The Plan, Part 3

The Plan, Part 3

            The three Strays moved quickly. Aleck took the lead. Oran and Jerin followed.

            “It’s not too far from here,” Aleck said, referring to the place that they were going to collect supplies from.

            “Alright, good,” Jerin replied.

            Oran remained silent. He examined the trail they took to the place where they would collect supplies. It would be very important.

            They walked for a few more minutes until they arrived to their destination. It was a large building. It must have been a shop, before it was destroyed by some Villains. There was no clear way in, let alone any visible supplies.

            “Just a second, I’ll clear the entrance I made,” Aleck said.

            He walked up to a small pile of debris, and cleared an entrance just large enough for a Stray to walk through. It would be hard for a Villain to fit through, which was why Aleck only cleared out enough room for him to fit through.

            “Alright,” Aleck said, walking back up to Jerin and Oran, “I will step into the building, and I’d like Jerin to be in the passageway, and you,” he pointed at Oran, “to stay outside and pack up the bags we brought with us. So, I’ll pass the supplies to Jerin, and you can pack them up. Is that okay with you guys?”

            “Sure” Jerin and Oran replied simultaneously.

            “Great. Let’s do this fast. I want to try to collect and get out as soon as we can.”

            “Got it,” Jerin said.

            “Got’cha,” Oran replied.

            Aleck stepped inside the building, and the other two got into place.

            It went fairly quickly, to Aleck’s surprise, since there were three bots working at it. They had to carry enough supplies for four now. But, thankfully, they had the bags that Aleck brought with them.

            About ten more minutes passed and the three bags that that they had brought were filled up. Aleck had to select specific supplies from around the area inside the building.

            “The bags are full!” Oran told Jerin to tell Aleck. He did so.

            “Tell Oran that we’ll have to carry a few more supplies for him if he wants to stay with us,” Aleck said to Jerin. So, that’s what he did.

            They grabbed a few more supplies before Aleck told Jerin to step out of the passageway so he could cover it back up.

            A few minutes later, the passage was covered back up with some debris. Aleck then walked back up to Jerin and Oran.

            “Alright. Let’s pick up all of the supplies and get outta here,” Aleck said.

            They did so and set off to go back to the Hatch.

--

            Sheer was waiting. She wondered when they were coming back. She hoped they hadn’t been spotted by some Villains. That would be horrible! She knew more than many what happens to Strays if they’ve been hiding for a long time. She really hoped nothing was wrong with them.

            Maybe they are just caught up, avoiding detection from Searchers or Hunters, she thought.

            Maybe. Just maybe.

--

            The three Strays were still on their way back to the Hatch.

            A few moments later, they approached the building where the Hatch was hidden.

            “This is your place? I thought you said there was a Hatch?” Oran asked.

            “Its inside,” Aleck replied.

            The three stepped inside the run down home, and Aleck led them to the room where the Hatch door was.

He opened it and let the two other Strays in first, before closing the door behind him.

--

            Sheer heard a noise outside the Hatch door.

“Huh?” she thought. “What is that? Hopefully that’s not a group of Villains. I would be killed and, if Aleck and Jerin make it back, they’ll either be tortured, then sent to a City, or will be killed as well!”

The Hatch door opened. Three figures stood in the door way.

Sheer gasped.

Then she recognized two of them as Aleck and Jerin, as they descended down the steps. She wondered who the third bot was.

What a relief, she thought.

--

Aleck then introduced Oran to Sheer.

“Nice to meet you, Sheer,” Oran said to her.

They then shook hands.

Well, she doesn’t seem too bad, Oran thought.

But he knew who she truly was. A traitor.

 To Be Continued.

The Plan, Part 2

The Plan,  Part 2

            Jerin and Aleck exited the broken down house that was hiding the Hatch.

            They continued into the open world, off to find some supplies for survival. They desperately hoped that they could find some supplies without being detected.

            The suburban area they were in seemed so quiet, so gloomy, it was as if the place hadn’t been inhabited for years. That really disturbed Jerin. He hadn’t been out here in quite a while. The last time he remembered being out in this place was when he was traveling to meet up with a friend to discuss some important matters.

            That thought made him wonder if his friend was safe, or even alive.

            Aleck then said, “Alright, follow me. I know where to find some supplies. I found a small building where there was a room with a lot of supplies. Way too many to carry. I tried my best to cover up the entrance so no one else could find it and take them.”

            They continued, being as quiet as they could. They moved to another area, no too far from the house the Hatch was hidden in.

