Randy, Part II: A KPTL Story

Randy

Part II

A KPTL Story

G.H. Goins

Twelve years earlier

Gary stood at the edge of the road, hidden by brush, his mace at his side. He was eager to kill, hungry for blood. He was tired of bowing down to this fool of a king.  

Gary got word that the Royal Caravan was coming through this area, from the Corporal. The Corporal was the female and she was one of the best soldiers of the Revolutionaries. She had proven herself many times in battle, and at one time, even led some of the king’s army. Gary trusted her, however. He trusted her with his life. Her name was Ruth. A kangaroo.   

Half of the Revolutionaries were on the other side of the road so that the archers would be on both flanks of the caravan. There were about 150 of his troops, all together. This was too easy. Gary was already feeling uneasy, but this! When the caravan finally came down the road, there were only twenty peeps along with the royal carriage. 

Gary was about to give the order to fire but found himself hesitant.  

Turning to the soldier next to him, a crocodile, he whispered, “Where’s Ruth? Where’s the corporal?”  

The soldier shrugged and mouthed “I don’t know.”

Gary muttered a word that I will not repeat here, then gave the order to release the arrows. All strings that were drawn back were suddenly released, filling the air with their dull sounds.

Then, silence.

Suddenly, the peeps took flight, just out of the range of the lethal darts. The roof of the carriage was torn off, revealing a line of archers. They took their aim and let their arrows fly. The Revolutionaries scattered, fleeing in every direction. 

It wasn’t even a fight; it was a slaughter. And just like that, the Revolutionaries were no more.  

Gary fled the scene and cowered until night with one word upon his lips.

Traitor.

Ruth had betrayed the Revolutionaries.  

*

Twelve years later

Darkness.

Black.

Sleeping without dreams.

Randy was unconscious. He sensed that he was stuffed in a sack. It was then that he realized he was no longer asleep. He was tired, but not sleepy. Achy, sore, and stuck in one position for a long, miserable 3-ish hours. But who really knew? Always jostling. His head ached. 

Light.

Randy closed his eyes to protect them against the sudden strain. Thunder sounded from the overhead storm that continued to rage outside. 

“It’s time. Get up,” a voice said. It’s time? For what? Randy wondered. The voice sounded as though it was thirsty and it sounded deep and guttural.  

“Who are you?” Randy asked.  He didn’t know how small his voice sounded until he actually spoke. Randy opened his eyes, only to see the outline of a huge, horned head. Randy began to attempt to stand but found it difficult.  

“No one you should know, sadly.” The last part of the sentence expressed sarcasm.

Randy felt a strong, firm hand on his shoulder. He felt it squeeze like a vice. He felt himself rising from the ground, suspended in the air, only by that one hand. He let out a grunt of pain. He cried out. His feet finally touched the ground and Randy let out a relieved sigh.  

When he looked around, Randy saw that he they were not alone. He saw a cell with someone in it. The horned beast released his grip and shoved Randy towards the cell. When he came close enough, Randy saw it was another kangaroo. She looked at him and Randy froze. Her eyes met his and Randy’s eyes widened, aghast. Her eyes.

They were violet. 

*

Mr. Simm dismissed the class. He was disappointed Randy didn’t show up at school that day. They were supposed to hold Randy’s first kickboxing lesson today.   

Coming to me and asking to teach him… and then he goes and plays hooky the next day. I was stupid to accept the challenge, he thought to himself. Where was the boy?

The first place Simm checked was the school log.  Apparently, he hadn’t even come in that day at all.  He told himself that he wasn’t worried, merely… concerned. Yes, that was it. He decided that he would pay the Orphanage a visit (the directory said Randy was an orphan.)

*

Mrs. Carrots was going nuts. She hadn’t slept at all the night before. She had already notified the Stodard Guard about what had happened. They were looking for him. Randy. Sweet, sweet, Randy. Stolen. Kidnapped! Why would an ox, for that is what the children described, break into an orphanage and steal one child and nothing else? It did not make sense.   

A Stodard Guard officer had told her this: an ox, by the name of Gary, escaped the prison the same day that the crime was committed and that he was their main suspect. And that was it. That was all she knew. 

She wept quietly throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Carrots was prepared for a long night. A long night of weeping. Regretting. Wishing. Hoping. Where that hope was found, she had not an idea. Not in the Stodard Guard. It only seemed right that the ox would leave Stodard immediately. Randy was out of her reach. Gone.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Is the officer back…with Randy? She tried her best not to raise her hopes but miserably failed. The beast, Gary, had been caught, she was sure of it. Carrots opened the door to disappointment.  

“Hello, Mr. Simm,” she said.

Simm was standing at the door, his ears bending low. “May I speak to Randy?”

Tears suddenly sprang to Carrots’ eyes. “I’m so sorry!” she sobbed, embarrassed. “A beast stole him!” 

