*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 5

Bruce's New

Trouble

"Mrs. Hall? I...need to...ask...a...question..."

Mrs. Hall walked over and smiled at Bruce, "Yes Bruce?"

He started whispering, "My...parents...don't...like James. Could...you...intro...duce him...to them? I'd...be...grateful..."

"Of course I will Bruce." She quickly got James out of his chair and explained everything to him.

He chuckled, "Well, except for Nino, I've got nothing to hide. Let's go meet his parents." Mrs. Hall nodded and took him with her to the principal's office. She opened the door right as he was finishing a conversation with Bruce's mother and father.

"I asure you, James is very kind. He wouldn't harm your son for any reason."

The mother scowled, "All the same, I think he shouldn't be trusted. This James is a full grown adult! Why would he need to come to an elementary school?"

James cleared his throat, "Because I can't read yet."

The two mirus dragons swiveled in their chairs at the sound of his voice. The mother looked shocked, but soon regained her composure enough to scowl at him, "Don't go near my son again."

James sighed and sat down in the empty chair by the door. Mrs. Hall left them and went back to the class.

Player thought carefully about what he would say next, "Maam, I swear I have done nothing, and plan to do nothing, to your son, or any other child here. I am here to learn how to read and write, then I'll be gone."

The father did his best to look pleasant, but the worry still showed clearly in his eyes, "Thank you, but we can't...er...be sure about that. We would greatly appreciate it if you left our son alone. He doesn't understand not to talk to strangers just yet..."

Player shook his head, "I'll stay away from him, but I can't promise he'll stay away from me. I haven't done anything in the way of being friendly toward him except for telling him my name. If he wants to be my friend, I'll let him. It's been completely up to him all along."

"And that is why we can't trust you. He may have friends among the children, but until we know for sure that he can handle himself on his own, we don't want him near any adults we haven't met."

"Then your problem is solved. I'm James Elias." He held out a hand to shake. The father reached for it, but Bruce's mother stopped him with a glance. Player chuckled, "I won't bite. I got rid of that a long time ago."

Saying that made all three anthros gasp. The mother looked even more determined now, "I'm not going to tell you again. Stay away from my son or I'll see you in court!"

Player frowned, "But if he wants to be my friend, I won't stop him. If you're all really that worried about him, stay today for school. I can prove that I haven't done a thing to be friendly except for common courtesy."

"In that case, Mr. Elias, you'd best watch yourself. We aren't going to take our eyes off our son for a second." Bruce's mother folded her hands and sat back in her chair.

Player smiled and walked back to class. The practice papers were there waiting for him on his desk as he sat down, so he started working on them and kept busy until the recess bell rang. When it did, he grabbed the chess set and waited outside for his friends. Nicolas and Gina were there in an instant, and Kenny stayed to watch as much as he could before his short attention span got the better of him. Bruce came by to watch as well.

"How...do you...play? This...game...looks...fun..."

Nicolas moaned as Player knocked down his last piece and moved over for Gina before he started to explain. Player grinnned and began his next game with Gina. A few other kids started asking how to play, and by the end of recess they had organized a small tournament that would be held the next day.

Inside, they went back to their school work until the end of school bell rang. Player glanced at the door once and waved at Bruce's parents. School was let out, and the kids headed for the bus area. Player just stood and waited for Kia to find him and take him home.

Pik walked around the crowd of kids to get to Player, "Hey James! C'mon!"

Player glanced over at him. A confused look passed over his face. When they were close enough to talk normally, Player frowned, "Where's Kia?"

"She isn't feeling too good today, Player. Right now she should be resting in her bed at her apartment. Ralph is with her."

"What happened? She was fine this morning..."

"It isn't serious, just something that made her stay in bed." Pik glanced around, "Are you coming or what?" He turned around and headed back to Kia, wanting only to be with her right then. Josh's voice spoke in his mind, "Why aren't you gonna tell him?"

"You shut up, Josh. Player needs the school."

"Yeah, but Kia missed him so much that she didn't sleep! Admit it, Pik. You're jelous!"

"Fine! You're right. I'm jelous that she misses James so much. I don't care about that, Josh! If it means having to put up with Player to keep Kia calm, then I'll do it. I love her."

"Yeah, but you hate that she lives with him and not you."

"Be quiet! You keep that mouth of yours shut until we get to Kia's apartment."

