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Michael: “But where did they get the guns and the whole camp from? From what I've heard, they're nothing of the sort, and absolutely everything is taken from them before they're expelled.”
Theodore: “I also, like you, know nothing about this gang. Who are they and where are they from? All I can say is that they will answer for it. How old are you?”
Michael: “You'll be 15 in April, how about you?”
Theodore: “I turned 12 in February.”
Michael: “You don't look scared. You're not even scared?”
Theodore: “I'm saving my strength for revenge. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I'm not going to sit here.”
Michael: “Are you serious? Alone in the desert, away from the road and home. With no weapons. A twelve year old boy against seven outcasts armed with guns and sticks. What can you do?”
Theodore: “It doesn't matter who your opponent is. It doesn't matter how old you are. It matters what your plan is.”
Michael: “My God! Philosophical sayings and abstruse words for a boy who comes from a small village. No offense, of course… Where did you go to school? Where did you pick this up from?”
Theodore: “At a sports school. My father came from Lockfood City, where he got a good education. Then, after they got married, he and my mom moved to Gaia in search of a quiet life.”
Michael: “So what would your plan be? I'd just be interested to hear…not that I plan on participating in it, as it's completely absurd.”
Theodore: “I don't know yet. We need to scout the situation and figure out what we can do and how to get out of here.”
Theodore's fearlessness and courage both amazed and emboldened Michael. Although these empty words spoken by the younger captive seemed extremely amusing, considering his age and the situation in which they both found themselves. Theodore, however, was not lacking in self-confidence and courage. Michael felt as if he had been involved in a situation like this before.
One of the outcasts approached the car and began to look at the boys. It was a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks on his head and bulging red eyes, “Hey, did you bring us new meat for dinner? Are we going to have another meal of human meat tonight? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
He pulled out a knife and began to lick himself nastily, leaning the blade now and then against his tongue and then against his cheek.
– Calm down, Gorg, and lock them in a container! I have other plans for them. Just don't touch them before they're done! Otherwise dinner will be made of you tonight! – ordered a voice from the crowd.
The bandit quickly opened the door on Ted's side and said: “Welcome, dear guests! Welcome to our shawl! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
He led the boys through the camp to an enclosed shipping container at the back of the outcast settlement. The whole gang gathered in the center of the camp, around a campfire where they were burning trash, while discussing something in parallel. Despite the tragic situation in which the boys found themselves, the atmosphere in the camp was quite relaxed: the outcasts were joking, teasing each other, having fun, playing some invented games and chatting around the fire. The little hostages, however, were clearly not in the mood for fun.
The black bandit opened the container. The hostages went inside. It was empty, dark, damp, and smelled musty. The door slammed shut behind them. They could hear the bolts that closed it from the outside creaking. Time passed very slowly in the container. The boys were groping around, trying to find some object or flaw in the metal box that might help them escape the confined space. A gap in the wall would also do. But the search was unsuccessful.
Evening came. It was getting dark outside. Michael and Theodore had been held captive for half a day, still not realizing what would become of them in the future, and not imagining how they could get free. The outcasts continued to burn trash in a rusted metal tank. The outside stank of cinders and burnt rubber. It was not clear how the bandits had not yet poisoned themselves from such a constant nasty and noxious odor. It was almost as if they liked it. And they really enjoyed inhaling it into their lungs. There was no outside light, and only the fire, now and then bursting from the tank, illuminated the outer features of the camp.
The voices intensified, and rough male laughter came from far away. The radio played, tuned to the rock music wave. The outcasts were celebrating their catch of the day. It had been a good day for them: they had gotten a couple of hostages, a couple of cars, and a gun that one of them had armed himself with. And mobile devices that could be sold on the black market. A dinner of gophers they had managed to catch in the desert was planned ahead. This at least meant that the bandits would be well-fed, and there would be no need to waste the boys. The thugs cooked the meat over a fire from under the garbage with smog soaked with burnt polyethylene, clothes, paint, acids, and other junk. How could anyone even manage not to die after such a hypertoxic dinner? But the outcasts didn't have much wood, so they apparently didn't have much choice.
Up to this point, Michael had been on his feet the entire time he had been trapped in the container, because he didn't want to sit down on the dirty metal floor, but he didn't have the strength to stand any longer. So he decided to sit down next to Theodore, who was not the least bit squeamish about the fact that he had already soiled his clothes.
Michael: “Do you have any relatives besides your father?”
Theodore: “My mom died of an illness. The rest of my family abandoned me, pretending as if I never existed, so it's just me and my father… It's more accurate to say just me. Do you have a full family?”
Michael: “I'm sorry. I still have my mom in Ounwilschen. I don't know how she'll take the loss of my father and I…”
Theodore grabbed Michael's hand and shook it as hard as he could, then said: “Don't you dare bury yourself before your time. You're still alive!”
