Standing on the stone deck of Stable-Tec University's entrance, SwiftHaze overlooked the courtyard. Her friends decided to stop for a moment to eat before returning to the Griffons. Haze was now returning from the inside of the University to use the mare’s room. Her friends were done eating too.
Out in the courtyard, GleamingChance wandered around, his eyes glued to the ground. Was he... scavenging through the trashed yard? From the side, Xoqan watched him pace curiously.
Below her, OrchidRays was sitting on one of the stone steps. She waved a hoof at Haze. In the other hoof was a glass bottle of brown liquid.
“We saved you a Sparkle-Cola!”
Haze took a few steps down the stairs and perched next to Ray. The Earth Pony passed the bottle over to her.
“Where did you guys find this?” Haze was certain she didn’t see any of her companions pack this. Actually, she never had a Sparkle-Cola before.
“Chance found some in a vending machine,” Ray said.
“Huh.” Haze popped the cap off and placed it on the step, next to her recollector. She took a sip. “Carrots? And... something else?” The flavor was sweet, yet hard to pinpoint. Like carrot cake, with a touch of citrus.
“I think it’s carrots, vanilla and cinnamon. Chance says that’s cola flavor. Oh, and there he is!” Ray’s eyes peered past her Pegasus friend.
Haze turned around and saw the two stallions trotting towards them.
“You’re back! Great. We can get moving now,” Chance announced.
“Could I at least finish my drink?” Haze retorted.
“Fine,” Chance allowed.
After another swig, Haze said teasingly, “Are you digging through the trash?”
“What?” Chance croaked. “No. I-I’m scavenging. I’m looking for caps.”
“And have you found any yet?” Haze incited.
“I’ve found two so far,” Chance replied, defensively.
“He also picked up a few other pieces of trash,” Xoqan added with a smirk.
Chance became even more flustered. “I- I- they’re things I could find a purpose for. You have to make the most of what you find out here.” Was he blushing?
“Suure,” Xoqan said. “Totally not trash digging.”
Haze snorted with amusement then continued to drink her Sparkle-Cola.
“So you found it?” Julia remarked. “Nice work!” She proceeded to let SwiftHaze transfer the program to her terminal. “And you doubted they could get it, Augustus,” Julia spoke to the white headed Griffon. He just rolled his eyes.
“So, what about your end of the deal?” Xoqan asked as he approached the Griffon. “How are we getting my dad out?”
Julia sighed. “Yes, yes. I’ve been thinking about it. I believe we do not want to get too tangled up with those slavers. I'd like to refrain from attacking. Getting on their bad side might provoke them to come after us.
“So, is there some way we can sneak into the camp without being seen?” Xoqan pressed for answers.
“That’d be a risk. Not like the place ain’t guarded."
Xoqan growled. “Can’t y’all just like, fly in and fly the Zebras out?”
“What did I say about not wanting to be seen?” Julia spat.
“Then we may as well have Haze fly them out!”
“Um, what? How exactly am I supposed to find your dad? Just go around asking? Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Haze sassed.
She faced the Griffons now. “What about the other Zebras, or the other slaves for that matter? We need to break them out too.”
“We should just wipe out the slavers!” Xoqan exclaimed fiercely.
“Ain’t no way we can take all of them down. That’s too much killin’ I ain’t being paid for. That program may have been important, but it’s not that valuable,” Julia said.
Haze grumbled. “Oookaay. What type of work are these slaves doing anyway?”
“They mine for crystals and minerals,” Augustus answered. “Perhaps they can sneak in through the mine shafts.”
“Maybe we could-” OrchidRays attempted to speak up, but was drowned out by the others.
“I’m certain the slavers would have blocked off any unused exits to prevent the slaves from escaping,” Julia countered.
“Unless we can find an entrance and blow it open,” Chance put in.
“Even so, how are we supposed to find Xoqan’s dad? We obviously don’t want to be seen.” Haze said.