"Okay...you just think about what I sai--ooh...did you see the pretty lady we just passed?"

"Josh..."

"Okay okay! Sheesh..."

Pik was left alone the rest of the way back.

Kia groaned and dug deeper into her pillow, "This isn't working...Why can't I stop worrying about him?!" For some odd reason, she felt responsible for Player now. It was like she was handing over without a care in the world, like she was throwing him away. She was almost sure something bad was going to happen while he was at school, and she wouldn't be there to help him, "What if he bites someone?! Damn it, I need to know!!!!!" She opened tired eyes as she heard the door open and close, "He's home now...I need some sleep..." Wearily she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Now that James was home, she could relax and sleep...

Player peeked into her room and saw her gently sleeping, "I wonder what made her sick? Should I wake her?.." He banished that thought as quickly as he'd thought it. Pik had said she needed sleep, so he would let her sleep. She looked so peaceful in her bed as she hugged her pillow. Player closed the door and muted the TV as he turned it on. When he found a show he liked, he turned the volume far down, then unmuted it. He thought of the kids he'd become friends with while he watched.

The next day at school, recess was a blast. They had twelve chess boards outside, and twenty-four kids in their tournament. Player won his first game, and waited for his next opponent. It just happened to be Kenny, "Kenny! Congrats on winning your first game!"

"Thanks. Ready?"

"You bet!!" They flicked their pieces across at each other. Their fight went on so that that soon both were down to just their king and queen. Player aimed his queen carefully at Kenny's, flicking his piece and hoping that it would knock it down. It flew toward Kenny's queen, barely missing it but somehow landing straight up, "Woah! That was close!" He sighed and put his queen back in its place. Kenny smiled and flicked his queen at Player's. There was a small clink as the two queen's collided. They were now down to the kings..."Okay...If I land this shot, I'll win..." He flicked his last remaining piece at Kenny's king...

"I WON!!!!!!" Kenny shouted, jumping up and down, "I won I won!!!!!"

Player sighed and joined Nicolas at the sidelines. He'd gone up against Gina and lost, "So...now that you're out, who're you rooting for?"

Nick smiled, "I dunno. I've never been in a tournament before..."

"Heh. How far up did Gina get so far?" Player searched the area, looking for her. She jumped up, shouting she'd won again.

Nicolas groaned, "She's good. She's gonna get pretty far."

"Yeah...Hey! It's Bruce!"

"Who?"

"Bruce...a kid in our class. Let's go see how he's doing!"

"Okay." They got up and watched the rest of Bruce's game. He won it, going up against Kenny next.

"Ready?" Kenny asked when he finished setting up his pieces.

Bruce smiled, "When...ever...you...are kid. I'm...gonna win!"

"Not if I beat you!"

Gina dashed up beside them, "Did I miss it?"

"No..." Nick said without looking at her, "they were just about to start. Did you win again?"

"Nope...I'm out now." She giggled and settled down to watch the game. Time shot by, and the last round would have to wait until the next day. Kenny was in the final round.

Player sighed as they walked in, "I haven't had this much fun for a LONG time...I wish I'd gone to school as a kid."

Bruce jumped onto the school bus, his mind on the game he wished he'd be playing tomorrow, "I wish I was in the last match! Oh this is so cool!!!!!!!!! Just think...if I hadn't met James, I wouldn't have found such a cool game..." Slowly his mind turned toward thinking of James, which led to the way his parents had acted when they'd first found out about the friendship, "Why don't they like him, anyway? His music is awesome!"

"Hey Dunce! You're in my seat!!!!!"

Bruce looked unhappily over at the kid who'd used his unwanted nickname, "Stop...calling...me...that. I...can...think...just as...good...as...you."

"Then why does it take you so long to talk, huh?"

"Stop...it."

Gary humphed and pulled him out of the seat, "Just go sit in the back where you belong and we won't have a problem."

"Hey...I...was...sitting...there. You...can't do...that."

Gary sat down and stared at him, "What are you gonna do about it? You wanna fight?"

Bruce cringed, knowing how easily he'd be beaten. With an anguished sigh, Bruce headed to another empty seat at the back of the bus. Bruce fell into his new seat, "I don't care how great you think you are, Gary. I'm friends with James Elias and you're not!" He wasn't bugged anymore after that, but when his stop came, he was almost tripped by Gary as he walked to the door. Bruce got off the bus and headed to his home. He reached for the door.

