Quick Trade

"Stay still!" I shout.

Sam shakes his head. "Is this really necessary!"

Forcing Sam's mouth open, I shove a rag into his trap.

"Yes, it's necessary, or they might shove pills into your mouth again," I reply, laughing, "And yes, they probably won't get the chance, but better safe than unconscious."

I walk to Aponi, and she just stares off into space with an open mouth. "Do it before I change my mind."

"Oh, I wouldn't allow you to change it anyway." Before she can retort, I shove the rag between her fangs. "Just make sure you don't swallow it, or I'll have to teach Dolt how to do the Heimlich maneuver."

Eden stares at the two a bit pitifully. "Do we even know where to take them, Eira?" she asks.

"No, but Sam was able to learn the word for trade, and they're tied up, so I think Dolt will understand."

"They have actually had a word for trade?"

"Yeah, they have a word for 'fight,' 'big fight,' 'trade,' and 'eat.' Atleast that's what we assume they mean. In the same order, they were 'guhhh,' 'naht guh,' 'guhuu,' and 'guhuh.'"

"Oh," Eden smiles, with a small giggle, "So that was what you two were talking about. I thought you were just saying 'guh' over and over again."

"Shut up. It's not like I invented the language." I point at Dolt, then at Apon and Sam. My face turns a bit hot as I speak in a small voice, "Guhuu."

Dolt looks at me while wiping away a bit of drool. "Guhhh?"

"Guhuu," I say, swinging my head.

He blinks, raising a fist at Sam, saying, "Guhhh?" Sam shakes his head rapidly.

"Guhuu! It's your language, learn it!" I throw my arms up, pointing at Aponi and Sam. "Guhuu! Guhuu!"

Eden giggles, causing my face to turn hotter.

Dolt stares at the two a bit doubtfully but eventually grins widely. "Guhuu!"

…

…

…

Dolt ended up eating for around half an hour before he eventually decided he felt like taking them. Meanwhile, while he was eating Eden and I ended up finding a safe place to stash the three cubs which we sealed with blood magic. After Dolt leaves, we wait a few minutes before following since I was worried that he might act differently if he knew we were watching. To my surprise, when we left, Goliath forced himself to his feet and refused to let me depart without him.

"Fine, if you want to come, whatever," I say, watching the giant crawl through the tiny broom closet door.

Even though I'm almost certain he doesn't understand what I am saying, he grins widely anyway.

"Huh. Must have learned the grin from Dolt," Eden says, "The two were spending time together a bit earlier."

"Yeah, it's a bit creepy, though. Maybe, they'll start doing it a little more naturally in the future."

"That…" She pauses, watching goliath rub his face into the mud, trying to force himself out of the room. "That would be nice because if I ever turned a corner and someone was making that face, I don't know how I'd react."

A moment later, Goliath somehow exits the muddy room, and we run after Dolt at a near jog. Eventually, we catch up finding him with Aponi under one arm, and Sam under the other. They are both wrapped in bedsheets since I thought Brutes wouldn't have or utilize actual rope. The two hang limply, acting as if they are unconscious. Unexpectedly, Dolt diverges from the path leading to the Warehouse and enters a side passage.

"Where is he going?" Eden whispers.

"I'm not sure this place has tons of hallways, so maybe there is another area with people," I answer.

Dolt turns multiple times, moving through office spaces, conference rooms, and break rooms. It takes some time, but eventually, he approaches a large metal door that simply reads, "Security Office". Slowly, he raises his hand to knock.

**Bang! Bang!** he punches the door.

"Fuckin' hell!" someone screams from the other side of the door, "The damn freaks are already here again."

A gruff voice replies, "Already? Hold on, let me change cameras."

'Cameras?'

I look up to find two cameras. One faces Dolt, and the other faces Goliath.

"Quick, hide behind Goliath," I whisper to Eden.

She nods, and the two of us hide behind Goliaths broad legs.

'Cameras are the bane of my existence. Still, it's good we found out about this security office before sending Aponi and Sam in. We should take care of it now.'

Gripping the scythe, I decide it's a good time to inform Aponi on what's about to happen.

'Aponi, can you hear me?' I ask.

'Yeah, I'm pretending to be unconscious, so it's not like I'm too busy to get your message.'

'Just "yeah" would have sufficed. Anyway, the second they open the doors to the security room, we're going to attack.'

'It's some kind of security room? I've got my eyes closed. I don't know what's happening.'

'Yes, I assume they're understaffed if they have to swap cameras like this. That or most of the cameras are offline or something.'

'Yeah, would make sense. So you're thinking since they aren't watching camera's that there aren't many of them in there?'

'Pretty much, and if there are, we run for it.'

'Alright, so the usual, I'll relay the plan to Sam.'

'Thanks.'

Another minute passes before the silence is broken. "Yeah, two of them are out there. One at the door and another one staring at its feet around the corner," the gruff voice pauses for a moment, "They're probably the tallest two I've seen yet... like damn. Uhm, anyway, I can see the one at the door seems to be carrying two refugees."

'Refugees, is it? Not test subjects or something else dehumanizing? It's not like they need to watch their words around Brutes, so their choice of words is interesting.'

"Alright, big guys. We'll get your crates, but as usual, you'll have to wait for the guys at the warehouse."

"Guh," Dolt answers, immediately dropping to the floor to wait.

"So they've got to wait on supplies from the warehouse to trade the Brutes? Do they not have any supplies themselves?" I whisper out loud.

Eden looks at me, unsure how to respond, she just shrugs.

