1 It begins
A/N: Glossary of terms for those who don't work with warehouse equipment:
Pallet: Contraption approx. 3 feet long and 2 ½ feet wide made of either wood or plastic. Used for holding great amounts of freight for transport.
Pallet Jack: Tool used to lift pallets and pull them easily by one person. Also called a "manual forklift".
As he crossed the corridor, Jack saw something out of the corner of his left eye. A pink flash, small and bright, shoot from one side of the door to the other, parallel to the path he and Joe were taking. Jack stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned his head to the sales floor. Puzzlement overwhelmed his dark brown eyes. His mind was in such ecstasy from the sensation of a mystery to have entered his routine lifestyle that he barely felt Joe bump into him.
"What you lookin' at? Is she cute? Does she have an eight-year-old sister?" He joked. The sister part has been a running joke back there for who knows how long.
"I thought I saw something. A pink flash of light streak across the doorway," Jack muttered, not knowing or caring how Joe would accept this information, but further investigation would have to wait.
Kevin came walking up from the hall Jack and Joe were supposed to enter a few minutes ago. He was a man just entering his fifties, physically anyways. Bald head, the rest was white around the sides. Potbelly from so much beer, but that was all right for him. Mentally he was a kid at heart. Just wants to kick back and enjoy his years remaining getting screwed every night if he could find a woman willing. He was laid back, except when he wanted something done, and if someone was in his way, he was the devil incarnate.
"Let's get this freight on the floor, I wanna go home and get drunk on time tonight," he shouted from twenty feet in front of us.
Grabbing a pallet jack each, Joe, Jack, and the rest of the crew lifted pallets of freight to pull to the sales floor to be stocked by the floor personnel. There were not many, so the work was short. During that time Jack never saw the pink flash again, but near the end of his workday there came an ear-piercing scream from the Lawn and Garden Care department at the front corner of the store.
The whole crew raced to the point of the screams, Jack almost tripped over a mass. He looked down and noticed he was stepping over a body of a man he did not know. The man was, Jack guessed, six-two if he was vertical. There was a large welt on the base of his nose. {Instant kill shot from the look} Jack thought. He knelt down and put two fingers to the man's neck. No pulse. He was dead. Empathy filled Jack's heart, but no emotion crossed his face. He merely stood up and walked to the crowd forming in the patio area of Lawn and Garden.
Making his way to the front of the crowd, he saw what was possibly the most amazing sight of his life. Near the shut fence gate was a red bush. Its petals were red and orange and yellow. One could mistake it for being on fire if it was smoldering, and one could mistake it for a normal plant if it did not have eyes. As red and orange as its petals but with dark lids that blinked.
Jack's mind was reeling at the astounding creature that has entered his life. Rummaging through his mental files for some idea of what this new plant could be the only match was found in his memories of video games. A word, soft enough to be drowned out by the crowd, but loud enough for his own ears he muttered three words.
"A Deku Scrub?"
Joe stepped forward, head and hand low, seeming very non-threatening to most animals. Slowly he called to it. The living bush took a couple steps forward and extended something from its center that resembled a mouth. Joe smiled at it, Thinking this was a good sign.
Jack knew better now. Recognizing what it was and what the scrub could do, he searched frantically around the patio. His eyes fell upon a rubber trash can lid. Jack grasped it only to realize he was too late.
A yelp had let out from Joe's position. Jack spun about in expectant horror, but sighed in semi-relief. Joe had moved, or slipped, depending on who you ask, and fallen just far enough to be struck across the left side of his head.
He recoiled in intense pain. That sonofabitch! His mind cried out through the pain. Falling back he covered his gushing head wound. Soon he leaned forward and saw the red bush bearing down on him. Joe knew this time; {he's not gonna miss. Dear god I'm gonna be killed by a bush!!} The bush fired another shot.
Jack almost missed his chance, holding the lid in both hands he leapt in front of Joe. The shot struck the lid and bounced off, landing on the concrete floor harmlessly. Now was Jack's chance. With his new shield, he rushed the creature, slamming it against the fence. The deku scrub's mouth bulged. {He's gonna fire again, gotta act fast.} Acting on that thought he mashed the lid flat across its mouth. The bulge slid back into the scrubs body. Its body began to swell to twice its size. {Crap! It's gonna pop! Gotta move qui- }
The deku scrub exploded before Jack could finish his thought. Jack flew backwards from the force and landed, ever so gracefully, on his currently heroic backside. Jack groaned as he sat back up and examined himself for possible wounds.
"Well," Jack commented with a devilish sneer across the left side of his mouth, "can't say that bitch doesn't go out with a bang." Ignoring the groans of the frightened spectators, he rolled to his knees and looked at his friends head wound. "Looks about as ugly as your face, Joe, but then again I'm not a doctor." He grinned, hoping Joe would share in the joke. Seeing it fail, he stood up and looked about the onlookers. "Okay folks, shows over. Go back to your meager lives."
The crowd started to disperse. Jack watched them go, already dreading the moment when Kevin would call him an idiot for doing something so dumb and foolish. That moment would not come now, for his eyes had caught a pink light within the disappearing wall of bodies. He followed the pink light back into the building and to its owner.
A small boy held out his palm and the light landed gently on it. The light faded a bit, and Jack saw that within the light was the tiniest woman he ever saw. The little boy was at least three feet tall, and dressed in green. What was odd was that he looked like he was dressed for a job at Santa's workshop. Pointy ears and shoes to match. The tiny woman, Jack now noticed, had transparent wings with sparkled a bit. {A fairy and her kokiri partner. It makes sense that if there's a deku scrub here, then that pink light I saw at Shoes had to be a fairy.}
A/N: Glossary of terms for those who don't work with warehouse equipment:
Pallet: Contraption approx. 3 feet long and 2 ½ feet wide made of either wood or plastic. Used for holding great amounts of freight for transport.
