Quiescence burst into the courtyard, Rove close behind. A quick glance told her everyone was in place. She headed over to the flight of stairs that led up to where Iluv and PW were sitting.
Silently PW handed Quiescence the binoculars, with a curious glance at Rove. Quie grabbed the binoculars, and peered through them at the approaching army. Her breath caught in her throat.
"So many," she muttered to herself. She lowered the binoculars. "Oh well, it changes nothing."
Rove risked a glance at Iluv, wondering what she was feeling. She shifted her quiver on her back, refusing to look at him. She knew what Quie had told him. Rove opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He didn't know what to tell her that could possibly offer her solace.
"Come," Quie's command interrupted his thoughts. "We must offer them a chance to surrender." A small smile played on her lips as she turned and descended the flight of stairs. Rove hesitated, then followed. By the time he had caught up with her, she was already shrugging herself into her armor. Rove followed her into the stables, unsure of what was going to happen.
"No Rove, you're not coming with me," Quie said without turning around. Silently the stable hand handed over her mount, then turned to prepare Sera's. Quie pulled herself up into the saddle, then turned to face Rove.
"You're too valuable to risk." She glanced back to see if Sera was ready. She was, and By Paul aged 5 was right beside her. Good, Quie thought. They could use a strong fighter beside them, just in case things turned ugly. She looked back at Rove.
"Go find Wild Thang. She'll give you something to do." She dug her heels into her mount and cantered towards the gates, which opened as she approached. Sera and By Paul aged 5 followed close behind.
Rove stared after them as the gates shut, then glanced around nervously. No one was around - they were all at their allocated positions, awaiting the impending battle. How was he going to find Wild Thang?
"She'll be in the armory," a voice behind Rove made him jump. He turned around to find himself face to face with the girl who had brought him here - Nigel?
"She'll be in the armory, allocating weapons," the girl said again. Rove frowned slightly. He couldn't help but notice how sad she seemed.
"Are you ok?" he asked. Nigel flinched slightly, as though he had hit her. She quickly tried to cover it up, by saying, "Battles make everyone stand on edge." Turning, she disappeared into the building behind her. Rove was about to go after her, but he realised that would probably be a bad idea. Women with emotional troubles are best left alone. Instead he wandered off to find the armory.

Quie rode at a canter towards the channel 7 army, trying to quell her nerves. A tent had hastily been prepared halfway in between the fort and the army, ready for negotiations. She pulled up outside the tent, and climbed off her mount. Sera and By Paul aged 5 followed suit, glancing around warily. This could easily be a trap.
Taking a deep breath, Quie entered the tent. A quick look around told her the army's leader hadn't yet arrived. She turned to one of the soldiers standing by the entrance.
"Where is your leader?" she demanded, ready to slit his throat should he answer her rudely, or with any disrespect.
"They have not arrived, sir!" the soldier barked, standing at attention. Quie nodded. She took a seat at the table that had been provided, in the middle of the tent. By Paul aged 5 and Sera stood behind her, ready for an attack should there be one.
Quie struggled to remember who was in charge, but came up with nothing.
"Sera," she glanced up at her second in charge. "Who's the leader of the Channel 7 army?" Sera stared at her blankly.
"I have no idea," she admitted.
"There's more than one," By Paul aged 5 offered. "But that's all I know." Quie sighed. Oh well, she'd find out soon enough.

