EARTHBOUND – 1 – A HERO CHOSEN
CHAPTER 01 – NIGHT N DAY
Onett, a small town in Eagleland…
The world was shaking. I tried to keep my eyes shut. I rolled over, doing my best to go back to sleep. The world was still rocking. I must have had too much soda to drink the night before. I squeezed my eyes harder, but the world continued to shake.
An explosion rocked the night, and suddenly the light was everywhere. Even through closed eyes, I could still see an unbelievable brightness.
"Holy crap, what was that!?" I whispered, the night having gone silent.
I sat straight up and looked at my alarm clock. The orange numbers flashed 12:00 am, the power must have gone out at some point. It didn't feel like morning, but outside lit up like midday. I rolled and nearly fell to the floor, but grabbed the bedpost. I won't lie; terror ran through me. Something freaky happened outside. The light faded back to darkness, and once again it was night.
My heart pounded in my chest. "What just happened?"
An earthquake maybe? No, it couldn't be, earthquakes didn't shine like the sun. Still half-asleep, my mind couldn't process things.
Mom and Tracy, I suddenly realized I needed to make sure they were safe. And where was that darn dog? King was probably on his back snoring when he should, at least, have been barking his head off.
I fumbled through my dark room. I stepped on more than one sharp object. I bit my lip resisting the urge to cry out in pain and anger. I had probably just broken some of my action figures.
I opened my bedroom door and stepped into the hall. Testing the light switch, I flipped it up. Warm yellow light bathed the corridor but flickered every few seconds. The power was back on it seemed. The strobe effect stung my eyes, so I rubbed them as I walked down the hall. When I came to Tracy's door, I reached up to knock but stopped to listen. I could hear her whimpering.
"Trace?" I asked, "You okay in there?"
The door opened wide, and Tracey stood there in her long pink nightshirt and bunny slippers. Her blonde hair hung down to her shoulders and was in tangles; she had been fast asleep moments before.
"I'm fine, big bro," Tracey said, "But what about you?"
I poked my nose in and looked around the room half-expecting to see some boogeyman jump out of the closet or grab my sister and pull her under the bed. A crazy thought at best, such things didn't exist, and I had stopped believing in them at a younger age than Tracy.
"I'm all right," I said.
"The sound, it woke you up too, didn't it?" Tracy asked.
I nodded and ran my hand through my bed-head hair.
"I wonder what it was?" I asked, "It lit up the night like no other."
"I don't know bro, but did it freak you out?" she asked.
"It did," I admitted.
"Yeah, scary huh?"
She clasped her hands together and smiled, trying to look sweet, "Are you planning on checking it out, brave big brother of mine?"
I sighed, knowing she meant it. I didn't plan on leaving to check anything out. Especially when something crazy could be going on outside. Sometimes I let people walk all over me. I couldn't resist a girl's smile.
"I want to look outside," I lied.
"Okay!" She cheered, "Here, take my baseball bat! It's got a crack in it, but you can fight off any aliens that attack you!"
"Tracey," I rolled my eyes, "There aren't any aliens. It was probably just a transformer blowing up."
"A transformer? You're right! It blew up because of the aliens! The plot thickens!" She breathed then twisted her hands together as only a mad scientist would.
I shut her door and sighed. Her and her crazy conspiracy theories. The child watched way too much television, which made me wonder if it rotted her brain. Even if aliens existed, which I doubted they did, they weren't walking around Onett at night blowing things up. They'd probably attack a bigger city, like Fourside.
I stopped and leaned against the wall. The bat she'd just given me had a nice-sized crack in the tip of it. I wondered how she managed to damage it so quickly. I had just given it to her for her tenth birthday a few weeks ago. Three years younger than me, she'd become way more haphazard than me at that age. I respected baseball bats. I had made the team every year since middle school, and my batting ranked number one. I sighed again and walked downstairs. I took the first stair, and my sock got caught on something. I spun around and slammed into the wall, grabbing the railing just in time. I clutched my chest and caught my breath. My near-fall scared the crap out me. I looked at the top stair and saw the head of a nail sticking out. If Dad were around, he would have fixed it. Instead, he went on one of his long business trips, making money by the thousands. At least, we didn't live in poverty thanks to him. If only he could be less generous, we could leave Onett altogether.
"Ness?" Mom called up the stairs, "Was that you? I heard a thud!"
I walked down to find the lights on and mom sitting at the dining room table. In her red nightdress, she had her blonde hair up in curlers.
"It's late," I said.
"I could say the same to you," she said, "Did the explosion wake you too?"
I sat down across from her. "Whatever it was, it did."
She looked at the bat in my hands, "Were you planning on going out to beat up an alien?"
"What is it with you two and aliens?" I shook my head, "But yes, I promised Tracey I would take a look."
"You're a young boy. It could be dangerous out there," Mom scolded.
"You're putting up more of a fight than I expected," I said, "I'll be okay. We're in the Onett hills, Mom; nothing ever happens here."
She heaved a sigh. "You'll sneak out of your room anyway, even if I asked you not to."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I cracked a grin.
"At least, change out of your jammies before you go."
