Anna was jolted awake as her augs, which were supposed to be on silent mode, suddenly started pying a message. Apparently the local Samurai was outside, ready to level the building.

  It would be a lie to say she was surprised, she holy expected someoo show up and wipe the Void Walkers off the map one day. That bitch Abigail, or “Null” as she went by these days, treated the Walkers like her own personal army after she took over, and didn’t care whose feet she stepped on. It was only a matter of time until that idiot pissed off someorohan herself, she just didn’t expect it to be a Samurai.

  Fuull, that pretentious bitch, and her followers. Thanks to them the Walkers were about to lose almost everything. Anna wasn’t stupid enough to stick around after that warning, even if she lost her home, she wasn’t about to lose her life.

  As she rolled out of her bunk, and onto the cramped bunk room floor, she took stock of the situation. There were only two other people in the room, Beth, who had been around as long as Anna had, and Ja, one of the new ‘recruits’. Null had implemented a forced recruitment policy a few months ago, and many of her more fanatic followers took it seriously. They picked up young girls from all around the territory and pressed them into service. Ja was o, threatened with death if she ran away, and now a Samurai was threatening to kill them all anyways. The girl was g, and to be ho, Anna would have been more surprised if the girl WASN’T g at the situation.

  The two irls briefly locked eyes, then he two of them had known each other long enough that words weren’t necessary; This pce had been a dumpster fire for quite awhile now, there was no point being burned up with the rest of the garbage.

  Beth scooped up the little girl, while Anna checked the door. This bunk room was located ohird floor, in the core of one of the apartment blocks the gang took over. It was deep enough ihe structure to protect against previous gang attacks, and even the occasional antithesis that popped up during the most ret incursion, but would do nothing against a pissed off Samurai. Unfortunately it was also a long way from any of the exits, and Null had a lot of supporters that would probably try to make trouble between here and there.

  As the group stepped into the hallway there was already the sound of itent gunfire eg around the building. No doubt the loyalists aers were g already.

  “Head to the north stairway,” Beth whispered to Anna’s back. “With any luck everyone will be busy fighting to get out the front, giving us a ce to slip out the back.” Anna nodded, and as she led the way down the corridor she pulled out her revolver. It wasn’t fancy but, uhe recycled and under-maintained ons most of the gang used, it was reliable.

  Anly pushed opeairway door, only for her heart to drop. Lucy, one of Null’s lieutenants, was standing in front of the old, defunct elevator, waiting. “Where do you think yoing, powder puff?” Lucy asked, with a sneer.

  The girl was a few years youhan Anna ah, but a proud supporter of the status quo. Normally it would be her long, neon green mohawk that would draw people’s attention, but Anna’s eyes nded on the old double-barrel shotgun instead.

  “Out. I’m not stayio die for Null’s greed.” Anna replied, as she stomped into the room. The girl might have a shotgun, but sihey were on a strict time limit, Anna couldn’t afford to be subtle.

  “Hell no, no one abandons the gang, you know that. If you try to leave I’ll shoot you.” The girl stroked her on fidently.

  “Face it, your precious boss finally overstepped her bounds. This gang used to mean something, it was inally built by people just gathering together in an attempt to protect themselves. Ever sinull took over she tried to expand our territory, and her power. Well guess what, she pissed off someorohan herself, and now she’s paying the sequences. I don’t pn to be here when it happens.” Anna said, a trace of anger in her voice.

  “I won’t let you leave.” Lucy stood up straight, “Null has never led us wrong before. We take this fake Samurai.”

  “Good, great. Why don’t you take that fake bravado out front and face that ‘fake’ yourself, o whio your master? Just get out of the way.” Anna growled.

  While the two were arguing, Beth pushed her way into the stairway. Lucy gripped her gun a little harder, raised it in the girl’s general dire, which caused Anna to raise her own pistol. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Anna warned.

  Lucy growled, then started bringing up her shotgun. “You’re all traitors.”