Pallet Jack: Tool used to lift pallets and pull them easily by one person. Also called a "manual forklift".
As he crossed the corridor, Jack saw something out of the corner of his left eye. A pink flash, small and bright, shoot from one side of the door to the other, parallel to the path he and Joe were taking. Jack stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned his head to the sales floor. Puzzlement overwhelmed his dark brown eyes. His mind was in such ecstasy from the sensation of a mystery to have entered his routine lifestyle that he barely felt Joe bump into him.
"What you lookin' at? Is she cute? Does she have an eight-year-old sister?" He joked. The sister part has been a running joke back there for who knows how long.
"I thought I saw something. A pink flash of light streak across the doorway," Jack muttered, not knowing or caring how Joe would accept this information, but further investigation would have to wait.
Kevin came walking up from the hall Jack and Joe were supposed to enter a few minutes ago. He was a man just entering his fifties, physically anyways. Bald head, the rest was white around the sides. Potbelly from so much beer, but that was all right for him. Mentally he was a kid at heart. Just wants to kick back and enjoy his years remaining getting screwed every night if he could find a woman willing. He was laid back, except when he wanted something done, and if someone was in his way, he was the devil incarnate.
"Let's get this freight on the floor, I wanna go home and get drunk on time tonight," he shouted from twenty feet in front of us.
Grabbing a pallet jack each, Joe, Jack, and the rest of the crew lifted pallets of freight to pull to the sales floor to be stocked by the floor personnel. There were not many, so the work was short. During that time Jack never saw the pink flash again, but near the end of his workday there came an ear-piercing scream from the Lawn and Garden Care department at the front corner of the store.
The whole crew raced to the point of the screams, Jack almost tripped over a mass. He looked down and noticed he was stepping over a body of a man he did not know. The man was, Jack guessed, six-two if he was vertical. There was a large welt on the base of his nose. {Instant kill shot from the look} Jack thought. He knelt down and put two fingers to the man's neck. No pulse. He was dead. Empathy filled Jack's heart, but no emotion crossed his face. He merely stood up and walked to the crowd forming in the patio area of Lawn and Garden.
Making his way to the front of the crowd, he saw what was possibly the most amazing sight of his life. Near the shut fence gate was a red bush. Its petals were red and orange and yellow. One could mistake it for being on fire if it was smoldering, and one could mistake it for a normal plant if it did not have eyes. As red and orange as its petals but with dark lids that blinked.
Jack's mind was reeling at the astounding creature that has entered his life. Rummaging through his mental files for some idea of what this new plant could be the only match was found in his memories of video games. A word, soft enough to be drowned out by the crowd, but loud enough for his own ears he muttered three words.
"A Deku Scrub?"
Joe stepped forward, head and hand low, seeming very non-threatening to most animals. Slowly he called to it. The living bush took a couple steps forward and extended something from its center that resembled a mouth. Joe smiled at it, Thinking this was a good sign.
Jack knew better now. Recognizing what it was and what the scrub could do, he searched frantically around the patio. His eyes fell upon a rubber trash can lid. Jack grasped it only to realize he was too late.
A yelp had let out from Joe's position. Jack spun about in expectant horror, but sighed in semi-relief. Joe had moved, or slipped, depending on who you ask, and fallen just far enough to be struck across the left side of his head.
He recoiled in intense pain. That sonofabitch! His mind cried out through the pain. Falling back he covered his gushing head wound. Soon he leaned forward and saw the red bush bearing down on him. Joe knew this time; {he's not gonna miss. Dear god I'm gonna be killed by a bush!!} The bush fired another shot.
Jack almost missed his chance, holding the lid in both hands he leapt in front of Joe. The shot struck the lid and bounced off, landing on the concrete floor harmlessly. Now was Jack's chance. With his new shield, he rushed the creature, slamming it against the fence. The deku scrub's mouth bulged. {He's gonna fire again, gotta act fast.} Acting on that thought he mashed the lid flat across its mouth. The bulge slid back into the scrubs body. Its body began to swell to twice its size. {Crap! It's gonna pop! Gotta move qui- }
The deku scrub exploded before Jack could finish his thought. Jack flew backwards from the force and landed, ever so gracefully, on his currently heroic backside. Jack groaned as he sat back up and examined himself for possible wounds.
"Well," Jack commented with a devilish sneer across the left side of his mouth, "can't say that bitch doesn't go out with a bang." Ignoring the groans of the frightened spectators, he rolled to his knees and looked at his friends head wound. "Looks about as ugly as your face, Joe, but then again I'm not a doctor." He grinned, hoping Joe would share in the joke. Seeing it fail, he stood up and looked about the onlookers. "Okay folks, shows over. Go back to your meager lives."
The crowd started to disperse. Jack watched them go, already dreading the moment when Kevin would call him an idiot for doing something so dumb and foolish. That moment would not come now, for his eyes had caught a pink light within the disappearing wall of bodies. He followed the pink light back into the building and to its owner.
A small boy held out his palm and the light landed gently on it. The light faded a bit, and Jack saw that within the light was the tiniest woman he ever saw. The little boy was at least three feet tall, and dressed in green. What was odd was that he looked like he was dressed for a job at Santa's workshop. Pointy ears and shoes to match. The tiny woman, Jack now noticed, had transparent wings with sparkled a bit. {A fairy and her kokiri partner. It makes sense that if there's a deku scrub here, then that pink light I saw at Shoes had to be a fairy.}