Stranger Spirits

Excerpt From the Outreach Project [Chapter Three Part Seven]

It was all just another ordinary day at Aucilla. The sky was devoid of clouds and light dust kicked up as I made my way to see Bruno, at the time we were still courting one another. I was nearing our meeting spot: the well at the edge of town when the usual group of boys came to insult me.

"Look what we have here. If it isn't our town's bastard Rosita." I held my bag containing the snacks I prepared for us tightly against my chest.

"Leave me alone." I didn't dare look them in the eyes as I continued walking away. I never chose to be born. If I had the choice I would have chosen a better upbringing. One with a whole family: an elegant mother and a father who at least knew that I existed. We aren't given that choice, though. We're born into situations that are beyond our control. The worst part is that some people find enjoyment in tearing others down. Not regarding their feelings.

"Don't be like that." The leader of the three guys, his name was Franko, sneered and took a step towards me. I tried to step back but realized that I was already standing against the well. The three ruffians had cornered me and there was nowhere I could go. No way that I could avoid the altercation.

"Leave me alone Franko." I was scared and was probably visibly shaking. I know that I'm not strong enough to defend myself against Franko let alone his friends too. "B-Bruno-"

"Isn't here." He smacked my parcel to the ground. "How about you do what your mother does best and get on your knees for us." Tears were welling in my eyes and I watched a tear fall onto the dusty ground.

"Ah!" Tears streaming down my face I looked up to see Franko slump to the ground. "She asked you kindly to leave her alone. Too bad I won't be as nice."

"Bruno?" I looked up from Franko to see that it was not Bruno but a young woman. I'd never seen her before. She looked to be roughly around my age though she appeared to be a couple inches taller than me. She had two small pigtails of dirty blond hair and two strands of hair falling along her cheeks. She was beautiful but what really caught my attention was that her honey-colored eyes showed a fierceness that I've never seen before. This raw look of strength that I knew I didn't possess.

"What the fuck?!" Franko groaned as he came to his feet. He turned to face the stranger and his friends did the same. I was frozen in place still trying to process what had just happened.

The girl rested her hands on her waist and firmly stated. "She told you to leave her alone, so go." Franko stepped towards her but she persisted by standing her ground.

"And if I don't?" He sneered baring his teeth. "What do you think you're going to do about that? Bitch." 

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Two random men that looked to be the girl's company rushed towards her side. One of them had a curly mop of brown hair and was lean while the other was taller and wider and had a thick beard.

"Mina, what are you doing?! We're only supposed to observe the foreigners." The bearded man hissed.

"The elders-" The other started when Mina raised her hand cutting the moppy-haired guy off.

"Fuck what the elders said." Mina glared at the burlier of the two men. "If this is part of their principles then I will gladly knock them off their asses." I flushed at her language. It was so crude and direct.

"I don't know who the fuck you are but you need to reign in your bitch." Franko spoke to the burly one.

"Excuse me?!" Mina bunched her hand into a fist.

"HIS?!" The lean guy beside the burly one screeched.

Franko spits at her. "You-" Barely starting his sentence Mina roundhouse kicked him and he slammed into Roger, one of his friends and they both fell to the ground.

"Call me a bitch again." She gazed at the only one standing as she wiped Franko's spit off her cheek. "Three's a lucky charm, right?"

"Fuck this. You outsiders aren't worth our time!" Franko yelped as the last friend standing scrambled to help them get up and the three ruffians ran off.

"Rosita!" I looked to my right to see Bruno, my love, running towards me. He cupped my face in his hands and brushed the last tear that hung on my cheek away. "I saw Franko and the other goons run past me and I got so worried."

"I'm fine. I'm good." I let out a breath of relief now that I was safely in Bruno's arms again.

"Is this how your society treats women? Pushing them into corners, degrading them, and possibly doing worse!" Mina folded her arms in front of her chest and looked at Bruno with a gaze that could cut the strongest of steel.

"No," Bruno sighed, stepped away from me and faced the girl who had saved me. "It's disgusting for a man to lay his hands on a woman like that." Bruno looked at me for a moment. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know your names. Anyone who leaves Franko limping away in fear deserves to be recognized."

"My name is Mina and I'M the one who handed him the limp."

Bruno let out a whistle and laughed. "Well ain't that something! You're a little spitfire missy! I respect that."

"Thanks." Mina relaxed a little. "Big guy over here is Tobias and the shorter guy's Kurt. We're from the Patricot Mountains on an outreach trip."

"People live in those mountains!" Bruno looked wide eyes as I just stared at them dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah. We have an entire society living there." Kurt chimed in.

"That's so fascinating." I joined the conversation. "All we know is that anyone who dares venture towards those mountains never returns." Finally remembering that my parcel had fallen I bent over and retrieved it. "I'm so sorry love, Franko knocked our snacks down on the floor." I looked down embarrassed. Standing before me was some foreigner who had taken down a set of bullies and here I was holding a dirty parcel of food.

"Thank you Peaches," Bruno kissed my cheek and it reddened where his lips had been. "The fact that you spent time making us something is more than enough." His eyes lingered on mine and then he turned once more to Mina and her friends. "Thank you, Mina, Toby, and Kurt. If not for you, only the Gods know what would have happened. Let me repay you all by treating you all out for some foods at Tagano's. It's a local Inn that also serves food."

"Sounds good to me. I'm starving!" Mina beamed and the other guys nodded.

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And there you have it: the story of how Rosita and Bruno met Kurt and Mina! We are going to continue the story as if Rosita was telling Vaughn all of this.

I'm super happy that we got to complete episode one on the webtoon today! The next episode will show more of the other characters that we have already met so make sure to stay tuned!

As always; have a great week, follow my account for updates, like, and comment what you think of the story so far!

-Ryan