Kyle:

Allen was surprisingly less of a help than one would have thought. When Jessica and I got out of the car Allen got out himself, looking around like he had no idea what he was looking at. "I guess... you say he just leaves here every day right?" Allen asked.

I looked around. "That's what the tracer basically says happens... every day almost." I looked at a nearby sign. On the sign was a picture of what appeared to be a vehicle of some sort. If the vehicle were real, it would have been long and black with about ten windows on each side. It didn't seem like it would have been much to look at in reality, like a large brick with wheels. "Any idea what that means?" I asked, pointing at the sign.

"Never seen one in my life," Allen replied. "Looks like a drawing of a vehicle of some kind."

"Ya know, I figured bringing a native would help, but yeah... a vehicle..."

"Real Sherlock Holmes this one eh?" Jessica chided, playfully kicking his leg.

"Sherlock?" I asked. "Who in the world is that?" Both creatures stared at me, completely unmoving. "What?" They still didn't move. What was a Sherlock Holmes? Sounded like a house security system. Why was that such a big deal? "Okay... we still have a kid we're looking for."

"Right um." Jessica looked around herself. "Well, when does this vehicle, or rail car or dinosaur or magical moth pick Tommy up exactly?"

"Magical mo-" Allen began.

"Don't ask- I think it's in reference to something, just don't ask," I cut Allen off. I remembered something from last night, but it probably wasn't important. "I don't really know when the vehicle arrives."

"Magical moth!" Jessica demanded.

"What?" I asked. Okay, so I realized it was about to become important.

"Until we know what picks Tommy up, henceforth it shall be known as a magical moth!"

"Sure," I said. "There can't possibly be any more reasonable concepts, right?" I shook my head, realizing I was with Jessica, "reasonable" wasn't in her vocabulary. I stopped in place. "Alright." I turned around. "Allen, you know exactly what this is don't you?"

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

I rested my chin on my fist. "You keep turning away and chuckling at me."

"Am I that obvious?"

"What is it?" I simply asked, tired of people playing with my head. Seemed like a sport in those days.

"It's a bus stop," Allen said. "They're as commonly known on this world as... well the children who ride them, every day, in the morning, to get to school. Really, you didn't do too badly in your deductions."

Was he sure about our deductions? I mean mine were okay but- "So it's not a moth?" asked Jessica.

"No, it's not," Allen replied.

"If you put wings on it, could it pass as a moth?"

"No- well actually... okay I'm envisioning that and..." Allen froze. "Kyle... she's making sense to me- help." I looked at both of them, eyes traveling back and forth several times. "Really, if you put wings on a bus it would look like well... a moth."

I shivered. Jessica can sometimes get to people. "Okay, that happened," I stated, Allen still staring at Jessica. I did too, knowing that from that point on, she had won and I would be mentally attaching moth wings to every vehicle I saw for the rest of the day. "You said they get picked up in the morning... so we just wait here."

"It's Sunday," Allen said. "Kids have Sunday off most of the time."

"I see, so what do we do?" I asked. I folded my arms and sighed, "I guess we could always just spend the day in the clock tower."

"We could go back to Janet," Jessica said.

My eyes went wide and my mouth suddenly had a mind of its own. "I like the clock tower, the clock tower is good, let's go to the clock tower!" I said quickly walking back to the car.

Thomas:

I didn't know how long it had been since I had seen home. Days... weeks? I had no way of telling time in here.

I looked around me again. I supposed it was morning, but I only guessed so because I had woken up, not because of any changing light. My prison had no bars, no windows, and barely had a door. It was just four cement walls with a single fluorescent bulb on the ceiling our only light. The people who had taken me told me the date every day, I guessed to rub in that I was their prisoner, but I didn't know if they were telling the truth. They said it was the thirteenth of February, but for all I knew from this room, it was still the same day as I had been taken, the fourth.

Thank God for Tamar and Sam. Tamar was a girl a little older than myself, and Sammy was a little boy, about five maybe. With nothing but a dirt floor and cement surrounding us, there wasn't much for subjects in the room, but just to have someone to talk to kept me from going crazy. How did I get here though?

