Grassjumper’s Foot, a small settlement in the outskirts of Station 4.
Stations 1 through 3 are well-threaded territory by now. Station 1 has become such a tourist attraction, in fact, that most Blazers or those with business in that chunk of the Western Belt travel to Station 2 first.
Station 4 is where the wilderness starts, so Grassjumper’s Foot is effectively the outskirts of the outskirts. A settlement near a lot of rocky formations where very little can be built and even less can be cultivated.
It’s important also to note the distinction between a Grass Skipper and a Grassjumper. A Grass Skipper is a small and fluffy herbivore of big eyes and even bigger floppy ears that’s an anxious but cute pet for humans and a delicious morsel for carnivores… which includes quite a few humans… a Grassjumper meanwhile, is an insect with a history of being a plague to crops.
A Grass Skipper’s foot is often seen as a good luck charm despite the fact that the Grass Skipper it came from is anything but. Meanwhile, finding a Grassjumper’s foot is like finding Grassjumper’s Foot the settlement: Hard to do, of no value, and completely underwhelming.
This is important context to understand what the waiter at the Fleeting Heart canteen said to the two outsiders that graced the place with their presence.
“So… what brings you here? Curiosity or crimes?”
“We’re looking for someone” Replied a small lady of long red hair in a low ponytail, a big leather cap, and even bigger sunglasses that hid most of her face “A man that smells like sunflowers.”
“That’s… not the best descriptor, you realize.”
“Yeah… but we’ll know him when we see him, that heliotropic son of a seed…”
“And what did this man do that you’re looking for him?”
“Grushbullugahawawahfmmm…”
Now it was the redhead’s companion, a muscular woman of short white hair that interjected with her mouth… not really full because it wasn’t technically full at any given moment, rather, she spoke as she ate. Like the excitement of telling the tale and her intent on eating were at an impasse.
“Blarghgrafffdrifftllmmm…”
She started punching the air and the waiter could feel how each punch audibly cut the air.
“Wagarrdleprobummffrghhh…”
Now she was mimicking someone running by using her right hand’s index and middle fingers as a “person” running over her left hand.
“Fragrininbokummfraghtrep!”
She then clapped and spread her hands as if indicating an explosion.
“And that’s just bad and wrong… it’s badong! And also uncouth if you ask me…” The redhead woman finished as if her companion’s tale was self-evident and clear as day.
“Well… best of luck with that” The waiter added politely “I’m gonna be honest, looking for someone with just your descriptor is like trying to squeeze blood out of a rock.”
“What’s so wrong about that?” The white-haired woman asked, finally deciding on doing a single task at a time.
“Oh absolutely nothing, but it’s tricky to find information when most people don’t even know what sunflowers smell or even look like.”
“No, I mean what’s wrong about getting blood out of a rock?”
“…eh?”
“You CAN squeeze blood out of a rock, you know.”
“Can you…?”
“Yeah, when I was a kid I wanted really badly to be able to crush rocks with a single hand, so I tried really hard and even though I wasn’t making a dent the rock started bleeding! So I tried even harder assuming I was very close and more blood started pouring!”
“Ma’am, that’s… that’s not…”
“Don’t” The redhead told the waiter with a sigh “I’ve had this argument with her for years. It’s a lost cause. Let her have it.”
Out of The Fleeting Heart and into the town itself, the duo stood out quite a bit.
The redhead woman was short, really short. Were it not for her demeanor and chest size she would be easily confused with a child.
However, even her figure is hidden by a long cape that covers her. The resulting effect with body and arms covered by the cape while her head is adorned with a big cap and even bigger glasses is outright comical or cute depending on who you ask.
Meanwhile, the white-haired one towered over her companion and quite a few other women on average. With her short hair, red sleeveless shirt, torn jeans, and fingerless gloves, is the very image of practicality.
“Alright Dana…” the red-haired one said while producing a notebook and pen from the depths of her cape “How would you rate the food in this one?”
Dana, the white-haired one, crossed her arms in deep thought for a moment before she said…
“Crying…”
“Hmmm… can you think of an approximate synonym that’s less present participle verb and more… adjective?”
“No, I mean I hear crying.”
“Oh…” The red-haired one returned the notebook and pen to the depths of her cape “What who and where?”
“Let’s see…” Dana kept thinking really hard as she focused on something “Brunette… in her 20s… sad… over… there!”
Dana started walking towards a shop a couple of blocks away and the red-head followed behind her.
She kicked the door open and right as she sensed before, inside there was a young brunette crying inconsolably in a counter.
“S-Sorry… we’re closed…” She said before adding “I thought I locked the door… I can’t even… do that right…”
“It’s fine.” The red-head entered before Dana into the dark business “We’re here because my friend heard someone crying here. And that just cannot go ignored, especially if it’s a girl.”
