Links to the original post and the story so far (in order) can be found in the Tale of Two Pizza's Archive Post
Mrs Preda looked at the disheveled young man at her feet and the backpack he was clutching. She quickly set Wes's claim that they would help them win the war aside though, what she needed was information.
"Where have you been Wesley? We haven't had a report from you in so long we thought you must have been discovered! What is happening in Danny Rupert's compound? We've been in the dark for weeks!"
Wes glanced at her husband, as he did she noticed an ugly gash above his ear that appeared to be only partly healed. Beyond that he certainly appeared to have been through a lot. He was bleeding from small cuts in several places on his arms and face. She looked down at the boy again, he appeared to have been through a lot as well. His clothes were well made but rumpled and disgusting with stains and mud. He was bleeding from several cuts as well, and though he had not moved from where he had been dumped by Wes, she saw that he was listening intently. She met Wesley's eyes again as he began to speak.
"I was injured when I returned to the Pizza Baron's estate Mrs Preda. Some things are still pretty blurry- I must have hit my head somehow because I woke up in bed with no memory of my mission or who I was. I was well taken care of in the infirmary where they keep my Father. As you know the senile old man has been in their care for a long time now. He did not know who I was and neither did I!" He shook his head briefly, remembering the days he had spent in the same room as his father, peacefully sleeping on the other bed without even realizing. Perhaps it was a blessing that he had no memory at the time! "Otto managed to slip me a note that I couldn't understand without my memory but I decided to trust it and make an escape. The note instructed me to find a stone tablet, make an escape, and head to an old estate nearby. I managed to knock out the girl that brought me meals and find the tablet where Otto had hidden it in his quarters, then escape the compound by scaling the fence in the dark. Otto is dead by the way. I do not know how."
Mr Preda's face went white when he heard that Otto was dead. He shook himself, then sighed and approached Wes, stepping around the still prone young man on the floor. "You've done well to make it back to us Wes, I am sorry to hear about Otto, I know you worked closely with him... What about this boy?"
"His name is Henry, after I scaled the fence to escape I pushed through the woods to the road and heard him and a girl named Delilah talking. They kissed and the girl rode on horseback towards the Pizza Baron's place as I approached. I revealed myself to him and he actually helped me head in the direction of the old estate Otto had told me about but before we arrived we ran into some trouble. It appeared that some sort of attack had taken place on the road to the estate- there were injured guards and a damaged vehicle. They heard us and attacked. I was thrown from Henry's horse and knocked out in the fall. When I regained consciousness pieces of my memory had returned- I remembered who I worked for, who Otto was, the importance of the tablet and my mission. Henry had escaped and came back through the undergrowth to find me. I quickly took charge of the situation and brought him here. The backpack he is holding contains the shards of Otto's stone tablet. It was shattered while we travelled but all the pieces are there."
"Delilah... surely not!" Mrs Preda spoke under her breath then said sharply "How will this boy and the tablet win us the war? The tablet was... is... a major part of our plans to compete with Danny Rupert but I fail to see the significance of this boy!" Mrs Preda was drumming her fingers on her husbands arm as she held it and Wes could see the fire in her eyes as she spoke. "You've done very well to make it home to us and the information you have brought will be very useful, however, do not make claims like that unless you can back them up!"
"Mrs Preda!" Wes protested, "this boy was kissing Delilah Busk, the Fruit Baron's daughter, and the guards that attacked us on the road were wearing the Fruit Barons colors. They were guarding a damaged grey Cadillac. I believe that Frederick Busk has been taken captive by Danny Rupert, and though I don't understand why she did it, Delilah Busk was headed to Danny Rupert's estate when she left Henry on the road. It is safe for us to assume that both Frederick and his daughter are captives of Danny Rupert at this point. And this boy. This boy can take that message back to Busk's people. This boy saw everything- including the carnage at the roadside- and with the right motivation could bring all of the Fruit Baron's forces into our camp!"
Mrs Preda looked down at the boy once again. considering. "Henry, was it?" Wes nodded. She knelt down beside the boy, laid her hand on his shoulder, and gently took the backpack from him.
"Henry, you've heard everything that has been said here. Come now, there is no need to pretend... it was clear you were listening... I do not believe you are so scared that you need remain huddled on the floor." Henry met her eyes then, and she saw embarrassment in them, quickly extinguished and replaced with defiance. She smiled at him sweetly as she helped him to his feet, "We will have more questions for you, Henry, but for now let us drop the act. I am Mrs Preda."
The rules for this week remain the same as previous weeks!
I'd like to continue building on the story of the Pizza Baron and his post apocalyptic world. Each week I'll pick a winner that becomes the next piece of the story and wins 20 $PIZZA and a 5 SBI sponsorship from me. I may award additional prizes if I feel multiple entries expand the story well.
Each week I'll write a post announcing the winner and then I will write another chunk of the story and open it up again for the next weeks competition. I'll compile the winning entry for each week. If we reach a conclusion of the epic tale of the Pizza Baron I'll divide another TBD amount of PIZZA among all the winning entries throughout the whole story and publish the finished story here on Hive with all the contributors as beneficiaries. If this goes well we might have the first open source blockchain novella on our hands! 😂
The first weeks contest established a secondary storyline that may be tied back into the main plot if you so wish!
Bear in mind this is an experiment as well as a competition so we will see how many entries I get and how well it goes!
Rules:
Entries must be more than 200 words but less than 1000.
Entries must use the hivepizza tag
Entries must comment on this post with the link to their entry
Entries must fit in the world/scenario that has developed from the previous weeks contest(s). You are free to develop characters, introduce new ones, invite aliens to the feast, I don't care as long it makes some kind of sense in the context! The Pizza Baron should remain relevant to the plot!
(I've named it a Tale of TWO Pizza's for a reason HINT HINT)