The Curse of the Versati

Chapter 4

The soldier gave the signal but the boy, instead of running, waited until everyone left the pen and then walked out. Unable to compete, he just slowly dragged his leg around the camp. He only saw the backs of the slowest kids that had fallen behind and he thought it would be better to observe their actions from a distance since a few of them seemed more interested in antagonizing the others than actually competing with the fastest kids.

"Let's avoid them in the future" he mumbled to himself as he memorized their faces. When he reached the camp there was no food left but he didn't have the audacity to ask for another pack from Leo when he came to check on him.

In the afternoon they announced that there would be a second run every evening. When they gave the order to start running he decided to remain close to the starting line, since he wouldn't be able to catch up with the rest. He stayed just far enough from the entrance to be able to observe the race without annoying the guards. From there he examined the dynamics of the competition.

There were a total of 100 kids competing for the packs. The first 15 where those with the expensive clothes. The girl that was ahead of the others had a strange crest sewed on her shirt. They finished the lap with a steady pace without much effort, picked a pack of food each and calmly sat down to rest and eat without a drop of sweat on their faces. From their demeanor he named them 'Elites' to differentiate them from the rest.

The next group he named 'Grabbers'. Around 10 kids with similar speed arived just after the Elites, grabbed five packs each and hid in the deepest corners of the fenced area. Among them was Mika and Leo that looked very surprised when he saw him just standing there.

The next 30 kids he named 'Keepers' as they moved in a wide formation not letting anyone else pass them. They cooperated well and from the friendly way they acted around each other, the boy suspected that they might have had a previous arrangement. Those behind them didn't really try to antagonize them since a few already had bruises from the previous runs. The Keepers grabbed a pack each and sat close to the Elites separating the pen into two parts. That made them look like bodyguards.

The rest of the kids fought over the remaining food packs, even though there were only ten left by the previous groups. The boy didn't bother naming them for the time being since the situation there was chaotic. Pushing, punching and kicking, they wrestled each other over the packs until the table was left completely empty and a lot of kids were rolling on the ground with bruised eyes and bloody noses.

A couple of kids arived after the fight just to see the table empty. They leisurely walked inside and organised groups with others. Some of them traded clothes and small objects for the extra packs that the Grabbers had taken but the rest decided to corner the ones that had taken packs and were alone and, with threats, they stole the packs. Since those kids were on their own, they couldn't resist the groups of 3-4 kids surrounding and bulling them.

In the back of the pen the Grabbers had secured their positions behind the Keepers so noone bothered them. After he decided that there was nothing more to see, the boy made his lap carefully, so he wouldn't worsen his injury.

He followed the same tactic in the next run as well. His observations where more or less the same with only one major exception. The amount of supplies.

From time to time, back in Amon there were travelers looking to trade goods for supplies. His father was often in charge of these trades, since he was one of few that could count, so the boy often followed him and observed the transactions. As he grew older his father taught him how to make some simple calculations so he could be helpful in trades with a variety of products. The memory of the exercises was still vivid in his mind.

"Point the larger one" his father said after stacking two piles of peddles.

The boy glanced at them and pointed at the taller one.

"Easy right? Let's say that all the rocks have the same worth, which one should I choose?" His father questioned with a smile.

The boy was about to point at the same pile as before but he stopped at the last moment. The larger pile had peddles of bigger size placed with order while the other had been made in a hurry. If all the rocks had the same value, the pile made with the smaller ones had way more even though the piles size was smaller. He hesitantly pointed at the smaller pile.

His father's smile became wider and he took the boy in his arms.

"Son, are you really only six years old?" He asked while rubbing his beard on the boy's cheek making him giggle. "I'll need to find a harder one next time. Let's see if we can steal some sweet potatoes from your mother"

The boy smiled at the memory. When he grew a bit older the tasks became harder, including smaller objects and animals that kept moving around. He couldn't call himself an expert but he could tell with one look if some of the products were unaccounted for. It didn't take him long to notice that there was one less pack of food than the previous day.

The Grabbers had taken five packs each since any more would be difficult to carry. The kids that arived after then didn't notice that a pack was missing, so, when one of them didnt get any, they suspected that someone hid it. Most of them were already sharing a single portion so, one less made them agitated and new fights started. Now they were eyeing even the ones with deals with the Grabbers, since the Grabbers themselves were still out of reach.

If he wanted any food, he had to either steal from someone else or secure some in the race. The Elites were unapproachable, while the Keepers were stronger than him, so they also weren't an option. He wasn't fast enough to join the Grabbers and had nothing of value to trade. Even if he could take one of the 9 packs (there was already one less) that were left behind, the other kids would steal it immediately.

He needed a plan before getting too hungry and exhausted to run. There was only one choice left, one card to play and for that he needed Leo.