Chapter 8

The younger kids led Nate, Shatner, and Pandora through the city, and they played, rough housed, and joked around with one another as if it was like any other day. Pandora seemed perfectly at home with them, and often joked and joshed as well, grinning eagerly. Nate and Shatner followed slightly farther behind, their eyes brows tilted in unison.

"So… what do you think?" asked Nate.

"This is a complete waste of time," said Shatner, "But I am no longer afraid of getting mugged and tied up in my sleep. They're no threat."

"Why don't they have any guns?" asked Nate, examining the bows and makeshift spears.

"This is England, guns are not so common or easy to obtain over here," said Shatner.

Nate crossed his arms and pretended to sulk, "Why couldn't we have landed in Russia? AK-47s for EVERYONE!"

Shatner shook his head and rolled his eyes, "You… you belong walking on the cars with the rest of the children!"

Before Nate could say anything, one of the young Brits walked up in between the two, and held out his hand to be shaken.

"Name's Charles," said the boy, "Charles Afron."

"Charles, huh," said Nate, "You got a nickname? Charlie, Char…. Charazard?"

Shatner shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Well… my brothers used to call me Zach," said the boy.

"Zach? What the hell…" said Nate, "What is WRONG with this country?"

"That's my middle name," said Charles, "Charles Zach Afron."

"Wait," said Shatner, "Zach? Zach Afron? Zac Efron! Oh, come ON!"

"Yeah…" said Charles, "My mum was a fan."

"Great," said Nate, shaking his head, "I can't wait to see your sister, Miley, and your other Sister, Hannah."

"I have neither," said Charles, "But one of my brothers is named Joan, from Jonas."

Nate and Shatner both stopped, and looked at his. The kid shrugged.

"Are your parents still alive?" asked Nate.

"No, died in the war, why?" said Charles.

"Good, because I was going to kill them anyway," answered Nate, continuing to walk.

"Flint!" gasped Shatner, surprised at his comment.

"It's just fine, my mother was self obsessed and my Father hated everything," said Charles, "They got what they deserved. You see, my father started the colony here, but he came down ill and died. He was the only adult."

Nate and Shatner looked at each other, but otherwise said nothing.

"Ever since then, it's been a major battle, sort of like a competition, between those two blokes," said Charles, pointing, "Iawn and Leo."

"Yeah…" said Nate, rubbing his chin, "What a fine selection…"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," said Charles, "For the most part, they fight and have idle threats but they work together to keep ourselves alive."

"I'm not going to worry," said Shatner, "We're not staying here."

Then, the group of kids took them inside an old amusement park, and into the main administrator building. Even MORE kids were in here, and many gawked and stared at the intruders, the visitors, the Americans.

Nate awkwardly waved whenever he got a chance, but he turned and whispered to Shatner as soon as they were inside the building.

"None of these kids are over 15," said Nate, "What are we going to DO?"

"Not a damn thing," said Shatner, "But I'm so surprised that they've survived this long. No one has even looked for them?"

"We're not going to get all attached or anything… right?" said Nate, "Because…. This is A LOT of people."

"Kids, Nate, kids," said Shatner, "These are a lot of kids. And No we're not going to take them with us. If they survived this long they'll continue to survive. We're just going to need to come back later and rescue them."

They were lead to an area filled with mattresses and sleeping bags and whatever else you can imagine. Kids jumped and wrestled with one another, and Iawn lead Nate and Shatner to what used to be a small childrens show stage. Iawn motioned to some other kids, who flipped on the stage lights and in a matter of seconds kids began massing around the stage. Pandora, seeing what was up, now jumped onto the stage next to Nate and Shatner.

"Listen, my children," said Iawn, "The Mighty Iawn demands your attention. As you can see, I have brought back-"

"Can it, you tart!" yelled Leo, climbing onto the stage and standing next to Iawn, "You are NOT our leader."

Then Leo turned to address the audience, "Our hunting party ambushed two of these three visitors, and they were able to outsmart us, outgun us, and out fight us gloriously in battle."

"There wasn't even a tussle!" yelled Iawn, shoving at Leo, "The great Iawn did NOT command it, so we never truly attacked."

"But we still lost," said Leo, shoving back, "And these blokes chose to spare our lives. They are now our GUESTS!"

There was some clapping and cheers from some of the kids, but for the most part they just stared and listened.

