Ambush
Stranger and Bailey set out on their third day of walking, still heading for the Doc’s spa, walking along a wide canyon, alongside a small river, lush jungle on their left, the river on their right and on the opposite back the great, sheer cliff wall of the nearer canyon side.
“So why we goin’ to a spa?” Bailey asked as they walked, Stranger knew what was coming, Bailey had that tone of voice on, the one she always adopted before teasing him about something.
This had always been rather odd for Stranger, he’d never been teased before, but then again, he’d never met anyone that was not afraid of him and treated him as an equal before either.
“Because the Doc asked us too.” he answered Bailey’s question neutrally,
“Yeh, but I mean a
spa, where I come from spas’re where lasses go ter be pampered…” she gave Stranger a look, one eye squinted as if thinking of something. She then snickered. Stranger blinked at her.
“What?” Bailey kept giggling to herself, “What?” asked Stranger feeling a smile begin on his own face. Bailey’s amusement was of the contagious variety after all.
“I just had a funny mental image.” Bailey explained shrugging,
“Oh really?” Stranger was starting to get suspicious now. Bailey grinned but didn’t answer. “Of…?” Stranger pressed, Bailey shook her head, refusing to tell him what she’d thought of.
It was understandable really, how would tell someone like Stranger you’d just had a mental image of him in one of those beauty mud puddle things with an elasticised shower cap and cucumber slices getting a manicure? You just…didn’t…
No wonder Bailey was amused…
After an hour of trying to get Bailey to spill the beans, Stranger gave up and went into a sulk. Bailey just found this more amusing and told him he was being childish. Stranger growled. Until Bailey tickled him and then he purred instead.
Bailey grinned as she scratched the fur on Stranger’s neck, he really was like a giant pet cat. And she adored him for it.
Over the past few weeks (or had it been months now? She couldn’t remember.) Bailey realised she’d grown to love Stranger, just as she loved Abe and Slick. He was her family now, her friend, just as they were. Funny, she thought, that the family she really loved as a family were all bizarre creatures from another universe… Bailey didn’t care, she had the feeling that Abe and Slick and even Scrab and Paramite loved her more then her own mother had.
She didn’t know about Stranger, of course she knew that he liked her, he’d said so, but did he really care about her as much as she cared about him. Was she the family to him that he was to herself? Bailey didn’t know. She just knew that leaving him to go back to Abe and Slick was going to be painful.
Bailey pushed the thought away, there would be time to think about that later, but not now. Now was time for herself and Stranger, and no one else.
¤§¤
It wasn’t until the middle of the fourth day that Bailey and Stranger saw the Doc’s health spa before them. High up above on an outcropping of rock with nothing but sky and wind around it. Bailey looked at it. It looked nice, a good place to relax. So why did she have a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was very wrong?
She stopped walking, gazing up at the spa in silence, trying to find the source of her uneasiness. Stranger sensed her stop and turned.
“Bailey? Something wrong?” he padded back to her. Bailey didn’t answer, she seemed transfixed by the building on the ridge. “Bailey?” Stranger frowned and waved a hand before her face. Bailey blinked and came out of her trance. She looked at Stranger,
“Wh-what?” Stranger became concerned.
“Bailey…is something wrong?” he touched her cheek, “Yer as pale as a sheet…” Bailey blinked again and shook her head, as if ridding it of a crowd of thoughts.
“I…I dunno…” a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her and Bailey swayed, she pressed her hands to her head and stumbled. Fortunately Stranger was right there to hold her up.
“Bailey.” The sound of her own name made the strange sensation abate slightly to a dull ebb. She made a pained sound in answer. Her eyes closed, brow furrowed, trying to find the reason for the sudden sick feeling. Reaching deep down for an answer.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she looked around warily.
