20: Onward

So, thank you for bearing with my really boring story for so long! >.< Twenty chapters covered… Hopefully, the next chapters will make your Logan Manchester experience more exciting, but I have to bring up some more characters before I can begin the really intense stuff. 

Casper was slumped in his seat, and when Logan looked over at him, he could see his eyes were barely open. The car drifted to the side of the road, and right before it went in the ditch, Casper’s eyes widened and he swerved back to the centre of the road.

“You need some sleep,” Ji-Ji scolded him.

“We’re almost there,” he said, cross. “Kyun’s forty-five minutes away! I don’t need to rest. Just be quiet for a bit, alright?”

Ji-Ji relaxed into the backseat, squished to the side by her snoring friends. Logan sat in the passenger’s seat, at the front, and leaned his head back. Light was dwindling, and large clouds were building. Logan wondered whether it was storm tonight.

The trip had gone relatively well. They’d been driving for three days, but Casper, the only one who knew how to drive, had only slept once, insisting that they needed to continue. “Once we get to Kyun, we’ll be well hidden. It’s a massive place, trust me,” he’d kept saying. “Bigger than Andersbad, Menoa, and Fonds combined,” he’d added, naming some of the most well-known, biggest cities.

They had been driving through suburbs for days. It was the American dream – large lots with massive backyards where any Webber barbeque could fit, and picnic tables adorned with checkered tablecloths, and lots of children laughing and playing, never seeming to get dirty, and proper, sweet wives welcoming their hardworking husbands home after a hard day of work at the law firm, or business headquarters. At least, that’s what Logan’s metaphysical speculations of the suburbs here was.

But when they reached Kyun, it was nothing like anything any of them had imagined. A low, white wall rang it, and a short line of cars trailed through on of the large gates that obstructed the divider. When Casper drove close enough to see, they could see many different sectors – the clean, tall, glassy reflections from numerous sky rises, and off to the side, what looked like a residential area. The city was either sleek, and clean, or filled with green – trees, parks, or gardens. Therefore, the prevailing colours were white stucco, leafy green, and a gleaming glassy blue.

Carter managed to get them through the gate with limited issue, and they were soon driving down the streets of Kyun. Yet, though they were in the harbour city, they could not hear the lapping of water, nor did it tint the smell air. Logan marvelled – the city must be massive, and they must be many kilometres from the shoreline still.

They drove block past block. There were so many different sectors, with so many different themes and cultures; Logan could hardly take anything in. But Casper seemed to know where to go. Soon, they pulled up in front of a small brown building. Its half-working neon sign read “The Lotus Hotel”.

Casper went inside and booked a room. He’s good at this sort of stuff, Logan realised. He can manipulate people to make everything look totally normal, and if not that, then totally insignificant. When everything was set, the Quad Squad and Casper went upstairs, and tumbled into their room. People just slept all over the place; Ji-Ji, Flo P, and Casper on the beds, Logan on the couch, and Saraha decided to lie down and fall asleep on the floor.

The next day, they went out on an expedition through Kyun. It’s either a sprawling metropolis, or peaceful neighbourhoods, but one time, Logan noticed the bus they were taking drove through something that could only be described as a slum. However, everything about Kyun was glorious, and even the dirty hovels looked fantastic. What it would be if he could live in Kyun for the rest of his life! Logan thought. Commander Brack would never find them here. It was the world’s largest city, but in that way, one of the least secure. If Logan had thought Andersbad was massive and safe, then he could only imagine what Kyun was like. And if he lived here, Logan knew he’d never ever be bored again in his life.

But it was when they were in the Japanese part of town that Flo P came running back to the group. She’d been looking for a sushi bar while the rest of the group was trying sweet pickles at a stand, and she rushed up to them, her cheeks pink from running. She grasped a paper in her right hand, and as she skidded to a halt in front of them, Ji-Ji took it immediately out of her hand.

Ji-Ji turned to her usual calculating and severe self, reading the paper quietly to the group while they hunched in a corner of an alley. “Have you seen these children? Runaways and terrorists harbouring dangerous information are wanted by the Special Defence and Reorganization Unit. Please report to local authorities upon sighting immediately.”

The poster showed a picture of Logan, Flo P, Ji-Ji, and Saraha’s faces, all looking relatively normal. With a shock, Logan realised that the Government must have obtained these from their parents! Casper was not yet listed, but it would be hours until someone realised he was travelling with them, if no one had realised already.

