Introductions

(Warning! If you are not one of the people reffered to on the below list, or don't know what I'm talking about. I don't want you to rate or comment on this peice of writing! You can read it though.)

Me = Rika Lizz = Kiana Janessa = Falon
Sean = Quen Rachelle = Phailin Carla = Aderes
Vivian = Umeko Landen = Tryger Sophie = Jadyn


Chapter 6
Travellers in a strange land

The warm, arid air blew softly over the hill tops, rustling the tall blades of glass and carrying a faint scent of lilac. Or at least something like it...

Rika opened her eyes to the sound of strange bird calls. That and he sound of " Where the @#$%! are we?!!!" Being screamed at the top of Skyla's lungs. Rika groaned at her pounding headache and slowly sat up. Virote was crouching beside her and helped her to her feet. Grogely she looked aroun and took in her surroundings. Skyla, Tryger, Kiana and Phailin were staning near by and were also looking around in confusion. Falon, Umeko, Jadyn, Quen, and Aderes were scattered about on the ground, still unconcious. Mr. Proton was close by and seemed to be doing a dance of some kind.
They wer all on top of a hill and there were more hills streching out as far a the eye could see. The grass beneath theri feet was long and dry. Growing here and there was a blue, bottle shaped flower that as giving off a scent that reminded Rika of lilac. And all this was beneath a green, ocean like sky.
Rika hear the odd bird calls again and looked up to see a flock of large kite shaped birds go sailing overhead. She looked at the alien landscape again and felt a shudder go down her spine. What was going on? Hadn't they just been in the science lab? Rika felt the panic whelin up inside her and tried to supress it. There was probably a good explenation for all of this!
" Where are we?" Rika repeated Skyla's question. The others shook their heads to show that her confusion was mutual.
" I don't know." Kiana muttered. " But I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" Several of the others began to come to so Rika went to help them. Soon everyone was awake and they all stood around in stunned silence.
" What happened?" Quen asked.
" You fools!" Mr. Proton yelled in glee. " Don't you understand?! We're on another plane of existence!" Everyone immeadiately rejected this suggestion.
" I think that Mr. Proton's machine blew uo and we are now all dead!" Tryger suggested. Everyone stared at him in horro.
" You Bastard! You killed us!!!!" Skyla screamed at Mr.Proton. She then proceded to attack Mr. Proton visioucly. It took five of them to drag her off of him.
" Calm down sis!" Virote pleaded. " This isn't helping!"
" YOU calm down!" She screamed. Meanwhile, those not saving Mr.Proton were in debate over whether or not they were actually dead.
" We can't be dead! If we were in heaven then you wouldn't be here!" Jadyn yelled at Tryger.
" GASP! You actually spoke to me! It's a Christmas Miracle!" Tryger said sarcastically.
" Maybe! It's all a dream." Kiana suggested.
" That must be it!" Falon agreed. " I'm dreaming and this is all just a bad dream."
" No! I'm the one who's asleep!" Kiana protested.
" No I am!" Falon argued.
" We're all asleep and never waking up." Tryger told them.
" Your pessimism is not appreciated." Rika informed him.
" Nice to know."
Virote, Phailin, Quen, Umeko, and Aderes had managed to pin Skyla to the ground, but she was still...upset...
" Would you guys mind hlping!?" Umeko demanded.
" This can't be a dream!" Quen huffed. " It feels to real!"
" Of course it's real!" Mr. Proton ( who was now maintaining a safe distance) said patiently. " W're just on anothe plain of existence that's all!"
" Shut-up!" Aderes yelled at him. " I'm not sure what's happened! But I am sure that it's all your fault!!"
" Why couldn't we have just left the room when I wanted to?!" Phailin wondered out loud.
" Hey!" Rika cried suddenly. " What's that." She pointed towards the horizon and everyone stopped what they were doing to look. In the distance they could make out the small black outline of a building.
" What is it?" Jadyn asked.
" Maybe it's a skyscrapper." Quen suggested.
" Or a tower." Phailin added.
" Civilization?" Skyla askd through a mouthful of grass. She raised her head from where she wa still pinned on the ground to look. " If there's civilization that means we'r not dead right?"
" Um, I don't think tha.." Tryger was interupted by Falon kicking him discreetly in the leg.
" Oh! We must make contact with these people!" Mr. Proton cried.
" Why?" Rika asked. Mr.Proton looked at her like she had two heads.
" Don't you see?! This is the greatest exploration man has ever under gone!"
" What about women?" Kiana muttered.
" Humankind then!" Mr. Proton said absently.
" What if they're not friendly life forms?" Aderes asked cautiously.
" Or what if it's actually just a big rock!" Umeko agreed.
" No!" Mr. Proton snapped. " It's lie forms and we have to make contact with them!"
" I agree with Umeko." said Quen. " I think it's a rock!"
" Why don't we go see." Virote suggested.
" What and get killed by the viscous cannibals?" Aderes muttered. Virote shrugged.
" You have a better idea?" he asked.
" Yeah. It's called not getting eaten!"
" We can't get eaten, we're already dead." Tryger reminded them.
" They could be nice people." Rika suggested.
" Your optomism isn't appreciated." Tryger told her.
" Ha ha. My spleen is exploding." Rika muttered.
" Did that make any sense to you?" Phailin asked Tryger. Tryger shook his head.
" As I was saying!" Rika said loudly. " They're probably nice life forms."
" Well, I guess we have to do something." Phailin sighed.
" I don't mind going to see the rock." Quen commented.
" It's not a rock!" Mr.Proton screamed.
" Migt as well." Kiana said.
" Then it's agreed?" Falon asked. Everyon nodded.
" Yes! We're off to see the rock!" Umeko cheered.
" Right!" Falon cried. She began heading in the general direction of civilization AKA the big rock, when Jadyn cleared her throat.
" Um..Aren't you forgeting something Falon?" She asked pointing to where Ilom lay unconscious.
" He's here to?!" Phailin moaned.
" We must be in hell!" Umeko muttered.
" Told you so." Said Tryger.

A few moments later they were all hiking over the hills towards god only knew what. After they had been unsuccessful in waking up Ilom they had democratically decided that Falon would have to carry him. Much to her displeasure.
The sun beat down on them like a hammer an they discovered that this land was home to several kinds of pesky bugs. Everyone was bewildered and a little scared and tempers were running high.
" So hot." Quen complained
" Isn't there any water in this god forsaken land?" Aderes agreed.
" Hid you HAVE to hit him with the chair?" Phailin asked Falon. She was regretting her offer to help her carry Ilom.
" I'm not the one who said we couldn't leave him behind." Falon muttered, glaring at Jadyn's back. Jadyn said nothing.
" Maybe we should sing to make the going easier!" Riks suggested with forced cheeriness.
" Rika!" Kiana moaned.
" How about no!" Skyla snapped.
" Fine then!" Rika pouted. " I'll just sing all by myself!" Riks began singing American Pie to herself.
" A long long time ago
I can still remember
how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while."