"Now, allow me to introduce you to our GUESTS," said Iawn, "They will now tell us their story, and what they are doing in ENGLAND! So Clam up and sit tight!"

Iawn and Leo walked off the stage, in separate directions, leaving only a few Brits and Shatner, Nate, and Pandora up there. Pandora quickly took several steps backward, leaving only Shatner and Nate. Shatner shook his head and widened his eyes.

"I'm not good at public speaking," said Shatner, and he took a step back.

Nate shrugged, smiled, and stepped forward, easing Shatner's tension and he took a few steps back. Nate stared out at his audience, and took a deep breath.

"Hello," said Nate, "My name is Nathaniel Flint, but please, call me Nate. That is my friend, Shatner, and my other friend…. Uhh….. Bailey…. First name?"

"Brian," said Pandora, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks, Beatle," said Nate, smiling, "Brian. We come from far away, we come from America. Washington D.C.!"

"Are the Americans still alive," asked one kid.

"Are you a spy?" asked another.

"Are you going to go to war with the world, now?"

"Are you going to save us?

"Is Pamela Anderson still alive?"

"What about New York?"

"Are you all dead?"

Nate raised his hands to cut the questions short, and he gave Shatner a weary look.

"Please, all will be told in time," said Nate, "Now… for our story… Uh… well… not too long ago, in Washington DC… we were attacked, by raiders."

"RAIDERS" a burst of questions and exclamations came from the crowd, and Nate yelled for order.

"We will get NOWHERE if you keep doing that!" said Nate, then he calmed down, and continued his story, "So… we were attacked by Raiders. And… they came in… a large NUMBER! Just… wicked big amount. You've never seen so much… deranged and dirty and EVIL individuals."

Now, Nate had them. The kids were completely immersed, and Nathan was getting into it as well. Shatner and Pandora smiled, and Pandora began getting immersed as well.

"They attacked, in the dead of night… They had a helicopter, and a load of trucks with turrets… and soldiers. A lot of soldiers. They took out our guards, and fired at our front gate, BOOM!" Nate began to act out the story, getting more and more into the storytelling, and the kids reacted likewise, "And they came in, Guns-a-blazing! But… they didn't know who they were messing with. Out of the darkness, came… myself and Shatner! Oh, boy you should've SEEN it. Shatner laid down sniper support while I ran forward, beating people with the butt of my gun and cutting them down like GRASS!"

Nate continued story telling, and the audience loved it. After a while, he finished the battle scene and continued talking of cleanup. Shatner and Pandora sat down, towards the back, and listened.

"You know, he's quite talented," said Shatner, "Being a storyteller might be good for him."

"Huh?" said Pandora, being dragged out of the story, "Oh, yes… he is, isn't he? He's spicing up the details, though. I wasn't even there and I know it's crap. Where's he find the RPG to shoot down the chopper?"

"I don't know," chuckled Shatner, then he crossed his arms, "I like it… much better then what really happened."

"How so?" asked Pandora.

"He had no plan of what he was doing," said Shatner, then he got solemn, "I didn't provide any cover… couldn't bring myself to fire a damn shot. They're PEOPLE… they're AMERICANS… they aren't cans or targets…"

"Oh…" said Pandora, and he left it at that.

"Then… we found a map… but not just any map… a TREASURE map," said Nate, and the crowd 'Ooo'd and 'Aw'ed in amazement, 'But it wasn't what you'd expect from a treasure map… it was the location of a BASE. The remnants of the United States Government… hidden, in a distant land. Hidden in… AFRICA!"

The crowd was once again awed, and a hand was raised, "What are you doin in England then?"

"How did you get here?"

"Well," said Nate, "We walked… to an airport and jumped aboard a plane, and began across the ocean… but… then we encountered PIRATES!"

The crowd was awed once more, and many of them leaned forward. Shatner laughed to himself, shaking his head.

"The pirates began firing… and we didn't know what to do? They had an anti-aircraft gun ON THE BOAT!" continued Nate, "And we were hit… but not out."

Nate continued his story, and soon Shatner and Pandora picked up talking again.

"What do you think it's going to be like?" asked Pandora, finally, "The American Government? You think they'll be intact? You think they'll be sane? You think they'll… want to come back? Want to help us?"

