Godwin's Dragon Leash

Chapter Two

By Kellyq

Yusei followed Rally to a small cottage outside of a small village. The dark-haired teen looked at the house. The cottage had broken windows and rusted paint, made the house look like it was going to fall apart.

"This is where you live?" Yusei asked Rally.

The curly-red-haired boy cringed. "It's all we have, and with Trudge patrolling the streets, not everyone can get a scrap of food. All the money goes to Godwin and the rich people so they can get entertained by watching dragons fight."

Yusei was about to ask where the arena was when the door burst open and Blitz stepped out. The teen had a light-blue coat, a green shirt and a light-blue handkerchief wrapped around his head like a hat. Blitz stared at Yusei and saw the bread in the dark-haired teen's hand and Rally sanding there.

"Thanks for returning the bread that Rally borrowed from the kitchen," Blitz said, bowing respectfully.

Yusei did the same and handed the bread over, when he noticed two other teens: Nerve and Taka. Nerve was a thin teen wearing a white blouse, gray pants, and a green vest. Nerve's dark-blue hair was pulled back, and his small spectacles sat perfectly at the end of his nose. Taka was a chubby teen wearing a green shirt and dark-blue pants. His brown hair frizzed up like a palm tree.

"Finally! Someone caught the thief! I thought we were going to starve!" Taka said.

By now Nerve, Blitz, and Taka were staring at Rally with disapproval in their eyes. Yusei looked down at the poor red-haired boy and saw that he was about to cry.

"I'll take responsibility for what happened," Yusei spoke firmly. "He was only helping me get my strength back."

Rally looked up at Yusei and his face lit up. Blitz sighed and allowed Yusei and Rally in. The inside of the cottage was clean, but it had an odor of old paint and must. A small kitchen was straight ahead and four sleeping bags were off to the side. They all sat on the floor and Nerve divided up the bread for them. They all got a fair amount but Rally, who only got a handful of crumbs.

Yusei gave Nerve a sideways glance. "Why is Rally not getting his share?"

"He needs to learn not to take things that are not his, and for his punishment, that's all he's getting," Blitz explained.

The vibes right then went from being okay to bad. The crumbs in Rally's hand started to slip out of his shaking fingers. The red-haired boy got up and ran out with tears in his eyes. Yusei got to his feet too and followed the young boy.

Yusei followed Rally to a small river. By that point, light rain started to wet the ground. The young boy was hunched over and his shoulders were shaking.

"Rally ...?" Yusei murmured. The dark-haired teen sat next to his young friend.

"I ... I don't mean to be a bad kid," Rally choked out, tears streaming down his face. "I ... I just wanted to help you get Jack back, that's all."

Yusei only stared at the young red-haired boy and smiled. "Don't worry about it," he reassured. "You've done enough for me already. Now let's get back inside, before you get sick."

Rally nodded his head and wiped the tears from his face. Yusei reached into his pocket and pulled out the bread. He broke it in half and handed it to Rally.

"Here. You should eat," Yusei urged. He got to his feet.

"Thanks," Rally whispered. He took a bite and followed Yusei back to the cottage.

Once they got there, the others were waiting for them. Blitz stared at the two.

"I don't think I caught your name," he said, eyeing Yusei for a moment. He got to his feet and walked over to the other teen.

"It's Yusei," the dark-haired teen introduced. "And you are?"

"Blitz. That's Taka," he said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder to the brown-haired teen. "And that's Nerve," Blitz introduced, jabbing his other thumb at the dark-blue-haired teen. "And Rally you already know."

Yusei gave a polite nod in response. "It was nice to meet you all, but I should get going."

"No!" Rally cried out. He jumped to his feet and ran over to Yusei. Rally wrapped his arms around his friend and buried his face in Yusei's chest. "Please don't go!"

Yusei stared down at the trembling boy. His eyes shifted to the others, waiting for them to make a decision.

"Alright," Blitz groaned. "Your new friend can stay."

Rally's face lit up. "Yeah! You can stay!"

Yusei smiled. I guess I can, the dark-haired teen thought. Besides, These people need help more than Jack does. Yusei didn't like the idea, but something told him getting to Jack was going to be a little harder than he bargained for.

To Be Continued ...