Logan swallowed a clenching feeling in his stomach. The name “Special Defence and Reorganization Unit” bode no good, and he shuddered to think what their job in the Government was.

“Shart, shart, shart,” Saraha said, running her hands through her hair. “This is not good!”

Flo P snorted. “Are you kidding me? It’s like the Wild West. They have Wanted posters of us!”

“We can’t stay here long,” Logan said firmly, and Ji-Ji nodded in agreement, veto-ing his decision. “We’ll have to keep moving soon. I’m sorry, and as much as I like Kyun – ” he addressed Casper directly, now “ – we can’t stay here any longer. It’d be dangerous. I hope you guys agree with me. A week at the most. We’ve got to start planning every move we make.”

“Let’s gather the supplies we need and make it back to the hotel. We want to keep as low a profile as possible,” Ji-Ji directed them.

They jumped like soldiers, and went about their tasks. Logan’s feeling of safety was gone. What is this world? He wondered. Is everyone out to get me?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? WHAT WILL THE QUAD SQUAD’S NEXT MOVE BE? READ NEXT WEEK IN “THE SHADOW BOY”!

19: Spur on the Horse

“What the flack are you suggesting?” said Flo P incredulously.

“You want us to leave?” Logan murmured.

Casper looked at them, exasperated. “What’s wrong with you guys? Can’t you understand?”

Saraha sniffed pompously. “I don’t think you can boss us around, Casper Skylark. You’re a simple kid who grew up in the country. You’ve no idea what we’re up against.”

“You have no idea what we’re up against and what we’re trying to save,” added Flo P assertively.

“What’s that, then?” Casper asked the group.

All four threw each other shifty glances. “Something we can’t tell you…” Ji-Ji trailed off.

Casper rolled his eyes. “Fine, then, don’t tell me, but you can’t stay here anymore. I can’t stay here. I dunno what you’re all running away from, but it’s something serious. I’ve seen your faces in the papers! There’s a poster in the community centre with a ‘HAVE YOU SEEN THESE CHILDREN?’ heading! People have asked after you! Why didn’t I tell you? So I wouldn’t scare you all shartless.

“And now that McGregor knows who you are, it’s a matter of time before he tells the authorities and then pieces together that we’re hiding here. Now shut up, and get packing.”

Logan opened his mouth, and shut it again. Casper did have a point. He was smart. They’d lingered here long enough. It was time to spur on the horse and get moving. So he stooped down, and scattered the fire pit. He rolled up a couple sleeping bags, and tied them together.

He was vaguely aware that Ji-Ji began to help him, heeding Casper’s words. But when he stood up again, he saw Flo P and Saraha standing there, looking at him. Well, not so much Flo P; she could see where the directional mindset of the group was going, and she was making to help clear the camp.

But Saraha looked defiant. “What the flack? You’re taking this guava’s word? I understand we have to leave, all right, but you’re going to listen to… to that and then jump to his every bidding? Ninnies.” She crossed her arms and stomped her foot, but after a minute, she went to help the others.

Casper cocked an eye at them all. He stood watching the Squad Quad for a moment, and they were all awkwardly aware of it—they tried to block it out, as his character had elastically snapped from a free-thinking Snuggle Boy to a commanding smartass who thought he knew real danger. But then he made to leave, and said,

“I’m going to go get some stuff for myself. I’ll meet you at the north-eastern side of the woods by nightfall.” Then he left.

Logan eyed them all. Ji-Ji was systematically packing, fitting everything perfectly into her backpack—in a way that could make anyone jealous—and Flo P was trying to with more stuffing and shoving. The clothes and equipment started off nicely folded, but they advanced into ball of fabric. Saraha was still fuming, but she had a certain docility with her packing, like she’d expected it all along. Logan looked at his own backpack, everything coming out of pockets, the zippers bursting at the seams; a real display of higgledy-piggledy.

When they finished, they group made sure the camp looked normal again. They took damp winter leaves and spread them about, and then Logan measured his compass, and led them northeast.

The walk was longer and harder going than they thought, as the forest grew thicker. Unconsciously, all four of the friends tried not to make any sounds, and carefully stepped over sticks, leaves, and other forest grub. It was like Casper was behind them, telling them to be quiet, telling them danger was everywhere. I know that, though, Logan thought furiously. I know what danger is, too.

When they made it to the fringes of Thorn Forest, the sun was just dipping behind the horizon. It was only half an hour later, when darkness was settling in, and the sounds of night creatures were heard from the confines of the wood, that there was the puttering of an engine.

