Yue stepped forward, her boots crunching across shards of frost as she surveyed the frozen captives. Her eyes, icy and calculating, landed on the one with the toilet seat shoulder pad.
Without a word, she lifted her hand and pressed two fingers to his temple. A faint blue glow pulsed at her fingertips.
The ice began to retreat—slowly—from his face and neck, then down to his chest. Steam hissed into the air as frozen blood thawed and muscle spasmed beneath cracking skin.
The man gasped like he'd been pulled from a lake. He coughed violently, hacking up slush. His eyes darted around wildly, and when they landed on Yue's unblinking stare—
He broke.
"W-wait—WAIT—don't kill me!" he screeched. "Please—goddess, I didn't mean nothin'! I—I didn't know you was a fuckin' witch, I swear!"
Yue's eyes narrowed. "You attempted ambush."
"No! N-no, it wasn't like that!" the man blabbered. "We—we just thought y'all was travelers. Easy pickings! I—I mean—"
He glanced at Lin and then back at Yue.
"I-I saw her," he whispered, trembling. "Saw her from a distance and—and I just wanted to... y'know... invite her to dinner. Real respectful-like!"
Lin raised an eyebrow. "Dinner?"
Yuzuki snorted. "Ew. That's like, serial killer talk."
"F-for real! I ain't lyin'!" the man stammered, sweat dripping from his thawed forehead. "We was just gonna bring her back to camp, treat her real nice. Swear on my mama's grave!"
Lin crouched a few feet away, keeping his expression neutral despite the rising bile in his throat.
He didn't believe him. No one did.
But information was currency.
"What's your name?" Lin asked.
The man hesitated. "Uh... name's Dillo."
"Dillo?" Sierra repeated. "Like... armadillo?"
"Yeah," he grinned nervously, revealing yellow teeth. "I used to roll up and hide when shit went bad. Earned the nickname."
Lin looked back at Yue. She stared down at Dillo like a cat eyeing a mouse still twitching after the kill.
He turned back. "Where's your camp?"
Dillo hesitated again, eyes darting between them.
Yue stepped closer. "Your brain is still partially frozen. I could press a finger into your temple and burst every blood vessel in your eye. You'd go blind before you bled out."
"I—!"
"Or," she continued coldly, "I could refreeze your lungs. You'd drown in your own breath."
Dillo swallowed, lips trembling.
"I—I'll talk. I swear. It—it's down south from here. 'Bout an hour's walk. Big red shipping container we use as a base. Two watchtowers. Not many of us left."
"How many?" Lin asked.
"Uh... maybe six? Seven? I—I dunno. Some went out huntin' earlier."
Yue's fingers glowed slightly again. "If you lie—"
"I'm not lyin'!" Dillo yelped. "Fuck, lady! I don't want no trouble! You already turned my fuckin' blood into snowcones!"
Sierra laughed. "Snowcones, huh? That's a new one."
Lin stood. "Can you take us there?"
Dillo blinked. "Y-you mean... now?"
Lin nodded. "You're gonna lead us to your camp. No bullshit, no detours."
Dillo looked at the other still-frozen raiders. "W-what about my crew?"
"They're not your crew anymore," Yue said flatly. "They're corpses on hold."
He turned pale.
"I—I'll show you," he said quickly, nodding like a bobblehead. "Y-you got my word."
"Your word's worth shit," Sierra muttered.
Yue stepped back. "You will walk in front. Any sudden movement—any attempt at trickery—and I will end you in a way even death won't accept."
Dillo nodded so hard his neck cracked. "Yes ma'am. Y-yes goddess. Lead the way. Just—just don't freeze my dick."
Yuzuki made a face. "Gross."
Lin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh... alright then. Let's move out. Everyone stay alert."
They began to gather their things. Yue's eyes never left Dillo's back as she reformed a thin layer of frost around his feet—just enough to keep him from bolting without a little pain.
Lin glanced at her as they walked.
"...Thanks."
She didn't look at him. "He's lying about something."
"I figured."
"But he fears you less than he fears me."
Lin chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. Probably because I don't threaten to explode people's eyeballs."
Yue finally looked at him.
"...Yet."
With a flick of her fingers, Yue released the frost binding the remaining raiders.
The sound of cracking ice echoed like breaking bones across the parking lot as the men collapsed one by one, gasping, shivering, some crying out in panic as their nerves came back online. A few vomited from the sudden shock. One tried to crawl away until Sierra casually kicked him over and pressed a boot on his chest.