" Could you kids wait up?!" Mr.Proton yelled from behind them. Being a scienc nerd he didn't get a lot of excersise and was having trouble keeping up. Everyone was still mad at him however so they just walked faster despite the steep hills.
" Stupid Haru!" Falon muttered. " I hate you."
" Um...how is this in anyway his fault?" Phailin asked.
" Be quiet!"
" I bet my parents are worried sick." Kiana sighed. Almost everyone nodded. Their parents woukd be worried to.

" For 10 years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on the rollong stone
But thats not how it used to be
Oh when the jester sang for the king and Queen
In a coat borrowed from James Dean
And a vioce th..."

" Rika!" If you don't stop that I'll shove my shoe down your throat." Falon finally cracked.
" Amen to that." Tryger muttered. He'd found Rika's off key, out of tune singing painful to listen to.
" You shutup too!" Falon yelled at him. " No one's allowed to be mean to my friends but me!"
Rika sulked, more to make everyone else feel bad then from really caring that they didn't like her singing. She raised her chin and picked up speed till she was in front of eveyone else.
" Um.. Do you think you hurt her feelings?" Phailin asked in concern.
" No. Rika always sulks." Falon said absently.
" Hey everyone look at that." Rika yelled. She was at the top of the hill they were currently climbing and was jumping up and down excitedly.
" What is it?" Quen asked.
" Pleae say that you've found food!" Umeko prayed. But Rika was running down the other side of the hill and didn't answer. The others quickly ran after her to see what was up. They found Rika standing happily in front of an odd purple tree.
" Hee hee hee!" She laughed excitedly. " It's a giant purple pussy willow tree!" Which is indeed what it looked like, except that the purple pussies were the size of small dogs and had strange lines on them. But those are just small details right?
Rika ignored these details and started petting one of he giant purple balls of puff.
" Wow! It's really soft and..." At that moment the purple fuzzt bud came alive and clamped onto Rika's outstretched arm.
" Owwwww!!!!" It's eating me!!!! Get it off!! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!!!!!" Everyone forward to help her. Kiana, Quen. and Aderes got there first, grabbed the head, and tried to pry it's mouth open.
" Don't panic Rika! We'll get it off!" Quen tried to reassure her.
" Yeah! Just hold still and we'll have you out in no time." Aderes grunted as she put all her strength into th task at hand.
" Please hurry!" Rika begged as she fought back screams of pain.
" Don't worry Rika it...." Kiana's voice trailed off as she looked behind the others. The tree had come alive with furry. The other purple fuzzy heads roared in rage and swung around to attack the things that were attempting to steal their prey. They opened their mouths wide to reveal rows of sharp pointy teeth and screamed like crazed animals.
" Uhoh!" Quen muttered as the heads dove at them. They managed to duck or dodge the first attack but the heads were fast and extremely determined.
" We can't keep this up forever!" Aderes cried as she punched a smaller head before it had the chance to bit her. The head whimpered and retreated, only to be replaced by more.
" You three worry about Rika!" Virote cried as he picked up a large stick off the ground, wielding it like a club. " We'll take care of these!" He took up a defensive position near where Rika was trapped and began viciously whacking the heads away. Virote was soon joined by Falon, who had also found a stick, and together they kept the hissing purple heads at bay. Tuffs of purple fur filled the air. The tree soon tired of this and seemed to pull into itself, bringing in it's branches, and Rika with them. Her friends tried desperately to hold on to the head that stubbornly refused to let go, but they were wrenched off as Rika was pulled into the air.
Rika was dizzy with pain and was on the brink of hysteria. She wrapped her free arm around her fuzzy assailant and tried to hoist herself up so that not all her weight was rested on the arm that was currently being chewed. She then kicked the branch desperately.
" Let go!" She yelled weakly. She could feel her energy draining and her vision was swimming.
" What do we do now?! Aderes cried. No one answered because no one knew what to do. Phailin and Umeko tried throwing rocks, but that only made the tree hiss at them.
" This isn't helping!!!" Umeko yelled, throwing a stone at the ground in helpless anger.
" We'd better think of something." Phailin agreed. " And we'd better think of it fast!"

Chapter 7
Noises in the night

Dave ( previously reffered to as Bigangrymeanguy)drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel of the car. He was angry. Rika had said that the school closed at 10! So where was she?! Dave checked his watch and growled under his breath. He hated having to pick up his younger siblings from their stupid activites, but he hated having to wait for hem even more!
At that moment someone knocked politley on the car window. Dave looked up, ready to grumpily demand what had taken Rika so long, however someone else wa peering at him throught the glass. Dave frowned, he didn't know who this women was.
" Are you Rikas older brother?" he heard the stranger ask through the glass. Dave opened the car door and nodded.
" Yeah. Why?"
" I'm Kianas mother. Ther seems to have been some kind of accident in the Chemistry lab." she told him. Dave felt a knot forming in his stomach. This wan't sounding good, and this women looked almost sick with worry.
" Was anyone hurt?!" He asked, dreading the answer. Kianas mother nodded her had sadly.
" One child is dead. Don't worry it wasn't Rika, but several students and one teacher are missing. Kiana and Rika among them." Dave swore under his breath.
" Have he police been called?! Are there people looking for them?!" He demanded
" Yes! Everything that can possibly be done is being taken care of! I have to go now, I jut thouht that Rika's family should be told as soon as possible."
" Um eh. Thanks!" Dave called as she turned and left. He stood there stunnd for a while after she had left before reaching into the car for his cell phone. He didn't know how he was going to break this to his parents.


