Chapter 2:

An Unexpected Mission

Adam. He was bold and ruthless yet intelligent and strategic and he helped to create the group they were today. The group may be small and insignificant, but this man somehow made all the others not only survive, but thrive. How he did such a thing? No one in the group knew the answer except for him, but they were happy that way.

He began walking towards Harry; anticipation filled the cold dark room as his footsteps sounded ever so closer. He was unpredictable to say at the least and this fact scared every single one of the others in the group, including Fred.

Harry gulped and wiped his forehead with the leftover linen from his sleeve as sweat poured down from his head. Everything became silent, every man could feel his own heart beat in his chest and his lungs expand and compress with every breath.

"Do we have a problem 'ere?" Adam muttered as he snatched the half empty whisky bottle from Fred's hand and continued to pour it in the general direction of his mouth, letting the rest fall to the ground.

"Well, do we have a problem 'ere?" his voice seemed to deepen along with the mood within the room. Fred readied his dry lips to speak up.

"I-It's Harry sir! He thought he could…" before Fred could finish his sentence Travis kicked him in the knee as inconspicuously as he could. Unlike the others of the group, Travis grew to like the new kid, mainly because he could relate to him. He was once the new kid of the group himself and he knew the troubles Harry would have to face.

Adam threw the whiskey bottle to the ground and it shattered sending pieces all across the floor, definitely not impressing Fred. The boss turned to face Harry with killer eyes and Harry knew what was to come next.

"Harry…" Adam spoke up and gestured towards the door attempting to lead Harry out and into his office. Harry's face darkened and he stood up straight and begun walking towards the door. For him, it seemed like everyone was watching him as he marched out of the door, Adam at his back.

He was wandering what punishment he would get today. Harry, being what some would think of as a thief, had his mischievous ways and had gotten in to trouble beforehand. He once had stolen a gold necklace from the boss's safe and managed to keep it for three whole weeks before having Adam turnover the entire place looking for it. Adam managed to find it in Jerry's pocket in what seemed to be Harry's attempt to escape the penalty, but Jerry doesn't steal.

Usual punishments were hanging from the feet up on the flag pole that protruded out of the top of the compound, being locked in the basement for two whole days if it was really bad and for the really, really bad ones?

The worst would be known as Gary's fate. Why? Gary used to be part of the group, loyal and friendly. One day Gary found what seemed to be a flare gun on one of the search missions. He hid this in his pocket and when he got back to the compound he was eager to show everyone his new toy. Unfortunately, the others wanted more than just a look of the flare and one thing led to another.

Soon Gary found himself fighting over it with Fred outside the compound when all of a sudden Gary's hands slipped and he pulled the trigger of the gun, releasing a bright red flare into the air. What was more unfortunate is that it was night and the flare was visible to almost any bandit and infected in the area.

What came later were waves of bandits attempting to capture the compound. Eventually the group managed to fend them off but with much loss. Adam became curious as to how they attracted so many bandits. Fred told him that Gary released a flare from the compound and showed Adam the hidden flare gun under Gary's bunk.

The boss was infuriated and immediately grabbed Garry with one strong hand dragging him across with compound and out. A few minutes later they reached their destination which was a large tunnel leading to the subway system.

He threw Gary down the stairs who tumbled helplessly until he reached the bottom with a thud. The boss looked at him once more with killer in his eyes and shut the way out with a large crate. All that could be heard from the subway as he left was the screams of Gary and the roar of a bloater.

Harry felt his stomach twist and turn as he thought about this last punishment. Could this be how I die? He thought to himself. Harry wasn't eager to find out so he just left it and continued walking towards Adam's office.

His office was large and decorated with various different banners, however it still almost looked as run-down as any other room in the compound. There was a large desk in the centre with a comfy chair that had been torn to shreds by what looked like some sought of vicious animal. There were books lying all over the place and various documents waiting to be read and uncovered, however they were untouched ever since Harry saw the place for the first time.

Adam sat down at the desk and gestured for Harry to sit on a worn seat placed diagonally to the desk facing the sunlight from the window. At first, it nearly blinded Harry but he eventually got used to the light and could see Adam clearly.

"Alright then," Adam spoke first. It was the norm anyway, to let Adam speak first above all others. "I have a little mission for you my boy," he said with a slight smile upon his face. Harry just nodded as he did not want to say anything to offend the boss. In fact, saying anything at all could offend the boss anyway.

Adam stood up from the chair and began to pace around the room. "The way I see it, you are a capable young fella," he continued, "And I feel it is best to perhaps assign you to a mission a little more suited for such skills."

Harry knew that basically meant he was getting promoted; at least that's what the others thought anyway. He didn't understand the concept though. Apparently a higher likeliness of getting murdered meant you were higher in the ranks. Of course there wasn't any increase in any of the pay you got, but you were more recognised around the group. "A True Hunter" they would say.

"Here's the thing," Adam began to explain the mission to Harry; "There's a certain person not far from the compound that interests me quite a lot." The 15 year old boy was tempted to question the boss, but he held it in with all his might knowing that if he did he could end up like Gary, maybe even worse.

"Thing is, he's not doing so well at the moment and might need a wee bit o' help," Adam continued, his voice deepening. "I need you to go over there and fetch him up. Then you trot your way back here and hand him in. You do this for me lad and you get extra rations for dinner!" The smile on his face seemed wolfish and haunted, not that he wasn't a wolfish or haunting person, he absolutely was.

Harry liked the idea of extra rations; everyone in the group liked that idea too. The amount of food they had been receiving was rather low and extra rations seemed like a godsend. "Alright, I'll do it," the words slipped from Harry's mouth without any hesitation. He wanted those extra rations; in fact he was willing to kill for those rations.

Adam pulled out a map from under the desk after he had walked around it twice before. He placed the crinkled piece of paper on the desk and pointed to a circled location on the map, an old book store. Harry immediately knew where it was as he had been there before many times to search for supplies and it's where he got the dusty book he still held in his hands.

The cover was worn but he could just make out the words on the front. Powder Monkey: The Adventures of Sam Witchell. He was fascinated in the idea of going to sea and becoming a buccaneer. Sometimes he even saw his own group as a bunch of sea worthy pirates. Definitely not part of the royal navy, that's for sure. In fact, there was nothing royal about his group at all, accept for the expensive alcohol Jerry seemed to gather.

"Alright boy!" Adam continued with glee, "Don't disappoint me." The boss then gestured for Harry to walk out of the room as he sat back down on his comfy chair and continued to look at the map. Harry left the room feeling somewhat happy, yet somewhat scared. He could get extra rations for this mission or he could get his head blown off.

Either way, he knew he had to continue with the mission if he didn't want to end up like Gary. He returned to the sleeping quarters, where everyone else had either left or had fallen asleep, and walked over to his bunk. There, he picked up his almost empty back pack and placed the book inside zipping it up tight.

"Well, I guess I'm off then," he mumbled to himself as he left the room and exited the compound more than ready to start and adventure outside.