Little Clancy was the leader, walking in front of Josh and Tyler while he took them through Trench.
Every so often he would tell them a little fact he learned about the area, about the Banditos.
"Now a long time ago this stream didn't exist," Clancy said. "A little further that way there's a glacier and, uh, so many many years ago horses would walk back and forth, creating what this is here...instinctively knowing that in the future men would wanna come and collect the fresh water and bring it home to their families...and so pre-knowing that, as the horses did that, it created what you see here today."
Josh smiled so much his eyes crinkled close.
Clancy never mentioned Dema again, but a few times Tyler caught him nervously glancing up at the top of the trench.
"And everyone's really nice," Clancy rambled on. "They'll love you. Well, they'll probably love Missile Kid. You're cool."
Josh gave the boy an amused smile. His mood lightened slightly.
"But Mr. Mad Gear sir, uh, no offense, but you're scary," said Clancy.
"Good," Tyler mumbled.
Clancy didn't notice him. He was busy talking to Josh, who had picked up the pace to walk next to him.
Tyler suddenly let out a groan, and Clancy glanced over his shoulder.
Tyler had slipped on one of the slick rocks underwater, falling in the river to his knees and completely soaking his shoes and pants.
"Oh yeah," Clancy casually said. "I'll get you guys some Bandito clothes."
"Bandito clothes?" Tyler scowled as he stood up. "What are Bandito clothes?"
"A lot of camo. Green. Brown. FCE300 yellow, of course. And, uh..." Clancy glanced at Tyler's wet jeans and snickered. "Thicker pants."
"You're wearing jeans too," Tyler said through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, but I know how to walk and not slip on rocks," Clancy shrugged.
While Tyler muttered curses under his breath, Josh just watched on in amusement.
As much as Tyler hated to admit, a part of him really liked the kid. He had an attitude.
Clancy finally stopped at the place where the river grew thin and shallow. It kept going, running into a lake further down behind the camp.
"Wow," Josh silently mouthed. Even Tyler was impressed.
The Bandito camp was huge. Something straight out of an action movie, or a music video.
Tan, brown, and army green tents were pitched all over. Along the riverbank, on a large dusty clearing, hidden amongst the forest trees.
Dirt trails weaved in and out of the little village. The sky was filled with smoke from all of the bonfires and torches lighting up the camp.
People in strange clothing—'Bandito clothes'—were all over, talking and fighting and laughing and dancing. Like one big family.
Clancy smiled so big and so wide it made Josh want to smile too.
"Welcome to Trench," he said. He led them into the camp, bouncing excitedly on his heels.
Tyler and Josh stood out like sore thumbs among the Banditos. They were dressed in all black and red amidst a sea of army green, camouflage, and neon yellow.
A new era.
Clancy walked straight through the middle of the camp, past the small tents at the front and a large dusty patch of land Tyler assumed was some sort of training pit.
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.
He couldn't decide if he loved or hated it. Maybe he was even jealous.
"I know!" Clancy said with a beaming smile. "Pretty awesome, right?"
Clancy ran over to her, and she immediately wrapped her arms around the boy in a tight hug.
He broke out into a laugh as Bandito lifted him up and set him on the table.
Tyler had the urge to smile. Clancy was sitting on the edge of the table, swinging his legs back at forth, staring up at Bandito with wide eyes.
"Did you see Clifford today?" Bandito leaned over and asked Clancy.
Clancy made a face and shook his head.
"I looked, but no," he replied. "Must be out scouting."
Bandito nodded and stood up straight.
Before Tyler could ask who Clifford was, what Bandito said next was enough to break his calm exterior completely.
"Mad Gear," Bandito called him by name. "Missile Kid."
The hair on the back of Josh's neck stood up. Just the way this woman said his name sent a shiver down his spine. The only other person that could intimidate him like that was Tyler. But this woman, Bandito, she was something.
Tyler felt it, too. He could feel her sharp blue eyes staring straight into his soul. He could feel her authority, her power and pride over her Banditos.
Bandito smiled a bright, beautiful smile. "Let me just say," she began, her voice sweet and melodic, "it is an honor to have you stay at my humble Bandito camp."
Tyler scoffed. Humble? You named the whole damn camp after yourself.
He surprised even himself by how quickly he answered.
"We're not fucking staying," he snapped. The familiar roughness and aggression of Mad Gear crept into his voice.
Bandito wasn't bothered. She didn't seem the least bit intimidated by Tyler. Her smile didn't falter for a second.
"I'm gonna ask you to watch your language," she said, motioning toward Clancy.
Tyler pursed his lips. "We're not...staying."
"Aw, that's a shame," she cooed, titling her head to the side. A piece of blonde hair slipped out of the bandana and fell down to rest lightly on her rosy cheek. "I would've liked to see you stay."
