Book 1: Dawn Of Green[]
Prologue: Nobody liked me anymore. I had sacrificed pretty much everything I loved for the sake of everyone I knew. I bought Dream Island from them, but if they understood the true reason, even just now, things would end differently. More than three years in the dark forest, and I’ve almost forgotten the purpose of my actions. It was when I wrote “HELP ME” on the tree that I realized I saved lives, and someone told me to. It started quite simple; I had a dream that changed my life. It all started on a small island in a vast ocean. Exploring the island, I came to a forest. Exploring the forest, I found a bright clearing in the center. I stood in it for a while, when Plantstar (Star of Plants), a dead legend, appeared from nothing.
“There is something I must tell you.”
“Yes, great one.”
“Unknown visitors are coming from their old planet. One may seem friendly, but he will cause doom. He will offer two competitions. Leave the first one alone. You must join the second one, but you must not win. You can’t let anyone win because it’s a trap. Do anything you can to stop it, and remember, use your traits and skill.”
“Yes, Plantstar.”
“I must go now. Good luck to you.”
“Thank you.”
Thus, the prophecy was said and the journey begins.
Chapter 1 (September 1st, 1996)
I woke up startled. Looking around my small bedroom, I got up. I would remember being a child, running around our yard while never feeling alone. Now my entire family is dead. I dashed outside to the more residential part of Yoyle City the next day, hoping that the prophecy was all part of my mind. No, I thought. This had to be the will of spirits, otherwise I would never remember seeing Plantstar. I stopped at a nearby oak tree for a break from all the stress. I took out a gumball when a stranger no older than 15 came up to me.
“Hello, I haven’t seen you in this park before. May I have your name?”
“Leafy. Yours?”
“Why hello Leafy. The name’s Flower.”
She shook hands with me. It’s a shame that now she was ever more ruder than this. We walked along the edge of the park until we found open city again. We took a stroll through line-straight streets and grassy purple fields until Flower stopped suddenly.
“Hey, I see my brother across the field.”
“Wait, this is yours, Flower?”
“Not exactly mine, but my family’s. We all do a different thing on the farm each day, but today is my day off.”
“Oh, okay then.”
Flower and I ran to her brother, excited to introduce me.
“Hey sis. Uh, who’s that?” He pointed to me.
“Oh, her? She’s Leafy. I saw her sitting at a tree doing nothing, so I went to her.”
“Ah, Leafy. The name’s Charma. Greetings.”
Charma shook hands with me and lead me into the house. There he introduced me with the rest of the family.
“Here, Leafy. This is mother Sunflower, father, and little sister Daisy. You already know who older sis is.”
“Thank you, Charma.”
“Follow me, Leafy. Would you like something to eat?
“No, no thanks.”
“Alrighty then. Follow me and I’ll show you the rest of the house.”
“C’mon Leafy. It’ll be fun!”
I followed Flower and Charma to the other rooms in the house. When I saw everything necessary, we went outside again for the awe-inspiring sunsets.
“You know,” I commented. “I am quite surprised your parents didn’t get furious when they saw you bring me. I was a little shy.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Flower said. “My parents are very friendly to visitors. Especially since you’re a nice person.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. In fact, I would let you stay.”
“Wow! Really?”
“Of course. Just let me ask my parents.”
“Okay. And again, thanks!”
Flower ran back to the house and left me to stare at the setting sun. I saw a lake in the small distance and stared at it for a while. I was shocked when I saw a few rectangular shapes with gray dots in the middle. Before I could recover, Flower came back looking very excited.
“Mother was nice enough to let you stay as long as you’d like!”
“Yeah, that’s… great.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.
“No no, I’ll stay. At least for a night or so. I’m just… tired.”
“Okay.”
And that was that. I slept with Flower and Charma that night. The beds were oddly soft, and it was nice to not sleep alone for once. Hoping for no more dreams, I moved to a good position and fell fast asleep in the silent night. I dreamed quickly.
“Leafy, listen quick! You must wake up everyone in the house and leave Yoyleland as fast as possible!” Plantstar urged.
“But, why?”
“They’ll take the people from Yoyleland!”
“Who-”
Plantstar disappeared before I could say anymore. I woke up with a loud and shaky start. It was simple, the grey boxes in the reflection were going to kill us.
Chapter 2 (September 2nd, 1996)
I instantly clouded with fear and frustration, waking Flower’s family so we could flee to a safer place. We quickly left the farm as more booms came from the once lovely city. Nothing but terror was in ours eyes as buildings were obliterated mercilessly without reason. It was lucky the farm was at the edge of the city.
“Quick… behind there!” I commanded.
Too late. The row of trees I pointed to caught fire, and living gray boxes surrounded us. They aimed their laser guns at us. Before I knew it, we all were stunned with fear, not prepared for death. All hope was lost, but then, something was destroying them. The shock was still too much, and we all passed out before seeing our hero.
When I woke up, I saw a flame standing above me. He looked very concerned, but relieved to see me okay.
“A… am I… dead?” I stammered.
“No. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
He helped me stand up, but I was still very shaky. Soon I realized I was the last to regain consciousness. Flower’s family seemed beyond happy and relieved to even see me alive. I looked around at my surroundings, and noticed we were out of Yoyleland. I had so much to say, and nowhere to start.
“You saved me and the family. Thank you.”
“You aren’t a part of this family? Surprising.”
“W- who are you?
“Firey, What about you?”
“Leafy. This is Flower, Daisy, Charma, their mother and father.”
“Why, nice to meet you all. Too bad now we don’t have a home to be joyful with, or friends I know.” Firey told us about trying to help many Yoyleland people get somewhere safe with the help of lifeboats. Unfortunately, only two boats, us and one other, survived. It meant that everyone else either died, or hid behind the trees and went missing. Oh dear, I thought. Will Yoyle city be the same again, and regain it’s beauty?
“Do you know where we are?” Flower questioned.
“Actually… no. Not in Yoyleland, I know.” Firey answered.
