Revised chapter 2
Alright, next chapter! But first, thanks to everyone for your kind reviews. I appreciate it! I also want to apologize for the delay. Now then...let it begin!
Defenders of Neopia: Chapter 2: Now what?
Jeffory landed in the ocean with a loud splash. The freezing cold water woke him up, fast. He floated towards the surface. As soon as he emerged from what could have been his icy grave he took in a deep breath of much needed air. The water was so stinking cold! His teeth chattered and he was shaking like a leaf. What happened? Why am I in the ocean? the confuzed Kyrii thought to himself. Then it hit him. "SAM!" He shouted as the realization struck him that he left his friend behind. Kass...
Then his stomach lurched as he realized, he and Sam were the only two prisoners on the station. He had gotten quite a good look around as the robots were dragging him room to room on the way to the bridge. And he realized that his parents weren't there... That meant " They're dead..." he mumbled to himself in between gulps of salt water. His heart broke. They were really gone. And now, he WAS alone. A single tear slipped out of his eye, slid down his face, and plopped into the ocean.
But he couldn't mourn now. He had to be strong. His mind went to his friend. His thoughts were in one tangled , jumbled mess. He couldn't remember every detail of those last few seconds but he saw that Kass had injured Sam
As he bobbed around in the ocean, trying to keep his head above water as best he could, he turned to his left and saw a blurry image in the distance. With one hand he rubbed his tired eyes and then squinted. LAND! That was good. That was the first good thing that has happened in awhile. He moved his left arm to begin swimming to shore. He let out a cry of pain when his shoulder began to sting like crazy. He remembered. "Kass got me..." he muttred. Then he cursed. "Damn. NOW what do I do...?" He was so busy thinking, and panicking if the truth be told, that he didn't notice the massive wave about to crash down on him.
He turned around and gasped. "Oh, sh..." His voice was cut off by the towering wave slamming into him and forcing him under. The icy water began to fill his lungs. He couldn't move. The pain in his arm made it impossible to swim to the surface. His vision was failing him. Is this it...? Is it all over for me? His eyes closed.
Jeffory awoke, staring towards the sky at a beautiful sunset. "Heaven...?" he rasped. As he began to speak he sputtered and coughed and gasped for breath. Fighting to inhale the fresh cool air, he tried to get to his knees but his left arm gave out on him causing him to fall face flat on the sand. Nope. Not Heaven. He thought. In Heaven you don't feel any pain.
Jeffory was shaking with pain but he still managed to get to his feet. His eyes scanned the horizon. He took it all in slowly and as it began to come into focus he realized he was back in Neopia. What is that city in the distance he wondered. Could it be Brightvale? Er...New...Brightvale, he corrected himself.
He had grown up hearing the stories of how that raving lunatic, Sloth, had destroyed it and how the descendants of King Hagen had worked tirelessly to rebuild it. It gave him some hope that maybe one day Meridel could rise again.
He was daydreaming of that grand day, when a sound in the distance quickly brought him back to reality. His eyes landed on the sight of a dirt path in front of him. It seemed to lead right into the forest.
"Dang, NOW what do I do?" he growled irritably. Just when it looked like he might be catching a break, he found himself facing a whole new set of trouble. Since he was a young Kyrii he had been hearing stories of the gruesome monsters that lurked in the forests around Neopia.
On the bright side, it wasn't dark... yet. He would be able to pass through the woodland before the creatures of the night came out. He was worried though that his damaged arm and tired body would hinder his progress.
He knew he had only two choices and he didn't particularly like either one of them. On the one hand, he could camp out here til morning and hope the he could start the journey after a good night's sleep. This would leave poor Sam alone with Kass much longer than Jeffory was comfortable with. Jeffory was worried that Sam wouldn't have the good sense to keep his smart mouth shut in Kass' presence. He was worried that if he left Sam alone with him for too long that Kass might serve him up for breakfast. Sam pancakes anyone?
On the other hand he wasn't so sure that he would actually make it to the other side of the forest in one piece. Either way was a death certificate for one of the teens. He shook his head. Time to be a man. He gathered his remaining courage and walked into the darkness of the woods.
Jeffory had been in the woods for God only knows how long. He finally found a clearing where he could sit down and catch his breath and check his watch. When he dug it out of his pocket he found that it was covered with hardened sand. Now the sun was going down and he had no idea what time it really was.
Suddenly he stared in horror. He realized the date had already changed once on his watch. It was now the twenty fourth. The field trip was on the twenty third. He must have been out cold on the beach for a freaking day!
His arm began to hurt even more. With much difficulty, he took off his tee shirt to examine the wound. He gasped. The wound was green...Must have gotten infected. He cursed for the second time that day. That was two more than Anna would allow. EVER. He stood up. This was just GREAT! Now he had to get his arm medical attention. That would slow him down even more! He had to keep moving, Sam's life depended on it. So did his. He moved deeper into the forest.
