Rehabilitation
As the two trotted away from the scene, they headed north. “Where are we going?” Zulu asked, as she looked around. Gil looked back at Zulu as the Kelpie rode ahead, “New Sydney. We oughta getchu some new duds, ‘eh?” He asked, letting out a gleeful chortle. The Raptor let out a chuffing sound through her nostrils, “I s‘pose…” She mumbled, which caused Gil to let out another laugh. “Weren’t a fan of those two, ‘uh?” He asked, and Zulu let out a growl at that. “Yeah. They were fuckin’ cunts.” She spat, and Gil laughed out loud at that, “Not surprisin’, seeing how they spoke t’me.” He said, scratching at his scales.
The ride was long, around an hour or two. Gil rambling on and on didn’t help Zulu none, she stayed silent for most of it. As she looked around the foliage of the Jungle, scanning the jungle for anything. Zulu was focused on doing that, before she knew it, she was nudged by Gil and they arrived at New Sydney. It was the largest city in Australia, built around a huge, deeply beached cargo ship that crashed inside a fishing town. As they went through the gate, Zulu looked around the mostly intact town. Zulu dismounted as Gil stopped outside a mechanic’s garage which has been converted into a stable, The Bounty Hunter payed the man running it, and met back up with Zulu. “Which way d’ya wanna go?” He asked gleefully, “I dunno, I don’t live here.” She said bluntly. “Choose a road then.” Gil said, gesturing at the many roads and alleyways outside the stable.
The two wandered around the town’s old shopping square, before a store caught Zulu’s eye, Andey's Apparel. It had a flashy black and gold varsity jacket on display, She walked towards the store without a word. Gil jumped a bit and walked through the front doors with her. Inside was a typical clothing store, behind the counter was an aging woman with greying blonde hair. “Welcome, if you're lookin’ for anything specific lemme know…” She said, not bothering to look up from her book. Zulu spoke up immediately, “Can I get that jacket that was in the display?” She requested, that made the woman look up. “That ugly thing? If you’re payin’...” she said, getting up with a grunt as she walked to the display room.
The old hag set the coat against the counter, “Izzat everything?” She said, Zulu shook her head and looked around some more. She picked out a pair of faded jeans, a button-up polo-shirt, a pair of fingerless driving gloves, and a leather belt. As Zulu payed for the clothing, the owner made a comment about the outfit. She and Gil ignored it as the Raptor went to the back to change. When she came back out, she had the jacket zipped up, and her jeans tucked into her boots. Gil gave a thumbs up at the outfit before the duo left the store to the hag.
Gilbert looked over at Zulu, before giving a thumbs up. “Looks good on ya’.” He said, before Zulu shot a glare, “Nnnevermind…” He said, looking away. The two neared the beached ship in the center of New Sydney, going through the hole in the side of the ship. Inside was a large marketplace set inside the ship’s cargo hold, a cacophony of stalls peddling their goods, hammers striking steel, and the sounds of lathes and other machinery. As the pair wandered around, Zulu visited several different gun peddlers. They sold mainly ancient antiques or recreations, a cut down BAR caught her eye . Recreation or not, it was in very good condition and cheaper than most of the more modern assault rifles. Along with two boxes of .30-06, she got a 40 round mag with two more 20 round mags. For a sidearm, she got an old Model 10 Smith and Wesson revolver, with a Kelpie-skin holster and a box of .38 special.
Then Gil strolled into a general store set within several old cargo containers, while Zulu went to a different store, a smaller stall in an ‘alley’ between two of the cargo-shops. The… person running had a face that didn’t discern either gender, and had green cactus-like ribs on his skin with thick spines poking through his clothing. “What can I getcha, girly?” They asked, putting emphasis on the ‘h’ in ‘what’. Zulu eyed up a broad bladed short sword, like a parang machete. It’s blade was a blood-red iron-like chitin. “Like it? It’s made of somethin’ called a Razorclaw, in fact. It’s made from wunna their alphas.” The Cactus explained, a grin forming on his lips. “How much?” She asked simply, and the Cactus thought for a moment, “Hm. Hunnerd fifty quid.” Zulu scrunched up her face at that, “One twenty five.” She haggled, and the Cactus scrunched right back. “One thirty five an’ I can getcha a vest made from the same shite.” They haggled back, and Zulu nodded. “Deal.” The Cactus gave her the machete, a simple scabbard made from scrap copper and pig-leather, and a vest made from a grey chitin, lizard skin, with simple scrap iron buckles. Zulu gave up the brightly colored banknotes for her new gear.
She was left with 20 dollars, she stood outside the general store, waiting for Gil. As he walked out, he had two skewers of meat and fruit. He gave one to Zulu who inspected it, it had large chunks of a greasy, greyish brown meat with a contrasting grilled magenta cubes of fruit with a orange seasoning sprinkled on. “C’mon, eat. It’s kelpie ‘n macefruit.” Gil said as he dug into his skewer, Zulu shrugged and dug in too. The meat was greasy, tough and tasted like a fishy pork. While the fruit was soft, and has a pleasant sourness, while the spices gave it a nice bite.
The two strolled back outside, Gil leading the way to his abode, they continued down the road. When Gil looked back, Zulu got distracted again. She stopped in front of a small stall selling various gadgets. Zulu bought an old MP3 player with headphones, she scrolled through the songs as she caught back up with Gil. They walked into a welded together stack of cargo containers, serving their purpose as apartments.
As the pair walked up the stairs of the apartment tower, Zulu’s eyes were practically glued to the MP3 player’s screen as she read through countless songs on the list. “Oi. Earth to Zulu, y’there?” Gil said, which caused her to jump. “Whuh- Yeah?” She said, which caused Gil to chuckle. “Well, I gotta couch. You oughta get some sleep before we head out.” He explained, which Zulu nodded to absentmindedly as the two walked into the small apartment. Zulu went to lay down on the couch, before Gil decided to give the tour in the morning. He gave a “G’night” before heading into his own room.
Zulu put the MP3 player’s earbuds into her ears, tapping a random song on the screen.
“We're occupying boxes of concrete, but the world continues to spin.”
“A peek of endless vibrant colours from the outside looking in.”
“Let me run, let me ride, please let me go outside.”
“Let me hunt, let me cry, just let me be alive”
As the song continued, Zulu drifted off to a dreamless sleep.