Ouroboros

A Friend from Before (Part 2)

      "Hit me like you mean it, Sofia!" said Tegan.

     Sofia threw a punch, which Tegan blocked with ease. Tegan slammed her metal foot down hard on Sofia's toes, eliciting a scream of rage. Hunter goaded them on. "You can do better than that, girls!"

     Sofia elbowed Tegan in the ribs. Even through the pads, it knocked the wind out of her. She fell backwards. Sofia planted a foot on her chest, pinning her down. "I win this one."

     She released Tegan, who got up and gave her a high-five. "Great job."

     "What's with this, anyway?" Sofia asked. "I'm decent enough with a throwing knife. You saw for yourself back when..."

     "Don't remind me." Tegan looked down at her prosthetic foot and grimaced. "Somehow, the memory makes a metal foot hurt. I don't know how Jim does it with an entire arm."

     "All right, you two!" said Hunter. "Congratulations, Sofia. You've earned yourself a breather. As for you, Tegan, you're going up against me next."

     Tegan wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Fantastic."

     "I must admit, you're doing quite well without the crutch. But remember, no one's gonna go easy on you because of your foot. Make it your weapon. It hurts a hell of a lot more than a flesh-and-bone foot." Hunter raised her fists. "Ready?"

     Without another word, Tegan kicked Hunter's feet out from under her. Her knees thudded against the damp grass. Tegan grinned. The victorious moment came to an end seconds later, when Hunter got back up and punched Tegan in the gut. She staggered backwards, suddenly very grateful for the pads.

     Hunter chided her. "Don't ever stop and gloat, Tegan. It only ever comes back to bite you in the ass. Now, are we finished?"

     Tegan wanted desperately to say yes. She was parched, exhausted, and aching all over. But she knew that Hunter wouldn't take yes for an answer to that question. She stayed silent for a moment. Eventually, Hunter took a step closer. "Feeling sick or something?"

     Tegan flung her fist up and punched Hunter's helmet. "Damn you!" Hunter shouted, clutching her temple. "Now we're talking. Have a breather."

     Tegan staggered over to where Sofia was sitting and flopped down beside her. "Caught your breath yet?" she asked Sofia.

     "Not in a million years," she said. "And I thought picking up trash all day was rough." She took a deep breath. "Hot damn, Tegan. You need some deodorant. Like, on every inch of your body."

     Tegan laughed. "Yeah. Blame it on me. She who smelt it dealt it." She grabbed her bottle and took a swig of water. "Are you staying hydrated?"

      Sofia chugged some of her water, then whispered to Tegan. "What was the deal with Jim and Roman fighting in the car? Something to do with his phone?"

     "Yeah, I need to check that out. Roman's been acting a little odd about the texts he's been getting. I need to make sure he's all right," she said.

     "I'm fine, Tegan." Roman came seemingly from nowhere and sat next to her.

     "What are you doing?" she asked. "Well, what were you doing?"

      "Jim really can punch through a wall!" he gushed. "I saw him do it!"

      "Did you rough him up?" Sofia asked.

      Roman stared at her, confused. "Rough him up?"

      "Beat him," Tegan clarified.

      "Um..." He thought about it for a moment. "What do you think?"

      "I'm sure you did great, bud." Tegan patted his shoulder. "I know Hunter's a little scary. She even scares me."

      He leaned against her and whispered. "Tegan, I really do need help."

      "What's wrong?" she whispered back.

      "Matthew. He said he's coming here tonight and that I shouldn't tell anyone. He said if I don't help him, he's going to...he's going to do...bad things to me and Dad." He found her hand and squeezed it. "I'm scared, Tegan. I think he wants to hurt us."

     "May I see your phone?" she asked. Without a word, he handed it to her. When she saw the contact name above the text, she swallowed hard. Matthew Pitt. "I think you're right, bud. Thank you for telling me. Why didn't you tell Jim earlier?"

     "Because," said Roman, "I think he might already know."

     When evening finally came around, and Hunter let everyone break for the night, Tegan found Fiver and told them what she had learned. "Roman has been getting text messages from Matthew, threatening to hurt him and his father if he doesn't comply."

     "Comply with what?" Fiver asked.

      "With Matthew's plot for revenge. His last name is Pitt. Does that ring any bells?" she asked.

      "No," said Fiver. "Wait...Pitt? That was the name on the badge of that officer I...oh my word, Tegan. Was he the one who attacked me that night when I was saving Roman?" Fiver's eyes widened. "That makes...so much sense. His brother. I killed his brother, didn't I?"

      "I'm afraid so," said Tegan. "Now he wants to kill you. And he wants Roman to help."

     "That's..." Fiver shook their head. "That's deplorable. Why pull him into this? Roman didn't do a damn thing to Matthew. I suppose it's because he wants to hurt us as much as possible."

     Tegan nodded. "I have to ask, Fiver. When you killed that officer, did you ever even think about the consequences?"

     "I did," said Fiver. "I wondered who would mourn him. But I never thought it would be this bad. I'm sorry for putting you all in danger."

     "He's coming tonight," said Tegan. "That's what he told Roman. He knows where we are. What do you say we do?"

     "We play his game with him," said Fiver. "Tell Roman to send him a message. Have him say we're spending the night at a motel in the area."

     "Where will we actually be going?" she asked.

     "Home sweet Hull," said Fiver. "To our own places. I can arrange for Hunter and me to stay at Gregor's overnight with Roman. As for his phone, tell Roman to leave it here. No doubt Matthew is tracking it. As for Jim, he can go back to work until further notice."

     "You're sure this is going to work?" Tegan asked.

     "No, I'm not," said Fiver. "But sometimes, you just have to take a shot in the dark."