It swung open on broken hinges. The inside of his home was destroyed. Most of the electronics were gone, and broken furniture was everywhere.

Bruce hesitantly walked inside, "Mom?..Dad?..is...anyone...home?.."

"Boo."

Bruce swerved around at the unfamiliar voice. The figure behind him was covered from head to toe with clothing, hiding what type of anthro he was. There were no wings on the stranger's back. The only thing that said anything to who was there was the face mask, which had the outline of a dragon snout underneath it. Beyond that, the figure's type was completely unknown.

"Hey kid, you wanna come with me? I've got a bunch of stuff I'm sure you'll like."

"No. Leave...before...I call...my...parents."

The figure laughed, "Kid, your parents aren't here right now. Now come on. I have some CD's you should try out."

"No. Go...away."

"You sure? The CD's are Deep Rockers."

"Really?.." Bruce shook his head, "No. Get...out...of...here...before...I...call the...police."

"Oh come on!" The figure started mumbling, "Damn kid. You're coming whether you want to or not."

Bruce ran to his room, but was stopped before he could reach the stairs the figure grabbed his ankle and started dragging him backwards. Bruce struggled as he was lifted upsidedown and carried outside, but the guy's grip was unbreakable, "Let...me...go."

"Nah, you can just get in this bag." The figure let go of his leg. Bruce gasped as he fell, but he never hit the ground. Instead, he landed inside a huge brown sack. He wiggled until he was right side up again, but by then the bag had been tied shut. Every time Bruce started screaming he was dropped to the ground or swung against a wall and told to shut up.

He was lifted higher once and dumped inside something, but he couldn't tell what. Everything grew dark and smelled like garbage. The sound of an engine being turned on came muffled to his ears. He was jerked about for what felt like an hour inside the dark and smelly place. The engine died down, and a few minutes later he was freed from his sack inside a huge building. Hundreds of kids were lined up at some machinery, picking up parts and sticking them together, "Where...am...I?"

The figure laughed again, "Nowhere special. Your dad just owed me some money that he couldn't pay, so I am gonna keep you until he gives me what he owes. Now find an empty place and start working!"

Bruce was shoved forward, "What...am I...supposed...to...do?"

"Ask another kid. They all know what you're gonna help make." The figure walked through a door. Bruce ran to it and tried desperately to open it, but it had been locked. He was stuck here now.

*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 6

Deeper Trouble

Wednesday...Player was at the door, waiting impatiently. He barely stopped himself from dropping to all fours and scratching on the door. Kia chuckled at him and opened the door. He was out and down the steps in an instant. Kia took her time as she walked down.

"Hurry up Kia! I wanna get to school!"

"Okay, okay..." Kia brush her hair back and walked down the steps a little faster, "We'll get there in time. Have you got your medicine for today?"

He held it up for proof, "Yeah." After putting it back in his pocket, he threw open the door, "Can we get going now?" The door banged loudly against the wall. Player flinched and caught it as it came swinging back.

Kia laughed and walked outside. They walked slowly to the school, which made Player even more tense, "Hurry up! I wanna see the last round!"

"Your tournament?"

"Yes! C'mon, can we please move faster than this?! I--" He stopped talking as his eyes caught sight of a ruined home. Bruce's parents were standing on the front steps. His mother was crying hysterically and his father was doing his best to comfort her.

"It's okay, dear. I've almost got all the money I need. I can get him back soon."

"Damn it, why do you even work for that maniac?!!!!!!!! I told you, we have enough money! We could have stopped working for him long ago, found you a better job..."

"But Tina! If I hadn't kept working for him I would never have gotten this close to paying off that debt!"

"I don't care! He would have left us alone!!!! Hal, we wouldn't be in this mess if you'd just listened to me!!!!!!!!"

"Excuse me?" Player asked gently.

Bruce's mother looked up, "You! You took him, didn't you?!!!!!!"

"What? Took who?" Kia came up behind him, "James has been with me at our apartment ever since school let out yesterday."

Bruce's father wiped a tear off his wife's face, "I promise we'll get Bruce back, Tina. I promise."

Player jerked, "What happened to Bruce?!!!!!!!"

Tina glanced at him, "You know damn well what happened. You took him!!!!!!"

