The Adventurers, FINAL CHAPTERS

November 17th, 2005

So I'm sure you're all feeling the same as me when it comes to these last few entries of mine. You're probably tired of reading this story, and I'm sure as hell tired of typing it on here. Since I wrote it in 7th grade...I don't have it saved to disk. It only exists on old computer paper...and now on this blog. So, I'm now gonna clench my teeth and get ready to write THE FINAL CHAPTERS...all in this entry...so that I can go back to my normal blogging entries.

Read these first:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

THE ADVENTURERS - Chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10

Everybody turned to see a small, jolly, old lady shambling along the street. She was with a boy Jerry had seen earlier, when the sheriff had barely got there.

"Hello Sheriff." she said.

The Sheriff took off his hat. "Good morning Miss Burliam."

"What has Jerry gotten into now, Sheriff? I hope it's nothing too serious." said the old lady.

"You mean you really are taking care of him?" The Sheriff looked incredulous.

"Of course. Now come here Jerry and hug your dear grandma."

That was Jerry's only hope of salvation, so he complied.

"Now what was it that Jerry had done?" Aunt Jill asked.

"Oh, nothing serious ma'am. Just that..." the Sheriff said.

"Well then, we don't need to discuss it. Let's go home and eat, Jerry. You've been out all day and you must be starved."

Jerry was. After the Sheriff said his good-bye to Aunt Jill, she and Jerry and the boy who had gone to get her went into an old car.

In the car, she said, "My house is not too far from here, but my old legs can't take me that far. That's why I brought the car."

"That was real nice of you, ma'am." Jerry said. "Thank you very much."

"Oh, don't you be thanking me now. Just doing what I do best. It's what I live for. How long do you plan to stay in this town, Jerry?"

"Just until tonight."

"Well, then, you're staying at my place until dark."

"That's really real nice of you but..."

"I don't want to hear it. You're staying until then and that's final."

She sure has a way with words, throught Jerry. Jerry told Aunt Jill and the other boy, whose name was Peter, the story of how he had ended up in jail. Peter looked a little younger than Jerry, maybe two years. He looked admiringly at Jerry after he told his tory.

After a short ride, they came to a large farm. There were all kinds of animals there. Pigs, cows, horses, ducks, sheep, dogs, cats, chickens, roosters, and many others. It was filled with all kinds of green trees. There were short ones, tall ones, thick ones, skinny ones, young ones, and old ones. There were also flowers everywhere.

"Wow." Jerry exclaimed. "You own all this?"

"Oh, no, honey. I work for these people. I live over there." Aunt Jill pointed to the far side of the luxurious house. A small shack stood there. It wasn't properly taken care of. The shutters were torn down and everything was rotting away.

Better than nothing, Jerry thought. They got down and went inside. It was as bad as it was outside. Only three small rooms made up the little shack. One was the kitchen, which also had the dining table, and the other two were a bedroom and the bathroom.

"Peter, you go and show Jerry around. I've got to get back to work. You know the Couplars are having a ball tonight."

"Yes ma'am, I know." said Peter.

"Now I don't want you boys anywhere near that party. Sir Couplar would get mighty angry with me if he saw my boys ruining their party."

"Don't worry, Aunt Jill."

"You boys take care while I'm gone." Aunt Jill turned towards the mansion and left.

"Come on, I'll show you around." Peter led Jerry towards a barn not far from Aunt Jill's shack.

"How come you're living with your aunt, Peter?"

"It's cause some guys told me it would be best for me to live with a relative, instead of a foster home. Even if it was with someone as old as her."

"So you're an orphan, like me. What happened to your folks?" asked Jerry.

"I don't know." Peter sounded sad.

"What, you've never seen 'em?"

"Not anymore. One day they were there and the next they weren't."

"They left you, huh?"

"I didn't say that." Peter said defensively.

"Hey, it's okay if they left you. My folks left me. Who needs them anyway."

"Yeah, who needs them."

"When does that party of those rich guys start?" asked Jerry.

"It probably just started. Why?"

"I'm gonna go to it."

"Why?"

"To see how it is."

"I could tell you about it."

"Not good enough. I gotta see it."

"You're gonna get Aunt Jill into trouble."

"No I won't. Cause I won't get caught."

"Yeah, you will."

"Trust me on this okay?"

Peter sighed and shrugged. "Fine."

Jerry and Peter ran back to the house and sneaked over to a window. Jerry peeked in and saw a huge room filled with chandeliers. The lights were off but the sun made the crystals shine.

"Wow." Jerry said. Then he scanned the room and saw it was a bedroom. After listening hard for movement beyond the closed door of the bedroom, Jerry and Peter climbed in.

Jerry went over to the door and opened it a crack. The long hall was empty but Jerry could now make out the voices of the guests. They sounded far away. He went through the door and motioned for Peter to follow him. The hall was very long, with many doors on the sides of it. Jerry had an idea.

He turned to Peter. "Did you notice whose bedroom we just left?"

