Author's Notes: I know, this new chapter came out too fast, but there is a reason for it. I actually wrote chapters 12 and 13 together, so I wouldn't lose my idea. I wanted to try something slightly different with this chapter, so I wrote it in a sort of past/present montage. I know that's a movie term, but I don't know what to call the written version of this style. Either way, I'm glad you guys have been supportive of this story, and I hope you enjoy this new installment of "Abdoption" :)

Chapter 13

Footsteps

Marny walked outside the school, going through the heavy door everyone said the kids weren't allowed to use without a teacher present. It was hard to push, and it made Marny's wound act up, but she was determined to make it out of there before she was noticed.

She saw the parking lot at the back of the school. She saw the basket full of sports equipment for the 5th graders. She saw the fence that separated the playground from the parked cars. She saw her grandpa's ugly station wagon.

As Marny stood there, she had to think about her next move. The gate was locked. Only a teacher could open it. She couldn't get out this way. If she went back into the school however, she risked being spotted. Time was short. Her grandparents would be here soon to go home.

She could hide. She could hide in the basket of sports equipment and wait for them to leave. Problem was, hiding rarely worked out for her. When she hid in a dumpster she was discovered by the big green oaf she would later know as Big Billy. When she tried to hide from the Gangreen Gang in an old house, Billy still found her. Hiding was for cowards, and it didn't work.

So what did work? If she couldn't run, and couldn't hide, then what was left?

Marny felt herself getting angry…angry at herself, angry at her grandpa, and angry at everything and everyone that ever let her down. She didn't just want safety anymore. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to make her grandpa cry.

Then she saw it…the baseball bat, all shiny and wooden, poking out temptingly from the sports equipment basket.

Billy heard the dogs bark all around him as he walked outside. The fence was tall, and surrounded by poorly mounted barbed wire. If he tried to climb that fence, he would probably bleed to death or something.

He could go back inside. He could look again. Brittney might not be dead. Maybe she was okay, and watching TV with the other kids. They always played pretend when they were sad, and it made them happy. Maybe if he pretended really hard that she was alive, then she would come back to life for real.

No. That wasn't going to happen. If Billy stayed then he would just die too. Brittney loved him, and she would want him to live, even if that felt really hard to do right now. Besides, now he was afraid of the grown ups. He always knew they were bad, but not this bad.

So, he couldn't climb the fence and he couldn't pretend he was fine. That didn't leave that many options.

Then Billy remembered something, something Brittney told him.

"Gee Billy, guess you don't know your own strength."

She said that when he broke a table leg, and was then punished by being forced to stand on his head until he saw red. She always knew what to say to make him feel better when he screwed up.

So, that was the answer. His own strength. He had to break through the fence to set himself free.

Marny zipped up the baseball bat in her backpack. The fat part was sticking out, but she hoped that if she was careful it would stay in place.

She made up her mind. No more hiding, no more running. If she was going to make her escape, she would have to climb the fence.

Marny walked slowly up to the chain link fortress, knowing that conserving her strength was vital. She clawed her hand around the holes, but didn't climb yet. She wasn't sure if she was ready, wasn't sure if this would work. What if they found her while she was halfway up? What if she wasn't strong enough? What if she couldn't jump down once she was up there, and she broke her leg?

Marny grit her teeth, and forced herself to stop thinking. Thinking was the enemy. Action was her friend. Besides, the station wagon was just resting on its tires waiting for her to strike.

Smiling an almost feral smile, Marny started to climb. She wasn't sure her muscles could handle her weight, and everything hurt as she made her journey, but her destructive fantasies kept her going.

One foot, another foot, one handhold, another handhold…

Every grunt felt like it could spell doom, but she couldn't keep herself quiet. She needed to hurry, but this process was taking forever. The sooner she climbed up, the sooner she could climb down. Down would probably be easier than up, right? She forced herself to ignore the thin metal digging into her tiny hands, and kept pushing herself upward.

Billy kept pushing himself forward, ignoring the growling dogs and the overcast sky. He could feel the metal of the fence giving way, but it was taking forever. Billy wondered if the bad grown ups would find him before he could escape, and if so would they kill him? He wanted to stop thinking about it, but when Billy got a thought stuck in his head it wouldn't go away.

Billy started digging his hands into the chain link fence, trying to rip it away instead of using his body weight. The fence shook, and finally gave way!

