"Here we are," Bandito said as she pushed aside the canvas flaps and walked inside the tent. "Hometown."
Tyler's lips tugged up into the tiniest ghost of a smile as he looked around the tent.
It was obviously the only place they had left to put Tyler and Josh. The inside was a mess. Ripped yellow flags, empty ammunition cartridges, blankets, shattered glass.
The only pieces of furniture were a large trunk overflowing with yellow and green clothes, and an old tattered bed.
Just enough room for two.
"Last tent we have," Bandito said with a little shrug. "Hope you don't mind sharing."
"Don't worry, Bandito," Tyler replied. "We don't mind."
Josh pretended to be suddenly very interested in the trunk full of clothes just so he could turn around and hide his blush.
"Ah, you've found our stash," Bandito laughed lightly. She walked over and pushed the trunk closer to the two boys.
Tyler and Josh exchanged glances before looking down at the bright yellow and army green pile of clothes at their feet.
"Uh...we don't really do this whole...color thing," Tyler said.
Bandito crossed her arms and stared at the boys, an unamused expression on her face. She looked them up and down.
Tyler wore skinny jeans and a black tee over a red long sleeved shirt. Josh had on black and grey camo sweatpants and a black tank top, along with a leather jacket.
"Yeah, I can tell," Bandito snapped, rolling her eyes. "But around here, we do things my way."
Tyler gave an amused smile.
"Alright," he mused. "Your way."
Bandito snapped her fingers and pointed down to the clothes.
"My way," she flashed a smile right back at Tyler. "Clancy will be in with your mission shortly."
✗✗✗✗✗
"Whoa, you guys look great!"
Clancy was standing in the entrance of the tent, a beaming smile plastered on his face. He was carrying a little brown book.
"Bandito clothes really suit you, Mr. Mad Gear, sir," Clancy said as he walked inside. "You too, Missile Kid."
Tyler looked down. He had chosen cargo pants and oversized army green coat.
Josh wore camo print pants, a button up yellow shirt, and a flower camouflage bandana around his neck.
It was a new era.
Clancy jumped onto the bed, the old springs squeaking under him as he bounced.
"So," the kid said, sitting criss cross on the bed. "The mission. C'mon guys, don't be shy."
Tyler cracked a smile, and he and Josh sat on the edge of the bed, one of them on either side.
Clancy opened his book, revealing scribbled writing, pictures taped crooked on the pages, and random things like feathers and fabric and folded papers sticking out of it.
"What's this?" Josh raised an eyebrow.
"My journal," Clancy stated. "From my time in Dema."
Tyler and Josh exchanged nervous glances.
"Alright, so," Clancy began. "The plan is, you go to training today and pick out some of the best Banditos. Tomorrow, you'll take a squad..."
Clancy flipped through his journal until he pulled out a grey paper with a series of circles drawn on it. A compass was in the corner.
A map.
"...and enter Dema. Kill the Bishops. They only way everyone can escape is if they're all dead."
"Wait wait wait, you still haven't told us who the Bishops are yet," Tyler intervened.
"The Bishops are the leaders of Dema. Nico and the Niners. Andre, Lisden, Reisdro, Sacarver, Nills, Vetomo, Listo, Keons, and Nico, obviously. Every bishop rules over a certain group of people, but Nico rules them all."
Clancy looked down and fiddled anxiously with his hands.
"I'm proud—or, uh, was proud—to be an inhabitant of Keons' region. He was nice. Nicer than Nico. He's terrible."
"What happened to your parents?" Tyler suddenly blurted out.
Clancy didn't answer. Tyler really didn't want him to.
The kid pointed to the outer circle of the map.
"There's a huge wall surrounding the whole place," Clancy explained. "But there's one weak spot where no one looks, here."
He pointed to a spot on the circle in the East.
"But that's the high road. You have to go low. There's tunnels all over Trench that lead to different parts of Dema. You should take this one here."
Clancy moves his finger along a line drawn in pencil across the map.
"We usually stayed in Necropolis, all these buildings out here."
"Necropolis?" Josh repeated.
"A necropolis is a cemetery of an ancient city," Clancy explained. "Dema is the ancient city, and the necropolis is where we lived."
Figures. If you're in Dema, you might as well be in a cemetery. You're as good as dead.
Clancy pointed to a smaller circle on the inside.
"That's the Limit, can't go past that. Going past that, you enter the Glorious Vista."
Clancy's finger moved to inside the Limit, where there were three rows of three black circles. Nine of them.
"The Glorious Vista is the nine towers where the Bishops stay. Sometimes we were allowed in. For a special ritual, or to visit our Bishop, or..."
Clancy gulped, and a terrified looked glazed his eyes.
"...or if we got in trouble," he murmured.
Tyler suddenly felt a jolt of sadness, mixed with a spark of anger.
Whatever this kid went through, Tyler was going to make damn well sure he wouldn't go through it again.
✗✗✗✗✗
Tyler and Josh walked out to the main campfire pit, where a group of Banditos were training.