He trudged on and on, hour after after hour as the sky grew darker and darker. Every mile looked the same. He began to wonder if he was wasting his time. Will I ever get to Sam...soon enough to make a difference?
Jeffory was irritble earlier. Now it was safe to say he was ticked. His legs ached, his arm hurt, and his eyes kept trying to close. He wanted nothing more than to curl up on the forest floor and take a nice nap. Shake it off, Jeff. Shake it all off! he kept thinking to himself. Although after the first five hundred times it stopped working. He tripped over a tree root. After hitting the ground he lay there. Too tired to go on he fell asleep.
Jeffory was in a cloudy place. In fact he was standing on a cloud. Ok! NOW he was in heaven. Great. I'm dead he thought. How did he die though? He didn't die from falling over a ROOT did he? If anyone asked, he was gonna go with a manly story and say he was mauled by an angry two-headed monster. Yeah, that'll work.
He jumped when he heard a voice to his left. He looked that way but nothing was there. Now it came from his right. "Jeffory..." It was calling out to him now. He looked to his right and again, he saw nothing. He stopped searching and listned. "Jeffory..." It sounded soothing, and loving...Like...like his mother's voice.
He found his voice and called out "Mom?" He heard a deeper voice chuckling. It wasn't an evil chuckle like Kass' though. It sounded like his Dad. He called out to the second voice. "Dad?"
Then he saw them. His parents materialized in front of him. The green male on the left. He was tall and muscular. His hair was straight and smooth, while Jeffory's was messy and spiky. But his father's face was kind and gentle and He was beaming at Jeffory. Next to his father was his mother. She was smaller than his dad. She was Blue. She was petite and gentle looking. Her hair was long and beautiful and she was smiling at him through a veil of tears. Happy tears, he was hoping. "You sure have grown. Buddy." said his father. Jeffory couldn't speak. He couldn't belive it. There they were. Standing right in front him.
Jeffory began to sputter and choke out the words.. "W-where am I? Is this heaven...?" His mother shook her head. "It's wherever you wan't it to be honey."
Suddenly, the scenery changed to the bottom of the sea. He gasped. Then he realized he wasn't coughing. He could breathe under here.
"How..." His father answered the unasked question. "Your'e dreaming. You don't need to breathe." "So, since I'm dreaming, that means...you and mom aren't really..." So that's why she was crying.
"I'm sorry." his mother said with compassion in her voice. "Don't be. Seeing you is enough." said Jeffory quickly. His father spoke again. "We know how hard it's been for you. But whatever happens..." his Dad started. "Just know that we are so proud of you." "And we love you," his mother finished. They stepped forward and embraced him. Jeffory returned the hug. "Now you have to wake up. It's coming." It?
As his mother spoke, she began to fade. "No, Mom don't go..." His father began to fade as well. But before he was completely gone he gave these directions to Jeffory. "As soon as you wake start running. Keep running forward. Don't stop for any reason. Turn around if you need to. It should motivate you." "Must be bad, huh?" asked Jeffory. "Heh. You always did catch on quick." With that the dream ended.
Like his father said, as soon as Jeffory awoke, he got to his feet and started running. It was exhausting and his legs were protesting with each step. He heard a loud roar behind him. He did need motivation so he looked behind him. It was a ghastly monster. It was like a giant snake with a Morthog's nose complete with the tusks. Jeffory let out a terrified shout and sped up. The exit of the forest was right in front of him. "Almost there..." He ignored the pain of his legs and ran faster. He felt the Snakehog's breath on him. It really could slither couldn't it?
Jeffory could see that he was coming to the end of the forest. And what an odd sight he saw before him. Lined up in a neat row, one after another, were the most gigantic trees he had ever seen. Someone must have planted them there like that. But who...? And why...? There was only a little bit of space in between each one. Just enough to let in some light and hopefully let Jeffory out.
It would be a tight squeeze but he would be able to make it. The Snakehog would not. 3...2...1! He lept forward, twisting in midair to fit through the gap. SUCCESS! He landed hard on the ground. He was on a dirt path. He crawled far away , then he turned around and chuckled. He could see the beast's eye through the gap. Now he knew why the trees were planted like that. Someone else had met up with this monster before and had come up with a way to contain the attrocious beast.
He caught his breath and sighed. "That was close. Stupid monster." The beast resented that. It let out a earsplitting roar. Jeffory lept to his feet and ran as far away as he could.
He followed the dirt path up a large hill. Once at the top he paused and smiled. Brightvale was dead ahead. All he had to do was head down the hill, follow the road straight, and he would arrive at the high-tech city. "Don't worry, Sam I'll save ya. I promise." With that he continued down the road.
WHEW! THAT took awhile. Jeff has had an interesting journey so far. Anyway I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! Next chapter will be up, soon enough. R&R please. LaDude out.