Lemme say this now: this is more of a test story than anything. Don't know how far I'll get into this.
I haven't really revised this much, so yeah, it might read kinda weird. Anyway, as a disclaimer, I'm not doing this for any kind of (monetary) profit (ooh, monetary) and I'm not claiming to be affiliated with the owners of Wild Kratts other than being a huge fan.
To story maker: Thank you! I'm so glad you took time to give some feedback! Hopefully i'll be able to get out some more chapters.
To Sugar Pixal: Thanks so much for the review, you're too kind. Seriously, y'all have been making my day(s). Again, I'm not so sure about this, but the feedback is very reassuring.
Two brothers skulked through the forest with keen eyes. Their gloves hands held their backpack straps tightly, and they shushed each other childishly as the sun fell further from the sky.
They found a patch of rocks and damp wood, and their eyes met excitedly, one pair blue and the other…
Also blue?
Yes, also blue, because Gavin and Ronan both had blue eyes.
Gavin and Ronan also both were on a mission.
As they rushed to the mud patch and turned over some scraps of rotting wood, they found their mission was accomplished.
"Gavin, this is fun and stuff, but don't we got snails in our yard?"
The older brother smiled as he let a rousing snail inch its way onto his rubber gloves. "Yeah, but Mom thinks they're kinda gross, so it's better we look at 'em out here then back there where she can see us."
Ronan giggled as he stooped down to gently poke at a snail's shell. After a few minutes, though, his smile began to fade, and his brother noticed.
"What's up, Ronan? You okay?"
Ronan sighed, sounding more disappointed than a kid his age should be. "Why didn't we come earlier? It's almost night, and we have to go back soon…"
Gavin raised a hand to pat his brother's head, but seeing the slime on his glove, decided not to. "Ronan, garden snails are nocturnal, so they're awake at night. You didn't wanna wake them up earlier when they were sleeping, did you?"
The younger boy sighed again. "No…" he mumbled, setting the snail in his hand back down only to pick up yet another. "But why can't the snails be awake at day like us, Gavin? You know, like… day-urnal or something?"
Gavin tried to laugh softly. It was getting dark, after all. "Ronan, you can't just make up words!"
Ronan sat up cross-legged and huffed. "How do you know it's not real?"
Gavin quieted, looking around as if the trees might give him an answer. "Oh! Let's check my animal book! It's got a glossary. If 'day-urnal' is a word, it'll be there." Gavin noisily ruffled through his backpack and pulled out his worn book, only to realize he couldn't make out the letters, not even the title.
"Uh, Ronan, you were in charge of bringing a flashlight, right?"
Ronan was quick to fish out their trusty flashlight, but when Gavin clicked the button, he found that it wasn't so trusty.
"What happened? This thing always has batteries!" Gavin and Ronan seemed to simultaneously remember last night's spooky story telling marathon, for they both groaned.
Gavin let himself dramatically flop face first into the mud, and after a moment, Ronan did the same. Neither thought of how hard laundry day must be for their mother.
"Do we have to go home now, Gavin?"
Gavin grumbled what sounded like a "yes" into the mud.
Ronan was the first to sit up on his knees. He scratched at his knee with a pout for a minute before gasping. "Wait! I got the Creature Pod!"
Gavin was instantly up. "Right! The Creature Pod has a flashlight!"
Ronan gave his older brother a somewhat derisive look that he was much too young to be making. "No, dummy! I mean, yeah, but we can use it to ask the Wild Kratts if day-urnal is a word!" He grinned excitedly. "Maybe it doesn't exist yet, and my word gets put in the dictionary!"
Gavin peeled off his gloves to rifle through their bags in search of the Creature Pod, and to ruffle his brother's hair. "Sure, Ronan."
It wasn't long before he had the Creature Pod in his hand and in front of their faces, sending out a call to the Wild Kratts HQ. It wasn't ten seconds before their call was accepted and two familiar faces settled into their screen.
"Hey, guys!" one called.
"What's up?" asked the other.