Michael, pulled his arm out: “For how long. The prospects of getting out of here are slim…”
Theodore, “Don't get discouraged! That's the last thing you should do in a situation like this!”
There were pops, roaring engines, gunshots and screams outside. It was hard to make out anything in particular. Some were screaming in pain, some were commanding, some were yelling from overwhelmed emotions.
Michael: “Get down! In case they start shooting in our direction!”
The boys quickly lay down on the floor and covered their ears with their hands so they wouldn't hear the loud noises. After a while, the screaming stopped. Only approaching footsteps and conversations of unknown people could be heard.
A man's voice: “Search the area! He must be here somewhere!”
Who were these people? Their saviors? The police? Or just another gang of outcasts vying for territory? But whoever they were, surely it couldn't get any worse than falling into the clutches of cum cannibals. Michael rose to his feet, stumbled to the door, and began pounding on it as hard as he could, begging for help: “Help! Help! We're in here!”
Theodore: “What are you doing? Sit down!”
Footsteps began to be heard closer and closer.
Female voice: “I heard something coming from that container!”
A man's voice: “I'll check it out, cover me!”
The deadbolts creaked. The door began to slowly open. Michael took a step back with his hands in the air. A faintly discernible human silhouette appeared in the opening. It was Fred. He noticed Michael and lowered his weapon, “It's okay, I found him.” Theodore rose from the ground, looking at Fred incredulously, leaving his hands raised up in the air. Michael rushed over to his savior and hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear: “I was scared. So scared…”
– You'll be fine. You'll be home soon! What's wrong with you? Don't get soft! You're not a woman! Come on, pull yourself together! – Michael was cheered up by the mercenary.
– Who's that? That other kid…” Fred asked, pointing his finger at Ted.
– That's Theodore. He's been through a lot, too. The outcasts killed his father. – Michael also whispered and introduced the second hostage to the mercenary.
Fred: “Don't be afraid, boy! We're taking you home too!”
Michael: “Fred, he has no parents left and nowhere to go.”
Fred: “Okay, we'll settle that on the way then. Anyway, first things first, we need to get out of here. Let's go!”
Together they went outside and headed toward the vehicles. The camp was brightly lit by the headlights of jeeps and motorcycles on all sides. It was no longer as lively as it had been a few hours earlier. There were lead-laden corpses of outcasts everywhere, and the already dilapidated structures they had built out of whatever they had made as shelter were ablaze. There were several groups of mercenaries present: one was Fred's group, and the second (larger) was Lauren's group. Michael knew her as well, though he didn't see her that often. From time to time, the girl also accompanied his father on trips when Fred was too busy to take orders. Michael stopped dead in his tracks. Forgetting his recent joy. He suddenly remembered, “Fred, what about my father? What about him? Did you find him? Is he alive?”
Fred turned to the boy: “The doctors are fighting for his life right now. I'll be back to see him at the hospital tomorrow. You can come with me if you want to. It's a good thing the SOS signal somehow miraculously managed to reach the logistician before losing communication. Gerry had called us, since city services don't serve the area outside of the settlement. Gathering a team, we arrived on the scene fairly promptly. First thing we did was get your father to the hospital and start looking for you. George would never forgive me if anything happened to you.
Michael breathed a sigh of relief. He was relieved. Theodore patted the boy on the back and said enthusiastically: “Lucky you! You see, we didn't even have to come up with a plan, they did it all for us! And you were afraid!”
He never ceased to amaze Michael. Unlike him, Theodore's father had recently died, and the boy was enthusiastic, upbeat, and without a trace of regret in his voice. Michael began to look over each of the dead looking for Reno. He wanted to make sure that the scumbag who had infringed on his father's life got what he deserved. The fourth body he examined belonged to the masked man. He was already dead. There was a weapon lying around the bandit, apparently dropped during the gunfight.
– It's him! The man who almost killed my father, but killed Theodore's father! – Michael said loudly, pointing at his abuser. Theodore walked over to Michael, looking angrily at the dead outcast. Ted picked up one of the guns lying near the body and began firing at his abuser until he ran out of ammunition. Despite the fact that the boy had decent physical data, even for him the recoil when firing the gun was unexpectedly strong. Therefore, his hands jumped up after each shot he fired, changing the direction of the bullet. Theodore then threw the weapon to the ground. All this was happening so close to Michael that the sounds of the shots partially deafened him. The schoolboy was not used to such loud noises. Silver covered his ears with his hands for a while, but he did it a little too late. Theodore surprised him again. Or rather, another sudden change in the minor's mood, from joy and enthusiasm to wild hatred and anger. On the other hand, when the emotions of hatred are so overwhelming, how to know what even the calmest person in the world is capable of during such a stressful and overwhelming experience.