“Well, then, how long were we unconscious?”
“About three days.”
“What? Three days!” I exclaimed. “I’d be dead!”
“Well, you’re not, so be happy.”
Despite his joke, nobody laughed. Instead we had barely any expression as we thought about our future. The day was a nightmare’s gloom as we were led through the endless desert. It was no doubt that Daisy was already tired, as she was only a few Object years old. Flower ended up carrying her. We followed Firey out of the desert, but unbelievably abrupt into the exact opposite; a large snowy plains. It was late at night when we finally stopped.
“How long is this?” Flower asked.
“Just a few more miles. I know, it feels much longer than it is.” Firey responded.
“Easy for you to say. You’ve likely lived here, because you don’t sound like a Yoyalian.”
“I’m not from Goiky at all. ”
“Then why did you come here?” I asked.
“Interest, but anyway, I think it would be a good time to stop. For the night, at least.”
“You think?!” Sunflower exclaimed.
Firey found a small clearing of dirt to sleep on. It was filthy, but better than sleeping on snow, which Firey couldn’t even do. While sleeping, I dreamed of a dark forest. At first, we were all here, but instantly, we saw dark shapes dashing beside us. Without looking back, we ran away and heard a high scream. Never would I realize that this dream was a sign of future troubles.
When we all woke up, Firey urged us to start traveling again. We shortly hesitated, but not even Daisy complained as we saw the ongoing desperacy in his eyes. Did he also see the dream and want to forget about it? I thought. We left the snowy climate just an hour later as we entered a dark gloomy forest. Everything looked just like they did in my dream, and only then did I suspise that the dream was turning real.
“You know,” Firey said. “I would like to meet those first people I met back at the… nevermind. Hey, I see a dot over there.
We found that the dot was a clearing, and had a hope of leaving the gloomy area just to realize that we found a canyon in the middle of the dense forest.
“We’re gonna have to travel another route guys, unless you wanna balance.” Firey said sorrowfully.
“Alright, who wants to turns around?” I asked.
Everyone raised a hand.
“Okay, let’s turn.”
We went along the edge of the canyon until it started getting narrower. To be honest, it wasn’t a very big canyon for me. Just deep. In an uncounted period of time, the canyon went out of sight, and the forest was back to taunt our tire. The forest was starting to get thinner as our hopes started to go up. Then out of nowhere, we heard loud poundings of the ground. They were like footsteps, but not quite, as they were unexplainably… deathlike.
Firey was instantly terrified. “Leafy, take this map and follow it to the plains. Run as fast as you can!”
We immediately caught the horror he had as harassing screams came from the distance behind us. Soon, dark shapes passed right by, just like in my dream. As I expected, I heard the loud scream as we dashed into the distance. As the sounds disappeared into the distance, and the forest was giving way to plains, I noticed that Firey was gone.
We stopped when we saw a little building meters away. Everyone was gasping for breath as we approached it. I thought at the time that I was the only one who noticed that Firey was missing, as Flower’s family seemed horrified as ever. Just then, Flower noticed, too.
“Hey, where’s-”
“Firey? I’m wondering as well.” I said.
“D- do you think they…?”
Just then we were interrupted by someone riding in a nearby swing. She looked about the same age as Flower, so we went up to her.
“Hello?” She said.
“Now, by that accent I can tell that you were also from Yoyleland, but you don’t use it on that word!” I said.
“You must be Half Yoyalese, then.”
“What? No! Why… whatever. Anyway, what is your name?”
“Only if you tell yours.”
“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh. Leafy. Now can you say your name?”
“A promise is a promise. Bubble.”
“Well then, hello Bubble. Please, try to correct your speech, though.”
“Oh noyo. Some people don’t believe in nativity”
“Is navity a word?” Asked a curious Daisy.
Nobody said anything for several minutes until Bubble got off the swing and started walking. Everyone else hesitated briefly before following. The place where Bubble was walking had a large metal box with a few people among it. Bubble stopped when she reached them.
“Bubble, why are we here?” Flower said nervously.
“Don’t worry about it. They are friends.”
“Oh, who are these people?” Someone thin said.
“Needle, please. Be nice to them. They’re shaken up from Yoyleland as well.”
“Oh I respect them. I just don’t know who they are.”
“Oh, so you’re Needle? Well, my name is Leafy. Nice to meet you.”
Needle and I shook hands as everyone else glanced at us in welcoming. We walked around and found a few small houses behind the large metal box thing. We finished the short tour as the sun started to touch the horizon. After we saw all that was needed for seeing, we went to greet the other people. Flower’s family entered one of the houses and left me alone to greet the others.
“Hello. What is your name?” I asked a short translucent object who seemed like a teenager.
“Ice Cube.”
“Hello, Ice Cube. If only you had arms.”
“Yeah.” She said quietly. Next, I turned to who seemed like a drop of water.
“What about your name?”
“She’s Teardrop. Quite a nice one, but she can’t, or won’t talk.” Needle explained.
Teardrop did a short wave before I moved on. To be quick, Bubble introduced everyone else for me. I met Snowball, Match, and Pin. It was night now, and Bubble offered me a home to wherever Flower’s family was. I agreed to do this. While preparing for sleep, I stared at the moon. I got a moment of horror as I saw another rectangle shape on it. Another sign that those box monsters are coming, I thought as I was sleeping.
Chapter 3 (September 7th, 1996)
I woke up without any dreams, just like I had wished. Flower’s family had already gone outside without waking me. Well, except for Daisy, who woke up when I did. I followed Daisy outside. She went to Needle, who was sitting on a swing. Not riding it, just sitting there.
“I forgot to ask,” She said to Needle. “What is that large grey box next to the houses? Is it some machine?”
“It is a machine. It’s the Master Recovery Center. If someone dies, he or she will be recovered here.”
“So if I died, I’d be alive again? Right here?”
“Yes, but don’t do it for fun please. Just don’t.”
“Why can’t I?”
