Forget The Rain–– Day 4, February 5, 2317

[Lithium]

Siren

She had never been this close to the border before. Never, in her entire life. She could just barely see the horizon, over in OneNation. It was a faint, parched green.

"Wow," she said aloud. "I've never seen that kind of green before."

She spurred Wildfire into a gallop and they raced along side the border they would never cross. The border they weren't allowed to cross.

Siren so wanted to cross it.

Wildfire came to a sudden stop and almost threw her.

"Whoa, boy!" She gripped onto his mane and the horn of the saddle to steady herself. "What's up?"

She looked over his head and saw a dark shape in her path. Well, sort of dark.

Hauling herself off the horse, she jumped to the ground and ran over to examine it.

She flipped it over.

"It's a man!" she exclaimed to Wildfire as she studied his closed eyes and face. She looked at his clothes. "And those are some fancy clothes."

She slapped his face a bit and his mouth opened.

"Oh, sweet mercy!" she exclaimed. "Look at those teeth!"

Wildfire nosed at the man's face, pulled his head up and snorted.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be he's an OnNaer, gone I.S. Do you think he needs help?"

Siren stopped.

"I'm asking advice... from my horse." She ran her fingers through her long copper hair. "I need to get back to town."

She took one look at the man and something–– a plan, a loyalty, something she couldn't quite pinpoint–– solidified in her mind.

"Wildfire, kneel!"

The stubborn red and white paint seemed to roll his eyes, then halfheartedly kneeled in the hard, craggy earth.

"Sorry, bud." She said to her horse, before she grabbed the man by his suit's shoulders and dragged him over to Wildfire's side.

"Jeeze, this guy's heavy. Is he carrying around rocks or something?"

She caught a glimpse of rock-hard, tightened muscle through his ripped suit arm.

"Oh. I see."

She propped him up against Wildfire, went around to the other side and pulled him over the back.

Using some rope she had recently obtained, she secured him to her saddle so he wouldn't slide off, mounted her horse and trotted back to her brother's town: Borderway.

Siren deeply sighed. "Well... that's that adventure gone."

Wildfire snorted.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Having a strange man in a fancy suit pop up out of no where is plenty of adventure."

She stopped herself and thumped her forehead.

"Talking to my horse, again! I must be going crazy! Maybe it's heat stroke."

[Cytherea]

Hazel wandered into the town. She was exhausted, but she forced her hunger and thirst from her mind, and put a straight face on.

The town looked so inviting from the endless desert she had been wandering recently. She knew she needed to get water, and she told herself she was going to get some, no matter what.

She walked into the town and quickly put her chocolate brown hair into another loose ponytail.

[Lithium]

Siren came trotting up the main road of Borderway, Wildfire bumping along over the craggy turf.

A dusty, parched looking girl stood in the road, straightening her ponytail.

"Hey, stranger!" Siren said, riding up and forgetting about the man she had tied to her saddle. "Haven't seen you in these parts before. Need something?"

[Cytherea]

"Hey, stranger! Haven't seen you in these parts before. Need something?"

Hazel smiled up at the girl.

"Sure do." she said. "I'm dying of thirst."

[Lithium]

"Dying of thirst? In a desert? When you have no horse?" Siren said, her eyebrows raised. "Come with me. I'll get you some water. Lucky this here town is over a gigantic aquifer that stretches into rain country. Otherwise, you'd have no such luck."

She dismounted her horse, leaving the man in the suit tied to her horse's saddle and rump.

Walking into the saloon nearby, she went up to one of the waitresses (a pretty black haired girl named Kit) and said, "Hey, Kit. We've got a stranger in town. She needs some water bad. Can you hook us up?"

Kit smiled her brilliant, million watt smile, nodded and scurried away to get the purple-eyed girl some water.

"She's really had to perfect that smile," Siren said to the girl. "She's a mute. Anyways, what's your name? I'm Siren. Siren Ferdas."

[Cytherea]

"I'm Siren. Siren Ferdas."

"My name's Hazel Mereba Kale." Hazel said as Kit handed her a cup of water. She wanted to drink it in a few gulps, but let it run down her throat deliciously cool. She smiled back at Kit.

