"All dressed up with nowhere to go"
-- Oingo Boingo, Dead Man's Party

How could I have not seen two goth girls huddled in the corner on a mattress? If I kept screwing up like that, I wasn't going to get through this. After a quick look I decided they didn't pose a threat. Both had pale skin, black clothing, and heavy makeup that emphasized their eyes and lips. They were both in their late teens, somewhere between sixteen and nineteen, though one looked older than the other. The shorter, younger one was the one who had spoken. She had the other girl's hand in hers.

"No," I said. I turned back to the figure lying in front of me. He had a gun in his hands. It was small, 9mm or .32. He probably kept it tucked into his waistband. I took it and tucked it into mine. My odds were improving. His pockets yielded a small knife, keys, and a wallet. I held up the wallet so the girls could see it, and waved it.

"You two can have everything in this," I said, "if one of you watches the window and tells me if anyone else decides to pay us a visit, and the other one comes over here and unties me."

The girls looked at each other. The older one seemed paralyzed, and the younger one took charge.

"Faith, go watch the window." She said to the other. "I'll take care of this."

Faith didn't look like she liked the idea, but went over to the window. The younger one was definitely the dominant one. Faith had long hair that looked like it had been dyed black. The other girl's hair was shorter and cut in an asymmetrical way. It appeared to be naturally dark.

The younger, smaller girl came over to me. I held out the wallet and let her take it. I could have held it back until she freed me, but there was little point. She would either help me or not. Either way I would just have to react.

"I'm Odd," she said. At least that was what I thought she said. On reflection she had probably said "Aud." Short for Audrey or something like that.

"Yes you are," I confirmed.

That got a smile from her. She worked at the rope tied at my wrists. She wasn't having much luck at it.

"Use the knife," I said. I gestured to it on the ground.

She looked at it and nodded.

It was a pocketknife -- a tool, not a weapon. She started cutting at the ropes with more success. A button on her lapel read, "Do you want to touch me?" I wondered if that was referring to the Joan Jett song or not.

"Who is he?" She asked.

Her skin was smooth and pale, like off-color porcelain. Her eyes were dark brown, nearly black. She took it all in with no fear in her eyes, or she hid it well. Faith was nervous, but this was simply a new experience to Aud/Odd.

"A bad and careless man," I replied.

Any other answer would take too much explanation. She nodded, without any other comment. Finally she'd cut away enough that I was able to pull the rest of the ropes off. My wrists had not been bound long enough to do any real damage. My shirt was in far worse repair. Between the attack and the altercation with the car it was far the worse for wear.

I rolled my assailant over and unbuttoned his shirt. It was short-sleeved, blue with two wide black stripes, and a dragon down the front. I pulled it off of him, and flipped him back over. I pulled off my shirt, and cut off one of the sleeves with the knife, and gagged him with it. I twisted the remainder of my shirt, and used to bind his wrists behind his back. If there'd been a faucet I knew worked, I would have wet the cloth first. I knew enough to tie his hands behind his back.

I looked at my side where it had been hit by the car. It was starting to swell. The skin was scraped and raw.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Car," I said.

It was the only explanation I was willing to give. She could fill in the details for herself.

"Are you OK?" the girl asked. She seemed genuinely concerned.

"I think so," I said. She nodded and seemed to accept it.

I probed the skin with my fingers. It hurt, but the pain wasn't too sharp, and nothing gave too much.

"It's possible I cracked a rib, but I don't think it's broken." I told her.

She reached out and touched the area I had been probing. She seemed more fascinated by that than anything else she had seen so far.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

"Yes," I replied, "but I can deal with that."

The pain was just my body's way of telling me something was wrong. It's a warning and a guide. I could be in charge, or the pain could. Once I understood that, I learned to push it away and to keep going. My body wasn't pleased with me, but I had other things to think about.

I took the Boy's shirt and eased it on. I wasn't paying attention to the pain, but I wanted to avoid doing any more damage. I lined up the corners of the open ends of the shirt and started buttoning. I was moving slow and deliberately. Aud/Odd put her hands on my collar and started buttoning from the top. It was an unusual thing to do -- most people wouldn't be so calm in a situation like this; they'd be more like more like Faith.

"I used to help my father do this." She said.

"What were you two doing here?" I asked Aud/Odd.

"We're gonna go to a club," she said, "it's kinda nearby. Thought we'd hang here till then. We'd crashed and stuff here before."

I doubted that was all of it -- it didn't ring true. I was willing to believe they could be going out later, but I suspected they were homeless. There was no sign of long term living, but they easily could have a backpack or bag stashed somewhere. Faith's expression changed. She looked more worried.