– He's already dead, Ted, so it's not going to make him any better or worse. – Michael turned to Theodore.
– Neither am I! – Theodore replied dryly and headed toward the jeep.
– Neil, take care of the car. We need to show it to the service center and deliver it to the customer,” Fred said to his subordinate, and then he put the boys in the jeep, and they drove toward the house.
Fred: “Sorry, kid. I don't think your father will mind, but since my men will be doing most of the work, the amount of money for doing it will go to us.”
Michael: “I think that would be fair. You have done a lot for us and continue to do so. You have always been, and still are, a member of our family.”
Fred smiled: “It's nice to hear you say that, Michael. Very nice.”
Michael: “Tell me, how did you find us so quickly? After all, the Logiste was wrecked, the phones were taken out and probably turned off, and the geolocator was messed up.”
Fred: “On the last signal from the Logiste and your phone. The problem with outcasts isn't that they're stupid, it's that they think a lot of themselves…”
Michael: “Do you know who this Reno guy was? That was the name of that mercenary who injured Dad and killed Father Theodore.”
Fred: “No, I don't. But trust me, it's not that important. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time people have encountered an armed band of outcasts in the desert or anywhere else. That's why you and your father better not ride around unprotected and play heroes anymore. You don't know what people like them are capable of.
Michael: “I think we get the point. Thank you again.”
In his heart, Michael was ashamed in front of Theodore for his behavior during the danger. Why was he, a boy of almost fifteen, scared to death while his younger companion pragmatically made some rescue plans in his head? Why was a child of twelve comforting him while he himself was in a state of despair? It should have been the other way around. Michael was supposed to take on the responsibilities of an older brother. He thought about it until his eyes closed and he fell asleep.
The boys dozed off in the back seat. They heard neither the noise of the engine, nor the sound of the wind, nor the conversations of the mercenaries in front. The children's bodies needed at least a small dose of rest after such a difficult day.
A new addition to the family
Three months had passed since the incident. It was the end of June. Summer was in full swing. Ounvilshen was overflowing with greenery, which added color to the urban environment. The search for Father Theodore's body during this time had been unsuccessful. Perhaps the ambulance had disposed of his body upon arrival at the scene. And since he had a basic LSC, the remains were not provided to the relatives of the deceased. Theodore didn't want to go home, but never voiced the reason, though it was already clear. As soon as the services discovered that a minor child was living alone, he would quickly be adopted into some family and the house would be listed as a frozen estate. So Ted continued to live unofficially with the Silver family.
George has now been released from the hospital. He still had a little difficulty in moving, but in general – recovered. Michael returned to his normal life: he was fulfilling orders for his father's company, but now only under the cover of mercenaries, who accompanied him throughout the route. It was lucky that Michael went to practice at this time. After all, George had been out of the work process for quite some time. And if it wasn't for Michael, the family would have had a very difficult time financially. However, something had to be done about Theodore's stay. Even though Michael's parents continued to pay for his bronze status LSC, he was still a child. Without officially registered parents or guardians, he could not continue to live with them. At any moment, the police could come and start asking unnecessary and inconvenient questions, up to and including forcibly taking the un-legalized child away from the Silvers and imposing a huge fine. So it was decided at the family council that Ted would be officially adopted into the Silver family.
The boy really appreciated how much this family, which supposedly owed him nothing at all, did for him. Now Michael's room was divided into two parts, one of which belonged to the older child and the other to the younger. In the course of communication it became clear that Theodore's childhood was not easy: his mother died of an illness when he was not yet three years old. His father became desperate and started drinking a lot, as well as using medium and heavy drugs to forget himself. In addition, he never had warm feelings for his offspring. The poor child was left to fend for himself. Therefore, periodically in between classes and trainings Ted tried to earn a little money in a neighboring bakery. The owner of the establishment knew his situation, so she paid for the boy's labor with freshly baked pastries in the form of pizzas, bagels and croissants.
On June 21, an interview was scheduled at the municipal guardianship authority. It was necessary to arrive by 12:00 with personal documents and submit an application for adoption. The inspector will have to review all the documents and assess the living conditions, as well as the financial capacity of the family to support a second child. But this procedure is not solved instantly, but requires some time. Most often, in 85% of cases, the decision of the body is positive, if the family meets all the requirements set out. After all, it would be easier to enroll the child in a family that voluntarily wants to adopt him.
The day of the interview came. The family headed to the city administration office. Everyone was dressed in formal clothes, as if they were going to some kind of celebration. It was indeed an important event for both the adoptee and the adoptive parents. Literally 10-15 minutes later, the Silvers arrived at their destination.