I looked down at my pajamas. Blue and white vertical stripes, top and bottom. They weren't very flattering, but then again I didn't dress to impress.
"Alright, I'll be back," I said.
I went back to my room. As I passed Tracy's room, I could hear the television on inside. Something about alien invasions.
I quickly changed into my favorite blue and yellow striped shirt, to which most people said I had no sense of style. I pulled on my jean shorts, and my red converse. I almost left my room, but I stopped at the mirror, seeing my messy hair. I grabbed the red baseball cap my dad gave me, from my desk chair and put it on at an angle.
"Now I look cool," I joked, "No alien can resist abducting me now."
With that, I scooped up my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. Never leave home without a backpack. You never know when you'll need it; something my dad always told me. Back in the living room, Mom sat on the couch, looking worried.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She looked up, and tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes.
"Just be safe, honey, and come home soon. There's a strange light coming from up the hill, and the police are everywhere. Stay out of trouble."
She stood up and wrapped her arms around me.
"I'm a grown boy," I said, "I'll be okay. I promise."
"No, you're not grown," she kissed me on the cheek.
"You worry too much," I smiled, "I'll only be gone for thirty minutes max."
With that, she released me from the embrace and let me walk to the door where I stopped. A little groaning sound came from behind the couch. Peeking around, sure enough, I found King, our lazy St. Bernard sleeping.
"What a guard dog you are," I nudged him with my shoe, "Sleeping through explosions."
His tail wagged once, and he rolled onto his back, legs up in the air. Still, he snored as if to show his laziness.
"I won't ask you to come with me then," I said.
King then breathed in deeply, and his leg twitched. He probably dreamed running in a wide open field. With a shake of my head, I opened the door. I walked outside, where I found warm summer night air and fireflies glowing in random spots in space. I followed the path through the front yard and to the edge of our white picket fence.
Mom had been right; Cop cars were on the road around the hill, and the police were blocking the road in and out of the area. A few spectators were standing around at the base of the path, watching and trying to get past the black-clad officers.
The only other house on this side of the hill sat beside ours. Every light in the two-story home looked to be on. I hoped beyond hope that the kid who lived there, Pokey, slept. By far he took the cake for the most annoying kid in school; always ruining jokes with less than an intelligent input. Also, he always had some food on him, which showed in his gut. His little brother Picky didn't seem so bad. Brave and friendly, he contrasted his big brother, but his curiosity always got him into trouble. Pokey would be too afraid to step outside, hopefully. I didn't want to deal with him.
I looked around. The trees would be the perfect place to slip past the cops so that I could get closer to the explosion site. Looking past the blockade, I could see the path that wound up to the hill. Tiptoeing, I made my way to the bushes and got down on my knees, passing the first officer quickly enough. I ended up several feet behind him, and he didn't spot me. I had to suffer only a few scratches here and there. Proud of myself, I scurried on ahead and ran straight into a pair of black boots.
"Don't you know what time it is?" A grumpy voice asked from right in front of me.
I froze and slowly tilted my head. Caught already. A crooked nose officer stared right at me.
"Yes, sir," I nodded.
"Well then, get your butt home, pronto!" he waved his hand.
"Yes, sir," I started to turn back, "Aren't you going to escort me?"
If he didn't, I could probably slip past him, but only if he turned his back.
"What do I look like? A babysitter!?" He asked, annoyed.
"Hey!" Another officer called to him from a squad car, a few dozen paces away.
The officer squinted and motioned with two fingers that he had his eyes on me. He obviously didn't, because he turned his back. For a moment, I pretended to walk away and but then quickly ducked behind the squad car.
The two officers were whispering about something, but it sounded like mumbo jumbo to me, and something about the town Twoson. Crickets chirped in my ear, so I leaned in a bit closer.
"A meteorite has landed," the second officer said.
"I wish that was the worst of our problems," The first one replied.
A meteorite! Something interesting and certainly much cooler than a transformer blowing like I had told Tracy. I needed to get up there and check it out before some scientists hauled it off to dissect. But before I moved on, they started talking again.
"Right, the Sharks are running wild in town, and kids are wandering around all over. Worst of all I'm hungry!" The first officer grumbled.
So then why were they on the hill? The whole police force had shown up because of the meteor. The Sharks were a relatively new threat, but not one they could ignore. They practically ruled the southern part of Onett. It had been peaceful until they showed up and started tagging up the town, and terrorizing old and young alike. They'd taken over the video arcade and kept it on lockdown. No one but their members could go in, but the cops did nothing. Lazy jerks. I wanted to get to the bottom of the meteor situation myself, though, so I crept past the pair and a few other preoccupied officers. When I made my way around the bend, two more voices came from up the hill.
"Crap, I'm almost there," I whispered, "Can't get caught now."
I scurried behind a large oak tree and watched as two officers went past. I put my hand down into the grass to balance myself and something cold squished beneath it. My face contorted in disgust.
"Ew, what the heck?" I whispered.
I pulled my hand up expecting something extremely gross, but I found just a ball of bread stuck to my hand.
"Someone's snack," I muttered.