"Faith!" I called out. She startled when I said her name, "do you see anyone."

"There's some guys," she said timidly.

"How many?" I asked.

"Three, one of them is walking funny," she said.

"That would be Vance and the Boys," I said. "How sweet, they missed me."

"It's nice to be wanted," Aud/Odd said with a smile.

"Where are they?" I asked Faith.

"Across the street, they just went into the squat we used last night." They weren't searching individually anymore, and were traveling as a pack. It may have occurred to them that one of their number had gone missing. It wouldn't be long before they came to this building. I wanted to look out of the window, but didn't want to risk exposing myself.

I made a quick survey of the situation: One of Vance's crew was down, one was injured, and two were in good health. I had to assume all of the others were armed. I had no more than five or ten minutes of freedom before they came over. It could be more, but it wasn't safe to count on it. My odds were better than before, but still weren't particularly good.

I looked at the little gun. It was a .32 Beretta. I pulled the small clip from it. There were six rounds in it, the clip held seven. I pumped the slide and caught the seventh from the ejector.

"Are they still over there?" I asked Faith.

She nodded her head.

"Ain't come out yet," she was staring at the gun in my hand.

"Watch the outside, not the inside," I admonished.

Aud/Odd went over to her and touched her face.

"It's OK baby," she said.

Faith was out of her element. I wondered how long she had lived this kind of life. Had Aud/Odd taken Faith under her wing, or was there something else? I wanted to know the rest of their story, it was a shame I wouldn't have the time to find out their whole story.

"This'll be over soon," she said to Faith. She looked back at me. "Right?"

"No worries," I lied.

One way or another I would try and keep them as safe as I could. I'd keep the attention on me. I didn't want to add anyone else to the list of my failures. Even if it was by accident, they were now caught up in my problems. They were my responsibility until I could get myself and Vance away from them.

I put the stray round back with the others, and tapped the bottom of the clip on my hand to reseat the rounds. It was a habit, long practiced. Automatics were more finicky weapons, they worked best when you took care of them and made no assumptions. I checked the safety, loaded the clip, and pumped the slide to chamber the first round. I put the safety back on -- except for that, it was ready to go. I would have liked a holster, but my supplier didn't seem to have one in stock. I tucked the gun into my waistband at the small of my back.

The room was free of anything that seemed immediately useful. I felt in the pocket of the shirt. It was the only place I had yet to look. There was a pack of cigarettes, and a book of matches tucked into it. Could I use these? I was hard pressed to think of a way they could help me right now, unless I wanted to burn the building down. I could make a crude firebomb with them. Cigarettes burn at a fairly steady rate, so you could use it as a crude timer. Tuck the cigarette behind the matches and close the lid. The more exposed the coffin nail was, the longer it would take to ignite the Lucifers -- that was the name written on the matches.

It was a cute pun. It appeared to be the name of club or bar. It might have been a hangout of Vance and his crew. I tucked that fact away, in case I needed to bring this onto his home turf. It was a good name for place in the scene. There was a red cartoon devil on the pack, the suave kind with a Van Dyke. It was a pun because Lucifers were also an old slang term for matches. Lucifer means "Bringer of Light."

"You gonna keep those?" Aud/Odd asked me.

Smokes were expensive and I doubted she would pass up a free pack. I could not see needing them, but then I needed every tool I had. I pulled two from the pack and pocketed them. I tossed the pack to her. She caught it with both hands, leaning in to it, a clumsy catch. Too bad she didn't have any training. She certainly had the calm under pressure thing going for her. Still, she was probably good enough to take care of her and Faith, if I could get them out of here.

"Here," I said when I tossed them over. "Keep the rest. I keep the matches."

"Lighters are better," she said. I was in no position to argue -- I never picked up the habit.

"Um," Faith said softly. We both turned to look at her. "They're coming over. They are coming over here!"

"Keep your voice down, baby." Aud/Odd said.

I pressed up to the side of the window. Vance and his crew were just up to the curb. I looked to Aud/Odd.

"Is there another way in or out of here?" I asked.

"The roof." She nodded, "You can go up into the crawlspace over there in the closet in the other room," she gestured to the room on the other side of the staircase. "We've done that before to..."

"Good." I cut her off. I didn't want the option for myself. "I want you and Faith to get out now."

I let my voice stress how seriously I meant it. Aud/Odd nodded, then grabbed Faith by the wrist and started pulling her out of the room. She stopped briefly to give me a peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry," she said. "I can take care of us."

I hoped she was right.

"You take care of you." She said.

With that she was gone, with Faith in tow. I hoped they would be OK. It would be better for them if I made sure not to screw up the next few tasks.