Rika hung helplessly in midair, snared in the grip of the purple tree. Her friends were huddled a few meters away, just out of reach of he snapping heads. They looked at each other in desperation and racked thei brains for some kind of solution. But nothing came.
" Hey there! What's going on?!" asked Mr.Proton as he finally caught up with them.
" Where have you been?!" Umeko yelled at him.
" Heeeellp!!" Rika half yelled half pleaded. Her voice sound much weaker then before.
" We have to do something!" Kiana cried.
" A carniverous tree! Most interesting!" Mr.Proton muttered to himself as he examined the tree.
" Interesting!" Quen yelled. " Can you not see that it's EATING Rika!!!!?"
" Hmm? Yes I can see that...You should probably get her down soon!" Everyone almost fell over in amazement of the pure stupidity of the statement.
" Are you some kind of retard!?" Skyla screamed at him.
" What do you think we've been trying to do?!" Phailin demanded. Mr. Proton blinked in surprise at their outburst and looked at the glaring faces all around him. He decided now would be a good time to do something.
" Um... Well! Let me take care of this!" He declared, puffing himself up so that he looked like a crazed penguin. " You two!" He said, pointing to Virote and Falon. " As soon as that thing lets go of Rika I want you to run in and keep the other heads from getting at her." Falon and Virote looked at th others uncertainly.
" And you two!" He continued, pointing at Phailin and Tryger. " I want you to run in as well and help Rika to safety! Understood?"
" I..guess..." Phailin said hesitantly. " But how are you going to get it to let go?"
" You'll see!" Mr. Proton said confidently. He turned towards the tree.
" Rika! He yelled at her. " Use your feather necklace and tickle it!" This time everyone did fall over.
" That's it?!!!" Tryger demanded.
" That stupid trick only works in cartoons!!! And uncreative cartoons at that!!!" Quen snapped.
" Hmph!" Mr. Proton sniffed. " We'll see about that." Rika had raised her head groggily and was staring at the fuzzy blur that to her was Mr. Proton.
" Huh?" She croaked in confusion. At that moment the tree seemed to decide that the threat had passed and turned it's attention back to Rika. The heads licked their lips in perfect unison.
" Tickle it with your necklace!" Mr. Proton roared. Rika's foggy mind cleared enough for her to understand what he was saying. She moved her sluggish fingers to grasp her necklace.
" Get ready!" Mr. Proton said tensley. One of he haeds opened it's mouth and dove at Rika. Rika placed the feather under the chin of the one holding her, and with the last of her strength tickled madly. The head jerked a bit and then opened it's mouth just enought for Rika to slip out and fall to the ground. And not a moment to soon for tha attacking head missed and bit into the bud that had held her. The result was a peircing scream.
Tryger and Phailin rushed forward. Each taking hold of one of her arms the two began to drag her to where the others held their breath. Virote and Falon had run up ahead of them and now guarded their flanks. Most of the heads were now busy fighting each other but there were a few that still a few that gave them trouble. One praticulary fast head gave Virote a nasty bite in the leg, but it didn't manage to get a very good hold. A couple of good hits dislodged it. The damage was done howver and Quen had to come to help Virote limp to safety.
" How's Rika?!" Virote aked as soon as he and Quen were beyond the tree's rach.
" Not good!" Phailin muttered. Rika was unconcious so they had laid her on the ground with her head resting on Aderes jacket. Rika's face was pale, and her breathing wad labored. Her injurd arm was badly swolen and blood flowed out of several puncture wounds. Jadyn was bandaging Rikas arm as well as she could with Kiana's bandana, but even Mr.Proton could tell there was more wrong with her then that.
" Do you think that she was poisoned?" Falon voiced what was on everyones mind. Rika suddenl coughed violently an gaped desperatley for breath. Jadyn quickly movd her into the recovery postion and did everything she could to make it easier for Rika to breath.
" I'm no expert." Mr.Proton said in, which for him was probably a painful addmision. " But I'd say that that appears to be th case."
" Well we've got to get her some help!" Virote cried.
" There's no where to go." Tryger muttered.
" What about tha building?!" Umeko said suddenly, forgetting her earlier opinion of it being a rock.
" Yeah! Maybe there's someone there that can help!" Virote cried with renued hope.
" Don't b stupid boy!" Mr. Proton snapped. " She wouln't survive the trip."
" There has to be something we can do!" Virote said despertly. Mr. Proton sighed.
" Nothing that I can see...except for making her last few hours as comfortable as possible."
" Don't say that!" Kiana snapped. " She's not dead yet, and she won't ever be if I can help it!" Mr. Proton looked at her sadly.
" And what are you going to do about it?" He asked her.
" Not give up hope, that's what!" She yelled at him. " There might be something that can help her, or her body might be able to fight it off naturally! We don't know! But the moment we stop trying is the moment her death becomes a certainty!" Falon nodded in agreement.
" I agree! We can't give up on her yet!"
" Virote!" Skyla cried suddenly, her face as whit wa a ghost.
" What?" he asked.
" Yo..your leg! You were bitten too." She said softly. Virote looked down at his bloody leg and was suddenly filled with dread.
" Oh..." He said quietly. How had he failed to make the connection before?"


Rika lookd around in surprise. She as back home, standing in front of her house. With a cry of joy she ran up to her front door and threw it open.
" I'm home!" She cried. Her family was sitting around th dinner table and looked up in disinterst.
" Oh." Dave said emotionlessly. " We thought you were dead. So we replaced you with this jellybean." he pointed to what was usually her seat at the table. There was a green jellybean lying there. " It does all the same things you do," Dave continued, " only it eats less brownies...All in all we like it better!" Rika stared at them in horror.
" Please pass the salad Jellybean." Rikas mother said sweetly.
" Nooooooo!!!!!" Rika yelled. She turned and ran away. Suddenly she found herself standing on a grassy cliff. Rika blinked and looked around. The cliff over looked a beach empty except for two unattended bonfires. Beyond that was the rolling sea, Rika could taste the salty air on the breeze that ruffled her hair. Rika looked up and saw a bird soaring against the grey dawn sky. She watched it glide graceful as a kite and wondered what kind of a bird it was.
Rika tore her gaze from the view and looked around herself again. She had the distinct feeling that she was no longer alone. To her right Rika noticed a small crevice, curious she walked over to investigate. When she reached it the crevice seemed to have grown to a black empty chasm stretching down thousands of meters into the gound. Rika looked to the other side of the gorge. It seemed so very far away! Rika suddenly felt very small and was filled with hopelessness.
Rika was again aware of another presence. Slowly she turned around and saw a hawk perched on a moss covered log. It was a merlin, smallest of the hawks, and it was staring at her with ancient yellow eyes. Rika met the predators unblinking gaze and was struck by how noble it looked.
" Hello." She said softly, feeling something was expected of her. " Is there something you wanted to tell me?"