Rove vaguely remembered where the armory was, but he hadn't really been paying attention when Quie had given him the tour, so he was a bit hazy on the details.
"Next to the mess hall?" he asked himself, wandering towards the building he knew to be the mess hall.
He opened the door and slipped inside. He was surprised to see someone sitting near the end of the vast room. As he got closer he could see that she was making arrows.
"Hello," he said politely. The girl looked up in surprise, but went back to what she was doing when she saw who it was.
"Hello," she replied cheerfully, fixing a feather into the shaft of one of the arrows. Rove sat down next to her.
"Can I help?"
She hesitated. "I doubt it. Have you ever done this before?" Rove shook his head. "Then you can't help. Sorry, but it takes a lot of practice." She gave him an apologetic smile, tightening the arrow shaft in her hands.
"Oh." He tried to change the subject. "So what's your name?"
She smiled again. "I go by Lolly-wren," she said. Rove frowned slightly. "Lolly-wren? That's um�kind of a weird name, don't you think?"
Lolly didn't look up from what she was doing. "Maybe," she said with a grin.
"Why do all the Fictioners have such strange names?" he asked, playing with one of the feathers on the table. Lolly took the feather out of his hand and rapped him lightly on the knuckles, just like a mother would strike a child sticking his fingers in cake mix.
"Because we kept the names we used on the Fic board," she said lightly, continuing on with her work.
"Oh." Rove rubbed his knuckles. Lolly smiled slightly.
"Sorry, but I can't have you playing with stuff. You might wreck it or something," she said with a chuckle. Rove remembered why he had come in here in the first place.
"Where's the armory?"
Lolly stopped what she was doing, and turned to look at him, suddenly serious. "Why do you want to go there?" she asked quietly.
"I'm meant to go see Wild Thang," Rove said hesitantly, unnerved by her change in behavior.
"She won't be in the armory," Lolly said firmly, turning back to her work.
"But this girl said�"
"She WON"T be in the armory," Lolly insisted, turning to glare at Rove.
"Okay, she's not in the armory," Rove agreed, slightly taken aback. Lolly nodded, satisfied with his answer.
"She's probably in the storage rooms," she said, suddenly back to her previous cheerful state. "You know -on the other side of the courtyard. AWAY from the armory," she added for emphasis.
Rove nodded and stood, spooked by her weird behavior. Why did she want him to stay away from the armory so badly? He was determined to find out.

Quie tapped her foot impatiently. She had been waiting for nearly ten minutes. Where were they? She sighed. She was bored.
"I brought cards," Sera said suddenly. Quie glanced up at her in surprise, then grinned.
"Well then what are you waiting for?" she laughed. "Deal us in!" Sera and By Paul aged 5 sat down opposite Quie, in the chairs that were apparently meant for the leaders of the Channel 7 army. Sera pulled the deck out from beneath her armor, and began to deal.
"Wanna play?" she asked the soldiers who were watching curiously from their places next to the tent flap. They shook their heads vigorously.
"We're not allowed to move from our allocated positions," one of them explained.
"We're not allowed to TALK either," another said pointedly. The first blushed, and shut his mouth.
"Do you carry a deck of cards to battle with you often, Sera?" By Paul aged 5 asked curiously. Sera blushed.
"Would you hold it against me if I said maybe?" she said.
Quie burst out laughing.
"Are you kidding? What on earth for?"
Sera went an even brighter shade of red. "After the battle I'm usually too tired to even move, but I get bored just lying there in the dirt, so I play�solitaire."
The leaders of the channel 7 army, approaching the tent, heard the laughter and were suddenly afraid. Were they dealing with lunatics? Bracing themselves, they entered the tent.

Rove peered cautiously around the courtyard, to be sure no one was watching, then quickly slipped out of the mess hall and trotted across to the building he suspected to be the armory. He was just about to open the door, when an arrow shot into the ground next to his feet. He jumped in surprise, then glanced up to see Iluv standing at the top of the wall, watching him.
"I was just�uh�" Rove's expression betrayed his guilt, until he noticed that Iluv wasn't looking at him anymore. Suddenly he remembered what the arrow in the ground meant. He quickly dashed across the courtyard and grabbed hold of the alarm bell rope, ready to yank on it like crazy.
Two more arrows flew into the dirt, and Rove let out a relived sigh. He turned around, and began to climb the flight of stairs, curious to see who was coming.
When he reached the top, PW handed him the binoculars, not even glancing in his direction as he stared out over the plain. Iluv was settling back down on the wall, behind Rove. Rove squinted through the binoculars, the midday sun hurting his eyes. He gasped at what he saw.