Casper emerged from view in his red Alfa Romeo. When Logan was able to rip his eyes off the car, which was much older than any other he’d ever seen, and ran on gas—a material impossible for a normal citizen to buy or bribe—he saw that Casper looked stressed and pissed.

“Get in the car,” he said, pulling off the side of the dirt road.

When they’d begun driving down a bumpy dirt road, Logan tempted a question that even Ji-Ji hadn’t wanted to ask; “Casper, where is it exactly that we’re going?”

“Far away,” said Casper. “To Kyun.”

18: Thievery is my Only Alibi

Alright, fellows, we’re getting this boring, mundane story moving along. Hopefully.

“It could be dangerous,” Ji-Ji said sceptically. “We don’t know what we’re getting into, and neither do you. Why, anyway?”

“Don’t be such a party-cruncher. It’ll be fun. C’mon, Ji-Ji! Flo P wants to, don’t you, Flo P?” Saraha flashed a grin in her friend’s direction.

“Err, sure. It’s better than rotting in this hellhole. What do you say, Lo?” Flo P turned to Logan.

Even though she was just asking his opinion of something, Logan felt his heart flutter, but he subdued it. If he let that get to his head, he would start blushing, and when he started, he would never stop. “I – uh – If you want to,” Logan stuttered.

Casper looked at Ji-Ji, and smirked. “Everyone says yes. You’re not scared, are you?” She bristled, ready to defend herself.

“Oh, please,” Saraha said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be lecherous.”

“Lechers are banned from this camp,” Flo P informed Casper. “So if you want to be lascivious, please leave.”

Logan giggled impishly in the background.

Next thing Logan knew, his stomach was doing flip-flops. He wished he had a toilet to run to, and he felt jittery all over. “G – guys,” he whispered, his voice shaking.

Instead of Saraha, who usually mentally and verbally abused him, Flo P turned to him. “You’re not frightened, are you? Honestly, this isn’t that scary,” she said, eyeing him.

“N – No,” he replied, and swallowed his plea to go back to camp.

Life seemed surreal, now that Logan thought of it. Back at home, Flo P stuck up for him, cared, dismissed his cowardliness, and told others not to bully him over it. But in a few short months, that had all changed. They had become hardened warriors, and left Logan behind. Thinking this, Logan was sad. After all, the only courage he showed was sporadic and came from unknown places. He supposed even the most lily-livered person showed these symptoms once in a while.

“Go!” cried Ji-Ji, positioned by the bush. She silently jumped up, her curtain of black hair swinging behind her, and ran for the big red barn that was McGregor’s. Saraha and Flo P followed close behind, Logan spluttering to keep up in the background.

It was never his idea in the first place, to go steal food and supplies from McGregor. Actually, it was Saraha’s, and at first, no one had taken her seriously. But she’d persuaded them all eventually. Logan had only agreed because it would make Flo P happy, but he was seriously contemplating on withdrawing his vote. Now that he looked the cobra between the eyes, the benefits were totally dwarfed by the risks.

“Logan, what are you doing? Stand watch by the door!” Ji-Ji hissed.

Logan started abruptly, realising that he was staring off into the distance. “Yes!” he squeaked, and jumping in front of the big red doors. He peered around, but the farm seemed still and silent. A large farmhouse, shabby and peeling, stood off to the right, and various farming equipment, broken or in use, littered the yard. All around stretched either woods or, in most cases, farmland.

There was one thing the Quad Squad underestimated, however: McGregor, as neurotic as he seemed, was not stupid. In fact, he was quite cunning. He’d grown up on this land and fought against his belligerent younger brother for it, and won. He knew when something was amiss.

Meanwhile, Saraha, Flo P, and Ji-Ji were stuffing apples, carrots, rope, canvas sheets, and anything else of use into old sacks. McGregor’s farm was like a goldmine.

BAM! The massive door, which Logan had been guarding, closed with such a force that the beams of the ceiling vibrated. A light dust fell down on the four, and somewhere high above, a pigeon squawked indignantly.

“What the hell was that?” Ji-Ji said slowly and quietly.

From outside the door, a maniacal shriek sounded. “I WILL NOT HAVE THEIVES ON MY PROPERTY! HOSTAGES! STOWAWAYS! STEALING WITHOUT RIGHT! ON THE RUN FROM THE GOVERNMENT NO LESS! WE’LL SET THIS STRAIGHT… THOUGHT I WOULDN’T RECOGNIZE YOU, EH? WELL, THAT’S ABOUT TO CHANGE!”

