Dressed in over-sized clothes she found discarded on the streets, Sam was “Queen of the gutter-rats”. The girl could locate, find and steal anything.

“Ssshhh!! “ Sam raised a finger to her mouth. “Stay behind me, don’t make any noise.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea? The serpents will kill us if they find us.” Runt asked as his eyes darted from one side of the rubble to the other. He had only been inside the mall plaza once before and things didn’t end well for his two traveling companions.

“Do you want medicine for Tony or not?” Sam inquired as she squeezed between the rubble.

“Yes… Are you sure there’s not a safer place to steal from?”

Sam rolled her eyes at The Runt, “Nope, quit being a baby.”

“I’m not a baby!” Runt said in protest.

“Sssshhh! Be quiet. If I die, I swear I’m comin back to kill you.”

Runt followed Sam as closely and quietly as he could. He tried to remember the direction they were traveling thru the corridors just in case he needed to make a quick escape.

The Pharmacist dealt in hard to find drugs and other deadly concoctions meant to kill. Most of the drugs he dispensed were to junkies looking for an escape from their sad lives. Sam knew the Pharmacist also had a supply of expired antibiotics. She also knew where he kept them but first she needed a diversion.

__________________

Runt coughed over and over again as they exited the building. “..you started a fire in there. We could’ve both died!!”

Sam rolled her eyes as she tossed Runt a bag of pills. “You’re welcome…I hate to steal and run but I gotta be somewhere else.”

Runt tucked the bag of pills into his shirt. “Sam wait! Thanks!”

“No problem…hey, meet me at the park at sundown. I know where there’s candy for the takin.”

Runt waved goodbye and ran toward his bike hidden behind a plaza dumpster. He didn’t notice Xavier’s goons looking for prey until it was too late.

Xavier enjoyed the thrill of cage fighting but his collection of combatants and practice kill was quickly diminishing. Replacements were needed. Runt was a bit small but size didn’t matter for the warm-up rounds