It had been an ordinary day on the fourth. Nothing seemed wrong when I got up and dressed in the morning, and when I went to school, nothing seemed out of place. It was recess when something strange happened. It played again in my mind, the memory of how I was stolen.

"So here I stand, King of all I see!" shouted my friend Jason. He stood on a rock that was about five feet tall, making his proclamation to no one in particular. Well maybe to me on the rock under him. I wasn't sure what he wanted from me though. "Kiss my feet, humble servant!"

I looked up at him. "Yeah um... that's not happening."

"Ah c'mon Tommy, it's part of the game."

"I don't care, I'm not kissing your feet." I laughed. "What are you on about anyway?"

"I'm playing king. I'm Xerxes, ruler of the land of Assyria."

The speed at which that processed for me I was sure was impressive. "That's Persia, your highness."

"We just conquered Assyria."

"That never happened."

"It did too!" he shouted back down at me. "Persia took over their land, so they took over Assyria."

"Assyria was conquered by Babylon two decades before Persia even showed up."

"Whatever nerd."

"Not a nerd. I'm just smarter than you," I corrected.

Jason sat down on the rock looking down at me. "Them's figthin' words."

I smiled, "You'll have to catch me first!" I shouted, running off.

Jason was only a year older than me, but he was a rather large kid, so I didn't really want to fight him. We were friends and I knew he wouldn't hurt me too bad, but I still decided it was best to make a break for it after insulting him. He slid down the rock and gave chase. We ran off the border of the playground, to a large field near the parking lot.

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Jason finally overtook me and pulled me to the ground. "You're gonna get it for that!" he shouted, laughing behind his scowl.

Just then, Jason's weight was lifted off me. The boy was dragged up and held against a man's chest as another man smothered his mouth in a small white cloth. Jason squirmed around for a few seconds then was asleep.

Who were these guys? I thought to run and scream, but I couldn't just leave Jason like that.

I quickly got to my feet, realizing we had both run too far outside the playground to expect to be seen. I grabbed the arm of one of Jason's attackers, slamming a rock into the back of his hand. I drew blood and the man turned quickly, raising his hand to back hand me. His hand stopped in midair.

"Hey, Charlie... how did you not notice this one?" He grabbed my arm before I could strike again, taking and tossing away the rock. "The other one's a fat kid anyway, no one wants those, but check it out," he wrapped one arm around my chest, locking my arms in place. "Green eyes. How often do you see that? He'll fetch a few more bucks than a fat kid I'd wager." I was both scared and furious by this point, my heart racing, and I was practically grinding my teeth. Who were these jerks?

Charlie was a blond-haired man standing several meters away. He looked at me as I kicked and thrashed in the man's hold. I breathed deep, ready to scream, just before I felt a sharp pain in my head.

From there I woke up in this prison with my two new friends.

(***)

Tamar shook me awake. "You thinking about when you were grabbed again?" I looked at the ground, nodding. "Not like we have much else to think about in here."

Sammy stretched and got up from the corner he was sleeping in. The boy was covered in mud and dirt, as were Tamar and myself, but he hadn't brushed himself off of the worst of it yet. "You guys shouldn't be concentrating so much on how we got here. Start thinking about what you'll do when you get out." He tossed a rock in the air. "I finally got one loose see?"

"Sammy..." I sighed. "Is this about that Xao guy again?"

"I told you guys, he made a deal with me. If I can throw a rock out that door when the prison keepers come to feed us, he'll save us within an hour."

I shook my head, holding it in my left hand. "Sammy... how did this Xao get in here without the rest of us seeing him?" I looked down at his hands and noticed... something. Something I didn't like.

"I didn't see him either. He's invisible. He just talks to me sometimes."

I walked over to him and stood him up. I ruffled his hair, noticing the dirt as it fell out. "Invisible friends, I remember when I had one of those. Look Sam just... just don't be surprised if he doesn't come." Wasn't sure how to tell him, but I was pretty certain by this point, no one was coming. Least of all, some five-year-old's invisible friend.