There was the sound of a tractor starting up, and then a great tide pushed against the barn door, and then all was eerily still.

Saraha, Ji-Ji, and Flo P ran up to Logan, who was standing rigidly by the door. “What did you do?” Flo P cried, half-sobbing. “How did he find us? Logan, you were supposed to keep watch!”

Logan opened and closed his mouth, like a fish out of water. “I – I didn’t mean to – I – ”

Saraha calmly sniffed. “Well, it’s obvious who can’t be trusted.”

For some reason, this stung Logan like a million bees. He couldn’t be trusted? Was she serious? If it wasn’t for him, they’d never have gotten their behinds out of hometown and the Walrus Document would have been seized. If any of them, he was fighting for this cause hardest of all.

“He’s walking to the house. D’you reckon he’s going to call the police?” Flo P whispered, looking through a crack in the wooden planks of the wall.

“Of course.” For once, Ji-Ji had lost her calm composure. Her hair looked a bit frazzled, not like its normal, shiny leaf of black.

“Shart,” said Saraha. “We’ll get handed in. Great. Okay. Fine then.” She muttered to herself, and began to pace about. Flo P was still staring through the wall, while Ji-Ji was running her hands through her hair, obviously deep in thought.

But Logan stood in the centre of the room, totally still. Was it his fault? Of course. He could blame no one else.

It the door to the farmhouse slamming shut that knocked them out of their stupors. When they heard the sound of muttering, they knew that McGregor was right next to the door of the barn, and this terrified the four. What was he going to do, guard them until the police came? Or would he decide to kill them, and set the barn ablaze?

“You will get your comeuppance,” McGregor said in his grainy voice. “You brats have stolen and ruined everything, and I – ”

“Shut up, old man,” said a voice, and Ji-Ji let out a happy little squeak.

“What are you doing here, Skylark boy?” McGregor coughed, surprised.

A loud ring, like a metal pan being hit against a head, resounded throughout the farm, and soon the tractor started up. The weight on the door was released, and soon Flo P and Logan were able to force it open. While they stood blinking in the sunlight (the barn had been very dark and musty), Ji-Ji ran over to the tractor, and flung her arms around the boy that stepped out of it.

“Casper! Oh my god, how did you know we were in trouble?”

“I have my sources,” he said calmly. “But we need to get out of here, NOW. You can’t stay in Thorn Valley anymore.”

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE QUAD SQUAD NEXT WEDNESDAY IN “SPUR ON THE HORSE”?

Special: Sarah Drawing

In celebration of me being back or something, I drew Saraha :D Actually, I wanted to do Flo P first, but I totally messed up her face, so I opted for a half-finished Saraha. Unfortunately, I didn’t base it off of myself, just maybe a bit of the hair colour!

Anyhow, in my defense, it is a bit rough, so sorry about that (I just realised how bad the right leg looks Dx)! I should also apologize about the colour combination... I took the jacket from this actor I really love <3, and nothing really goes with it. I didn’t want to do jeans, because that’d be blue on blue, so I opted for these really disgusting grey pants. Haha, don’t judge me too harshly! >.<

17: I Will Be Me, But Who Will You Be?

I’m back, with loads of chapters and stuff that I’ve done while taking my one-month leave! Plus, I’ve finally resolved how the story’s going to end… Don’t worry, it’s not for a really long while, but I quite like it. It’s one of those types where you wring your hands and ask “WHY SARAH, WHY?” but you can’t imagine it ending different anyways. To conclude, sorry that this chapter is super boring and it’s all about Logan “thinking”; it’s a slow start, but it’s needed.

Logan sat cross-legged in the new camp. It was a small dell – and by small, I mean small. There was barely room for the four of them, but it was the only acceptable, half-dry place far enough from McGregor’s farm. They had to role up the sleeping bags and pile all the supplies; food, pots, extra firewood, and Evan water bottles in the corner so there was room to sleep at night. Still, it was like sardines in a can.

The February air was damp and chilled Logan. He wished it were March, because though the rain would be miserable and it would be difficult for them to keep dry, it was better than this half-rain half-snow combination.

I’m bored, thought Logan. Bored, bored, bored. Both Saraha and Flo P were off walking, which they did most of the time now. Ji-Ji was taking rides in her beloved Casper’s Alfa Romeo. Logan knew it was a car, but that didn’t impress him much, no matter how old or how hard the edition to come by was.

