The flickering lights attached to the top of the cargo container were just bright enough to give Janice a glimpse at who she was dealing with.
The huge volon at the back of the container had two eyes just like Zev's, but slightly uneven in position, and a head of spiky, black hair. They wore nothing more than a pair of black boots, matching cargo pants, and a dark red bandanna across its face. Tattoo-like markings and flowy, circular patterns covered their chest, and a huge maw stretched across their abdomen with yellow, clenched teeth.
Tenna's eyes were two crosses - again, just like Zev's - positioned above one another rather than side by side. She wore her lengthy, black hair in a ponytail, and she wore a pair of platform boots, short skirt, and trenchcoat, all matching in colour (or, lack thereof).
"We're getting the fuck out of Miyatama, bottom line," Tenna said. "Probably head back to Ystets if we can shake these fuckers."
Janice looked at her quizzically.
Tenna met her gaze with a head tilt. "...Do you even know where we are?"
"Not a clue!"
Tenna slowly looked away. "Goes to show the treatment you got in there."
"W-what about all those volons in there! Who were they? How did they get there?!"
"They're mine. I brought them here."
Janice's mouth slowly opened, unsure if she was feeling disgust or fear. "And... and you just let them kill all those people...?"
"They're just humans!"
Janice slowly let out a deep breath. She bit her tongue.
"What?" Tenna continued, "don't tell me you sympathize with them."
"Uhm... I..."
Tenna grumbled.
Meanwhile, the sirens blaring outside the truck were increasing in both number and intensity.
Shit, I don't want to die like this! Or get sent back to that place...
Tenna spun around to face the door. "Damn, those motherfuckers are here in droves. Eckire, spot me. Don't let me fall out of this thing if Glenn swings this sucker around."
The big volon in the back readied itself to grab Tenna if necessary.
Tenna unlocked the truck container's door.
"Whoa, whoa!" Janice exclaimed, holding on to the floor as best she could.
With the door ajar just enough to see outside, Tenna aimed her shotgun at the nearest pursuer.
She opened fire. Explosive shotgun blasts blended in with the cacophony of hot pursuit.
The armoured vehicle Tenna shot began swerving haphazardly across the narrow road, repeatedly overcorrecting until the vehicle skid sideways and slid onto its side.
The truck's container jerked around as it made a sudden turn to the left; Eckire reached forward and grabbed Tenna's arm, but she managed to keep her footing. Janice held herself against the wall.
"Thanks, big guy." Tenna shut the door and locked it. "Yeah, that should slow them down."
"This is madness!" Janice shouted.
"I'll give you that one. This is the most fun I've had in months!"
Once again, Janice bit her tongue.
The sirens gradually lowered in density as the truck chugged along. Given the lack of any windows in the cargo container, Janice had no idea where she was or where she was going.
"How... how do you even know me? Why are you rescuing me?"
"I have my sources." Tenna smiled at Janice. "As for you, you're rare, you know that? Real rare! It's not easy find stable volons like you on Hallow. When I found out humans were keeping you prisoner in there, ooh... ooh, I was pissed."
"They weren't... exactly... i-it wasn't really a prison so to speak..."
"You're the worst case of Stockholm I've ever seen! No wonder you never escaped on your own."
"Uh, no...! That's..." Janice halted herself, realizing that, yeah, it was somewhat refreshing to be anywhere but that facility. The back of a semi truck wasn't entirely better, but it was an improvement.
"What about all those people down there? Humans aren't beneath us!"
"You have an interesting sense of humour. We didn't kill everyone, just enough to get in there and extract you! Well... turns out we didn't even need to, since you just walked out the front door right as we were about to get in there."
"I only got out because of what you did."
"Perfect! Then it all worked out."
"Fuck..." Janice mumbled, "I... I had friends down there. Carson... Seth, too, I guess-"
"Oh, Carson's fine."
"What?!"
"I said, Carson's fine."
"H-how do you know that? Are you screwing with me?"
"Come, now. I just rescued you from prison. Why would I suddenly fuck with you?"
"So then how do you know about Carson?"
"Oh, you cute little thing. You still don't know, do you?"
"Wh... what are you talking about?"
Tenna didn't offer a response, aside from a giggle and a little smile.
Another sharp turn sent the group against the left wall, pinning Janice between Eckire and the wall.
"Oof!" Janice gasped.
"Sorry." Eckire moved back to his spot once the truck stopped turning.
"You guys couldn't have brought better escapee accommodations?" Janice asked
"We don't make a habit of getting into cop chases! I expected them to come, but not even I know how they got here so fast."
"Those aren't cops, they're military vehicles!"
"Even better! Fuck if I know why we got cops 2.0."
Despite the significantly quieter sirens in the distance, they were definitely still present. Janice struggled to keep still; not being able to see outside anywhere didn't help her discomfort.
The truck tilted upwards with a huge bump, presumably moving up a ramp of some sort.
"We're screwed, aren't we?" Janice whimpered.
Tenna casually smiled again. "You think I didn't come prepared for this? Come on, who do you take me for?"
"I-I've never met you!" Janice gave Tenna an incredulous leer.
"Just relax and hold on. Give it 30 seconds. We'll be fine."
Janice glanced towards the back of the truck's container. She didn't know what she should be expecting, given Tenna's definition of "fun," but she steeled herself to be prepared for anything.
"Aaany second now," Tenna mumbled as the seconds ticked by.
A huge crash exploded out from outside the truck, presumably behind the vehicle. It slowly became evident that the sirens had stopped entirely.
"Yes! Got 'em!" Tenna cheered.