" How's she doing?" Aderes asked quietly as she came to sit down. Kiana looked up from where she was holding Rikas hand an merely shook her head. Aderes nodded grimly.
" Virote's not doing too well either." It wa night time and th party had decided to make camp where they were. Partially because they hoped the purple, people eating tree would keep away any dangerous animals, and partially because they wouldn't have been able to mave Rika and Virote very far. Falon had gotten a fire going, not that it was very chilly, even at night, but Rika had started shivering violently, and hadn't stopped despite their best efforts to warm her up.
" She's almost gone." Kiana said quietly. " Before sh was muttering to herself about jellybeans and stuff. But know..." Kiana chocked back the tears and tried not to cry. Aderes patted her shoulder and felt useless. Umeko came over and sat down with them as well.
" Here. Have something to eat." She said passing Kiana some red berries. Kiana wasn't hungry but ate them anyway. Umeko had found the berry bushes a couple of hours before dark when they'd still been searching for help. Umeko had eaten several right away and an hour later, when she was still alive, the others had had some as well. The berries were sour, but etible and filling.
" You know, the stars are all different here." Umeko said after they had sat for awhile in silence. " I've been trying to find something I'd recognize...but nothing!" Aderes nodded.
" Yeah it's really strange." she agreed.
" Well not as strange as a green sky." Kiana pointed out.
" No. I suppose not." Aderes agreed.
" You don't think..." Umeko stopped and looked embaraced. " I know it's stupid...But you don'y actually think we might really be on another plain of existence or whatever, do you?" They others said nothing. They were silent for a long time after that.


" Kiana woke up to someone shaking her shoulder gently.
" Huh?" She muttered, half asleep.
" shh!" Falon said again. Kiana shrugged and looked around. It was in th middle of th night and no one else was awake except for them. The fire was just a pile of glowing embers now and cast a faint light around the camp. Kiana looked over to where Rika lay clase by bundled up in several peoples jackets. She was breathing, but barely. Kiana was slightly surprised that she'd lasted this long and smiled slightly with affection for her friend. But she couldn't find anything that was out of place and said so. Falon sat tensely for a few mor seconds and then sighed quietly.
" I was sure I heard something." she muttered.
" Must be this alien place.." Kiana began. Someone suddenly grabbed her from behind. Kiana cried out and the campsite was suddenly alive with activety as her friends woke up and dark figures filled the space. Kiana struggled and tried to kick her attacker with all her might, but didn't have much luck. Whoever or whatever was holding her held a cloth over her nose and mouth. A sweet intoxicating scent filled her nostrils and Kiana began to feel dizzy. As a last resort Kiana clicked her heals together and muttered throught the cloth " Theres no place like home!" Nothing happened but just before passing out she thought. " Oh well It was worth a try."


Chapter 8
The watchers

Rika opened her eyes and wondered why her arm hurt. And why her roof was a yellowish brown and seemed to be letting in light. She rubbed her eyes drowsily with the arm that didn't feel like it had been stuck in a blender, and yawned.
" Good you're awake!" Rika froze and slowly turned her head. Virote was sitting on a wooden box and looking at her in relief. Memories flooded back and Rika suddenly sat bolt up right. She imeadietly regreted it as searing pain shot up her injured arm.
" Ooh! Owey owey ow!" She whinned as she cradeled her heavily bandaged arm. " In so much pain!" Virote nodded sympathetically.
" It got chewed up pretty bad, you should try not to move it. But I'm told it will heal up okay." Rika frowned at the uncertainty in his voice.
" Who says?" She asked. " And where are we? This looks like a wagon." She added looking around at the piles of wooden crates and cloth walls.
" It is. This is one of the supply wagons our...rescuers converted into a kind of sick bay."
" Rescuers?" Rika asked in confusion. " What rescuers!? And what happened to your leg?!" She demanded, noticing that it was bandaged in a similar way to her arm. Virote shrugged.
" Oh, stuff." He said vaguely. " And as for our rescuers...Well as I'm to understand it, we were attacked in the night by a band of brgiands or something. Our hosts claim to have rescued us." Rika was confused.
" So theres people here?!" Virote nodded. " And you don't believe what their saying?!" Virote sighed.
" I don't know! I mean they saved you and me for sure! And they act friendly enough and everything but... God! I don't know! Somethings just bugging me, thats all." Rika watched him worriedly. He didn't seem his normal happy go lucky self. Instead he seemed tense and worried.
" Maybe you're just..." She gropped for a comforting explenation but couldn't find one. She was still too bewildered and confused to do any real thinking. " I'm sure I'll be able to make an educated assumption about this once I know what's going on." Rika finished. Virote smiled slightly, but it was more of a nervous tight lipped smile then the broad grin she was used to.
" Sorry. I'm not explaining this very well, am I?" Rika nodded. " Well, everyone will want to know you've woken up! We've all been really worried. You've been asleep for a long time!" Rika suddenly had a feeling that there was something important that she was supposed to be remembering. She tried hard to think of what it could be.
" I had an odd dream." She said slowly. " I was on a cliff...And there was some kind of bird. It talked." Virote nodded in mild interest.
" What did it say?" He asked. Rika concentrated but the memories were slipping away like sand through a shift. All she could remember was the bird.
" I don't remember." she said lamely. " Probably, " You're doped up on purple tree venom and seeing talking birds and singing mice." Virote laughed.
" Oh well. I should go find Falon, Kiana, and everyone. Let them know you woke up."
" I'll go!" Rika said optimistacly. " If I can't move my arm then you shouldn't move your leg!" She wagged her finger at him and tried to look stern.
" Are you sure you're up to it?" Virote asked in concern.
" Sure!" Rika got up off her sleeping mat and ignored the sudden head rush. " I feel fine! Where is everyone?"
" Probably just hanging around somewhere. I doubt you'll have much trouble finding them."
" Great!" Rika enthused. Cradling her injured arm she made her way to the back of the cart.
" I'll be back later." She assured him.
" Rika."
" Yeah?"
" I'm glad you're okay!"
" Oh...Um thanks." Rika realised she was blushing. " Um. Bye then!" She pushed aside the cloth and than looked around in amazement.
There were several stationary wagons all clustered together in a rough circle. The wagons weren't the traditional, settler, little house on the praire wagons that Rika had imagined. Actually they looked more like boat. They had a curved underside and were aerodynamic. Rika mused that they could probably be converted into boats if you dropped them into a river. They were all covered with the same yellow-brown cloth and were pulled by large, rhino sized lizards. Then there was the people!
They were all tall, that was the first thing that Rika noticed. They had chesnut brown skin and white hair. They were also mostly men, although Rika noticed a few women. The people wore dark clothing and they ALL carried weapons. But even those were strange to Rika. Some carried staffs with sharp metal claws on both ends, others carried metal contraptions that resembled crossbows, and they all had curved and hooked knives strapped somewhere on their person. The steal gleamed dully in the light of the setting sun.
Rika watched the people go about their business in fascination and noticed absently that they all looked sort of rag tag and grubby. Like gypsies...or...
" Rika!!!" Rika snapped out of her revery to see her friends running towards her with Falon and Kiana in front. They hit her like a tital wave and Rika was drowned in a sea of hugs.
" We were so worried! They wouldn't let us in to see you and you were asleep for so long!"
" I'm not sure who said that..But I seem to be alright now! Well except for not being able to breath!" They gave her some breathing room and Rika, after making a dramatic show of catching her breath, was able to ask what had happened.
" We were attacked." Falon explained. " It was dark and no one really saw who they were."
" They over powered us so easily." Quen muttered some what bitterly.
" And they had something on cloths that made us all passout so we're really not to sure what happened." Kiana continued with the narritive.
" And it was dark." Aderes emphasized the point.
" Anyway we woke up with these people." Phailin finished. " They rescued us and have been very nice. They're taking us to some kind of town."
" Or so they say!" Skyla snorted. Like Virote she seemed to be sporting her own personal cloud of gloom.
" They havn't given us any reason to think otherwise!" Umeko snapped. Sklyas cloud grew to a raging storm complete with lightning bolts, but before she could do anything Quen threw himself on the ground and made a great show of groveling.
" Oh yes OH Great and Mighty one!" He cried humbley. His acting was so good that Rika was taken aback. Everyone else snickered though.
" Huh?" Rika asked. Umeko pointed to her hair which was still blue.
" Our hosts have reacted very strangely to the hair color! And to the contacts too! Anyway they've been treating me escpecially well!"
" We think, that they think, that she's some kind of god!" Aderes concluded as she helped Quen to his feet.
" I KNEW someone, somewhere would get it right!" Umeko said with a flip of her hair.
" So they speak English then?" Rika asked in surprise.
" No." Kiana said simply.
" Most definetly not." Phailin agreed.
" Um...Well then...how?" Rika asked.
" Well for the most part we have no idea what any of them are trying to say!" Tryger said brightly.
" But we've managed to learn a few words!" Kiana reassured her. " Like ocho means cup!"
" I still think it means alcholic beverage!" Tryger interupted, playing the devils advaoate and enjoying it.
" Or it could mean cold!" Skyla cut in.
" Okay... we think we know some words!" Kiana said miserably.
" For the most part it's just been one big game of sharades." Quen said with a grin. " I like sharades! One time, in drama class, I..."
" The REALLY interesting thing has been watching Mr. Proton try to explain that we come from a different plain of existence!" Phailin snickered.
" Where IS Mr.Proton?" Rika asked looking around. And then another thought came to her.
" And where's Ilom?!"
" Mr.Proton is probably sleeping somewhere." Aderes said absently.
" And Ilom is sulking somewhere." Falon said icily.
" So he woke up then?" Rika said, some what glad that her friend wasn't responsible for putting someone into a comma.
" Yeah." Umeko muttered.
" And he seems to think we kidnapped him or something!" Aderes growled in annoyance.
" Yes." Jadyn agreed quietly. Rika looked at her closely. Jadyn was even quieter then usual! And she seemed sort of tense, it was making Rika nervous. She wondered if Jadyn and Skyla both felt soemthing was wrong like Virote did.
Rika looked around carefully again. The locals all seemed very busy and were ignorring them completly, still there was a wide gap between her and her friends and any of them. Weither intentionaly or not they were being avoided like a plague. I suppose it's just because we look so different. Rika reasoned. Still she was begining to feel uneasy. And she had the strangest feeling, like she was being watched.