Billy stumbled to the other side of the fence, and to freedom. Before he could celebrate however, a string of barbed wire fell on him and dug itself into his face and arms.

"AAAAHHH!" Billy screamed.

The poor boy ran around in circles and he yanked and pulled on the barbed wire. It ripped at his face, pulled out some of his hair, and cut up his arms. Billy finally got enough of it in his hands to throw it away, but his hands were bleeding too. Billy cried as blood oozed from his fresh wounds.

Just then, he felt a cold droplet on his nose. Then another one on his head. After a moment, it started to rain. Billy, despite his injuries, smiled as he looked up at the rain clouds. He stuck out his tongue to catch rain droplets, and walked away into the field next door.

He didn't know where he was going, but he was glad it was raining. Rain could wash away his blood, and maybe be a substitute for a shower too. Brittney loved the rain as much as Billy, and Billy wished she could be here to catch raindrops with him. The grown ups never let them play in the rain like they wanted to, and would yell when they got mud on their clothes. The first thing Billy was going to do when he got the chance was plunge belly-first into a mud puddle.

Marny took the final step down from the fence, grateful that her foot could touch the blacktop again. She did not like climbing, and when this was over she hoped she would never have to do it again.

Despite the feeling of exhaustion, seeing her grandpa's car in the parking lot renewed her resolve for revenge. She reached behind her and pulled the baseball bat out of the backpack, ready to finally make him hurt for once.

She let out a rage-fueled breath and slammed the baseball bat into the passenger side front window. It…didn't do anything. She really expected the glass to break or something. Oh well, maybe if she hit it harder.

Smash!

Nope, nothing. The window was perfectly intact. Marny blew out another breath, this time in frustration. Okay, fine, so the windows were indestructible. Whatever. She could adapt.

Marny then hefted the bat again and with all her might slammed into the hood of the car. It made a dent, finally, though it wasn't as devastating as she was hoping for. She now wished the school had metal bats.

She heard a door open from somewhere in the distance. It could have been the school, or it could have been one of the neighboring houses, but Marny wasn't willing to take a chance on it. She threw the bat on the ground and made a run for it, not knowing which way she was going.

She would find the hospital eventually, but she didn't know how she was going to get there. The hospital was downtown, and her school district was in Old Townsville. This was going to be a long walk.

Billy had been walking since yesterday. He was so tired, and so hungry. There weren't that many houses in rural Townsville, and Billy knew better than to stop at one anyway. If he went to a normal family's house, they would just take him back to ABC Land.

Billy was scared, and he hadn't slept in two days. The scratches on his face stopped bleeding, and his arms mostly did too, but he couldn't let them fall or else they would throb with pain and internal blood flow. Billy resolved this by hugging himself, but this made his arms tired.

The 8 year old boy finally made it to the outskirts of the city proper. He could tell because the houses were becoming businesses, and there were more people walking on the street. Despite his miserable condition, Billy couldn't help but look around in wonder. He'd never seen the city before, never been allowed outside of ABC Land, and seeing all these people and bright neon signs was amazing. This place looked just like on TV.

Billy walked up to a pizza place with an Italian man on the sign. He couldn't read it since it was a long word, but he knew he wanted to be here. He'd never smelled anything better in his entire life.

He waited for someone to go through the door so he wouldn't have to aggravate his injuries, and as the door opened he ran through. He bumped into the man who opened the door, and the man gave him a mean look. Billy didn't know anyone, so he ducked his head and backed away shyly.

Billy sat down at one of the chairs and waited for the man in front of him to finish talking to the man at the counter. Billy remembered this from episodes of Blarney. In restaurants when you want food, you talk to the counter person. Billy didn't speak very well, so he hoped the man would understand him.

When there was no one left in line, Billy ran up eagerly to talk to the counter man, finally ready to eat for the first time all day.

"Yeah, what can I get ya?" The cashier asked, a toothpick dangling from his mouth.

"Uh…can Billy have some pizza?" Billy asked innocently.

"Sure thing. Small, medium, or large?" The man asked.

"A whole pizza?" Billy asked in wonderment, "Uh, yeah, a large!"

"Okay then. What toppings?"

"Dah…" Billy didn't quite know what to ask for, "Anything is fine."

"Come on, kid. What do you want on your pie?" The man asked impatiently, "I ain't got all day!"

