Author's Note: Hello and welcome to The Dragon's Orb! This story has been posted on FanFiction many times before, but each time I've taken it off for editing and this time around, I made MAJOR changes to the story. For those who never came across this, you won't know the difference. As for those who have read it before, will notice the changes right away. I will be updating my profile page to add a little bit of information about the stories, so keep an eye out! Don't have anything else to ramble on about, so here is teh story!
The Dragon's Orb
By HeyKoolAid
Moldy Jello
As he ran around a corner, Zack paused for a minute, only to take in the sight: a long hallway with no end. Catching his breath, he chanced a glance over his shoulder, wondering where the beast was. There was nothing behind him, but darkness. He shook his head and it took him a moment to realize that the hallway was darkened. He let out a loud groan and continued on through the dark hallway.
For two endless minutes, Zack ran. Each step he took, he could feel his sides protesting. He stopped again to catch his breath. He reached out to lean against the wall, but felt nothing and ended up falling to the ground. His body ached with pain and he could do nothing but lay there as the darkness closed around him.
Zack could sense something getting closer; the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end. Shaking with anxiety, Zack managed to stand up. Maybe there wasn't anything following him and it was all his imagination. No, something was definitely there, as he could hear it breathing heavily behind him. Now feeling light-headed, Zack staggered forward. Then, as if someone had lifted a blanket, the darkness suddenly lifted and Zack, surrounded by light, turned around. The beast bared its teeth and let out a hellish snarl.
Zack didn't even hear himself scream. Instead, he could hear someone else yelling.
It was distant, but he could hear something calling his name. But who could be yelling at him? Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder and he jumped up.
"Zack! Wake up! You're going to be late for school!"
Zack squinted at the clock and barely made out the time. He had half an hour.
"Oh, leave me alone, Lilly…I don't even have time for a shower," Zack said, rubbing his eyes. He reached over to his nightstand and picked up his watch.
"Not my fault," Lilly replied. "Mum's going to be pissed!"
"What else is new?" Zack asked, squinting at his sister. He managed to pull himself out of bed. "What are doing in my room anyway?"
"What do you think? I'm just trying to look after you."
Zack groaned and shooed his little sister away. It was a Monday – one of several days Zack loathed, mainly because he slept in a little too late today. He didn't care. He pulled the sheets off and jumped out of bed. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to get it to spike, but all he managed to do was make it more of a mess. The back was sticking up. Picking up a shirt off the floor and a pair of pants hanging off the back of his desk chair, Zack quickly dressed and slipped into an old pair of sneakers. He ran into the bathroom to tidy up his hair and brush his teeth.
"Are you ready yet?!" came an impatient voice from downstairs.
Zack groaned again. As if being the oldest of four siblings was bad enough. He had to be a role model for his younger siblings. His parents gave up on that idea along time ago, because he stopped trying, but deep down, Zack tries to look after his brother and sisters. Lilly, short for Lillyanna, is the youngest of the four, while Jacob and Emma are stuck in the middle as twins. All four children have their father's black hair, and Zack and Jacob have their mother's blue eyes, while Emma and Lilly have their father's brown eyes.
Zack bent down to tuck his shoelaces in his shoes. His dream was bothering him. He couldn't figure out what it was that had been chasing him. He shook his head, trying to rid the images from his mind. He grabbed his backpack and the keys to his car and ran downstairs. "Let's go, Lilly!" he called out as he walked straight out of the front door.
Spring wasn't one of Zack's favorite times of the year. In fact, it was around this time that he usually caught a cold. It was lunch time and Zack was standing in the lunch line. Every day felt like Groundhogs day; he was doing the same thing every day. But the more he thought about it, today was different: he woke up later than usual. He sneezed suddenly, and made the kid in front of him jump and glare at him. Zack shrugged apologetically.
He leaned up against the wall and waited. Usually he would've cut in line, but his instinct told him he better not do so today. Minutes passed as he waited, and before realizing it, he was at the end of the line. With a sigh, he hopped in line just as one of his friends came through the door.
"Hey, Zack, how's it going?" the boy asked, strolling through the door.
