“You trust those girls, right?” Omar asks, and I can’t remember if he’s met either of my friends before. But I immediately know the answer.
“With my life.”
“How was the drive?” Mia says, her red hair standing in stark contrast to the verdant surroundings as we jump out of the car and come to meet her.
“Oh very scenic,” I say. “But, um, where are we?”
Olivia joins us and gestures to a path that leads further into the trees. “Come see. You’ll love it.”
Through the forest we walk, for what must be close to another mile.
“I didn’t know there were any settlements in this area,” Omar says, and I have no idea how he has the breath. I can barely keep up as he and the girls push on through the foliage. The wolves from the van went ahead of us and we’ve already lost sight of them.
“We like to stay hidden,” Olivia says, from her place in front.
“We?” I ask.
“We call ourselves the Pixie Tribe,” Mia says. “But that’s sort of a joke.”
“So it’s like a camp or . . . ?”
“More of a commune,” Mia continues. “For queer rogues, radicals, and wolves without homes.”
Olivia doesn’t turn around but adds, “We’ve been with the Pixies for about three months now.”
“So do you both think of yourselves as rogues?”
Olivia’s shoulders tense, but Mia, who’s walking by my side, just shrugs.
“Not so much, but we believe in the mission of the Pixies.”
“And what’s that?” Omar asks, and I can tell he’s wondering why a rogue commune would attack another rogue settlement.
“The Pixies’ goal is to create a safe environment for the wolves who are ostracized from society, whether that be by packs or rogues,” Olivia says.
“And you use explosives to do this?” Omar asks.
Olivia turns her head ever so slightly but doesn’t look back. “We use whatever means are necessary.”
“So the alpha rogues . . . ?” I ask.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on them for a while,” Mia says, pushing a stray branch out of her path. “We knew they were planning on aligning themselves with the Axis Pack. That rally you ended up at, they’d been planning it for weeks. If we didn’t stop them last night they would have marched right to Walter and that would have not been good.”
“So you blew up their homes?” Omar asks, clearly growing more and more uncomfortable with how the Pixies conduct their business.
I can’t say I wholly disagree, but those same rogues were about to deliver me to the man I fear the most. I may not agree with blowing up people’s homes but I’m sure as hell glad to have been rescued.
Olivia on the other hand is less understanding. She stops in her tracks and spins on her heel to face us.
“If you knew the shit the other Pixies have been through you might care less about a few trailers. We went after their property not those assholes themselves. You think they’d be as generous?”
Omar puts up both hands.
“Whoa, hey, I get it. Believe me. And thanks, you know, for the save.”
With a huff Olivia turns back to the path and continues walking. Mia wraps her hand around my arm and gives it a little squeeze.
We finish the walk in silence, eventually emerging from a spot in the path where the trees thin out a little. It’s not so much a clearing but a series of gaps where tents are set up and shade cloths are strung between trees. There are also platforms built into the branches, like tree houses, as well as hammocks and bridges linking one oak to another.
