• I sat on the old box car with some of the other abandoned girls as the boys hooked up the flat screen to the electric car at the far front. The huge screen me and the other Skitter Boys had jacked hummed to life and our little band let out a cheer. It was the first time we had seen one work in months, after one of the other groups of Left Behinders had smashed the last one. You wouldn't know it, but t.vs are REALLY hard to steal. The Home-bounders might be all wealthy and the stores might have a surplus of crap just to accomidate them, but the good stuff was always heavy as hell and the sized group need to jack it would draw attention from the Grey Coat Squads.

    The Tech Rev Movement had cut the country in half; those who were wealthy and owned everything, and those who were too broke to buy a pack of gum. The rich people became the Home-bounders; people who never went further than the city nearest their huge a** homes. The rest of us, and it was mainly teens and young adults were left out and left behind. We are the Left Behinders. We have several different groups, or Families, and each had a different name and Turf Symbol. Our Family name was The Centaurs, or Centaurians if we were being asked by an approaching Family of fellow Left Behinders.

    The screen showed scenes of a completely destroyed Utah, the streets flooded with murky water and oil. Next to me I heard Yessie whimper softly, "No. Elfy was home... Elfy..."

    I knew I had to get that screen off somehow, and fast. I couldn't let her see anymore. I slid off of the box car and dashed down the tracks, waving my arms as I screamed loudly at Nomad, "Turn that off! Turn it off you jackass!"

    The boy grinned and cranked up the volume as I got more and more enraged. I saw Tank push him away and throw him off of the car as Trouble took a sledge hammer and slammed it into the electronice device. As much as we wanted that thing, we had a law in the Family; Never EVER let anyone be hurt by anything. Protect each other at all costs. It was universal in each Family. There might be different laws for each one, but that one was a standard across the board. You break that one, then you become an Outlaw, someone that even other Left Behinder Families would shun. You were scarred and kicked out with the scar visible to the world and you were on your own, or you joined with other Outlaws.

    As Nomad pushed himself up, he yelled, "I'll sic the Grey Dogs on you! You'll all be sorry!"

    We ALL snapped at that moment. He had just willingly been crude to a sister, and now her was threatening to turn us over to the Grey Coat Squad; the cops. We could let the first slide, but no way on the second. That was a grave threat. Tank and Fluffernutter pounced on him and as Belladonna pulled out a blade. She carved into his forehead the letter 'O' and a small arrow in the middle, showing that he was made an Outlaw by the Centaurians. For added effect, we pour hydrogen peroxide on it to clean it and make it all nice and painful for him. "Get up and run. You are no longer one of our Family. Leave or be killed, you have twenty minutes." Archer said coldly.

    Nomad stumbled to his feet and ran, the tall man glaring at his back. Archer was our leader, our Father. Candy Cane was our Mother, and his girl. I started walking back to Yessie when Titain tried to grab her arm and hold her. I hated Titain to begin with, that girl was too rude and stupid to do much other than hurt the Grey Dogs. I walked up to her and yanked her long blode braid down, making her yelp and let the smaller girl go. I held onto Yessie and she looked daggers at me. "Samurai, you best be letting her go."

    I ignored her and whipsered my apologies to the trembling girl, watching as Spitfire started to give me nervous looks. Spitfire had been Amanda when we dated before the Tech Rev and she still tried to get me beck every now and then, but I always said no. Titain climbed onto the box car and growled at us, "Let her go, now."

    I knew what was coming. She would attack and her sheer strength was pretty impressive. I looked at Spitfire, who was nodding to me, trying to tell me to let her go, then to Candy Cane, who just gave me a puzzled look, asking me if I could handle it. I had two options, listen to Spitfire, or my heart. I nodded to Candy Cane and glared right back at the towering girl. "Do your worst you half-wit."

    She threw herself at us and I moved us both out of the way, letting her do a faceplant onto the gound. "Yessie, stay here with Blade, kay? She'll keep ya safe kiddo." I told her.

    She nodded and watched as I advanced on the groaning girl, grabbing the arm that had clutched Yessie and breaking the forearm with ease. I was livid. I could have just twisted it, or pulled it behind her back, but I wanted to make a point; Dont. Touch. My. Wife. Being a part of the Skitter Boys made me learn how to break bones, in case we ran into the Dogs. She shreiked and I snapped her elbow like a twig. "You never, EVER touch my wife again, you hear me? You do, and I'll make this look like I tickled you with a feather duster." I hissed and turned back to Yessie.