The Lost ( A Sequel To The Forgotten )

The End Of The Odds

In the morning, we're moved to our cages as usual. I'm bumped around, and we travel uncomfortably for a while. Then, after a few hours, a voice rings out.

"The cages will be opened shortly. I repeat, the cages will be opened shortly. We've stopped to make some plans of where we're going." The door to my cage creaks open, and I step out. My eyes, after a moment, adjust to the sunlight. As usual, I head to the food tent. Today, they're serving the delicious mush again. Of all the things I've eaten here, I like the mush the best. I make sure to take my time eating it. But still, it's gone all too soon. And, as usual, I have nothing to do until sundown. I guess I'll search for Rolly, even if the chances of finding him are miserable. I begin walking around, hoping for a glimpse of glasses or dark curly hair. Unfortunately, there's no sign of Rolly. However, in the hour or so I spent searching, I hear a few snippets of conversation.

"You know why we've got to plan our next move?" asks one apelike creature to some squid thing. "It's 'cause we're getting close to population. Population means laws and government. And Axle doesn't mix well with those." The squid thing just blinks. During another conversation, I heard this:

"We best be heading around the borders. Last time we went across the border..." The speaker, a person with glowing eyes, shivers. I heard similar conversations all the time while I search for Rolly. It seems that Axle is trying to get across "the border", and apparently that's dangerous. I'm not sure what the leaders of this place beyond the borders would do to Axle, or Odds And Ends, or me if we were caught. I hope I don't have to find out.

After my disappointing search for Rolly, I've got around two hours until sundown. Bored, I wander around the maze of tents. I happen to find a dark blue tent with a Free Entry sign. I head in to look around. Inside is a single long table with around a dozen people sitting on stools around it. Nearly half the people are adult men with huge muscles and tattoos. The other half is a mix of teen boys, teen girls, and one ferocious looking adult woman.

"What?" yells one of the male teens. "You cheated. No way you got that as a deck!"

"Son, I don't cheat," answers one of the men, a threatening hint in his voice. "And you don't call the cheats, anyway."

"Yeah, but..." the male turns to another man. "You saw that cheat, right? A Sailor's Hand shuffle, I'd bet." The man, probably the referee of their card game, shrugs.

"Sorry, son. I didn't see anything." The teen turns furiously back to the man accused if cheating.

"You dirty cheater!" The accused man takes a threatening step toward the teen.

"Now now son, don't get upset because you're no good at Slammers." This is the final straw for the teen, and he rushes at the man. The teen is no wimp, with plenty of muscle, but he's still dwarfed by the adult. The teen turns into a flurry of fists, and the male attacks back in defence. I watch, wondering what this card game is, as the referee makes no move to stop the brawl. Suddenly, there's a flash of silver, and a dagger appears in the teen's hand.

"Hey!" the referee yells. "You either drop this or take it outside." The male nods seriously while the boy stands, looking crazed, and then the man grabs the boy and shoves him toward the door. Which also happens to be where I'm standing. The teen crashes into me, and we both tumble backward. The teen is immediately on his feet looking at me with fury.

"You want to go, punk? Huh, do you?"

"N-no," I stammer. "I was just curious, and I'll just leave now, I'm sorry..." I begin to get up to walk away, but the teen kicks me to the ground.

"You think you can just leave? Oh, no. You'll leave, for sure... with plenty of scars to-"

"Let him go, you pest." The man previously accused of cheating steps outside with us. "He was just wandering."