Page 59 of Cutter's Hope

“Hope, is it really you?” she asked and I nodded emphatically.

“It’s okay Bubbles, I got you. I got you now, I always got you, Sis,” she collapsed into my arms and I dragged the dirty, dark wig off her hair. Her blonde tresses fell free, equally dirty and brittle like straw and I felt tears burn the backs of my own eyes.

I stood up and dragged my sister with me, her arm over my shoulders. She was solight,painfully thin and malnourished and I wanted to kill some more motherfuckers. I wanted to scream and to shout my rage into the sky butFaith…I had my sister in my arms again.

“It’s okay, I got you, Bubbles; these men are here to help, easy…” I helped her out into the darkened living room, the only light source the busted in front door.

“Awe fuck,” I heard and looked up into Cutter’s face, which was equally devastated by the horrors we were taking in.

“Marlin!” he boomed and Faith jolted in my grasp and started to cry harder.

“Easy, it’s okay!” I soothed.

Marlin came around the corner from the kitchen, “Yeah, Captain?”

“Tend to the girl, you’re the only one with the experience for this,” he said and I followed my man’s gaze to the inside of my sisters arm, to the black and blue scabbed over track marks and the infection taking hold there.

My vision flashed on and off and the blood roared in my ears, “Awe shit,” I heard Marlin exclaim and the slight weight that was my sister, her easy burden disappeared from my shoulders. Marlin had scooped her up, arm under her knees and around her back and had lifted her easily as if she were light as air, he strode for the front door, Pyro right behind him and Cutter caught me as I went to go after them. I blinked, overcome, bent at the waist over Cutter’s arm and vomited.

“It’s okay. Come on Babe, let’s get your shit together. We ain’t done yet,” he said and he was right. We weren’t.

“How many?” I inquired and wiped the back of my hand over my lips. Beast was there and handed me a bandana I wiped my mouth and looked up at Cutter.

“How many?” I repeated.

“Seven girls, five guards. You took out all five almost all by yourself,” he sounded proud and I barked a bitter broken laugh.

“Died too quick,” I said and straightened.

“Don’t disagree, Sweetheart,”

A feminine bleat of fear and a shot rang out, we all jumped. Ruth came out of one of the rooms behind us I stared at him, he looked regretful and heaved a sigh so big there just were none bigger.

“Too far gone, I know the look. Never would have made it through detox. Sometimes death is the kinder mercy, Darlin’,” I blinked, long and slow.

“What about the other girls?” I asked.

“We’ll get ‘em cleaned up,” La Croix shouldered past us with another in his arms and soon it was a steady stream of victims being carried out to the vans outside.

Shaking, I stood there and blinked when Pyro ducked back in, “You find the junk?” he asked.

“What?” I asked.

“The drugs, did anybody find the drugs?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Hex held up a plastic sandwich bag, smaller little glassine bags filled with off-white powder coming a third of the way up.

“Gonna need some of that, Man,” Pyro said.

“What? What for?” I asked, numb.

“Tell you later,” Cutter said and gave Ruth a raised eyebrow.

“They gonna need it to wean your Sis off it,” Ruth said and told Hex, “Hand it over Man, there’s plenty more green to be had other ways. Let’s get this mess cleaned up.” Hex tossed the bag to Pyro who passed it off to Atlas who ran it out the front door.

“Cleanup is my area,” Pyro said and he pushed back further into the house.

“Come on, Sweetheart.”

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