City Hunter

Chapter Seventeen

10/7/70

I woke with a throbbing pain in my arm and in my head, and groaned.

I had blacked out some time after the disturbing incident with the idiot Silvercaps on the countryside, which hadn't been my plan. My plan had been to grill Christina and Elizabeth with questions until they physically couldn't give up any more information, then leave this stupid vehicle once and for all and scour the entire Oligarchy for my mother.

It hadn't been the most rational plan, of course. I still had an injured arm - possibly going-to-be-amputated arm, but I couldn't think about that. I had no idea where I was. And then there was the small matter of Christina possible being able to hypnotize me if I tried to leave, but I also couldn't think about that. In case she was a mind reader as well.

This sucked.

I had thought that things sucked before, but this really sucked.

I sighed and rested my head against the soft pillow. Christina and Elizabeth had force-fed me some drugs to keep me from feeling the worst of the pain - it must've been really bad if I could still feel it - and they had warned me that it might make me a little loopy. I could still think rationally, though. The loopiness seemed to not have much of an effect.

My mind sorted through what I had seen. The auburn-haired Silvercap Captain threatening us. Christina and Elizabeth with their Auris.

I sighed. Scratch what I said earlier - the loopiness was settling in. Random thoughts went through my head. The Silvercap Captain's spouse, Sol - they weren't male or female, which would make it hard when determining jobs. The way Tyrone's hair stood up on his head, curling a little bit like flame. The look that Viola had on her face when she faced the Silvercaps - not just a fear at being caught by the police, more of like a genuine panic that went far beyond being confronted by authority.  The dry, rolling landscape in the hot Oligarchy weather. Elizabeth's green eyes - not jaw-dropping gorgeous like Christina's, more of a subtle beauty that was hard to ignore.

Elizabeth's eyes.

If I could've, I would've sat up in shock. How had I not noticed this before? Sure, I had been a bit preoccupied by facing limb loss and death, but I had noticed Christina's eyes.

And Christina was a hypnotist. Was it such a stretch to wonder if Elizabeth was one as well?

The others were quietly talking in the other room. I strained my ears to listen, but I could pick up only hushed conversation. I wanted Elizabeth or Christina to walk in so I could confront them. Christina had promised that she would tell us a story if we went with them. Well, we had gone with them. It was time for her to cash in on her end of the deal.

Suddenly, there was a yell from the other side of the door, then a thump as something heavy landed on the ground. It sounded like a body.

"What the-" screamed a voice that I recognized as Hawk. Then another thump. And another. Where were Christina and Elizabeth with their Auris?

Unless this was Christina and Elizabeth with their Auris.

I strained my neck as hard as I could, staring at the thick metal door, heart thudding. A slight sound, not a scream, more of a surprised  yelp, escaped my throat as the door slammed open.

A man stood in front of me.

He was dressed in all black, with dark cargo pants and an ebony hoodie covering his head, only letting a few strands of dark hair escape. His face was obscured by a silver facemask, the same that we all wore, though this one looked much more primitive. The bottom half of the facemask in turn was covered in a dark piece of fabric, knotted at the ends to hold it in place. The drug-affected part of me considered this a rather odd fashion.

The rational part of my mind was more focused on his gloved hand, which had drawn a black weapon from his belt and was pointing it at my injured, defenseless self.

A single shot.

Then I was unconscious.