“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