Please don't forget to read the disclaimer in chapter one before you ask any questions; bet one of you won't miss the answer to their question.
Here is the second chapter, all edited and check twice. Don't know how long the third chapter will be, but it will come.
Previously
"Dam!" said Ron as they came to a small cave.
"We are here; look, I am staying with some friends you may know! Let me go in and see if she will talk to you first," Ron waited outside while Tara walked in. A few minutes later, two women ran out and said,
"Ronnie!" and when Ron turned around, he was tackled down to the ground by them.
The Bounty Hunters
Chapter 2
As the three were laid on the ground, Tara walked out of the cave, "How about you three get off the ground and get in here so we can talk some more," As the three helped each other off the ground, Ron finally saw who the women were.
"Jessica? Hope? How did you two end up here?" said Ron Jessica was still the blue-eyed with straight blonde hair and light freckles girl he used to know. As she was taller than the rest of the cheer squad, she was still taller now with a well-formed chest. Hope was still a dusky olive-skinned girl with black eyes and long straight black hair. Both women wore the same old clothes that people here would wear.
"That is a very long story, Ronnie; some of us hit hard times after the invasion. Instead of helping people back to work, all the federal money went into the pockets of the politicians. Jobs ceased to exist, with no work, there was no money, so our homes couldn't be repaired, so we had nowhere to stay," said Hope.
"When our parents left to find work, we had no hope for the seeable future, and life became too hard. I was raped, became pregnant, and had a baby girl named Tina. Because money was hard to come by, I started to earn money in a brothel. Then I was caught in a brothel, and the authorities took Tina from me and became the ward of the state," said Jessica as she started to cry.
"So to hear that, Jess, maybe I can help get her back for you?" said Ron.
"You can do that?" asked Jessica.
"Oh yeah, I still have a few friends," said Ron
"The only thing we had left is the clothes we are wearing," said Hope.
"We also have our cheerleading skills to help us survive in old Middleton. When you found me, I was getting water from the reservoir for us to bathe and drink," said Tara
"So where are your parents?" asked Ron
"Mine were killed during a home invasion a few years after the invasion. Been hiding here ever since until I met Jessica," said Hope
"Mine disowned me after they found out I was working in the brothel, wanted nothing to do with me since. When I was pregnant, I couldn't work and ended up with Hope," said Jessica
"Mine left Middleton for work after graduation and were killed in a plane crash. I was meant to go with them, but I was stranded here by the virus. I was shunned as many of us were and came to old Middleton and found Hope and Jessica," said Tara
"Tell him who your real father is," said Hope
"Your real father?" said Ron
"Yes, Mum, before she left on that plane, she told me that she had an affair with Kim's dad and became pregnant with me," said Tara
"So you are Kim's half-sister?" asked Ron, and Tara nodded, "Did she ever know?"
"I don't think so, she never told me that she did, and I have never told anyone else," said Tara.
"Well, I guess we all been shafted by the possibles," said Ron
"That family had shafted us all in one way or another," said Hope
"Kim was able to get a job in Go-city and was able to leave old Middleton with Bonnie?" said Jessica
"And have a job in Go City?" said Hope
"She became a police officer when Global Justice disbanded," said Ron.
"She was with those who arrested me, didn't care I was once her friend! She just treated me as a whore and threw me in jail," said Jessica
"All three of us tried to ask Kim for help at one time or another, but she just laughed and walked away, calling us losers," said Hope.
"Sounds like Bonnie has rubbed off on her. Listen, I have a few spare rooms at the mansion where you all can stay if you want somewhere better to live," said Ron
"Are you sure you want anything to do with us? We are nothing but outcasts now?" asked Hope
"Especially how we used to treat you in high school," said Jessica
"I have nothing against what you said and did; we all know it was Kim and Bonnie's influences. None of that is you, and you shouldn't be in this hell hole," said Ron, and the three girls cried and hugged him.
"Thank you, Ronnie!" said Jessica
"How can we ever thank you?" asked Hope
"Come and stay with me; maybe we all can start a new life together," said Ron.
"Okay, we will! So where is this place?" asked Hope
"On the other side of that bridge," said Tara
"On that haunted island!" said Jessica.
"Not haunted, just protected!" said Tara. "Before you ask, I want to see what he means about protected,"
"Okay, I am game," said Hope as she returned to the cave with Jessica to remove their items.
"By the way, a few extra people living at the mansion related to Kim! I saved both Mrs. Dr. P, or as she told me to call her, Ann and Josh Possible, Kim's cousin, from a gang of thugs who were out for murder. Seem's that Kim had abandoned them as well," said Ron.
"What a bitch!" said Hope.