This was Justin, Zack's best friend. The two knew each other since grade school, and they both have helped each other throughout the years.
"Seems to be a good day today," Justin continued on, trying to keep the mood pleasant. He stroked his beard. "Did you sleep in again today?"
Zack raised an eyebrow. "How'd you figure?"
Justin ran a hand through his curly brown hair, which always seemed untidy. "Oh, you know…when you didn't show for English this morning."
Zack looked at Justin, the expression on his face almost a smile. "It's just English," he said with a snort. "I can get the assignment later."
They moved up to in the lunch line and showed the lunch lady their school ID cards. "Man, I'm just looking out for you, that's all," Justin said. "Why you always act so cold?"
Zack shook his head. "Sorry," he said as he turned around and continued up the line to get his food. "It's just my little sister woke me up this morning." He paused as he thought about his dream. "Good thing too, I was having a nightmare."
Justin stared at him for a moment. "What?"
Zack shrugged. "I dunno. I can't get it out of my head."
"Well, what was it about?" Justin asked. "It wasn't another one of those dreams you thought you were someone else, was it? You know the ones I'm talking about."
"Good question," Zack said as the lunch lady slapped an unknown substance on his plate. He took one good look at it and grimaced. "What is that?"
"It's jello," the lunch lady said with a demented grin. "Enjoy it."
"Thanks a lot," he mumbled and then headed over to the tables. Justin soon followed him and sat down across from him.
Zack stared down at his plate. The unknown substance on his plate was now starting to look like moldy jello. "Okay, so, I know these other dreams are about me being this other guy and doing all sorts of crazy stunts," he began. He paused when he noticed Justin began shoveling the moldy jello into his mouth. "…but this one just seemed more…real."
Justin took a moment to swallow his food and then took a gulp of milk. "Real, huh? How real?" He adjusted his glasses and took another gulp of milk. "Hey, that jello isn't so bad! If you don't want yours, I'll take it!"
Zack stared at him in disbelief and shook his head. "Dude, I thought you were on a diet, fatty."
Justin glared at Zack. "Shut up," he said, his eyes narrowed. "I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't eat. Now, are you going to eat that or not?"
"Okay, okay, fine," Zack said, shoving his jello towards Justin. "What do you think this stuff is made out of?"
Just as Zack shoved his jello towards Justin, it suddenly moved. Zack and Justin stared at it for a moment and then looked around to see if anyone was watching. Suddenly, a girl's scream alerted the two and they, with the rest of the cafeteria, looked to see what was wrong. The jello, or what was considered the jello-like-substance, was jumping from everyone's plates and moving all over the cafeteria.
Zack quickly jumped from his seat just as the jello jumped from the table and attached itself to his arm. He brushed it off without much trouble and everyone around him was trying to escape the now moving food.
"What the hell is going on?" Zack asked out loud, as he and several others ran from the cafeteria.
"I don't want to know," one boy said, looking back at the cafeteria. "But I don't think I wanna eat here again!"
"Let's get out of here before the jello decides to attack us," Zack said, heading out of the building.
Just as Zack was clear of the building of the building, his sister suddenly ran up to him, obviously escaping the horrible jello, as her hair was covered in moldy jello. "Hey, Zack, you all right? Crazy lunch today, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Emma," Zack replied, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "I knew there was a reason why I slept in today. Where's Jacob?"
Emma shook her head. "I don't know, he was with his friends again. Was there anyone with you?" she asked.
Zack looked around for a moment and then realized Justin wasn't with him. "Aw, crap…" Zack muttered.
"Who's still in there, Zack?" Emma asked.
Zack sighed. "Justin's still in there. I'm kinda scared to go back in, you know? My food never tried to kill me before!"
"Well, c'mon, someone's gotta help him."
"Uh, you gonna be okay going in there by yourself?" Zack asked Emma, who was heading towards the building.
"Don't be silly!" she said, grabbing Zack by the arm. "I'm not going in there by myself!"
Zack shook his head as Emma lead him back into the building. They stopped at the door that lead into the cafeteria. "So who are we looking for?" Emma asked.
"I told you, Justin is still in there," Zack simply said as he peered inside. "Oh boy, this is going to be fun."
