Mick extracted tribute in an unusually aggressive way. One that had sent off alarms among his n.
And he quickly fled the settlent, hitting up the next target on his list of pickups for the day. The entire ti none of them knew that their helts had been tampered with.
But halfway through they stopped for a lunch break.
This was precisely when his n noticed sothing was wrong. Normally they would stop in the snow, settle down on their bikes and enjoy as share of the spoils they were bringing back to the foundry.
After all, what Aidan, Jack and the others didn’t know didn’t hurt them right? But for the first ti since they began controlling this territory, Mick didn’t set out for lunch, he demanded the local residents set up a table for him and his n and prepare a al for them.
That had caused Mick’s second in command to bring up the subject that he and the others were wondering.
"Everything okay boss? You seem a little... agitated."
He didn’t say spooked. To imply fear was to assert weakness, and weakness needed to be challenged at any shown opportunity. This was the law which their particular crew lived by.
Mick wasn’t in charge of them because he was the smartest, or even the most effective leader.
It was because he was the best at cracking skulls, and that’s all that mattered to their crew, unlike others like Jack’s or Aidan’s who had their own internal bylaws.
But agitated? It was a word that said what needed to be said in a way that did not imply weakness. And it was because of this, Mick was able to calmly, and honestly answer.
"I guess you could say that... I thought I saw sothing while on our route earlier. It was nothing, just a trick my eyes were playing on in the storm?"
Most of the n were happy to let it die with that, but one of them spoke up, instinctively, and foolishly.
"Wait you saw it too? The skull in the snow I an?"
The clang of silverware drew the attention of the entire room, as the locals pretended not to notice. But Mick had frozen on the spot when he heard what one of his n had said.
"You saw it too?" He tried his best not to shout and looked around to ensure his voice had not carried.
The raider in question nodded his head.
"More than once... In fact, I saw it on every route we went on. Just in the corner of my eye, I never got a clear look, at first I thought I was just seeing things. But again, and again it started popping up. I damn near thought I was losing it."
Once he had said this, another man volunteered his thoughts on the matter.
"I wasn’t going to say anything, but I also saw sothing, and yeah now that I think about it, it was kind of like a skull in the snow. I saw it about five minutes before we arrived here. But it was just the storm right?"
Mick and the other witness stared over at the third who had claid to see it. They were silent, but their eyes did not convey accusation, but dread.
The others who hadn’t seen the skull beca still. If Mick was seeing things it was perhaps the stress, or his nerves. After all, they knew what had beco of Marcus and his crew, and they had all been on edge the last few days.
But... if they had all seen the sa thing, and not different mirages. It ant that maybe, just maybe there was sothing else going on....
One of those who hadn’t seen the skull was quick to speak up.
"So you guys all saw the sa thing? A skull floating in the snow? How would you even see it, wouldn’t it just blend in with the background?"
Mick shook his head as he carried what he had seen.
"No, it was a white skull on a hazy black background, almost liker a shadow, or a dark cloud of so kind. I don’t know, we had passed it by so quickly, and I only caught it in my peripheral."
The other two n silently nodded their heads. But the fact that they had all seen it, and nothing else in the background was the truly haunting aspect.
Even the most rational among them couldn’t deny that this was an unusual coincidence. He was just about to say sothing when Mick’s words shook him too.
"Another thing. When I stopped and pointed my gun at you guys? That’s where I first saw it... But when I turned around it was no longer there. So, if it was a person... How the hell do they just vanish like that?"
He had no words... No natural explanation he could think of. Silence remained between the n as they stared down at their bowls of soup with hearts full of dread.
They didn’t realize in the slightest that the locals who were in the background eavesdropping on their conversation were quietly snickering in delight.
One of the n shifted uncomfortably, glancing toward the doorway as the wind howled faintly outside.
"...Alright, enough of this," he muttered. "It’s just the storm ssing with your eyes. Happens all the ti. White on white, shadows, your brain fills in the rest."
He forced a chuckle, but it ca out hollow.
"No... that’s not right," he said quietly. "Because I saw it when the wind wasn’t blowing. Just for a second. It wasn’t moving with the storm... it was just... there."
That drew everyone’s attention. Mick slowly lifted his head.
"...What do you an, not moving?"
The man hesitated, clearly regretting opening his mouth, but it was too late now.
"It didn’t shift... or blur for that matter. Everything else was moving, snow, wind, all of it... but that thing? It was still. Like it was just... waiting."
Silence fell over the table again. Even the man who had tried to laugh earlier didn’t say anything this ti.
Sowhere in the distance, a loose piece of tal slamd against a wall in the wind.
No one flinched. But no one relaxed either.
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