The Eden Projects (EDITING)

Chapter 3. So Below.

Kasper's wagon was full. He had spent nearly all the money that had been given to him just hours earlier. Zero clutched a brand new helicopter toy in one hand and a small superhero action figure in the other. Both were the kind of toys kids coveted in drive-thru lines—cheap, shiny, and eye-catching. It had been sitting on an endcap at checkout. How could he say no? The toy was perfect, and with some maneuvering, the hero fit (albeit sideways) inside the helicopter, much to Zero's delight. He called it his new best friend. He had many best friends, all plastic, none a true companion, but they were good listeners, and he appreciated that.

There weren't many kids who would ever want to hang out with anyone from the Farrow House, or parents that would let them. Lest they catch some communicable disease; or a lesser demonic entity ferry their souls away in exchange for something as cold and unfeeling as his family. Now that would be torment. Kasper thought of himself as fairly clean in comparison to the rest of its occupants. He didn't have demons, at least, the kind that could do real harm. His were the quiet, malignant sort. He wasn't some wild animal. Wild, well, yes. They all were. But an animal. Not yet. He thought. Not yet.

Not. 

Yet.

Various canned goods and bottles of juice jostled in the old wagon. He could, with unwavering confidence say it would last them some time given Adam and Eva didn't find it in a ganja zombie-craze.

"Pretty good haul today huh." Kasper pushed the pathetic bike along the sidewalk towards home.

"Yeah, a good-pretty haul." Zero copied back as he slowed to rifle through some of the bags.

Throwing the kickstand down he helped Zero dig through the bulkiest of the bags. A small box of animal crackers was the prize. Kasper watched Zero chew them limb by limb as they walked on. Taking extra care to savor each bite and nibble. His's mouth watered thinking about them. He wasn't hungry, not enough to take one.

"Kassie, what if we eat all this food right now. Then we don't even have to hide it."

"That's just not the way it works..." When Zero called him Kassie, it was somehow less offensive than when others did. He actually liked the sound of it. There was a kind part of Kasper that he reserved for Zero. It was small. But so was Zero.

"But I promise I won't be hungry again for-" He quieted. "- a hundred years plus twelve." He held out his hands, pointing to his fingers. He had held up four. Not even close to the number he was trying for. Education was a loitering pastime that no one from Farrow house gave a second glance. It was pointless. Most of their needed skills were based on eyeballing and weight. 

"A hundred huh."

"Yeah!" He skipped for a moment before pausing to dig out another cracker. He was busy playing with the red rope handle on the box, twisting it around the action figures legs like a snare.

As he rounded the last corner, Kasper detached the bike and maneuvered it into the underbrush. With the wagon in tow, they crossed the barren lawn and quietly entered the backyard. "This is why we can't consume everything at once. Your body requires food for energy, and we need to stretch this out so we can have energy for a longer time." he explained. It was a classic rationale for the necessity of food for survival. A mindset lost on a tiny terror like Zero. "If we eat it all now, I won't have enough energy to play later." He removed the food and wrapped it in a blanket that was lying on the back porch. "...and if mom and dad find this, I won't be able to play for quite a while. Is that what you want?" After looping the rope several times, Kasper tossed the end up toward the roof.

Zero was quiet for a moment before he began again. "No... because of your arm again?"

"Yeah." He remembered the pain of being shoved down the stairs, and hearing his bone snap like a dead branch bashed against a towering tree. "That's why we're gonna hide it."