Swamped Chapter 16 Page 6

Can’t help you if you miss your stuffed bear or something like that.

It’s been years since you thought about your bear. You’d kept it with you all this time, right up until the theater fire.

You wonder how things might have been different if you’d been able to turn to it for comfort. You didn’t feel like you had anyone in those days. Father was gone, Henry was too distant, and Sandra had vanished too.

It would be nice to have now, too. Granted, you’re not feeling so alone any more; but you can’t exactly talk to your fellow Bogknights easily. There’s too much distance between the cells, and there’s always a guard telling you to quiet down.

Suddenly, Doc stops. You stumble a bit in surprise, and then you see Mary Baker scrubbing the floor, with her hands chained together.

“The hell are you doing, Grips?” she yells at a nearby Marshguard. “If you’ve got time to watch a prisoner work, you’ve got time to work yourself. Take her back to the cells.”

“Hey, now, I’m doing her a favor,” Grips protests, a smirk on her face. “She was feeling too cooped up in her cell. So, I let her out in exchange for doing a little work for me. There’s no harm in it, long as I keep a close eye on her.”

“You’re a damn fool, Grips, but lecturing you about why can wait. Get up, Bogknight.”

Mary reluctantly picks herself up. It doesn’t look easy with the chains.

“Lead her back, Grips. I can’t watch two of these fools by myself.”

“Bah, you’re such a spoilsport, Doc.”

“You’re getting off lightly because you’re new. Whoever thought it was a good idea to let you put a prisoner to work, though, they don’t get that excuse.”

Mary gives you a quick glance. She mouths “I have a plan” to you silently while the Marshguards are busy talking.

Should you let her go ahead with it? Or signal her to stand down?

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Suggestions:

signal her to stand down with a roadside flare

Actually, maybe you can convince them to let you help out around their base. You only have 1 arm and they’re short staffed as it is. You’re not much of a threat and honestly…even as a prisoner everyone has been pretty nice to you. You wouldn’t mind helping out a bit.