A/N: Thank you so much for reading my story! For those of you have read the first two chapters and are back for the third, I appreciate it more than you can imagine. Unless you're a beginning writer like me, then you may understand (: I just noticed, chapter two has 1234 words! How cool is that?! Anyways, this chapter is very long and, in my opinion, kind of boring. It is mostly character development and honestly, nothing exciting happens. The real juicy digimon stuff happens in the next chapter, I promise! However, it will take some time for me to upload because I haven't begun it yet… and I'm a slow writer.
Ok, this chapter introduces four characters. Right now they are very very minor. They won't be important for, about, well… a few years… So just a heads up.
Disclaimer: I do not own the digimon franchise or digimon. This honor belongs to the wonderful Bandai, Toei Anime, and Akiyoshi Hongo. I only own my OCs
When I aroused from my slumber, I was pleasantly greeted by the aroma of my own forest. I slowly rose from my sleep and stretched my tense muscles. I couldn't begin to imagine the cause of their aching until I realized that I had not awakened on the same ground on which I had fallen asleep the previous night. The events of the previous day began to return to me as I became fully aware of my surroundings. A bright flash of light, and I was somewhere unlike any place I could ever imagine. The world with a bright sky, strange scene and unusual creatures had captivated my active imagination.
Through my reflection, I nearly failed to sense the approaching beings. I immediately concealed myself on a low branch of the nearest tree. Gazing towards the ground, I watched as four boys approached the tree in which I hid.
For a moment, I thoughtfully watched the boys in their confusion. I was undoubtedly home; the only creatures with which I crossed paths in the other place were certainly not human. Furthermore, I knew exactly where in the forest we were. Unfortunately, they were effectively lost.
"I saw it from my window. It was definitely around here!" The boy with blond curly hair spoke with such certainty. I was impressed by his tone of superiority.
"Yes, Brad, we get it. But are you forgetting that we all saw it from our window?" The kid with dark hair made a cynical remark with only minimal expression. Something in his voice masked the intonation and caught my fascination.
"I bet we're going to find aliens or something. I can't think of anything else that would make such a blast of light." The shortest of the four had such a good natured, care free attitude. I could detect it from his expressions.
"Hey wait. How would you know where the light came from? You live the farthest away from the woods. I think we've gone the wrong way." I admired the last boy's deduction. His smart remark was aimed at the first boy. He was very thin and an inquiring demeanor.
"Alright Tom, shut up." The one named Brad seemed extremely irritated by his companion.
"I don't think we're getting anywhere. Let's just head back to my place." In an attempt to mediate the tension, the dark haired boy started to walk away.
"Ok but you're going in the wrong direction. We came from over here." Brad began to walk deeper into the forest.
I finally concluded that I had never seen the before. Though, they did look a few years older than me. I smiled knowing that I knew the forest better than these older boys.
At that moment, I made quite the wise decision for the young wild child that I was. I scaled the tree until I was completely hidden from view. Vaulting to a branch in front of their misguided path, I rattled the trunk and hollered my best lion impersonation. Below me, I heard shouts and rapidly retreating footsteps in the opposite direction.
I had decided that it would have been a poor decision to appear before them without notice and attempt guide them in person. Instead, I followed them and continually shook and jolted the trees.
I chased them as they bolted through the trees. Eventually, they reached a thick wall of brambles and ran straight through it with great haste. Reaching the opposite side, they all fell over one another onto the well beaten walking path. To the left was the entrance to the forestry path and the path that would lead them back to civilization.
I watched them stand up and dust themselves off. They all sort of glanced at each other and muttered some things which I could not hear from my branch. As they exited the forest, I laughed at the thought of their expressions if a young girl had suddenly dropped before them in the middle of the forest.
Suddenly, I remembered something of colossal importance. Today was my 10th birthday. No longer was I subject to the "one digit" ages. This day, the third of July, marked a memorable day in my young life. I had nearly forgotten in the recent strange events. I spent my entire last day of being nine in that bizarre world. I was thankful to have had something to keep my attention from anticipating the next day. I often had the problem of extreme anticipation the day before anything important. It seemingly drags on forever until I would nearly burst. Falling into a strange world seemed to have effectively solved that problem.
I merrily hopped from my perch in the tree to the path below and skipped into town. I would browse the grocery store and bakery for an appropriate cake for the occasion and treat myself to some candy from the convenient store. I stopped in front of the second to last tree on the edge of the woods. Reaching under the slightly raised root, my hand grasped a small leather sack. I pulled it from its hiding place and took out a few dollars. Unfortunately, I could not say that the money was earned honestly. But one day, I would restore some respect for myself. Until then, I everyone would simply have to deal. After returning the sack under the root, I began the short trek into town.