"Let him believe if he wants to," said Tamar.

I looked back at her. "Oh he can believe whatever he wants, I just don't like seeing this." I held up one of the boy's hands, showing Tamar that his fingers were now bleeding, his nails broken and dirt was pushing into the wounds. "He doesn't just believe in this Xao, he's been hurting himself to obey him. He's going crazy."

Concern instantly showed up on Tamar's face. She rushed over to Sammy.

"All I gotta do is throw this out the door," said Sammy, defending himself. "I'm not crazy, I'm not." I took the rock out of his hand. "NO!" I looked the rock over.

I bit back how I really felt seeing one of my only friends willingly hurt himself. Truth was, there had been one scare after another these days anyway. "It won't do much for a weapon. If you really think just throwing this out the door is going to do anything, go for it." I tossed the rock back.

Sammy quickly snatched the rock out of the air, as though it were his most precious treasure. "I believe in my friends Thomas, you'll see. Believe in me. Xao is real."

I looked back at him, at his fingers. I turned around, my back to him, eyes quickly scanning our prison once again. This was so hopeless. If Sammy was going crazy, why bother trying to stop him? I just didn't feel like joining in was all. "Yeah, yeah, you go on ahead. I think they'll be along with our food in a few minutes anyway."

"But you have to believe me. Xao made the deal for me and Tamar, but you weren't here when I made that deal... he said he couldn't help you when he came unless I got you to believe in him. It was something about a loop hole he could just barely get away with. So just say you do."

"Sammy I-" We both heard footsteps approaching.

"Just say it!"

"I can't. I don't."

Samuel walked away from me, moving quickly as the door cracked open. He reeled back and threw his rock hard at the opening, the pebble flying out as three small bowls of oatmeal were slipped into the room.

Sammy started laughing as I walked over to the food. "HAHA! Doesn't matter now!" he kicked the bowls over, the meal flying all around.

"What are you doing!" I shouted. That was the only food I had gotten in... I didn't know how long but he just wasted it!

"We're getting out!"

I smacked him across the face.

I felt myself slammed against the wall of the prison hitting the back of my head. "What the heck do you think you're doing? No one hurts Sammy!" shouted Tamar. "NO ONE!" She clenched her hand into a fist to punch me straight in the face.

I actually could have fought her but... why bother?

A blast of energy fired behind Tamar's back and the door to our prison, which was really just a large stone block on our side, shot inward. The door flew across the room, crashing into the opposite wall. Tamar quickly forgot about punishing me and grabbed both myself and Sammy and threw us behind her.

In walked a dark-haired teenage boy. He folded his arms looking around the room. "Well?" he asked. "You're getting outright?" I regarded this boy. Tamar was pretty insistent we both stay behind her, and for the moment I didn't care, either way, he didn't look dangerous though. The teenager didn't look much older than Tamar. He was maybe four foot five and if I had to guess, about thirteen. I'm sure he would have called me a little kid, but I'd seen my father wrestle someone that age before... let's just say my dad was less than impressed.

I was happy not moving, but Sammy ran around Tamar before she could react. He jumped onto the boy, who obliged and held him up giving one of his sides a quick pinch making him giggle. "Just who are you?" Tamar asked.

"My name is Xao," said the boy. "I thought the little guy would have told you all about me by now."

"Oh, he did..." I said with a long pause.

Tamar backed up a little, continuing to push me back. I shook my head, but let her "protect" me anyway. "What are you?" she asked.

"I'm what you might call a trickster god," Xao said. "Something like a genie. Your little friend's wish is my command- for a price. Course I set the price see. And today, I wanted a rock." He tossed the little rock in the air, holding Sammy in one arm. He chuckled. "Course what do you care, you're free. Let's get out of here."

"Are they really getting out now?" asked a voice behind him. The teenager turned quickly, setting little Sammy down. Sammy seemed to have an instinct about this and ran back to Tamar and myself.

