[Glory Brats 6] Into the woods

The woods spanned out in front of them, trees as far as they could see. Branches weighed down towards the ground, dripping greying lichen to meet miniature moss forests of bright green. Underfoot, the ground was soft with layers of pine needles and dry slippy leaves. Cobwebs brushed against their faces as they looked up at the criss-crossed layers of branches between them and the sky.

[Glory Brats 5] Through the fields

The path they followed was different now, thinner and dustier, and wound around fields of crops that lay limply in the late afternoon sun. As they got closer, the glinting buildings turned out to be greenhouses, full of plants that pushed green leaves against the glass as if they would burst out. Inside they felt warm all over, and the air smelt of soil, and damp and green things growing. They picked tomatoes and cucumbers, and even grapes, although not many of the grapes made it into the cart. When they came out, the air was cool on their faces. Sparrow marched them on past the greenhouses, and towards the other cluster of buildings by the fields. A big barn surrounded by grass loomed ahead of them, with birds perched along the roof. Another tall fence enclosed the grass, and set it apart from an area of wilderness that lay beyond, with trees beyond that. The tree-line stretched as far as they could see on either side.

[Glory Brats 4] Glad rags and new shoes

Everything in the room was too small for Bee, so they tried the next room. Rat followed them and discovered the mirror. She head-butted her reflection, then tried to bite the glass. When that didn't work she squished her nose against the glass like she had done with the door in the hospital, trying to peer through. Sparrow opened the cupboard to see clothes hanging on a rail inside. Bee trailed her hands along the fabrics until she reached one she liked and tugged it down. It was a soft long-sleeved cardigan, that tied around the middle. She pulled it on and rubbed her chin against the soft bit at her shoulder. "This is nice," she said shortly.

[Glory Brats 3] Bonfire

 Sparrow had scrunched up the paper and the birch bark, and made a thin framework of the twigs over that. She took out a tool that made sparks when she scraped the two bits together. The sparks fell on the paper and it flared up, flames licking around the twigs.

"How does that work?" Zed asked.

Sparrow hesitated. She liked being able to show-off how much more she knew, but didn't want to give up the secret of fire so easily. "Oh, it's very difficult to do." She said airily, feeding the fire with torn up bits of the cardboard file. The flames got bigger and she placed a few of the smaller bits of wood around the edges. The others watched as she knelt down and blew on the fire at just the right place so that it didn't blow out, but instead got stronger, needing more wood. While Sparrow was busy doing this, Zed took a bit of wood from the pile and went to add it to the steadily growing flames. Unfortunately, he did this at the same time as Sparrow was blowing on the embers. He dropped the wood and drew his hand back quickly, crying out.

[Glory Brats 2 ] the brats cook up a storm

Zed showed Sparrow through the different corridors. She carefully read the labels on all the doors until they came to one that said 'Kitchen'. "In here." She said, and pushed the door open with her foot, her arms full of the box of food supplies.

Rat scuttled in behind them. Sparrow set the ingredients out on the counter. "We're going to have soup and crackers to start, then vegetables with rice, and then biscuit cake and hot custard for pudding."

Zed watched as she pulled pots and pans out of cupboards, emptied tins and mixed things from packets and jars into a pot that looked big enough to fit Rat or Tekla in. Rat sat on the tiles by the door, making sure to keep a clear escape route.

[Glory Brats 1] the brats finally get together for the first time

"And one of you must be Zed." Sparrow reached out and helped one of the figures climb out from the broken vent in the wall. Three others followed, of various shapes and sizes. They stared at Sparrow without saying a word. There was a tall girl with dark skin and hair. A strip of fabric covered her eyes. There was a fair-haired boy who held his left arm against his side in an awkward manner; another, smaller boy was strangely pale, with white hair and milky eyes. Finally, there was a child about Tekla's size, with tousled brown hair and a wild look in her eyes. All were barefoot and dressed in the same loose grey tunics and trousers.