Quiescence glanced up from her hand of cards and stared at the people who had just entered the tent. Her mouth fell open.
"YOU'RE the leaders of the Channel 7 army?" she asked, amazed. The Popstars looked at each other, then back at Quie.
"You were expecting maybe someone else?" the one with red hair asked. Quie shook her head, both to say no and to shake away the shock.
"Ah�no�" she said slowly. By Paul aged 5 and Sera had scrambled to their feet the second the tent flap had moved, and were now standing behind Quie, cards still in hand.
"Do you always play cards in negotiations for a war?" the black haired one asked, pointing at the deck.
Quie scowled. She wasn't about to be questioned by these nitwits.
"Yep, I do actually. Gets me in the right frame of mind," she said cheerfully. "You're lucky I do too, otherwise I would've grown bored waiting for you, and launched an attack on your army," she added pointedly.
The girls had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Sorry," the one with long brown hair and blue eyes muttered.
"You're forgiven," Quie said graciously. "Just don't let it happen again. Now, let's get down to business shall we?" she asked, indicating that the Popstars take a seat.
"Thank you," they chorused, forgetting that they owned both the tent and the chairs. The soldiers standing behind them tried hard to stifle their giggles, only barely managing.
The blonde one opened her mouth to begin.
"Now," Quie interrupted her. "If you surrender your army to me, and return to channel 7 from whence you came, I shall let you live. You will be unharmed. None of your troops shall be harmed, although they will probably end up fighting against you when we take over Channel 7 studios," she mused. "They could get hurt then, but we won't hurt them now."
The Popstars stared at her incredulously.
"But we outnumber you 4 to 1!" the one with brown hair and brown eyes protested. Quie looked at her curiously.
"Which one are you again?" she asked, knowing it would provoke them. "I never watched the show, so I'm afraid I don't know any of your names."
The girls spluttered and went bright red, flustered. The blonde one pointed at herself.
"I'm Sophie, that's Tiffany," she said pointing at the one with black hair, "that's Belinda," she pointed at the one with long brown hair and blue eyes, "that's Sally," she pointed at the other brown haired one, "and that's Katie." She pointed at the last girl, who had short red hair. (authors note - it took me forever to find someone who actually knew which name belonged to who, or even knew what the names were! I had no fucking idea! So I hope you appreciate my effort! lol)
"Whatever," Quie hadn't even listened to her explanation. "Are you going to hand over your army or what?"
"Of course not!" the blonde one cried, shocked.
"Good!" Quie said happily. "Then we war!"

"It's Wil!" Rove cried, lowering the binoculars to stare at he oncoming speck. PW nodded absently, frowning.
"I wonder why he's coming," he muttered. Rove glanced sideways at PW. Good point, he thought. He'd better go ask that girl who had brought him here. They had seemed pretty close, so she would want to know he was coming anyway. Rove handed the binoculars back to PW and raced down the stairs.
Iluv watched him go, then glanced at PW.
"Where do you think he's running off to?" she asked. PW shrugged.
"Dunno. Think there's something he's not telling us?"
Iluv stared thoughtfully at the wall.
"It's probably something to do with Wil," she said. "Think I should follow?" PW considered the idea before shaking his head.
"No, we need your bow skills up here," he replied reluctantly. "I'll follow." He climbed to his feet and quickly followed Rove down the stairs, making no sound as he moved.

Quie jumped to her feet enthusiastically, and raced for the tent flap, Sera and By Paul aged 5 close on her heels.
"Wait!" the blonde one cried. Quie hesitated then sighed, turning around to face them.
"You'll get massacred!" the red haired one protested. Quie shrugged.
"Whatever you reckon," she turned to the soldiers standing in the door. "Do you wanna stay with these wusses, or come with us and have some real fun?"
The two soldiers glanced at each other, then at the Popstars, who were staring at them incredulously.
"Ah, fuck it!" they chorused together, pulling their swords from their holsters. The one on the left brought his long sword crashing down on the Popstar with brown hair and blue eyes, splintering her head in two. The one on the right brought his up out of his holster and straight through the Popstar with brown hair and brown eyes in one swift motion, spilling her intestines onto the ground.
Before the other three had even a remote chance to react, Quie, Sera and By Paul aged 5 were on them like a tonne of bricks. (author's note - I know that sounds clich�, but I couldn't think of anything else to put there)
Sera whipped out the tiny flick knife she kept up her sleeve, grabbing the Popstar with black hair and slitting her throat, watching coolly as she slid to the floor with a gurgle. By Paul aged 5 reached behind her and in one movement, yanked the mace that had been strapped to her back up and down, smashing the Popstar with red hair's skull and crushing it.
Quie's dagger was in her hand in a flash as she pounced towards the last remaining Popstar. The blade was against the girl's throat before she could even blink, but she didn't kill her.
"Guess what?" she said, her voice menacingly low. "You're gonna be our ticket out of this tent without an army down our backs."
Sera and By Paul aged 5 grinned, their broad smiles matching those on the faces of their two new recruits. The blonde Popstar just whimpered.

