Okay, I decided to be nice and post this chapter sooner than I thought, so I hope everyone enjoys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate all the comments, keep 'em coming! The next chapter will take a little longer to get out so that's why I posted this one sooner so you guys have something to enjoy in the meantime. Don't forget to leave a review please!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the lost world characters, however this city that Malone has stumbled into and all of its inhabitants are mine, mine, mine, so hands off people:) Okay, on with the story!
"Lost But Now Found"
Chapter 2
from previous chapter: Three guards with three large swords started to make their way over to Malone and he knew he was in trouble…
Seeing that reasoning with these people was not possible, he decided to make a run for it. He had run out of ammunition for his rifle and pistol a long time ago and he wasn't about to stop and fight three behemoths twice his size with a knife, which compared to their swords, looked like a toothpick!
A couple hours earlier, when Malone had first entered the city, he was surprised at how civilized and prosperous it appeared. The market place was booming with activity and lots of people. He could see right away that there were many outsiders trading with the townspeople.
The townspeople themselves did not appear to be natives, but then again, they did not look like they came from off the plateau. At one point they had to have come from off the plateau or come across someone who did, they spoke English here as their first language. Maybe they're descended from a lost European expedition or something, Malone thought.
The people of the city were light skinned and many had blonde hair and blue eyes. This was not highly common on the plateau so Malone highly considered his previous thought. They're not Dutch like the Hagans, but definitely European. The people were wearing clothing that was similar to what Malone was wearing. The men all had trousers, nice shirts, vests, and boots. On their own, the clothing was not very special, but the fact that they had things like buttons on their shirts, belts with buckles, all of these were at the same quality as something you would find off the plateau. Malone was amazed because this had to be one of the most, or even THE, most civilized area of the plateau. He was surprised that he hadn't heard of it before. He had talked to the Zanga, the Amazons, Tribune and some of the lizards, and occasional nomadic tribes with the help of Marguerite, and never had this place been mentioned. In fact, he didn't even know the name of the city or what the people called themselves.
He continued walking through the city marveling at the advancements of this society. They had horse-drawn carriages and they had actual buildings! Buildings made of out some kind of stone and had doors and windows. They were still crude compared to some of the buildings that he'd seen all over Europe but they were farther ahead of anything he had seen on the plateau. As he walked through the market place, he saw the people were not bartering or trading, or even using gold for that matter, they had their own currency! It was much like the design of the American dollar. In the mere flash that he saw it, he saw the face of a woman on it, but he didn't get a good look at it. Must be their queen or leader, Malone thought.
He had walked by the carts and looked at some of the things the people were selling. He saw a vendor who had yards and yards of fabric. There were several different colors and also different types of fabric, even silk! Marguerite and the others, including myself, have been running low on clothes. Maybe I can figure out a way to make a trade for some fabric seeing as I don't have any money. It was at this moment that Malone happened to glance up and notice the picture of Veronica's mother which led to Malone fleeing for his life.
Now as he was running through the city streets hearing the city's guards chasing after him, his thoughts drifted back to the vendor's words. Why did he call Veronica's mother a "protector?" A protector of what?...Of these people? How could one woman protect a whole city? Unless...no, I KNOW that was Veronica's mother, I'm sure of it. But, I still don't understand...Maybe the man is crazy, but then this whole village would have to be crazy, they all think the same thing. A whole village full of crazy people hell-bent on killing me...hmmmm, that's not a big stretch for this plateau. All I know for sure is that I need to get the hell out of here before I'm made into mincemeat by those swords!
By now, the whole village had heard of the blasphemous outsider and seemed like the whole city was out scouring the city looking for him. The town square was swarming with guards and the only route out of the city passed through it. Malone saw he was trapped and ducked into an alley and crouched to hide behind some boxes to weigh his options. "Well good job Malone! You're a dead duck! How are you going to get out of this one...think! Well, 1) I could sit here and wait for them to find me, 2) I could try to walk out there and talk this out rationally, or 3) I could make a mad dash through the square and hope to not be seen. Of course, with all these options, I end up the same way, DEAD! Come on, there has to be another way..."
"I can help you, young man."
Malone turned around and came face to face with a little old woman with a kind face and sweet smile. But Malone learned early on after several experiences that left him unconscious and with a throbbing headache and lump on his head, that even a kind face could betray you. "Why would you want to help me? What's in it for you? And HOW would you help me for that matter? I don't think the two of us would be a very good match against the entire city's guards." He looked suspiciously at the older woman waiting for her to answer. She didn't give him one. Instead, she turned around and started to walk away.
Malone sat there for a second confused, but considering his alternatives which all ended in a way that he really wanted to avoid, he got up and carefully followed her down the alley. Don't be fooled, things are never this easy. A complete stranger never comes up to you and says they'll help you without there being a catch. Keep your eyes open! With my luck, she's leading me straight into a trap. Or...she'll shape shift into some sort of monster and try to kill me or something. She can't possibly want to help me. This is ridiculous, use your head! Better yet, use your mouth! How many times are you going to contently walk straight into trouble! If you don't want to walk into the lion's den, find out where the hell you're going! Don't be naïve! Malone was still walking a little bit behind the woman but spoke up. "Um, excuse me? Ma'am? Ma'am, excuse me?"
The old lady kept walking and didn't acknowledge Malone. He got tired of being polite and of being ignored. He ran and stopped in her path and decided to find out once and for all what was happening. "Excuse me, but where exactly are we going? Who are you? Why are you helping me? What's going on here?"
She looked up and smiled and simply said, "Follow me." She turned the corner and stood in front of an open door. She turned and faced Malone and saw his anxious stance and the nervous look on his face. He couldn't hide his apprehensiveness no matter how hard he wanted to try. She smiled once again and she pointed inside and said, "Come inside." She walked in leaving Malone outside. "Well, I'm not dead yet so that's an improvement over my previous situation. She seems like a nice little old lady so far…" Malone groaned and muttered to himself, "Oh Malone, what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?" He took a deep breath and went inside and closed the door.
To Be Continued :D