"I'm sorry she's mute." Hazel to Siren. "I couldn't imagine life without talking."

"But, anyways..." she drank more of her water. "You're probably wondering why I'm here, and parched in the desert without a horse." she smiled at Siren. "I escaped from a slave trader a few days ago, and I was wandering around since then." she shrugged and finished her water. "Don't know where my family is anymore. Somewhere billions of miles from here. Not even sure if they're still in these here Badlands."

[Lithium]

Siren gasped. "Oh, crud! Slave traders? If you got here without dying first, they must be close and they'll go after..." She trailed off. "I've got to go talk to someone really quick. I'll be right––"

They heard a shout from the street and Siren sighed. "I almost forgot about him."

Siren dashed out of the saloon and back to Wildfire, who was whinnying loudly and bucked while the man thrashed around against his back.

"Get me down!!"

[Cytherea]

Siren rushed out of the saloon as someone outside started yelling. Hazel followed her.

A man was tied to Siren's horse, and he was yelling. Hazel was not sure what Siren did for a living, but now she was interested.

"Get me down!!" the man yelled.

"Who's he?" Hazel asked Siren calmly.

[Zinna]

Kyle

Kyle was talking to his friend Jack in the saloon when he heard a shout from the street. He bolted out and saw a well dressed man flailing on the back of a horse. Then he saw a beautiful dark brown haired girl running towards the horse.

"Need some help, Miss!" he called to her. He thought he heard Jack say that they should go back to their own town and leave mistakes to the makers, but Kyle ignored him.

[Cytherea]

Hazel turned when she heard someone call to her.

"Need some help, Miss!" he said, running towards her. She smiled at him and indicated the horse.

"Nah, this isn't my horse. It's her's." she pointed to Siren. "She might want some help. She's got a crazy man in the saddle."

[Zinna]

Kyle

Kyle turning to Siren, "Anything you need help with Ma'am?"

He glanced back at the pretty brown haired girl and flashed one of his charming smiles.

[Lithium]

Siren raised her eyebrows. "No. I'm just going to let himself wear himself out."

"Please!" the man growled. "Let me down." He thrashed a bit more, then the rope snapped and he slid off Wildfire's backside and landed hard on his rear.

"Owww," he groaned.

"Better, now?" Siren asked, mischief glowing in her eyes. "So, stranger, tell me what you were doing lying face down in the ground just next to the OnNa border. You from there?"

He sat straight up. "Where am I? Is this––" He howled as he clutched his head. "Oh, my head. Jeeze. Wha–– What happened to my hair? What–– Missy! Cassandra! Where's Cassandra? I'll rip them apart! I'll––"

Siren was almost doubled over laughing. "Dude, relax. I'm sure your girl is just fine. I mean, I can check a Photosphere or something for her, but–– oh, wait! No service out here."

"Now you just wait a second––"

"No. You answer my questions and then you might gain my respect." Siren crossed her arms and leaned heavily against one hip as she looked down at him.

"My name is Matthew Fletcher. I am–– was a Royale from OneNation. Something happened. I have no idea how I got here. All I remember is that I was... I was changing. And my... my girl friend, I guess, was changing. And then, they were... I don't remember... it's all so hazy."

[Cytherea]

"I have no idea how I got here. All I remember is that I was... I was changing. And my... my girl friend, I guess, was changing. And then, they were... I don't remember... it's all so hazy."

Hazel turned to Siren.

"So, you've never met this guy before." she turned to the one called Matthew Fletcher. "And you've never met her before." She turned to the other man who had run up. "And you don't know anybody here." she took out her ponytail that had already fallen out and then ran her fingers through her soft, chocolate brown hair. "Let's sort everybody out. Hi, my name's Hazel Kale. I escaped from slave traders." she indicated to the rest of them.

[Zinna]

Kyle

"Let's sort everybody out. Hi, my name's Hazel Kale. I escaped from slave traders."

"Pleasure to met you Miss Kale. My name is Kyle James L'four and I live several towns over."

Jack ran over to Kyle, "And this," Kyle indicated, "Is my good friend Jack. I picked him up when he was dying of starvation."