  Aned, sighting her pistol and pulling the trigger before Lucy could fully aim her on. Unfortunately she only mao hit Lu the shoulder, not ter mass. Lucy’s gun dipped, but did not drop. Instead she discharged it directly into Anna’s leg, throwing the irl to the ground.

  “Bitch! I warned you! No one leaves!” As Lucy waved the shotgun around haphazardly, uo fully lift it with a damaged shoulder, Beth turned in an attempt to protect the child in her arms.

  “You’re… a fug… moron…” Anna mao choke out, cradling her leg. She lost hold of her pistol when she was thrown to the floor, leaving her unarmed in front of the psychopath.

  Lucy just looked at her with cold eyes, “Call me what you like, but the only way anyone leaves is in a box.” She half raised the shotgun, preparing to finish Anna off, wheairway door behind her exploded outwards. The impact caught Lucy directly in the bad sent her flying across the room. She hit the wall with an audible ch, then y still.

  Behind the heavily deformed metal door was half a dozen plush rabbits carryi-gen SMGs.The front oill had its foot up from kig the door. They spread through the room, in a cautious manner. One of the rabbits casually walked over to where Lucy was ying and put a couple rounds in her skull, causing the remaining girls to flinch.

  “I thought we had more time,” Beth choked out, as one of the rabbits came close to i her. They didn’t shoot, instead a pair of them bent down, and started pig up Anna, while the rest ushered Beth and Ja into the stairway. The rabbits pushed the small group up to the roof, where there was an armored vehicle waiting. The two carrying Anna carefully pced her on the floor of the vehicle, o another injured girl. “Meredith!” Beth gasped. She started leaning down to che her other friend before one of the rabbits stopped her. Thankfully, Meredith didn’t look critical, from what she could tell from a distance. Her arms were cut up pretty bad, but she was alive.

  Beth set Ja down on one of the benches, while the rabbits went about their work. A couple watched the area, while the rest ehe building. A mier they returned with twirls, these ones with minor injuries.

  “Why are you doing this?” She asked as the group returhe closest rabbit just turned and looked at her bnkly, then turo close the hatce everyone was aboard. As the vehicle took off, the sound of gunfire amplified. It wasn’t the sound of pistols and shotguns they were familiar with, but fully automatic ons. Time .

  The vehicle flew for maybe a minute, before nding again. One of the rabbits popped opech, revealing a sickly-green colored bear, along with some sort of fox. There was a moment of silehen the fox actually spoke with a girl’s voice. “I have no idea what your circumstances are, and frankly I don’t care. Up til now I didn’t give a shit about gang politics, but I know that raiding and threatening your neighbors is a quick way to end up dead. Make better decisions, because ime I might not be as patient.”

  While the fox was talking, the little bear wandered about stabbing people with syringes, and ohey were both dohe rabbits kicked everyo. They even picked up the injured, and threw them unceremoniously into the street. After a few seds the armored vehicle took off again, heading back towards the stronghold.

  “What the fuck was that?” Beth asked, to no one in particur. “What do we do now?”To one side of her, Ja was just watg the vehicle flying away, with awe. Beth’s eyes were locked oronghold, which was currently being shelled. She had lived half her life in that building, and now it was rubble. “What do we do now?”

  Oher side Anna and the irls were slowly rec. Anna watched as her leg spit out all the buckshot, before the wound knit itself back together. She slowly rose to her feet, and approached the small group of girls. “We retreat to one of the old safehouses. Most of them are rundown, but it’s still better than sleeping oreet. We’re lucky that the Saints are to our south, it gives us a little time tanize, before the bottom feeders arrive.” Anna sighed, “We’re better off without that bitull, but our lives are going to be pretty harsh for the few weeks.”

  “The Samurai fucked us.” Beth said, quietly.

  “Yes, she did. Hard.” Anna grimaced. “If we survive this, we keep our noses going forward. aid the price for Null attrag her attentio’s not make the same mistake.”

  The irls all nodded. It took them a few mio prepare, but ohey were all ba their feet Anna ah led them away from the area. As the small group slunk away, the Void Walker base burned behind them.