“Well, luckily night is falling. That may make it easier for you,” Augustus pointed out.
“Or we could use an invisibility spell,” Xoqan stated, almost too casually.
Silence. Everyone looked at him.
“Invisibility spell?” Haze echoed. “Is that even possible?”
“Yeah. I can do it with dark magic,” Xoqan replied. Haze just gaped. “Although it’s one of the hardest spells to do. Very difficult to keep it up while moving. I basically have to crawl to keep the spell stable.”
“Hmm, well, you did bring up a good point,” Julia said. She turned and walked towards her desk. She opened a drawer and began searching. In her claws, she brought out a box shaped item. She handed it over to Augustus, who finished passing it over to Haze.
“That is a StealthBuck. It gives its user invisibility for a limited duration. We never found a use for it, but perhaps you could,” Julia explained.
“Seriously?” Haze grinned as she took the device. “Looks like invisibility is the way to go!”
“Now hold on,” Julia cautioned. “The StealthBuck only has one charge and can only affect one user at a time. So use it wisely.”
“There’s always a catch,” Haze muttered.
“Yeah, and like I said, my spell is kinda difficult,” Xoqan restated. “But if we do this at night, a dark magic cover may be enough to obscure us. Only thing is that it obscures our vision too.”
“Hmm, I could use my compass and map... as best I could,” Haze considered.
“So, how are we doing this again?” Xoqan asked again, urgency in his voice. “Are we double teaming? How do we search the camp without getting caught?”
Wrapped in thought, Haze remained silent.
Ray added to the discussion successfully this time. “Maybe the Griffons can distract the slavers while you go in.”
“Don’t know how we’re supposed to distract them,” Julia noted. “Besides, they’re scattered all over the place. That’s how they keep an eye on the slaves.”
At last, Haze decided on the plan. She spoke up.
“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. We gotta get in the camp, right? The Griffons are going to pass OrchidRays off as a slave and hopefully trade her for Xoqan’s dad- or, at least a Zebra. Then Ray can locate Xoqan’s dad or whoever in the camp.
“At night I’ll fly in there and fly Ray out; I can find her by her PipBuck’s signal. I’ll give the StealthBuck to the Zebra Ray finds. We can save at least two Zebras this way, without getting the Griffons involved in combat.”
“That’s... actually not a completely terrible plan,” Chance admitted.
“But, I don’t want to be a slave,” Ray fretted with genuine concern.
“You aren’t going to be,” Haze assured her friend. “You just gotta pretend you are in order to trick them.”
“I don’t like this plan,” Ray whined.
“But you’re really important to it. You’re the only one I can find in the camp by just using my compass.” Haze attempted to sound comforting. “That’s really useful in the dark. I promise I’ll come rescue you as soon as you find Xoqan’s dad, okay?”
Ray only gave a small whimper.
Julia approached Haze. “Sounds like a plan. We better get started if you’re looking to break them out tonight.”
Darkness slowly crept upon the city. Evening was closing in as SwiftHaze’s group traveled with the Griffons in their aerial vehicle. It was much larger and nicer than their wagon and was perfect for transporting rescued slaves quickly.
Now they headed for the hills north of the city. Most of the equines stayed near the sky chariot as the Griffons led OrchidRays into the valley below.
Ray nervously observed the Griffons escorting her. Julia had come along with Augustus, who was her younger brother. Two other Griffons accompanied them.
Hoof cuffs uncomfortably rubbed against Ray’s forelegs as she shuffled along. They were clasped higher on her legs due to her metal hoof.
The group of Talons approached the gate. A few slavers turned their heads to take a look at the visitors.
“Griffons? What the fuck do you want?” A grey mare spat. “You better not be working for those Enclave fuckers.”
“Oh hells no,” Julia said. “We’ve come to do business.” The grey mare raised a brow, allowing her to continue. “We’d like to trade a slave.”
Augustus used a wing to nudge Ray forward.
