Chapter 12: The Eventful Meeting
Jess
As I arrived at Mil's 'house' and knocked on the door, I was expecting John to open it and give one seriously lame joke for being 15 minutes late (took me forever to dry my feathers). What I didn't expect was that while John DID open the door, all he gave me was a nod and pointed back into the house. "Ok John, what did Dan say that made you decide to keep your mouth shut?" He gave me an annoyed look. "Come on Jess, you know even I can be serious if I want to be. Now are you going to come inside or not? We may be pokemon at the moment but that doesn't mean we actually have to stay outside for everything we do." "Right, right; sorry."
As it turned out, John decided he had to be serious for this meeting because the twins were with us, and they had vowed to fry anyone who took the meeting off topic. (Yes, that included Chuck Norris jokes at, whether or not the timing was appropriate) Needless to say, Adam had 'volunteered' to demonstrate, and was currently lying on one of the beds, burnt brown, and unable to say more than a grumble. (And releasing a pleasant smell remarkably similar to fried chicken.... Just saying)
One look around the group told me what was on everyone's mind in an instant. Sam, Mil, and Sarah were talking, trying to keep themselves occupied until the meeting started. The twins, Mighties, and Dan were all leaning against something, waiting patiently while getting their thoughts together. Meg, Mike, and John were all lost in their own worlds, for various reasons (Meg for dreams, Mike for planning, and John… who knows).
The only one who wasn't here was Tom. Being only 4 years old, we all agreed he would sleep while the rest of us talked. He might have been just as involved as the rest of us, but he was still a little kid, and he needed his sleep. Seeing that nothing was happening yet, I took the time to find a place to be comfy for the meeting: leaning on the edge of the bed which held Adam's burnt (and aromatic) form. (Hey, someone has to be in smacking range to him when he can move again, and I'm the best one for the job)
Mike was still getting his thoughts together, so I looked around the house to avoid making eye contact with anyone. (I didn't feel like starting a conversation). As I looked, I noticed that it was almost exactly the same as mine in every way! The colors, doors, and designs were all identical! There were only two things that convinced me I wasn't in my own 'house': the location and the beds. You see, as we were picking houses. we noticed that, minus the different designs, all the houses were located relative to our houses back home. (ex: Mike's 'house' is the closest to the forest).
As for the beds, after checking every house and comparing notes, we came to the conclusion that there were exactly the same number of beds in each house as the number of people who lived in each house. So, there were the same number of beds as there were going to be living in each house. (ex: Mine had 3: me and my parents) There was one exception: Mil's had 8. 8!!! Two for her parents, four for her uncles and aunts who live with us, one for her, and one that could only be for her older sister, but she moved out two years ago. Why would this 'world' make an extra bed for someone who wasn't coming?
Mike
Finally! I think I had managed to pull all my thoughts together for the meeting! I stood up, looked around, saw that Jess was finally here, and made my way to the spot in front of the door and waited for the rest of them to be ready, who were 99% done the moment I was ready. The 1% was Adam pulling himself upright on the bed, shaking the ash off, and saying something snide before getting fried again. Seeing that that was that was taken care of, I cleared my throat, catching everyone's attention.
"Ok, there is a lot on all of our minds, and we have a lot to talk about, but first thing's first: Who thinks we should invite Samantha, Mitch, and Greg to the 'neighborhood'?" I was only asking so that if they DID come and had anything to complain about I could honestly say we all agreed to it, which is exactly what everyone voted for. "All against? I can't say I'm even remotely surprised. Ok, here's how it's going to work: we're going to go by chance of solution. That means that the first thing we're going to discus, the next and last groups that will be arriving, we have the highest chance of having a plan for. Does anyone besides Adam have a problem with that?"… "No? Ok, let's get started."
"Ok, from what we know about who went on vacation before this happened (no one), there are going to be three more people showing up tomorrow, and then there's no one till the adults show up (I'm positive John would have said some lame joke there about how small our town is if it wasn't for the twins). Those three are going to be Peter, Rachel, and Simon. The good news is that they're going to all be showing up outside the forest (everyone let lose a sigh of relief). The bad news is we have no idea what the surrounding territory is like, so it's not going to be easy to make retrieval parties. That in mind, I'd like Adam to do an area sweep first thing in the morning. You ok with that Adam?" "nnneeee…" "I'll take that groan as a yes." "ggggrrrr…"
Next, the 'town' we've all moved into. Now, I'm sure everyone's noticed several weird things about these houses, so let me know if I miss any. 1) There is the exact same number of houses here as there are in our town. 2) They are exactly the same minus beds, which are 3) exactly the number of people who live in each house (everyone saw that the 8th bed in this house) except for this one for whatever reason. 4) They are organized exactly the same as our town without the (dirt) roads. 5) How in the world to these 'poke-doors' open so effortlessly for ALL of us?! Seriously: between my ears and Dan's fin it's hard to believe some of us can even use 'em. Did I miss anything?"