Rove clambered down the stairs, anxious to see Wil, and also to talk to that girl who had brought him here. Her name still escaped his memory. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, momentarily forgetting which building she had disappeared into. Thinking back, he recounted what had happened, and turned to the building she had gone in.
PW frowned slightly when Rove vanished into one of the buildings, instead of rushing off to greet Wil. Weren't they friends? He followed silently, determined to find out what was going on.
Nigel glanced up, surprised when Rove came bustling into the sound room (remember this is a tv studio).
"What's wrong?" she asked warily, wondering at his hurry.
"Wil's coming," Rove blurted. Nigel froze.
"Here?" she said, her voice barely a whisper. "He's coming here? Now?"
Rove nodded.
Slowly Nigel sat down on the ground. Worried, Rove knelt down beside her. He had been expecting her to rejoice, but she looked terrified.
"Don't you want to see him?" he asked uncertainly. Nigel turned and looked at him as though he had just asked her what a billion times a squillion was. The worried, "how the fuck am I supposed to know" look.
"He�I�he�" she stammered.
"Hey, it wasn't meant to be a trick question," Rove replied quietly, trying to be light. Slowly, she nodded.
"I'll�I'll come with you to see him," she said finally.
They climbed off the floor and turned to find PW standing in the doorway, watching them.

Quie peered out of the tent flap, quickly surveying the army. She pulled her head back inside.
"Okay, we're not surrounded, but they are on three of the four sides," she informed her followers. She frowned, starring at the ground.
"This could be tricky."
"Not if they don't see us," one of the soldiers ventured. Quie looked up, interested.
"There's a series of tunnels under this entire plain," the soldier explained. "We were planning on using them to ambush you, but they don't go anywhere."
"There's one right below us?" Quie asked. The soldier nodded. Quie grinned.
"Excellent."
Sera raised her hand, as though she was in a classroom.
"Yes Sera," Quie said, a bemused expression on her face.
"If we're going out through these tunnels, and don't need a hostage anymore," she said, "what're we gonna do with her?" she jerked her thumb at the blonde Popstar, who was lying tied up in the corner. Quie shrugged.
"She's of no further use to us," she replied simply. An evil smile spread across By Paul aged 5's face.
"I hate to leave loose ends," she suggested. Quie laughed and nodded. Sera tossed By Paul aged 5 her flick knife. The last remaining Popstar began to sob through her gag, as By Paul aged 5 casually walked over to her, the others watching in curious detachment.
With a flick of the wrist, the Popstars were no more.
"C'mon," Quie waved her followers together. "We have to get out of here pretty damn quick." They used a few of the chair legs to dig under the top soil of the plain. Lucky for them, the tunnels weren't far beneath the surface.
Quie wiped her brow as she threw down the chair leg. They were through. She glanced up at the others.
"Let's go."
One by one they jumped into the hole.

PW looked from one to the other, waiting for an explanation. Rove opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shout from the courtyard. All three ran outside.
Wil was standing in the middle of the courtyard, climbing down off his horse. He handed the reins to the stable hand, who quickly led the panting mount away. Wil smiled when he saw Rove and Nigel and hurried over to greet them. Nigel watched him approach, her eyes wide.
"Heard you guys were going to war," he said casually. "Couldn't let you have all the fun without me." Rove opened his mouth to say something but was cut off (there seems to be a lot of that happening doesn't there?) by an arrow landing at his feet. They all looked up to see Iluv beckoning to them. Moving as one, they raced up the stairs.
PW pulled his binoculars from his belt, and lifted them up, peering at the cloud of dust that indicated riders were approaching.
"It's Quie," he said. Iluv frowned. There was too much dust for only three people to be returning.
"Who else?" she asked.
PW lowered the binoculars.
"Sera and By Paul Aged 5, and two more guys I don't know," he said. He turned to Iluv. "Why did you let them get so close before you sounded the alarm?" he asked curiously.
Iluv scratched her head.
"I'm not sure. One second I look out, and there's no one there - the next, they nearly on top of us," she answered, perplexed.
"It wasn't Iluv's fault," Wil ventured. "There's a maze of tunnels running under the plains. They probably just used one of those."
"Oh."