"I always like Mrs. Possible, just happy she is safe," said Jessica, and they all agreed. Ron thought he should have returned with a van when they reached the bridge. For three, maybe homeless! But they certainly have a lot of baggage. Thank goodness Jessica had that large garden cart she took from where she was thrown out. The three girls came to the bridge expecting it to look like it was about to fall apart, but they saw something completely different.
The bridge was now a type of draw bridge. Instead of the middle section being raised, it was turned sideways. Ron pressed a button on his remote, and they all heard the noise squealing and groaning as metal grinding against metal as the middle section moved to line up with the rest of the bridge.
"So why is the reason people call it haunted," said Tara
"Strangely, the island is always covered in mist, so throw a few lights and shadows into the mist, with some spooky noises!" said Ron
"And people start to think the island is haunted!" said Hope
"Yep, But you still need to follow where I walk as you may still end up in the lake by some secret trapdoors," said Ron
"Just encase someone decides to take their chances and cross the bridge while you have the draw section in place," said Hope, and Ron nodded.
"I do have a few surprises for those who make it across," said Ron, pointing to a few machine gun nests. The three girls smiled as they followed Ron to the other side, where he pressed the remote for the middle section to become impassable again.
The four walked along the tree-covered road, making the girls feel scared at the now dark and spooky noises from the mist. They arrived at a set of steel gates and followed Ron through them after he unlocked them. After Ron relocked the gates, he terrified them more, saying that his pet guard wolfs would be released now that he was home.
They followed Ron closely up to the mansion, scared to move from his side and almost abandoning their cart. The front of the mansion had two large concrete stairs meeting at the double doors. "The mansion has over 100 identical rooms, all containing ensuite and walk-in cupboards," said Ron as the three girls followed Ron up the front concrete stairs and into the door.
"Wow, this is beautiful, Ron! I thought that villain took all your money in high school?" asked Tara. The other girl just stood there and looked. In front of them was something that you had to see t believe. The foyer inside the doors must have been just as big as the mansion itself. On either side of the foyer were dark brown wooden oak stairs cases climbing up either side to meet at the top. The floor had white marble tile flooring with golden-colored grit, with a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the roof. The foyer itself had to be just as big as their old homes.
"You mean Drakken?" asked Ron and the girls nodded.
"Yeah, Bonnie even said you were broke!" said Hope
"WHAT a lot of people failed to understand in high school is that you can't keep 99 million dollars just in your pocket; it's a lot of cash. You would need to have an 18-wheeler to carry it around," said Ron.
"So you're still a millionaire?" asked Jessica
"Oh yes, I only ended up losing about 40 million, and I got that back from the insurance; Bueno Nacho restaurant was giving me a further 20 million dollars in royalties into my bank account every month until the invasion," said Ron
"So you didn't lose it all?" asked Hope
"Nope, I didn't know who to trust at the beginning. After I found out about my parents burning up all my money for overseas holidays as much as Bonnie and Drakken and leaving me home alone with nothing, I faked I was broke," said Ron as he pressed a button on a small table, "Anyone home!" he yelled, and it echoed around the mansion.
"Coming!" was the reply, and a few minutes later, Ann came into the foyer, "Your a bit late tonight Ronald!" said Ann
. "Oh! We have visitors?"
"Had some car trouble, left it at the mechanics, and found some friends on the way home! You know Tara?" asked Ron.
"Tara? Oh Yes! You were on the cheerleading squad with Kimmy in high school?" said Ann
"That's right, so was Hope and Jessica; they were part of the team as well," said Tara.
"Well, I am glad to see you all safe. Would you like something to eat!" said Ann
"I would like you to cheek on Tara first. She had a hit to the head earlier," said Ron
"I see! What happened?" asked Ann.
"Just ran into some thugs," said Tara.
"She fought three at the same time!" said Ron.
"Three!" said Ann as she brought them into the lounge room, "Was she any good?" asked Ann.
"She is always showing off that she could be better than Kim," said Hope
"Yeah, all she wants to do is get rid of all the evil in old Middleton. We told her not to go out tonight," said Jessica.
"But she wouldn't listen and said we needed water," said Hope.
"I was trying to get some water for us but ran into trouble," said Tara.
"You were lucky I came along," said Ron.
"Well, you better let me look at it then," said Ann as she removed the bandage from Tara's head. "It's not too bad; lucky you had long hair," Ann put more antiseptic on the cut.
"OWWWW! It still hurts!" said Tara.
"It's only small; it would have been worse if you had shorter hair," said Ann.
"That reminds me, what did that thug mean about selling you to Brotherson?" asked Ron.
"That's how he controls the gangs in old Middleton," said Hope.
"He is turning a blind eye to these gang's operations for a fee; usually, it's females if they have no other tribute," said Jessica.
"The younger, the better," said Tara. "OOOW!"
TBC