Sorry for the late update, school and work has been taking up my time. But since summer is coming up soon, I should hopefully be able to update more. For now, wnjoy the chapter.
Three days passed since the group first arrived at the compound, it took a while but everyone slowly adjusted to their new lifestyle. Eddy, Double D, the Kankers, Kevin, Janyse, and Keenan handled security at the gate, with Double D's astute sense of observance coming in handy.
The others took to working in the fields, handling the farming and woodworking. Rolf and his parents especially looked happy to be doing exactly what they did back in Peach Creek. The Oaktons and other members of the compound were impressed at the family's work ethic and understanding of farming.
At the moment, Rolf and his fellow Urban Rangers were helping the others learn how to tend to crops.
"Ranger Jonny, assist Go-Go Nazz Girl in planting the eggplants!" Rolf ordered. Jonny gave a salute with the same hand he held Plank in, inadvertently bonking himselfnon the head while doing so before he left to help Nazz.
"Ranger Jimmy, the noble steeds require their sustenance! Go with, She-Who-Gives-Migraines Sarah and go serve them their meal, and be sure to give them the recommended portions as specified by Mountain-Man Oakton!"
"Yes sir!" Jimmy said, puffing his chest out in an attempt to impress Rolf. "Come on Sarah, we get to feed the horses!"
Rolf then approached Ed and Matt, who were chopping several logs of wood.
"How go the labor's, Pheasant Tail and Turkey Eyes!" Rolf greeted. Seeing Ed working for him almost made him feel as if he was still in Peach Creek.
To Matt and Ed, life was much more simple during their freshman year of high school. The two got along very quickly after they found out they liked the same comics and movies. For a while Eddy and Edd thought that they now had another Ed on their hands. Thankfully for them, Matt seemed to be able to control himself in most situations.
"Come on Matt, Rolf's house is this way!" Ed said excitedly. Matt was lightly jogging behind Ed, who was running full speed towards Rolf's house, hopping over the side gate, which Rolf called the 'Nincompoop Enterance', and into Rolf's farm-like backyard.
Rolf himself was tending to Victor the Goat's horns before turning to Ed and Matt.
"Ah, Turkey Eyes, I see you have brought over, Legs-Of-Iron Matthew!" Rolf greeted.
"Yup! Just like you wanted me to, Boss!" Ed replied.
"So, Rolf, you said you were hiring?"
"I am, Rolf requires assistance in tending to his livestock and agricultural produce. While Rolf is capable of doing this work alone, Rolf's family insists that Rolf go to your dungeons of education for four more years so that Rolf may have a better understanding of your culture and educational system for the benefit of Rolf. Because of this, your assistance is required. Rest assured however that you will be paid for your work!" Rolf explained.
Matt had to take a moment to comprehend what Rolf just said, especially since he wasn't adjusted to Rolf's manner of speaking yet. But he was able to interpret what he said.
"Okay, cool! How much would I be getting paid?" Matt asked.
"Payment will consist of seven percent of the total produce."
Matt looked surprised by the lack of monetary payment but then he noticed Double D approaching the three boys with a basket of eggs.
"All eggs have been collected, Pheasant Tail, sir!" Double D said. "Ah! Hello Matthew, Ed! I assume you're here because of the job opening Rolf put out, right?"
"Yeah, but how do you deal with the... Uh..." Matt said, his words trailing off.
"Pay? Well Rolf does pay in produce, which ends up saving our families money since we don't have to do much grocery shopping anymore!" Double D explained. Matt thought about it for a moment before grinning.
"Rolf, you've got yourself a deal!"
The two boys shook hands, Rolf soon gave Matt a set of work boots and the four boys went straight to work. Ed was still a little upset that Eddy quit shortly after the three Eds began working together. Rolf may have been a strict boss, but he was reasonable. He thought that if Eddy stayed he just might have been promoted to Turkey Eyes like Ed and Double D were.
Eddy's father was sitting in a wheelchair provided to him by the people of the compound. Sitting by him were Rolf's parents and Earl Oakton. The four adults watched the teenagers work with a sense of pride and happiness.
"Good to see these kids workin' so hard!" Eddy's dad said.
"Yep, we like to have everyone do their fair share here." Earl replied. "Kinda surprised that foreign kid knows so much about farming. But I guess that's 'cause of you two, right?"
"Yes!" Rolf's father responded. "Rolf is good with this work! We teach him since he was baby in Old Country."
His English was a bit broken, but he seemed to be able to understand it well enough. Plus the other adults knew what he was trying to convey.
"Hehe, well I say the three of you did a pretty good job in raising those kids!" Earl laughed. "My boy, Dusty, he's kinda like that Rolf. Both are strong kids that are hard workers but also can have fun once in a while."
"Hah! Trust me, with my son and his friends, things never get dull!" Eddy's dad added, Earl sighed a bit, he sounded a bit upset for some reason.
"I'm sure Dusty envies your kids though. There's not a lot of kids Dusty's age around these parts, most here are about the same age as the two young'uns ya' brought with ya'. I'm thinkin' Dusty might finally find someone he can talk to casually with like one of them city kids! That's always been his dream, to leave this place and go find out what he wants to do in this world."
"But you are happy with him for want to leave?" Rolf's mother asked.
"It would hurt to see my boy go, but I know that that's what he wants to do. I may be his dad but he has his own life to live. It's good for kids to find out what they want to do with their future."
"Yes! We see Rolf has learned to talk better English than us! He go to school and we see he is happy with his friends. In the Old Country we have a saying, 'When the cow has gone away, it may very well be his choice to leave. But pray he serves fresh milk to whomever finds him.'"
Eddy's dad and Earl didn't fully understand the quote, or at least the attempt at one. Nonetheless they kept the conversation going, whether it was about their children, the compound or anything else.