Quie didn't slow her horse down until they were safely inside the studios. She reined in her breathless mount, climbing off and handing it over to the stable hand. What was her name? Michetti? Something like that anyway. Sera, By Paul aged 5 and the new recruits followed suit.
They were greeted by PW, Nigel, Rove, and Quie was surprised to see Wil was there as well.
"We have no time to waste," Quie said, recovering quickly. "The Channel 7 army is without a leader at the moment, but it's only a matter of time before they get organised and start to attack." She turned to Sera. "Call a MOSH meet now!"

~~~ A short time later ~~~

"We have to move fast. Speed is of the essence." Quie briefed the Fictioners. "Tonight we attack and try to quell their numbers, to even out the odds a bit. We'll move in threes." She held up a list in her hand.
"Listen up, cos I'm only going to tell you these once. Funk You, By Paul aged 5 and Sparky will go together. Nigel, and Wil, you're with Rove. Iluv, PW and�" she was cut off as a wild stallion scream sounded from the courtyard, followed by several shouts. The Fictioners stared at each other, then got up and moved towards the door.
They were just about to open it when it burst open, knocking them all back. A woman stood in the doorway, her hair steaming behind her, and her eyes wild. A dark cloak billowed around her, adding a dramatic effect.
"Do I know how to make an entrance or what?" she asked with a smug smile. The Fictioners stared at her.
"Who are you?" Quie demanded.
"Gadfly!" PW cried. Gadfly grinned at him.
"Heya PW," she greeted him cheerfully. She laughed as he raced over and knocked her to the floor in a big hug.
"But how?" he asked, backing up so she could get back on her feet. She shrugged.
"Shamans are hard to kill I guess," she replied with a chuckle. (author's note: a shaman is a type of wizard/witch for those of you who don't know)
"An explanation please?" Quie said, her voice conveying her annoyance. PW blushed, and looked at Quie guiltily.
"Gadfly is�a friend. From a long time ago," he mumbled by way of explanation. Quie looked at Gadfly, who offered her hand. Quie shook it slowly.
"Okay. So we know who you are. Kind of," she added, shooting a glare at PW, who was studying the floor. "So what are you doing here?"
"Word travels fast," Gadfly shrugged. "I can help you."
Quie narrowed her eyes.
"What makes you think we need help?"
Gadfly regarded her coolly. "Only a fool would turn away an offer of help because she feels threatened," she said calmly. Quie opened her mouth to retort, but PW interrupted her.
"Don't be stupid Quie," he said. Quie stared at him in shock, as did everyone else. PW never spoke out of turn, unless he knew something important. "She's powerful enough to kill us all right now. We can use that to our advantage."
Quie looked at Gadfly in surprise. Tentatively she reached out with her mind, trying to probe Gadfly's thoughts.
"Don't do that," Gadfly said, shaking her head slightly. That settled it. Quie was convinced.
"Welcome aboard!" she said cheerfully, and a trifle nervously.
"Thanks," Gadfly grinned.
"Now where were we?"
"Gadfly can come with me and Iluv," PW offered. Quie considered it, then nodded.
"Okay, PW, Iluv and Gadfly go together. Jo, Verona and Wallflower, you guys are together. Pautiric and Starfish can team up with Fiona Rohana. Nicole, Groovychick and Toady. Sammy, Wild Thang and Cherub. Kwasi, Xavier and DMG can team up, and Spoofy and Unfrufru - you're with me. You guys all know what to do. Remember people - this isn't a stroll in the park. This is open slaughter." She scanned the crowd of grim faces before her. "Alright, let's do this."

The Fictioners waited until the cover of night to begin their assault. Once it was dark, they split into their allocated groups and slipped out the gate.

Funk You glanced at By Paul aged 5 and Sparky. She was glad she was with By Paul aged 5 - she was one if the strongest fighters among the Fictioners. And Sparky was a deadly shot when it came to the crossbow. Funk You turned her mind back on the task at hand.
Quie had organised the groups well - each contained a soldier for arm to arm conflict, an archer for distances, and a lurker for planning things out and stealth.
"How long til you think the others will be in position?" Sparky asked, shifting her quiver so it sat more comfortably on her shoulder. Funk You gazed out into the darkness. She couldn't see anything, but she knew that the rest of the Fictioners were creeping through the assorted tunnels beneath the plains. By Paul sharpened the flick knife Sera had given her, its raspy sound echoing slightly in the quiet.
"Dunno," she muttered. "A few hours at least."