" The girl will work perfectly!" Dace Ragnor looked up at the man that was pounding him happily on the back. Chino Mornece was a powerful man, but lacked the brain power to be one of the Draygnors advisors. Dace was sure that the Draygnor only kept him around for his enthusiasm.
" You seem very quiet Dace." the Draygnor murmered. Dace stiffened. The Draygnor had that edge in his voice that Dace knew all to well.
" Your ideas are brilliant, as always Draygnor!" Dace said smoothly, putting on his most winning smile.
" But you are sceptical." the Draygnor pointed out. Dace resisted the erge to lick his lips and chose his words carefully.
" These people...they are very different then us.." He began. Suddenly the Draygnor burst out laughing. Dace was taken aback.
" Dace my friend! You actually think that girl might be a daemon!?" The Draygnor chortled. Dace blinked and realised that although this was a more embarecing excuse it was less dangerous then the truth.
" Well,no not REALLY! I mean.." Dace said in an embaraced voice. He made a good show of not meeting the Draygnors eyes. " It's just that she has the blue hair! And those eyes!!!" Dace didn't have to fake the shivers. Those eyes were the stuff of nightmares! The Draygnor continued to laugh.
" Dace, Dace Dace Dace Dace! Look at yourself! Fightened by little childrens tales! Wheres the man that stood with me at the Staright of Blue Fire?!" Dace said nothing. There had been no man that had stood with the Draygnor at the Straight of Blue Fire. Just a headstrong boy. " Listen." The Draygnor continued in a affectionate manner. " It has been thought for years that there are peoples on the other side of The Desert! Our guests are simply proof to this. Probably it is quite common for people there to be so short and to have blue hair! Some of them must of crossed The Desert in the old days and our ancestors thought they were monsters, thus creating the myth of Daemons!" Dace nodded and tryed to look comforted. The Draygnor smiled again and Dace knew him well enough to know he was thinking about money.
" However my friend, as unfounded as it is, your fear shows that though the myth of the Daemons is old it is still a powerful one! We will have the people eating out of our hands!"
" We're going to be rich Draygnor!" Chino said brightly. Dace resisted the erge to punch his stupid face.
" Right Draygnor. But how are we going to get the girl to cooperate. I mean we don't speak the same language, she could ruin everything with just one mistake." Dace tryed again. The Draygnor dismissed this with a wave.
" The Ancient One will know their language. We will explain it all then." Dace nodded and put a smile on his face.
" You think of everything my Draygnor."
" Of course I do! know let us toast our success! To me!" Dace dutifly raised his glass. But he still couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt inside. These people did not belong here and Dace couldn't help but feel that something very bad was going to happen.


A women opened her eyes and stared for a moment into the darkness. She'd become accustomed to the dark after so long. Also it just seemed right to told her coucil in darkness. What strange ideas she got while in this form!
" They are still in the desert." she informed the men at her feet. There were three of them. " That is all I can see." She paused a moment and leaned back in her chair. " I'm being blocked. someone from the spirit plain."
" I'll bet it's Seabac!" one of the men snarled. " He always was a meddler!"
" It is of no consequence." The women said dismissevley. " I may not have my full powers back yet, but that will not last long." She smiled slightly. " And besides. They are no threat to us! If anything we should thank them." she paused again and went into a momment of silent thought. " One has power." she said after a moment " She may be usefull. But we have other matters to attend to. We have been given a great chance my friends! I suggest we not waste our time!"

