DISCLAIMER: The Marauders are not mine, and I don't want them. Vinnie and the Giaine in general ARE mine, however, so please ask before using them. I'm not in any way making money off this, just trying to expand my authorial horizons a bit.

Running...

He couldn't get away, of course. He knew that. But he had to try.

Vinnie was a Giaine...a member of a slave-race from the land he knew only as "home." His master had brought him to this strange, cold country on a business trip. The men whom Master had come to meet hadn't liked his deal, so they killed him. The terrified slave-boy had hidden, and run away when the men left.

Breath comes hard...

He had been cold and hungry on the streets, but then, he had always been cold and hungry. Far worse was being alone. From birth, the Giaine were taught that God had made them slaves to punish them for some long-ago crime. If a Giaine was a good slave, and was obedient to his or her Master, they would go to heaven. If, on the other hand, a Giaine died free...

But that hadn't happened -- instead, the Morlocks had found him. They had given him a name, and had been kind to him. Callisto was the leader -- and Vinnie had understood that this meant she was his new owner. She was a good mistress.

Heart pounding...

But now the monster-people had come, and started killing everyone. Vinnie's only mutant ability was an eidetic memory -- he was essentially a walking filing-cabinet. So he had run. He was still running.

"Going somewhere, waste?" A clenched fist slapped him against a wall.

They had found him.

The cold/cruel leader-one snarled at Vinnie, as he cowered back against the wall. Another man holding a spear stood beside him, along with a strange-looking woman.

"Well, scum?" she said contemptuously. "Any last words? Pleas for your life?"

Vinnie's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Like all Giaine, he had been rendered unable to speak as a child.

Why are you doing this? he signed.

"A fucking dummy," the other man spat. He raised his spear.

A big, clawed hand slapped it away. The lion-man glared at the one with the spear. "Yer stupid, Harpoon," he snarled. "Or are ya just blind?"

"We have our orders, Sabretooth," Leader-one said harshly. "Kill it and move on. Or are you getting weak in your old age?"

"This one's different from the rest o' the scum." The lion-man squatted and looked Vinnie in the eyes. Vinnie tried to press tighter against the wall, to get away from that cold, cruel gaze. Lion-man enjoyed the death. Savored it. It was a look the Giaine knew only too well.

Lion-man lifted his hands, and signed. Where is your master?

Dead.Vinnie responded, his hands shaking almost too badly to form the shapes.

You know what will happen to you if we kill you now?

Yes. I will go to hell. Giaine must have a Master.

"What are you doing?" the woman demanded impatiently. "What's so good about this one?"

"It's a Giaine." Sabretooth shrugged. "They're born slaves. Their only purpose in life is to obey orders. They'll cut their own throats if their master tells them to. No fear of death."

"Then why is it so scared?" Arclight demanded contemptuously.

"His master's dead. He's afraid that if he dies now, he'll go to hell." Sabretooth laughed. It was an ugly sound. "See, they think that if they obey orders, they'll go to heaven. If they don't, they'll go to hell. If they die free, their god will turn his back on them, and they'll go to hell forever."

Vinnie looked from one to the other, wondering what they would do to him. Whatever it was, he hoped it would be over quickly.

We can give you a new master, the lion-man offered.

Vinnie stared. You?

No. The one who pays us might want a slave. Do you have any powers?

I remember everything. A desperate hope suddenly filled the boy. I am a good slave. I always do as I am told.

"Well now." Sabretooth stared appraisingly at the shivering brat.

"What are you saying?" Harpoon demanded.

"I told him I might be able to find him a new master." Sabretooth shrugged, standing up.

"Why would Sinister want that?" Arclight's voice was filled with disgust.

"Because, you stupid slut, Giaine are almost impossible to get," Sabretooth snarled. "I've tried before. They're absolutely loyal to their owners, they'll do whatever they're told, and they're all mutes, so they can't tell tales, but most o' them don't live long outside their homeland. Them that do are worth more on the black-market than what all of us together are earnin'."

"If that's true, Sinister might be interested," Scalphunter agreed. "If you want to, I won't stop you from taking it back with us -- but if Sinister doesn't like it, you're on your own." He turned away, bored.

Stay here, Lion-man signed. I'll come back for you...as soon as I finish your friends. He laughed again, and loped away.

Vinnie obeyed the order automatically, as he did any instruction. Huddled against the stone, he shivered as he heard the dying screams of those who had taken him in.

A tiny fraction of his mind said -help them-

-no- the rest of him answered. -we were ordered to stay here-

-they helped us-

-we were ordered-

-we owe them-

-we cannot disobey-

The other voice, the dangerous, frightening, challenging voice, fell silent.

Vinnie did as he had been ordered, and stayed there.

Vinnie nodded, holding out his report. Sinister took it, and scanned the neatly typed pages.

"Acceptable." Sinister nodded. "You are doing your job thoroughly."

Vinnie nodded again, making no other motion.

"With your assistance, my experiments on the remaining Morlocks will go much faster than I had anticipated." Sinister smiled his shark's smile.

Helplessly, Vinnie nodded a third time.

-they were our friends-

-we must obey our master-