[Lithium]

"Good to meet you, Kyle and Jack!" Siren said. "I'm Siren Ferdas, little sister to Perseus Ferdas, leader of the Mustangs. Not that you need to worry about that. I mean, don't even think of holding me for ransom, because he wont' be paying anything."

She turned to Matthew and looked him over again. "You hungry? Thirsty? Do you have any money?"

Matthew gave her strangest look. "You haven't heard of Fletcher, Inc. I assumed you would have since you've heard of Photospheres. I mean that company goes under a different name, but my grandfather bought them up a while back."

"Your point?"

"Of course I have money."

"Do you have any of it on you?"

"A little."

"How much is a little and in what currency?"

"I have about $200 in OnNa credits right now."

"Eh. It's better than Ambian dollars." Siren shrugged. "By the way, who's Cassandra? And Missy?"

Matthew shrugged. "Earn my respect and I'll tell you. I've already told you way too much, kid."

"How old do you think I am?" Siren spat.

"Younger than me."

"I'm pretty sure it's younger than I."

"Whatever." Matthew ran his fingers through his hair and dusted off his ripped suit. "Nice to meet you Hazel, Kyle, Jack and kind of nice to meet you, Siren. I appreciate you not leaving me face-down in the dirt. But I seriously need to get back to OneNation. I've got some unfinished business."

"Like what?" Siren demanded. "Do you have a hair appointment or something?"

"I've got a company to run and a government to ruin."

"Oh."

[Cytherea]

"Well," Hazel said, looking down at Matthew. "You say you've got to ruin a government? What about Misty and Callandra... I mean Missy and Cassanda, uh, Cassandra? How'd you get here? Somebody not like you and turn you into an I.S. and then kick you out?" She offered a hand to help him up.

[Lithium]

Matthew nodded. "Yeah. Something like that." He shook his head at her proffered hand and then stood up on his own.

"Thanks, but I don't think you'd be able to help me up," he said with a smile. "Did you say something about escaping from slave traders?"

Siren nodded. "She did. Which reminds me, I need to let Perseus know. You're lucky it was me who found you and tied you to my horse. If it had been the traders, you probably would have been sold to the Ambian army or some rich household in the Badlands, or something."

"Again, thank you," Matthew said. "Now, if the border to OnNa is just over there, I'll be on my way."

"I wouldn't do that," Siren said. "The border? It's a semi-permeable hyper-lectric membrane. Meaning that––"

"That you have to carry the cancellators with you to get across. I know. I authorized the research for that years ago. Who knew I'd regret it."

Siren smiled. "Yeah, well... We'd better get you guys something to eat or something. And a job. You're stuck here, buddy."

[Cytherea]

Hazel stretched, her slender body tensing and then relaxing as she finished the stretch.

"A job? Do you know of any who want a runaway girl from a slave trader, who doesn't know the first thing about cooking, and likes using weapons?" she braided her hair, but before she was finished the braid starting coming out. "Darn." she gave it up and the braid fell out.

[Lithium]

Siren shrugged. "They might have use for you in the armory at headquarters. Otherwise, we can maybe start training you as a medic. Our last medic just got married, so we have an open spot."

She turned to Matthew. "Can you do anything useful?"

He snorted in disgust. "I'm not just some prissy Royale who never got his hands dirty. I live like a Subterrean more often than not. I can run a store. I know how to fight and fire a gun. I can––"

"What's useful to us?"

"I can fix electronics," he shrugged. "I could probably figure out how to jump onto the Photosphere network. The problem isn't that you can't get service. The Badlands are blocked locations. The Photosphere doesn't work here. Something jams the frequency. I can––"

"Yeah, yeah. Can you fix Ion weapons?"

"Do you have the tools to fix them and repair them?"

Siren nodded.

"Then, yes. I could repair Ion weapons."

"You're hired. You start this afternoon at the armory. Good luck."

"I didn't know you were the gang's leader and hirer," a passing guy said.

Siren stiffened. "Perseus. You're awake."

"Yeah. What did you hire him for?"

"He can fix Ion weapons and we've got a lot that don't work now. So, I thought..."

"All right. He'll need to be babysat, though."