As I neared the newly built modern housing development, I happened upon a shallow puddle glistening in the sunlight. My reflection beamed up at me from the small pool. I noticed that my hair appeared completely unkempt and far from presentable for a walk into town. I fancied a smart appearance for my debut as a ten-year-old. Regrettably though, my dark locks were littered with bits of foliage and twigs. I released my hair from the tie and it fell to just below my shoulders. I feverishly combed my fingers through my hair. My reflection in the puddle was disturbed by the falling debris. Once it had settled, I examined the scrapes on my face. They were hardly noticeable so I ignored them. I tied back my hair into a stubby ponytail and stood up to stretch. My clothes were stained with dirt and had few tears in them, but it would have to do.
I walked through the neighborhood of large white houses. Sometimes in the evenings, I would sit in trees near the windows and watch television with the oblivious families. However, this time I did not see any illuminated sets. Actually, there were no lights turned on either. I would usually see some careless family leave lights on, even during the day time. It mattered very little to me so I continued into town.
My first stop was the convenient store to replenish my stash of candy. As I walked through the automatic doors, I heard some people discussing city-wide black out preceded by strange technological behavior. I was grateful to not be electrically dependent as those home owners were. I headed straight for the candy isle in the back. I made my selection of a bag of peach rings. I took my money out of my pocket and held it with my candy. Glancing about my isle, I began to fill my pockets with small candies and a pack of gum. When I had finished, they did not bulge or have the appearance of being full. The wrappers remained silent as I calmly approached the register. Only one area was open and another customer was in the process of buying their items. I looked at the candy under the cash registers and chose a roll of mints.
"Excuse me, but could you tell me the date?" The customer was leisurely filling out a form and I was growing impatient.
"Well, let me check my smart phone! It is the second of July!"
False, I thought with irritation at their pretentiousness. You are wrong and that is what you get for your snobbish attitude and stupid phone. People who deem themselves as superior to others because of material possessions infuriate me to no end.
"Oh! I remember now, from watching the news!" The customer sounded slightly exasperated.
I glared at the back of their head with a touch of uncertainty. The news said it was the second? There must be some mistake. I took my turn at the register and placed my mints and peach rings with the money. I noticed a calendar which read July 2nd for today's date. Even my receipt said that it was the second.
Feeling overwhelmingly confused, I needed a solid confirmation of the date. I couldn't imagine how I had gotten confused. As I remember, I departed home two days ago in the evening, woke up in a strange place the next day, fell asleep there, and awakened at home this morning. My escapade through the strange land had lasted for hours and who knows how long the duration of my deep sleep could have been. It would be impossible to execute such a complicated experience in only one night.
Shops and business buildings passed me unnoticed as I shuffled down the street. Lost in my thoughts, I paid little attention to the happenings in town. Nothing interesting ensued as I moved deeper into the heart of our city. I paused at the technology retail store and gaped at the stacks of flashing television screens. The screens collectively laughed at my predicament as the news for today, July 2nd, illuminated all of the display televisions simultaneously.
Believing that possibly my exploration had only lasted a night, I glumly returned to the forest. If it was not my birthday, I would not need to look for a cake. I was now faced with the predicament of entertaining myself while I wait for my birthday. I concluded to search for that cave again, that one, strange cave which initiated my adventure. I knew it would be difficult to locate; it was a foreign entity in familiar vicinity.
As I sulked through the moneyed neighborhood, I was lost in dreams of returning to the strange place. I treaded down the deserted street and I imagined that the pampered money-privileged kids had taken shelter from the summer heat in their white, uniform homes. Toys lay forgotten, strewn about the precisely cut lawns and clean sidewalks.
I noticed a digital wrist watch occupying its own block of sidewalk cement. It caught my eye as it gleamed in the sunlight. I reached for it and grasped it in my hand. I felt a small spark and was enveloped in a sense falling, electricity, running, fear, and finally exhaustion. It could be described as extreme déjà vu which left me a little dizzy. I could sense an energy stirring within this device; an energy synonymous to that of the strange world. The feeling subsided and it remained in my hand as an ordinary child's watch. I strapped the watch to my wrist and continued walking.
Hey, finders keepers loser weepers. Someone had just rewarded me with an early birthday present.
I was still bitter from the date confusion. It fit nearly perfectly, although I had to tighten it as tight as it could to fit around my small wrist. I admired the unscathed black strap lined with diminutive blue, metallic bands. The screen was lined with a red, metallic face. It looked very sharp and lifted my spirits a tad.
I continued my way towards the looming forest to embark on a search for that strange world.