"What?!!! I would never do that! Bruce is my friend!!!!!!"

"Just admit it. You had to take him. Who else could have ripped off the door to our house?!!!!" Tina started bawling again.

Hal grimaced and stood up, "This doesn't concern you, but could you please go to the school and say that Bruce is sick? It would be a great help."

Kia glanced back and forth between Hal and Player, "I'll tell them that he and James are both sick. James, you help them find Bruce. You've got that special ability, after all."

"What?" Tina looked up at them.

Player sighed, "I'll be helping a friend. Of course I'll do it." Kia ran off to the school while Player began to explain, "Er...I have these special abilities...I can pick up scents like an animal might...just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Player demonstrated by getting on his hands and knees, "Let's see...Bruce got off the bus and went inside...ugh! Man, whoever this other guy is, he stinks! He caught Bruce as he was running up the stairs...a sack..." Player started crawling around outside, "A dump truck! No wonder he stinks so bad!! Who the hell wants to drive a dump truck?!!!!"

Hal grimly answered, "William."

"Who?" Player glanced up.
"I'm not gonna talk about it." Hal paced back and forth for a second, "Tina, if I closed my bank account, we'd have enough money."

"Do it!" She begged him, "I don't care about money! I want our son back!!"

Player sighed and went back to searching for the scent, "I can barely make it out from the garbage smell, but I think I can take us straight to Bruce." With that, Player started heading down the street, "Strange...they don't seem all that shocked about me. Oh well, it makes my job easier." some time later, they stood outside a huge factory, "This is the place...Bruce is inside there somewhere."

"And you are all about to die." They turned to the voice. A wingless mountain dragon held a gun at them, smiling, "Of course, if Hal brought the money, we might be able to make a deal."

Player growled. For a moment he thought about biting the dragon's hand. Crouching, he prepared to leap. He realized how easily he'd get killed if he did that, and forced himself to stand back up, "What do you want?"

"So glad you asked." He motioned to the door with his gun, "We'll talk in my office."

Inside, they walked through many hallways. Player growled. He could smell hundreds of new scents in the air. Each was overpowered by the smell of sweat. Player wanted to search through the hallways and find the source of all the smells, but the mountain dragon turned them into a small room, where they were told to stand.

Keeping his gun on them, William made his way over to a desk and sat down, "Now, this is what I am willing to settle for. Hal, I will let the three of you go, and release your son unharmed if you are willing to pay triple what you currently owe me."

Hal blanched, "Wh--what? I barely have enough to pay back the original debt! There's no way I can come up with triple that amount!!!"

William smiled, "Well then, in that case, I can lower it to double what you owe me. The only thing with that deal is that one of you has to die."

Player growled again and leaned over to whisper in Hal's ear, "How much do you owe him?"

"Too much." Hal whispered back, "Five hundred pounts. My son is doomed!!"

"No he's not." Player started digging in his pockets. When he was asked what he was doing, he pulled out a wad of bills, "Hal says that he owed you five hundred pounts. You want triple that." He started counting out the money. By the time he reached a thousand, William was drooling. At one thousand two hundred and five pounts, Player ran out of money, "There. That's all I have right now. Let Hal get the rest of the money he owes and let's leave it at that."

A mischevous smile crept over William's face, "Now wait a minute. You all have seen where I "work." How do I know none of you will go to the police?"

Hal whimpered and frowned, "Let me go get every cent I have. I'll give it all to you. Please!"

William nodded his head, "Good. Hal, you go on by yourself. Your wife and this friend of yours will stay here with me until you come back." Hal nodded in a hurry and dashed out the door. When he was gone, William turned to Tina, "You know that it won't be enough. I still need some sort of assurance that you won't say anything."

She fell to her knees, "If my son is returned to me, I swear I will never speak about you to anyone! Please, I just want him back..."

"Not good enough, Tina. I know of a way you could repay me though...Hal told me about the job you had before the two of you wed...I could use a good prostitute. I haven't had one for a while."

"God no..." Tina strted crying, "I don't want to go back to that...please. There must be something else I can do. Please."

William leaned back in his chair, "I don't know...There aren't any other ideas that come to mind, I'm afraid. It's that, or another double of the payment. From your pocket and not his." William motioned to Player.

Tina gasped, "Another thousand?!!! But--but it would take me months to get that much money!!!!!"

