[Dark Elite_H2]

THICKETS, MASKS, AND TREACHERY–The shadow of the Steef

The exit of the tunnel led out to a dense forest, covered in thick grasses and towering covering overhead trees. A dirt trail was made by something that cut down the bushes along the path. That’s where suspicion arose, even when they heard distant yelling above the canopy of the trees. Stranger unlocked his bow, but didn’t load anything on it, and walked slowly down the path, watching above where the voices came from. Umi also held down her Needler, just in case for emergencies. That’s why she planned on sticking a sticker like it on the side of her gun, so she would be able to use it more. But anyways, as they left off the slope heading down towards the main path, the voices were getting louder. What caught Umi’s attention off-guard was the series of gigantic boulders stuck out of the dirt, and had strange paintings on them. One of them shaped as little fish-head type things, scattering away from a creature with many legs, stretching out to waves that appeared to be water. Umi visualized the Grubbs, and the dried-out Mongo river, but then looked ahead when Stranger snapped her out of her daydream.
“There’s Snipers, above in the trees,” Stranger said in a low purr. Umi nodded, looking high at the branches of the trees. Then they heard an outlaw scream to others further out in the forest:
“Turn on yer infrared’s, boys! They’re hidin’ in the bushes!” Stranger sighed a deep growl, pressing himself and Umi against a wide tree, and hoping that none of the outlaws saw them. But, unfortunately, they did. A stream of red smoke zipped passed the tree trunk they hid behind. Stranger murmured a curse to himself. “They can see us through the grass...” Stranger said, which was more than obvious to Umi. He peeked his head over the trunk’s thick bark, seeing a faint glimmer of the Sniper’s red goggles, and the sparks of green-red from his lit sniper rifle. Stranger pulled his arm around the tree, zooming in on his snooper, and clenched the trigger with one finger. His crosseirs (or whatever those aiming things are called) crossed over directly on the minions head, and pulled the trigger. A speeding Snuzi dart shot out from under his main bow, and stuck through the minion’s head. The Sniper outlaw didn’t make a sound when that dart struck straight through its head. But the others heard the crashing of the outlaws’ corpse falling down below the canopy.
“He’s close-by, men! Get ready!” they could hear a distant minion shout across the forest. Stranger and Umi passed by the dead outlaws’ corpse, and saw another stream of red smoke whiz by their eyes. Stranger pulled Umi and himself behind a thinner tree by the outlaws’ post. He could see barely the shine off the minions’ shiny orange vest, on top of a near-broken down water tower. Umi saw another of the painted rocks, but this time, seeing a creature with stubby horns, shining over a hilltop, and the Grubbs praising the creature. She wondered what all these engravement paintings meant. The dreams of the Grubbs, or the legends they spoke of were coming true? Another outlaw scream fell down, and made a cool splash in to a pond of water. They could hear one more Sniper, muttering loudly to itself, and screaming out for the bounty hunter to make his move. Stranger did, running down the splitting path right to where the yelling outlaw was. Stranger held Umi down behind a thick tree, and climbed up it, like a cat would. He jumped up on one of the thick branches able enough to support his heavy weight. Then, gracefully leaped on to branches, closer to the minion watching around on the forest floor. But it didn’t notice that Stranger was now exactly above its head. He moved his arm down slowly to the minions’ collar of its vest. But this was unexpected.
The branch Stranger was holding made a tiny snap. The minion became alert, and spun around, holding its rifle up to the spot where Stranger was. Where Stranger was. What I’m getting to, was that Stranger was nowhere to be found when the minion spun around. He was still above the minion, but a little more camouflaged behind the thick leaves of the canopy roof. The minion relaxed its arm, lowering its rifle, but still looking up. Umi could see that he was in a bit of a pickle, a dilemma, some trouble, in other words. She scooted back far enough for the Sniper not to see her, and that the needles she planned on using, would home in on it. She knelt down so she could get a clearer view of the minion, and muffled the Needler’s fire, as the pink crystalline needles flurried out of the ammo chamber, and out in to the mildly cool forest. The needles didn’t make a sound as they danced nearer to the minion still gazing up to where Stranger was. But it did feel the little pricks of the needles sticking in to its skin, and popping like pop rocks. But they didn’t pop like pop rocks when ten to a thousand of them stuck in to its back, and exploded like a time bomb, in to a spray of pink dust and red blood. Stranger saw the minion, up and close, explode in to nothing but meat chunks and blood, on its post in the tree. Stranger sighed, and crawled down from the tree, looking at Umi reloading her Needler cartridges. Stranger gave her a slight frown, as she strapped her weapon back on her belt. She looked up to him, a small splatter of blood sprayed across his nose. She swallowed heavily, but began to look innocent.
