It was a gray morning. The busy town of London was still fast asleep under their hand-me-down patchwork quilts. Two boys looked down at some unmarked graves that lay just out of town.
"I wonder which one is Fagin," Dodger spoke first, his voice barely above a whisper.
"And… Nance," Charley muttered. The name stung Dodger and if Charley Bates were not his best friend he would have punched him in the face.
"Yeah," Dodger replied as salty tears made their way to his eyes.
"It seems almost unfair," Charley said as they turned to leave.
"What is?" Dodger asked as he looked over to his friend.
"Just having unmarked graves that no one cares about. I mean, they're people too!" Charley ranted.
"I guess," Dodger thought for a moment, "I guess they're all gone now."
"Yeah. I hope Bet's still alive," Charley blurted.
"Why?"
"'Cause she's nice 'nough," Charley responded as they entered the main part of the city.
"I suppose she's alright," Dodger nodded.
"What should we do now?"
"I guess the only thing to do is go back to the hideout," Dodger said.
"The traps'll be all over that place once working hours start," Charley pointed out.
"Yeah. We should go grab most of our stuff and find a new place to hang out." Dodger said. The two boys ran back to the hideout and were happy to see it was deserted. They ran up the stairs and burst through the door of the hideout. They missed the usual noise and greetings that awaited them on a normal day, but this was not a normal day. This was a new start.
Dodger went through all of his stuff and picked out what little clothes were on the floor as well as some wallets. Charley grabbed a few handkerchiefs and wallets and they headed back towards the door.
"It this the last time we're ever going to see this place?" Charley asked Dodger.
"Yeah. Let's get out of here and find a new place."
"There's bound to be plenty of old places no one wants to live in," Charley said.
"Maybe," Dodger said, nodding slightly. They walked across the city just as it was coming alive.
"How 'bout that?" Charley pointed to a tall rundown brick building.
"Let's try it." They looked around the outside of the building until they found the door. They pushed through it and climbed a few flights of stairs. They entered a deserted room with a table, two chairs, a few old barrels and crates and an un-swept fireplace.
"This place is great!" Charley shouted.
"Shut up," Dodger hit him on the arm. "Do you want someone to hear us?"
"No," Charley decided. They went about putting away their stuff and tidying the place to the best of their ability.
"I wonder what we should do to make a living," Dodger mused. "People are bound to be looking for us."
"They prob'ly stopped that weeks ago. We should start a new gang." Charley said.
"Yeah. That's a great idea! When should we start?" Dodger exclaimed.
"Tomorrow. Let's get some sleep." Charley and Dodger yawned. They fell asleep on the wooden floor dreaming of their new gang.
…..
I'm working on some OCs to join the gang. I may bring back some other characters.
Please review!