Chapter 9
The Rock

Rika and her friends were sitting around in the wagon that had been set aside for them. The wagon train was plouding along towards it's destination and the passengers were being bounced around terribly.
The bumpy ride was worsened by the fact that Ilom had decided to join them. This had quickly put everyone in foul humor. Rika looked around at all the glouring faces. No one was saying anything. She smiled somewhat nervously and mummbled.
" Well! Isn't this nice." There was some homosydal muttering from several people.
" Um..Well it's good to see that you're feeling better Ilom." Rika continued, desperate to break the tension.
" Yes, no thanks to some people." Ilom sneered at Falon. Falon glared daggers at Ilom. Phailin and Jadyn discretly moved all the heavy object near her away.
" Your ACCIDENT was very unfortunate." Rika stressed the word accident even though she was begining to wish he'd have another one.
" Yes. And I've been getting these terrible headaches ever since." Ilom whined. " It's been aweful, not to mention this heat and..."
" Oh shut up!" Skyla snapped. " We can't change the weather and if you havn't noticed some people have had it a lot worse then you, you little piss ant!" Ilom stared at her, mouth opening and shutting, for a few seconds. Falon was grinning in satisfaction and Umeko was snickering.
" Well! If thats the way you feel I'll just leave!" He yelled. Ilom got up and stormed dramatically towards the back of the wagon. He paused at the flap and turned around to make his biting comeback.
" At least I..." At that moment the wagon hit a bump and Ilom tumbled backwards out of the wagon. This time everyone laughed.
" Nice one Skyla!" Quen chortled, unable to stop laughing.
" I just speak my mind." Skyla said with a shrug. After a while the laughter died down and everyone was much more relaxed.
" You know I've been thinking." Phailin began. " I think that maybe Mr. Protons machine IS responsible for getting us here."
" Oh?" Kiana asked in surprise.
" Yes. But I don't think we're on another plain of existence or whatever. I think that it might have caused a rip in the space time continum and sent us many years into the future where there has been a nuculear holocaust."
" That makes sense!" Rika cried. " And those weird lizards things could be mutated iguanas or something! Like in Godzilla!"
" Yes!" Phailin agreed. " And the holocaust would have set society back many years so it also accounts for the limited technology!" Rika thought about this for a second.
" Or! Maybe we're not in the future! But in a parralel universe where everything on earth has happened completly different from the begining of time. And everthing on earth has evolved completly differently!"
" Yes! That also makes sense!" Phailin cried.
" What do you guys think?" Rika asked the others.
" I think you've both been watching to much Star Trek!" Falon said bursting Rikas little bubble.
" Says the unenlightened!" Phailin sniffed.
" I saw a movie once." Quen began. " Where this man had all these crazy and frightening things happen to him, and in the end it turned out that they had all been arranged by his brother, and it was a birthday present to help his brother appreciate life. Do you think maybe something like that is happening to us?"
" It's kind of a long shot." Aderes mused. " But I'd say it's the most likely explanation so far."
" It could be some kind of government experiment." Skyla said moodily.
" I doubt the government would do something like this." Virote muttered.
" Theres still the possiblity that we're dead." Tryger reminded them."
" That WOULD be kind of amuesing!" Umeko said. Everyone swivled to look at her. " Well I'm just saying that its not what everyone expected is it!" She said defensively.
" We're not dead!" Jadyn said softly but firmly. At that momment the wagon came to a slow grinding hault. There were shouts as drivers called out to each other. Aderes got up and went to the door and looked out.
" Everyone else has stopped too." She informed them.
" Unless time has been messed with and it's moving faster then it should I'd say this is an odd time to stop." Kiana pointed out.
" Where are we?" Virote asked.
" We don't apear to be anywhere." Aderes told them. She leaned out the door a little further.
" All I can see is a boulder and open plains." She said in exasperation.
" Maybe a wagon broke." Phailin suggested. " Or an animal could be sick! Or.."
" Wait!" Aderes cried. " Someones coming over to us!" The flap was pulled back and a man stood there. Rika recongnized him for he was the person that usually got sent to "talk" to them. They'd managed to figure out that his name was Dace, and by the way the others treated him he seemed to be fairly important and well liked.
Dace spoke slowly and loudly to them in his own language and made urgent hand motions. Everyone stared at him for a few seconds.
" What that Lassie? Timmy fell down the well?" Kiana joked.
" I think he wants us to follow him." Rika stated the obvious.
" Well, lets go." Umeko suggested. One by one they all hopped out of the wagon and followed Dace as he led them away. Rika blinked a bit until her eyes grew accustomed to the sun light.
She still couldn't beleive that they'd come so far without seeing any settlements! The land seemed so fertile and theyed past several places that had seemed ideal sites for towns or farms. Perhaps they're all nomadic people she mused as she brought up the rear of the line that was following Dace like ducklings.
They walked a ways from the camp to where a few men were standing around near a large boulder. Most of the men were standing with weapons drawn and appeared to be body gaurds. There was another man that Rika had seen around. A big man that had seemed to be as impotant as Dace, but less respected. The last man Rika had not seen. He wore the same kind of miss matched clothes as the others but with the important difference that his were much finer. He stood tall and confident and it was immeadietly apparent that he was in charge. He smiled as they approached and it sent shivers down Rika's spine.
Dace and is trail of followers joined the people by the boulder. Ilom and Mr. Proton were already there. The man said a few things to Dace and they carried out a swift conversation. Everyone listened intently to try and catch whatever words they knew and see if they could make out what they were saying. Except Rika. Rika watched a mouse sized, caterpillar like creature crawl by with mild interest. Rika was aweful with second languages. Weither it was Spanish, French, Math, or the correct spelling of English, it was all completley lost on her.
The men ended their conversation and turned to face the boulder. All the men kneeled, except for the man in the fancy clothes because OBVIOUSLY he was too important to kneel. Kiana put a hand on her shoulder and pulled Rika down with her when Rika failed to realise they were supposed to be kneeling too.
The boss intoned something in a deep serious voice and then everyone stayed completly still and silent.
" Seems like an ordinary rock to me." Ilom muttered. Everyone turned to look at him sharply. Several of the gaurds half rose in anger before Dace waved them down.
" Well it do ugh..." Ilom Keeled over as Aderes elbowed him in the stomach. Once it was apparent that Ilom wasn't going to make anymore stupid comments. Everyone went back to staring at the rock. The boss repeated whatever he had said before and then lapsed into silence. They waited.
" Grof haskk mofdds." a deep voice that sounded like an ax against a grind stone boomed. Rika started and looked around frantically for the speaker. The leader was already replying.
" Dombhd fromos! Addarsd bokhum jic xxxo. weglp."
" Daq siref dogono ckosa. Iglky bumd." The voice boomed again." Rika leaned to her right and tried to see if there was someone behind the bolder because that was where the voice appeared to be coming from. All of the others were doing this as well.
" Mika fuv caque. kjiughd bbhl."
" Of what land do you come?" The scraping, grinding voice demanded. Rika joined the collective gasp of surprise, over balanced and fell over. " You are not of this place. These people desire to know of..."
" Um..Can I ask a question?" Rika asked, raising her, hand and spitting grass out of her mouth.
" Yes yellow haired one. What is your question?"
" Are you the rock?" Rika asked tentetavley. There was a silence.
" I am the ancient one!" A rather peeved sounding rock replied. " Now are you from the other side of the desert like these nooka's beleive or are you monsters come from the ground that must be destroyed!" Rika swallowed and looked at the others for support.
" Well actually!" Mr.Proton began. Rika looked frantically at the others, thoughts of the salem witch trials running through her head. ~If he tells them his cockanaymy theories then they'll think were're demons or something!~ She thought. ~ Either that or completley nuts!~ She started wavng frantically and making throat slashing motions. Mr.Proton was completley oblivious.
" Using a complex machine that..." There was no time for thought! Putting aside her tendencies to try to be nice Rika lunged and tackled Mr. Proton to the ground.
" Ignore him! He..ugh! Hold still!" Rika yelled at the struggling Mr. Proton.
" He's over due on his medication!" Virote finished. " Without it he gets...confused!"
" And delusional!" Quen tried to help.
" And arrogent, pigheaded, and stupid!" Skyla addded. She got several looks.
" Over doing it a bit." Virote warned in a whisper. Skyla sniffed. Mr. Proton tried to protest but Rika had her hands clamped firmly over his mouth. Kiana and Phailin were aiding in the struggle as well by sitting on him.
" Oookaaayyy!" Said the rock slowly. " Would you mind answering the question now?" Rika was begining to sweat. ~ We don't know how we got here or why~ didn't seem like a good answer at this moment.
" Er. What desert are you talking about?" Virote asked.
" The one we're in you fools!" snapped the rock.
" THIS is a Desert!?" Aderes cried. " But there's plants and all this grass! And what about all those streams we passed?!"
" Look!" The rock said in agsasperation. " I addmit that I've seen better deserts, but thats what this is called!"
" Right. Yeah we came from the other side of this...desert..." Virote said. The rock said nothing to them but said something to the other people in their own language. They leader nodded and smiled, there was some discussion between him and Dace before they spoke to the rock again.
" They would like to know if it is normal for people from that area to have blue hair and yellow eyes. Everyone looked at Umeko.
" No. She's a freak of nature." Quen said.
" What!!?" Umeko yelled. She tried to kick him but he caught her foot. Not one to be discouraged she jumped up and hit him in the side of the head with her other foot.
" Ow!!" Quen whinned. He glared at Umeko. " That HURT!"
" Good." She muttered. The rock was ignorring them and proceded with the translation. It listened patiently as the leader talked at length.
" These people call themselves the lords of the realm. Silly little name don't you think? I think so. Any way This man you see before you in the red coat is their Draygnor. His real name is Doyle but I wouldn' call him by that if I were you." Everyone gave nervous little waves in the mans direction. They got several odd looks. The Draygnor spoke to the rock again.
" The Draygnor welcomes you to Baldor. And he would like to ask a ...small.. favour of you."
" What favour would this be?" Falon asked cautiuosly. She didn't like the way the rock had said small. There was a short conversation between the rock and the Draygnor.
" I'm sorry, but he was talking to the blue haired girl. How silly of me not to know that." The rock sounded bitter.
" What? Oh! Yeah of course he was talking to me! Whats he want." Umeko said frankly. Again the rock spoke with the Draygnor.
" As repayment for the assistance the lords of the realm gave you and your friends they would appreciate it if you would giv them some small assistance with their work at some of the town they will be passing through." The way this had gone from favour to repayment worried Umeko slightly. But helping with their work didn't sound to bad.
" What work do they do?" She asked. They Draygnor spoke with the rock at great lengths. Rika looked around a bit from her position of sitting on Mr. Protons head. There was some kind of faint rumbleing sound coming form the rock. Was it laughing?
" Oh dear." Said the rock. " Oh of all the stupid plans... Okay blue, the Draygnor had some long flowery way of putting this but I've forgoten most of it, so here it is plain and simple. You ever heard of the legend of he daemons?" Umeko shook her head. Then as an after thought she said no incase the rock couldn't see them.
" No I suppose not. Well heres the long story short. They were supposedly these short little blue haired, yellow eyed monsters that terrorized the people of Baldor in the old days. You know! Stole children out of their craddles, made crops wither, generally just killed people. That sort of thing. My point being you look like one. They want you to come with them and threaten people into giving them money and stuff." There was a shocked silence.
" What!!!!" Umeko yelled. " No way!!!! I'm not going to help them rob people!!! No!!! The answer is no!!!" She folded her arms and stood resolutley. The Draygnors face didn't move a muscle as the rock made the translation. He said something very quietly.
" Oh. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but apperently if you don't the Draygnor feels he will be forced to kill your friends one by one until you do."
" What!!!" Umeko yelled again. " He wouldn't!!! I mean..." Umeko's voice trailed off as she looked at all the men standing close by with their weapons drawn. A couple of them were grinning. Umeko swallowed and looked at the others helplessly.
" Kill us!!!" Ilom, who had sufficently recovered yelled. " What are you waiting for? Who cares about the people here!! Just do what they want!!!" This time several peopl kicked him and told him to shutup.
" Gee. I know this is all very nerve racking and all, but I think I should warn you that the Draygnor does not like to be kept waiting." Umeko glared at the rock. And then at the Draygnor. And then back at the rock.
" Fine!" She snapped. " I'll do it." Rika thought that this was probably around the time when they should be heroicly saying " No Umeko, Don't do it. Don't worry about what happens to us." However she didn't feel quite up to it.