            “It’s a little ways away, so be on alert,” Aleck said quietly.

            “Let’s hope we can make it,” Jerin thought to himself.

            They kept moving. Farther and farther away from the Hatch. Aleck seemed to know where he was leading Jerin, so he took a little comfort in that.

            Cumble…

            A noise…

            Possibly the sound of small stones falling down from the top of a pile of rubble.

            The two heard the noise, since they themselves made very little.  They couldn’t make out which direction it came from, though.

            They both glanced around and tried to find a place to hide. They saw a broken down home, and ran inside, as quietly as they could. The door had been blown through with a bomb of some sort, by the looks of it.

            The two waited. And waited.

            Nothing.

            They looked around.

            “Hey,” a low voice whispered, coming from the darkness of a corner of the wall behind the two. It startled them both, and they turned around quickly.

            “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you two. I suppose you guys heard the noise I made in here,” the voice said.

            The figure walked forward, toward Aleck and Jerin, and continued, “I thought I heard something coming from outside, so I stepped forward to see what it was through that window you two were looking out of. But, I guess I made enough noise for someone to hear me. I’m glad you two aren’t Searchers or Hunters. I would have been captured or worse…”

            Aleck and Jerin said nothing, their eyes still adjusting to the darkness of the home. They couldn’t tell who it was, but it must have been a Stray.

            After a moment, the figure looked vaguely familiar to Jerin.

            The Stray then said, “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I’ll introduce myself. My name is Oran. I used to live in this very city, until the Great Breakout, and the Hero Factory’s fall…” he then trailed off. Probably because of the horrific memories brought back by the statement.

            Jerin was about to speak, realizing who the Stray was. But was cut off when Oran began to speak again, “So, what are you two…” he stopped mid-sentence.

            From the little light there was in the home, Aleck and Jerin noticed realization come over Oran’s face.

            “Wait, are… Are you… Is that…” Oran, said, staring intently at Jerin, head tilted slightly. “Is that you, Jerin?”

            “Yes it is me!” Jerin replied excitedly.

            “Jerin! My old pal!” Oran said, walking quickly toward Jerin. Oran had an orange head, with orange and silver armor pieces. He had extra armor on his right arm, with a large piece of shoulder armor, and a smaller piece of silver armor on the lower arm. He also had silver armor on his lower legs.

Oran was the friend Jerin had been thinking about earlier, and he was alive!

            Jerin then walked toward Oran, and they shook each other’s hands, in a way as if they hadn’t seen each other in years, and they hadn’t. They then released each other’s hand and looked at Aleck. Aleck didn’t know who Oran was, but walked up to them and introduced himself anyway.

            “Hello, there. My name is Aleck.” He said, shaking Oran’s hand. “Jerin and I were out looking for supplies. I know of a place, so that’s where we were heading.”

            “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Aleck. I’ve been wandering out here for quite a while. I was actually looking for supplies as well. It’s been very tough around here. Thankfully, though, I have come across some nice armor and a handy sword.”

He unsheathed it, and showed the other two Strays. They hadn’t really noticed it, since his back concealed it from view.

            “Well,” Aleck began, “I suppose you can come with us, we will probably need some help carrying supplies back to the Hatch, a place where we stay. It’s pretty well hidden and it is big enough for the four of us in there. And--”

“The… four… of us?’ Oran asked, cutting Aleck off, re-sheathing his sword.

Jerin pitched in, “Oh, yes. Sheer. She is a former Villain. She and Aleck were seen—“, but was also cut off by Oran.

“A Villain?!” Oran exclaimed, eyes wideing.

Jerin signaled for Oran to keep it down.

“Former, Villain.” Aleck corrected. “She and I were seen together “conspiring”, as the Villain Leaders put it, and was banished by the Black Phantom from Makuhero City and any other areas controlled by the Villain Leaders. So, now we are allowing her to stay with us in my Hatch.”

“The Black Phantom? A Villain Leader? You are allowing a criminal to stay in your Hatch? What if they aren’t who you think they are?” Oran said, questioningly. He took note of the former Villain’s location.

“Don’t worry. I trust she isn’t going to turn us in to the Villain Leaders. She herself would be killed if they found out where she is,” Jerin said.

“Okay. Well, we better get moving, then. The City Guards may come by soon, ya never know.” Oran then said. And he was right.

“Alright. Let’s go, then,” Aleck said. “Just follow me.”

Then, they were off.

To Be Continued.