"It looked like Sir Couplar's." Peter whispered.

"Do they have any kids?" asked Jerry.

"They have a boy about your age."

"All right!"

Jerry started opening the doors on the sides of the hall. Most of them were locked but a few opened. Jerry was disappointed when he saw these were storage rooms and servant rooms. Finally Jerry found what he was looking for. He opened a room where posters of rockstars hung from the walls. Jerry went directly to the large walk-in closet and tossed Peter a suit.

"Put these on." he said.

"What---!?"

"This way we can go to the party and they'll think we're some rich kids who came with their parents."

Jerry put on a dark tuxedo. He looked in the mirror and saw that the tuxedo clashed with his dirty face and hands. He went out of the room and into a washroom across the room. He washed his face and hands with soap and wet his hair. He found a brush and brushed his tangled hair. He looked in the mirror again and didn't recognize himself. He looked rich. He went back to the room where Peter was finishing putting on a beige suit.

"You look good!" said Peter.

"You do too. Except you need a tie. And you need to wash your face."

"I don't know how to tie a tie."

"Try it."

Jerry put on a pair of shoes while Peter made a bundle out of the tie. Then Peter went to wash himself in the washroom. When Peter came back, he looked as good as Jerry.

"We look great!" exclaimed Peter.

"Now we go to the party."

Jerry and Peter walked down the hall towards the music. The music was coming from behind a door. Jerry peeked in and saw more people than he could ever imagine. Everywhere he looked there were faces. Some were dancing, some were eating, some were just talking, and a few of them were serving the food and punch.

"Come on," whispered Jerry. "Try to act rich."

Jerry and Peter opened the door wide and entered the door with large steps, holding their heads high and smiling all the time. Heads turned to see them but lost interest when they didn't recognize them. Jerry strolled through the crowd trying to fake a British accent, "Good evening, madam," "Good day to you, Sir," "My dear, what a lovely dress." Peter said things like, "Give my compliments to Sir Couplar, " and "This is a stunning party." People laughed and returned their comments. A woman said, "How darling." Then Jerry noticed a man walking towards them rapidly, smiling broadly.

"Ahhh! Richard and Robert Marquette. You have made it." He extended his arm at them and they shook it.

"Good evening, Sir." Jerry said with his very best British imitation.

"Your father told me he had important business and could not come."

"Oh." Jerry had to think fast. "Well...he could not."

"He could not." Peter repeated.

"But now he can. His business was canceled." said Jerry.

"Would you be so kind as to take me to him? I really must speak with him."

"Certainly, my good man." Jerry had regained his confidence. "Follow me, if you please."

Jerry led the man towards the door leading to a lobby where some men were talking. Jerry looked around as if looking for someone.

"Well, he should be here. I don't know where he's run off to." said Jerry, trying to sound a little angry.

"I say, Mr. Roleau." the man called out.

"Did you want to ask me something, Sir Couplar?" said Mr. Roleau.

Sir Couplar! Jerry didn't think this was the owner of the house. Now he had to change plans.

"Yes." answered Mr. Couplar. "Do you happen to know where Mr. Marquette disappeared to?"

"Marquette? Hmmm...I have not seen him since last week. I heard him say he was leaving to Paris."

"Really?" for the first time Mr. Couplar looked suspiciously at Jerry and Peter. Peter was smiling nervously. Jerry was smiling confidently. "One more thing Mr. Roleau. Do you know Marquette's children? I mean, have you seen them?"

"Of course. Two boys. One a little younger than the other. They are about those boys' age." he said pointing to Jerry and Peter.

"Thank you, Mr. Roleau. I will not take more of your time."

"My pleasure." he turned towards the crowd of men again.

Mr. Couplar grabbed Jerry and Peter roughly and half-dragged them to the exit door. There he threw them out and said, "If I ever see you two again..." He never finished. Out of the inside of the mansion, a gun sounded, followed by screams. Mr. Couplar's eyes widened and he turned around slowly. Then a voice shouted to him to get back in and get on the ground, hand behind his head. He obeyed and went in trembling. The man didn't know Jerry and Peter were out there.

Jerry motioned for Peter to be quiet and to follow him. They crawled over to the side of the house.

"What are we gonna do?" Peter's eyes were wide with horror.

"We're gonna get that guy. That's what we're gonna do." Jerry whispered.

"How?"

"I'll have to get on the roof and jump on him when he comes out. I'll try to hold him long enough for the cops to get here. Go to the telephone and call the cops."

"Me?" Peter's voice was shaky.

"Do it!" Jerry demanded. Peter ran off.

Jerry half-crawled to the back of the house and saw a tall tree a couple of yards away. That won't do me any good, he thought. But then he spotted a branch that curved over the roof of the two story house. Jerry saw that it was his only chance and tried to climb the tree. But the trunk was too wide for Jerry to get his arms around it.