Shatner didn't say a thing, "He just shook his head, "I don't know…"

"What if they don't want to help?" asked Pandora, "What do we do then? What if they don't care?"

"If that's the case, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Shatner, finally, crossing his arms, "But… I have faith they'll wake up and help. Besides, we need to worry about finding them first."

"Yeah…" said Pandora, staring at the ground once more.

" 'No… Brom,' said the Neo-Nazi Black Ops Commander," continued Nate, with his story, " 'I… I am your father!' And Shatner's eyes widened. It couldn't be TRUE!"

The audience gasped, and many shook their heads.

"But, Shatner knew the truth, and He whipped out his pistol, and fired the round right into the Neo-Nazi Black Ops Commander's HEAD!" continued Nate, smiling, "And he blew out the smoke from his pistol as the man fell into the dirt, dead. Then, Pandora and I steered the now truly dying plane around, and he jumped form the building into our plane."

"So… What next?" asked Pandora.

'We'll have to discuss it," said Shatner, leaning further back, "But for right now, let's enjoy the rest we get."

About half an our later, Pandora was asleep on the stage. Many of the kids were asleep around the theater as well, but a good amount were now moved up closer to the stage, and Nate was on one knee, still weaving his story of their adventure.

"And I looked into those light blue eyes," said Nate, "And I told her… 'Frankly, My dear…. I Don't give a damn.' And… I walked out of the door. But she knew… she knew what I was really saying was 'I Love You' and that I would be back… when our mission was complete."

Nate's eyes were shimmering with the near existence of tears. Many of the kids teared up as well, Iawn being one of them. Shatner was trying his best to hold back the tears…. But it was mostly from sheer laughter he was also trying to hold back. Nate nodded his head, and continued.

"Then I rejoined Shatner and Pandora… and we left London. Then… we came here. And you know the story from there."

What was left of his crowd clapped and hollered at the completion, and Nate bowed to them smiling in himself.

Shatner got up and patted Nate on the back, waking Nate up out of his own reality and making him blush a bright red.

"So, thank you, thank you," said Shatner, "Well, now that you know what we've been through, it is time for us to be left alone to talk. I think it's probably your bed time anyway."

"Hey," said Iawn, getting up and looking angry, "Who put you in charge? Not ME, so you're NOT in charge." Then he got on the stage and looked towards everyone else, "The Mighty Iawn says that it is now officially BED TIME!"

"I'm gonna hurt you, you wankah," said Leo, getting up on the Stage as well, "Go on, piss off, the lot of ya! Leave them be. Go and do somethin' else!"

Leo and Iawn continued fighting, and walked off, leaving Nate and Shatner standing on the stage, awkwardly watching them leave. Then they moved back where Pandora slept, and they both sat down.

"Interesting story," said Shatner.

"Why, thank you," said Nate, "I'm just glad many of them are too young for the references."

"You had me going at some parts," said Shatner, "Very believable."

"I'm flattered," said Nate, leaning back with his hands crossed behind his head.

"So, we need to talk," said Shatner, "About what to do next. I have no idea."

"Well… We need to get to Africa… and we're in England," started Nate, "I suggest we get to the nearest Airport and-"

"No," burst Shatner, cutting in forcefully, "No more planes unless we get an experienced pilot. Not one!"

"Fine," said Nate, then he thought for a moment, "Hey! Wait… Kevin!"

"Who?" asked Shatner.

"Kevin, you know… ugh! Fkeuitan. Doesn't he hail from Wales?"

"Hail? What are you, a knight, now?" asked Shatner, then he thought for a moment, "Yes, yes he does. Why? You think we should stop by?"

"Yes, that's an awesome idea," said Nate, "He's a friendly, we know there's a settlement there, and he might be able to lend us a hand."

"And it might be fun to meet him in person," said Shatner, "We haven't done that yet."

"Yes," said Nate, "We should head out in the morning."

"Not even, if these kids are going to give us any problems," commented Shatner.

"Well… let's catch some sleep and slip out in a couple of hours, then," said Nate, positioning himself more comfortably in his place and closing his eyes, "Then we'll take off into the night… and sleep more somewhere else."

"Fine," said Shatner, closing his own eyes, "And we'll leave these kids far behind."

They fell asleep, and a few hours later Shatner woke Nate and Pandora. They gathered there things and snuck out of the park. After evading the "guards" they headed out of the city, and started the road towards Wales.