The Untouchables

Chapter Fifteen: Luke

The next morning, Lynn opened her burlap bag, and distributed what she brought back from the town, and camp was finally coming together. She passed out new, black clothes, as well as black boots.

All of the kids ran off in separate directions to go and change out of their soggy, gray, smoke-scented pajamas, into their new clothes, leaving Lynn and I setting up the blankets into "beds".

"How did you find all of this?" I asked, as I took one side of the large tapestry she brought. "Surely it wasn't sitting out on the street, waiting to be taken."

She sighed as she took the other half. "They were in the Tailor shop. And in the deserted houses."

We pulled the blanket, and set it on the ground, marking the space some of the kids would be sleeping until we found something better.

"Everything was deserted." She continued. "It wasn't like I could pay for any of this either."

"So now you're a thief?" I said jokingly. But instead of laughing, her face turned incredibly red.

"I couldn't pay for it." She said again. "And if I had to choose between survival or paying for soup? I'd choose survival."

I sighed. "You have a point." I agree, not wanting to make her feel any more embarrassed. "I guess it was better that there weren't any employees."

We heard the giggling of the children echoing through the trees as we set out a few more blankets.

"So everyone's gone?" I asked quietly.

Just as I finished asking, the hoard of kids came barreling back into the camp in their new clothes.

Amidst that, Lynn just gave a small nod to answer me. So subtle, that none of the other kids noticed our conversation.

So everyone was really gone. Except for the Rangers of course. But that means these kids may no longer have any parents. It's probably better if they didn't, because if they were taken by Rangers, and kept alive, they're probably being tortured. So for theirs and the kids' sake, I hoped they were dead.

That may not be morally correct, but I really didn't want to think of what they were going through if they were still alive. And it might give the kids more clarity if they just knew they were dead. Just so they wouldn't be waiting for them to come home one day.

Thankfully, none of the kids seemed concerned about that right now. We'd tell them when the time came, but for now, we're going to let them enjoy their time here, even if they think this is temporary.

The children were talking about how comfortable their new clothes were, and how they thought they looked like the ninjas from the old books some of their parents kept in the house. I had to agree, they all looked exceptionally stealthy, which was the point. It was easier to blend in with the sleek black of their new clothes, than the colorful print of their pajamas.

After we finished setting out the blankets, all of the kids engaged in a sort of turf war. Claiming and arguing which blanket would have who, and where they would get to sleep.

After lots of arguing, a girl who introduced herself as Arianna, stood up on a large rock, and addressed the group.

"Everybody!" She shouted, and everybody immediately turned, and looked up at her. "Girls over here, boys over there."

Oddly, but obediently, everyone separated into their respective groups, and awaited further instructions.

"Now everyone find a friend you want to sleep with." And again, everyone followed her instructions, and found partners. Then, she went back and forth between the boys and girls, assigning them to a blanket. She'd put one group per blanket, and three groups at the large tapestry.