Jerry heard a shot and a scream from somewhere inside the house. Jerry backed up a little and ran towards the tree. He leaped up with all the strength he had in his legs and wrapped his fingers around the lowest branch. Wow! Jerry thought, Did I really jump that high? He had jumped at least 10 feet. He heaved himself up and started climbing up, towards the branch. When he got to the branch, he wrapped his arms and legs around it and flipped upside down, with his back towards the ground. He looked like a sloth. He inched his way towards the edge of the roof. He was going over it and Jerry let go of his feet. He would have to drop about two meters before he touched the roof. The roof was slanted and Jerry hoped he wouldn't slip and fall down the two stories. He dropped down and was relieved when he maintained his balance. He crawled over the roof trying to make the least noise possible. He climbed over the peak of the roof and started towards the front entrance.

Just as he was setting his foot down, he slipped and tumbled down across the roof. He couldn't stop himself! Just at the edge, he grabbed a piece of wood that was sticking out. Jerry couldn't grab a hold with the other hand. He looked down and saw he was right above the door. After a few minutes of dangling painfully from one arm, the piece of wood gave way. Jerry fell, trying to grab hold of something else, but all he grabbed was empty air. He looked down and saw a shadow at the door. Jerry hoped he was the thief, that way his broken leg would be for a good cause. Jerry wasn't going to land on him, but as he flew past him he reached out and grabbed his head. Jerry landed on his legs but instantly fell on his back and banged his head on the ground. Jerry's eyesight became black. He had pulled the guy down with him, but he wasn't hurt, just stunned. Jerry's eyesight got better and he was able to see through a small hole the blackness. The first thing he was able to see again was the hole at the end of a revolver. Uh oh, Jerry thought. Jerry was still lying on the ground when he gave a mighty kick and connected between the man's legs. The guy doubled over with a face that would have looked good with an advertisement for torture equipment. Jerry got his full senses back and climbed to his feet. He didn't support himself with his right leg, which Jerry throught was probably broken. Despite the pain, Jerry drew back his fist and slugged the man. The guy crashed against the wall from the impact. He looked up with murder in his eyes. Jerry lunged at him. Too late. The thief had already brought the revolver up. Jerry saw the thing explode with a loud boom. Then he felt a sharp pain on his chest.

Jerry's world went black.

Jerry felt weak. He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting his eyes to the sudden brightness. He saw a face towering above him.

"Mark?" Jerry could scarcely whisper.

Mark broke into a wide smile and ran to a doorway.

"He's awake." he called out.

Soon, a whole crowd formed around the bed he was in. Jerry was slightly aware of the luxurious bed he was in, and the large room. The faces around him looked familiar but he couldn't quite distinguish them. But then he could, and he suddenly remembered all that had happened to him. There was Mark who had stayed at Jerry's side at his left. To the right, Jerry could see Gus grinning and yelling for someone to bring water. Curtis was the one who responded and left the room. He came back with a glass of water.

"Water." Jerry whispered.

"It's coming." Mark said.

Beau came over and helped Jerry to sit up. Aunt Jill helped him drink. Then, to his surprise, Sir Couplar came over and gently patted him on the head.

"Hello Jerry. How are you doing?"

Jerry couldn't manage a mumble so he nodded his head.

"Good, good."

After a few drinks of water, Jerry regained his voice. He turned to Jason, who was also at his side.

"How'd you guys know where I was?"

"Your little friend, Peter, met us at the statue. He told us you had been hurt, so we came. And we've been staying here ever since."

"Ever since? How long is ever since?"

Aunt Jill helped him with another drink.

"Two weeks."

Jerry choked. "Two weeks?"

They explained that the shot had nearly hit his heart and he'd been in a coma. Peter had called the police and they caught the thief running out of the yard.

"Hey. Guess what!" Beau blurted out. "We've been adopted."

"What?"

"You know you said they worked you harder than the orphanage. Well, they make you work a little but not as much as you said. And I like working to earn my food instead of stealing it."

"I was adopted by a nice couple." Mark told Jerry. "And guess what! They have a computer. A good one. Now I'm working at an office along with a bunch of other computer geniuses."

Curtis said, "I"m getting real good food at my place. Steak every other day. They're real nice and had a room all ready for me. They even gave me some weights to get stronger."

"So all you guys were adopted?"

"Everybody." Gus said. "Even me. And they said there's something called Track at school. They're running competitions. Maybe you'll run with me."

Alex told Jerry that he had been adopted by farmers and that he was being taught how to farm. He also said he was getting a lot tougher.

John was adopted by a camp owner. He offered John a job as a camp counselor and he was really enjoying working with the eight and nine year olds.

After they talked a bit more, they left him alone to sleep. Next day, Sir Couplar came into Jerry's room. They talked for a while. Jerry stayed in bed for three days and everyday, Sir Couplar came to talk to him. Jerry started to like him. After a couple of days, Sir Couplar asked Jerry to stay and live with him. Jerry through of all the years he had been wandering as an orphan. It was time to get a life.

THE END