"It doesn't matter…" I glance at the bedsheets that Goliath has wrapped himself in. "We are going to have to hide, but we also can't reenter the camera's field of vision since they're probably watching them now."

"You want to hide under his sheets," she responds with horror staring at Goliath's legs.

"Yeah, and you can either hide down here or climb up and hide on his back." Extending my claws, I climb up Goliath's backbone like a cat. He shows some discomfort but doesn't move to my relief.

"E-Eira, please, I don't know how to use my claws, and I don't want to hide down here," she stutters.

"Fine." I hang my arms down, and Eden grabs my hand.

From a distance, I can hear the sounds of footsteps against the cement. Immediately, I yank Eden up and grab her with one arm.

"Wrap your arms around my neck quickly, and then throw the blankets over us even if you have to rip them."

Eden hesitates.

"J-just hurry Eden!" I whisper angrily.

With a red face, she wraps her arms around me. She grabs a loose bit of fabric from Goliath's back and throws it around us.

"Guh?" Goliath says.

Without enough words to explain what's happening, I simply hope he doesn't give us away. A mixture of Brute sweat and the citrusy smell of Eden's hair spread within the enclosed space as the group of people approach.

"Wow, that giant is the biggest one I've ever seen!" a man yells upon seeing Goliath.

"Good lord!" a woman says with a gasp, "You ain't lying! The ceilings are like fifteen-feet tall and his head still almost hits!"

"Guh?" Goliath responds.

The group talks among themselves for a moment.

'I think there were five different voices? Once they open that security office door, we'll spring the trap.'

"Oh, look, they brought a man and a woman today." The woman pauses, seemingly checking Aponi and Sam's condition. "The clean-shaven guy looks a bit familiar."

"Yeah, he kinda does, doesn't he?" the man responds.

**Knock. Knock.** One of the people knocks on the door.

"We're here with the stuff from the warehouse," they say.

"We know! We are watching you on the camera," the voice through the door shouts, "Please, give the things outside what they want, so they'll get the hell out of here."

"Yeah, yeah. Give the thing the crate of blankets so that we can get inside," the woman says.

'Blankets!? They're trading people for blankets! There's an entire hotel of blankets above! Did they already take those too!?'

"Guhuu?" I hear Dolt ask.

There's some movement as the two seem to trade. Dolt grunts and starts to walk away.

"Alright, open up," the woman says, "It's leaving."

"You assholes are always so impatient!" the voice on the other side of the door shouts.

The door creaks open, and I allow Eden and myself to drop to the floor.

Dolt's eye grows large as I point at the group of six. "Guhhh," I shout.

"Huh?" the group raises their weapons.

""Guhhh!?"" Dolt and Goliath roar.

The ground shakes as Dolt and Goliath charge into the group slapping them away before they realize what's even happening. At the same time, Aponi and Sam spring from the arms of the two people carrying them. The bedsheets that seemingly bound them fly off instantly as they take the two closest people into chokeholds.

"Shit!" the man opening the door yells.

But it's too late. I've already started charging toward the door. Dodging to the left of the hall, and sprinting between the legs of Goliath, I shove the end of the scythe into the door frame.

"Fuck! Fuck!" the man shouts.

Realizing someone is still gripping my neck tightly I look back. "Eden, you can let go of me now."

Immediately she shoots up. "S-sorry."

"Just push the door open!" I yell.

She nods, kicking the door. The door slowly swings open, and Eden shows obvious pain on her face.

"That hurt," she says with a small tear, "It seemed so easy when you did it."

I roll my eyes. "You don't kick open big metal doors, moron."

Raising the scythe, I enter the security room. I'm surprised to discover it completely empty. To my right sits a wall of monitors. Most of them are broken for some reason, but the few working still show the scene in the hallway. There I can see Goliath and Dolt punching each other, surrounded by bodies.

""Guhhh!"" Dolt and Goliath cry.

Sticking my head out the door, I shout, "You two idiots stop!"

Aponi and Sam tie up the two people they choked into unconsciousness.

"That might be the first thing that's ever gone as planned," Aponi says.

Sam looks at Aponi. "Gone as plan... so far," he adds.

Together the four of us enter, while Goliath and Dolt fight to get through the door at the same time. Opposite the wall of monitors, I notice another metal door with a sign reading "Emergency Shelter" posted on it.

"Well, they must have gone this way, so let's take a quick look," I say.

Opening the door, I find a short set of stairs leading into a big spacious room. The room is full of hundreds of beds with hundreds of people who all gaze at me fearfully. Goliath and Dolt, having made it through, lower themselves to look as well.

"AHH!" hundreds of voices scream.

"Gahhhh!" the two Brutes roar back.

"Come on! Quickly!" a gruff voice shouts.

A dozen soldiers with "security" printed on them march through the room with rifles lifted.

"Welp, you can all just stay down there," I say with a laugh, "I don't care."

Slamming the door shut, I place a metal chair beneath the handle. Grabbing Aponi's hand, I cut her palm. "Eira! What the hell," she asks.

Ignoring her, I use blood magic to seal the doorknob to the backrest of the chair and the chair's legs to the floor using her blood.

"If I thought you'd actually use it for something, I wouldn't have done that," I respond.

**Bang! Bang!**

The security officers slam against the door, but the chair doesn't budge.

"Alright, you two. Get changed. Eden and I will stay here and watch through the cameras. The first thing you should try to do is find a way to disable the Mind Magic. If you do that, we can charge in with the calvary if things go wrong. Oh, and before you ask, I don't have any plans to hurt the people in the shelter."

Sam and Aponi let out long sighs and start removing the uniforms of the two tied up guards.