Hi guys! So, this chapter is slightly short... and, reading back over, there isn't much going on... But don't worry! Next chapter, things start to get interesting! (I think...)

The next morning, Tom was less than surprised to find Ben, Jimmy, and Dallon gone, their blankets and sleeping bags neatly rolled up and folded. As quietly as possible, so as not to wake his family, Tom stood, grabbing his boots, coat, and gun belt, and tip-toed out of the tent. He looked around outside as he put on his boots and jacket, then strapped the gun belt on as he walked towards the fire circle. The fire had already been lit, and Pope was starting to cook breakfast over it. Tom spotted the three boys across the circle at the med-bus. As he neared them, he observed the dynamic of the trio and Abby. Abby was seated on the ground with her back to the front tire of the med-bus. Ben was leaning against the bus next to Abby, and Jimmy was sitting on the ground next to him. Dallon crouched in a ready position between Abby and Jimmy, Abby's feet resting on his knees. All four of the teenagers wore varying expressions of seriousness and alarm.

'Hey,' Tom called as he approached. 'What's up?'

'Hey, Dad,' Ben replied. 'Morning.'

'Good morning, Professor,' Jimmy smiled wanly.

'Is something wrong?' Tom asked, looking around the circle at the grim faces.

'No, it's fine,' Abby replied quickly.

'Does it have something to do with what happened to you last night, Jimmy?' Tom pressed.

Jimmy sighed and glanced up at Ben before replying. 'Kind of, yeah.'

'Who was it?' Tom asked.

'Samson,' Jimmy replied.

'Who's Samson?' Tom asked.

'Samson is one of the high-ups in the skitter rebellion,' Ben replied. 'He was harnessed for so long that he's more skitter than human now. He has four legs, and his hands and feet are skitter. Most of his face is skitter too, but he still has human eyes, nose, and mouth. His head is shaped like a skitter's, but he has a ton of black dreads too.'

'So pretty recognizable, huh?' Tom remarked. 'What does he have to do with Jimmy's spikes lighting up last night?'

'Samson was the one who connected with me and cause them to light up,' Jimmy explained. 'He told me to meet him in the morning. This morning, Abby and Ben and I went out to find him.'

'What happened?' Tom prompted.

'He doesn't want us to stay here,' Abby sighed. 'Basically. He wants us to go back to the rebellion and keep fighting.'

'What did you say?' Tom asked.

'We said no,' Jimmy replied. 'But Samson doesn't like it if you tell him no.'

'He said they can stay with us for a little while, but he's going to come back for them to carry out some sort of attack with the rebel skitters,' Ben finished.

'Well, if you don't want to go with him then, you don't have to,' Tom reassured them.

'You don't know Samson,' Dallon said suddenly, standing and dumping Abby's legs onto the ground.

'You guys are scared of him, aren't you?' Tom asked, looking at the faces of the teenagers around him.

'Hells yeah,' Abby said angrily, jumping to her feet. 'Samson is terrifying. The skitters aren't bad. They treat us like tools, yeah, but they're… I don't know, nicer about it. I don't know how to explain it. But Samson? Samson could care less. To him, we're disposable, expendable. It sounds like they think the same way, but they don't. Samson is ruthless and harsh and cold and uncaring.'

'Dad, you don't understand,' Ben sighed. 'It's not something we could explain, no matter how hard we try.'

'Okay, okay,' Tom nodded, raising his hands in surrender. 'I'll take your word for it. But if you guys don't want to leave when Samson comes back, we will defend you. They won't force you.'

'Thanks for the thought, Professor,' Jimmy sighed, standing.

'On the bright side, Samson brought our gear,' Abby said, changing the subject. 'We now have clean clothing and our guns.'

'Yeah, I noticed,' Tom laughed. He eyed Abby up. She had swapped her grey and black clothes of the night before for a bright yellow and grey striped long-sleeved shirt under an equally bright yellow t-shirt and dark jeans. 'You're a sight for sore eyes. Or, more accurately, a sight to make eyes sore.'

Abby laughed at the comment and shook her head. 'I can live with that,' she grinned.

Seeing her in proper lighting, Tom was able to get a better view of the girl. She was short, around five feet, and athletically built. She had long, mostly straight, deep red hair that nearly reached her waist, and big, round, chocolate brown eyes. Hidden in the nest of her hair were several brightly colored woven braids. Shorter pieces of hair in the front, over her face, were pulled back this morning, revealing a pale, thin face with pink cheeks, a button nose, and a smattering of dark freckles. She was rather pretty, Tom realized.

Dallon had overgrown dark brown hair and wide dark eyes. His hair almost concealed high, sharp cheekbones, dark circles around his eyes, and a long hook nose. He seemed to have a frown permanently plastered on his narrow face. He was tall and skinny, but, like the other harnessed kids, had a sort of feline grace about him, as well clearly defined muscles under his skin.

Jimmy had changed since the last time Tom saw him lying pale and still on a gurney in the med-bus. His skin was darker and more weathered, and his hair longer and lighter. Currently, he had pulled his hair into a short ponytail. He was taller, thinner, and more muscular. Tom swallowed when he noticed the bumps of spikes running down Jimmy's spine and the uncovered ones at the nape of his neck.

'Sounds like the other kids woke up,' Ben said suddenly, pushing away from the med-bus.

Summer poked her head out the door and looked around before spotting the group. 'Abby! Where did our clothes come from?'

'Samson brought them to me and Jimmy this morning,' Abby replied. 'Get dressed and come outside.'

Summer ducked back inside the bus as Colm came running out. He wore a pair of olive green, dirt-stained cargo pants and a long-sleeved Iron Man t-shirt with holes in the elbows. His sneakers were old and ratty, with fraying laces and held together by duct tape. 'Abby! Hi!' he giggled, flinging himself on the girl.

'Oof,' Abby groaned as he slammed into her. 'Gosh, buddy, you're heavy. Tackle Jimmy or Dallon. You're too big for me.'

'No I'm not,' Colm laughed. 'You're just saying that cos that's what people say to kids my age.'

'Good morning!' Mariah sang as she and Amanda emerged from the bus. Mariah wore a long pink shirt with ruffles at the bottom, stained with dirt and torn at the collar, with grey and black striped leggings. Amanda wore patched jeans and a blue hoodie with brown sneakers that were in only slightly better shape than Colm's.

The two girls scampered over to stand between Jimmy and Dallon as Harlem left the bus. His dark blond hair was matted and dirty, and his face was stained with dirt. He wore a red sweatshirt over a Star Wars t-shirt and jeans with muddy work boots. He had green eyes and freckles, and stared suspiciously at Tom.

'How are you feeling this morning, Harlem?' Anne asked, approaching from behind Tom with Alexis on her hip and Matt in tow.

'Fine, ma'am,' Harlem replied. 'Head's all better.'

'Good,' Anne smiled. 'I'd like to check you out again later, just to be on the safe side, but for now, let's get some breakfast. Pope looks like he'll be done any minute.'

'Breakfast sounds great,' Abby grinned, hoisting Colm up onto her hip.

Okayyy! I'm not sure when I'll upload the next chapter... Fun fact about this fic: I currently have written 104 pages for it. That's 38,943. It's divided up into 21 chapters. It's actually longer than the book I've written. I feel like that's kind of sad, considering I've only spent about a week on it...

Anyways, today was the first day of my second semester of college! Yay... yeah, but now that that's started, I'm not sure how regularly I'll be updating this or Not All Who Wander are Lost... This should be pretty frequent, since I already have so much written, but yeah. Have a good day, everyone! Reviews are APPRECIATED! *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*