At the sight of Mad Gear and Missile Kid walking up to them, the Banditos stopped their training. Slowly, they all walked over to the two and formed a small group around them.
Tyler simply held up his hand, and the murmuring amongst the Banditos instantly silenced.
"Before we get started, does anyone wanna get out?" Tyler asked. His head was tilted down, his eyes darkly looking up through his eyelashes.
He paused for a moment, looking around the group of Banditos. They were all breathing heavily, stretching their sore muscles or getting a drink. Some had bruises and cuts on their skin.
Everyone had been training, ready to fight for Trench. Everyone except...
Tyler's eyes landed on a small group of Banditos standing a bit apart from the rest.
They were by far the biggest recruits, with cocky expressions and strong muscles. They were perfectly clean.
"You," said Tyler, pointing a finger at them. "These like, six people in the front. I know you guys didn't do anything. I can just tell by looking at you."
One of those Banditos smirked and squared his shoulders, giving Tyler a look.
"These six people right here," Tyler said again. "These self-centered pricks. There's no way you guys..."
Tyler stepped right up to the dude much bigger than him. He would get messed up, weigh 153–half of what these guys were.
Josh's lips pulled up into an amused half-smile.
They were gonna get it.
"Did you train all day?" Tyler asked, and the Bandito nodded. "You did? Did you train all day?"
The man right in front of Tyler now looked slightly nervous. His eyes darted to his friends behind him.
"Did you train all day? Look at me," Tyler snapped. "Did you? There's no way. These people trained all day. Look, did you train all day?"
The Bandito scoffed and cracked his knuckles.
"I don't need to train," he said, voice low and rough.
Silence. His words hung in the air, as if everyone in Trench was holding their breath.
Josh's half-smile grew into a full-on, eye-crinkling smile.
They were really gonna get it.
Tyler cocked his head to the side and smiled wickedly.
"Oh, you don't need to train?" He laughed sarcastically. His voice was high-pitched and dripping with fake sweetness.
Tyler turned around to Josh and gestured to the man with his thumb.
"Ya hear that Missile Kid? This dude doesn't need to train."
"Oh I heard him," Josh said smugly, crossing his arms.
Tyler stood laughing while the group of Banditos looked half-confused, half-terrified. He laughed so hard his face turned red. He threw his head back and clapped his hands.
"That's fucking hilarious!" Tyler said between laughs. He gasped and wiped the tears from his eyes. "That's—"
The laughter suddenly stopped.
And Tyler went to work.
He swung his fist back and punched the man square in the jaw. When he bent over in pain, Tyler quickly raised his leg and collided his knee with the man's nose.
Tyler gave him no time to recover. As soon as the man lifted his head, Tyler kicked right him in the face.
The Bandito fell flat on his back, sending up a cloud of dust around them. Groans of pain came from his mouth, and he slightly rolled back and forth as he clutched his broken nose.
"—fucking hilarious," Tyler finished.
He rolled his shoulders back, sighing in satisfaction when he heard the bones in his neck cracking.
"Get up," Tyler spat. He raised his voice and hoarsely screamed, "Get the fuck up!"
When the man didn't respond, Tyler swung his leg back and kicked him in the side. He cried out in pain as he flipped over onto his stomach.
The man sputtered to breathe as he tried to push himself up. He coughed up blood and spit onto the dusty ground.
"Did you hear me?" Tyler jeered. "I told you to get up!"
Tyler kicked the man again, the toe of his boot forcing right between his ribcage.
In one swift motion Tyler yanked his favorite knife out of his belt, twirling it around in his hand as he kneeled down next to the man.
The corner of Tyler's mouth twitched up into a small smirk as he tossed his knife in the air, caught it, and pressed the flat side against the man's neck.
"I could kill you," Tyler whispered in the man's ear, his voice raspy. "I could kill you right now."
The man's eyes widened and he took desperate gasps for air when Tyler turned his knife ever so slightly. He began to feel the sharp blade pricking his skin.
"Not so tough anymore?" Tyler mocked him. "How 'bout your friends? Didn't step in to help you, huh? Fucking pathetic."
Tyler suddenly stopped, set his jaw, and looked up at the Banditos surrounding them.
"This is what fucking happens!" He shouted. "If any of you dare step out of line, this—"
He released the man's neck, but on his way he dragged his knife down the man's arm, spilling blood onto the both of them.
"—is what happens," he finished. He harshly shoved the man to the ground and jumped up.
Tyler ran a bloody hand through his wild hair, the man's blood shining a bright red on his own brown hairs.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Tyler demanded. "Address me as sir. Don't speak, don't move unless I allow you to."
He tilted his chin up and looked down at the Banditos through half-open half-closed eyes. His bloody chest rose and fell heavily, and his tongue slowly licked around his chapped lips.
"Disobey me," Tyler growled, "and you'll be sorry. And believe me, I know how to make you sorry."
✗✗✗✗✗
Tyler groaned as he slowly pulled his shirt over his head.
He threw it over his shoulder, it landing somewhere on the dirty ground, then untied his boots and took off his pants.
Looking over his shoulders to make sure no one was around, he jumped into the lake.
