The Sound of Drums
Deep within Jumanji,
So many sounds are heard.
Rhinos, lions, monkeys,
The cries of jungle birds.
…
But one sound eclipses all,
A sound Jumanji's people fear.
When they hear the sound of pounding drums,
They know they must stand clear.
…
Rhinos, elephants stampede,
Monkeys also leave the game.
Chance of a hunt outside their world?
Van Pelt will not refrain.
…
The world beyond's unknowable,
This world they cannot see.
Jumanji plays with people there,
For its amusement, brings misery.
…
Sometimes, people of that world come here,
Jumanji becomes their home.
Until the dice read five or eight,
The jungle they must roam.
…
But eventually, the game must end,
The creatures all return.
To stay clear from the hunter's wrath,
The people long have learned.
…
This world, it is their homeland,
But to freedom, they've no claim.
All bit players on the board,
While Jumanji plays its games.
…
A behold, a flash within the sky,
Another player's come.
They fell into Jumanji's trap,
They heard the sound of drums.
A/N
Admittedly this is taking liberties under the assumption that the people in Jumanji are anything but mindless NPCs, but I'd like to think there's kind of a precedent for it, namely Van Pelt. My (very mixed) thoughts on Welcome to the Jungle aside, Van Pelt does seem to be 'dumbed down' for the videogame version of Jumanji (yes, I know it's playing on videogame tropes), so if Van Pelt was originally a more erudite (if still psychopathic) individual, maybe the people were as well? Or were they only added when Jumanji 'upgraded' itself?
Anyway, drabbled this up.