“A slave? Since when do Griffons use slaves?” the grey mare pondered.
“Yeah, where’d you get her?” a different slaver added, sneering.
“How we got her is none of your damn business,” Julia retorted.
“Bet it was one of those traveling slavers looking for sales,” another pony snickered.
“Shh!” the grey mare hissed. “I suppose we could do business,” she told Julia.
The Griffon grinned. “Great. We’d like to trade her for one of your Zebras.”
The grey slaver was taken aback. “What? How do you know we have Zebras?”
“You aren’t exactly the most subtle ponies,” Augustus put in matter-of-fact-ly. “I hear about everything that happens in this city.”
The mare glared at him for a moment before returning her attention to Julia. “Sorry. We don’t trade slaves for slaves. Best we can do is give you some caps for her.”
“What? But a slave is worth a slave,” Julia argued in outrage.
“Sorry, we aren’t willing to give up any labor, especially when we don’t even know her capabilities.” The slaver scrutinized OrchidRays, who averted her gaze. “Take the caps, or fuck off.”
Julia pushed her brother to the side and covered their beaks with a wing. “This wasn’t the deal. Do we still go through with this?”
“I think so,” Augustus whispered. “They can still act out the rest of their plan if we leave her here.”
They’re going to sell me! Ray’s heart began to pound.
“Alright. We’ll take the caps,” Julia announced.
“I don’t want to be a slave!” Ray wailed as the slavers ushered her into their camp.
“Too bad!” a slaver mocked. “This is how life goes. You shoulda put up a better fight when you were caught.”
Ray only whimpered.
Before she entered any further, they removed her shackles and replaced them with a single cuff on her right foreleg. A small light emitted from it.
They pushed her into what looked like an outdoor mess hall. An area with open sides and a roof. Under it were groups of slaves eating... something out of bowls. It must have been meal time.
The sky was too dark now for Ray to locate where her friends were hiding out. Rocky hills rose to the north and east of the camp.
Ray scanned the area for striped coats. When she spotted one Zebra, she approached them.
“Um, uh, hi?”
“What do you want?” grumbled the Zebra mare.
“Um, do you know Shenzi?” Ray asked, remembering the name Xoqan had told her.
The Zebra’s eyes widened. “How do you know that name, pony?”
“He’s my friend’s dad,” Ray replied. For a moment she wondered if she had known Xoqan long enough to call him her friend.
“Xoqan?”
Ray nodded. She glanced behind both shoulders then leaned close to the Zebra. “We’re getting you out of here,” she whispered.
The mare stared at her bewildered.
“But I have to find Shenzi for this plan to go correctly.”
The Zebra mare nodded. She pointed her hoof to the other side of the mess hall. “Shenzi might still be working in the lanes. Check there first.”
“Thank you,” Ray replied.
She quickly zigzagged her way through the crowded hall. A few ponies shouted at her with displeasure as she almost stepped on their hooves or bowls.
Outside, three ponies blocked Ray’s path. Two of different shades of green, and an orange one.
“Well look what we have here,” a large, buff stallion said. He flicked the black hair out of his face. “Heard the slavers talking to the Griffons. Brought you in, huh?”
“Where are you from?” Inquired the lighter green pony, a mare.
“Um... Los Pegasus,” Ray mumbled
“Los Pegasus! How’d you get here huh? Someone transport you?” The dark green stallion snickered.
“I- um... I’m sorry, can I get through?”
“No. We don’t let a newbie go free without an... inspection,” the orange pony said, a Unicorn stallion. There was a metal device clamped around his horn.
“Are you... slavers?” Ray asked.
The green stallion gave a hardy laugh. “You hear this dipshit? She thinks we’re the slavers!”
The insult made Ray shrink back.
“No, we’re the slaves,” the stallion growled. “But just because we’re both slaves doesn’t mean we’re equal, y’hear?”