“What? What did I do?” Umi leaned back from Stranger. He only shook his head, and wiped off the blood with his arm. Umi rolled her eyes, and ran up by Stranger. “Seriously, what did I do?” Umi continued to ask, but Stranger didn’t reply. Umi sighed heavily, giving up all hope to get an answer out of him. She looked left of her shoulder, to see what looked like a run-down facility docked by the pond of water. A metallic dock lifted up over the water with rusted arms supporting the dock. She then looked back forward, to see yet, another painted rock ahead of them. She was fascinated with this one. The creature with many legs and the creature with the horns, and what looked like four legs, circled around each other, looking to be a combat scene, with the Grubbs far below, cheering towards the creature with four legs. She nodded to this one this time, as they passed by it. The path now narrowed down in to a small but narrow canyon, darkened by the rocky roof overshadowing it. Stranger grinned, and stopped themselves.
“You ready?” Stranger hunched down, and Umi followed his procedure. She climbed up on to his back, and then he began to run, loping on his four limbs, down the sloping tunnel, and in to the darkness. The tunnel was lit up with the glowing luminescent mushrooms, shining a white more than a blue. The wind pushing against her face seemed to increase with every lope Stranger did. He could run pretty fast.
Light increased at the end of the canyon, ahead of them turned in to boarded planks. Outside of the elevator shaft was a large town with a towering egg-shaped water tower overshadowing the entire town. There was a greeting sign with a mechanical Clakker waving a rickety arm: Welcome. You are in New Yolk City. But that didn’t catch Stranger’s fancy, but the purple sign literally in front of the elevator shaft. Doc’s big head and tall ripped top hat was on the sign, along with the golden words written on it: Doc’s Mongo retreat office. Located on the Mongo river.
Stranger sighed in disappointment towards the sign. “I’m gonna need a lot more moolah fer that, surgery. Best grab some, fresh bounties while we down here,” Stranger stepped at the edge of the elevator shaft, and Umi stopping beside him. She gazed at the town ahead of them, then nodding up to Stranger.
“Well’p, let’s get goin’! I’m dyin’ fer s’more action, rather than those pathetic outlaw in the forest,” Umi said with some pride in her voice, and took a step forward. Now, what the funny part is that Umi didn’t notice the steep drop down to the grass. What the more funny part is that Stranger just let her go without warning her. He knelt by the edge , and chuckled.
“Watch yer step,” Stranger giggled lowly, and jumped down beside Umi. She was face down, eagle-spread, and mumbling deliberate curses that Stranger could slightly hear. She lifted her head off the dirt, spitting grass and dirt out of her mouth, and kept knelt, wiping off the fresh dirt on her vest. She glared up at Stranger.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Umi growled. Stranger chuckled, lifting her off the ground and wiped off a speck of dirt on her face. “Well, I thought it was funny. Didn’t you?” he knew the answer that was going to come. But she only scoffed, and walked on the bricked path that led deeper in to New Yolk city. The Clakkers around saw the new arrivals coming in to town, and gave them a stare for a greeting. Stranger led themselves to the Bounty store, which was right in the middle of town, on the far right. He parted the swinging doors for both of them, and walked up to the clerk. It watched the bounty hunters come closer to the counter, Stranger leaning against the counter, and waiting for the clerk to pull up some bounties.
“Welcome to New Yolk city, guys! I bet yer waitin’ fer some bounties huh? Well, I got some, but you can go only fer one this round,” the clerk brought up a poster with the bounty info typed poorly on it. Stranger gazed over the information, then looked back to the clerk.
“Flint X’plosives McGee?” Stranger raised a brow. The clerk nodded. “Yup. He’s held up at the old cart tracks. Ask ‘round town fer more help on findin’ ‘im, ‘cause I ain’t got shit on the path to this bounty,” the clerk shrugged to them. Stranger nodded, and stuffed the poster in to his poncho, leaving the Bounty store with Umi following behind. Their first bounty, in their last destination...