DISCLAIMER: Believe it or not, I am not Charles Dickens. Gasp! Sorry to disappoint all of you. I assure you that most of these characters and some of the plot belongs to him, wherever he may be buried.
SUMMARY: Did you ever wonder what happened to the Dodger? Charles Dickens gladly tells us what happened to Oliver, Fagin, Charley, Nancy, and Bill, but what happened to that funny boy with the top hat who disappeared from the text around chapter 43?
A/N: Look who's still alive! I am so sorry for the long wait, and I know that this chapter is unbearably short, but I promise that I am not giving up on this story just yet. I'm still working. Just give me time.
Chapter 11: Traveling
Bet and Tom had said that Charley was in Northamptonshire. Of course, that didn't mean that he was still there. They had not heard from him in a while. It was very possible that he had left and gone somewhere else.
This thought did not bother the Dodger. He was going to Northamptonshire no matter what. Even if Charley wasn't there, someone must know where he went. The trick would be finding him once he got there.
Dodger walked for a while, but sixty miles was a fairly long distance. It would probably take a few days.
The first day passed rather quickly. He walked until he was hungry. Then, he sat on the side of the road and ate one of the apples he had brought with him. When he was finished, he started walking again.
He was still getting used to being alone all the time. He had gotten used to having Timmy around. Whether fortunately or not, Bet and Tom had returned, taken their child back, and left Dodger to go about his business in private once again. It was certainly peaceful, but it would take some getting used to.
A cart passed him, heading in the direction he wanted to go. Walking faster to catch up with it, Dodger climbed into the back and sat among the crops. It was much more pleasant to ride than to walk.
He made sure to be very quiet. The driver would certainly be mad if he turned around and saw this stowaway.
Dodger sat in silence and fiddled with the sleeve of his coat. Soon he was deep in thought. What was he doing? What had possessed him to just pick up and leave London like that?
He was going to find Charley, one of the only friends he had ever had. But then what? What if he couldn't find Charley? He would probably have to visit every farm in the area. That could only be so much fun.
And then what would he do once he found Charley? Of course, there were questions he wanted answered, like why he left London and why he became a farmer.
He didn't expect to stay long. He really wanted to find Charley, ask him a few questions, and try to talk him into coming back to London. Whether Charley said yes or no, Dodger was going back to London in only a few days. Farm life wasn't worth more than two days.
Dodger had become so engrossed in his thoughts that he had not noticed that the cart had come to a stop. The driver turned around and saw him. Thus, the screaming began.
"You there!" he cried. "Get out of my cart! I don't give rides!"
Dodger snapped back to his senses and sprang from the cart before the driver could start throwing things. He stood on the side of the road and watched the cart drive away. So much for that idea. He would have to go back to walking.
He walked until it was nearly dark. By then, he was extremely tired. He hadn't slept in what seemed like forever. So, when the sky began to darken, he left the road and found a spot under a tree where he could not be seen from the road. Sitting with his back against the tree, he fell asleep.
In the morning, he awoke and resumed his walk.
He walked for hours. After only a short period of time, all that walking became monotonous. Soon, Dodger was bored out of his mind.
Much to his disappointment, the condition worsened. It soon began to rain. Dodger had all but given up hope of ever making it to Northamptonshire without dying in some ditch. The rain only made things worse. There was nothing more terrible than walking in the rain.
But, he was on a mission. He had to make it the rest of the way.
So, he kept walking. It rained harder and harder. He was only slightly thankful it wasn't winter. He didn't have the proper attire for walking long distances in the snow. Of course, this thought was overpowered by his wish of having stolen an umbrella before he left London.
The rain continued all day and all night. The next morning, he awoke very wet and very cold. He was even more displeased to find that he was getting sick due to his exposure to the weather. He noticed more and more symptoms as he continued on his way.
His nose was running and his handkerchief was soaking wet and of no use. His head was throbbing. He could no longer feel his feet, and it was becoming difficult to breathe.
Shaking it all off, he set his mind to concentrating on where he was going rather than how he was feeling. He could not do anything about it anyway so why did it matter if he was sick.
But as the day went on and the rain refused to stop, Dodger's condition only worsened. Soon, he was beginning to think that he would have to stop and rest. Unfortunately, he knew he could not do that.
A cart came up behind him, though he did not hear it because his ears were clogged. It slowed next to him so the driver could speak to him.
"Where are you going?" the man asked.
"Northamptonshire," Dodger answered. He noticed that his voice was going too.
The man looked old, much older than Dodger.