The Draygnor smiled at the rocks answer.
" Excllent! See, and you were worried Dace."
" I was obviously wrong to do so." Dace said with a hint of hero worship for good measure. No sense in getting on the mans bad side when he was in this kind of mood.
" Yes of course you were. Know we need some one to learn their language so we can give the girl instructions. Dace, your good at this sort of thing. Go learn it." Dace smiled and bowed. The smile vanished as soon as the man was safetly away. So being able to read made him good at languages did it?
Dace signaled for a few men to stay incase the prisioners got it into thri heads to try something.
" Why hello Dace. Havn't seen you in a long time!" The Ancient one said brightly. " So you got stuck with baby sitting duty did you? So so sad!" Dace rolled his eyes.
" In a manner of speaking. You're to help me with learning the forieners langauge."
" Oh joy." Muttered the Ancient One. " Did it have to be you? I hate clever people who are to stupid to do anything about it." Dace was taken aback.
" Whats that supposed to mean?!" He demanded.
" Oh isn't it obvious! What are you doing hanging around with these idiots?! You're smart enough that you could be easly be doing something else. Something far more profitablt I may add." Dace glanced at the ground.
" It's to late for any of that." he muttered. " People in as deep as I aren't allowed to leave so easily." The Ancient One made a sound that could have been a snort.
" See what I mean! Stupid." The Ancient one said triumphently. Dace felt anger whell up inside him.
" Well at least I wasn't so stupid that I got the gods angery enough with me that they turned me into a rock for the rest of eternity!" There was a pause.
" Tushay." Muttered the rock.
" Excuse me?" Said one of the foriegn boys. The ancient one was pretty sure he'd heard him refered to as Ilom.
" One momment." He told Dace. " Yes?" He asked the boy.
" Are you a boy rock or a girl rock?" He asked.
" What?' Demanded the Ancient One, tacken aback for the first time in years.
" Well if your a girl rock I was thinking that maybe we..." The horror on his companions faces and the tone of his voice clicked into place in the Ancient Ones head, such as it were.
" Stop talking now or I'll roll over on you!" The rock said coldly.
" Okay okay! No need to get angery!" Ilom held up his hands and quickly backed off. H ethen went over to Quen and Tryger.
" I think she likes me." H etold them smugley.
" Umm... thats... nice." Quen said nervously. " Um... we have to go over here now." He and Tryger quickly shuffled away.
" And people call ME a freak." Tryger muttered
" Well I suppose you'll want to get on with it then." The rock said loudly to Dace as he tried frantically to forget what had just happened. " Where should we begin?" Dace hesitated.
" What did you do anyway?"
" Excuse me?" Asked the rock politley.
" What crime did you commit that would justify being turned into a rock?" He asked. The Ancient One was silent.
" Something so aweuful, that you wouldn't even be able to compriend." It said quietly. Dace swallowed nervously.
" Well!" The Ancient One said happily. " How shall we begin?"