Each of them stepped forward, beginning to surround Ray. She tried to back away. With two forelegs, the large stallion pushed Ray’s chest. She flopped to her haunches. Pleading in her eyes she begged them to get away. The orange Unicorn slammed a hoof into her shoulder.
“Please, stop!” She cried.
The light green mare began pulling at her mane. Pain rippled across her scalp, yet she still tried to pull her head away.
“Stop!” Tears began running down the young mare’s face.
The green mare jolted away as she pulled off Ray’s hair tie, letting her braid unravel.
A hoof smacked Ray across the face. “Stop crying, pussy!” The large stallion exclaimed.
“Ay, isn’t it late for tussling?” a strange voice said from beyond the huddle of ponies. All three of Ray’s bullies pivoted their heads to the source. A Zebra stallion trotted towards them. “Leave her alone.”
“Oh, this fucker again?” The green mare sneered.
“I thought we told you we run this place. We ain’t scared of no deadass Zebra,” the Unicorn slave added.
In an instance, the Zebra stallion twirled around. His hind hoof struck the Unicorn’s neck. The slave collapsed to the floor with a cry of pain. Shaking, he laid paralyzed on the dirt.
Both green ponies stared at the scene in horror. The Zebra took one step forward, and both of the ponies scattered. He carefully made his way around the parlayed body of the Unicorn.
Still crying, Ray peered up at the Zebra as if he was a hawk. When he did not advance on her, she asked, “why did you help me?”
“You needed help, no?” The Zebra said.
“I-I-I should’ve been able to fight them off! They... they...”
“There were three of them,” the Zebra stallion hushed her. “And they were bigger than you. There would be no way you could challenge them.”
Blinking away tears, Ray realized the stallion in front of her. “Are you Shenzi?”
The stallion’s eyes grew wide. “How do you know my name?” He hissed.
“Um, Xoqan told me,” Ray said.
“Xoqan?” Shenzi was taken aback.
He quickly glanced behind both of his shoulders. He extended a hoof to Ray and helped her up. Pain throbbed in her shoulder, chest and cheek. She followed him as he ushered her along, out of the middle of the path.
“How do you know Xoqan?” Shenzi whispered in his exotic accent.
“He’s my friend. We’re here to save you!” Ray replied at a similar volume.
“Save me? Who are you? Is Xoqan here?”
“He’s with my friends now. They’re coming to help. I just gotta signal them,” Ray gestured to her metal leg.
“Wait, now?” Shenzi struggled to keep up with the rapid-fire information.
“Yeah.” Ray nodded. She lifted up her prosthetic foreleg and turn her PipBuck’s radio beacon on.
“You didn’t get a Zebra?” SwiftHaze had been fueled with outrage when she heard about the Griffons trading her friend for caps.
“They wouldn’t give us one. Decided you could still go through with your plan,” Julia had defended.
Now Haze was ready to take to the air. She had just received the signal from Ray’s PipBuck. A voice shouted from behind her.
“Haze! Let me come with you!” Xoqan called.
“What? No, I’m fine. I can get in and out of there fast,” Haze argued.
“But you may need backup,” Xoqan reasoned. “What if you need to be obscured too? I could use my magic-”
“I don’t want to put anyone else at risk. I already let Ray...” Haze said without completing.
“Then let me come. I can help.”
“Ugh, fine, whatever. I have to go, we’re wasting time. Meet me there if you want to come,” Haze snapped. She spread her wings and launched into the sky.
“Wait!” Xoqan dashed after her. He kept eye on her PipBuck’s light as he followed, but he soon was trailing behind.
Ahead, SwiftHaze flew onward. At first she had urgently bounded away, but now slowed her pace to let Xoqan catch up.
The darkness around her was disorienting. There were very few lights from the camp to spot. She had to trust her compass and marker alone. She hoped the darkness too obscured her.
