There is trouble in Bear Country.
The Runt came running down the admin hall before sun up this morning yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Get up, Get up. They took our fuel. “
I jumped off the couch and tackled him in the hallway.
“Ok, we get the point.” I yelled back as I grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to calm him down.

By this time, everyone residing in the admin hall was awake and standing in the hallway. Sleepy eyes were everywhere and no one was in a very joyful mood.
Runt tried to squirm out of my hold as he cried.
“Tony …Tony’s hurt. They beat him up.”

Tony lives in the basement. He has been my friend (sort of) since before the world turned upside down. We didn’t run in the same circles but we had several classes together. He always asked my opinions on homework assignments. I used to wish he would ask me out on a date. Unfortunately, he was dating a cheerleader. He isn’t very sociable these days but he is very good at fixing and maintaining whatever we break.

I ordered the Runt to stay put in the admin hallway and grabbed some muscle. When I say muscle, I am referring to Matt and Jonas. The three of us ran toward the basement. The basement was a mess and Tony was slumped against the far wall holding his stomach, bleeding from his head, and his left eye was swollen shut. Tony attempted to open his good eye as soon as he heard us coming. He adjusted the way he was leaning against the wall and let out a cry of pain.
“I tried to reason with them.” Tony said as he spit out a mouth full of blood.
“They took all of our fuel.”

Tony said it was Central. I honestly was not surprised. They have been giving us trouble for ages. The Central Bobcats are from the east end of Lafayette Blvd we live on the West. We were rivals in football, basketball and volleyball. Our bands competed against each other in competitions before the world thru itself into chaos. The big difference between Central and us is that we are not a bunch of thieves and bullies.

The leader of the Central Bobcats is a former high school wrestling champion. He is mean, leads by fear, and regularly has his goons beat up people for fun. The kids call him the Hulk after the comic book character. He doesn’t barter for what he needs. He has his goons take what he wants.

Matt and I leaned over to help Tony onto his cot. I told Tony he shouldn’t have tried to stop Central Goons from taking what they wanted. Just then, Runt ran up behind me holding a first aid kit. The Runt is such a tiny little person. I yelled at him for leaving the admin hallway. He gets into more trouble.
Runt glared back at me. “Tony didn’t try to stop them. They beat him up afterwards.”

I looked at Tony and he just nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Matt and Jonas both blew a gasket and started ranting a raving about getting even. Love these boys but they get hot under the collar fast and don’t always think things thru…

We have some big people in Bear Country but we are not a match for the goons at Central.