The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kade hadn't made it very far in his journey before being captured once again. He was sure to be killed or enslaved by this race of warrior people. He struggled to get free, but it was no use - the heavy metallic bot had him pinned. 

Within seconds, the rest of the squad showed up. A badass woman with war paint and makeshift armour stepped into his field of vision. From his perspective, she appeared to be eight feet tall as she towered over him. She shoved the barrel of her gun in his face.

"If you try to run, I will put a bullet in your head," the woman said.

Just then, the bot stepped aside allowing Kade to return to his feet. He was covered in dust and stood with a slightly bent leg that had been injured in the crash.

"Let's go," she said, still pointing her gun at him.

Kade was met by another woman, equally powerful in stature. He had yet to say a word. She grabbed his wrist and scanned him. "It's him," she notified the others.

Kade wasn't sure what that meant or even who these women were. They certainly didn't look like scavs. Some had long flowing hair that spilled out the backs of their helmets, while others kept it short. They were all equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, battle armour, and bots.

Their vehicles littered the street, with each driver holding a weapon on standby. If anything were to attack them, they'd be ready.

The woman holding Kade's wrist slapped a thick, metal cuff on him and connected it another cuff on the other wrist. With his arms now bound behind his back, he was escorted to one of the vehicles.

"Who are you people?" he asked. "What do you want with me?"

"We're bounty hunters," the lead woman said. "We're here to take you in."

"Take me in?" Kade said in confusion. "Who issued the bounty?"

Kade's question went unanswered, but he had an idea who would issue the bounty. In fact, he didn't exactly mind being captured. He was on his way to Endocrine to see Mr. Saigon anyway, at least now he would have an armoured escort.

Kade was shoved into the back of a vehicle with force. He then heard the leader give a command to rally the squad to leave. The had got what they had come for. One by one, the metal militia pulled away leaving behind a large cloud of dust.

The all-women squad made their way through town, resembling a military convoy. There was an eerie presence that consumed them and kept them on high alert at all times. They knew they were not alone.

Kade was in the back of a dust-covered vehicle, unsure what his fate would be. He peered out and saw movement in one of the buildings. Scavs. He turned his head in the other direction and saw more of them. An ambush was coming and he was utterly defenseless. He wondered if he should say something or let it play out.

Before he had a chance to decide, shots were fired. A barrage of gunfire rained down from all angles.

"Spread out!" the leader shouted. The vehicles sped up, racing through the city, taking every direction possible. The bots followed closely behind, acting as their backup, firing back at targets they could not see. The scavs were prepared; this was their world. Every block had barricades and traps, along with vantage points to wage an attack.

The vehicles split up, making themselves even more vulnerable. The vehicle Kade was in picked up speed, fishtailing in the loose dirt. As it rounded a corner, it ran over a landmine that exploded under one of the front tires. The blast uprooted the vehicle, flipping it on its side. With a thunderous crash, it slammed into the ground and slid to a stop. Kade was still in the back, rattled, but alive. In the distance, he could hear the violent sounds of gunfire and explosions and realized getting to Endocrine would not be so easy.

Before the dust settled, Kade had scrambled out of the vehicle and belly crawled toward a hollowed out vehicle resting permanently on the side of the road. He struggled with his cuffs, but they were locked solid. He looked around to orient himself, but was completely mixed up. Having only spent a brief moment in the city, he had no idea where he was and what way he needed to go to escape.

Kade stayed put, lying on his back and listening to the sounds of scavs scurrying around him like rodents. They were communicating with each other through their interconnected network in their helmets, so he couldn't hear what they were saying. He inched forward for a better view, but remained low so that he wouldn't be spotted.

The large scav leader — the one who had come into Kade's cell one night — entered the street with a small crew. He walked right up to the flipped vehicle, knelt down, and looked inside. He said something to the wounded woman who was still inside. 

Kade watched on with intrigue.

The scav reached inside the vehicle and dragged the warrior woman into the middle of the street. She kicked and fought with him, but had been weakened in the crash, so it wasn't much of a resistance. The leader scav then pulled out a gun and put it to her head. 

Kade watched on and tried to ignore his moral compass, but almost uncontrollably, he stood up to reveal himself, "Don't shoot!" he pleaded.

Instantly, a dozen guns were aimed in his direction.

"Show me your hands," the scav said.

"I can't," Kade replied, turning around slowly to reveal his bound arms.

"Walk toward me," the scav leader said. "Slowly."

Kade did exactly as he was instructed and shuffled his feet toward the small scav army. "That's enough," the leader said, aiming his gun at him. "Who are you?"

With Kade's face concealed, the scav leader had no idea that Kade was the same person who was captured and escaped months prior.

"I'm nobody," Kade said. "Just a rogue traveller passing through until I was captured by these women."

"Why have you captured this man?" the scav leader asked.

"We're scavengers just like you. We take whatever may be of use to us," the warrior woman said, not revealing Kade's true identity. "We were just passing through," she said. "We mean you no harm."

Without warning, Kade's shackles unlocked and dropped to the ground with a thud. Kade looked just as stunned as anyone. The noise was just enough of a distraction to cause the scav leader to divert his attention away from the warrior woman. That's when she removed a blade from her belt and lunge forward, plunging it into the leader's ribs. Surprised by the attack, the leader fell forward, gasping for breath. He fell face first into the dirt. The warrior woman wasted no time. She quickly ran for cover, removing her weapon from its holster and began blasting.

In the confusion, Kade took off running, zigging and zagging through back alleys and abandoned buildings. He had no idea where he was going or what his plan was, all he knew was he needed to keep moving.