George left the car in the service parking lot near the administration office. The Silvers were facing a massive five-story building, which could be entered from the north and south. There were metal detectors at the entrances and there were CCTV cameras throughout the building, constantly monitored by a security guard who sat in his small booth at the entrance. Appointments were made through the administration's website in advance, with the provision of an electronic ticket. The employees worked dynamically: according to strictly allotted time and without delays. Therefore, there was no need to stand in line. There was no elevator in the institution. We had to go up the central two-step staircase with stone handrails on the sides.
– We need room 203," George said to the others as they went up to the second floor. The family searched for the office and quickly found it. Mariana knocked on the door, opened it and looked inside. The room was a small room with a desk in the right corner with a female receptionist sitting behind it. On her desk was a laptop computer and office supplies. To the left was a black leather two-seater couch and in front of the desk was a chair for visitors.
Mariana: "Good afternoon, may I come in?"
Staff member: "Silvers? On the subject of adoption? Come in."
The whole family entered the room. Since there was not enough seating, George took a seat in front of the desk, Mariana sat in a chair, and the children sat on the couch. The employee pulled a piece of paper from her desk drawer and held it out along with a pen to Mariana.
Staff member: "Both parents need to fill out an adoption application together and the boy needs to consent to the adoption."
George: "The child is given the right to vote? I haven't heard of such a thing. Are there any cases of rejection?"
Staff member: "In a voluntary adoption, consent is required from the adoptee in which they affirm on their own behalf that they are being treated well and are willing to be part of this family."
George and Mariana began to study the application and took turns filling it out. Then they made room for Theodore. He sat down on Mariana's chair and filled out his consent.
Staff member: "Good, now we will have an interview. First with the parents and then with the boy. When interviewing the boy, everyone else will have to leave this office."
The interview with the parents lasted about 20 minutes. Various questions were asked, related to how and under what circumstances the boy came into the family, how he is kept, who and where they work, what the family eats, how the house is kept clean, who the neighbors are, and so on and so forth. Finally, it was Theodore's turn. The Silvers left the office and left the adoptee alone with the municipal worker. He held himself calmly and confidently.
Staff member: "So, Theodore. Your new family. How do you like them in general?"
Ted: "Good, loving and caring. I like living with them very much."
Staff member: "No one is pressuring you? Did you write your consent voluntarily?"
Ted: "Voluntarily."
Staff member: "If there's something bothering you or something you want to talk about that you couldn't voice in front of Silver, now is the time to share it with me."
Ted: "I don't have anything to tell. I have no secrets from my new family. Especially since I'll soon be a part of it too."
Staff member: "You stopped going to school three months ago. That was due to certain circumstances, of course… but still. Basic education, as you know, is compulsory for everyone, because if you don't complete it, you won't get a profession, you won't get a job anywhere and you can't do anything. Have you thought about going back to school again?"
Theodore: "I know, I want to and I have thought about it. As Mariana said, together we've already looked at a boxing school in this town. As soon as I'm officially adopted, I'll enroll there right away."
Staff member: "You can start going to that school now. Why simply waste precious time? Tell me, how is your relationship with your future big brother?"
Ted: "Good, we don't fight, we live as friends."
Staff member: "Now for the unpleasant part. Your real parents have passed away, sadly. But their possessions remain in the form of a modest apartment. Also, your daddy had a car, but the present whereabouts of the car are unknown. I am also aware that you have grandparents on both your mom's and dad's side. They have priority custody because they are blood relatives to you. Why don't you want to live with them?"
Ted: "My grandparents and I have been in a fight for years. They have shown me no attention and have never visited me since I was three years old. They didn't help me and my father in any way and left us to our own devices after my mom died. The Silver's took me in as their own child. I never got the kind of care I got from them, not even from my own parents. I think my grandfathers forgot all about me. Do you want me to go back to people who don't care about me at all?"
Staff member: "I'm just stating the facts. We'll figure it out. Now we will sign papers with you confirming the fact that you have accepted the inheritance, and from the moment you sign them, you will become the sole full owner of the apartment and the car."
The municipal clerk pulled two copies of the document out of a desk drawer and handed them to Theodore.
Staff member: "Read it carefully and put your initials and signature on the last pages."
Theodore quickly opened the last pages and signed without reading anything.
Staff member: "Are you sure you won't read it? Or do you have an instant-read scanner built into your head?"
Ted: "I trust you. You won't cheat… I'm much more concerned with finalizing the adoption as soon as possible."
Staff member: "Don't worry about that. If your grandparents don't want custody of you, and if your new family meets all the criteria, the adoption won't take long. That's it, you can go."
Theodore walked out of the office. In the hallway, the Silvers were waiting impatiently for him. Mariana immediately rushed to him asking him how everything went and what questions the municipal worker was asking.
George: "All right, let's go. You can tell me on the way. I'm sure it wasn't anything difficult."
