Don't own these characters you know.
Part 4
The campaign continued going strong. More and more people chose to join and try to stop the Vills system. Will and Layla worked in-between school work and training on getting people to rally to the Vills cause while their parents continued to try to get the government to appeal the system. Warren's sixteenth birthday was coming up in May and it was already March. They were determined not to allow Warren to die. Mr. Boomoski, the head of the Vills system, continued to take out his anger on their friend. Many evenings were spent not only sneaking the young man some food, but also helping Warren to clean newly inflicted wounds.
Layla and Will were very curios about the mysterious project that Warren had been working on over the last couple of months. He had timidly asked the two to meet him by the old church on the outskirts of town on Saturday. Neither Will nor Layla could figure out Warren's intentions, but both trusted him enough to agree. The following Saturday the weather was sunny but blustery. They arrived at the church to find Warren sitting on a crumbling wall with a little package resting in his lap.
"Warren," Layla greeted as she and Will sat on either side of him, "What are we doing here?"
"Today I have permission to place my Memory Doll in the Memory Forest," Warren said shyly ducking his head, "I wanted you two to be here. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Layla reassured the young man, "You are our friend. We would always come if you needed us. I'm just hoping that one day you will call us by our names instead of 'mistress' or 'master.'"
"I could never do that Mistress," Warren said wide-eyed, "That would be horribly disrespectful."
"No it wouldn't," Will denied, "You have been told that you are lower than us, but you are not. One day you will have the same rights as everybody else and then you can drop this 'master' and 'mistress' nonsense."
"Master," Warren said quietly turning to gaze through his eyelashes at his friend, "One day Vills may have rights, but it will not be in time for me. I will be sixteen very soon. It is time for me to place my Memory Doll."
"What is a Memory Doll?" Will asked curiously choosing to ignore the possibility that Warren could be taken away.
"This is," the young man said as he unwrapped the package in his lap.
Warren handed Will a very well done handmade rag doll. The small doll was about eight inches long. It was a perfect replica of the young Vills. The doll was dressed in clothes that had been cut right out of Warren's own ragged clothes. The face had tiny brown button eyes and features that smiled sadly. Warren had even cut some of his own hair for the tiny doll's head. Fear touched Will for a moment as he stroked the doll's long, streaked hair. Something seemed very ominous about a doll that was such an exact likeness to his friend. What was this doll used for?
"Oh. It's lovely," Layla said taking the doll from Will's hands, "It looks just like you. Why do you have your name embroidered on the doll's front? And why do it say 'Warren Peace' instead of 'Warren Battle?'"
"I choose to use my mother's maiden name instead of my father's young Mistress," Warren explained, "I do not want to claim the name of the person who was responsible for making me a Vills. I know my mother would have been honored for me to use her family name."
"But why does the doll have your name on it?" Will asked as Warren took back his Memory Doll.
"You'll see young Master," Warren said mysteriously, "I'll show you. Follow me. I'm sorry but it will be quite a walk and mostly uphill."
"No problem," Will said shrugging, "Layla and I have been trained our whole lives to take up our parent's work when we graduate. We can handle some hiking."
"Plus, I brought a picnic basket," Layla chirped, "We can eat lunch on the way to wherever you are taking us."
"Mistress you shouldn't have," Warren said with shining eyes, "You two have been so kind already."
"We wanted to," Will said reassuring the young teen, "I hope you know of a good picnic spot."
"I'm sure we can find one Master," Warren laughed as he took the basket from Layla's hands.
The three set out and hiked for about an hour. Layla and Will kept Warren in sight so as not to lose him as he led them through the woods. Both marveled at his silent strength.
"How in the world does he keep such a pace?" Layla asked her boyfriend quietly, "Even with the food we're able to bring, he still does not get enough to eat. He won't even let you or I help carry the picnic basket for heaven's sakes."
"He's used to working hard through hunger, exhaustion, and pain," Will said, "I have a feeling that Vills are amazingly strong. They've had to put up with so much they have adapted to how harsh their lives are. I don't even think Warren is winded."
