"Jackson! Please!" The young man turned, staring at his past lover squirmed and writhed on the floor. Blood was gushing out of her shaved head at an alarming rate, and he only took pause to estimate if she'd still be alive by the time the group found her.
"They only need one of us.." He muttered, more for himself than her as he trekked out of the rusted junkyard. Her ankle was chained to the fender of a dilapidated school bus, and even if she managed to cut it off with something he knew she wouldn't get far. As he slowly made his way up the steep sandy elevation he caught sight of the scene below. Almost a dozen 'Skinners', taking swipes at her, aiming for her tendons or somewhere to paralyze. She caught his gaze, the split second distraction allowing her to be tackled to the floor. One of the brutes, cock in hand, looked up to glare at Jackson, the others following suit. They held their gaze for a few moments, awkward given that many of the thugs were pant-less, before they finally turned their attention to the kicking and sobbing girl on the floor. Jackson turned and made his way towards the market.
Before he could step into the chaotic cluster of booths and stalls, a prostitute girl pushed herself into Jackson's chest. "Hey there baby...You looked *tired*..." She pouted, a bright red pin flashing on the front of her ratty shirt. Jackson swallowed with what little moisture he had and side stepped, her following. They played this dance for some time, Jackson feeling a mixture of desire and anger as she pushes her backside into his crotch before she finally stepped away, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Forget you...too stupid to even know what a woman is...Hey mister!"
Jackson laid out a meager collection of scrap onto the wooden bench, as well as a few batteries he had swiped from his past lover. That seemed to have caught the store owner's eye, her good one. She leaned in to stare through a magnifying glass, Jackson resisting the urge to vomit as her open, circular wound leered at him. "Chollar chollar?" She held up one of the batteries and shook it in the air. He stared with ragged breaths, not being able to decipher much of the 'new speak' that had engulfed the wasteland, just enough to get by.
"Luie." He watched as she dropped it onto the bench, muttering and shaking her wrinkled hand as she scuttled about aimlessly. He crossed his arms, refusing to budge as she shook her fist at him, pointing at the disarray of stalls. Finally, quietly, she slid a collection of good coins his way and he deposited them into his duster, tipping his head, watching as she spat on his boot.
As he made his way out he felt the prostitute hug his waist from behind, sending adrenaline shooting through his body. "Aw c'mon mister I was just kidding earlier! Oh I bet you're a *great* stallion~" She whispered, breathing onto his neck. He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose. He gave her hands a firm, polite pull, the prostitute giggling as she held on tight. Her eyes stared upwards, blank as he spun around, pulling out his heavy pistol in the same motion and sent the crude weapon crashing down onto her skull. The scuffling of shoes and a bird's cry was all the noise that joined the sound of that metal barrel thudding down on that girl's head. Few noticed, any who did simply turned away, a nearby buzzard seemed the most interested as Jackson grabbed the prostitute by her flaky, mangy hair and rammed the barrel against the side of her head, her ear starting to pour blood, his spare hand reaching around him, scrambling for something until it came over a large rock. He raised it over his head and with a guttural noise sent it into her skull. Jackson panted and swayed, sat on his knees as that buzzard landed nearby, head tilted, as if asking permission to dine. Jackson halfheartedly shooed it away, swearing as he cleaned his pistol, back turned to the apparent corpse before he made his way back to the junkyard
Jackson used his foot to close the rusted gate behind him, scratching the back of his burnt neck as he took a seat on the sagging, spring-less couch, turning to face his past lover. She was impaled on a large wooden spike, her back facing down and her haunting face gawking at Jackson. Whether the placement was a warning or serendipitous he didn't know, nor did he seem to care. He leaned back, hands in his lap and staring off into the distance.
He slept in the school bus, facing the door with his gun loaded. It was a rather sleepless affair, his mind continuing to drift to the very real possibility of skinners returning for their lost meat, or one of the Curb crew coming for vengeance for that girl, or even both. That specific nightmare of the combination caused him to wake up with a start, shivering and rocking in place. After a while he sat and counted his meager earnings in his palm, then counted them again as if to try and multiply them. After pushing them into one of the rear wheels of the bus he stood over her body with his hands over his thighs, thinking of something to say before finally turning to leave.