And suddenly her marker was behind her. Why can’t my E.F.S. have vertical indicators! She twirled in the air and flew a few meters back until her marker was precise. She descended in a circle, watching the marker spin around her compass. She could just make out the shape of two equines. What she noticed more was the soft green glow from Ray’s PipBuck, and two small, red dots near their hooves.
As Haze landed, Ray galloped towards her to give her a hug. “Haze!”
“Whoa, whoa. I’m here now,” Haze murmured. She noticed Ray’s untied hair. “What happened to you- never mind. We don’t have time.”
She looked at the other shadowy figure. “Shenzi, right? We’re getting you out of here. Hold on-” Haze searched her saddle bag. She brought out the StealthBuck and displayed it to Shenzi. “If you use this you will turn invisible, so you can sneak out.”
“No, I cannot,” Shenzi said firmly.
“What? Why?” Haze gaped.
“Well, I cannot just leave without my companions. Also, the slavers track us through these cuffs.” He lifted his hoof to show the metal cuff. “If we were to escape, the cuff would shock us. Paralyzing us.”
“Well fuck,” Haze blurted out. “Is there anyway to disarm the hoof cuffs?”
“I believe they are controlled by the warden’s terminal,” Shenzi replied.
“And how exactly am I supposed to get to it?” Haze grumbled.
“Maybe we could make a distraction and you can slip in his shack?” Ray suggested.
“Even if I do somehow get in, you can’t tell me the terminal won’t be locked. How do I get into it? It’s not like I know the password.”
“Maybe wait for him to unlock it... then we distract him and bring him out here,” Ray attempted to form a plan.
“I... don’t think that’s going to work. The best I can do is sneak in and guess the password,” Haze said regretfully. “Whatever it is, I can’t be seen...” Her eyes drifted to the StealthBuck in her hoof.
“Maybe I won’t be seen,” she grinned.
“Alright new plan: I use the StealthBuck to get in the warden’s quarters and try to hack his terminal. You guys wait here for Xoqan, he should be able to obscure you when you run away,” Haze announced.
“What about my companions?” Shenzi reiterated.
“Ugh, fine. When I’m hacking, go get them and meet back here. Ray, I can fly you back.
“Are you sure? I could just go with Xoqan,” Ray asked.
“If he can obscure that many pon- people,” Haze considered.
“The more bodies, the more dark magic I have to use,” Xoqan’s voice whispered out from the dark.
“Gah!” Haze jumped. “You ever fucking think to tell us your here before joining the conversation?” she hissed.
“Sorry,” Xoqan answered casually.
“Whatever.” Haze shook her head.
“You guys find the other Zebras, create a distraction, and I’ll sneak into the warden’s quarters.”
“How exactly are we supposed to do two things at once?” Xoqan criticized.
“Yes, and it is best we do not draw attention to ourselves,” Shenzi added.
“Ugh! Why do I have to do everything myself? Fine, I’ll draw him out while invisible. Ray, if the warden comes back, I’ll send a signal to your PipBuck. That will mean I need a backup distraction.”
“Okay,” Ray acknowledged.
Shenzi showed Haze the way to the warden’s shack. It was crudely built, with light pouring out of the window. Haze approached it and activated the StealthBuck.
She peeked into the cracked window. Inside was a brown stallion lounging in a hammock. He was busy reading a magazine.
“Oooh, I’m a spooky ghost!” Haze sang into the window. She tapped it with a hoof a few times.
“Huh?” The warden nearly fell out of his hammock. He stomped up to the window and slammed it open. “Who the fuck is that? Show yourself, fuckwad!”
He glanced left to right, then looked down, directly where Haze had slumped down. His muzzle retreated back inside when he saw nothing.
Now he marched out of his shack and came around to the side with the window. Frustrated, he peered around the empty space.
Hastily Haze dashed in the opposite direction. She fluttered close to the ground and stopped by the outdoor mess hall, which was empty all for two slaves. With any luck, the warden would interrogate them.
“Oooh!” Haze called out.