Chapter 10
Daemon


Rika opened her eyes when a crate fell on her head after being dislodged due to a bump in the road. She moaned and rolled over.
" What time is it?" She muttered to whoever was listening.
" Noon." Phailin told her. Alyssa tried to go back to sleep but the throbbing in her head wouldn't let her. Finally she gave up and sat up.
The wagons were plodding along happily on the road. They were finally out of the grassland and Rika was begining to realise why these people called it a desert. Here the air was a soup of moisture. It rain almost every day, and Rika had decided that this places natural topography consisted of swamp, swamp, rivers, and more swamp. The "roads" seemed to be no more then fords! Well except now they seemed to be entering more commercial areas. The roads actually were above the water level and they had passed a couple of other travlers. Durring those times Rika had been tempted to jump out of the wagon and scream " Help help we're being held against our will!" But she didn't have a very good grasp of their langauge yet, and she had a sinking feeling that those stupid lizards that pulled the wagons would just run her over regardless. Dace called them sanaugi. Rika didn't trust them. She'd tried to pet one and it had bit her.
Rubbing her head and yawning Rika walked over to where the others were sitting gloomily and trying to cheer each other up unsuccessfully. No one was happy with their currrent arangement with the lords of the realm. ~ God! What kind of stupid name was that any way?!~
" Morning everyone." She said somewhat, fake cheerfully.
" Good afternoon." Falon corrected.
" Whatever." Rika sat down on a crate and looked around. No one was saying anything important so Rika got borred and twidled her thumbs while looking around herself idely. She noticed some
writing on the wall, written carefully in what appeared to be charcoal.
" Whats this?" she asked curiously. Everyone crowded over to see. It read.
SKYLA IS A DUMB-ASS!
Everyone turned to look at Ilom.
" What?" He demanded. " Why do you all automatically asume it was me?! You're so judgemental..."
" You spelt dumbass wrong." Kiana interupted him.
" What?! What are you talking about?! It's fine!"
" It's one word you idiot!" Skyla said with a sigh.
Rika tried to surpress a giggle as Iloms face went red.
" Hey, are we slowing down?" Virote asked looking down at the floor. Almsot as soon as he had said it the wagon ground to a halt. Everyone scutled to the door way and peeked out, pushing and shoving each other to get a better look. There wasn't much to see. The wagon train had stopped at the base of a hill. Either side of the road was surrounded be impenterable jungle and for once today it wasn't raining.
Rika's attention was distracted by the sight of Mr.Protons lanky form making his way towards their wagon. They'd all been given specail, wooden, platoon, like shoes that were supposed to help them walk through the thick, sticky mud that made up the roads, but Mr.Proton had not yet mastered using them. Every step was a fight to stay up right and not get stuck in the quicksand like mud.
To everyones surprise he managed to reach their wagon without falling down and with only a minor amount of mud covering his clothes.
" Hello kids!" He greeted them brightly " Look! I found this bug eating away at my sock." He held up the peice of wood he'd been using to tack up interesting bits of wildlife. There were leaves and flowers that he'd painstakingly dryed, a few feathers he'd found, and now, a large spikey bug with scicor like pinchers nailed to it. " Isn't it fascinating?!" Cried Mr.Proton. Rika felt sick to her stomach.
" Yes...facsinating." She said weakly.
" Mr.Proton! Do you know why we're stopping?" Quen asked.
" Hm? What? Oh right!" Mr.Proton shrugged. " We're almost at that town...What's it's name again?"
" Lorein." Umeko muttered darkly.
" Yes! Thats it! Won't it be interesting to see the culture of these people?! And the arcitecture! I wonder what they use for currency, a..."
" Well you'll find that out for sure, when we help these theives steal it all from them!" Tryger snapped. Mr.Proton blinked.
" Oh...Right."
" Uhoh. Here they come!" Falon whispered, and pointing towards the front of the wagon train. The Draygnor was walking towards them, followed by Dace, and flanked by three gaurds. They were all dressed in black from head to toe.
" I say we run for it!" Aderes said suddenly. " Right now! We can be in the woods before they could do anything! If the towns so close then we should be able to get there before they can find us! And we know enough of the langauge now to be able to get help!" Her fists were clenched with anger as she watched the men approach. She turned to the others. " Well?!" Rika tentavley touched the bandages that wrapped her arm. It was healing very well but she still didn't have all of her mobility. Who knew what was in that jungle! Rika remebered what it had been like to slowly slip away and was filled with fear. She didn't think thyed servive the jungle! And of course there were other things...
" Virote can't run yet." She pointed out. Aderes face fell.
" I forgot about that." She muttered. Virote suddenly looked guilty.
" Sorry gus." He muttered.
" It' not your fault." Rika said quickly.
" And it probably wasn't a very good idea anyway." Kiana said. " No offence Aderes but we have no idea whats out there