"Wh... what...?" Janice stammered.
"I always have a backup plan." She stuck her tongue out at Janice. "Some kingpin I'd be otherwise!"
"...Queenpin?" Eckire shared his thoughts.
Tenna looked over at him. "Queenpin. I like that."
Janice remained quiet. With the sirens gone, her heart finally slowed to a more reasonable pace. She curled her knees up and rested her head against them in a feeble attempt to drown out the situation around her.
I'll get answers from these crazy people, or so help me...
About 20 minutes later, after the insanity of the truck chase, the vehicle eventually slowed down to a halt outside of some unknown destination.
Tenna stood up and stretched. She opened the truck's hatch and hopped out; Janice joined her, cautiously taking in her surroundings, before Eckire hopped out behind them.
The area around her looked like an abandoned street in a somewhat old-fashioned city, definitely different from the kinds of buildings she saw outside the Maroon facility during the short time she was out there. Lots of monochrome buildings with stark black and white colours, and a few high-rises visible in the distance from where Janice stood.
"Where are we?" she asked, breaking the relative silence that'd been looming over the group after the pursuit ended.
"Ystets city." Tenna shut the container's door. "The best place you could be."
A man stepped down from the semi truck's driver's seat. Seemingly not a volon, just an ordinary-looking Caucasian man with short black hair, a business suit sans the jacket, and a pair of sunglasses coupled with a deadpan expression.
"Props to you for shaking those assholes!" Tenna commended him. "Now that we actually have a moment, Janice, this is Glenn."
As Glenn approached her, she hesitantly held her hand forward.
"A pleasure," he remarked with a surprisingly smooth voice as he shook her hand.
"...Likewise."
"Our big fellow here is Eckire," Tenna continued, holding her hands out at him as if she was presenting him to a crowd.
He grumbled in response, looking down at Janice.
"Hi..." Janice greeted him.
"And me...!" Tenna placed a hand on her chest, which was gratuitously exposed now that she'd loosened the chain keeping her trenchcoat shut, revealing she had nothing on beneath it. "The name's Tennadeirovaein. Just call me Tenna."
Janice's eyes widened for a moment as she attempted to recite Tenna's full name in her head. "Tenna it is." She tried to avert her gaze.
In front of them was a run-down building with chipped white paint, dents in the walls, and weeds growing around its cracked foundation.
"No time like the present! Let's go." Tenna led the group into the dilapidated building, looking more like a ruin than a home. With Glenn and Eckire taking up the rear, Janice followed right behind Tenna.
As they moved deeper into the building's tight hallways and empty rooms, the darkness slowly crept around them. Not a light bulb in sight.
"We keep it like this to divert attention," Tenna explained.
"...What about the jet black semi truck just outside?" Janice questioned.
"Sshhh."
It was only a few more seconds of walking before Tenna stopped in front of a wall. She leaned down and flicked something near the floor, and a pair of sliding doors opened in the wall, well camouflaged in the derelict space.
"Ta-dah!" Tenna cheered.
The light poured out from the next room, revealing a foyer lined with pale brick walls. All sorts of tools and equipment were neatly arranged the place, either hanging from a shelf or leaning against the walls, and a double-decker bunk bed filled with colourful pillows and comforters stood in the corner of the room.
Glenn and Eckire brushed past Janice as she stood still, taking it all in. "Wow. You guys are pretty serious..."
"You don't know the half of it," Glenn commented.
Janice felt considerably anxious stepping foot inside the hideout. "I'm... am I going to have police looking for me? Or... Maroon?"
"Oh, love," Tenna began, placing her shotgun on a rack just beside the bed, "you're in Ystets now. Any human with a decent head on its shoulders would stay ten miles away from here even if their life depended on it."
"Wh...?"
"You really did live under a rock in that place." Tenna walked over and pressed a button on the wall beside the entrance, closing the door. She stepped back and started inspecting Janice. "Eh, I guess I can't blame you. Have you at least heard of the "paranormal activity" and "strange disappearances" here?"
Janice shook her head.
Tenna smiled. "You're in for a treat. This is the volon capital of Hallow. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. Maybe a tenth of the population is comprised of volons, and the other 90% are clueless humans ready to be preyed on. The best part is the humans have no idea what's going on here."
"How could that many people be clueless about something widespread like that? Wouldn't humanity freak out about alien life?"
"Because volons are hunters. Assassins who kill for sustenance. We don't make big public displays when we hunt, we do it with stealth and tact."
"Uh, yeah, like what just happened at Maroon."
"Sshhh. Besides, that was different. I'm talking about when we hunt to eat, not when we're on a wild rescue mission. Though, I guess the humans will probably have to publicly acknowledge us volons after finding the aftermath of that display. Whoopsies~"
Janice was suddenly reminded of Zev after hearing Tenna's comment about how volons are apparently stealthy assassins. Zev was definitely an exception to that, and so was Janice herself.
Are Ystets volons really that different? How... how could it be true that nobody knows about them?
"Hellooo. You look lost." Tenna waved a hand in front of Janice's face.
"Ah! Sorry, I'm just... thinking."
"What's on your mind? Come on, you can tell me."
"I... no, I need a bit. This is too much to take in."
"Okay, if you say so. Feel free to get cozy on my bed. Probably a lot comfier than standing around." Tenna turned heel and power-walked off into another part of the base. "Don't touch my gun!" she shouted. "I'll know!!"
With a million questions buzzing around in her head, Janice took up Tenna's offer and sat down on the cushy bed. Glenn and Eckire had already left down the hall Tenna just stepped into, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
What the hell is going on?