The truth

10 years later...

I pulled my hood up as I walked through the destroyed streets of Umbridge Town. My feet dragged against the cracked cement of the sidewalk, a hunched figure pattering along with me.

    Stopping, I felt my body shudder as I coughed, shoulders shaking with the nasty sound. The small person accompanying me stopped, placing their hand on my leg. I waved off their unspoken worry, my ears perking up at the sound of someone approaching us.

    Since the streetlamps were barely flicking on, lighting up the depressed sight of town, three figures emerged, throwing down their hoods, angry steel blue eyes boring into my own.

      Of course they'd appear; I was easy bait.

      The ringleader of the group stepped up, standing at 6 foot 3. He had a vest on that was unbuttoned, the color once light blue but so dirty it had turned gray. He had thick bands of muscle with faded bruises and almost healed scars, hair buzzed near to his scalp. I stared at his face, taking in his crooked nose, a smirk on his face.

      "Say, oldster, you don't sound too good." he said, taking another step closer to me.

      I took a step back, relying on the darkness to keep my face hidden, the hold on my leg tightening a bit.

      "I'm quite fine, young man." I wheezed out, cutting off a cough.

      "Sounds like you're not. You sound sick. We can take you to a place that offers food, shelter, and water, even medicine." he lied, my jaw locking in place.

      "That's awfully kind of you, sonny, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. You see, I gots me a wife to go home to." I replied, taking another cautious step back. I couldn't win with a three against one, I didn't like those odds, but luring them out one by one?

        It was only fair.

      "That's wonderful! You can bring her along as well. And that kid of yours too." he said, glancing down at Evee.

      "That's not my kid; just a glitched bot that takes care of me."

        I felt a light smack as Evee took down their hood, angry beeps escaping it.

        Petting it's tiny head, I glance back at him. He was visibly confused, but then he shrugged, motioning for his goons to step up.

        Damn, this was gonna be an unfair fight.

        I scooted Evee to the side, behind the thicket of some bushes, and sighed.

        Straightening up my own posture, at my full height of six foot three, the expressions of their faces changed.

        I put my hood down, grinning at them.

      What they expected to see was an old man, near dying of diseases. Easy to sell off to the Markets for experiments or just for parts. I had been tracking this group specifically; they had taken a friend of mine.

      And they were going to pay dearly for that.

      The leader lunged first, throwing his weight into that right hook, aiming for my jaw. I blocked it with my left arm, my fist connecting with the other side of his face. He stumbled back, colliding with the scrawny boy, with rags for clothes and a red bandana holding back his scraggly brown hair.

      The final one, a girl with heavily applied cosmetic surgery, scoffed at her fallen friends, not offering to help them back up.

      I was impressed; she was no taller than five foot six, but she wasn't backing down.

      She ran at me, pulling out a small remote from her skirt pocket, bleached black hair flying all around her.

      My body tensed, knowing what the remote was for.

      She aimed at my side, full lips pulling back from her fixed teeth, a cry escaping.

      If her reflexes were faster, she might have had a chance. I grabbed her wrist, swinging her whole body around, putting as much pressure in the hold for her to release and drop the remote.

      I heard a crack, and she screamed out in pain, letting go of it.

      Throwing her to the side, I picked the remote back up, walking over to the leader of the group again. He wasn't moving, but he was breathing. Reaching into his vest, I felt around until I found it.

      His credits, and tracker device.

      I typed in the universal code, grinning at how his was traceless-and there was over five hundred thousand credits from his recent sales.

      But the thing that brought me the most joy was that the fool forgot to delete the last address he went to, which meant not only could I take his money, beat him and his team down, but I could get Celia back.

      I heard light footsteps come my way, and I looked down, Evee beeping and chittering angrily. I had left them hidden away for too long.

      "Sorry about that Evee. But I have great news. Not only are we gonna be okay for a while, but we can get Celia back."

      That perked the little bot right up; their glowing red eyes went green instantly, and I let out a laugh.

      "Let's go before these idiots wake up." I said, scooping up Evee in my arms, and walking off to our home.

    Home for me was an underground bunker that had been abandoned after the thirty-sixth war. It had been stocked with food, water, and the latest tech (well, the tech was new twenty years ago), and had many rooms, each one with beds and dressers.

    Since the last war had been brutal, and very big on untraceable signals, we were free to live here, and stay safe.

      Away from the Main City, with their lies and deceptions.

      A rough estimate of three hundred people took shelter here. I knew most of them, but didn't really socialize with anyone; they had their problems, and I had mine.

      Then, Celia entered the picture.

      A genius child of just the age of eight years old, I was able to rescue her after she manage to escape the School. She was left traumatized, never talking about her experiences there.

      I never asked either.

      Although Celia was a genius, she was in fact a child. Enticed by the promises made by the group of trackers I had taken out, Celia had wandered off, in hopes of them reuniting with her mother.

      And of course, they had captured her, selling her into the Markets.

      That had been a week ago. If anymore time passed, Celia's chances of coming back unscathed were dropping.

      Placing Evee on the ground, I walked into my room, throwing a light pack together.

      It was time to bring Celia home.