As Charlie walked east toward civilization, finger in hand with the girl next to him, he thought about his decision. Most of the time, he really wasn't one to make quick and rash decisions like he had. Especially concerning children. Potentially, he had to admit to himself, he acted fast when it concerned robots, but not this. He glanced down at the emaciated girl again and frowned. He didn't feel he'd made a mistake at all, and he certainly wasn't going to take it back. That would be just terrible. No, he'd made a decision, and he would stick to it. He did, however, need to set some ground rules. And so, Charlie gathered his thoughts and cleared his throat.

"Alright," he said, "You, girl, can call me Charlie. Since I'm going to be taking care of you, I'm going to be setting a few ground rules. Ya understand?"

The girl wrinkled her nose as if having caught a whiff of something truly deplorable. Her right eye continued staring off into the distance as her left looked up at him.

"Is Charlie your name?" she questioned with a frown. "Cuz if it is, I'm not calling you that. That's weird."

"What's weird about it?" Charlie asked. "It's a lot better than your name. Fuckin Rat. What kinda god-awful mother did you have?"

"A pretty bad one, but that's not what I'm tryna say. What I mean is I'm not going to call you by your name. If you're bouta be my new father, then imma call you that. That's what all the normal kids seem to do."

Charlie pondered this. He hadn't really expected to hop aboard all willy-nilly like this. They continued to walk in silence for a few while Charlie gathered his thoughts on the subject. They seemed to be coming up towards some sort of bridge. It looked terribly unstable.

"You will not call me father. I will accept almost exclusively Pops. Or Charlie. Nothing else." He looked down at her. "Father makes me feel like some sort of, uh, dictator. And I don't like that. Pops is at least what I called my own father. That is, before he went n croaked on me. Anyways. We also gotta figure out a new name for you. Because I am not going to call you fucking Rat."

"Sir, yes sir!" the girl responded sarcastically. A moment later, "Are you also homeless?"

Charlie almost responded with a crisp and solid "No" before realizing that yes, he was, in fact, homeless. He didn't have his house anymore at all. Shit he thought to himself, I'm no better off than the fucking kid. But he never was a liar, so he told the truth.

"Yes."

The girl looked at him quizzically. Charlie didn't even try and he could already see what she was thinking.

"How do you plan on feeding me?" she asked. There was no malicious intent, just genuine curiosity.

"I, uh, don't know. But I'll figure it out. Back to the more pressing matter, your name. What am I going to call you?"

"You could always call me Rat," the girl responded.

"No."

"Well gee, sir, I dunno! Just call me daughter or somethin!"

Charlie considered. Charlie also decided.

"Also no."

"Then why are you asking me! Just make a decision!"

"Ah shit," Charlie blustered. He had also never been good with names. "Fuckin. Uh. Y-Yorlunda." He smacked himself in the face. What kinda blasted name was Yorlunda? He slowly lowered his hand and made eye contact with Yorlunda. She looked positively insulted. She simply stared at him, this time with both eyes pointed at him. She slowly shook her head and looked away.

"I'd rather be called Rat" Yorlunda said.

"Yeah, that's fair actually. Samantha?"

"No. I knew a Samantha, and she was terrible. Hate the name," said Samantha, crinkling her nose.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"How about Penny, then? Penny McKnight. Was the name of my mother," Charlie spoke, an edge of uncertainty to his voice. It would be a little weird, but she did look like an Penny.

Penny seemed to be considering it for a moment before suddenly stopping and pulling her hand away from Charlies. She looked around. Charlie noticed now that her eye was red again; it was the eye that worked properly this time, too. Quickly and quietly, she began scampering off to a nearby alley, motioning for Charlie to follow. He tried to, but found that he couldn't move nearly as quietly as she could. He watched as she winced with every step he took towards her, his heft helping him in no way.

Charlie crouched down in the alley, puffing greatly. Shit, he thought, I sound like a fuckin leaf blower. He looked towards who he was now thinking of as Penny to try and figure out what was going on. She put her finger to her lips in an effort to tell Charlie, but seemed to rapidly give up on the idea of success. He really was huffing. Regardless, he tried to calm his breathing. She shook he head and looked away, trying to spot something. She was looking out towards that bridge now, which they had gotten really close to.

"What's go-"

"Shut up!" Penny shout-whispered, giving Charlie a pointed glare. She continued staring out towards the bridge.

Charlie was confused, but he would trust her. She'd lived her whole life in this world, after all. He looked out at the bridge. It really had been quite damaged already, though the area around it looked quite normal. It was muddy, with tall grasses and stones gathered around. Right at the entrance to the bridge, there was a boulder, glistening wet. Which made no sense; everything around it was dry. He continued staring. His breathing quieted down, calming greatly. It was practically back to normal when he grew impatient and opened his mouth to speak. Just before words came out, he saw something move on the bank.

The boulder began to rustle, groaning as it turned over. As it did, Charlie saw what it really was. It looked like some sort of hippo with an elongated face, like a dog. It was large, about the size of a compact car, with 6 stubby, wide legs. It had a tail that snaked around itself, at least double it's body length. It had a neck twice as wide as its head, with a huge elongated pouch dangling down to the ground. Similarly to its neck, it's ears trooped in a tangle below it. It continued to lazily roll over, letting out a great yawn, showing off its teeth. they were shaped like one large molar in each gum, With huge incisors at the front. It was terrifying, but also kinda cute? he really didn't know how that was possible. It appeared to go back to sleep.

Charlie considered what came next. He looked back at Penny, who was looking back at him now, pale faced. Slowly, she brought her finger to her lips and stood up, motioning to Charlie to follow her. She began walking down the alley slowly, watching every step as she went. He followed, trying to watch his steps as well. He didn't perform nearly as well, eliciting shudders and winces from Penny every time he stepped. Eventually, after about 10 minutes of walking, she stopped and turned to him.

"What abilities do you have, sir?" Penny asked Charlie. "I know you're a Freehand" she said, holding up her blackened palm.

Interestingly, her hand didn't actually look burnt, just black. It was interesting, but an issue for another time.

"What's a Freehand." Charlie responded with confusion. There was that title again.

"What do you mean what's a Freehand? Are you stupid?"

"Treat me like I am.'

"Are you gonna say you also don't know what a bluback is either?"

"Correct."

Penny dropped her head into her palms and sighed. She looked stressed now, almost like she couldn't believe what was going on. She took a moment to calm herself, before explaining.

"A Freehand is a person who manifests their Memorandum and keeps it with them, usually to act as a hero for hire. That's you right?" Penny questioned, a look of absolute despair in her eyes.

"Nope. Not me. I make robots."

Penny just stared at him. She seemed perplexed.

"What is a robot?"

Charlie had to keep himself from flying completely off the wall. He could barely restrain himself from explaining the complexity and glory of robotics. But he managed.

"Later. I assume that big ass, uh, thing is a bluback?"

Penny nodded vigorously. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Is there any way around that bridge?" Charlie asked. He had no real hope, but he figured he'd ask anyways.

"Nope. The river it runs over is too deep to walk across, and I can't swim."

"Do you think its too deep for me to walk across?"

"Probably."

"We'll just have to find a place to stay for the night. Doesn't seem like we have another option."

Penny shook her head almost violently.

"No, we can't do that! The cultist come out at night!" Penny cried out. She really looked like she might bawl now.

"And what's a cultist? Other than the obvious."

Before Penny could say anything, Charlie heard a rustling behind him.

"Someone very scary, friend," said the rustling.