The Lost ( A Sequel To The Forgotten )

Taken By Axle

For a hour or so, I stay awake. I can tell that there are wheels on my cage, because there are bumps as we move. In the first couple minutes, I shout for my friends. After shouting a few times, Axle's voice threatens to cut out anything that makes noise. I tactically withdraw.

I must have dozed off, because all of a sudden, I can hear Axle's voice.

"Hey, boy. We got an, ah, issue with another item. We gots to stop, and I know from the past that you needs to stretch and eat and all that. So you gots until I say to be out of that cage, you hear? If you run, I guarantee you won't live a day." There's a sound of metal being turned, and then the curtain around my cage flies off. I blink rapidly as sunlight floods the cage. Once my eyes have adjusted, a surprising sight hits my eyes. We're in a desert, for starters. There are dozens of cages and tents on wheels all around. People walk around, their appearances ranging greatly. Old and young, rich-looking and tattered all walk around. There are also a few creatures, all being led by humans. There are birds bigger than I am, massive lizards, and things that I would call Trolls. (Large, muscular brutes with harnesses.)

After taking in the sight, I notice that the door of my cage is opened a crack. Remembering Axle's warning, I push the door all the way open and climb out. I stretch my arms and legs, and wonder what to do. Before I can decide, a man with goggles that are too big and a sandy robe walks over to me.

"Greetings, child! Welcome to Odds And Ends!" Then, leaning towards me, he adds, "You are new, correct?"

"Um, yeah," I answer. The man grins widely.

"Ah, that's grand! I do love a new attraction. I bet you're wondering what the heck is going on!" The man's speech is fast, and leaves no time for questions.

"Well, wonder no more! Name's Double. Odd name, right? It's 'cause I've got two belly-buttons. Ha! Your face right then... ah, priceless." I stare in complete confusion at Double. He just keeps right on talking.

"So, basically, you're part of Axle's collection now. She collects all sorts of strange stuff, half of which is completely illegal. So anyway, she sells some of her collections and does who-knows-what with the rest. You'll learn more about that later." My ears struggle to keep up with his mouth, but he never pauses.

"Anyway, right now, we've just figured out how fire-tainted vegetables give birth, and it isn't pretty. Ha ha! I wish you could see your own face, it's priceless right now... But anyway. You can explore anything that says Free Entry. Just don't break anything, and we'll be fine. Well, nice meeting you, kid. The whole "situation" is calling my name. Bye!" With this, he runs off, leaving me absolutely dumbfounded.

Although I didn't catch all of what Double said, I know I heard that I could roam free in anything that said Free Entry. Might as well explore. I head toward a tent, only to find that a sign on it says Authorized Entry Only. So I head toward another big tent. The sign on the front reads Free Entry. The tent itself is made from a green fabric. I push the door open, and the scenery change stuns me momentarily. The tent is filled with people in dirty clothes, all moving around. At the opposite end of the tent is a counter with chef-looking people running around. I head toward the counter to try and get this whole mess explained. On the short walk to the counter, I notice someone with a third eye walking around, someone with a tail, and something that could be a tiny human floating in the air.

On reaching the counter, I discover a line of people- er, things that are close to people- waiting to reach the counter as well. I get in line, and the person in front of me turns.

"You about to attack me, son?" The boy's eye is twitching, and he's not much older than I am.

"No," I answer truthfully. He leans close, and his breath smells horrible.

"Really, buddy? You sure?"

"Yes. I'm just waiting in line."

"Waiting in line?" he asks in disbelief. Luckily, he faces forward again. "Waiting in line, he says. Well, he better watch out..." I swallow nervously, and thankfully, soon I'm at the counter. A chef hustles toward me.

"Get you served in a moment," her promises before hustling away. I sigh. How hard is it to talk to a single person around here? A moment later, the chef comes back with a lump of mush on a plate. He hands it to me.

"There's your food, hurry off now."

"Um, actually, I was wondering if I could ask-" The cook shakes his head furiously.

"No time. Wanna talk, go to purple tent. Out now." He practically shoves me out of the tent, and I sigh. I find a flat rock to sit on and eye the blob of mush he gave me. I poke it with a finger, and it dents, folds in on itself, and then makes a shlurp noise. I wince. How did things get this bad? We had a house once. Now it's gone. Then we had a forest. That's gone. Now there's no "we" to have anything! I angrily grab a blob of the mush and put it in my mouth. It tastes very good, surprisingly. Sweet, but at the same time something else. I hungrily gobble up the rest of the miracle-mush.

After finishing my miracle-mush (and licking the plate clean), I think back to the cook's instruction. I think he said something about a purple tent. Looking around, I see a purple tent surrounded by the sea of other tents, all on wheels. One orange tent has a large hole in the top, and I think I can see smoke coming out of the top. That must be what's holding us up. I turn my attention back to the purple tent and begin heading toward it.

On the front of the tent is the ramp to the door (which all the tent-on-wheels have) as well as the sign. Free Entry, it reads. And then below that, Guidance For All. That sounds promising. I push open the door and take in the inside of the tent. There are a few normal-looking tables and chairs as well as some normal-looking plants. A friendly-looking woman approaches me.

"Hello! Are you new or returning?"

"New," I reply. The woman's smile never leaves her face.

"Wonderful! Just follow me, and we'll get started." She leads me to a table and sits down. I sit as well.

"So, you probably have many questions. I'll answer to the best of my ability." She sits, hands folded, and smiles. I think of what I should ask first.

"Um, what exactly is this place?" The lady's smile grows bigger.

"Fabulous question! This group of tents and whatnot are all part of Axle's Odds and Ends. Axle runs it, although not too many people actually see her. She collects oddities and supernatural things." I already half-knew that, but it's still helpful.

"Okay, thanks. What are they going to do with me?"

"Hard to say," the lady says cheerfully. "Axle does a variety of things. She could use you to work at Odds And Ends if she thinks you're useful. She might sell you, if you're not useful to her. Or she might simply put you on display, either alive or dead." Her voice is always cheerful, even when saying that I might be killed and put on display.

"Okay, thanks. I'll probably be back later," I thank her. She smiles.

"No problem!" I start to head out the door, but pause.

"So what's weird about you? Why did Axle keep you?"

"I'm a vampire," she responds happily. For the first time, I notice that her smile, although friendly, has fangs. Slightly spooked, I hurry out the door, but the vampire-lady's voice stops me.

"You know, there was a young lady here earlier, quite similar to you." I whip around, a spark of hope igniting.

"Was her name Tarna?"

"No... no, that doesn't sound familiar." The spark of hope immediately flickers out, but a last question rises from the dying spark.

"What about Cassie?" The lady's face brightens.

"Yes! Cassie. That was it."

"Thank you again!" I say before dashing out. Cass is here, or was recently! Maybe the others are here too! Finally, something good for a change.

I look around at all the colorful tents and odd creatures and think about how much has changed. I'm a prisoner to Axle, traveling to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what. There's no way we'll solve the riddle like this. But there could be hope. Cass is here somewhere, and maybe we can find each other. So maybe, just maybe, we can get through this.