“Something’s coming.” She said. Stranger released her in confusion, mildly disturbed by the sudden wildness in Bailey’s eyes, like a Sleg driven mad by fear…
“What’s coming?” Stranger asked gently, trying to curb Bailey’s fear. A fear that had come from nowhere and was rapidly consuming all reason in her. He put a hand on her shoulder and a finger under her chin, guiding her eyes to look at him. “Bailey, what’s comin’?” he asked.
“Something.” Bailey said firmly, “Something bad…it’s coming for us…” Bailey didn’t know where all this was coming from, it was like a sixth sense was telling her something and she had to believe it, couldn’t ignore it. It was as if someone else was speaking through her. Stranger nodded,
“Right…” he could tell Bailey was not lying and whatever it was she could sense coming scared her. “We’re gettin’ outta here, c’mon.” Bailey followed Stranger, her eyes darting from side to side her movements quick and erratic like a bird’s. Her hands clenched with a death grip on Stranger’s poncho.
While they walked Stranger strained all his senses, occasionally he thought he heard the snap of a twig, the rustle of a pile of leaves and other disturbances, but he did not dare stop to investigate. He could smell the fear in Bailey and he didn’t want to send her into a panic.
After a time Stranger sensed the tenseness in Bailey receding, as if she was taking control of her emotions. Stranger realised that she was no less afraid but that she had mastered her fear. Stranger smiled, the Bailey he knew was returning.
Bailey felt more cheerful, her confidence returning, but her wariness did not weaken. There was something coming, something that would change everything. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know when, but she knew she would be able to fight it. She always had. It was something she had learned a long time ago but still had to remind herself of.
She was strong enough.
Strong enough to fight and keep her freedom. Strong enough to fight for her friends, her Oddworld family. And she was strong enough now. She just had to remember the lesson she had learned, had to keep remembering it and relearning it.
Bailey let go of Stranger’s poncho.
“Has it passed?” Stranger asked in a low voice,
“No.” said Bailey, “But we can handle whatever it is. We always do.” Stranger ruffled her hair.
“That’s my girl. Don’t doubt yerself, yer the best gunslinger in Oddworld.” Bailey gave him a surprise look, which changed quickly to an amused, disbelieving one.
“D’you really believe that?” she asked, Stranger stopped and Bailey did too, he put a hand on each of her cheeks and held her head, making sure she was looking right into his eyes so she could see he was serious.
“Yes. I do believe it. I have faith in yer. I believe in yer. Yer just gotta have faith and believe in yerself kid.” He let her go and they stood in an awkward silence until Stranger cleared his throat gruffly, “Well…c’mon kid, we gotta git goin’.”
¤§¤
It was some time later that the first attack was launched. Stranger sensed it a moment before it happened and grabbing hold of Bailey’s jersey he pulled her and himself to the floor, his arm over her for protection as a hailstorm of bullets screamed over their heads.
Bailey clapped her hands to her ears at the screeching noise and squeezed her eyes shut. Then as soon as it had began, it was over and Stranger hauled Bailey to her feet.
“C’MON!” he roared and pulled Bailey after him as he ran along the riverbank, Bailey giving everything she had just to keep up.
After a few minutes Stranger plunged into the jungle and led Bailey among the trees until they came to the canyon wall on their side of the river. Quickly Stranger found a place where the reeds were thick and tall and smelt strong. Here, finally, Stranger came to a halt. He could see Bailey failing. He wouldn’t let them catch her, whoever they were, he wouldn’t let any of them touch her. He’d die first.
Stranger listened, his ears straining. Only the sounds of small creatures of the forest insects’ droning came to him. He turned to Bailey, he took her shoulders to make sure she was listening.
“Bailey, I havta leave yer here.” Bailey grabbed his arms,
“
What!?”
“Listen ter me please Bailey.” The seriousness in Stranger’s voice made Bailey silence her protests and listen intently. “I can go faster then yer can. I can lead them away from here, and then I’ll lose ‘em an’ come back fer yer.” He pressed his nose to her hair, eyes closed in desperation and hugged Bailey tightly, “I promise kid, I will come back for yer.” He let her go and then darted deeper into the jungle. Bailey dropped down among the weeds and waited, hoping, praying, that the both of them would be all right.