Emma nudged Zack to the side and looked in. "What the hell? The place is all covered in jello! How are we going to find Justin in there?"
"Well, we can always assume he got out with the rest of us," Zack said, inching away from the door.
"We're gonna have to go in there sooner or later, Zack," Emma said. She suddenly looked around and realized Zack was trying to leave the building. "And where do you think you're going?"
"I'm not going back in there!" Zack declared.
"C'mon, it's just jello! Are you afraid of jello?"
Zack paused for a moment. "Uh…uh…well, yeah, after what I seen happened, yes! I'm afraid of jello!"
At that moment, something jumped up and splattered against the window. Emma let out a scream as Zack rushed back over to help her. He quickly pulled her away from the door. "Okay, see? This type of jello likes to jump around and…uh…scare people."
"So you're just gonna leave one of your friends in there?" Emma asked.
"I see your point," Zack said a little guiltily. "Let's go in."
Zack slowly opened the door and they stepped inside. The whole cafeteria was covered in slimy, oozing, grey jello. Each step they took, they could feel the jello squishing beneath their feet. "God, it's like looking at boogers," Zack noted.
"Yea, nice, thanks for the info," Emma said, glaring at him. "And I suppose it probably tastes like boogers too; you should know, I've seen you picking your nose."
"Whoa, wait a second! I do NOT eat my boogers!" argued Zack.
"I didn't say you did!"
"That's just completely disgusting! Why would you ever say anything like that?!"
"I told you, I didn't say you ATE your boogers!" Emma shot back.
The next step Zack took, there was a loud noise and he nearly jumped six feet into the air and landed on his bottom. He struggled to get back to his feet and then realized the jello began covering his feet and arms. "Hey, a little help maybe?!"
Emma suddenly realized what was going on and rushed over to help. "Holy crap! This is getting too crazy!" The jello was already up to Zack's thighs and shoulders. "Hold on!" She wrapped her arm around Zack's neck and began pulling, in hopes to drag Zack out from the jello.
"You're choking me!" Zack managed to say.
"Shut up, I'm trying to help you!"
Suddenly, a huge figure covered in jello rose up in front of them. Emma stopped choking Zack as they stared in awe at the creature. It suddenly grabbed Zack by the shirt and yanked him out of the jello.
"Oh, thanks," Zack said. The creature nodded and then pulled Emma by the hair and headed for the door.
"Hey, let go of my hair!" protested Emma. "You know how long it takes to get it this way!? I spent almost an hour getting it perfect!"
"She's not lying either," added Zack.
They were outside the cafeteria now. The creature finally let go of Zack and he dropped to his bottom again. Emma was frantically looking for a mirror to redo her hair. Zack managed to stand up and faced the creature.
"Interesting. A creature made out of jello. Who could've thought it possible!"
"I thought you were afraid of jello?" Emma asked as she peered from around Zack.
The creature mumbled something. "I think he's trying to say something," Zack said.
"Oh, ya think? How do you know it's not a she?" Emma asked. She received a glare from Zack.
The creature's hand suddenly came up to its face and made back-and-forth movements, as if wiping the jello from its face. Suddenly, a human mouth appeared underneath the jello.
"I wouldn't exactly say I'm made out of jello," the creature said.
"Justin! How is that possible!?" Zack asked. "Wait, never mind, don't answer that. I should've known by how fat you are!"
"Shut up, Zack," Emma said, elbowing Zack in the ribs.
Justin finished wiping off his face. He looked fine, other than the fact that he was missing his glasses and the rest of his body was still covered in jello. "Didn't think anyone was coming back to find me."
Zack chuckled. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't leave my friends behind!"
"Actually, he was about to leave you in there," Emma said.
"You be quiet," Zack mumbled, shoving Emma away from him.
"Oh, shut up," she replied, pushing him back.
Justin laughed. "C'mon kids, let's go," he said. "I don't want to hang around much longer. I thought Zack's nightmares were bad enough."
A/N: Minor updates to this chapter (as of 10/1/2015). Just a few grammar changes here and there, no extra content was added. Please feel free to comment and check out the rest of the story!