Jacks And Jokers

19: The Lost Card Stack

"Ash, you might need to send out for your search team, cause they'll most likely come back empty handed." The red-haired kid said to Ash.

"Thanks Igni. I'll take these new jokers to their huts. Meanwhile, I need you to send a scout to retrieve the search unit. I would prefer them back before dark." Ash said as he walked closer. Ash's voice was deeper than I expected for a kid his age.  As he got closer I realized he was a couple inches taller than me. "You 8 can follow me." He said pointing at the remainder of jokers.

When he said that I realized I'd never counted how many of us there were. Had there been an incident beforehand I never would've known. Without thinking I slowly started drifting towards Ash.

"Hey Ash. Are you the leader here?" I asked him. 

He looked at me quizzically and then said, "There are no leaders here, but as far as anyone cares, yes. There's a somewhat complex system of respect that is held within the city limits and I'm pretty much the top of that hierarchy. Not to difficult." He looked down at me as if asking if I understood making me nod. 

"So if people respect oth-" I was immediately cut off by someone shoving me aside. It was a dirty haired blonde that was in our group. 

"This place is really cool. Did you design it?" The girl asked inching close to him. The rest of the conversation I heard behind them.

"No," he said looking down at her. She was about 6 inches shorter than him, but she kept up his pace with her short strides. "A majority of the buildings I don't even have to worry about unless someone asks my opinion on it. Most of the buildings are designed by Hic. He's pretty much the architect around here."

I then noticed the scar on Ash's neck that went from his right shoulder to the left side of his hairline. "Maybe you'll have to show me around the place later." The blonde haired girl said.

"What's your name?" Ash asked smiling. He again turned to address the girl to his right.

"Brittany. You can call me B though." She said. Ash started approaching a hut.

"Well Brittany, how about I show you to your hut?" Ash said as he opened the door of the hut. For some reason I was relieved he was no longer speaking to Brittany. 

"The rest of you can choose amongst yourselves which huts you want to be in." He said as Brittany entered her own hut. 

All of the & other jokers looked around and spread out. The huts he allowed us to choose from were all in a circle. I decided to go to a hut that was mildly small and blue. When I opened the door I was greeted by a very open hut. There was a small table with room for a few people to sit next to, a small wood burning stove, and a dilapidated couch. One wall was blocking the rest of my new home, so I decided to enter there. 

After entering the new room I noticed a bed. Next to that bed there was a small night stand. Walking over I opened a drawer to reveal a small book, a 'Bible', some mouse poop, and a pencil. 

"I'll admit, this was my favorite house that Hic made for the new people." I jumped at the sound of Ash's deep baritone voice. Not even a millisecond later I put up my hands in a defensive position. My heart was racing for and I felt clammy all of a sudden. "Don't be startled, I'm not gonna kill you. I just thought we could talk."

I looked him up and down and lowered my hands. He didn't look aggressive so I started to calm down. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked. 

He slowly gestured to the room that had the couch and walked out of what I assumed was the bedroom. I followed him in quick pursuit through the curtain/door and found him sitting at the table. 

"Sit down please." He stated. I slowly pulled out a chair and sat dow. "So what's your name?" He asked as he crossed his legs.

"John." I said. I slightly wriggled in my seat. 

"John, there's no need to be nervous. Just calm down and lets talk." He said. I couldn't help but be soothed by his deep, calming voice. I took a deep breath in and exhaled slightly more calm than I was before.

When I collected enough nerve I finally asked, "You didn't come to ask me for just my name did you? What do you really want to know?" 

He nodded at these words. "Yes, I didn't just come to ask for your name." He sighed and finally continued. "From the brief conversation we had, I couldn't quite tell wether you're taking charge, or if you trying to take charge." He held a large emphasis on the word take.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked quizzically.

"All I know is that there have never been this many jacks disposed of in one year. Usually there are only three or four, but this year there have been 8? I just want to know if you're trying to take charge." He paused for a second. I started to get a little unsettled by his use of words. 

"I know it's a weird and rude thing to suspect a fellow joker of anything wrong," He said lightheartedly as he stood up. He soon started walking over to me and started talking in a more grave tone. "But I have my eyes on both you," he patted my back and whispered the final words in my ears. "and all your little group. Try anything, and I will feel no remorse feeding you to what your old people call bent cards."

He started to walk out of the hut and turned around one last time and said, "Dinner is right before sunset, don't be late." And he left. The malice in his tone left me a little more unsettled as I started settling into bed for a nap. Tonight was going to be stressful.

This chapter is a tad bit shorter, but I hope it was good. If there's anything y'all noticed that was spelled wrong or incorrect please tell me. If you voted, here's a cookie. 🍪