"Well, the water heats up 20 times faster than back home." We sent John scathing looks; the twins gave him a warning: "You know John, the only reason we're not frying you is because it's true. One more slip like that, and you'll be joining Adam." "Thanks ladies, except I'm already up, so how would you make John join me when he's already here?" Adam was up- ZZZAAAPPP!!!!! –then he was down again. "Ugh… Adam, can you keep your snide commentary to yourself for once? We're trying to hold a meeting here!"
"Cool it Meg, he's out and can't hear you." "Yeah, but it still needed to be said, Dan!" "So what Meg? He's out." "Jess… please!" "Guys, we're getting off topic here!" My warning was no good, because by then the entire house was in an uproar. Meg was arguing with Dan and Jess over the point of telling Adam to be quiet when he was out, the twins and Mighties were telling everyone to calm down, and the kids were caught up in the noise so they started talking too. The only three people who weren't making any noise were John, Dan, and me. Looking at each other, it was clear that this was getting nowhere fast, and it was going to take a while before we could- KNOCK! KNOCK! Everyone froze instantly. There was someone at the door, and knew almost all of us were in here…
Dan
Needless to say, the first thing that popped in everyone's mind was the cult (nickname for our 3 favorite trouble makers), and with all the noise we were making, we thought they had us cornered. I looked at the group, saw their expressions, and nodded. They were right: no point in putting it off. If we took too long they might force their way in, or worse search the other houses and find Tom. Seeing that I was leader here, I had the honor of opening the door. As I made my way to it, I felt the sweat dribble down my face (At least I think it was sweat, I don't know. Do water pokemon sweat from fear?) I might be a brave guy, but after seeing what they shot at me this afternoon, I wasn't very excited about putting my face into their crosshairs.
I crept up, put my front paw on the door, took a deep breath, and opened to the door to see: nothing but the moonlight shinning down on our 'town'. … I raised an eyebrow. (Ok, so technically I didn't have eyebrows, but what was I supposed to say? Opened one eye larger?) Yes, the darkness was better than a spike ball in my face, but I still wasn't convinced we were in the clear. "Ok… who's there?" …………… "Dan?" "YYYAAA!!!!" That voice didn't belong to someone from the cult or Tom!! I leaped right back into the house, only for the door to slam right into my face. Bang! "Ow!"
I think the group got the wrong idea from seeing me yelp, jump back and cover my face in pain. Everyone prepared for attack, but stopped when they heard someone call out. "Dan? Was that you?" It wasn't a voice any of us recognized. It was female, that much was certain, but that was all we could tell. Seeing that whoever it was knew my name and wasn't a cult member, I decided to invite whoever it was in. "Yeah, it is. Who's there?"
The door opened, and a vaporeon came in. This had mixed results, part because as an evolved pokemon she was bigger than any of us, and part because someone was here who wasn't from our town. As it turns out, she was just as surprised to see us as we were to see her. "Wow… is everyone here?" After I finished staring at how she got in the door when it's smaller than her, I spoke up. "Not quite. Now, I know it's rude to make demands, but who are you? I don't think I recognize you." "Oh? He he he… yeah, that's you Dan. Only you can make a joke like that." …
"Wait… there's only one person in the world who thinks Dan can make good jokes… Katy?!" She nodded at Jess. "Yep, it's me, in the flesh, if this even is flesh." I don't think anyone in the building could believe it. Katy, Mil's good natured 22 year old sister, was here. When she turned 20 and graduated from the only school in town, she left her home in hopes of find a profitable job so she could make a living outside our dump of a home. (No surprise: 95% of the town's population moves out some time in their lives. The other 5% are the teachers, the military base members, and me (too young to drive away on a vacation))
Mike noticed something else too: "Well… that explains the extra bed…" "Yay!" Mil jumped right into her older sister and hugged her as best as a fox and a… er… half fox-half fish pokemon could. "What are you doing here Katy?" "Well, it's a long story, and it looks like I'm interrupting something important…" I just shook my head with a grin on my face. "Not at all Katy. Besides, I think we could use a good story right about now, seeing that Adam's up again." "Nice of you to notice, fishy." ZZZAAPPP!!! Katy took one look at Adam's fried body, and started laughing. "Heh heh, I see nothing has changed by this metamorphosis or over the last 2 years…"
In another place…
The People in the town hall were horrified. Not only was the entire town engulfed in flames, but when some of the more cool-headed ones tried to flee, they found the hall surrounded in flames, trapping the individuals inside. Seeing that they were doomed some snapped, some continued panicking, and some just slumped to the ground, defeated and scared. Those individuals had given up, and were trying their best to prepare for the inevitable to come. Some feared for the children, some for themselves, and some feared that man's time had come. A few individuals, however, noticed that something, somehow was telling them it was going to be alright. Was it just their imaginations?