"Look," Tyler said. His voice was so low and so deep you could barely hear it. "We don't want any trouble. Not with you, or those bastards up there."
Bandito slowly sauntered forward so that she was facing Tyler head on. Her eyes stared daggers at him, as if looks could kill.
For a heart-pounding moment she was silent
"We need your help, Mad Gear."
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I got that," he scowled, baring his slightly crooked teeth. "But what do you want me to do exactly?"
"Dema," Bandito replied simply. Her eyes darted over to Josh, then she lowered her voice. "We need you to go in, save our own, and take it down. Do whatever it takes."
Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Whatever it takes?"
"Whatever it takes," Bandito purred.
Tyler rolled his shoulders back in discomfort, his bones cracking painfully. A shiver ran down his spine.
"Like he said, we don't want trouble," Josh spoke up. He stepped closer to Tyler.
Bandito chuckled and held up her hands in defense.
"Neither do we, trust me," she replied. "But I'm willing to do anything for Trench. I'm sure you understand that, Mad Gear."
Tyler's eyes flickered down to his Clique bracelet draped loosely around his wrist. The silver chain was tinted with copper-colored rust and dried blood.
He'd never take that thing off, ever. It was part of him. It was his Clique. If someone wanted to take that damn bracelet off him, they'd have to tie him down and break his hand first.
"Yeah," Tyler answered, but Bandito couldn't hear him. His voice was so low and scratchy it was barely audible. "Yeah, I got it."
Josh watched Tyler square his shoulders and rub his throat with his hand, a painful expression on his face.
"I'd die for my Clique," Tyler said. A threatening, violent spark glinted in his brown eyes. "They're my blood."
"Good," Bandito nodded curtly. "So you'll help us."
No, Josh thought in his mind. The corner of his lips twitched up into a small smirk at the thought of Tyler yelling at this Bandito that no, no they can't help.
They have their own problems, their own Clique to deal with. They don't need to risk Tyler, of all people, for some random bandits with a strange obsession for yellow.
"Yes," Tyler said.
Josh scoffed incredulously and pushed Tyler back by his shoulder. Tyler laughed as he stumbled backwards, grabbing onto one of the tent poles for balance.
Laughing? Tyler was laughing? Josh shook his head in disbelief. First he accepted a mission that made absolutely no fucking sense, and now he was laughing about it?
"What is it, Missile Kid?" Tyler leaned his body against the pole. He tilted his head back and looked at Josh with half-open, half-closed eyes. "Scared of a little fun?"
Josh opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn't focus on anything except Tyler's sparkling eyes and tiny smirk playing on his lips.
"I—j-just..." Josh groaned in annoyance. He grabbed Tyler by the arm and hauled him out of the tent.
Tyler was laughing again as Josh dragged him out of the tent and off to the edge of the Bandito camp, stopping in some brown bushes far away from any person that could hear them.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Josh hissed.
He locked eyes with Tyler, who stared up at Josh with a crazy, mischievous smirk on his face.
"What's your problem, Missile Kid?" Tyler yanked out of Josh's grip. "So what if I took the mission? It'll be fun."
"Fun?" Josh scoffed and smiled sarcastically.
Tyler stepped so close to Josh their bodies were touching. He put one hand on the back of Josh's neck and leaned in, lips inches away from Josh's.
"You committed," Tyler whispered with a little laugh. His voice was slow and melodic, like he was singing.
Josh's heart pounded at the feeling of Tyler's alluring voice and warm breath against his skin.
"I'm your crime," Josh replied, his voice shaking.
He drew in a sharp breath and his eyes flickered down to Tyler's lips. He noticed a tiny strip of red blood on his bottom lip, about to drip down his chin.
Slowly, Josh reached up and dragged his thumb across Tyler's bottom lip.
"Cut your lip?" Josh asked, looking down at the blood shining on his fingertip.
Tyler ignored him. "Come on, Josh," he urged. He grabbed either side of Josh's jacket and gently tugged at it. "I wanna do it."
"But why?" Josh shook his head, still not understanding what had gotten into Tyler. "I don't fucking get it. You don't even know these people. Why would you risk your life for them?"
"Oh, I'm not just risking my life," Tyler smiled as he let go of the jacket and ran his hands up and down Josh's chest. "I'm risking yours too."
"Tyler—"
"Oh yeah, Josh. You're mine, remember? You're coming with me."
Before Josh could say another word, Tyler leaned up on his tiptoes and kissed him on the lips.
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HI GUYS!
I KNOW I WAS MISSING FOR LIKE, THREE DAYS—
I'VE BEEN SO BUSY WITH SCHOOL UGH BUT I'M GETTING BACK TO MY REGULARLY SCHEDULED UPDATING!
HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER, VOTE AND COMMENT IF YOU DID!
-Liz.