While the grown ups chatted, Dusty was helping Sarah and Jimmy feed the horses. Sarah seemed to be enjoying herself, as there weren't any horses in Peach Creek that she wasn't actually allowed to ride. Plus Rolf and his family didn't own any, which she consistently asked Rolf why he couldn't get any, which was partially where the nickname 'She-Who-Gives-Migraines' came from.
"Is that all of them Jimmy?" Sarah asked.
"Just about, Sarah. I'm feeding the last one now!" Jimmy replied, as he pat the head of the last horse. This one caught Jimmy's attention immediately when he noticed a patch of hair in tje shape of a star on its forehead.
"You two are getting good at this!"
The two young teens turned to the sound of Dusty's voice. The two of them saw the older boy as a sort of counselor in a way, even if they had only known him for a few days. Then again, the two felt as though they were meeting the Eds' all over again after the incident with his brother.
"You really think so, Dusty?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah! If you guys aren't too busy, do you mind helping me out with the milking?"
The two were a bit apprehensive the first time Dusty asked them to help him with that a few days ago but they warmed up to the idea when they saw Rolf and Ed do it.
Several hours later, other members of the compound took Eddy and Double D's places.
"Man, sitting in that chair all day is hell!" Eddy groaned.
"You can stand up and stretch your legs, Eddy..." Double D replied. The two bous headed back to their cabin where Ed was already waiting for them.
"Hiya guys!" He greeted with his goofy grin.
"What's up Lumpy, how was work?" Eddy asked.
"Way cool!" Ed answered, the other Eds rolled their eyes with a bit of laughter from Edd. Ed had given them the same answer every day since he started doing work for the compound.
The three of them headed inside their cabin to relax, the other boys hadn't returned yet so they had the cabin to themselves.
Eddy decided to begin building a house of cards while Double D tried teaching Ed how to play chess.
"Y'know, this is a long way from the Peach Creek..." Eddy said. "But we're making the best of it, right?"
"Well Eddy, nothing can ever replace Peach Creek and the memories we have of it." Doubke D replied. "But you are correct. Getting here has most definitely been an escapade none of us could have expected and we've all had to deal with so much, but I suppose we are dealing with the metaphorical cards we've been dealt. Perhaps one day we can return home."
"I miss home too guys." Ed added. "But we're gonna survive! We owe it to everyone who didn't make it to go as far as we can and survive, they would want it that way. Maybe one day we can find a cure and go back home again. Life will not be the same but then again as long as I habe you guys and the others then I am home!"
The other Eds were shocked by Ed's words of wisdom, but what he had said seemed to hit something deep within theirbvery being. Now Eddy wasn't one for any kind of sappy melodrama but at that moment, he was glad that the three of them were still together with the friends they've known their entire lives together.
At that moment he felt like as long as they had each other, everything would be just fine.
The rest of the boys would eventually join the Eds in the cabin. Though Kevin eventually pulled Eddy and Rolf aside...
"Guys, we know Armando is here, and I know we all agreed to not get revenge but the fact that he's here right under our noses just bothers me. So I wanted to ask if you guys want to come with me to get some answers out of him!" Kevin whispered.
"Oh I am definitely with you! That creep is gonna explain himself, one way or another!" Eddy agreed.
"Rolf also wishes to hear the reasoning behind the traitorous actions of the troglodyte!" Rolf added.
"Alright, then let's go see that scumbag!"
As the three boys snuck out of the cabin, Erin noticed them from the girls cabin. She grabbed Lee, who was the closest girl to her at the moment and followed them.
"What's the big idea?!" Lee said in surprise.
"I saw three of the guys leaving their cabin like they were up to something. I want to see what's up but I didn't want to go alone." Erin explained.
Lee was about to give her a piece of her mind, but she decided against it when she noticed the boys were standing in front of Armando's cabin. It was small enough to only have one person live in it so they didn't have to worry about any cabinmates.
"U-um, boys?" Erin gulped. The three boys turned around and noticed the two girls.
"What are you doing here?" Eddy asked.
"Well Princess here just decided to take me along to see what you we're doing. But now my question is, what are you doing her"
"This right here is Armando's cabin. We're here because I think it's time we paid our old friend a visit!" Kevin answered.
"Oh, is that so?" Lee said with her interest now piqued. "Well we can't leave an old friend waiting!"
Lee walked right up to the door with her fist clenched. She turned the doorknob to the cabin and opened the door. Everyone braced themselves for what might happen.
Nothing.
The cabin was completely empty. There was no way Armando wouldn't be anywhere else, nobody was allowed in the kitchen before dinner and Earl Oakton preferred to have everyone be doing something productive with their time during the day. The only free time anyone got was if the rest of the work was finished. Plus there was a schedule posted for each job and Armando's hours were listed.
"He's supposed to be here..." Kevin said. "He always comes here after work, I see him do it!"
"Well he ain't here!" Eddy groaned.
Outside of the compound, Armando made his way to the Marauder camp again. The group that was there were sharpening their weapons and loading up on their ammunition.
"Is everyone read" Armando asked.
"Yup." One of the Marauders replied.
"Alright, now you finally have your chance to take over the compound and get revenge on the people that stole your guns and ammo!"
"So how do we do this?"
"There's a blind spot between the northern and Western walls. You can break in from there and then the fun starts!" Armando explained as he wrung his hands together.
"Alright, so now we have a plan. So what are you gonna do?"
"I have to get back to my cabin. If I'm gone too long they'll get suspicious."
"'Kay, guess we'll see you in the morning. I suggest you practice putting on your best terrified face."
"I suppose I should." Armando rolled his eyes. "Well then, it's on at dawn!"
Sorry again for the late update and the lack of a story chouce in this chapter. But expect next chapter to be full of action! Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!