Simm took her inside the house, “Sit, please,” He gestured to an armchair. “Let me make you some tea.”  

As Mrs. Carrots recovered from her break-down, Simm prepared a pot of water over the open fire. The flames crackled merrily. As he was trying to decide between chamomile and sweet-berry teas, she spoke.  

“I thought it was the thunder crashing. I heard a muffled thump on the roof. I disregarded it until another sound came. Glass shattering and then… screams. Terrible screaming from the children [here she started to sniffle]. I rushed upstairs to see what happened and found that he was gone… Randy, I mean. The children later told me that it looked as if the ox, for that is what we think it is, was 5-legs tall. I didn’t know what to think until I learned from a Stodard Guard officer that a 4-leg-tall ox had escaped the prison the day before. His name was-” 

“Gary,” Simm interrupted.

She looked at him, surprised. “Well… yes.  How did you know?” 

“Because I… I am Randy’s father.” 

*

Gary was grinning, “A happy reunion.”  

He shoved Randy into the cell. The kangaroo with the violet eyes stared unwaveringly into the eyes of Randy. “Could it be?” She asked, wistfully. Gary left the room and everything fell silent. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence; it was peaceful, besides the fact that they had both been abducted. The fact that Randy was captured by a fierce ox was beginning to fade from the forefront of his mind as thoughts of having a mother took its place.

“Mother?”  Randy found it hard to get the word from his mouth. A lump rose in his throat. It was the climax of his life, he thought. He had been waiting for this moment for as long as he could remember. This was it. However, this was not what he expected; they were in a dungeon, captured.

He found her beautiful. Dirty, maybe, but still beautiful. Her violet eyes shone through her tears. 

“Yes. It’s me. Carl, you’re here.” She said. Randy stood, dumbfounded. Carl? Carl wasn’t his name.

“Uh… my name’s Randy.”

“Oh, of course it is. Randy. I’m sorry. Carl is the name your father and I gave to you when you were born. I love that name. I knew it was you the moment I saw those eyes. They’re mine, you know. Although, those ears.” She chuckled. “They are your father’s.”

“My father? Is he here?” Randy inquired, eagerly. 

“No, why would he be? Oh… you don’t know, do you? I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”

“Who? Tell me what?”   

“Simm. He’s your father.”

*

Mrs. Carrots was speechless. Questions flooded her mind filling it to the brim. She was angry but couldn't help but be overjoyed. Randy can go home! But… why is Simm only now telling me? How could he live with himself? She wondered, anger bubbling up. 

Carrots tried to speak but no words came from her mouth.

Simm sighed and said, “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

Wait! He didn’t know!  

Carrots found her voice. “How could you not know that he was your son? Your SON! Randy could’ve gone home with you. And yet, you didn’t come for him!” 

Simm suddenly stood. A wave of panic rolled over him. He had to save his son. He too had questions. Ruth had left him at the orphanage! She fled the Revolutionaries after the ambush on the king. Where was she now?  Did Gary have her, like he had Randy? Simm could slap himself for being so naïve! He finally had his son back, only so that he could get stolen!  

Simm had to leave. He was going to avenge his wife. His son. His family.  

He left the orphanage without saying a word to the rabbit. Simm was sure he heard her talking, yelling even, but he did not listen. He found everything so meaningless in relation to this new purpose that he found. There was only one thing left to do. Find the beast and slay it for the good of Miza. Simm was on a rampage.   

His mind clouded with anger. With red.  

He was out for blood.  

*

Ruth said to Randy, “I was part of the rebels known as the Revolutionaries. Our purpose was to dethrone Marshmallow King. I actually believed he was a corrupted king, but when I met Simm, everything changed. I saw the light in the king. So, I became a spy. For every attack or raid the Revolutionaries planned, I warned the king and his peeps.  

“Right after you were born, we were supposed to assassinate the king in an ambush. When the king found out that the whole of the Revolutionaries was supposed to gather for that battle, he decided it was time to be done with them. The plan was to slaughter them. I couldn’t bear to watch them die, so I didn’t show up on the day of the ambush. That is how Gary found out that I was with the king… and why you are here. I am so sorry!” She began to sob.  

Randy’s heart skipped a beat. Why was Ruth sorry? The answer hit him with a wave of fear and dread. Why had Gary kidnapped him? There was only one answer that seemed clear to him. Revenge. Gary wanted revenge on Ruth so Gary was going to kill him. His last day was going to be spent in the dungeon of a maniac. A maniac whose only intention was to seek revenge on a person, by killing her only child. Randy. 

Ruth continued, “After the battle, on that same night, I left you. I left you! I told myself it was for your good. It was supposed to be a protection. The reason I didn’t leave you with Simm was that I knew that Gary was going to come after him. Leaving you at the orphanage was the only way to keep everyone safe. Except myself.