Usually, while he was all alone guarding that camp, he thought about things, and sorted them out in his head, one by one, neatly and organized. Logan would feel great about himself, for a short while, and plan to put his ideas into action – things like having Campfire Bonding Night – but they would be shot down immediately by an irritable Saraha and an uninterested Flo P. Ji-Ji usually wasn’t there to participate.

While he thought, he decided to put his Flo P wooing on hold. Logan knew he wasn’t getting very far, and even if he tried, nothing would become in this forest. Though they were protected from Commander Brack, it made the Quad Squad feel nervous, like rats in a trap; just waiting to leave and get out into the world again. As long as Flo P felt like that, Logan also knew that she would brush his advances to the side.

On Commander Brack, Logan couldn’t quite place his feelings. Logan felt as if he was underestimating Commander Brack, and that he was heading into trouble because of it. It was almost as if the obscure Commander was goading them, letting Logan and his friends hide out in a wet, uncomfortable forest while he was hiding right outside their doorstep, with fancy technology and weapons, ready to jump and capture them if they wandered one step out of the Safe Haven.

When he heard twigs thwack, he looked up to see Ji-Ji, enthusiastically brandishing a plastic grocery bag. The words “Farmer Ben’s Happy Food Mart” were stamped into the front in thick, bolded, red type. Ji-Ji plopped the bag on the ground next to Logan, and pulled changed her clothes from what appeared to be an emo disguise.

“How are you?” she asked him.

“Fine,” Logan lied. “And you?”

“Oh, brilliant as usual!” Ji-Ji grinned.

Logan began work on starting a small fire. Flo P had perfected a way in making sure the smoke wasn’t easily visible, and Saraha a way to capture most of the scent of the food while cooking it. As he was working, Ji-Ji sat on a log behind him and watched.

A couple minutes later, Saraha and Flo P crashed through the trees. “Oh, look, Miss Flower Power’s back from the void of utter happiness and freedom,” said Saraha when she saw Ji-Ji, with a slight hint of a sneer on her face. “How was basking in the sun of bliss?”

“Great!” said Ji-Ji, oblivious to Saraha’s attempts to dragoon her. “It’s a pity you can’t come, you would’ve loved it, Saraha.”

In response, Saraha just stomped off to rifle through the grocery bag. Flo P nodded a curt hello, and went to help prepare the fire with Logan.

Logan wasn’t the type to become jealous, but he was definitely feeling a little frazzled that Ji-Ji got to have all the fun, while they were stuck in the fricking muddy camp with nothing to do. There weren’t even books to read! It was hard not to feel a little resentful.

“There’s really wonderful things to see in Thorn Valley! Casper took me in his car – it’s an Alfa Romeo Spider, and nearly one hundred years old at that! – and we saw these really cool cliffs. They’ve got lots of waterfalls, and they looked spooky today because it was so misty,” Ji-Ji babbled. “He also said he thought my emo disguise didn’t suit me at all, but I know he was just saying how nice I looked, in his roundabout way, I could feel it.” She continued to rant on.

“Hey, Ji-Ji, look up a minute,” broke in Flo P.

“Mhmm?” she asked, startled out of her Casper tirade.

Flo P said: “We don’t really ca– ”

“Are you high or drunk or something?” Saraha interrupted. “Because if not, you have gone terminally insane. No offence, but we’d rather not hear about your wonderful Snuggle Boy, Casper, or your fun frolicks in the outside world.”

“Yeah, lay off, Ji. You always come back with stories about how great Thorn Valley is, but can’t you see we’re wasting away in this damn forest, while you get all the sweet golden glory?” Flo P added bluntly.

Ji-Ji looked shocked, sighed, and then appeared normal once more. The other three hadn’t seen a “normal” Ji-Ji in a while, and they almost stepped back at the noticeable difference.

“You no longer look like a love-struck puppy,” said Saraha. “Good. I see my rudeness has gotten through to you.”

Flo P grinned; “Welcome back Miss Calculating.”

Ji-Ji frowned. “Calculating? What’re you talking about…? Never mind, don’t tell me, I have a distinct impression that I wouldn’t be too thrilled with it.”

She paused. “I suppose I’ll have to apologize for being such a –”

“Braggart?” suggested Logan.

“Farse?” said Flo P.

“Ninny?” added Saraha.

“Okay, okay, whatever,” Ji-Ji said, waving her hand about. “I’m a bad person, I know. Now cook me my dinner, and otherwise, leave me alone.”

READ LOGAN & CO.’S ADVENTURES NEXT WEEK IN… “THIEVERY IS MY ONLY ALIBI”.