"Cheese!" Billy shouted nervously, "Uh, if that's okay, sir."

"Alright then, one large cheese pizza," The man typed into the cash register, "Anything to drink?"

"Yes, please," Billy replied.

Silence.

"Hey, kid," The man snapped, "What do you want to drink?"

Billy didn't know what they had, and he couldn't read the signs on the soda tap, so he just pointed to a green one and hoped it was good. Even if it wasn't he would still drink it. The last thing he had to drink was yesterday's rain water.

"Okay, a Slimey Limey," The man muttered as he typed, "Okay, your total's gonna be $12.95."

"Huh?" Billy scrunched his face in thought, "Uh, that's too many. Billy only ordered 1 of each thing. That's 2, not 12…12…what was the other number?"

"Just pay up so we can start makin' your order," The man groused.

"Dah…what did you want, sir?" Billy asked in confusion.

"Money," The man replied patronizingly, "You give me money, I give you pizza. Didn't your parents teach you anything?"

"No…" Billy replied sadly, "Uh, Billy don't have money."

"No money? Then what're you doin' here, ya stupid kid?" The cashier yelled.

Billy shook with fear, but he didn't leave the line.

"Uh…Billy still hungry," Billy said shakily.

"Then get your parents to order your food, kid," The cashier retorted, "Get out of the line! I got real customers behind you."

Billy did as he was told and left the pizza store. He already missed that great smell as he walked back out onto the cold indifferent streets. He hugged himself now not just to keep his arms from throbbing, but also to make himself feel better. He missed Brittney, he missed food, and part of him was even starting to miss ABC Land. Nothing was familiar, and his head was starting to feel swimmy.

Marny's head was starting to hurt. She'd been walking all day, but she didn't seem to be any closer to the hospital. She was starting to get that feeling again, like she was going to throw up. She couldn't let herself pass out again though. No one was around to find her this time.

The city was in the distance, and looked deceptively close. She knew it wasn't really close though, because she was surrounded by trees and small houses. Downtown looked much bigger and had fewer plants.

After a little more walking, she found a pizza restaurant nearby. There was a faded sign with an Italian man smiling over the words Guissepe's Pizzeria. Marny had eaten here once before, with her mom and Chester. It was some of the best pizza in Townsville, though from what she remembered they didn't have a kids menu and the bathroom was dirty.

Marny was really thirsty, and she knew drinking fountains were rare, so she decided to go into the pizza place and get something so she didn't make herself any sicker than she already was.

There was a man at the cash register, gray balding head and a toothpick in his mouth. Marny waited in line, which took a while since there were a lot of people getting off work around this time. Marny could feel herself getting weaker as she stood there, could feel her stomach churning from whatever was wrong inside her, but she didn't leave the line and didn't ask for help. Grown ups didn't help anyway. The last one that did was B.W., and even she couldn't save Marny from her real problems.

Finally, Marny made it to the front of the line, and the cashier looked down at her.

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly.

Marny pointed to the drink fountain, at the green label.

"A Slimey Limey," The man rattled off, "Small, medium, or large?"

Marny realized with dread that she couldn't tell him. She tried holding her hands out to indicate the size, but the man didn't seem to understand.

"Come on, kid. You're holdin' up the line," The man snapped, "What size drink do you want?"

Marny didn't like his tone, and she blew air out of her cheeks to calm herself down. He continued to glare down at her, and Marny decided she was tired of waiting for him to notice her suffering and get her a drink.

She stomped around and went behind the counter where he was, jumping up and grabbing an empty cup as she made her way to where he was standing.

"Hey, kid, you can't be back here!" The man scolded her, "Get back in line!"

Marny kicked his shin as hard as she could.

"YOW!" The man howled as he hopped up and down on one foot, "Why you lousy little-!"

Marny grabbed a box, scooted it over to the drink fountain, and climbed up. The man grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, but she just slapped him. The man was shocked, and she used this moment to pour a little Slimey Limey and quickly gulp it down.

"You little brat!" The cashier yelled, "When I get my hands on you-!"

Marny, seeing she had outstayed her welcome, hopped down from the box and ran from the man. He chased her as far as the street, yelling and cursing all the while. Marny was sure she was faster than some old fat guy, but then suddenly the scenery around her started melting.