"Master? Mistress?" Warren called, "Would you like to eat here?"
Warren had stopped at a spot that was high enough to give a lovely view of the town.
"This is great," Layla said excitedly, "I know I've worked up quite an appetite."
"Well, you know I'm always hungry," Will laughed, "Let's eat."
Warren helped Layla lay out the blanket she had brought. He then began to set out food for Will and Layla only.
"Where's your plate?" Will said as he accepted the plate the young teen offered.
"You and the young Mistress should eat first," Warren said feeling uncomfortable.
"Nonsense," Layla disagreed, "This is a picnic for all of us."
"Vills do not eat with Supers," Warren said softly, "I…I shouldn't. I can eat after."
"Warren," Will said pulling his friend down beside him, "You are our friend. We will eat with you or we won't eat at all."
"But..." Warren began.
"Hush," Will silenced his friend with a hand over his mouth, "Just eat."
Warren dipped himself a plate and then looked at his two friends uncertainly. He had eaten in front of them before, but he had never eaten with them. True to Will's words, neither took the first bite until Warren began to eat. The tension quickly fled and they began chatting and swapping interesting stories. After they cleaned their lunch mess Warren led them to the crest of the hill they had been climbing.
"We'll be in the Memory Forest soon," Warren said softly.
"What is the Memory Forest?" Layla asked.
"This is," Warren said reverently as he stepped inside of a small clearing lined with trees with low branches. Each tree was decorated with hundreds of small dolls.
"This is the Vills' Memory Forest," Warren said as Layla and Will looked around in wonder, "Vills are not buried. Our bodies are cremated and our ashes are scattered who knows where. A church in every town gives a bit of land that we Vills can place our Memory Dolls prior to our Disappearance Day."
"You…you mean all these dolls represent someone who has died?" Layla asked in disbelief.
"Yes Mistress," Warren said nodding, "We place the names we had at birth on our Memory Dolls. The dolls are proof that we existed on this world. That we were once somebody."
Will looked around him and shivered. Some Memory Dolls were quite new and some were very old. All the little faces smiled down at him as they rocked gently in the wind. Little eyes looked down at him. The names lovingly embroidered screamed out at him.
Katie, Jeff, Mark, Sarah, Ashley, Garrett, Peyton, Tara, Ceira, Justin, Ralph, Larry, Brad, Veronica, Keith, Travis, Ebony, Christopher, Darcey, Trenton, Jason…
"There must be thousands of dolls in just this one spot," Will thought to himself frantically.
Tony, Charity, Alex, Matthew, Susie, Penny, Brian, Robin, Eddie, Anthony, Tara, Elliott, May, Jordan, Cynthia, Jonah, Zachary, Bernard, Sharon, Lash…
"And Warren said each town has a Memory Forest that is probably just as full as this one," Will gasped.
Victoria, Tiffany, David, Clayton, Ron, Elizabeth, Keosha, James, Eric, Jonathon, Amy, Speed, Laura, Peter…
"There are too many names," Will thought overwhelmed with what he saw.
Michelle, Erica, Nicholas, Missy, Ryan, Tyler, Gwen, Drew, Timothy, Jaden, Tara, Sharonda, Michael, Jennifer, Tasha, Samuel, Joey, Demaras, Stephen…
"Oh my God!" Will gasped turning to Warren, "This is a graveyard."
"Yes Master," Warren said sadly, "This is where Vills leave their Memory Dolls so that others may one day remember us. This is the only type of memorial we get."
"Your going to put your Memory Doll here today," Layla said in shock as tears coursed down her face, "You still feel that you are going to die."
"Mistress Layla," Warren said gently, "You will one day help all Vills, but you cannot end the Vills system in time to save me. I know this to be true. I wanted you here today to place my Memory Doll. You two will remember me and I won't be forgotten.
"We'd never forget you," Layla sobbed throwing her arms around the startled teen.
