warning

"Can't we just skip today's cleaning? I am still sore from last night," Tari grumbled, walking side by side with Freyana while shielding her face from the sun.

"That is why you don't pick a fight with a member of Veinhill, talking more of a chief. Literally Chief Athena," Freyana responded.

"She started it when she attacked me," Tari defended, already frowning.

"Girl, you've got balls," Freyana complimented.

They walked in silence for a while, before Tari's gaze spotted a mud house. She raised an eyebrow and pointed at it.

"What is that?" Tari questioned.

Freyana's gaze followed the direction of her finger and landed on the mud building.

"It belongs to the Five," Freyana replied, looking away.

"The Five? And the infrastructure here is kind of nice," Tari questioned.

They walked past a group of Veinhillers, who threw irritated stares at Tari.

"They are like the gods of Veinhill. Frost — he is the godman of Veinhill. You've had your encounter with him, and I'm pretty sure you know the kind of person he is," Freyana said.

"The annoying prick," Tari scoffed.

"Watch your tongue, lady. Frost is the godman of Veinhill and you don't dare speak ill of him, not even the chiefs do. But you, you've already caused a lot of trouble since you came," Freyana said.

Tari rolled her eyes.

"The remaining four are Butcher, the drug addict — that guy is crazy and unpredictable. Avoid him. Jackie, he is the friendly but deadly one, he will lead you into your grave without you knowing until you are buried. Avoid him too.

Zero. That one is a no-go area, that guy is cold as ice, he is even worse than Frost. Just like his name, Zero is a total zero — he never smiles, doesn't drink, nor does he smoke. He is the wicked and most devilish one of them. Avoid him with everything in you; in fact, if you see him coming, take the other lane," Freyana spat, her eyes narrowing with despair at each word.

Tari watched her closely, eyes narrowing along with Freyana's.

"You sound like you had an encounter with him," Tari said. Freyana glanced at her and looked away.

"The bastard is just evil and a bully, stay away from him if you want to go back home. The last one, Drake, that one is the most complicated and the most mysterious. You barely see him, he is like a ghost," Freyana said.

"Sounds scary. Should I be afraid?" Tari questioned, with sarcasm.

"You should be, but you are fearless and stubborn. Your father isn't like that, you must have gotten it from your mother," Freyana replied.

Tari's head snapped at her at once.

"You know my parents?" Tari asked.

Freyana chuckled.

"There is a lot about yourself that you don't know, lady, but that's one of the reasons Frost is keeping you, I think," Freyana said, and walked away, leaving Tari standing behind.

Tari stared at nowhere in particular.

"Where the fuck am I?" she wondered inwardly.

Tari closed her eyes, inhaled, then exhaled, before running off to catch Freyana, only to stumble upon Freyana on her knees.

Tari glanced up and saw a man standing before Freyana. He was staring down at her with a sadistic grin on his lips while he toyed with her hair.

Tari frowned as she watched him twirl Freyana's hair between his fingers, while Freyana stayed silent like an obedient little girl.

"I missed your company, didn't you miss mine?" the man questioned, tugging on Freyana's hair a little too hard, sending a jolt down Freyana's spine.

When she didn't answer, he tugged harder and lowered his head down to her.

"Answer me," he growled between his teeth. Tari jolted at the harshness of his tone, while Freyana hissed in agony, eyes closed as she nodded.

"Words, doll. Words," the man reminded.

"I did," Freyana replied.

"Zero," she added.

Tari raised an eyebrow hearing the name, Zero.

So this is Zero, huh? No wonder she was so precise about him, Tari snarled in her mind, a frown reappearing on her face.

"Hey! Loser!" Tari shouted, marching to them.

The Veinhillers walking by, eyes widened. They stopped in their tracks and turned to Tari, wanting to see the fate of the person who dared interrupt Zero.

Freyana closed her eyes and muttered, "Good Lord, help her," already knowing where this would go.

Zero glanced up at Tari. The moment he saw her, he let go of Freyana's hair and turned fully to Tari. His mood shifted from sadistic to zero.

Freyana stared at Tari with pleading eyes.

"How dare you hold a woman's hair like that? What did she even do to you?" Tari questioned, glaring daggers at him.

Zero stayed silent. He didn't respond, nor did he move from his spot. He just stared at Tari with those soulless eyes.

"Tari, what are you doing. Shut up," Freyana tried to caution her.

"Look, I don't care who the fuck you are here, or what you are not. I won't stand and tolerate seeing a fellow woman getting bullied and not do anything about it," Tari said, stepping closer, even when she was shaking inside; she refused to back down.

She was just inches away from Zero, and gosh, he was way taller than her. Like tall, tall.

"Now you will stay the fuck away from her, because the next time I see you bully this girl, I will hit you in the balls," Tari threatened. The Veinhillers passing by gasped. Some were already recording.

She grabbed Freyana's wrist and pulled her, but Freyana refused to get up.

"Apologize to him, now," Freyana pleaded, she couldn't even look up at Zero and just stared at Tari.

"Get up, bitch," Tari barked. Freyana pulled herself up.

"No," Freyana argued.

"Go."

All heads turned to the voice except Zero, who kept staring at Tari.

"Leave immediately," Butcher said.

He waved at Tari with a smile as he walked towards them. Tari threw a frown at him and pulled Freyana away.

"Tari, you've gotten me in deep shit, you should have kept quiet and just let him do whatever he wants," Freyana cried.

"Ungrateful bitch. I saved your ass, don't worry, he won't touch you again," Tari promised.

"Just because he kept quiet doesn't mean he won't do anything. He is already planning ways to punish you for embarrassing him. Tari, you've gotten us both in deep shit," Freyana said.

"A thank you would do," Tari rolled her eyes.

Butcher nudged Zero's arm.

"Come on, Z, you just came back. Let the girl breathe," Butcher said.

Zero totally ignored him. He just kept staring at Tari's retreating back till she was out of sight with Freyana.

"You know that chick is off limits, right?" Butcher whispered into his ear.

Zero turned to him with the same zeroed-out expression, then walked away. The Veinhillers turned on their heels and ran away as he walked past.

Butcher smacked his lips.

"Prideful jerk," he muttered, and turned away.