The brunette looked up in equal confusion and hope.
“Who are you two?”
“Just two busybodies with nothing better to do.”
There was a note near Teri, the crying brunette. It said:
“Bring three million to this place in three days if you want to see your husband alive again.”
“So they kidnapped your husband…” The redhead said.
“Yes…” Teri confirmed.
“Not you, your husband…” The redhead reiterated.
“Yeah…?” Teri asked slightly confused.
“Hm…”
…
…
…
“IRIS!!”
Dana exclaimed this so loudly Teri felt her teeth vibrate.
“Ah, sorry…” Iris nodded, snapping out of her distraction “Did you try contacting law enforcement for this?”
“The town’s so understaffed they told me to pay, and the main Station’s forces won’t be here before the deadline…”
“Hm… So you have the three million, then?”
“I’ll… I’ll have it by the end of the day hopefully…”
“HMHMMM…”
“You know who has him hostage?” Dana asked while Iris was lost in thinking about something.
“The only gang nearby is the Boot Snakes, but they usually just jumped unguarded caravans before…”
“HRMHMHMHMMMMMMMMMMM…”
Iris kept making louder and louder grumbling noises the more information she heard.
“Don’t worry then, we’ll have your husband back.”
Teri made a face of pure adoration at that moment before pulling back.
“Please don’t play with my heart, miss. I’m not in the mood for pranks…”
“I’m not one to play with a girl’s heart and I’m not about to start now.” Dana gave her a thumbs up and a reassuring smile “We’re on this, so feel free to get your hopes up!”
Dana then grabbed Iris, who, still deep in thought, was as stiff as a plank as she was carried out in one arm like a sack of flour.
“So you think there’s something wrong here?” Dana asked Iris once outside the shop.
“Not something… everything! There’s something afoot and we’re dealing with a void blasted centipede.”
“Well, I hope part of the problem isn’t saving her husband because I already gave my word.”
“No, no problem there… in fact if I’m right that will be even more of a priority…”
Boot Road is the name of the road that passes by the outskirts of Grassjumper’s Foot.
Some will tell you that it was named that because it was a path that was mainly walked, others will insist that it’s in reference to the Foot in the town’s name, but the truth is that it’s called Boot Road because it’s the one you need to use when you don’t have the resources to go through the safer routes and get booted to the outskirts.
About 20 years ago when the initial rush from the Westward Break wore off, frustrated youths decided to rob anyone that dared pass through it, and thus the Boot Snake gang was born.
However, the gang hasn’t been a single continuous affair, and moreover there’s been periods where no gang has existed. In an odd way, the gang is effectively a local tradition more than anything.
Dino is one such youth part of this tradition, and it was just his luck to be the one acting as lookout when some freaky white-haired bitch overpowered him and demanded to be taken to the hideout.
“Do I smell you calling me a bitch in your head pipsqueak? You really wanna provoke me when I can chuck you unto a very uncomfortable landing in some branches?”
“N-No ma’am…”
“What was that?”
“SIR, NO SIR!”
“Attaboy…”
After leaving Teri’s shop, Iris wanted to collect information around town while Dana suggested just baiting someone into jumping them and then using them to find the rest.
Iris agreed, but insisted on staying behind to collect information because she kept having a bad feeling. Dana wasn’t sure if she’s be able to handle the finesse of a hostage situation without her backup, but Iris reassured her that she’d be there when it counted.
“How will you find me, though?” Dana asked before leaving.
“Like I always do” Iris said with a devilish smile “Following the path of screams and chaos.”
Now she was finally in the entrance to a cave that Dino guided her towards.
“This the one?” Dana asked, putting Dino down on the floor.
Dino didn’t say a word and tried to rush at Dana immediately after.
He only got to hear the words “Bad choice” before feeling himself flying in the opposite direction that he originally ran towards.
Inside the cave, the lookouts at the entrance only got to see their improvised barricade of metal plates crumble and that rookie Dino being the cause.
When they turned towards wherever he came from, they saw a menacing creature cracking her knuckles with a smile that would send chills down the spine of a volcano.
“Aight kiddos let’s make some noise!”
None of the lookouts were a match for Dana.
None of the heavies further in were a match for Dana.
None of the ones carrying knives or bludgeons were a match for Dana.
But this wasn’t about being a match and she knew the actual challenge. Beating people is easy, saving them is not.
And the challenge was right ahead.
She kicked down the door of an improvised inner sanctum only to find two men inside. A blond, scrawny guy, and a slightly pudgy black-haired one.
“So, which of you is Teri’s husband?”
“Wha-”
The blond didn’t manage to finish saying this when the pudgy one pulled him and put a gun to his head.
“What are you doing?!” the blond shouted.
“Oh don’t be a crybaby that cries like a baby, he can’t do anything without these…”
A voice came from a corner, it was Iris and she was holding onto a handful of bullets.