“Just listen to Needle. Now leave.” I told Daisy as she walked away.
“Also, Leafy. I found a new friend”
“Who is it?”
“He calls himself the Announcer, but I call him the Speaker Box.”
“Wait, Speaker Box?” I said.
“Come here now, Speaker Box!”
Soon, a blue monster box just like the gray one in Yoyleland appeared from behind a bush and hopped to Needle. She glanced at it, smiled, and glanced back at me.
“Here he is. He speaks just like us, and he seems pretty smart.”
“Needle, be careful of that thing! It’ll kill you!”
“Leafy, what are you talking about?” Needle looked hurt.
“Don’t listen to her, Needy. C’mon let’s go.”
“I thought you were nice, but I was wrong! I had a right to judge you.”
Needle and the monster box turned their backs to me and left me by the swings. I was very concerned that he would lead Needle to her death. He could be trying it right now! I had no choice but to leave, though. I couldn’t think of something to do about it as I walked back to the house. On my way back, I found Pin. I decided to talk to her so I could feel better, since I didn’t interact with her as much.
“Hey, Pin.... you seem sad. What’s the matter?”
“Oh, I am not sad. I am just bored. Want to explore this place with me?”
“Pin, are you sure we should be leaving?”
“I think it will be fun. I had a dream last night about traveling at Noon. The sun is high, so we should leave now.”
“Alright fine. I guess it would be cool.”
So then Pin and I left the little group of houses and into the vast plains. They seemed endless, but Pin never stopped. I never hesitated, because I wanted Pin to have fun, but the longer we traveled, the less confident I was. At high Noon, we saw a lake in the distance. Pin ran to the edge of the lake and followed it until she found a river. She studied the river for a few seconds.
“Wait… Pin watch out!
“What?”
A long scream came from Pin as a branch fell on her and she plunged into the river. I had no choice but to jump in, too. I succeeded in swimming to Pin and grabbing her, but the current proved too strong. We were slowly being pulled down the river, no matter how hard we swam. At first it was only a little desperacy, but things got intense when we saw what terrible luck was snapping at us; a long waterfall.
Minutes passed, and the only thing making progress was our death. We never stopped paddling, although we knew it would be pointless to try. The only thing left was to go beneath the surface where the weaker currents were, but we were already choking on the salty liquid. Soon, we were just a mere few centimeters from our plunge. Someone, please help me! Anyone!
I was getting tired of paddling so hard, but then I noticed that we were swimming farther from the waterfall. I also noticed a very low tree branch. Just reach that branch. I was paddling inch by inch for day-length minutes until I managed to grab it to pull myself from the river. Just to realize that Pin let go.
“Oh no, Pin!” I shouted over the sound of rushing water.
Just when I was losing hope, someone from the other side noticed Pin and ran to her like a cheetah. With the help of the stranger, Pin reached land safely.
“Just what were you doing, drowning?” The stranger said.
“I a- am sorry. I- I just w- wa- wanted to-”
“Whatever you were doing, you need to get to you friend. Don’t worry, I could swim for you.”
“But w- what about the currents?” I complained.
The stranger grabbed Pin and jumped in the river anyway. It amazed me to see how easily and swiftly she got to me. It seemed like any swimming pool to her. She got to the other side, holding Pin still without any conflict.
“Anyway, can you guys tell me your names?” The stranger asked.
“I’d be happy to. I’m Leafy, and she is Pin. She’s the one who makes trouble all the time.”
“Leafy!”
“Leafy and Pin? Where do you live?”
“Quite the way, actually. If you follow though, you’ll find the others. That is, if Pin learns.”
“Well, I have no house, so I’ll just follow you. They’re nice, right?”
“That is right! Just watch out for Leafy.”
“Pin!” The stranger giggled.
We surprisingly weren’t lost. Or at least Pin wasn’t. She easily found her way back to our friends in just the same amount of time as she came to the lake. It was sunset when we got home. They were half happy, half confused to see us.
“Oh Pin, always going off with someone else, but coming back with… whoever that is? Surprise!” Match said.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to ask your name. Can you tell us?” I questioned
“Pencil. Nice to meet you… are you Match?” Pencil pointed to Match.
“How did you know?”
“Well, you look like your name, just like everyone else. Right?”
“Hey!” Charma sneered.
“Anyway, you must be… Ice Cube, Needle, Bubble, Snowball, Flower, Daisy, and Teardrop.” Everybody except Teardrop and Needle made oohs and awes at Pencil’s amazing ability. Then again, Teardrop couldn’t speak. Everyone let Pencil walk to a house on her own, but Match couldn’t stop staring, and she walked up to her. Pencil did nothing but allow her to come with. This might be the start of something interesting, I thought. Pin and Teardrop stayed wide-eyed the entire time Pencil was outside. Ice Cube left the scene out of boredom. However, Needle looked upset.
“Main attraction? Not much of a magnet.” Needle said.
“Are you going crazy?” Pin said.
“No. At least I know where i’m going.”
“What has gotten into you?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that Leafy is a terrible person we should’ve never invited.”
I glared at Needle as she again, turned her back on me and walked away. I shrugged before getting a slight look of disappointment from half the people there. The sun gave way to the moon as I sat in my home, thinking about this sudden conflict. In the end, I slept, hoping there was an answer to all the questions, if I was doing the right thing. A dream came to me. This time, I saw Needle near a cave opening, but I ran inside. I didn’t know why I was there, but I met the end of the cave and saw the others. Frighteningly, Pencil, Match, and Daisy weren’t there, either. Everyone had a terrified look in their faces as well as shivering, despite the fire. Too much has happened already. Please, end this.
Chapter 4 (September 8th, 1996)
I woke up very early to Daisy constantly bothering me. Turns out, there wasn’t any problem and Daisy woke me just for the fun of it. The sun was just showing up when I went outside to see Bubble, asleep on the grass. I noticed she had a pack of crackers next to her, so I took one. After eating the cracker, I went toward the master recovery center, there was something I wanted to try.