Sammy
"… and after that I decided it was high time I paid my family a visit for the first time in two years. I wanted it to be a surprise visit, so I didn't tell anyone I was coming." After Katy identified each of us as what we were, she settled down into her bed and started telling her story. I had no idea what she meant by 'CEO.' Does CEO mean caring environment officer? Whatever it was, it was giving Katy a hard time with her job, so she decided to take vacation to our town.
"As soon as I reached the edge of town, I noticed that there was a star shower going on. ("Dan, how does a star take a shower?" "It's an expression Sam." "Oh.") Next thing I knew, I saw a wave of falling stars covering the town. Naturally, I panicked and ran in the opposite direction, only to see that the entire middle of nowhere we live in was surrounded by a wall of flames." Everybody's eyes opened wide when she said that. "Does that mean that only this town's going to be involved in this… whatever it is?" I asked. Mike just nodded. "Yeah… but this asks more questions than it solves…"
"Ok Katy, continue the story." "Ok Dan. After I saw that I was trapped, I turned and ran into the town, hoping to find shelter in one of the houses. After skipping the first couple houses because they were locked, I ran into my family's right before I was struck. When I woke up, I found myself on the bottom of a lake, half trapped in my clothes, as this." She looked down at her front paws. "After I finished panicking, I found that I could breathe under water, so I calmed down, and pulled myself out of my clothes. The water felt surprisingly good against my fur so I started swimming around…" She got a dreamy look on her face before shaking her head.
"Anyway, after a while I pulled myself together, grabbed my clothes in my mouth, and swam to the surface. There, I found that it was the dead of night, and I was in the middle of some grassy plain. Seeing no need to press on that night, I spread out my clothes and slept on them. In the morning after collecting my stuff, I walked up to the water's surface to get a proper look at myself. I couldn't believe I was a Pokemon, let alone my favorite one." "Wait a minute… you like Pokemon?" "Yes Mike, I do. I'm not very good with the newer generations but-" "The story Katy." "Right, sorry."
"Anyway, after that I spent the next hour or so just getting used to walking on four legs. Once that was taken care of, I set out with my stuff to figure out where the heck I was, and I kept searching for more than three days, living off of berries I found on bushes I passed along the way. Then this morning, I stumbled upon this 'town'. At first I thought it was abandoned, but then I saw a chikorita and a…" "treecko." "Thanks John… and a treecko walking between the buildings. At first I figured that they lived here, but right as I was going to step forward and introduce myself, they headed over the hill and didn't come back. Seeing that the buildings were empty and apparently abandoned, I moved into one of the more empty looking ones."
"I spent the rest of the day there, debating on whether or not I should follow the two. Then, as the sun begun to set, I decided to take a quick swim in the lake that's just south of the town. When I came back, I saw a crowd of pokemon coming into the town and moving into the buildings. Terrified that I had invaded someone's home, I hid in the water until it was dark out, then I snuck my way through the town toward the house I set my stuff up in, carefully avoiding a … er… what are you again Jess?" "Torchic." "Thanks… I made my way to the house and found it empty."
"Relieved, I started packing up my stuff. After I finished, I started making my way back to the lake, but as I passed one house an uproar started inside, so I quickly hid behind one of the house's corners. Seeing that no one was coming out after me, I started on my way again, but then I noticed that there was something familiar about the voices I heard. My curiosity won out over my fear, so I knocked on the door, and then ducked behind the corner again to see if the Pokemon that came out was someone I knew. And as it turns out, it was. Oh! Uh… sorry about your head Dan." "Forget it. It's just nice to know that you weren't Samantha, Mitch or Greg."