He closed his eyes and sank underneath the surface, the cold water cooling off his hot anger from the training session.
Tyler ran his hands through his hair, washing out all the blood, before his lungs started to burn. He swam to the surface and took a gasp of the fresh trench air.
"Dude, you're hot."
Tyler jumped at the sudden voice and fell back into the water. "Fucking hell—!" He exclaimed, his voice muffled from being underwater.
When he jumped back up and wiped the water from his eyes, he saw a laughing Josh on the shore.
Tyler glared at him, but his anger faded away as he watched Josh pull off his shirt extra slowly, just to tease him.
"Thanks," Tyler mumbled into the water as Josh took off his cargo pants.
"I saw that little show at training today," Josh said and climbed into the lake. "Show off."
"That guy pissed me off." Tyler pursed his lips in an angry pout.
Josh chuckled as he swam over to Tyler.
"They were scared for their lives," he said. He grabbed Tyler's arm underwater and pulled him closer. "You're a king, Tyler."
"You should see me in a crown," Tyler hummed as he draped his arms around Josh's neck and kissed him.
"Not gonna lie," Josh said. Underwater, Tyler wrapped his legs around Josh's waist, and Josh grabbed Tyler's thighs to hold him up. "That was pretty fucking hot."
"Gotta be specific Josh," Tyler purred, wrapping a wet strand of Josh's hair around his finger.
"You know exactly what I mean," Josh scoffed. "Training today. Were you trying to turn me on?"
Tyler just smirked and rested his head on Josh's shoulder.
"That was the plan," he whispered, his voice low and husky.
"Tyler..." Josh said in a warning tone, lifting the smaller boy off of him. "The mission's tomorrow."
"I know."
"So that means—"
"—We have plenty of time—"
"—We have to wake up early—"
"—Which means we should start right now!"
Josh laughed and pushed Tyler away, splashing water in his face.
"I'm serious, Josh!" Tyler laughed along with him. He swam around a little bit, smiling as he watched Josh swim over to the shoreline.
"Yeah, so am I," Josh called over his shoulder. He climbed out of the lake and sat on one of the rocks by the side.
The sun was setting, the trench casting a dark shadow over the lake.
When it got too dark to even see each other, Tyler swam out of the water and grabbed his clothes.
After pulling on his own pants, Josh was pleased when he saw Tyler sit down next to him with only his pants on. Drops of water sparkled on his bare chest. Despite the black ink, his tattoos seemed to glow.
From where they were sitting, they had a clear view of the Dema towers sticking up over the mountains of Trench.
Those nine grey towers looming over them literally sent chills down their spine. They felt cold, even paralyzed at the very sight of it.
"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Josh whispered, his eyes locked on the grey city of Dema.
"No," said Tyler harshly. "I can't wait to slaughter those Bishops for all the shit they do."
Josh frowned and looked over at Tyler. His eyebrows were drawn tightly together, his mouth in a stoic straight line, cheeks red. His bare chest was covered in drops of water and goosebumps. His wet hair hung in front of his eyes, fiery with anger.
"Can I be honest?" Josh murmured.
Tyler's angry expression disappeared. Nothing was on his face but sadness and worry.
"I'm scared out of my mind, Tyler," Josh's voice cracked. "What if something happens up there...to me...to you. What if they...Tyler, I don't know what I'd do without—I couldn't—Tyler, I can't."
"Josh," Tyler snapped him out of his panic. "Josh, stop it! Hey hey, listen to me, listen. Focus on my voice, okay?"
Tyler wrapped his arms around Josh and pulled his body into his. Josh immediately grabbed onto Tyler's waist and held on for dear life.
"I can't go through that again, Tyler, I can't do it," Josh snapped. "Every time there's a mission—every fucking time—one of us gets hurt, and if someone hurts you again I can't—"
"Josh, listen to me," Tyler said firmly. He looked at the scars on Josh's back and winced. "Listen. Nothing's gonna happen—"
"We said that last time," Josh murmured miserably. He sat up, looking right into Tyler's eyes. "The last three times."
Tyler shook his head. "Josh, don't do this to yourself."
"Brendon shot you," Josh blurted out. "Dallon tortured me. The Sinners tortured you. What's next, Tyler? Dema kills the both of us? What if this is it? What if it's time to say goodbye?"
"For fuck's sake Josh I swear to God I will not let those fucking Bishops touch you!" Tyler shouted.
Josh flinched at Tyler's sudden harsh voice.
Tyler sighed and put his hand on the back of Josh's neck, resting his forehead lightly against Josh's.
"I love you, my Missile Kid," he breathed.
Josh's eyes fluttered closed. He didn't say anything.
All he did was gently kiss Tyler's lips before getting up and walking back toward the tent, leaving Tyler alone.
✗✗✗✗✗
✗✗✗✗✗
Who caught the did you wait in line all day reference ?
(Please tell me someone did—)
Hope you enjoyed today's chapter !! For some reason I really liked this one.
Don't forget to vote and comment! Thank you all xx
(The next chapter will be something.)
-Liz.