On the keyboard, I spelt ‘Firey’ so that it appeared on the screen. Soon after pressing the button, an error came up and said ‘Firey still alive’ on the screen. It would be half-good, because he was still alive. However, it would be half-bad because something unsatisfactory would be happening to him.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“Needle! What are you doing so early?”
“Well, since you just have to be rude, you need to be watched.”
“Needle, your friend is deadly. You can’t trust it!”
“Of course, you’re mean to a newcomer. Why are you still here?”
“C’mon Needy. You can tell the others about this later. Not now though..” Needle’s friend said.
“Let’s go back inside. I don’t want her near me.”
“Needle, wait!” Needle left before I could say anything more. I wondered if she would ever come back. Taken aback from the event, I went to see Match, as I knew she was friendly. Turns out she was already outside with Pencil The Newcomer. Like you could expect anything else, I thought.
“Hey Leafy!” Match said.
“Hello. I see you’re with Pencil there.”
“Of course. Right, Pencil?”
“Right…”
Pencil stood up suddenly, Match stood up, too. They both left together, traveling back into Match’s house. I watched them through all the way, but I don’t come. Deciding not to be a stalker, I leave, too. Walking back to my house, Pin walked up to me. Pin stared for a bit, shrugged, and walked away. Suddenly, I notice something in the distance. At first, it seemed like a simple long gray blotch, but it turned out to be smoke! Moments later the smoke shrinks down a little to reveal a fire. Not just any normal fire, but a blue one. Overwrought, I run back to tell the others.
“Pin! Snowball! Everyone! A blue fire in the distance!”
“Who cares? It won’t reach us.” Snowball said.
“I don’t feel like moving right now.” Pin complained.
“Guys, wait!”
Too late. Pin went inside and Snowball walked away. Looking back at the fire behind the trees, I notice that it suddenly seems closer. One of the trees rustle as a tiny gold block jumps and clumsily lands in front of me. It hesitates for a short moment before speaking.
“T- they took him. They k- killed my family.”
“Please, explain more. Who?”
“I… we… we saw shapes near us. B- before we run, t- they shot mama and papa, a- and they shouted ‘Goldy!’ I- I was w- watching Coiny, th- the youngest, being taken against h- his will. But then…” He paused. “Oh, Coiny…”
I watched as he helplessly fell out of consciousness. I looked back at the fire in horror, knowing that they were looking for me. Soon, Flower runs to me and notices where Goldy fell. She stares, then opens her mouth to speak
“What happened here?”
“Flower, we must leave. They’re coming for us!”
“What, who? Who’s that?”
“Goldy, just tell the others and get away!”
I picked up Goldy. He was quite heavy, even though he was pretty small. Sprinting as fast as I can to the others, I looked back one moment to notice how quickly the fire and the shapes were coming to kill us, too. Soon I stood waiting for the others to come with. It was fortunate enough that Flower was able to convince everyone that we needed to leave, but I was worried that we might already be remiss. The enemies were likely less than 50 meters away. When everyone was ready, and Goldy was being held by Pencil, we dashed for our lives.
Even at a sprinting speed, our beloved homes were being burned to ashes just moments after leaving. No one turned back after that, they just kept going the other direction. Soon, more and more trees start to appear to welcome us back to the forest. Just being there brought back some of my horrible memories, like Firey being ripped from us. It was only when we met the end of the forest and the beginning of the taiga plains that we slowed down. Even at that distance, slowing down was a big mistake. The speakers caught up surprisingly fast, and were now at a concerning distance. To make things worse, it started to snow, and a mountain was ahead. The only option now was to run.
At the base of the mountain, a blizzard was brewing as our field of view was shrinking down. Soon, I could barely keep track of where the others where. A big concern for me was how Goldy was to keep warm; he was only a few years old and was a metal. Suddenly, it felt harder to walk.
“Guys… I think we’re climbing the mountain.” I said, although I could barely hear anything but the wind.
“Hey…” Pin said. “Looks like a hole in the distance, but I also hear distant exploding sounds… the monsters!”
Most of us dashed towards Pin’s direction, but Pencil, Needle, Match and Daisy stayed. My guess was that they were keeping guard. I tried to urge them to come with, but they refused, until Pencil offered to bring Goldy in. Just then, a laser barely misses the two of us and makes us realize how close the box things were.
It was at the point where everyone turned tail and tried to run. Unfortunately for Needle and Daisy, they were too late. Both were trapped in nets while we briefly looked back. Pencil was caught too, and Match was helping her break free. I knew I couldn’t help at this point, having the storm almost blow me off my feet. I just had to run to safety. It was when I finally reached the cave that I no longer heard laser or explosion sounds. I noticed that from here, the cave went deeper. Going to the end, I saw that the others had managed a small fire using coal found in it.
“Wh- where are the o- others?” Flower stuttered.
“I- I don’t know. I- I hope they’re o- okay.”
“Leafy! Everyone!” Match called out. I moved out of the way to let Match move in.
Match hesitated to speak, so long that Pin urged her to.
“N- n- Needle tried t- to warn Daisy to g-” Match paused. “To leave h- her with her fr- friends. She was caught w- with a net, and Daisy ran away. But for Daisy, i- it was too l- late. She was c- caught, too.”
Flower stared at Match with pure grief.
“I- I managed to free P… Pencil and Goldy, but Goldy was c- cold. Very, v- very cold. I kn- knew it was too late for the others, s- so I ran to here. Pencil tr- tripped, so I- I don’t know if th- th… “Match paused again. “If they will make it. I really hope so.”
“I’m so sorry.” Pencil said in the background.
Objects made concerned noises and Match moved to the side where Pencil entered. She fainted when she looked at Goldy, who was half-frozen.
“G g- g- Goldy, I’m sorry. Goldy’s…” Pencil paused. “Goldy is dead!”
Screams of “No!” And “Goldy!” Bounced off the cave walls as Pencil dropped Goldy on the ground. It was true, Goldy was dead. After everyone kept down, Pencil continued.
