Island of the Unemployed

A'DACUS' BIG ADVENTURE

"Ohhhhh! My stomach! I think I'm going to die!" an eleven-year-old boy named Freddy shouted, holding his belly, pretenting to vomit violently. He was creating a diversion for A'dacus and Derrick, or, at least, trying to. It was in his own backyard, which happened to be adjacent to the unpopulated area of the island, the area where River and the others were hiding out. Two soldiers, one tall and one short, stood near signs warning of severe punishment for anyone attempting to enter.

The island was divided into three sections. The area, where Freddy and A'dacus lived in was the privileged area, populated by residents born and raised on the island. Then there was the militarized section. That section was primarily a forced labor camp populated by those sent to the island in containers. This was where food was grown and goods made, mostly to be used by the privileged area. The third section, the one being guarded by the two guards, was supposed to be unpopulated. It consisted of terrain too rough to inhabit or to be used as a labor camp.

The borders of each area were heavily guarded. No one was allowed in or out of their assigned area, except for workers sent to the the privileged area to serve the residents that lived there.

It was every boy's dream to explore the unpopulated portion of the island, but no one was willing to take the risk to enter it. The penalty for such a transgression was banishment to the militarized area, to live a life of servitude. That was a fate that no one was prepared to risk.

"Do you think we should check on him?" the short guard said to the tall one.

"No. He's fine."

A'dacus and Derrick reasoned that the penalty for being caught did would apply to them. After all, A'dacus was the son of the island leader. Would his father really banish him to a life of servitude? It didn't seem likely, or to matter. They were sure they wouldn't get caught.

Their ultimate destination was a legendary peak from which the entire island and its surrounding area could be viewed. A'dacus and Derrick planned to scale the peak to settle a lifelong argument that flared up earlier in the day. It was a debate among residents of the privileged area that had been around for as long as anyone could remember.

Most of the residents believed that the island was a world unto its own. There was no other land or people in existence on the planet. This is what A'dacus' parents taught him, and A'dacus had complete faith in his parents. So, he was looking forward to proving Derrick wrong when Derrick said they were sure to see other islands from the peak.

Standing between them and their epic undertaking were the two soldiers guarding the border. Freddy's theatrics managed to get the soldiers' attention, but getting them to leave their posts was proving to be a bigger challenge. Pretending to throw up wasn't doing the trick. The lack of actual vomit didn't help. So, he flung himself on the ground and shook his body violently, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I think one of us should go over there," the short soldier said.

"Are you crazy? He's obviously faking! I'm not getting in trouble because of that punk kid," the other replied.

"I know. But what if he's not? What if he dies, and we get in trouble because we just stood around?"

"You go look, then. I'm not leaving my post. This kid's just looking for attention."

The short soldier scrunched his face, trying to decide what to do. "I'm gonna take a quick look." He slowly walked up to Freddy, looking around to make sure no one saw him.

Freddy flailed on the ground with a crazed expression, wagging his tongue back and forth. "You need to hold my shoulders down! This happens sometimes. I just need to be held down, and then it goes away." He panted heavily from exertion.