THE RUN AND GO : JOSHLER

34 : BANDITO

As they walked past, every single Bandito stopped what they were doing and stared at them.

There were whispering about them. There were voices behind their heads. Wide eyes locked on them. A few times Tyler had heard them say Mad Gear or Missile Kid.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he even thought he heard a Bandito say, 'Do you think it'd be weird to ask for a picture?'

If a Bandito had a bandana covering their mouth, they would pull it down, just so their jaw could drop.

They were famous. How, Tyler didn't know. He didn't mind it, but he hated the all stares.

Just as Tyler was about to snap and yell at everybody to mind their own fucking business, Clancy spoke up.

"Keep up," Clancy chirped. "Our leader's in here."

He nodded to what was clearly the largest tent in the camp. It was the size of two tents put together, with two Banditos standing guard outside.

The guards both had green flower print bandanas covering half their face so only their bright blue eyes were visible.

They were both girls, one short with messy platinum white hair and a grey beanie, the other tall with smooth ginger hair under an olive green hoodie.

Both had pieces of yellow tape in the shape of an X across their chest.

"Hayley, Debby!" Clancy said cheerfully as he approached the guards. "Look who I got."

Though you couldn't see their mouths with the bandanas, you could tell by their crinkled eyes they were smiling. The one with the red hair's eyes lingered on Josh.

As Clancy led Tyler and Josh into the tent, a smug smile spread across his face. A spark of mischief sparkled in his eye.

The tent was large compared to the others, with the muddy ground as a floor and two torches glowing a soft orange against the canvas walls.

The tent's furniture was a wooden table, a stool, and three cots covered in old yellow quilts. Flags patterned with vultures and skeletons draped down from the ceiling.

A figure was standing behind one of the flags. Their black shadow casted against the yellow fabric was illuminated by the torchlight. Like they were glowing. An angel.

"Welcome to Trench."

The voice made Tyler's heart skip a beat. Two beats. His lips parted like he was going to say something, but he didn't know what. He shared a confused glance with Josh.

"This," Clancy pronounced, clearing his throat and raising his chin with pride, "is Bandito."

Tyler raised his eyebrows as the figure stepped out from behind the veil of the curtain. His calm exterior faded, and his face fell slack. He licked his chapped lips, opened his mouth, and finally spoke.

"Your leader...is a girl?"

Bandito—a girl. A girl—crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she stared Tyler and Josh down.

She was wearing a white tank top, streaked with dirt, an oversized cargo jacket hanging off her shoulders, and baggy pants tucked into a pair of brown hiking boots. Her long blonde hair was tied back with a yellow bandana, a few spare wisps falling in front of her icy blue eyes.

She was beautiful.

"Your leader is a girl," Tyler repeated, more to himself this time.

Not that he didn't like that the leader of Trench was a girl, it was just the fact that he'd never seen a girl do any of the stuff he did before.