"It's that or the prostitution, Tina. Which will you take?"

Player couldn't take it anymore, "You bastard, can't you tell she won't say anything?!!! She wants this done! Hal is getting the last of the money; can't you be the least bit satisfied?!!"

"Not unless she makes some sort of payment. What's it going to be, Tina?"

"I--I--there's no choice!!"

"So, what do you choose?"

"I can't choose! There's only one payable choice..."

"Exactly, Tina. I have a special room waiting just for us." He turned to Player, "When Hal comes back, tell him that Tina and I went to the upstairs room. He'll know what I mean." William left with Tina, holding the gun to her back so that neither she nor Player would try anything.

Now alone, Player tried to decide what to do, "Oh damn. I want to leave and find Bruce, but Hal will get worried if there's no one here!" He wished he could call Kia or someone. There wasn't a phone anywhere in the room, and he didn't carry a cell phone. Kia did. Worry started to get the better of him. He curled into a ball and whimpered, wishing he could do something. Every time he thought of William, he growled, wanting to wrap his teeth around the dragon's leg and tear it apart. After pacing back and forth for who knew how long--there wasn't a clock--Hal came back completely out of breath.

Hal puffed and panted as he opened the door. James was the only one in the room, and when Hal came in, James jumped on him, whining like a worried pet, "Oh god...he's doing it again!" Hal kept his face a straight as possible, "The guy acts like an animal! What the hell could've made him so crazy?!!!!!!" James got off him and whimpered. A blank look passed over his eyes.

"Wha?..not again...Hal, listen. William took Tina--he said to tell you they went to the upstairs room. Go find them. I'm gonna look for Bruce. There's something not right about this place..."

Hal groaned, "I should've known...Hal wanted more. He took Tina!!" He felt sick. Turning three corners, Hal pushed against a wall. A secret door opened, revealing an elevator. Hal stepped in and pressed the button that would take him up. He found his wife and William in the middle of the act as the door opened.

Bruce sobbed as he put together another piece of the strange equipment. The place scared him, and none of the other children there had offered to help him in any way. He was surrounded by kids who were in the same predicament as him, yet he'd never felt more alone in his life. Even being teased and bullied sounded heavenly right now.

"Bruce!"

Bruce's eyes shot up at the familiar voice, "James?.."

James ran towards him and scopped him up, hugging him tightly, "Bruce, we're getting out of here now. Come on."

Bruce clung to James as he was carried out, "Thank...you..." Bruce said through his sobs. James just shushed him.

"It's over now. We need to get you home."

"Hold it right there." Bruce whipped around in James' arms at the stranger's voice. He was afraid that the stranger would do something bad. This time the stranger didn't have a mask on. It was a mountain dragon, "I never said you could leave yet."

"Yes you did!" James shouted, "You said we could all leave after you were paid!"

"Get back to the room. You just made things a lot worse by finding this place."

James gulped, "What do you want now?!"

Player soon found himself waiting in a new room by himself. He'd watched Bruce and his family leave through a window, waving to them as they left. He was alone again...Suddenly, he started shaking violently. He filled up the syringe with his medicine and stuck himself, sighing as the shaking ebbed to a stop. The mountain dragon came in as he was slipping the needle back into his pocket.

"Now come with me." William said while he waved his gun, "You're James Elias, right?"

"What if I am?"

"It would explain why you carried so much money, and I am going to tell you something right now. I know where each member of your band lives. If you say so much as one word about me to anyone, each member in that band is going to die. After them, I'll kill their families."

Player growled, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh no?" William went out of the room for a second, coming back with a little girl in his arms, "This is Jasmine. She's been here for three years and has missed her family every day of those years." He plugged her once in the head, "Now she doesn't miss them at all. I will kill them James. I carry out my threats. Who, besides all the teenagers on this island, is going to care if the Deep Rockers are all dead? Do you know how many parents don't approve with what your group sings? None of them will miss your music."

"You're sick."

"But I'm smart enough, and serious enough to make sure my business continues. Don't tell a soul or they will all die, and it will be all your fault." William held the gun close to Player's back, "The TDO don't want their secrets out just yet, James Elias. I suggest you heed my warning and forget everything you've seen."

Player suddenly found himself outside the building. He brushed himself off and headed to the school. When he got there, the bell signaling that school had ended rang out. Player sulked all the way home.