But why are Chloe and Ecker there in Carthage in the first place and where the heck did they come from? That’s what you want to know, right?
I know I do… please send me your theories, ckuhntampabay@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you. And now Chapter Five.
CHAPTER ONE <Click here for all of CHAPTER ONE.>
CHAPTER TWO <Click here for all of CHAPTER TWO.>
CHAPTER THREE <Click here for all of CHAPTER THREE.>
CHAPTER FOUR <Click here for all of CHAPTER FOUR.>
CHAPTER FIVE
Chloe and Ecker walked through the village. They trailed behind the others who searched for a local museum or historical archive of some kind. This town, Carthage, was an archive itself and looked like something out of the American Western films of the 1950s that the two had watched before as part of their homework to prepare for the field trip. But this was not like the other places they had visited. It was so much more quiet, peaceful and friendly. They watched the people peek their heads out of their store entrances to stay hello to neighbors walking down the street. Or even to strangers – like them.
“Hello there!” a lanky, smiling man exclaimed as they walked past a general store. The sign read “Mr. Evans Evrything Shoppe.” Chloe smiled shyly and waved. Everyone was so carefree and content, Chloe thought to herself, content enough to forget apostrophes and misspell words and not fret about it. She caught up to the leader of here group Niman and pointed out the sign, who rolled her eyes and did not appear amused.
“Well, clearly they have different priorities than grammar and spelling,” the group leader declared as they passed the store. Disheartened that her group leader wasn’t impressed by her astute observation, Chloe slowed down so her friend Ecker could catch up. He finally reached her only after running to reach the rest of the group. “You walk too fast,” he said. “Why do you go so fast? You know we’ve got to save our energy for the trip home.”
Chloe and Ecker continued walking with their group through the village and saw five or six people walk into the village tavern together, laughing and talking, arms around each other’s shoulders as they entered. The curious twosome stopped in front of it, just long enough to watch the doors swing open and gazed inside. It looked like the whole town had gathered there, they thought. This must be the place they were looking for. Ecker got the attention of his leader. “Niman, I think I found it,” he said and pointed to the tavern.
The group leader turned back and returned to the tavern entrance, inspecting the building with what appeared to be a tinge of skepticism as she walked across the deck to peer inside. “All of you, wait here. I don’t think they’ll let me bring you inside,” Niman said. And with that, she quickly tagged along with a group just entering the loud, busy establishment and the study group watched their leader get swallowed up by the tavern doors.
Now what’ll we do, Chloe wondered. But before she could even ponder this question further, her friend had already disappeared as she watched him entering another shop across the street. She quietly slinked away from the group to follow him.
Follow Chris!