"Easy, cowboy. You ain't goin' anywhere."
Lin stood back, watching as the last vestiges of Yue's ice melted into puddles around the pavement.
"You'll live," she said coldly, wiping her hands on a cloth like they were dirty from touching scum.
The six raiders—dirty, sunburnt, and now soaking wet—gathered in a pitiful huddle, eyes wide at the four armed women surrounding them. They'd gone from would-be predators to trembling puppies.
"You fuckers tried to ambush us," Sierra said, slinging her rifle over her shoulder. "Now you're our tour guides. Ain't that a bitch?"
Dillo, now mostly dry, put on his most obsequious smile. "Hey, hey, now. No hard feelings, right? We—we was just desperate! You know how it is!"
"Shut the fuck up," Yue said. The temperature dipped instantly.
"Y-yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."
Yuzuki twirled one of her twin tails around her finger and pouted. "You boys gonna be good now~? Or should we put you back in the freezer?"
"Good! We'll be good!" another one of them said quickly. A scrawny guy with a missing ear and patchy stubble. "Swear to god, y'all angels. Didn't realize we was messin' with goddamn queens."
"Goddesses," one of the others added, eyes locked on Celestine like he was staring at a ghost. "Fuckin' radiant... Is she even real?"
Celestine just blinked at him, her soft gaze unreadable. "I am real enough to sing you to sleep. Forever."
"...Shit."
The bandits fell into line without another word, their swagger from earlier completely evaporated. The girls surrounded them in a loose square—two in front, two in the back. Lin walked beside the rear column, feeling like a misplaced NPC in a military escort mission.
He cleared his throat. "Uh... everyone got enough water?"
"Yup," Sierra said, shouldering her pack. "And one trigger-happy finger, if they try anything."
"Good. Great."
The group marched southward through the crumbling asphalt and wind-battered ruins. Broken billboards loomed like giant tombstones on either side of the road, half-swallowed by sand and vines. A hollow silence followed them—punctuated only by the squelch of wet boots and the occasional nervous cough from one of the raiders.
"So, uh..." one of them spoke up, a bald guy with prison tats. "What's your name, sir?"
Lin blinked. "Uh... me?"
"Yeah, boss man. You the leader, right?"
"I-I guess? I mean—sort of. We're more of a team."
The guy gave him a toothy grin. "Respect. Big respect. It takes balls, man. Leading four hotties like this through hell."
Lin scratched his head awkwardly. "I—I'm just trying not to die."
Another bandits chuckled. "Man, if I had even one chick half as fine as these, I'd never try to rob people again. Shit, I'd be straight."
Yuzuki spun around mid-walk and wagged a finger. "Too late~! Now you're our bitches!"
The whole group laughed nervously. None of them dared make eye contact with Yue.
One of the bandits, who hadn't spoken until now, leaned slightly toward Lin. "Hey, uh... listen, man. Real talk? If you ever get tired of, you know, managing all of this—maybe we could... I dunno, help out?"
Lin looked at him, confused. "Help out?"
"Yeah! Like... we know the area, we got connections. You need extra muscle, scav runners, cooks, even—fuck—tent warmers, I don't care. Just don't send us back out there alone."
Lin blinked. "...Are you seriously trying to apply to join my—"
"Crew! Team! Colony! Whatever the fuck you wanna call it."
Another one chimed in. "We can be useful, I swear! Just let us stick around. Please."
"You just tried to kidnap us," Yue said from the front, not even turning her head.
"That was before we knew you could turn people into meat popsicles!" the bald one whined.
Sierra smirked. "Y'all sure are brave now that you pissed yourselves."
Lin stayed silent, chewing the inside of his cheek. Were they lying? Probably. Were they dangerous? Absolutely. But also... having mouths on the inside of this ruined world might be useful.
"I'll... think about it," he said awkwardly.
Every bandit instantly perked up.
"Thank you, Captain!"
"You're a goddamn saint, boss."
"We swear—we'll be good!"
Yuzuki leaned toward Lin with a mischievous grin and whispered, "Aww, are you adopting strays now~?"
"I—I don't know, okay?!" he hissed. "I'm just trying not to screw up!"
Yue glanced over her shoulder. "Ten minutes until camp perimeter."
Lin took a deep breath.
The wolves had become lapdogs. But that didn't mean they wouldn't still bite.
He had to be careful. Especially if he wanted to keep these girls—and himself—alive.
Q: What would you do with the bandits if you were Lin?