I wiped it off on the grass and moved on. Coming up over the lip of the next section, I saw I'd made it to the hermit's shack, the only other person to live in the Onett hills. He was standing outside looking at the commotion just up the hill where an orange light glowed.
Lier X. Agerate, a shady older guy. He always had his black hair slicked to the sides and split right down the middle; not to mention his obsession with blue silk button downs. Of all things, he designed billboards. A job suited for no one.
"Hey, Ness!" He called out, having spotted me.
"Dangit," I had been mostly hidden and had no clue how he saw me.
"Hi, Mr. Agerate," I tried to sound friendly, "What's up?"
"Hi!" He said, enthusiastic, but out of breath. He had beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
He looked around and then leaned in close to me and started to whisper.
"Ness, I have a secret, and I want to show you. Because we're buddies like that, ya know?"
"Look, I don't have the-" I tried.
"Don't worry. Not now. Too many eyes and ears. But come by tomorrow, or after the cops leave. I'll show it to you."
Feeling a bit creeped out, I just nodded and replied.
"Okay, sure thing."
Lier smoothed out his blue button-down shirt and looked around nervously as if someone listened; panicked. Did the cops and the meteorite make him nervous? I decided I might show up later to see how he was doing.
"See you later," I walked away.
"Right, later," he waved.
When I turned the next corner, my hopes of getting to the crash site spiraled downward and shattered into a million shards of disappointment. The road turned out to be 100% blocked by the cops. There were, at least, three I could see before a wooden barricade. There were probably more beyond it. I couldn't get any further by sneaking. With a resounding sigh, I decided I would just try and ask about the incident, so I walked up to the closest cop.
"Have you ever seen a meteorite, kid?" The nearest asked me before I could speak.
"Uh, not really," I said.
"Well, this one is different than usual, lemme tell ya. It's strange and marvelous. As well as mysterious."
He waggled his fingers and "oooooOOooooOOoo"s.
"If you're trying to scare me, it isn't working," I said, "You must be really bored."
He lowered his head in shame.
"Yeah," he responded, "We're stuck here on duty when we should be in town taking down those scumbag punks. But we have to keep everyone away for safety's sake. Especially this little fat kid."
"Fat kid?" He could only mean one person. Pokey, belly first, emerged from behind another pair of officers. The squad car right beside him illuminated his face in alternating blues and reds, each detailing every wrinkle and extra chin.
"You're Ness, right?" The officer nearby asked.
"Yeah," I said, "Do I know you?"
"I guess you don't remember me, do ya?" He said, "I'm a friend of your pops."
"Oh, okay, right," I said, playing along.
He did look a bit familiar with his crazy red sideburns, but actually, I couldn't place him. Maybe he'd been at Onett High School giving one of those typical police officer speeches on doing the right thing.
"Anywho," he said, "Can you do something about this annoying kid?"
He pointed to Pokey, who munched on a chocolate bar and talked to one of the other officers with his mouth full.
"I mean, he's your friend, right?" he asked, "Your neighbors after all. Can you get him to go home?"
I sighed, "Probably not, but I'll try I guess."
I felt for the cops around the barricade. Pokey, the annoying jerk. I cringed as the annoying 14-year-old reached into his pocket and pulled out a bread roll, much like the one I squashed.
"Pokey!" I called out to him and jogged over.
"Hey, Ness!" He chewed away.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
He looked around and then back at me like I was stupid.
"Don't be rubberneckin' Ness," He said.
"I'm not, I-"
"You're gettin' in the cops, oops... I mean officer's way!" He continued.
"I have as much right to be here as you do," I told him.
"Don't worry, buddy," he said, "I, Pokey, will tell you more about the strange meteorite tomorrow."
I cocked an eyebrow and then a yawn slipped out of me. I looked past him to the cops. I couldn't get past unless I felt like climbing a sheer cliffside.
"I'm sure you'll tell me everything," I said, "I am pretty tired actually.
"Go home and go to bed," He said, finishing the roll by stuffing a large chunk in his mouth causing his cheeks to puff like a gerbil.
I didn't want to leave. Tracy wouldn't forgive me easily for not getting a look at the meteorite. At least, there didn't seem to be any danger or aliens as she hoped. And I didn't want to be around Pokey for any longer than I had to be. I'd probably lose my mind. In defeat, I shrugged my shoulders and headed back down the hill, ignoring every officer who threw curses my way or angrily saying to go home. I couldn't help but have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. Something made me not just want to see the burning rock but need to. Maybe in the morning, if I came back unless they dragged it off to a science lab.
I made my way back to the bottom of the hill and went to my house. A squad car blocked the road to town, and a man in a blue suit argued with the police in it. He probably just wanted to go home, which I intended to do. When I got to my yard, I found Mom standing by the open front door, arms crossed.
"Hey Mom," I said.
"We don't need to talk about it tonight," she said.
"Okay," I replied, "Good, I'm tired as heck."
"Sleep tight, Ness," she said as we walked in.
Right away I went upstairs and pulled my pajamas back on, then crashed right into my bed. My eyes had barely closed it seemed when something shook my house again.
I bolted upright again and looked at the clock. It flashed 3:00 am.
Someone pounded again on the front door. Whoever knocked had better have a darn good reason.