"Where are those guys anyway? I didn't see anyone in any other house except a sleeping pichu- who's Tom, right?" Mike nodded. "Yeah, that was Tom. As for the three of them, they're on the other side of the thicket to the east, sleeping in a cave, thinking that they're on the top of the world." She just stared at him. "Wha? What in the world have you guys been up to?" Dan chuckled. "It's a longer story than yours, but I guess we owe it to you since you told us yours…"
In another place…
The research lab was in even more panic than ever. Apparently, some of scientists expected the guards to face whatever it was that was coming toward them, but as many guards were arguing: their contracts said nothing about stopping a wall of shooting stars. Other scientists were undisturbed by the coming destruction, only concerned with collecting as much data on the monstrosity to come as possible before it hit. Others, like many parents in the hall, just slumped down, defeated. One guard however, just kept on staring at the wall of stars. He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt compelled to remain calm. "What in the world is going on here?"
John
"… And then, with his sword drawn high, he-" "JOHN!!!" I cringed at all the people simultaneously yelling at me. "Sorry, sorry; couldn't resist…" I was adding on the Dan's run with the bullies. Up till then, I'd been good, honest! … Ok, so I slipped with Mil's clothing obsession. … And at Jess's waterfall run. … And at Jess's battle with Mitch and Greg. … And at Samantha's arrival to the cave. … And at what me and Meg talked about on our way to discovering the town, but I promised Meg I would joke about that one, so it doesn't count! Ok John, everyone's REALLY mad at you now. Just keep your mouth shut… resist temptation of a lame joke… " "...And who'd of thought that there was a town at the other end of the hill!" Oh... heck!!! Yeah, complete with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow next to it!" ………… Oops. I did it again… and with one of my more pathetic ones... "John… I think you might what to start running." I took one look at Jess and Meg's faces, and I started sweating bullets. (At least I hope that was sweat going down my back. I don't know, I'm a grass type!) "Thanks for the tip Dan, thanks for the tip…"
Mil
"Well, I honestly can't say I feel sorry for those three creeps. If they were shooting splinters at you when it was clear they would do more than scratches, they deserve to stay in the cave!" "Glad you agree with us." While Meg and Jess chased John around the town, Mike and the Mighties finished the story for Katy. I was so happy that my sister was with us! The last time I saw her was years ago! I missed her so much… sigh. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get around the feeling that something was wrong. Yes we were together, but we weren't human, I couldn't hug her right, and she can't comb my hair like she used to… … "Mil, are you ok?" "Huh?" Dan was standing in front of me. "Oh, yeah…" I looked away. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." "Yeah, but…" … "You're homesick, aren't you?" I looked back at him. "Yeah, I guess. I just really want to see Katy as she really is…" He put a paw on my head. "I know. I know how it feels to want to see someone's face you can only remember…" I didn't say anything. I know Dan was trying to make me feel better, but I also knew it was hard for him to talk about his parents…
Meg
"Seeing that we are all back, in place, and calmed down…" Mike looked at the equally fried Adam and John, huffing Jess and me (sheesh, John sure knows how to dodge!), and cuddling Mil and Katy. "… I'd like to continue the meeting." "Huff… huff… sure thing Mike… huff… huff… just get started already…" He nodded to me. "Sure Meg. Ok, moving on from where we left off, does anyone here have anything to add about the houses?" … "Nothing? No one has ANYTHING to say that's not a joke?" … "Guess so… sigh… ok, moving on… we move to the big questions: why Pokemon? Why us? And where the heck are we? Anybody have any leads to any of these before I put forward my new theories?"
I raised a front… er… leg. "I don't think any of us have any clue why Pokemon, even you Mike, so could we skip that one?" He looked surprised for a moment, then just grinned and nodded. "Ok Meg. Anyone else have ideas to put forward on the other two?" Dan raised a paw. "Well, this might not be tied to any question, but did anyone notice anything weird about the terrain?" Everyone, including Mike, shook their heads. "Well, it might not be to scale, but the terrain is similar to back home." … "No seriously! Think about it: there's a small forest outside our town, and there's a forest in the same direction to this town. There was a small oasis next to our town, and there's a lake in the same direction to this town!"
