chain a sneer on his face Then the idiot let her baton hit him The electric current rushed through him his body seizing There was enough power in that jolt to power a grade school and yet the guy just twitched as though he was paralyzed
But that second meant that the iron ball was about to hit her She raised her arms and crossed them hoping vehemently that when she was nothing but paste on the dirt the other members of the compound would hear and rush over from caring for the other women Hopefully this asshole had enough empathy to feel guilt and would remember this day for the rest of his life
Tatiana didnÆt like the twisted satisfaction she felt imagining him torn up by the guilt but there it was Sometimes you couldnÆt help the dark parts of yourself
Should I have kissed Baloo that night by the fire Æ Tatiana wondered idly It was a strange thought she felt
Coughing Tatiana fell back There was a figure in front of her
Is this serious A mild voice asked A familiar voice
To her surprise the kid answered sounding somewhat sheepish no She fuck man no it wasnÆt Shit
Grumbling the kid turned around and looked down at the girl curled up on the ground She was a lovely thing with long blonde hair and vivid blue eyes The only problem was that her face was slack her eyes empty She had lost something wherever these people had come from But the look on the kidÆs face when he looked down at her
Even sitting on the ground 20 meters away peering around the iron ball which Baloo had stopped Tatiana could see the expression was pure and genuine empathy There was a depth of emotion there too that Tatiana dare not examine too closely lest it drag her own trauma back out of the box she had separated it into
Then Tatiana blinked Because Baloo had stopped that huge ball of iron like it was nothing
He crouched down next to her his eyes bright He seemed somewhat bemused So what did I just walk in on A loversÆ spat I understand sometimes there is a palpable connection from the first glance but isnÆt this a little soon
Sighing Tatiana leaned back on the ground and looked up at the sky Please leave me alone for a minute I just thought I was about to die and do you know what I thought right at the end
What were you thinking
After a pause Tatiana said that I wished the ball was a little smaller so it would destroy my body but leave my face for an open casket funeral
That got a laugh out of him at least
Randidly looked at Dinesh with a frown They were currently in a small tea room on the farm compound As it turned out Dinesh and company had encountered a strange bunker on their way South to find Randidly and had liberated the 4 women and 2 men that the people of the farm were now caring for While the more conscious 5 were being helped into buildings by the women who lived here Tykes had brought up the rear carrying the blonde girl
She was a light thing probably only weighing 120 lbs but he had taken his time Even RandidlyÆs meager social skills could discern that Tykes was smitten with the girl Which was fine but then Tatiana came over and demanded that Tykes release the girl He had been somewhat slow to comply and Tatiana understandably concerned with the girlÆs safety took exception to it
Of all the details of the story the most shocking was that Tatiana lived and ran the farming compound The same compound in the forest under which Randidly had a secret base He shook his head almost helpless Life was weird sometimes
Clearing his throat Randidly gestured for Dinesh to continue
Heavy resistance for the Zone But it was strange These were people who behaved like monsters high Stats but their Skills were haphazard at best All wearing these black cloaks They wore crosses around their necks too From the little weÆve learned of the Zone we suspect they were a less than savory arm of the Unity Church
They were alone in the room Bruya had come up to Randidly and touched his shoulder briefly but after that the rest of the crew headed out to camp with the farmers That was all it took to reinforce the illusion around him which took one of RandidlyÆs worries away at least Once Tatiana recovered she had to go check on the new arrivals and left Randidly to his own devices without even questioning his presence
He admired her commitment to these strangersÆ wellbeing at least But Randidly had intuitively known that about Tatiana She was rough but kind A total cliche in a way
Do do we know what is wrong with them They were all Randidly began slowly
Weak Yes they were Dinesh glanced towards the door Perhaps their doctors will have a better idea I can only guess at the specifics
Randidly snorted Knowing the small group living here he doubted they had anything like a true doctor with System related Skills A general guess then