Vinyl had no idea why she jumped when the Bruiser smashed through the pathetic barricade. She also had no idea why she thought a wooden table would be enough to stop Bass Leader’s troops. Maybe she thought the troops would get lazy and find another way in to the bar? The DJ’s thought process was a mystery, even to herself, but one thought currently occupied every inch of her mind: There is a giant metal man behind us, we are fucked.
Despite the DJ’s pessimism, the Bruiser stood in the demolished doorway. The driver’s features were hidden behind the thick metal that the suit was made of, but Vinyl imagined that they were grinning.
“I found them!” the driver yelled, voice distorted by the suit’s speakers. The gesture was unnecessary, Vinyl knew that the suit could have sent the driver’s message without her ever hearing it. The driver was going for some sort of scare tactic. What could be scarier than knowing that a walking tank had their sights set on you? It might have worked if the DJ wasn’t already at her limits.
“Vinyl, move!” Octavia yelled. The Bruiser started their loud, and surprisingly fast, walk towards them.
Vinyl shook her head and ran. They got to the back door, which Vinyl smashed into with her shoulder, and they found themselves in an alley. Octavia slammed the door behind them, though they both knew it was pointless. If a solid table couldn’t stop the Bruiser, a thin door stood no chance. But the act carried a sort of reassurance. The Bruiser was in there and they were out there, away from the Bruiser.
The two women ran down the alley. Octavia managed to pull ahead, her breathing loud and ragged. Vinyl felt fine, surprisingly. Maybe Bass Leader had given her a set of iron lungs while he had her cut open on the operating table.
Octavia reached the end of the alley and stopped. She poked her head around the corner and turned to Vinyl. “I think I have a plan,” she said between large gulps of breath.
“Goody. All this thinking is making my brain hurt,” Vinyl said, unable to stop herself from making a bad joke.
Octavia glared and said, “There’s a Solar Empire convoy going down the road. If we go to them, maybe we can get away from my father.”
“He seemed pretty hell-bent on getting you back, Tav. I don’t think a couple of soldiers are going to stop him.”
“No, probably not. But they have tanks.” Octavia wiped sweat from her brow. “I wish I did more cardio.”
A dirty remark about Octavia’s exercising, and the tight clothing that went with it, died on Vinyl’s tongue. “Did you say tanks?”
“Yes. Look for yourself if you don’t believe me.” As Vinyl leaned around the corner and let out a low whistle at the sight of the armor, Octavia continued speaking. “If we go up to them, say we are being chased by some rebels or something, maybe they’ll take us somewhere.”
“Rebels? Who is going to believe that?”
“What, you haven’t been paying attention to the news?” Octavia asked, confused.
“No, Tav, I’ve been a little busy getting shot at.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you could turn off the newsfeed to your display,” Octavia said, blushing. “These augments will take some getting used to.”
In another time, Vinyl would have laughed at the thought of Octavia watching the news through an impromptu warzone. Now, she just wanted to take a nap. “I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me,” Vinyl said.
“We’re going to have to get rid of the guns.”
Vinyl looked at the rifle in her hands. Despite what others might think, the DJ was not unreasonable. The sight of two armed women would probably give the Solar Empire the wrong idea about them. It would be safer if they were unarmed. That didn’t mean Vinyl liked the idea.
She threw the rifle into a dumpster before she changed her mind. A loud crash told her that the Bruiser was finally making his appearance.
“He’s slow,” Octavia said.
“He’s toying with us,” Vinyl said.
The Bruiser spotted them. He stepped into the middle of the alley and said, “I see you,” in a sing-song voice. Octavia was already running again, but Vinyl stopped to flip off the Bruiser. “Baby,” the driver said, “the things I’m going to make you do to yourself with that finger.”
Vinyl opened her mouth to reply but decided to let the driver have his strange taunt. She stepped out of the alley and ran after Octavia, who was already yelling to the soldiers. It felt strange running towards the soldiers without a weapon. No less than 24 hours ago, the same soldiers might have been trying to shoot her.
Octavia’s screaming had gotten their attention. The whole convoy was looking at them, each soldier’s face hidden behind their orange visors. One person walked towards them, their tight suit denoting them as one of the Hunters, the same branch of the military that had played a pivotal role in the Reclamation. If it wasn’t for the Hunters, many of the people that didn’t have augments would have been able to slip through the net. Vinyl felt her gut tighten as she ran towards the convoy, thoughts of a Hunter letting a man fall to his death still fresh in her head.
“What are you still doing here? All of the civilians were supposed to be evacuated,” the Hunter said.
“We’re being chased! Bruiser, just down the alley, tried to kill us!” Octavia said, stopping in front of the Hunter to catch her breath.
“I can’t believe this,” the Hunter mumbled. She turned and pointed to one of the soldiers. “You. Take these two to the evac site.” The soldier nodded and motioned for Octavia and Vinyl to follow him.
“Little girls, where are you?” the Bruiser said, walking out into the street. When he turned and saw the convoy, he said, “Aw, fuck.”
Vinyl watched him raise his arms, preparing to fire. Before he could get a single shot off, the lead tank roared, scoring a direct hit and almost causing the DJ to go deaf. The remains of the Bruiser forward with a dull thud. Vinyl shivered and looked at Octavia instead.
The sight instantly calmed her, allowing her to think. Sure, they were getting out of the city, and away from Bass Leader, but they had just allowed a tank to fire in a city. Why did anyone need a tank in the city? Why was the city being evacuated? How had the world gone to hell overnight?
Vinyl was taken out of her self-questionnaire by the feeling of Octavia’s hand gripping hers. The DJ blinked and looked up, into Octavia’s lavender eyes. The shell that the cellist had constructed was starting to shatter. Vinyl could see all of the fear and confusion that swam just beneath Octavia’s surface, and the DJ wondered how the other woman kept herself together. Vinyl didn’t want to seem egotistic, but the warm hand in hers, which she clung to, might have provided a clue.