Mercenary at heart
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The black bandit opened the container. The hostages went inside. It was empty, dark, damp, and smelled musty. The door slammed shut behind them. They could hear the bolts that closed it from the outside creaking. Time passed very slowly in the container. The boys were groping around, trying to find some object or flaw in the metal box that might help them escape the confined space. A gap in the wall would also do. But the search was unsuccessful.
Evening came. It was getting dark outside. Michael and Theodore had been held captive for half a day, still not realizing what would become of them in the future, and not imagining how they could get free. The outcasts continued to burn trash in a rusted metal tank. The outside stank of cinders and burnt rubber. It was not clear how the bandits had not yet poisoned themselves from such a constant nasty and noxious odor. It was almost as if they liked it. And they really enjoyed inhaling it into their lungs. There was no outside light, and only the fire, now and then bursting from the tank, illuminated the outer features of the camp.
The voices intensified, and rough male laughter came from far away. The radio played, tuned to the rock music wave. The outcasts were celebrating their catch of the day. It had been a good day for them: they had gotten a couple of hostages, a couple of cars, and a gun that one of them had armed himself with. And mobile devices that could be sold on the black market. A dinner of gophers they had managed to catch in the desert was planned ahead. This at least meant that the bandits would be well-fed, and there would be no need to waste the boys. The thugs cooked the meat over a fire from under the garbage with smog soaked with burnt polyethylene, clothes, paint, acids, and other junk. How could anyone even manage not to die after such a hypertoxic dinner? But the outcasts didn't have much wood, so they apparently didn't have much choice.
Up to this point, Michael had been on his feet the entire time he had been trapped in the container, because he didn't want to sit down on the dirty metal floor, but he didn't have the strength to stand any longer. So he decided to sit down next to Theodore, who was not the least bit squeamish about the fact that he had already soiled his clothes.
Michael: “Do you have any relatives besides your father?”
Theodore: “My mom died of an illness. The rest of my family abandoned me, pretending as if I never existed, so it's just me and my father… It's more accurate to say just me. Do you have a full family?”
Michael: “I'm sorry. I still have my mom in Ounwilschen. I don't know how she'll take the loss of my father and I…”
Theodore grabbed Michael's hand and shook it as hard as he could, then said: “Don't you dare bury yourself before your time. You're still alive!”
Michael, pulled his arm out: “For how long. The prospects of getting out of here are slim…”
Theodore, “Don't get discouraged! That's the last thing you should do in a situation like this!”
There were pops, roaring engines, gunshots and screams outside. It was hard to make out anything in particular. Some were screaming in pain, some were commanding, some were yelling from overwhelmed emotions.
Michael: “Get down! In case they start shooting in our direction!”
The boys quickly lay down on the floor and covered their ears with their hands so they wouldn't hear the loud noises. After a while, the screaming stopped. Only approaching footsteps and conversations of unknown people could be heard.
A man's voice: “Search the area! He must be here somewhere!”
Who were these people? Their saviors? The police? Or just another gang of outcasts vying for territory? But whoever they were, surely it couldn't get any worse than falling into the clutches of cum cannibals. Michael rose to his feet, stumbled to the door, and began pounding on it as hard as he could, begging for help: “Help! Help! We're in here!”
Theodore: “What are you doing? Sit down!”
Footsteps began to be heard closer and closer.
Female voice: “I heard something coming from that container!”
A man's voice: “I'll check it out, cover me!”
The deadbolts creaked. The door began to slowly open. Michael took a step back with his hands in the air. A faintly discernible human silhouette appeared in the opening. It was Fred. He noticed Michael and lowered his weapon, “It's okay, I found him.” Theodore rose from the ground, looking at Fred incredulously, leaving his hands raised up in the air. Michael rushed over to his savior and hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear: “I was scared. So scared…”
– You'll be fine. You'll be home soon! What's wrong with you? Don't get soft! You're not a woman! Come on, pull yourself together! – Michael was cheered up by the mercenary.
– Who's that? That other kid…” Fred asked, pointing his finger at Ted.
– That's Theodore. He's been through a lot, too. The outcasts killed his father. – Michael also whispered and introduced the second hostage to the mercenary.
Fred: “Don't be afraid, boy! We're taking you home too!”
Michael: “Fred, he has no parents left and nowhere to go.”
Fred: “Okay, we'll settle that on the way then. Anyway, first things first, we need to get out of here. Let's go!”
Together they went outside and headed toward the vehicles. The camp was brightly lit by the headlights of jeeps and motorcycles on all sides. It was no longer as lively as it had been a few hours earlier. There were lead-laden corpses of outcasts everywhere, and the already dilapidated structures they had built out of whatever they had made as shelter were ablaze. There were several groups of mercenaries present: one was Fred's group, and the second (larger) was Lauren's group. Michael knew her as well, though he didn't see her that often. From time to time, the girl also accompanied his father on trips when Fred was too busy to take orders. Michael stopped dead in his tracks. Forgetting his recent joy. He suddenly remembered, “Fred, what about my father? What about him? Did you find him? Is he alive?”
Fred turned to the boy: “The doctors are fighting for his life right now. I'll be back to see him at the hospital tomorrow. You can come with me if you want to. It's a good thing the SOS signal somehow miraculously managed to reach the logistician before losing communication. Gerry had called us, since city services don't serve the area outside of the settlement. Gathering a team, we arrived on the scene fairly promptly. First thing we did was get your father to the hospital and start looking for you. George would never forgive me if anything happened to you.
Michael breathed a sigh of relief. He was relieved. Theodore patted the boy on the back and said enthusiastically: “Lucky you! You see, we didn't even have to come up with a plan, they did it all for us! And you were afraid!”
He never ceased to amaze Michael. Unlike him, Theodore's father had recently died, and the boy was enthusiastic, upbeat, and without a trace of regret in his voice. Michael began to look over each of the dead looking for Reno. He wanted to make sure that the scumbag who had infringed on his father's life got what he deserved. The fourth body he examined belonged to the masked man. He was already dead. There was a weapon lying around the bandit, apparently dropped during the gunfight.