“Th- the cold… I… it was too much for him. His… his parents are waiting for him.”
“Pencil, don’t blame yourself. Think about the friends who lived.” “But M- Match, it is my fault. I did almost nothing.”
“Pencil… you didn’t kill him. Hypothermia did.”
Pencil was still discouraged. When Match said no more, I stood up and glanced at Goldy. I touched his lifeless body. Very cold. We couldn’t bury him right now, since the ice was hard. It was only then that I noticed that our fire was helplessly small, like how Goldy was too young to face an abrupt death. When I looked around the walls for coal, I had no luck. Our only choice was to leave soon. When I went back to the mouth of the cave, I felt an ocean of relief when I noticed that the blizzard ended. I went back to tell the others, but suddenly, there was a large crack in the wall. Even scarier, the wall wasn’t cracked by anyone I saw. To make the worst of our luck, the cave rumbled and rocks fell, blocking out the exit. The suspiciously rapid bangs were taunting us to our deaths.
“Earthquake!” I shouted.
“It’ll kill us all!” Hollered Pin. As if the deafening rumble of the cave walls wasn’t enough, most everyone screamed, and those who didn’t made rushed phrases to each other. I tried to stay calm, but lost my wits when a chunk of ice fell on the puny fire, quickly destroying it. Either die from cold, or have a rock fall on you. I told myself. Not all choices are yours. Match woke up calmly, but soon noticed what happened and nearly fainted again. Just then the wall broke, revealing the destroyer; Daisy.
The rest was instinct. Before Daisy could speak, everyone rushed towards the hole and toppled her down. The two exceptions were me, who went around her, and Flower, who helped her up. The cave here was larger, vaster, and had more ragged edges showing rocks. That meant in my mind that more rocks would fall. By the time we saw light, rocks piled at the once hollow cave floors.
Exiting the cave would be a problem. It was at a steep part of the mountain, with only a small ledge to walk on. One by one, friends would jump down and grab on the ragged ice chunks sticking out near them. When I looked back, I noticed Daisy was laying down. A rock fell on her left leg, rendering her unable to escape. I had no choice but to help her free. Flower already jumped out, so I had to carry Daisy and jump on the ledge to save her.
“Leafy… you saved Daisy… let me carry her.”
“Flower, are you sure? I can-”
“Just let me!”
“If you say so.”
“Leafy, watch out!”
“What?
Just a moment too late. I looked up, and a rock nailed me off the ledge. I would’ve fell slowly if the rock wasn’t on me. After what felt like an eternity, I landed on the ground conscious, my breath knocked out. Laying my back to the snow, I tried to lift the heavy rock, but I was too numb, tired and breathless to make much effort on the weighty object. I looked up, and noticed a boulder falling my way. Just as soon as the boulder crashed on me, so did a black tidal wave.
Chapter 5 (September 12th,1996)
I woke up on grass and saw that Pencil was standing above me. She looked otherworldly relieved when I looked at her.
“Am I… dead?”
“Miraculously, no. Can you get up?”
“I can try....” But when I try to stand up, a deep pain strikes me within. I end up moaning with hurt. With physical and mental pain, I give up the effort. Pencil leers at me with empathy and hope.
“I’m surprised you lived through broken limbs and…”
“Something terrible?”
“Look for yourself.”
Pencil hands me a mirror. When I look at my reflection, I realize why moving hurt so much. I had a huge tear half across my body as well as a disfigured left leg. I wasn’t terrified by how I looked, but by the fact that I would never be the same ever again.
“I can’t feel worse.” Pencil said.
“Will I… die?”
“I don’t know. Hold on, help is coming.”
“Where are… the others?”
“We found a small town a few miles from our homes. We buried Goldy in their cemetery. At first, we thought you died, since you stayed still. But when we left the forest, you showed small signs of life.”
“I can’t feel… my leg.”
Pencil almost helped me up, but then she realized I wouldn’t be able to stand. Instead, she let me stay laying down while she waited for “help” to come. I didn’t understand what would help me at this point, other than company. I would most likely die anyway. As the day moved on, I heard an ambulance in the distance, getting louder and louder until it stopped near us. In the vehicle was Flower, Pin, and someone I didn’t know.
“Hey, Flower, look! She’s awake! Leafy is awake!”
“Leafy! Leafy!”
Pin and Flower pick me up and carry me into the van, no questions asked. Because they were unaware of the pain I would feel, I ended up moaning and whimpering. When they realized, all they did for an apology was mutter something. The ride to the town was otherwise quiet. When we reached the town’s minute hospital, Flower and Pin helped me more gently.
The hospital looked large on the inside, and seemed to just stretch out with no end. Many objects there glanced at me with horror and surprise, but the object at the desk stayed calm.
“Hello?” She said. “Oh, you guys.”
“Yes, Pin and I. Where do we go?
“Can you please give some info about your situation?”
“Well, my friend Leafy, she, uh…” Flower paused. “She got crushed by a small rock and a big boulder after falling off a mountain. All at the same time, too.”
“Well, what kind of story is that?”
“A true one!” Pin sneered. “Even if I was lying, you’d have to help Leafy anyway. Is this not a hospital?”
“Very well, follow Medkit. She’ll show you where to go and see if Leafy… can live.”
“Come here, please.” Medkit said.
As Flower was carrying me, Medkit led us into an elevator. She pressed “Third” and up we went. It was truly a short ride, but for me it felt like an eternity, like every moment needed to be savored slowly. Finally, after we left the elevator, Medkit led us into a room numbered “372” and opened it. From then on she laid me down and asked for Flower and Pin to leave. Flower and Pin hesitated, but Medkit looked very stern, so they obeyed.
“Leafy. You look worse than a sick rat who’s fallen from a building.”
“I know that.”
“Most of the strongest objects would die from the story your friends told me. Thank Goid your stem wasn’t cut.”
“Thank you…”
“I doubt you could get up. Can you try?”