"Hi, Chris! Hi, Koki! Thanks for answering," Gavin ever-so-courteously replied.
"Is day-urnal a word?!" Ronan blurted out, only to be shushed by his brother. "Sorry!"
Chris and Koki chuckled on the other end, but Koki fought the giggles off first. "It's fine, it's fine."
"Day-urnal?" Chris inquired, rubbing his chin.
"Yeah, like nocturnal, but day!" Ronan offered while Gavin sat back and watch amusedly.
Chris grinned. "Close!" he chirped, pointing his index finger into the air. "The word would be diurnal. But day-urnal was a pretty good guess."
"Yeah," Koki agreed. "I mean, I completely forgot about that word until just now."
"Oh. Okay!"
Koki took in the boys' darkening surroundings with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
Gavin finally spoke. "We're looking at snails, but we came out around sunset because these snails are nocturnal, and Ronan was kinda sad they weren't 'day-urnal'."
Koki was watching the young pair fondly, finding the youthful naivety all too familiar. Still, she recognized it was getting rather dark where the boys were. "Listen, we'd love to chat more, but it's getting dark over there. You should head home."
Gavin looked ready to respond, but Ronan spoke first.
"Gavin," he whispered, nudging his brother's shoulder. "Do you see that?"
Chris and Koki watched with increasing worry as Gavin turned to his brother.
"See what?" Gavin looked in the direction Ronan was and got the same look in his eyes. He visibly attempted to shake it off and smiled uneasily. "Oh," he whispered, even quieter than Ronan had. "That. Don't-don't worry, Ronan, it's probably just a… a tree…"
Ronan's eyes began to shine. "That's a… that's a really weird tree."
Chris and Koki panicked. "It? That? That what? What is?" they both asked, trying to not seem frantic.
Neither of the boys answered. Gavin held Ronan closer and furrowed his brows in determination despite the fear in his eyes. Chris recognized that look, knew that feeling, and realized the nothing they said would snap Gavin or Ronan out of it.
"Gavin, Ronan, get out of there, but don't-!"
The boys were off in a flurry of mud-caked clothes, and the Creature Pod landed facing the sky with a thump.
"-leave the Creature Pod!"
Chris felt a hand give his shoulder a quick shake. "I'm going to get Jimmy!"
Chris nodded, but Koki was already gone. "Right. I'll.. try to contact their mom. Or something!" He returned his attention to the large screen before him with dread.
"It's probably nothing. Maybe it was just an animal! It is dark over there." He could only see the silhouette of trees and the stars, which seemed too beautiful for the ugly situation at hand. "Or maybe it really is just a weird tree. You never know, you know?" he asked no one, gripping the control panel with sweaty palms. The Tortuga lurched, and his stomach did the same as he heard a rustle.
With the Tortuga's engines firing up, Chris scrambled to raise the volume of the feed.
Another rustle. And another. They were footsteps of what Chris could only hope was an animal, and they were anything but steady. They were hesitant.
The rustling was close to the abandoned Creature Pod, and each step sent a harsh s through the speakers and into Chris' ears. Right when it became unbearable, it stopped, and at that point Chris could barely make out the shadow of a person against the trees and the sky.
Chris could see no details of the person's face, but he knew they were staring right at him. He knew their eyes had met. Somehow.
He really wanted to speak. He had to say something, but could he bring himself to? To speak to somebody who was potentially more dangerous than all of their villains combined?
He wished Martin was there with him right then. Martin would have been able to tell if this person was a danger or not much better than Chris' conflicting combination of emotion and rationality could.
Chris opened his mouth.
A horrifying shatter blasted through the speakers, and his screen went blank.
Oh damn, it's way short. Eh, this is more like a prologue. Though, honestly, I feel like this could stand alone as some kind of incomplete creepy fic or something. Anyway, I appreciate it if you spent time to read this. I know it might not make sense. As a warning, if I were to continue this, it'd be more of a self indulgent fic. I'd try not to make it too cringe, though.