"I'll be here for you to place your Memory Doll," Will said thickly as he swallowed the lump of pain in his throat, "But I won't let you die. I will save you Warren."
"I appreciate you trying," Warren said stepping out of Layla's embrace.
Will enfolded his girlfriend in his arms as Warren reverently placed his Memory Doll on a branch of a pretty tree.
"He will stay here and guard the Memory Forest," Warren said stepping back, "As long as my Memory Doll is here, others can know that at one time I was a part of this life."
The hike back into town was very somber and quiet. The silence was only broken by occasional sniffs from a very upset Layla. When the three reached the old church, Warren thanked his two friends for being there at such an important time for him and then quickly excused himself.
"Master Boomer will be expecting me back soon," Warren said as way of explanation, "Thank you again young Master and Mistress."
In a rare display of emotion, Warren gave his two friends a quick hug and hurried off. Neither Layla nor Will missed the tears swimming in his eyes.
"Layla," Will said on the way home, "Does your mom have the ability to get some news crews to do a story for us?"
"Probably," Layla said, "Why?"
"We need to have news channels search out all the Memory Forests," Will explained excitedly, "If the public sees all those Memory Dolls and the numbers start stacking up, then we can get some major support for our cause. More Supers would step in and help. The government would have to approve the appeal so the Vills system could be re-voted on."
"Your right," Layla said catching on too her boyfriend's excitement, "We could save Warren and all the other Vills!"
O.O
The story hit the airways immediately and the response was overwhelming.
"Tonight on the evening news. Memory Forests throughout the nation have been discovered. The Vills' small Memory Dolls fill each little memorial site. The numbers of lost Vills are staggering. People across the nation are furious.
'I have never seen numbers like this since the Holocaust or different Wars throughout the world' Medulla a leading science figure stated, "I am shocked and humiliated that this was occurring beneath my nose and I never knew."
Other Supers are getting involved in the Vills campaign.
'I am outraged!" Ms. Powers of the United Nations of Supers stated, 'I have defended innocents my whole life. When I saw the numbers of young teens that have perished in the Vills system, I was sick. I will not rest until the Vills system is banned. I also speak for the other Supers in the UNS."
The public has gone wild and is marching on the capitol. The people are demanding that an appeal be set up to investigate the Vills system. Policies have been set up that were never voted on by the heads of State. An appeal should be granted by tomorrow afternoon.
"Save all Vills," Will and Layla a son and a daughter of major Supers in the UNS stated, "They deserve to be set free."
Sonic Boom who is head of the Vills system would not contact us for a statement. More later tonight."
O.O
The Boomoski residence was in turmoil as Mr. Boomoski threw a temper tantrum the likes that nobody had seen before. Unfortunately, the person who bore the brunt of the anger was the young Vills that lived within the household.
"How did they find out about the Memory Forest Vills?" Master Boomer roared as he rained punches down on Warren.
"I…I don't know Master," Warren cried pitifully, "I swear, I don't know."
"How convenient that the day after you placed your Memory Doll this story was aired," Boomer hissed, "Who did you take with you?"
"Master…I…" the young teen moaned.
"Tell. Me. Who. NOW!" his master boomed out causing Warren to smack against the opposite wall, "It was that Stronghold kid and his girlfriend wasn't it?"
"Yes Master," Warren whimpered, "Th…They were just being friendly. They gave me orders to sit with them at your Christmas Party."
"So you whined about being mistreated! You started this whole fiasco!" Boomer screamed pulling the boy up by his hair.
"No Master," the teen cried, "I didn't complain. I...I told them that you have all authority over me and I appreciated all your generosity. I did Master! Please believe me!"
"Oh I do," Master Boomer said as realization dawned, "Those do-gooders became your friends and they decided to save you."
"Yes Master," Warren said fearfully.
"I'll teach them to interfere," Boomer said as he advanced on the battered young man, "I'll make you pay for their mistakes."
To be continued…
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