“Told you I’d be here when you needed me” She smiled at Dana “Thanks for the distraction.”
The pudgy man just grew angrier and angrier, he was holding the blond by the neck and not only seemed to want to choke him, but started beating him with the butt of the pistol in his hand.
“Stop that!”
Iris produced a gun from her cape and used one of the bullets she took from the pudgy man to shoot towards one of the metal plates of the barricade, making the bullet bounce in a way where it hit the pudgy man’s hand without blowing it, or his hostage, off in the process.
In the distraction, Dana swooped in and pulled the blond by his shirt.
“You Teri’s husband?”
“Y-Yeah?”
“Nice, we came to rescue you.”
“WHAT?!”
The pudgy man decided to cut his losses and headed for a passage that was hidden by some rocks.
Dana was about to give chase when Iris cleared her throat and said “Priorities…” while pointing at the blond.
“Darling! Oh darling!!!”
Teri rushed to her husband as soon as she saw him while he stood still in confusion.
“I cannot thank you two enough!” Teri said “Would you accept the ransom money as a thank you?”
“Money’s not a problem.” Iris said while leaning on a nearby wall “Speaking of problems, though. This whole situation doesn’t sit right with me…”
“How so?” Teri asked, confused.
“Well, for starters why not kidnap you?” Iris said while shrugging “I might just have a macabre brain, but if I was a petty gang out for ransom and I had to pick someone in a young couple, I would pick the lady of the duo because not only would she be an easier target, who knows what might be done to her while she’s held captive? Which only adds to the urgency of getting ransom.”
Iris lifted her hand to quiet the incoming protests and continued.
“Unless the girl in question was the only daughter of a merchant from Station 3 that eloped with her lover against her father’s wishes.”
Everyone remained quiet this time around, sensing Iris was heading somewhere with all this.
“Then it wouldn’t make sense because Station 3 has a lot of security that would be bad for a small operation such as the Boot Snakes.” Iris then turned to glare directly at the blond man “But what if the husband is the one kidnapped? Then the runaway daughter would get the money, money that’s chump change for a family like hers but would get you far in a backwater town like this one…”
“What are you accusing me of here, lady?!” The blond man protested.
“Oho? Is that the tone you should use with the people that rescued you, you grating ungraceful ingrate?!”
Iris started walking towards the blond man.
“But of course I’ve been wondering, did we really rescue you?” Despite the blond man being two heads higher than her, the closer Iris got to him, the more he seemed to shrink “You weren’t bound, you were more confused than scared that a gun was pointed at you, but not nearly as confused as hearing that you were being rescued so swiftly… or at all!”
Iris stopped only a breath away from the man and said:
“Almost like you’re disappointed you don’t have a cut of that three million ransom. I could bet good money that if I had kept quiet even two seconds more you’d be outraged that your loving wife would use the ransom to thank your rescuers instead.”
“Please!” Teri pleaded “Why must you be so cold?!”
“Am I being cold?!” Iris said in a tone that barely held back her emotions now “Who’s the one that gets to see his beloved wife after being kidnapped and CAN’T EVEN RETURN THE HUG?!”
The blond man then felt a big pressure, like the sort of fear one feels upon seeing something really heavy be moved by a strong wind like it’s nothing.
But there was no tornado in sight, just Dana looming over him.
“Making a girl cry is unforgivable…” Dana said in an uncharacteristic monotone while cracking her neck side to side “Making a girl cry because of money is unforgivable… making YOUR WIFE cry-”
“Dana, leave him alone.” Iris said as she saw Dana’s shoulder muscles tense “I’m just speculating here, this is all circumstantial anyways.”
“But…!”
“Dana!” Iris insisted in a tone she only uses with her when she needs her to trust her on something “We’re. Leaving.”
Dana saw the blond man eye to eye for a couple of seconds that felt like an eternity.
“Scum.” She said before turning around and joining Iris outside.
Once outside, Dana was huffing and puffing.
“It’s not circumcision! It all makes perfect sense!!”
“And if it does, Teri will see reason, right?”
No longer had Iris finished saying this that a commotion was heard and the blond man was seen running away while Teri, crying tears of anger now, threw everything she could at him.
“See?”
“Should I chase him?” Dana asked.
“Honestly? Not worth your energy…”
Teri approached both of them, wiping the tears off her eyes.
“You two, my saviors from the sister planets above…” she grabbed Dana and Iris’ hands in gratitude “How would I ever be able to repay you for everything you’ve done today?”
Both looked at each other with a shrug and then Iris said to Teri…
“You… wouldn’t happen to have heard, or seen, or smelled, or touched, or tasted a man that smells like sunflowers, would you?”
Forsaken Gaia – Extra Chapter: You give love a bad name
Written by: Fernando Damas (@ironiclark)