By Paul glanced at Funk You. She was nervous about working with her again. Last time she had�well, she had felt some emotions she probably shouldn't be feeling. And it looked as though this time would be the same. She lowered her gaze to her flick knife, but she wasn't really concentrating on what she was doing; her mind was preoccupied. She hissed sharply as the blade slid across the stone and into her palm (for those of you out there who are brain dead when it comes to knives, you sharpen them with special stones). Funk You was by her side in an instant. Quickly, she tore a strip off her top, and wrapped it around By Paul's cut. By Paul swore loudly, gritting her teeth against the pain, but couldn't help noticing that Funk You's top now showed her stomach muscles.
"You should be more careful," Funk You said, concentrating on the wound. By Paul blushed, very aware that her face was inches away from Funk You's, as she fixed the make-shift bandage in place.
Sparky watched with interest. All the Fictioners knew about By Paul's feelings towards Funk You - there was even a bet running whether they would get together or not - but nothing had ever happened between them. Sparky wondered if that was about to change.
By Paul noticed Sparky watching her, and blushed even redder. Funk You got up, oblivious to the tension around her. By Paul sighed quietly. It was going to be a long night.

Iluv shifted on the large bough upon which she was sitting. No matter what anyone said - trees were fucking uncomfortable. She glanced over at PW, who was perched on the limb opposite her. He didn't look too happy either. Gadfly on the other hand was floating next to them, looking comfy as could be. Iluv scowled. She wished she was magic. She tried to think about something else.
"Do you remember take-away food PW?" she asked, letting her mind drift back to happier times.
"Yeah," his voice was just as wistful. "I used to have it every second night while I was working at Uni." Iluv smiled.
"When I was little, I used to live just down the road from both a Chicken Treat and a Hungry Jacks," she said.
Gadfly laughed.
"We sound like we're a million years old!" she said. "Back in my day�"she impersonated an old grandma. PW and Iluv chuckled.
"What do you miss the most Gadfly?" Iluv asked curiously. "You know, from before?"
Gadfly's eyes grew distant, as she too wandered back in time.
"A million little things. I miss cups of tea in the morning, soft toys, and shopping. I miss going to the movies, and popcorn, and heaters. Air-conditioning. Deodorant. CDs. Cereal. Walks through the park. All the stuff I took for granted."
PW and Iluv nodded. A silence fell between them, as they remembered all they had lost.
"I hated tea though," Iluv said suddenly. The other two looked at her as though she was crazy, then burst out laughing.

Jo sat at the base of a tree, idly watching as Verona and Wallflower played game after game of rock, paper, scissors. Suddenly she sat bolt upright, indicating for the other two to hide. They dove into the bushes and watched silently as one of the patrols from the Channel 7 army approached. As they got closer, the three could pick out parts of a conversation.
"What�going to do? We�have a leader�more!"
"Calm�doesn't matter�still outnumber�four to one."
Snickering. Wallflower looked at the others questioningly. Let them pass or kill them? An evil grin spread across both Verona's and Jo's faces.
"We're meant to be thinning their numbers, remember?" Jo whispered. Verona unsheathed her sword, a small shiver of delight running up her spine as the blade rasped slightly, a promise of the blood that would soon be spilt. (author's note: sorry Verona if you get offended, but I needed at least one bloodthirsty killer, and I just happened to choose you. *g*)
Wallflower nodded in agreement, and fitted an arrow into her bow. Jo slipped one of her many daggers out from her sleeve, absently testing it's sharpness with the tip of her thumb as she listened to the patrol approaching.
Jo slipped though the bushes silently, her feet making no noise, despite the debris that littered the ground. The other two watched her go. They couldn't follow without making at least some noise - only lurkers were that skilled.
"I hope she saves at least some of them for us," Verona whispered unhappily to Wallflower, who just grinned and nodded.
Jo's sharp eyes pierced the darkness easily, and she watched the patrol lumber forward, making a great deal of noise. They obviously didn't think they were in any danger. A cruel smile crept across her face. How wrong they were.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and began to squeal, sounding exactly like a wounded wild pig. The patrol stopped and listened, then began to grin at each other. Jo shook her head slightly at their predictability. No soldier ever passes up the promise of a free meal - but they should be at least a little cautious. She felt strangely cheated. This was going to be too easy.
Jo began to back up, rustling leaves and squealing, sounding every bit like a wounded boar, trying to escape. The soldiers didn't even think twice - they dived headlong into the bushes after her.
Of course when they appeared on the other side, all they saw was an empty thicket. They never even heard the Fictioners behind them until it was too late.