11

My eyes scanned the area, and I saw two little girls playing together near one of the trees on the other side.

One had ginger hair, and the other had black hair.

Girls.

My eyes lit up, as my mind flashed with the possible money I could make taking these two bitches.

“Ring-a-ring a roses!” screamed the black-haired girl.

“A pocket full of posies!” screamed the ginger haired girl.

“A tish-oo, a tish-oo!”

“We all fall down!”

They both fell down, before getting back up, and bursting into a fit of giggles.

“That was fun!” the ginger-haired girl exclaimed.

“I'm getting really thirsty,” her friend replied exhaustedly. “I wonder when my mama will be back.”

“Let's play some more while we wait!”

They exchanged nods, before dancing together.

I rubbed my chin, immersing myself in thought.

The pervert Rupert stood next to me had ideas of his own.

Filthy little bastard.

27

lazarus

“You didn't tell me that there were girls on this camp too, Lazarus,” said Rupert, staring at them with his perverted glances, licking his lips with anticipation.

“That's because I didn't know there were any,” I commented.

Not any that were worth selling.

I thought the camp was just full of grown women and men, not little girls.

But I was pleasantly surprised.

Because children...

Children were where the real money was at.

“They're so beautiful,” Rupert commented. “We could make so much money with them.”

“Yeah, we could...” I agreed.

“I know I'd love to have a piece of that girl with the black pigtails.”

I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

“Shut the fuck up, Rupert. Stop thinking with your cock, and think of the money. We don't fuck the merchandise.”

Rupert scoffed bitterly, but he admitted defeat, knowing that I was right.

“They're coming this way,” I commented, as I watched the girls turn around, and stare at both me and Rupert dead in the face with a confused expression on their faces.

28

lily

When me and Valerie had finished dancing, I noticed something from the corner of my eye.

Something that made me feel strange.

A tall, broad man with brown hair and a skull-shaped tattoo on his chest was standing a few paces away from us, with an old man standing next to him, who had a smirk on his face.

It seemed like they had been standing there for a long time.

“Why do those men keep staring at us?” asked Valerie, confused.

“I don't know,” I replied curiously.

I thought of who they could possibly be.

Why would old men be staring at us, otherwise?

“Maybe they are friends of my papa.”

My eyes lit up at the possibility.

Maybe they had come into contact with my papa, and had come to deliver a message from him.

“Shall we ask them?” Valerie suggested.

I nodded excitedly, and we made our way over to them.

They put their hands on their hips, smiling at us broadly as we walked towards them.

 “Are you two friends of my papa?” I asked curiously.

“I don't know who your papa is, little girl,” the young man said dismissively.

“Oh,” I replied awkwardly, feeling stung and embarrassed.

I had really thought they were Papa's friends.

“Why are you here then?” I asked curiously, rubbing my chin. “We have never seen you two at the camp before.”

The old man let out a low chuckle, but he didn't say anything.

“We are just travellers,” said the young man, with his hands on his hips. “I actually came here for the magnificent rocks. I'm a rock collector and there are stones of many types here.”

“Oh,” Valerie mumbled. “We don't really like rocks, they stub our feet.”

I rubbed my chin, finding myself intrigued by this man and his interest in rocks.

“I'll tell you what,” said the man kindly. “I'll give you both some money, if you two collect me a heap of rocks.”

He trailed off his sentence, grinning.

“Maybe then you can both get yourself some food and a pair of shoes.”

Me and Valerie both clapped our hands to our face excitedly, unable to believe our luck and what we were hearing.

“Wow, really?!” I exclaimed.

“Yes,” the man confirmed.

Me and Valerie both began cheering happily, and wasting no time, we both ran to collect as many rocks as we could.

Money.

That was something very hard to come by for people like us.

So we needed to work hard, and grab this opportunity with both hands.