Her vision impaired, Marny looked down at her Slimey Limey cup, as if to blame the drink for her current condition. She wobbled, felt the throw up feeling in her stomach again, and then quickly passed out.

"Kid!" The man yelled again, but this time in concern, "Hey, somebody help! This kid's hurt. Oh, come on, kid. Don't be dead. Don't be dead!"

"You think he's dead?" Ace asked his friends as they looked down at the bloated body on the sidewalk.

Arturo put his tiny hand next to the victim's mouth, and after a moment…

"Nah, he's breathing," Arturo confirmed.

"Eh, check his pockets anyway," Ace ordered.

Grubber then reached into the left shorts pocket and rooted around for anything of value. He couldn't find anything, but that wasn't the only reason he shouldn't have done that…

"Heh heh heh…" The downed boy laughed, waking up.

"Ah, great," Ace spat, but then in a sappier voice, "Oh, thank goodness you woke up, buddy. Me and my friends thought somethin' horrible happened to you. We was just, uh, bein' good citizens and checkin' on you."

Billy's head was still woozy. He didn't remember where he fell asleep, or even the fact that he fell asleep at all. He sat up and looked at the other green kids surrounding him, each one stranger looking than the last.

"Are you Billy's space family?" Billy asked naively.

"Yer what?" Ace grunted.

"Dah, no, you can't be," Billy reasoned, "You've all got two eyes."

"Yeah, sooo…" Ace drew out awkwardly, "I'm guessin' yer name's Billy?"

Billy just nodded.

"Pfft?" Grubber asked.

"Yeah, yeah, Grubber's right," Ace said appraisingly, "Those big gashes in yer arms look infected. You do anything about that?"

Billy looked down at his arms, and then back up at the kid that spoke to him. This kid looked really pointy. Pointed chin, pointed nose, and a sharp look in his bloodshot eyes. He had a face that was technically child-like, but worn at the same time.

"Do you got any food?" Billy finally asked.

"We wish," Snake grumbled, "Three daysss…"

"Hey! I'm workin' on it, okay?" Ace snapped at the other boy, "It ain't my fault the 'hand in the pocket in the shape of a gun' trick stopped workin'."

"Oye, we got la policia dead ahead!" Arturo interjected.

"Huh?" Billy grunted.

"He means a cop," Ace explained.

"Cop?" Billy asked fearfully, "Billy can't go back!"

Without even thinking, Billy rammed himself into the wooden fence separating the dump from the street, and carelessly ran into the fetid landfill. The other four green kids, meanwhile, just stared at the hole he made.

"Whoa!" They all breathed in unison.

"Did you sssee that?" Snake asked quietly.

"Yeah," Ace replied, still staring at the spot.

"We probably shouldn't have tried to steal from that guy," Arturo realized, "He's muy fuerte."

"Hm…he is, ain't he?" Ace pondered, a grin on his face.

"I know that voiccce," Snake observed, "You're ssscheming sssomething, aren't you?"

"You bet I am," Ace replied shamelessly, "What do you get when you got someone who's all brawn and no brains?"

"Dunno," Arturo shrugged, "What does brawn mean?"

"Right now?" Ace smirked impishly, "It means we got a giant pile of clay ready for us to mold."

"No way," Snake argued, "We can't feed ourssselvesss, and you want usss to take in another member?"

"Listen to me," Ace insisted, "We can't rob stores because we ain't got no way to intimidate folks. With the Incredible Bulk over there, we'd finally have some muscle. Then people would stop messin' with us, and we can eat whatever we want. It's perfect!"

The others were dubious, but Ace was their leader, so they let him do his thing. None of these kids were over the age of 10, so they argued about leadership frequently. Ace kept the job for so long not only because of his willingness to hurt people, but also because of his silver tongue.

After searching around the dump for a few minutes, the boys found Billy hiding in the back seat of a totaled car.

"Hey, Billy!" Ace shouted as he knocked on the window, "Get outta there! They crush these cars, you dingus!"

Billy got out like the other boy told him to, and hugged himself bashfully. He didn't know these other kids, and after going nearly a week without food he was starting to feel bad all the time. If they wanted to hurt him or something, he didn't think he could stop them.

"You runnin' from the cops too?" Ace guessed.

"Yeah," Billy confided, "Billy ran away from AB-"

Ace then abruptly put his fingers over Billy's mouth.