“I don’t want to. It’s too painful.”
“I understand.”
“Will I die?”
“I don’t know.”
Medkit went to the back shelf and grabbed a lighter and this dry gray blob. She turned on the lighter and used it on the gray blob. Soon it started melting. When The blob was sticky and white, she set the lighter down. I noticed that the lighter didn’t turn off when she let go of it.
“You know what this stuff is?” Medkit said.
“I don’t want that on me.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s called Carijacinus. When applied, it helps heal large wounds and shattered bones faster. Don’t eat it, though.”
“Why?”
“Just don’t. Now let me use it on you if you want to walk again.”
“Fine. Just be gentle.”
She applied the Carijacinus on my tear and leg. When she put it on, I moaned and whimpered from the pain and heat of it. It was merely moments until she was finished. She looked like she was gonna grab something from the shelf, but one problem; it caught fire. I had deep regret for not telling her about it. Instantly the fire alarms activated, bringing a deafening beeping throughout the building.
“Oh dear Goid…” Medkit said.
“Hey… wait!” Medkit ran out and left me to die. Maybe I could drag myself, I thought.
I tried crawling off the bed, and fell with a thump. Suddenly, I felt a pain so strong and heartless that it left me stunned. Laying on the floor helpless, Flower broke into the door. I felt as relieved as Pencil when she saw me awake.
“Leafy! Oh dear!”
“Please, help me out.”
“Don’t worry, Leafy. You’ll be alright.”I hope so, I thought. Flower picked me up and raced me down the stairs, not bothering to take the elevator. When everyone got out of the hospital, the entire top floors were set ablaze. A stared at the fire and suddenly caught an illusion. A shape like I never saw before was standing in a corner. Blood was splattered where the shape stood. Suddenly, fire burned it to ashes and it got brighter. Fire will help you more than it hurts, a strange voice said.
“Leafy! Are you okay?” Pin urged.
“Yeah… I am totally fine! Yeah…”
“Alright…”
It took longer than I expected for firefighters to put the blaze down. The fire resisted quite strong against the gallons of rushing water. Later we were told that no one died, thanks to the help of their worrying friends. As the sun gave way to the moon, we stayed at a small hotel that couldn’t have been high quality. We decided to sleep there for the night.
“Good night, Leafy.” Bubble said.
“I hope things will get easier soon.”
“Yeah, I hope. Good night.”
“Good night.” Bubble turned off the light and closed the door. That night it took me a short time to sleep. Once again, I fell into a dream. Here Plantstar didn’t interfere, but a fire was burning a building. It wasn’t the hospital, but a dark structure reaching for the skies. Slowly it was turning to ashes under the fire’s destruction, but it seemed peaceful and bright. Fire will help you more than it hurts.
“Leafy! Wake up! I want to go somewhere!”
“Seriously, Pin? Like, really?”
“It’s not like we’re in the middle of nowhere, are we?”
“I guess not.”
“Then we can go!”
“Pin, I can’t I’m…”
“Oh, right…”
"Pin, I won't let you go alone. Find someone older than you to come with. Not me, though."
Pin left the room a little discouraged. I hoped I hadn't been too harsh. Besides, you want to make sure she's safe, I told myself. After Pin left, I tried to get up. This time, I didn't feel a strike of pain. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand, so I just sat on my bed. All I needed to think about right now was the prophecy. Fire will help you more than it hurts. Lost in a sea of my thoughts, I didn't realize Pencil standing right next to me.
"Whoa! Don't sneak on me, Pencil."
"Leafy, are you sure you're okay?"
"Actually, I've been constantly in worry. Not only because of this chain of bad luck, but-"
"Please tell me."
"Tell no one else, okay? Just don't."
"I promise not to tell."
"A few days before first coming to you, I lived in Yoyleland. Just one day before our city was abandoned, I had a warning in a dream. It's the only reason why I'm here. Prophecies have been bothering me as well."
"Wait, prophecies? This sounds urgent."
"When I was out of the burning hospital, an illusion came into my mind. I heard 'Fire will help you more than it hurts.' Any idea on what this could mean?"
"Leafy... if I were you, I would keep my eyes open."
"Thank you."
"No problem, if you need to say anything more just call me."
Pencil, without saying another word, walked out the bedroom door. I stared at the door and wondered, would I be able to stand? So I got off the bed, ans surprisingly, stood okay. I looked out the window and saw a bridge in the distance. Water was staying still far below it. Roads were on the bridge, allowing for cars to drive across it. I would remember watching the larger and longer bridges back in Yoyle City in one of the brightly-colored towers. It was then that I realized how much I missed Yoyleland.
I started walking imperfectly out the door and into the hallway of the hotel. I didn't want to stay there forever, to be confined to a place I never lived in before. I walked down the stairs into the main floor, then looked for the door outside. I was going to have fresh air for a bit. When I stopped on the green grass, I looked towards the bridges again. They looked taller and more towering against the water. I started strolling towards it when Match stopped me.
"Leafy, where are you going?"
"Match! Why are you with me?"
"Well, I need some advice. Ever since Goldy died, she hasn't been feeling as good. She keeps talking to me about problems."
"She talked to me this morning, too. Indeed, she looked discouraged."
"I don't know what to do. She says we're friends, but she's sometimes too shy to speak with me much."
"Do you know what cheers her up?"
"Well, she likes the outside, but I can't take her here. She's already left to watch where Pin has been going."
"Then let's find them."
Match and I first turned towards the bridges. There, we found Pin and Pencil at the tops, looking down at the water below. As quickly as I could manage it, we went down to the top of the bridge with them. They barely moved at all while looking down. Match stepped up to Pencil, who glared at her with grief in her eyes. Pin turned around, too.
"How did you guys find us?" Pencil asked gloomily.
"Leafy and I wanted to cheer you up."
"Match, it's something that won't go away. I killed someone."
"Pencil, it wasn't your fault that Goldy died!"
"Yes it is!"
"Pencil, please calm down."