Unfortunately for Bailey, she didn’t see the shadows or movements in the trees, nor the sounds of the quiet snickering of Outlaws who had found their prey…
¤§¤
Stranger charged through the trees using all four of his limbs and eventually burst back onto the riverbank, his lungs were burning and his heart was beating hard, going wild in his ribs, banging so hard it felt like it was going to burst from his chest.
After a moment or two Stranger skidded to a halt and rose from his four-limbed charge and looked back, listening and smelling. Nothing.
Suddenly Outlaws burst from the trees, they poured out of the forest and Stranger were soon surrounded on all sides by them. It was an attack that had been perfectly planned to surprise and ambush Stranger when he had least expected it. The trap had been perfectly sprung and he had fallen for it.
Stranger looked around warily. This was bad. Suddenly another Outlaw pushed his way through the ringing Outlaws and slung over his shoulder was-
Bailey. Unconscious.
Stranger let out a sigh, his eyes closing for a moment. It had just got worst.
The Outlaw swung the human from his shoulder and dropped her to the stony riverbank. Stranger felt a wrenching tug at his heart to see Bailey so helpless. He looked up at the Outlaw who had brought her and growled, if he’d touched her, Stranger would see to it that his throat was ripped out.
Stranger crouched over Bailey and pressed his fingers to her neck. She had a pulse and she was breathing.
“Bailey.” Stranger whispered. Bailey stirred and opened her eyes. She squinted at Stranger and then moved her head. As she saw the Outlaws she jerked upright and clung to Stranger. Stranger stroked her hair to calm the human but he kept his neon green eyes of the surrounded Outlaws.
He helped Bailey to her feet and then discreetly pushed her behind him, trying to protect the young human.
“Tha’ won’t do ‘er or you any good Stranger.” Guffawed a voice and one of the biggest Outlaws Bailey had ever had the misfortune of setting eyes on pushed his way through the ring of surrounding Outlaws and stood before Stranger, looking smug.
“Caste Raider.” Growled Stranger. The Outlaw’s grin grew wider. Bailey meanwhile reached for her gun. Raider must have looking out for her to make such a move and laughed again.
“Oh no yer don’t lil’ miss.” Bailey heard a gun go off and pain suddenly exploded in her lower leg. Bailey hissed and dropped down to one knee. Stranger turned and in a blur had loaded and fired a very angry Fuzzle at the perpetrator. The Outlaw howled as the vicious creature attacked him. Stranger swept Bailey into his arms and held her close, despite blood leaking through her pant leg. Bailey felt a deep growl rumbling in Stranger’s chest. He was absolutely furious.
A vindictive grin pasted itself on Caste Raider’s face and he leered at the pair of bounty hunters,
“Aww, it looks like Stranger’s found someone he cares about. Ain’t that sweet lads?” the Outlaws around Bailey and Stranger snickered. Stranger’s grip on Bailey tightened and his growling became more pronounced. “Dida touch a nerve eh Stranger? Yer come quietly and the lass don’t get hurt, if ya don’t. Well, there’re worst things we can do to ‘er…” the Outlaw let the threat hang and leered at Bailey. Bailey glared at him. For a second Raider faltered, like a voice speaking to him, those human eyes told him something very clearly;
You are going to pay.
The Outlaw finally managed to brush it off, and leered again,
“Well Stranger? Yer gonna cooperate, or are we gonna havta teach yer lil’ friend a new game?” Stranger shifted Bailey in his arms and unclipped the crossbow letting it fall to the ground in answer. “Good choice.” Smirked Raider.
It was the last thing Bailey and Stranger heard before the ring of Outlaws fell on them, like starving dogs on a bone, there was a sharp pain in Bailey’s head, darkness came, and engulfed her.
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Man that was short…sorry…