Everybody thought about Dan's words. He did have point. It wasn't to scale, but it really was the same. Even Mike seemed surprised. "Hm… interesting finds Dan. I'll to give that some thought later. Ok, any other thoughts?" Jess raised her wing as best she could. "Huff… no town square in … huff… this town." Another thing we never noticed. Next Sam raised a hand/foot (I can't make up my mind on whether he's 2 or 4 legged) "Well, there's exactly the same number of houses as there are back home…" … We couldn't hold it. We all just started laughing. "Huh? What's so funny?" I pulled myself together enough to answer. "Heh, heh… Sam, Mike already said that earlier." "Oh. Sorry!" The blush on his face was all too plain to see.
"It's ok Sam. I think some of us forgot about it anyway." "He, he… thanks Meg." I love how easy it is to cheer that kid up. Wish the same could be said for Adam, who had just gotten up for good this time by making sure to watch his tongue, and was clearly in a bad mood after the… eh… unknown amount of frying he had gone through the past few minutes. When Adam was in a bad mood, it took more than a lame joke to cheer up. Right that moment though, I have to admit I didn't really care.
"Ok… now that we're all calmed down again, let's get back on track here. Does anyone else have something to say?" … "Ok, guess not. Sigh…" Mike took a deep breath. "With that taken care of, I'm going to share my new theories." Looking around the room, it was clear that this was the moment everyone had been looking forward to. Everyone simultaneously starting shifting around a bit like they were getting comfy, but the looks on everyone's faces told a different reason to the movement: nervousness. Think about it! You would be too if someone was going to tell you what he thought about the world you stood on that might change your outlook on life!
"Ok, from what I noticed over the past few days, I'm afraid I have no idea why this… event targeted us. (Everyone sighed at the same time) But I do think I know what it has to do with us. (Cue the question marks over our heads) You see, after taking the time to think back to our home town, the more I think that something happened out here in the middle of nowhere we call home." Even Adam was surprised by that. The idea of our town being the location of something- wait a minute. "Hold on, what do you mean by 'something happened'?" Mike looked at me. "Well, let's go over the facts for a minute."
"1) We live in a wasteland that's completely surrounded by lush wildlife minus a small forest outside my house. If the area is so nature friendly, why is our town sitting on only dirt? 2) The town hall is the only building in our town that doesn't look like it was made from scrap metal, but it's 3 MILES OUT OF TOWN! Why? 3) We may not be a big town, but we can still afford better houses than the piles of junk we live in. Why doesn't the mayor want to build better houses? 4) There's a huge military base 3 miles out of town, but the most military action the place has ever seen is when Samantha paid them a visit. (Don't ask. It's so stupid a reason to go to a military base that the entire town agreed to never tell a soul why she went.) If it's such a big base, why doesn't the military pay more attention to it? 5) Whenever we ask our parents about why our town is such a dump when it could be put back together, they refuse to answer."
We all turned to Katy, who was glancing out the window, pretending not to notice the rest of us looking at her. ……… "OK, ok." She caved. "We are hiding something from you guys, but it's for a reason, and I can assure you, there is no way it's connected to this… whatever we're dealing with." … "Look, I've been sworn into not telling anyone without permission. You guys are going to have to wait until the adults show up, and then ask them." We all just sighed. "Ok Katy, we'll let it go for now, but we're still going to press you and the adults when they show up." Katy sighed when Dan told her that. Now I was really worried about all this. What in the world could have happened that every adult (and Katy) would agree to not tell any of us?
"Ok… so clearly we have no answer to why this is happening to us." Mike's answer led to a chorus of groans and sighs. "Sorry guys, unless I find out what happened, there is no way I can make an accurate guess here. Before you object Katy, even if it isn't connected to this, there might be something important involved with it." Adam chose that moment to speak up. "Look Mike, I know you hate jumping to conclusions, but you at least give us a guess? I think we all could use something to go on, even if it's probably incorrect." We all just stared at him. "What? What'd I say?" Sarah answered him. "That was the only smart thing you've said since you got here." … "You didn't have to put it that way, fairy girl." ZZAAPPP!!!
"Ok… seeing that Adam put forward a good point, I guess I'm just going to have to make a guess. Hm…" He crossed his arms for a minute. Obviously, he hadn't prepared for this. Can't say I blame him. Between his brother, the inventing, and everything he had to put together, it's a wonder there aren't dark circles under his eyes. (Then again, maybe there were under his fur. It's hard to tell sometimes.) "Ok, this is a long shot, but here goes: what ever happened back then, someone somewhere saw it and decided that this town would be the perfect place to try whatever it is that did this." … "I did say it was a long shot! Don't look at me like I'm lying!"