"I should've never came, this wouldn't happen. And you!"
Pencil kicked Pin right off the edge of the bridge. Pencil then jumped down with her. Match, desperate to help, grabbed me and jumped down, too. Pencil landed on the ground with no pain and stood still. Match kept hold of me and Pin while swimming to Pencil. When we all where on land, Pencil dashed away without word. Match ran with her into a group of trees and vanished from sight.
Both Pin and I were shocked, but too weak from the icy water to chase after them. Upset at ourselves, we walked back to the hotel. Pin seemed to stare at the sky the entire trip.When back in the hotel, Pin Checked in to her room without word. I decided that I should probably do the same thing. When I laid on my bed again, I was falling into sleep. I had another dream from here.
I was on the bridge with Pin, Bubble, Snowball, Teardrop, Ice Cube, and Flower's family. We were strolling away from the hotel when we heard a sudden rumble from afar. It sounded like it was miles away, so we really didn't pay attention to it. Or at least until we looked behind us. Standing there was a strange shadowed shape at the other end of the bridge. Then I woke up.
Chapter 6 (September 14th, 1996)
I laid on my bed for several minutes, thinking about my dream. Deciding that I should tell the others about it, I left my room again. Now, where was Bubble's room on this floor? I tried a door a few rooms after mine, and knocked. Luckily, it was Bubble who answered the door. She waited for a response silently.
"Bubble... I had a dream last night."
"Is that why you came here?"
"Bubble, this is no ordinary dream."
"Okay."
"I was on the bridge with you and the others. We heard a sudden rumble, and a shape was behind us. A curved figure."
"Leafy, I think it's gonna happen anyway. Also, have you seen Match or Pencil?"
"Well, they..." I realized only Pin and I knew. "Pencil ran off, and Match followed. Pencil felt bad about... Goldy."
Bubble stayed silent with shock. Quickly she shut the door in front of me. I had no choice but to turn away and find the others. Going downstairs to Flower's floor, I see someone at the other side of the wall. At first, I couldn't make out who it was. Unexpectedly, the figure dissipated without a single trace. I knew Flower's door, so I walked up to it and knocked. It was Charma who answered.
"Leafy? What do you want?"
"I need to tell you and Flower something."
"Well, come right in. Take all your time." Charma motioned me to the couch.
"So," He said. "What is your problem?"
"I had a warning dream last night. We were on the bridge, walking calmly. Suddenly, we heard a rumble, and a shape appeared behind us before I woke up. Any idea on what it could mean?"
"Sounds real scary. I don't think we should go on the bridge."
"Try telling that to Bubble."
"Leafy, this could be serious. I'll tell my family right away."
"Good idea. I'll tell Pin."
"Pin is already here. She came to tell us about what happened to Match and Pencil."
"I should go now. Goodbye for now."
I left the room silently. Now the only people to tell were Snowball, Teardrop, and Ice Cube. I had no clue whatsoever about which room they were in. I didn't want to risk another guess, so I decided to tell them when they weren't in their rooms. I was walking upstairs into my own room when I spotted Teardrop just standing there. She was staring into open space, and didn't notice me.
"Teardrop."
Teardrop got startled and dashed away without even looking at me. Great, I said to myself. I looked around the halls to see if Snowball and Ice Cube were out, too. Unfortunately, I had no luck in seeing them out of their hotel rooms. I felt like going outside when suddenly, a stranger burst out of one of the rooms. The stranger was green and blue, and looked fearful.
"Please, let me stay. I swear I'll never make the same mistake again!" She said.
"Leave now!" A manly and scary voice said through the door. The door slammed shut.
"No..."
"Hey, what happened there?"
The stranger looked up. "Who are you?"
"Leafy. May I have your name?"
"Book, but I was never called that by my father."
"You mean the guy at the door?"
"Him exactly. Ever since my mother and all my aunts died, he abandoned all my sisters, brothers, cousins, and nieces."
"That's a terrible father."
"I know. He left only me to treat as a slave. If I made the tiniest mistake, He'd beat me. Now he had enough of me, so I can't live with him anymore."
"You can come with me."
"Really? You're so generous. How did you get hurt so much?"
"Long story. Come with me now."
"Thank you!"
I led Book back into my room, introduced her to the things I had. Although my stuff wasn't that impressive, she kept on commenting about them being awesome. When I was done, I realized that the moon was high in the window. I let her sleep in my own bed while I slept in the spare one. I wished her a good night and fell fast asleep. I had no dreams that night. When I woke up, I went straight to where Book was sleeping. Instead of seeing her sleeping, I saw that the bed was empty. Quickly growing fear, I dash downstairs to Flower's room and open the door without knocking.
"Leafy, where are your manners?"
"Flower, we have to go outside! Book is missing!"
"Wait, who is Bo-"
"Just follow me, or you can get the others!"
I dash out of Flower's room in the same amount of time I get in. Forgetting to check out, I run through the main door of the hotel. My bruised leg was slowing me down and giving me pain, but I ignored it. I search around the hotel first, then in the residence near it. I don't go in any houses, but I do trespass their lawns a few times. Luckily for me, nobody actually noticed me trespassing. I get no luck in finding Book, so I turn to a more commercial part of the town.
I search the roads, sidewalks and benches first. After that, I look at the intersections and some of the snack stands. My hope never fades as I start asking people if they saw Book. After searching a large chuck of the area, I turn back towards the hotel and meet with the others. Flower speaks to me first.
"We couldn't find Book anywhere near the hotel."
"I can't find her anywhere, though I never checked the bridge."
"Well Leafy, I guess we only have one choice. You deeply feared this, but we'll have to search the bridge."
"I feared this indeed, but I would do anything to find Book."
Our group walks up to the bridge slowly. You wouldn't really expect to find anything other than the roads, but this bridge was decorative. We find nothing searching the fancy advertisement signs and phone booths. We also asked the objects if the saw Book, but had no luck in that, either. Our hope was dissipating more and more. Soon, we would have checked the whole bridge. It took us by surprise when we found a limb sticking out of a large rock.