“Soon after the battle, the small group of Revolutionaries that were left found me and I was held here ever since. There are only about fifteen troops still alive, but fifteen against just me. Not even your father could defeat that many.”  

Randy suddenly felt as if he could no longer stay here with this woman. She had left him! He all of a sudden began to bawl. This was too much for him. He was only twelve! He couldn’t keep it in anymore. Randy had to get away. He couldn’t live with this new revelation. It was too much! He wished he hadn’t even met his mother.  

“Come here, my son,” Ruth said. “Let me hold you, Randy.” She stepped forward, arms open. 

“NO!” He sobbed, putting up his hands. “Why did you leave me?! Do you know what you did to me? How much you made me hurt? Never… [he took a deep breath] never knowing who my mother or father is… it is the greatest burden I could ever bear. And now I wish I had never found out who you really are!”  

Randy took a big step back as Ruth came closer, tears in her violet eyes. “How dare you! You may not ever speak to me that way!” She was so close she could touch him, and she did. She hit him. She slapped him so hard, Randy was unconscious before he hit the ground.  

Ruth stepped back, her hands pressed against her face at what she had just done.  

At that moment, Gary stepped into the light. He had watched the whole thing. In fact, he hadn’t even left the room. Gary smiled widely, his teeth gleaming in the faint flicker of torchlight.  

“Good work, Cynthia.” He prodded, “Although, next time don’t hit him so hard. It needs to be just enough to hurt his feelings. Remember, we’re not trying to hurt him. We’re trying to break him. So that when his real mother comes to rescue him, he’ll already hate her.”

Gary paused as though he was trying to remember something, “Ah, yes. I have already sent a messenger crow to Ruth. She’ll be here soon enough. I doubled the guards. They’ll be ready for her. Only thirty guards are outside, the rest are in here, in the Dining Hall; about fifteen archers; ten pike’s men; ten sword’s men. More are coming tomorrow. There is no reason to fear. Keep up the good work, Cynthia. I think he hates you already. Or should I say, he hates Ruth already.” He chuckled wickedly. 

*

Simm didn’t have a plan. He didn’t even know where to look. What was he thinking, going after an ox? A four-leg tall ox. Gary.  

Simm was sitting in Stodard’s most used pub, the Bobbing Fil-Dub. The Fil-Dub was full of Stodard’s “lowest.” All of the vagabonds and ragamuffins would gather here for drinks, tales, and negotiations. The best tales were spun here. The last time he came, Simm heard someone speak of the great Serpent Rock, the Bottomless Black Blog, and even the Pirates of Bagi.  

“One pint of ale for me,” Simm said to the bar-tender. 

“You got it, boss,” he said, with a deep northern accent.  

As Simm received the drink, he overheard someone telling a tale of a great warrior. “She’s got the most unique eyes,” the story-teller continued, “They say that when she kills you, her purple eyes are the last thing you see.” 

Another voice chimed in, “Oh yeah! I’ve heard that she’s four-legs tall!  A Kangaroo four-legs tall! What a sight that what be.” 

The first voice countered, “Yeah? I’ve seen her. In fact, I saw her on the way over here, a half-hour ago. She’s not four-legs tall! She’s only two-and-half-legs tall!”

That was it for Simm. In an instant, he had the two of them shaking in fear. He had the first voice’s shirt in his hand, at the collar. “Where!? Where did you see her?!”  

Immediately, the front door was flung open. The already dim pub lost all of its light as the front door flew open, blowing out all of the candles. In the doorway, stood a two-and-half-leg tall kangaroo.  

Silence fell over the room. A few seconds passed. Someone sneezed.  

The frightened bartender said, “Jim, light the candles back. And, ma’am, if there is any trouble with you, you won’t be coming back. Understand?” 

The shadow of a kangaroo nodded. 

“Good,” said the bartender.   

As light filled the room again, Simm sub-consciously released the shirt of his victim. Tears filled his eyes as he got a good look at his wife.  “Ruth,” he breathed. He hadn’t said that word in a long, long time.

Ruth ran to him and they embraced for a few moments.  

Ten minutes later, they were sitting at the bar, discussing how to save their son. Ruth took a piece of paper out of her pouch. “This is it,” she said, “The Crow Message. It’s really pretty straight forward. This is all it says ‘We have your son. If you come, alone, unarmed, I will let him go, in exchange for your life. You have four days before I kill him. I have a feeling you know where to find him. Gary.’ That’s all.”

Simm took a minute to take it all in and then said, “Well? Do you know where to find him?” 

“Yes,” Ruth said in a small voice, “but… you’re not going to like it.”  

“Where is it?”

“The Jungle Norm. There’s a fortress in there. That’s where the secret HQ was, for the Revolutionaries.”  

Simm took a deep breath. “Alright then. There’s only one thing left to do. Let’s go rescue our son.”

To be concluded in, Randy, Part III