The Adventurers, Ch. 2

October 28th, 2005

Looking for Chapter One? Click HERE. And the Saga continues...

THE ADVENTURERS - Chapter 2

While the boy fell, another person came flying in and tackled Jerry. It was the boy with the alert eyes. They fought on the ground and finally Jerry managed to get on top of him, but before he could get a good whack at him, Jerry felt himself being lifted and thrown face down on the ground. The fall took the wind out of him and he lay there like a fish gasping for air. The boy that threw Jerry down was the one with the big arms. Jerry saw him turn to were him and the boy with the glasses had last fought.

"Hey Gus, you all right?" said the big armed boy.

Gus got up and rubbed his eye. "Yeah. I just got a little bruise." He rubbed his eye again and flinched.

At that moment, the short and wide boy came puffing in. He seemed angry. "Why didn't you guys wait for me. You know I can't run as fast as you."

"Well we didn't know where this guy would end up at after Gus caught him." said the big armed boy grinning. Then he turned to Gus. "I guess this guy gave you a real race, huh."

Gus was still rubbing his eye. "And he's also got a really knock out punch." He paused and looked at Jerry who was still on the ground, "So what do we do with him?"

"Well," the boy with the alert eyes sounded uneasy. "Maybe we can use him for the hit tonight."

"I don't know, Mark. He doesn't look like a fellow to trust," said the short and wide boy.

"Beau, we don't even know him," said Mark, a little frustrated. "Besides, he looks like he's suffered a lot, so that makes us a bit like him, doesn't it?"

"Hardly." said Beau disgustedly.

"Look, why don't we ask him stuff before we come to any conclusions, that way we'll see if he's to be trusted." Mark turned to Beau. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure." Beau didn't sound sure. "Go ahead, Curtis."

The big armed boy moved forward toward Jerry. "Uh, tell us your name."

Jerry's pain had subsided a while ago and he was waiting to see what they'd do to him. "Jerry."

"Jerry what." barked Beau.

"Jerry." Jerry repeated.

"A smart alec, huh?" Beau clearly didn't trust Jerry.

Gus spoke up. "Beau, get real. He probably doesn't have a last name. Or do you?" He turned to Jerry.

"No. I've been an orphan since I was one, or at least that's what they tell me, so nobody knew my name."

"So how'd you end up with that name?" asked Gus.

"Pretending to be a mouse." said Jerry.

"Huh?" said Gus.

"Tell us about it." said Mark

"Okay. When I was about three, me and a friend where pretending to be Tom and Jerry. You know those cartoons about the cat and the mouse?"

Gus said, "I've heard of them."

Jerry continued, "We used to steal some of their comics from the stores in town. Me and some older kids used to sneak out at night and walk to town. Not that far from the orphanage, only about 5 miles. Anyway, I pretended to be Jerry so much that everybody started calling me and the other guy, Tom and Jerry. The name stuck to both of us."

"So what are you doing way out here. There's not a single orphanage around." asked Curtis.

"I ran away."

"What do you mean you ran away." asked Gus.

"I-ran-a-way."

"I mean, why?"

"It was too much labor and not enough food. We worked from before sun up to after sunset with only a little break for stale bread and water. They'd also whip you if you asked for more food or complained about anything. They'd even whip you if you said someone's head was shaped like an egg."

"They'd whip you for that?" Beau was starting to sound interested.

"Yep. And they were gonna send me away anyway."

"Where?" they all asked.

"To a foster home. They were gonna make me work even harder there during the summer and then I'd have to go to school and learn whatever you learn there."

"Bummer." said Beau.

"How'd you get to be such a good fighter?" asked Gus.

"The older kids always picked on us younger kids. We always tried to defend ourselved but they were too big and usually beat us up."

"At least you tried." said Beau.

"Of course."

"All right. So I guess you trust him now?" Mark asked Beau.

"I guess." Beau tried to sound casual.

"Okay, then. My name's Mark."

"I'm Beau."

"Curtis."

"Gus."

"Hi." said Jerry.

"Okay. Let's get tonight's plan going. We don't have much time before the train to town passes." said Mark.

"Don't you think Jerry should stay with someone, since he's new at this?" asked Gus.

Mark answered, "You're right. He'll go with you. Okay, tonight we're hitting on the Old Sam Market. Beau, you start a fight with Curtis. When the clerk and security guy go to break it up, Gus and Jerry are going to slip to me all the food you can get. When you hear four whistles, it's time to get the heck out of there. We all split up in different directions. Me, Gus, and Jerry will take the supplies into the woods. We'll meet in Grover street one hour later. Remember we have to surprise them twith speed or else they'll come after us before we can do anything. Any questions?"

"No Sergeant Mark, Sir." said Beau teasingly.

"Then let's get the heck over to the drop before it's too late." said Curtis.

Jerry half the time had no idea what they were talking about but they didn't give him time to ask any questions. Despite the mud and rain, all five of them moved rapidly through the trees. Even Beau stayed up at the back of the pack. Eventually they arrived at a small cliff overlooking the forest around them.

"Here it comes." said Curtis.

[end of Chapter 2]