The brown stallion froze and stared in her direction. Growling, he cantered towards her. Haze leapt into the air and skimmed over his head.
She slipped into the shack. Inside, her hooves kicked up clumps of trash that littered the floor. The room smelled like... Haze wasn’t sure what the smell was but it wasn’t pleasant. On the back wall a poster of a Zebra with a cartoonishly large grin. “Mint-als!” The poster boasted with the text “Refresh your mind and you breath” at the bottom.
Haze headed towards the terminal. It was strange that she could see her own typing hooves, but had to trust the StealthBuck that she was invisible.
The password was hinted to be seven characters long. Haze hadn’t seen a terminal system like this before. Perhaps it was an older model? Giving away the length of the password seemed like a security flaw.
Hmm. Phoenix?
Access denied.
No. Too easy. Slavers?
Access denied.
Also too easy. Three more attempts were left. Haze forced her brain to focus on what this password could be.
Enclave? Could they be working for them somehow?
Access denied.
Ugh! Haze peered around the room for inspiration.
She noticed a small metal tin on the desk. “Mint-als” just like the poster on the wall. She flipped it open to see small white tablets inside. There were several empty versions of the tin in the waste bin next to the desk, a few missing the bin completely.
Haze recalled how classmates claimed they could recall information better while chewing gum or a mint. Worth a shot, right? Haze took one of the tablets.
It was quite a strong mint flavor. A few moments after eating it, Haze’s surroundings transformed. Everything she was was crisper, more saturated. She was more aware of sounds and smells. Her memories raced, bringing information into her mind, yet at the same time, she felt calm. The Mint-als were enhancing her perception.
That was useful when she could hear hoofsteps marching closer. The door swung open. With a gasp, Haze slumped down and crouched below the desk. She watched the legs of the brown stallion shuffle inside and halt.
“Fucking slaves. Think they’re so clever!” he mumbled. “Low life fuckwads.”
His front legs turned to face Haze. She held her breath, which sounded all too loud to her Mint-al enhanced senses. She kept her PipBuck ready, but was hesitant to send a signal to her friends.
“Who the fuck got into my Mint-als? Oh, they think they’re so smart, working together to steal my shit! If I find the fuckwad who did this, I’m gonna fucking rip them a new one.” Once again, the warden stormed out of his shack.
Releasing her breath, Haze poked her head out. She returned to her hacking position.
He says fuckwad a lot. She tried that word.
Access denied.
Erg! One attempt left. Haze furrowed her brows. Once again, her eyes drifted to the metal tin. Then, to the ones in the garbage. She noted the poster on the wall. Oh, Mint-als has seven characters without the dash.
Mintals.
Access granted.
Holy fucking sun of Celestia. Haze felt so dumb. That was the most obvious choice! She told herself.
She clicked through the terminal, sure not to waste any time meandering. What she found was “Incinerator system lock control.” She clicked “disengage.”
Disengage processing...
Disengage complete.
Awesome!
Haze rushed out of the shack, nearly colliding with the warden. The stallion stopped, perking his ears as he detected the sound of hooves skidding to a halt. Gingerly she walked around the warden as he peered around, confused.
SwiftHaze returned under the dead tree they had agreed on as their meetup spot. The group hadn’t arrived yet. A few agonizing minutes passed by. At least, Haze could make out movement, but not any shape she recognized. A dark black mass coiled around. Once released, the silhouettes of five equines were visible, OrchidRays being one of them.
“Haze?” She whispered gruffly.
“I’m here,” Haze returned.
“I can’t see you.”
“I must still be invisible. I... don’t know how to turn this off. Guess I just wait until the duration is over.”
“Did you disarm the cuffs?” Xoqan asked hastily.
“Yes. We can get outta here. You think you can hide everyone?” Haze said.
“I have for this long, haven’t I?” Xoqan quipped. “Not the easiest thing, but I can do it.”
“Do you want me to take Ray?” Haze suggested.
