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Chapter 3 - Panic

Jayden's POV

I flip open the hard red cover of Koala Storm Caller and flop down on my cream sofa. It's a new book I bought in Oceana City yesterday, the first in a recent book series.

I love this sofa because it's perfect for reading; combined with the cool leather, a breeze coming in through the window, and K.K. Soul playing in the background, it's the perfect way to spend a warm day in July.

Well, maybe not.

I turn my head towards my window, glancing at the lush landscape on the other side, perfect orange trees and flowers of every colour arranged throughout the emerald green grass in an inviting scene. It feels like a waste of a beautiful day to stay inside, but I have nothing to do out there.

I sigh. If only I had someone to spend it with. I'd love to do something like hide and seek or a board game or catching bugs with a friend, or even just having a long conversation about random things. Living on my own is interesting, but it does get lonely from time to time.

Drat. Now I can't focus on reading my book anymore. I clap it shut and set it down on my end table, intending to read it later, and then I morosely stare out my window some more, resting my arms on the sofa. There are so many things I'd like to do, but I can't get motivated to do them alone.

All of a sudden, someone knocks on my door. I get off my sofa and answer it. It's Erik.

Hey, Jayden!" he says. He hands me a yellow paperback book. The Train Conductor Asks. "Here's the book I borrowed from you last week. Thanks for lending it to me."

"Yeah, no problem," I say, smiling.

"How's it going?" the deer asks.

"Fine," I say, shrugging. "How about you?"

"Pretty good," he says. "Jacob and Cherry and I just finished having coffee together at the Roost. You know, just as a little get-together."

"Oh, nice," I say, nodding. "Sounds fun."

It kind of gets at me that he didn't invite me along. I don't know why. I can't say I particularly think of Erik as a friend, but he's certainly the closest I've got. I suppose he's just closer to Jacob and Cherry.

"It was," Erik says with a grin. "Jacob dared Cherry to empty the sugar bowl in her coffee and drink it all."

"Did she do it?" I ask.

But whether or not she did I'll never know, because Frobert chooses this time to burst in and say loudly, "Hey, you guys! Isabelle's ordering an urgent town meeting at the plaza right now! Make sure you go!"

"What does she—" I stop talking as Frobert runs off without waiting for us, and turn to Erik.

"What do you think's going on?" I ask. Erik just shrugs in response.

"Must be something important," he replies.

-x-

When we get to the plaza, nearly everyone is huddled around the town tree, and I immediately know what's wrong. Our town tree is blackened and crumbling, and although I know it's an important landmark, I thought the meeting would be for something more than a sick tree.

Isabelle stands on the bricks boxing in the tree, counting heads as we gather around, while Kelsea and Leif are talking in hushed voices behind the tree.

"We're still missing a few people," Isabelle says.

Kelsea stops her conversation with Leif and tells her, "Carli and Pate are at Oceana City today. They won't be back until late this afternoon."

"Oh dear," Isabelle says. "Well, since I have everyone else here, I guess I might as well start." She clears her throat and then projects to all the citizens of Serenity gathered in the plaza.

"Hello, everyone," she says. "I wish I could have gathered you here for more pleasant news, but unfortunately, as I'm sure you all have noticed by now, our town tree is sick. It's dying."

A silence passes through the air; even the wind has stopped rustling through the trees, and the honeybees have stopped their soft buzzing.

"All of us know this as a landmark of our town," Isabelle continues. "It is a symbol for us, planted the very day Serenity was founded and our first mayor, Tortimer, took office. However, what you don't know is that this tree shares a special bond with this town. Ever since it was planted, it has been linked to Serenity, and as one thrives, so does the other. Our tree helps Serenity to flourish. Unfortunately for us, this works the other way, too."

Isabelle pauses, then the silence becomes more eerie as everyone nervously anticipates what she will say next. I'm not sure if I want to know, as it seems a lot more serious than I initially thought.

"As the tree dies, our town will begin to self-destruct," she continues, and I swear my heart stops beating for a second. Some people begin to shout, but Isabelle hushes them. "And if it dies completely, all of us will be destroyed."

I can't believe it. It feels like someone knocked the wind out of me. We're all going to die because of this tree? What idiot had the bright idea of linking a town with a living being that dies? I don't want to die! I start wringing my hands in fright and try to calm down, which is difficult as everyone else seems to be in a state of complete panic as well. The silence is completely gone now; everyone is talking at once.

"We're going to die!" Erik exclaims.

"I do hope it isn't painful," Blanche says.

Isabelle continues her speech once again to try and quell the terror in the audience, which is difficult considering what she just told us.

"However," she says, "Leif is investigating what caused this sickness, and I have hopes he can come up with a cure for us." She turns around to look at the owner of the Garden Shop, who is still talking to Kelsea. "Leif, do you have any idea how we can heal it?"

Leif walks up next to Isabelle. "Well, by taking some samples of the soil and the tree bark, I'll be able to tell what occurred and how long we have until…" He gestures in a way that means "our imminent death and destruction". "And if we know that, there is a chance I can come up with an antidote for it. All I know for now is that we have three weeks at the most. I can't say what caused it until then, which may take days, but I do know of a material that has powerful healing powers and could help us in the event that I can't make an antidote. There is a very rare rock named calerite that sometimes forms in the caves near Brightside. It's notoriously difficult to find, but if we can get a search group together, we could have a chance at finding some and saving our town."

More murmuring passes through the crowd. Nothing in Leif's announcement comforts me one bit.

I look around the landscape of Serenity. Somehow, it looks more sinister than earlier. I realize that not only have I wasted this day in Serenity, but I've wasted my entire life. I've accomplished nothing, and it'll stay like that until the day I die.