The room turned still, as Eli stared at the group of men encroaching upon his newly acquired domicile. On his first night, he didn't hear much of anything, so he assumed the place was barren.
Now of course, he was cursing his own stupidity.
'Obviously people are going to live here! It's damn near a free hotel room…'
Eli tried to relax his stern frown, though his expression should've been the least of his worries, on account of the mask.
"I didn't know anyone else lived here. It's good to meet you. I'm in the middle of something-"
The bald, wrinkled man threw a cursory glance to the corner of the room, where a certain girl was sitting, being rather uncharacteristically quiet.
"I can see that." The old man licked his lip, and heaved a breath, "Looks like you're a big game hunter, too. Those ones usually come with a lot of heat." His old mug creaked out a grin.
The look he had in his eye was not the friendly kind, and once he noticed the girl, he threw his eyes her way more often than necessary.
"Why're you wearing a mask, stranger?" He asked, finally pulling his lecherous eyes from Eli's captive.
He glared, and sized Eli up. The old man had about a foot on him, and despite the very clear lack of strength, and Eli's relatively stout and stable stance, he looked like he was raring to fight.
"Oh, you know. It's cold out." Eli nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Sure is, sure is… say, stranger, I'll leave you to it. Don't make yourself scarce. I have reason to believe we'll be good friends in no time."
Eli very much doubted his words.
"Y-yeah. I'm sure we have… one or two things we agree on?" Eli nodded, stepping closer, "I'll be seeing you."
The head of the group chuckled, and walked out of the room. His groupies weren't far behind.
"Enjoy yourself, buddy." He waved a hand over his shoulder.
Then, the two were left in silence. It was odd, especially since a certain someone was still around. Eli shuffled over to the chair in the corner. Over her shoulder, he saw trembling hands, white as bone, squeezing the moldy armrests.
"...Mr. Rat, please untie me. I can promise I won't run." She cleared her throat, and craned her head back to stare at the metal rodent.
It was obviously not a good idea. Eli knew there was a near hundred percent chance she'd bolt. So he resolved himself not to do it… when his hands finished untying her second arm, however, he sighed at his own nonsensical logic.
It was just because she looked like Tiff. Surely.
The girl leapt from the chair, standing face-to-face with Eli. Her smile had faded, and she was staring at his mask quietly.
The girl cleared her throat. "I don't need to go back until I have you. King said that." She cocked her head to the side, "So, I'll stay here. Running wouldn't even make sense, I don't know why you tied me up!"
Seeing her smile return towards the end of her sentence, Eli couldn't help but relax. The damn Overclock spell was working overtime.
He shrugged, and turned around, glancing at the doorway, before shifting over to the lying, dysfunctional Dogbot. He kneeled, and got back to work immediately.
"I didn't know that. You could've, and still could, be here for any other reason." He grabbed his trusty hiking bag, and dragged it over.
"Then why'd you untie me, you idiot?" The nameless girl laughed at him, rubbing her slightly reddened wrists.
"No reason."
Eli took a steadying breath, and heaved the immobile Dogbot into the back, stuffing him down. He then chucked the disconnected front-left paw in after him, along with his wrapped up toolset.
Eli zipped the bag up, and threw it over his shoulder, standing up with a solid groan of effort.
"Alright, we clearly can't stay here with those gangoons. We're going back to the streets, Dogbot." Eli patted the backpack affectionately, and marched out of the room without another word.
The pack was heavier than it had ever been, with both the endless can supply, alongside the hefty Dogbot. Fortuitously, the boy had been lugging the beast around for long enough, his body seemed to handle it just fine.
Behind him, feet scuffled, "Hey, wait!"
Eli turned to the girl beside him, "What's your name?"
"Who cares-"
"What is it?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Seffriane. Sef. I don't have a cool name like you. The woes of the unclocked." She shook her head, "I need my mask back. I have about a hundred warrants."
'Damn! I didn't even consider that…' Eli stopped, suddenly pensive.
He glanced around, before stuffing Seffriane's head into the mask he had stored in his jacket pocket. He quickly took his hands off her, and wandered onward, desperate to escape the property of the old codgers they had run into.
Oddly, they were nowhere to be found.
Sef, behind him, settled her militaria relic over her face, and with a few hops, the girl had turned once more into a rather threatening visage of a wartime hero, of a sort.
"Where are we headed?" She asked, her chipper voice now lightly muffled.
"Yeah, where are you headed?" An old, weary voice echoed.
The duo spun quickly on their heels. Eli had to steady himself as the weight on his back swayed with him. He quickly sized up the sudden interjector.
There was just one. Almost certainly one of the faces in the peanut gallery of the gang that had accosted them prior. He was bearded, and had a light dusting of hair atop his wrinkled head. He seemed younger than the leader had been, but no less frail.
"Come on, you'll hurt a poor old man's heart looking at him like that!" He pouted, rubbing the back of his head.
"That girl, I left her in room four. You don't have to tell the others right away." Eli shrugged. "You feel me?"
The smokey lenses of Seffriane's mask followed Eli's body as he clasped the old stranger's shoulder, and sent him on his way.
Though hidden, her expression oozed a heavy lack of enthusiasm. She wasn't impressed.
Eli quickly made it back to her side, and they slinked from the lot as quickly as they could, making it around several corners before they dropped their pace.
"You're weirdly good at charming gross freaks." Sef spoke up, after they had slinked through their fifth alleyway of the evening.
"It's not hard to read those kinds of people, so it's also not hard to trick them." Eli stated, a little prideful.
He couldn't deny a small childish part of him still loved every adrenaline filled second of his new life. The nights were uncomfortable, his body never got a break, but the energy in moments like that filled him with exhilaration.
"Sure." Sef nodded.
They quietly made their way around town for the rest of the evening, until finally, the highway underpasses and concrete, industrial-type warehouses and factories made way for brick-lain towers, and bodegas on each corner.
"Feel good to be home, Rat?" Sef asked, giggling as she smacked his back.
Eli didn't have time to reply, as they slunk their way out of an alleyway and into the open streetside. His eyes gaped, and knees fell weak.
He felt the girl bump into his backpack behind him, and didn't even register the annoyed curses she let out.
Across the street, an old, tubby man was staring him down, with a glare deep as a trench. He shook his head, and turned around the corner, weighed down by the shopping bags in his hands. Each of his steps were unstable, but he made it.
Just like that, Mr. Vaughn had left his sight. Eli raised a hand to his mask. The faceplate was right off the RAT, after all. It was no wonder.
'...he knows. Obviously he knows.'