Sandover stories

#1: Meeting

Sandover was a quiet village with not many children in it and that was a problem for me when I was a kid. I was always board and when I asked Samos about things I can do, he just made me do chores. So, instead of asking him, I usually wandered around the village and the surrounding areas, like the beach and the jungle. I made sure to watch out for lurkers whenever I was in the jungle.

I made it a habit to collect samples of plants that grow in the area and press them into a little book that I always had with me. Samos was always looking for me and warning me not to go near the jungle or the beach, but I ignored him and explored the areas, and if it weren't for that I would have never meant the one person that change my life and ended my boredom.

It was another boring hot day in Sandover and I decided to pay a visit to the forgotten jungle. I was picking a plant that didn't look native to this area of the jungle, when I heard far-off voices.

"Hey, let go of me!" I heard one say.

"No, you our dinner!" another one stated simply.

"I bet you taste good," said a third voice, "a little scrawny though"

"Let us play with food before we eat" Another one said and I could hear several grunts of agreement. I recognized the last three voices as those commonly used by lurkers, but I couldn't identify the first one. I hid behind a tree and peeked out at the scene, like an observer watching a play. In front of me stood four lurkers and a thin boy that looked about my age. He had blonde hair that was red at the top and it was sticking straight up. It was almost as gravity defying as my hair. He had buck teeth and goggles on his forehead He was wearing a red tunic with a white long-sleeved shirt and pants.

He had a frightened look in his blue eyes as one of the lurkers drew near him. Then one came up from behind and pushed him to the ground. He got up again and tried to throw a punch at the opposing lurker, but the lurker caught the boys hand and twisted it. He let out a yell and fell to the ground, when another lurker picked him up and then pushed him down again. All four lurkers were grunting with amusement. I felt like I had to do something heroic. I HAD to save this boy.

I had some experience with fighting lurkers because my attempts to avoid them often didn't work out like I planned, but most of the time I only got caught by one or two lurkers. It was unusual for lurkers to travel in groups of four. While I was pondering this the boy looked in my direction. I had no idea what to do. I backed up slightly and stepped on a twig which, in turn, snapped in half.

"What that?" one lurker asked.

"Go check out." the leader said as he pointed one, clawed, finger at two other lurkers. The two lurkers started walking toward me and I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't move; my heart wouldn't let them. If I ran away now the boy would get torn to pieces yet, at the same time I wondered what I could do that could possibly change the outcome of the situation. I wasn't particularly big at that age, in fact I was often called small; although I didn't think that I was that much shorter than everyone else. I had no weapons, but I had been taught some self-defense. The lurkers were getting closer, and when one finally poked its ugly head out from behind the tree, I hit him square in the jaw. I had no idea where this strength came from. Maybe it was from the adrenaline, now rushing through my veins. Or it could have just been pure instinct.

When the other lurker came into view I kicked it in the stomach and then punched it in the face. The other two came over to investigate and they got the same treatment. Then I strode over to the boy and reached out my hand. The red-haired boy looked up at me and cringed. I put on my best smile and took his hand. He didn't resist as I helped him up. He couldn't stand up by himself because he twisted an ankle, so I walked him back to Sandover. We did have a conversation on the way back, but it was only a one-way conversation. I nodded occasionally while the boy talked. I found out that the boys name was Daxter and we were the best of friends ever since.

That was then...

… And this is now

Haven City- Naughty Ottsel

"Hey Jackie, you awake" a familiar voiced called out to me.

"Hello?" I felt something hit my head, "Is anybody home?" I stirred and opened my eyes to find a little furry face looking back at me.

"He's alive!" It said with that familiar comical tone followed by a small chuckle.

"Daxter…" I said tiredly. As I lifted my head from my arms to look at the small orange ottsel that was, and still is, my best friend. I looked around at my surroundings and noted that I was in the Naughty Ottsel, Daxter's bar. "What happened?" I asked.

The ottsel shrugged his little orange shoulders, "I dunno, you just fell asleep," He nudged me on my arm, "Had a little too much to drink?"

I shook my head. That wasn't a possibility because the light eco in my body purged all toxic substances from my body. I must have just been really tired. Yea… I was. Everything that happened recently was starting to come back to my foggy brain. I had gone on an all night mission and then Daxter wanted to stop by the Naughty Ottsel to say hello to Tess. I just sat at one of the tables and I must have fallen asleep, but why did I have that dream? I could still remember Samos' reaction when he found out about my adventure in the jungle and he got even madder when he saw the boy I brought with me. He eventually made himself a permanent resident of Sandover, much to the chagrin of the villagers. Daxter was always pulling pranks and sometimes I got dragged into them, but those are different stories for different days. Daxter went back to talking with Tess and Kiera walked in. She was carrying something that looked wet. She held it out to me.

"I managed to retrieve your old clothes from the baron's prison." She said. I shrugged.

"Even if I wanted them, they probably wouldn't fit me anymore." I replied.

She just smiled, pointed at the clothes and mouthed the words "look in the pocket" I stuck my hand in the pants pocket and was surprised to find something in there. It was a familiar little book. I was speechless, and then I found my voice again.

"How did you know?" I asked. I never showed that book to anyone. She leaned in close to me until she was near my ear.

"You talk in your sleep" She whispered in my ear. I pulled away and looked at her, and then I looked at the book. I opened it to the page with the strange plant stuck in it. It was wilted. On the page across from the plant were words. They were scribbled in my sloppy handwriting and written in the precursor language. There was also a date which was circled for emphasis. I read the words out loud.

"The day I meant my new friend Daxter." As if on cue, Daxter's ears perked up and he got up on the table.

"What did you say?" He asked. I showed him the book.

"Look Dax, this is from the day we first meant, remember?" I asked.

"Of course I do, and stop treating me like a child!" he reprimanded, obviously miffed at the tone of voice I was using. "I remember that I had to save YOU from a pack of lurkers." He pointed his finger at me for emphasis.

I pushed it away. "I think you have it reversed Dax." He shook his head.

"Nope, something must be wrong with your memory Jackie boy, because YOU'VE got it reversed!" He said arrogantly.

"Whatever Dax" I said, absentmindedly flipping through the book.

Kiera was looking over my shoulder. She pointed at a page and said "look!" In the page was a single flower and on the page were the words

"Kiera first arrived at Sandover Village"

A/N: Yay! My first J&D Sandover one-shot is complete! I've been writing a lot lately, so the next one should be up soon. This story is unbetaed, so if anyone wants to beta it, please PM me. The italicized part of the story is pre-TPL and the normal part is post-Jak3. I can't wait to start my second one-shot. Please review :3