"Shh, shh, shh," Ace ordered, "Stop it."

"What?" Billy asked worriedly, "Did Billy say something wrong?"

"Dude, let me give you some free advice," Ace said coolly, "Out here on the streets, you don't tell people yer business."

"Why not?" Billy asked timidly.

"You just don't, okay?" Ace snapped impatiently, "If you talk to the cops, you go to jail. If you tell the cops about your friends, then they go to jail, and you go to jail for bein' their friend. Everyone is out to get you, and anythin' you say can and will be used against you. So, you don't ask about our business, and you don't tell us yours. Capiche?"

"Dah…what?"

"Do you understand?" Ace asked emphatically.

"Oh, maybe," Billy replied uncertainly.

"Now, come on," Ace ordered, "We're goin' to Jester Burger, and you're gonna help us get some food."

"They won't give food to Billy," Billy told him, "Billy already tried."

"You didn't ask 'em right," Ace replied dismissively, "Don't worry, I'll teach you what to do."

Unaware of the significance of this decision, Billy followed Ace and the other boys out of the dump. He would soon take his first steps toward a life of crime and poverty. As he walked in step with the other boys he looked around the city, and he couldn't help but think he saw Brittney walking down the street looking at him, one last time.

"Just squeeze my arm if you start to feel pressure," The nurse said patiently to Marny, "It's just a blood sample. It won't take long."

Marny held onto the nurse's arm, but didn't bother squeezing. She'd felt too much else to be adversely affected by a pin prick from a needle.

"There, all done," The nurse smiled sweetly, "You were so good for me, sweetheart. Now, before I go, I do need to ask you a few questions."

Marny knew this was coming. Ever since she woke up alone in the hospital, she knew there would be complications. Oh well, at least she didn't have to find the hospital by herself. At least one thing went right, even if it was the result of things going so wrong.

"First, I need to know your name," The nurse inquired.

Marny didn't say anything, but rather just looked down at the white blanket draped over her legs.

"This is important," The nurse urged, "We at least need to know the name of your parents. We need to know who to contact about your care."

Marny twiddled her fingers around and around, not really able to answer the nurse.

"Um, okay. Let's try this," The nurse said as she took out a notepad, "Can you write down the name and phone number of your next of kin? A parent, a relative, anyone?"

Marny took the notepad and pen, but didn't know what to do with it. She didn't know any phone numbers, at least not of people she would actually want to see. Finally though, she wrote down a name.

"Hm…B.W.? Um, what's this person's last name, sweetie?" The nurse asked.

Marny knew B.W.'s last name was McArthur. The problem was that she didn't know how to spell McArthur. So, with that option out, Marny tried writing another name on the paper instead.

"Billy? Again, I need a last name," The nurse reiterated, trying to stay patient.

Big Billy

"That's not a last name," The nurse pointed out, "Can you give me a full name? I need to know who is taking care of you. Who are your parents?"

Marny was growing just as impatient as the nurse with this exchange. Finally, running out of ideas, she wrote down one final name that she could spell.

Dan Bellows

"Thank you sweetie, but what is his phone number?" The nurse further inquired.

Marny just shrugged, and started twirling the blanket in her finger. The nurse didn't want to stress out the child any more than she already was, so she left the room and went back to the nurses' station, the piece of paper in hand.

"Rough case, Luann?" Her coworker asked.

"Very," She replied, "Oh Charlie, this is a tough one. The kid that passed out on Garson St. apparently can't talk, or at least won't. The blood work will give us the full story, but it looks like a blood poisoning case. She also doesn't know the phone number for her parent or guardian, so we'll have to look it up."

"You got a name?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, Dan Bellows," Luann replied tiredly, "There could be a hundred guys with that name in Townsville. This could take a while."

Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Marny still had the rest of the notebook. Part of her wanted to write down her thoughts, but she was too tired to form sentences at the moment. Instead, she decided to draw.

She drew her mom and Chester, sitting at a picnic table. That was how she wanted to remember them, sitting together with her, happy and alive. Her mom would make potato salad, and Chester would make stupid faces. Yeah…her mind could still recall them. That was good. Sometimes she forgot what they looked like, but she could remember them today.

If she looked over at the visitor's chair, she could almost picture Chester sitting on it kicking his legs and rocking back and forth. Marny knew she should be sad, but thinking of Chester being his old silly self made her smile.