Perseus ran his fingers through his hair, then held out his hand for Matthew. "I'm Perseus, the authority in these parts. And you are––"

"Matthew Fletcher. Exile from OneNation."

"Huh. Fletcher. Sounds familiar. Anyways––"

Perseus turned his head quickly as he caught sight of Hazel. "Well, hello there, sweetheart. I haven't seen you around before."

"Hey, down boy," Siren said. "Flirting later. Work now."

He rolled his eyes. "All right, Siren. But we need to get our lovely guest settled in." He walked close to her until he was inches from her, looking down at her face, into her violet eyes. "What's your name?"

Matthew nearly smacked his forehead.

[Cytherea]

"Well, hello there, sweetheart. I haven't seen you around before."

"Hey, down boy," Siren said. "Flirting later. Work now."

He rolled his eyes. "All right, Siren. But we need to get our lovely guest settled in." He walked close to her until he was inches from her, looking down at her face, into her violet eyes. "What's your name?"

"It's Hazel." she said, smiling her prettiest smile. "But I'm not sure if I'm your guest, really." She stepped a bit away from him and shook her hair. "Just some girl looking for a job and some friends."

[Lithium]

Perseus grinned. "I'll be your friend. We've got plenty of nice folk here in Borderway. You'll––"

"You already have a girlfriend," Siren said loudly. "So knock it off and get back to your job."

He rolled his eyes. "I guess you guys can see who actually runs this town."

"I only run this place when I'm in town. And that isn't often. So chill, Perse."

"Whatever. I'd better escort Matt to the armory."

"Might as well take Hazel to the medics. She can be our new replacement."

"A trainee?"

Siren shrugged. "That's your problem."

"All right," Perseus said with a groan. "Come on, kids."

[Cytherea]

"All right," Perseus said with a groan. "Come on, kids."

Hazel smiled at Kyle and Jack and waved good-bye.

"Hope to see you guys around!"

She turned to Perseus.

"And hey, I know nothing about medicine, so... yeah. But I got hired anyway, so here I am."

[Lithium]

Perseus sighed. "Well, if you're just a trainee, you'll just be a pretty girl whose arms men can die in until you work your way up. I mean, we don't see much action here, but you never know."

He walked into one of the metal warehouses lined up along the main road and said, "All right, Matt. Here's your stop."

"I can't leave you alone with a lady," Matthew said. "It wouldn't be right. How about you drop Hazel off first, then me."

Perseus groaned. "Fine. Follow me. Jeeze. You Royales. So bossy."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Jeeze. You Badlanders. So flirty."

"No. No, that's just me, babe," Perseus said, not turning around.

"Babe?"

Perseus shrugged. "Why not. You're girly enough for it."

Matthew rolled his eyes and found that his mouth naturally fell into a grimace that revealed his canines. "Shut up."

"Oh! Look at those teeth! You're an I.S. aren't you? Oh boy. We'll need you on double, maybe even triple duty then."

"What makes you think I want to help you guys?"

Perseus turned around, scowling, and got right in Matthew's face. "Because if you ever want to be able to rescue your precious Cassandra Hunt from those Ambian bozos, you'll need our help. And you don't get something for nothing."

[Cytherea]

Perseus turned around, scowling, and got right in Matthew's face. "Because if you ever want to be able to rescue your precious Cassandra Hunt from those Ambian bozos, you'll need our help. And you don't get something for nothing."

Hazel put a hand on each guy's chest and pushed them apart, not too gently.

"Hey! That's enough!" she shouted sternly. "Get a hold of yourselves, both of you. I know I'm no boss, and you guys probably won't listen to me, but that's simply enough!" She let her breath out sharply, and then she shook her head and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face and took a deep breath. She smiled at both of them. "Sorry guys. But we've got to control our tempers." She put her arms around their shoulders. "All of us, me included. Otherwise, our life will be filled with constant shouting."

[Lithium]

Matthew smiled. "Yeah. You're right."

Perseus sighed. "I like a woman who can take charge."

"You like just about any woman," Matthew said with a smirk.

"Not true. Just the pretty ones."

Matthew held up his hands. "I give up. Just take us to our new posts."

"Kay."