Disclaimer: see chapter 1
"They gonna get the outsiders?" asked Lizzie as she shuffled a worn out deck of cards for go a quick game of go fish. All of the able bodied men were out looking for the outsiders which left everyone else alone. It wasn't safe for them to be alone so they were all sequestered in Big Brain's house.
"Most likely." Said Big Mama as she wiped the dribble from the baby's chin
"I'm scared mama. We gonna be OK?" asked Mercury as he rubbed off some of his ashen skin. Lizzie imagined that snow would look like the flakes of dead skin that fell from her little cousin
"We'll be fine, Papa Jupiter's gonna get 'em an we'll be safe." Said Big Mama as Lizzie began to deal some cards
"The name of the game's go fish." Said Lizzie as she dealt everyone some cards
"We're playing…poker." Said Big Brain not wanting to play such a childish game
"I said we're playin' go fish!" said Lizzie
"We should play old maid." Said Venus the tumor on the side of her face slurring her speech
"I second." Said Mercury raising his arm
"Well, Ruby seconds go fish. Right Ruby?" asked Lizzie before looking around. Ruby was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is that child? I told her to stay put!" said Big Mama as she go up to leave. Big Brain grabbed her arm as she walked past him.
"Please…don't…risk your life…out there." Said Big Brain as clearly as he could
"She's my daughter." Said Big Mama snatching her arm free of his surprisingly strong grip
"She'll be alright…she's always…alright." Said Big Brain giving her a pleading look
"Mama, where's Ruby?" asked Mercury as he and his twin Venus looked around the room for their sister.
"I don't know." Said Big Mama looking out the window watching far away dots running on the landscape
"Ruby, get the fuck out of here!" yelled Mars as he was knocked to the hard ground by his cousin. He could see the outsiders getting farther and farther away as Papa Jupiter shot at them. Pluto walked over and helped him up.
"No, I won't Mars!" said Ruby struggling to be intelligible. She knew that killing them was wrong and she wanted them to live
"Go!" said Pluto as she picked her up and threw her a few feet behind him. She go up and took off running past them. Mars decided to worry about them later and continued to chase the outsiders. His father and Papa Jupiter were already ahead of them and the outsiders were headed to the mines.
"Run faster you Moron! If they get to the mines we'll never get them back! If they leave they could bring others like the police and then we're all screwed!" said Mars as he ran towards the mines with Pluto at his heels.
"Hold still so I can shoot ya!" said Papa Jupiter as he tried to shoot the outsiders. He was shooting to kill the man, the woman was too useful to them. He shot off his last bullet and it hit the man in the shoulders and he crumpled to the ground.
"Doug!" yelled Lynn as her husband crumpled to the ground in pain. She tried to help him up but this gave Lizard enough time to catch up to them.
"Got you ya little bitch! Thought you could get away. Huh?" said Lizard as he threw her over his shoulder. Lynn began to kick and cream in protest but Lizard held on. Papa Jupiter walked up to Doug and finished him off with the butt of his gun.
"Papa, why you do that?" asked Ruby as she ran up to his dead body. Papa Jupiter slapped Ruby across the face for leaving. He was angry at her but he was also afraid that she could have gotten hurt or killed.
"I'm sorry but you shouldn't have left. You could have died." Said Papa Jupiter picking her up and taking her to the test village.
"Why Papa? Why?" asked Ruby as she saw Pluto pick up the man's body to take home.
"We gotta eat Ruby." And with that Ruby stopped talking and listened to the woman's cries for her husband as she was lead back to their home.
