Have you ever wondered where your lost items could have got to? It turns out that there is another world entirely where they've gone. There, you will find all manner of missing items: stray socks, wayward pins...and children. Yes, children can get lost too, and these forgotten ones fall through the cracks and are gone. Pippa is one of these, and when she falls into the Lost World, she finds true belonging. But all is not well in this junk utopia, and those in charge are not to be trusted. Pippa will soon have to fight for what she has found.

Where the Lost Things Go

Pippa woke up the next morning to find that Frances had rolled on top of her. She gently pushed the younger girl off, sat up, and looked around. 


The shelter was made out of canvas, tarp, and blankets piled over and overturned table and some sticks. The mattress took up most of the space. In one corner were a couple of dolls in various stages of decay next to a couple battered books. 


"Are you hungry, Pippa?" asked Naomi, who had woken up and was pulling something out of a crate. "We only have this old bag of animal crackers Frances found yesterday." 


"That's fine," Pippa said hastily. She hadn't eaten for a long time and wasn't in a position to be choosy. 


"Where do you get the food?" She asked as the four girls ate a breakfast of stale crackers. 


"The junk fields," Frances explained. "We get all our stuff from there. You wouldn't believe the stuff that gets lost and ends up here." 


"Oh," Pippa said, then asked, "What if you don't find enough food?" 


"The Lost World always provides enough," said Naomi, brushing some crumbs off Daisy's lap. "Occasionally, we might go a little hungry, no one has starved." 


"Some have more than most," Frances muttered. 


"You girls awake?" A head poked into the shelter, and Pippa saw it was Judah. "Pippa, somebody is here to see you." 


"Me?" Pippa scrambled out of the tent. "Who would want to see me?" 


Judah looked down at her. "The master," he said. 


In the center of the camp stood a young woman, flanked by two boys. She had long, glossy black hair that rippled down her back, and she wore a violet dress that looked as though it had once been a prom dress. She was by far the cleanest and neatest person she had seen here. 


Judah led her to the girl, looking much less chief-like than he had the night before. He was thin and scruffy, wearing a ripped flannel shirt. 


"This is Morgan, Master of the Lost," he said. "She's in charge here." 


Pippa looked into the girl's dark eyes, feeling the way she did whenever she got in the way of the popular girls at school. 


 "Hello," she said softly, "My name is Philippa Holland, ma'am." 


 "So formal," the girl laughed, extending a hand that Pipps shook hesitantly. "As your new chief Judah said, my name is Morgan. Welcome to the Lost World. Take care of her, Judah, she looks fragile." 


 "Of course," Judah said courteously, though he sounded almost cold. "I suppose you've come for the tax as well?" 


 "Of course," Morgan said, smiling. "Aaron, go fetch it. You'll show him where it is, won't you Judah?" 


 Judah silently led the Master's assistant to a pile of supplies. Once it was collected, the group left. 


 "Why'd she take all that stuff?" Pippa asked. 


 "It's the master's right," Naomi explained. "Her clan gets the best out of everything. It's the tax." 


 "That's just the way it is," Naomi said, then added briskly, "Now, it's time to go foraging! Come on, ladies." 


 The four girls headed over the land, collecting anything they found useful. 


"Naomi," Pippa asked after a bit, "Do you know Morgan?" 


 "Good heavens, no," Naomi said, examining a pillow she had found. "I don't think anyone really knows her, except Judah." 


 "They both ended up here really young," Naomi explained. "The reason she's Master is because she's been here the longest. Judah says she barely remembers the other world. Of course, they aren' t friends anymore, because no one would stay friends with her." Naomi turned to Pippa and stared at her sharply. "You must understand, she looks pretty and kind, but she is not, you hear me? She's the top dog here, and she'll make sure you know it. Never, ever, mess with the Master, or she will make you pay."