"Do you need a ride?" he asked. "You've still got a good walk ahead of you, and it's not healthy to walk in the rain."
Dodger felt himself nod.
"Climb in," the man said.
Getting into the cart was the last thing Dodger remembered before passing out.
- - - -
A/N: So I had this chapter all typed and ready to post back in August, but the hurricane hit that weekend. Luckily, I live far enough north (less than 60 miles north of New Orleans) that I didn't get any real damage, but I didn't have access to a working computer for a month. Then there was another hurricane. And then after that, I just kept getting distracted or losing interest in this story. I just read the last chapter, this one, and what I have already written of the next one, and I'm wondering what possessed me to post this. It's not very good at all, but people are reading it, and I did have this already written, so I might as well post what I have. I have the feeling that I'll be doing some major revising in the future. I will have to reread this whole story before I can write anything else because I've just about forgotten my entire story line. I'll definitely work on it though, and I'll finish chapter twelve as soon as possible.
I don't know what's happened to the Dickens section of this website. I've been gone for a few months, and it just kind of exploded. I'm excited. There are so many new stories that I haven't read yet. I'll have to get on that. Let me know if you know of a particularly good Oliver Twist story. I remember when I started this story, and there were only like five or six other Oliver Twist fics. It was so hard to get reviews. I like this way better.
And I know that Fanfiction now frowns upon replies in the story, but I just can't break the habit. Sue me.
Pickpockets anonymous: Um, I suppose an "I'm sorry" won't keep you from bothering me about taking this long to update. And on top of that, there's no Charley in this chapter, is there? I'm sorry…? Just be happy I didn't give up on this completely like I was thinking about doing.
Lil1: Thank you! I'm glad you like this story. I know that the first chapter is a historical inaccuracy, but I hadn't researched it very much at that point. It was just an idea that I couldn't get out of my head. I think that once I finish this story I'm going to go back and edit the whole thing. That will probably include a brand new chapter one. I don't know how long that will take, but I'm definitely going to work on it. I saw the new Oliver Twist movie. I liked it…in a weird way. It was more like the book than the musical was in that all of the characters were not as cheerful and kind. I think Harry Eden played a good Dodger. I really enjoyed it, although parts of the movie seemed to drag on forever. Actually, I can't remember very much of it. I'll have to watch it again. I've never seen the Australian mini-series, but I haven't heard very good things about it. I'm sure Harry Eden was a better Dodger than Luke O'Loughlin, but I really wouldn't know. I'm only going by what I've heard from other reviewers. Thanks for your very long and helpful review. I will definitely work on a new first chapter.
Sloan-A: I love the Artful too! He'll get his hat soon enough. Give me just one more chapter or two. Thanks for reviewing!
Hannah the Fly: Thank you. I will be updating this story as often as possible from now on…I hope. I think I've missed a few chapters of your story. I've been away from this for far too long, but I'm back now. I'll have to see what you've done since I disappeared.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Charles Dickens section! We're all really nice people…most of the time. Don't be a stranger. Make yourself known. I have every intention of continuing this story, although I thought about abandoning it for a while. I hope you'll stay for the rest of the ride.
Garen Ruy Maxwell: You should do your own story anyway. I'd like to have something to read, too. I'm sorry about the typos. I don't have anyone to edit it for me, so I do all of my own editing. Sometimes I'm too lazy to do it though, so I just hope that nothing is too terrible. This chapter isn't edited because I had it written from so long ago that I don't remember what was going on, and I wanted to post this chapter tonight before I lost the motivation again and didn't feel like posting. It needed to be done. I'm glad you like this story. Thanks for reviewing!
MissLovelyx3: Thank you! I'm glad you like this. Here's you update. Enjoy!
Ericketiting: Thank you for all of those reviews. Apparently you just did that today. I don't know why, but I decided to check my reviews today for the first time in months, and I was so surprised to see that someone was getting so excited over my story that I decided to update for the first time since July. Thanks for helping me find my motivation again. This chapter is only up because of you. I'm sure there are a few thankful readers out there along with this thankful writer. Please keep reading and reviewing!
So, chapter twelve will be up…someday. I'll have to figure out where I was and what was going on. So, that will probably take me about a month. According to the outline I don't remember doing, this story will be fifteen chapters long, which still leaves four chapters. After that, I think I'm going to go through an editing stage. If anybody wants to help me with that, I won't turn down a volunteer. Just let me know what you are willing to do.
Thank you so much for your patience with me. I'm not terribly easy to put up with, I know, but you've all done a splendid job so far, and I appreciate it.