"Tyrin!" the boy shouted. A heavy-set man in a business suit walked into the room. The man appeared to have no muscles at all, but he strode confidently into the room, as though not fazed by the blasting of the door. The man's features seemed like exaggerations. His nose was long and his cheeks puffed, his stomach sticking out like a balloon. I would have laughed if I wasn't busy processing everything that was happening. The boy threw a closed fist in the direction of the man, a blast of energy seeming to fire from his hand. Just as the blast came out, a field of energy seemed to become visible around the man. Whatever energy the boy had thrown-how that was possible, don't ask me- bounced off the air in front of Tyrin and tore a small groove in the floor. The man grinned.

"Give me one good reason not to strike you down right now for trying to steal my goods." said the man.

"I'm not stealing." The boy said, backing up. "I made a deal with the little one." The man raised his hand, fire appearing to spring from his fist. The boy put up his hands. "You heard me!" he shouted. "It's the will of the gods now. Not even you can stand in the way of that."

The man chuckled, "A trickster god?" he asked. He loosened his fist, the fire fading. "Ha... alright then. What was the deal?"

"I told the boy I would get him and his girlfriend home if he threw a rock out that door. And he did... You know deals with trickster gods are made in blood. If you hurt me or them, the entire nation of the tricksters will seek your head."

The man nodded. "So you mean to tell me the deal was made with the youngest, to get him and the oldest out, very well, take them and leave. But leave the third."

"He's coming with me."

"You made no deal with him, and thus have no power between me and him. If you fight me, the other tricksters will not interfere."

"Wait," Sammy said. "I don't know what's going on... but you made a deal with me for Tommy too... he said he believed me that you existed and that was the deal... so he comes too."

Xao looked at me. My eyes must have bugged out to twice their normal size. I was so lost and confused by what I was seeing. Trickster gods? Deals with creatures of incredible power... Xao was real? These things ran through my mind, at the root of it, flashed the idea that I had a way out. The man grinned. "Did you believe?" asked Xao.

"Might I interject here?" asked the man "A deal made falsely with a trickster god invalidates all deals made with the parties involved. Basically child, if you lie, you forfeit Sammy's deal for his and Tamar's release as well. If and when I discover and can prove that you did not believe that this young man existed before you saw him, as the little one reported were your terms, I will kill everyone here, save for you... you can just watch."

I shook my head. I couldn't do this. I didn't know what was going on for sure, but if I took everything at face value, then this man seemed to be somehow in charge of the people who were keeping me here. I didn't know who or what Xao was, so I didn't really think too much about risking his life to escape, but little Sammy and Tamar could be on the line too. In any case, fighting Tyrin didn't look like it was on the table. "I never believed," I admitted.

Sammy's eyes widened. "But you must have, somewhere, friends trust each other... right?" I shook my head. "NO!" Xao appeared to become solemn. He picked up Sammy, the boy kicking and screaming. "TOMMY!" Xao offered a hand to Tamar. She took the hand.

Tyrin, the large man, backed away from the group. A light flashed around Xao and my two friends, showing so bright Tyrin and myself had to hide our eyes. When I open my eyes again, I was alone with the large man.

Tyrin looked back at me. He chuckled. "Are you so naive? How could I ever know what you believed or did not?" I let my arms fall to my side. He was rubbing it in my face, I was so helpless. "You might not have understood what was happening, but for your friends, for the love of two you barely knew for a week, you gave up your chance at freedom. Humans are such pathetic animals." I backed away from him as he walked towards me, his shadow overtaking me he was so large. "Didn't you guess? I'm not like you. I'm not a man, I'm a son of the gods, a Pharaoh."

"What are you?"

"You don't even begin to understand do you? Oh, what does it matter anyway? What shall I do with you? I know! Allow me to show you how much of a perversion love is. I didn't know until now who to sell you to, but now I do... he'll just love you. Absolute love." He gave me a toothy grin that caused me to involuntarily swallow.