The Irregulars, Part 3

"Oh, really?" asked Brown. "Is that why you have to steal to feed yourselves?"

At this, Sally yelped and glared at her brother. "TJ! Mom taught us never to steal! I thought you had a job."

TJ, ashamed, stared a hole in the floor and mumbled under his breath. "...got fired..."

Sally wanted to say more, but the doctor interrupted her. "Come with me. I'll at least make sure Sally is cured of the Illness and gets some food. If you want to return after that, then I'll let you. Promise."

TJ knew enough to know that when an adult feels compelled to promise something, then they are lying, but the promise of a cure for Sally was too good to refuse. "Fine" he mumbled.

Molly, who had been silent this whole time, smiled "Excellent. Now grab your goggles Sally, and we can go."

Sally responded. "I broke my goggles...before. That's how I got the Illness."

TJ gruffly chimed in. "What's the difference anyhow? It's not like she can get more sick?"

Dr Brown chided him. "We must keep up appearances, here, you may borrow my spare." He reached inside his coat and tossed a pair of goggles to the girl, who promptly put them on.

Molly grinned at the kids. "Have you ever been on an autotransport before?"  

The Irregulars, Part 2

"Get away from her, you bastards!" LJ shouted as he charged the tall figure. Immediately, the man stepped aside and LJ tripped onto Sally's makeshift bed.

"LJ! Gettoff!" Sally shoved him aside. "These are my friends, Dr. Brown and Miss Molly."

Slightly stunned, J looked up. The man was wearing well-tailored clothes, including the top-hat and cane that were currently the height of fashion. Hanging around his neck were a pair of custom goggles. The woman was also in well-made clothes, though hers appeared more practical than fashionable. She wore the leather jacket of a sky-captain and her goggles were government issue, though newer than either LJ's or his sister's.

The man spoke with an upper crust eastern accent. "I appologize if I alarmed you, young sir. As your sister already noted, I am Professor Everett Brown and this is my lovely companion Miss Molly Aspen. I was a friend of your father's during the war and it's taken me a while to track you two down. If you so desire, we would like to help you with your current... situation."

Automatically, LJ distrusted them. "We don't need no help. We get along just fine."

The Irregulars, Part 1

Little J ducked under the gaping arms of the grocer as he escaped the shop, prize firmly in hand. An off duty brassman tried to follow him, but LJ had lived in the Lodo section of Arapaho for all of his 13 years. Cutting through an alleyway he was familiar with, he jumped the fence, leaving the red-faced lawman behind. 

LJ took out and inspected his treasure, a bag groceries he'd snagged from one of the grocer's more afluent looking customers. A couple nice apples, a big loaf of bread, and a head of lettuce. Not bad. Then, he noticed a brown bar peeking from under the lettuce. Nice! A bar of chocolate! Perfect for Sally's birthday next week. He tucked it into the inner pocket of his oversized jacket.

 

LJ made his way home to the burnt out shell of a building he shared with his sister. Since the war that had devastated half the city, logings were not hard to come by, so long as you weren't picky. After their dad disappered in battle and their mom had died of the Illness, some looters had driven them from their old house. They'd stumbled upon this place and made it home.

As he approached the house, LJ's heart started beating faster and he begun sweating. Something was wrong. He'd learned to trust his gut long ago, so he started sneaking, making as little noise as possible. He peaked into Sally's room and was shocked by the site of a tall man and a short woman standing over his sister's unconcious body.