Untold Tail

Glad you could join us for the next unstung episode of Elliot’s Adventures. If you’re new here, you can catch up by returning to the beginning, and reading really fast…

Barry hopped to catch up with Trevor. “Hey, where youse goin’?”

Grinning at his best friend, Trevor kept moving, “On my way to the Field. The Lieutenant asked for a volunteer to pick up any webbing that’s left, and I heard Teddy’s dad is issuing it, so I answered the call. I thought I’d send back a little souvenir for the kid.” He held up a scorpion tail with its stinger dangling at the end.

Barry’s eyes went wide. “Youse got dat today?”

“I found it. I was gonna keep it with my fang, but when I heard Randall was here, I figured I’d give it to Teddy. I can say it’s from both of us if you want.”

“Sure,” Barry laughed, “I wou’n’t want ‘im ta ferget me in case I don’t come back.”

Trevor winked. “That’s what I was thinkin’.”

“His buddy Darwin’s gonna be jealous,” Barry warned.

“I don’t want to encourage that kid’s fascination with killing,” Trevor said. “Teddy seems to think about things. We can trust him to be careful.”

Shrugging, Barry reasoned, “I guess his dad can always say no if he tinks it’s a bad idea.”

Ahead of them, a cry came from the Field. “Help! Somebody help me!” Then a strangled scream. Then nothing.

They leaped forward to a body lying in a pool of blood glimmering in the dimming torchlight as a shadow vanished into the night. Barry started after it, but Trevor stopped him.

“Wait! It’s Randall.” He put his ear on Randall’s chest. “He’s still alive.”

Barry twisted back on tensed legs. “But I could catch dat guy!”

Struggling to pull Randall to his feet, Trevor insisted, “Whoever it is, he’s running away. Either the Guards’ll get him or he’ll leave. Randall needs our help — we have to take him to their Healer.”

“Which way?”

“I don’t know,” Trevor said, looking first one way, then the other, trying to see through the dark. “Head for the Hive.”

To be continued. . .

Previously, on Elliot’s Adventures ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Next time . . .