Chapter One
"Bill?" I heard my own groggy voice and wondered if I was alive or in some higher place. The whole of my body ached finally feeling the effect of Bill's hands from hours before.
"Your alive then? Shame that."
So I was alive or was it Hell? I opened my eyes to look around and the sight that welcomed me truly made me wonder if the was Hell! This is what I saw: It was a dark and gloomy place, not unlike the usual places in which I dwell but it was made all the worse by the amount of people in this dark and gloomy place. It was absolutely packed there wasn't room to swing a flea let alone a cat. Men, woman and children from newborn to young adults were crammed in to this place from end to end it was no wonder there wasn't any light, there was scarcely room for air. And the smell! Needless to say I am accustomed to the smell of poverty, destitution and the hardships of life but with lack of light and air it was just too much even for me and I felt the bile rise in my throat and rolled over to release it.
"Don't even think about it" Bill pushed me back away from him and I had no other choice then to urge the feeling to be sick back down to the pit of my stomach.
I looked to the other side and there was Fagin muttering something about this being worse than The Dials and next to him, to my surprise, Dodger who was fast asleep.
"Morning my dear. You've been out cold for a few days; still it's good you are awake huh? Not long now Nance and we will be there"
"How can you tell it's morning?" I asked with an attempt of a smile from my swollen lips "Where are we going? When did Dodger get here?"
"Well you said we could go to France did you not? And Dodger found us the boat, he were waiting for us my dear.. Look at us!" Fagin shook his head with disbelieve "We ruled The Dials and now we are reduced to four sad bodies."
I looked around seeing that there were indeed only us four and Charley was no where to be seen. "Charley?"
Th old man sighed and actually looked saddened "'Tis a shame really is. Charley was one of the best, my dear, the best! But what is the first rule of this world we live in?"
"Not to peach, squeak, to tell tales or it's the hang mans rope" Bill's voice was very quiet and unusually soft "what's done had to be done. No more talk of it d'ya hear?"
It all made sense. Poor Charley! He was such a nice lad. Well nice as was possible in our game. A cruel part of me wished it were Charley next to Fagin and not Dodger.
"Bill what did he-"
"I said no more!" The gruffness had returned "Now shut your mouth before I shut it permanently."
The rest of the journey was done in silence.
"Bill?" I heard my own groggy voice and wondered if I was alive or in some higher place. The whole of my body ached finally feeling the effect of Bill's hands from hours before.
"Your alive then? Shame that."
So I was alive or was it Hell? I opened my eyes to look around and the sight that welcomed me truly made me wonder if the was Hell! This is what I saw: It was a dark and gloomy place, not unlike the usual places in which I dwell but it was made all the worse by the amount of people in this dark and gloomy place. It was absolutely packed there wasn't room to swing a flea let alone a cat. Men, woman and children from newborn to young adults were crammed in to this place from end to end it was no wonder there wasn't any light, there was scarcely room for air. And the smell! Needless to say I am accustomed to the smell of poverty, destitution and the hardships of life but with lack of light and air it was just too much even for me and I felt the bile rise in my throat and rolled over to release it.
"Don't even think about it" Bill pushed me back away from him and I had no other choice then to urge the feeling to be sick back down to the pit of my stomach.
I looked to the other side and there was Fagin muttering something about this being worse than The Dials and next to him, to my surprise, Dodger who was fast asleep.
"Morning my dear. You've been out cold for a few days; still it's good you are awake huh? Not long now Nance and we will be there"
"How can you tell it's morning?" I asked with an attempt of a smile from my swollen lips "Where are we going? When did Dodger get here?"
"Well you said we could go to France did you not? And Dodger found us the boat, he were waiting for us my dear.. Look at us!" Fagin shook his head with disbelieve "We ruled The Dials and now we are reduced to four sad bodies."
I looked around seeing that there were indeed only us four and Charley was no where to be seen. "Charley?"
Th old man sighed and actually looked saddened "'Tis a shame really is. Charley was one of the best, my dear, the best! But what is the first rule of this world we live in?"
"Not to peach, squeak, to tell tales or it's the hang mans rope" Bill's voice was very quiet and unusually soft "what's done had to be done. No more talk of it d'ya hear?"
It all made sense. Poor Charley! He was such a nice lad. Well nice as was possible in our game. A cruel part of me wished it were Charley next to Fagin and not Dodger.
"Bill what did he-"
"I said no more!" The gruffness had returned "Now shut your mouth before I shut it permanently."
The rest of the journey was done in silence.