We lifted the rock and saw Book.
Chapter 7 (September 15th, 1996)
"Book!" I shouted. "Book! Speak to us, now!"
"They... took me against my will..." Book's voice was cracked with pain. "They left me... under this rock so I wouldn't escape."
"Guys, watch out!" Flower said.
A laser beam dashed next to us. A second one zoomed near Book. When we looked behind us, we saw the same shape in my dream, except this time it turned to dust. Quickly, we pick up Book and go as fast as Daisy and I could handle. Eventually, Flower picked up Daisy and Pin picked me up. We dashed off the bridge into the road, and eventually into the wilderness. Trees were here, but the forest wasn't as dense as the one where I lost Firey. This time, we never slowed down at any exception.
The forest seemed to go on for miles. Everybody except for the people who were carried were taking deep, rapid breaths, but we never slowed down. I could barely hear the monster boxes in the distance when we left the forest and got back to the empty plains. Still dashing forward, we saw the group of houses that we used to live in, not a barren wasteland. A large ditch existed where the master recovery center once had been. It was here when we finally stopped running and Daisy, Book, and I were set down.
This time, stopping for a break was no mistake. We felt safe as a kid with his parents when we couldn't hear the monster boxes in the distance. I looked down at the ditch and saw a curved object, sitting down calmly. The strange looked up to where I was, and stayed silent. Why is he so calm, I thought. Especially since the monster boxes once attacked here.
"Hello." I said finally.
"Who are you people?" He asked.
"I am Leafy. I am with Flower's family and a few others. May I have your name?"
"Claw. Sharp as night. Skilled as a full-grown warrior."
"Wow, that's... nice to know."
"I have you know that you should've kept running with your group."
"But because we were so tired, we had to stop!"
"Sorry to be harsh, but I've had to run longer and farther than you guys, and I never complained."
"I don't think they'll find us."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
I left Claw in the ditch to think for himself. Now scared, I told Flower we'd have to be traveling again. She agreed, but we all settled on walking to travel farther. Strolling jumped to jogging when we heard rumbles in the distance. Soon enough, Daisy, Book and I had to be picked up again before the rest of the group started sprinting. The rumbles got louder and louder until I glanced back and saw a fleet of monster boxes chasing us. They got bigger and bigger as we ran through the lush green hills.
Too soon, we got tired again as the monster boxes got hopelessly closer. When they finally reached us, they formed a circle around our group without any shooting. Nets were thrown at Daisy and Book. A laser struck Pin, leaving her scarred. I looked next to one of the box monsters and found a small metal bar. I know just what to do. Dashing as fast as a cheetah, I run to the bar and back. The box monster shoot at me, but I deflect their shots with the bar. I get more confident clearing them out one by one, but lose that confidence when I see more in the distance.
The area became fair game. Monster boxes missed my friends as they fought with punches, kicks, and bites. All at once, I notice that Charma and Daisy were being held down, so my instinct was to free them. I fought back with all my power as their parents get caught, too. I soon look at the sky to see laser beaming down at them. I fight back the monster boxes to free them, but it was too late. The instant they get hit with the lasers, they vanished.
"No!" Flower screeched through her punches. "Leafy, how could you do this?"
"Flower, this wasn't my-"
"You were never my friend! I can't believe you would do such a thing! Get out of my-"
Flower speeds away as a laser nearly hits her. I got struck by a laser seconds after. Feeling like I had no energy left, I sit there defenseless. The blue monster box hops a few meters from me. He slowly aims his gun and prepares for one killing blast. I was never prepared for such a death. Instead of getting hit when the laser was shot, someone I expected last was standing in front of me, taking the shot.
"No!" He hollered. "You cannot kill her!" It was the sweet, calming voice of Firey.
Chapter 8 (September 15th, 1996)
"Firey!" Is all I could say.
Firey tackled the monster box and destroyed it with one punch. Fast as a peregrine falcon, he kicks another one, straight into its death. He rams toward a small group of them at once and shakes to set them ablaze. Two Green monster boxes try to leap on him, but he gets out a spear and stabs them both. More and more monster boxes hop at him, and it gets harder for him to handle. I try to help him, but the groups get too dense.
"There's too many of them!" Firey hollered over the flood of boxes.
"Goid help us!" I shout.
But no help came. Instead, we tire from fighting and stop making an effort to destroy them. Nets get thrown at all of us, along with the mystical laser. It hits all of us, including Firey. We instantly get teleported to an unfamiliar place, all so dark and gloomy. I try to comfort Firey, but his face shows almost no emotion. I look at the other side of the room and notice that Claw was caught, too. I hear Pin starting to sob.
The monster boxes stay silent for the duration of the time. One of them presses a button, causing the ground below us to move down. When it stops, we see a black monster box staring before us. It pushes a button with its speaker, causing a sign to poke out from the ground. This is what it said:
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING RULES:
YOU ARE TO TRAVEL IN GROUPS OF 2 TO THE FOOD PLACE WHENEVER YOU WANT TO EAT AND TAKE ONE PIECE OF MEAT MAX.
NO ATTACKING EACH OTHER.
DO NOT ESCAPE.
I doubted that most of us could read the sign before the ground moved down further. It stopped when we were located in separate cages. Since Firey was so close to me, we ended up in the same cage. The cage had no lock, and instead a lock code. I looked at Firey, and he looked back at me. He was still expressionless, but with a little bit of compassion.
"Firey..."
"Don't worry about it, Leafy. I know this mess will end someday."
"Firey, when will it end?"
"I do not know, but don't fear."
"Will I ever get back to Yoyleland?"
"I can't tell the future. I don't know what happened to you, either."
"The tear is a long story."
"Don't worry. Leafy, I think it would be best if we went to sleep. It must be past midnight by now."
"How about this redwood corner?"
"Better than iron."
"Thank you for everything, Firey."
"I always help more than I hurt."