"Ok, now as for where we are… I have a theory that may or may not be accurate. That in mind, I'll give you guys the short version. I think this 'world' is some kind of extreme virtual reality." Everyone's eyebrows (even if they didn't have any) rose at that. "English translation: a virtual reality where scenes respond to things inside." Everyone was still a bit confused, but we got the picture. "
I have no idea how we got here, who sent us here, or why it's like this." He held up his front paws to his face as he said that. "But what I do know is that whoever did it doesn't want to destroy us." We all gave him funny looks. Half said 'oh really?' and the other half said 'I didn't think that was a possibility before you said that.' "Look, if whoever did this had the technology to do it, then they must certainty have the technology to destroy us. Unfortunately, I have no idea why they want us alive, or why they're doing it in the first place, but at the very least, we don't have to worry about being killed. Hm…"
Mike gave me a funny look. "What is it Mike? Why are you looking at me like that?" "Well, seeing that you were always the one that thought we were abducted by aliens, I thought you would give a huge sigh of relief right there or something-" "WHO SAID I HAVE TO REACT TO EVERYTHING I'M TOLD IN A DRAMATIC WAY?!?!?!" Mike clutched his ears as best he could. "Ugh… watch it Meg! When you yell at me directly it hurts my ears!" "Humph! If it wasn't for the fact that I know it's true I would say that was an excuse!" I was in a bad mood now. And seeing the look on Mike's face as he massaged his ears told me he was too. Sigh… I have got to teach myself not to overreact like that anymore. It might be just an ear ache now, but who know what I'll do next?
Dan
After Meg's outburst, the younger members of our group decided to go home and go to bed. Seeing that the house we were in was one of those, we all headed outside to wrap up the meeting. Looking at everyone's faces, it was clear that no one was in a good mood. John and Adam were still smarting from their frying, the twins, Jess, and mighties were tired from all the arguing and wanted to go to bed, Meg was still angry, Mike's ears were still ringing, Katy looked distracted, and I was sick to my stomach from the news that something must have happened to us. Why? Well-
"Ok, seeing that we all want to go to bed, I think we should just put in any last minute comments, and then hit the hay. Does anyone have anything to say?" … "No? Ok, good night everyone." With that, Mike turned around and headed back to his house. Everyone followed his lead and headed back to their houses. Looking at their faces as they went, it was clear that everyone was grumpy because of how late it was (around 2 in the morning) and would be in a better mood in the morning. Seeing that I was the only one still out, I made my way back to my house, the only one with only one bed.
Why was I so sick to my stomach? I knew something had happened to our town long before this meeting. I knew something about it no one else did, but I didn't want to share with the others yet. Now, I didn't have a clue to WHAT had happened back then, but I knew exactly WHEN. 12 years ago, March 17: The day something happened in this town; the day the current town mayor was elected; the day I became an orphan…
Meanwhile…
Greg was upset. It's easy to see when he was upset, even more so now that he was a pokemon. His eyes always got a haunted look in them, and his new big red ones stuck out in the dark cave. They had their beds with them, but he was too big to use his, so he was at the mercy of the chilly air in the cave. The only reason he was able to stand it was the knowledge that they had overpowered the rest of the neighborhood. Looking at the pile of splinters they'd put together, it was clear that they, not the rest, were the ones with the power, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong, and it wasn't just that the losers had managed to steal all 'their' stuff from them.
"Mitch, ya up?" "Yeah, I can't sleep. Even while I'm coiled up I can't seem to keep out the cold with my-" "Never mind that. I got a fellin' we're missin' somethin'. Somethin' important." "Like what? We have their food and water supplies, we have the cave, and although they managed to swipe our stuff while our back was turned we proved that we're stronger than them. What could we miss?" "Hm… I don't know, but I ain't likin' it. What if they had another cave, one bigger an' better than this one? They knew we were stronger, so why'd they go and show us the cave if they knew we could take it from 'em?"
"Hm… you have a point there Greg. Tell you what, tomorrow we'll take some splinters and go weakling hunting. If they're in another cave, we'll find it and take it, and this time we'll keep all the stuff. If they don't, then we'll find where they are hiding, attack, and take all our stuff back." Greg's permanent smile grew even bigger. "Yeah, I can't remember the last huntin' we did. This'll be real fun." "And don't forget, you two stooges…" Samantha had been listening in on their conversation. "I get all the good loot, and I get to pluck the chicken…"