“No way. It’d be safer if she came with us. We don’t want the slavers end up seeing her. You fly outta here while your stealth is still up.”
“Hey! Who’s there? What the fuck is going on?”
Everyone froze as Haze recognized the voice of the warden. His silhouette was illuminated by a lamp farther in camp.
“Fuck!” Haze blurted out as her heart began to pound. “You guys go. I’ll hold him off.”
Xoqan nodded and wasted no time bringing his cloaking spell back up.
The warden dashed after them. While Haze took to the air, she readied her assault rifle which was carried on her side. Just like her, the warden had a gun strapped to him. He stood up on his back legs to fire the shotgun at the cloud of dark magic.
Haze found it difficult to center her aim as she floated through the air. Activating S.A.T.S., she aimed for the stallion’s legs. Pew pew pew. The shots missed, hitting the dirt. Seriously? S.A.T.S. can miss?
Instead, she hovered as still as she could and brought her sights up. She fired a few more bullets. Unfortunately, the warden had returned to all four hooves, only a single bullet striking his foreleg.
“Urg! Who’s there?” He gawked at the night sky but was unable to find the source of the gunfire. Haze sprayed a few more bullets just to occupy him.
No wonder this dipshit was obsessed with Mint-als. He was downright moronic!
Haze saw the figure of a pony running to investigate the commotion.
“What are you yelling about?” A female slaver chided the warden.
“The slaves, they’re getting away!”
“What? Where?” the mare asked with urgency.
“They went that way!” The stallion pointed to the south east. Haze knew her friends were going directly south.
“Don’t worry. They’ll be paralyzed by their sentry devices before they can even cross the barrier.”
“We need to find them so we can drag them back here!”
Haze didn’t want to hear anymore. She twirled around and flew on her way.
Through the darkness she could not locate where Ray and Zebras had gone. She hoped they knew how to get back to their meet-up location.
Gliding, Haze passed over the edge of the valley. It was then when she felt the effects of the Mint-al wearing off. Well, it was more like a stark contrast from one second to the next. Her hearing and the tingle of wind on her fur felt less in tune. If it was daytime, she was sure the colors around her would have been stolen away by some unknown force. Maybe it was a good thing it was nighttime.
Ahead was the lights of the Talon’s sky chariot, docked on the ground. GleamingChance acknowledged Haze as she landed.
“You’re back!”
“Huh, guess that means I’m visible now,” Haze said.
“What?”
“Oh, I had to use the StealthBuck,” Haze explained.
“But I thought you were going to give it to Shenzi,” Chance recalled.
“Yeah, the plan changed. Is anyone else back yet?” Haze peered around.
“Not yet,” Augustus told her. “But we’ll keep an eye out for them.”
That figures. She probably flew faster than they could have run. She and the others waited.
At last they could see the group of Zebras and Ray galloping in the distance, free of any dark magic mask. They all gathered around the sky chariot, panting.
Both Zebra mares were in bad condition. One lingered behind, limping while the other had a blackened eye. Shenzi himself was not in optimal condition, as his coat was stained with dirt and blood.
Haze noticed Ray was limping as well on her back left leg. She explained that the warden had managed to shoot her with his shotgun.
“Are... we really free?” one of the Zebra mares mumbled in an exotic accent.
“Yes,” Haze assured. “We better keep moving before the slavers find out you made it out of the work camp.”
“Please, we’ve wasted enough time out here,” Julia spoke up. “Everyone aboard.”
As the group stepped forward, Haze stopped near the female Griffon.
“Thank you for your help,” she said.
“Eh, we stayed a little longer on this mission than what we would have liked. But we got some caps out of it, so I was feeling generous,” Julia put forth.
“Don’t think I’m not still pissed at what you guys did,” Haze reprimanded.
“Feel anyway you want to. It was just business,” Julia replied. “Decided you could all go ahead with your plan. And, oh look, you did!”
Haze just growled with annoyance and followed the Griffon into her flying vehicle.