Louisa waved at me as we walked into English class. I waved back, apprehensively, though. Something seemed… off about her. I couldn't put my finger on what, though. She looked normal, acted normal...
Chrissi was there as well. She glowered at me, but didn't come over to bother me. Louisa sat beside her; they gazed at each other, fondly. Maybe there really was something between them.
I sat at my own desk, crutches beside me. I shook my head. I had to plan the upcoming islands. Astro Knights and Mythology especially scared me. I had to be prepared for them. Of course, the island I had that night was Nabooti, which was relatively stress-free compared to some other islands.
Luckily, we had a sub that period, so I had some time to prepare. Still, I couldn't help but feel anxious…
I got an odd surprise as I arrived on Home Island. That surprise being that Fierce Fox emerged from a sizable clubhouse, floating in the middle of the island. It was made out of wood, with little pinwheels attached to the sides. A long ladder stretched down from its entrance, reaching the ground. I gawked at it, eyes wide.
Fierce Fox clambered down from the clubhouse; it disappeared behind her, magically.
I raised my brow at her. "Uh…"
"I need somewhere to go when I'm not running around in different islands," she told me.
"Wow, I didn't know…" I gasped, hand on heart. "Can you show me your house sometime?"
"... maybe," Fierce Fox grunted.
I grinned. "Can't wait to see it."
"Anyway, what island are we going to today?" Fierce Fox asked.
"Nabooti," I replied.
And thus, Fierce Fox and I arrived on Nabooti Island - which was based on the book of the same name, from the book series Choose Your Own Adventure. We landed on a little treetop building with a straw roof. Fierce Fox followed me as I approached the pale brown, planked door. An African inspired mask was on the door.
I opened the door, entering the museum.
The room was made out of the light brown wood planks, held together by a bamboo frame. Everywhere I looked there were African artifacts. I continued walking, dropping down to the below level, which was a shade darker than the above. Fierce Fox continued to follow me, as I rushed right.
Ahead of me, drenched in the sun, was a chocolate-brown, tall statue. It had a colourful mask as a head, and 6 hexagons were displayed on the front, like a column. The bottom two had an orange and yellow jewel inside, shimmering in the pale light. A lady was standing in front of it. I approached her, gazing back and forth from the Statue of Nabooti.
"Why are most of the jewels missing?" I asked.
"They've been lost to the ages," she replied. "We've only managed to recover two of them." Her eyes widened slowly. "We are looking for an adventurer to recover the remaining jewels. Would you two be interested?"
"Yes!" I answered, shooting a glance at Fierce Fox. "We're in!"
"Wonderful!" she clapped. "Take this map to the pilot outside to begin your quest. Good luck!"
A map flew into my inventory, beside my island plan. I nodded, then turned to Fierce Fox. We left the Museum.
"So..." my partner began, giving me a slightly perplexed glance. I chuckled.
"I better explain," I sighed. "So basically, we're travelling around Africa - based off the countries in my world - to find the jewels of Nabooti."
"Why?" Fierce Fox asked. "What are these Nabooti thingies anyway?"
"To help the people who live here," I responded. "The jewels are part of the statue. They're important, trust me."
By now, we had made our way out of the museum, past the trading posts and to a little old yellow plane, sort of like Amelia's. A pilot was standing in front of it, ready to fly us around.
"Okay, let's get on the plane." I said.
We both climbed aboard, and a traditional adventurer's map appeared in front of Fierce Fox's face. She raised her brow at me. I took the map into my own hands, noticing a little yellow plane zooming across the old-style Africa map. I controlled the plane, taking it to a little dot called 'Blue Nile Falls'.
We popped up onto a beautiful mountain setting. Around us was nature, and thick, grey platforms made out stone bursted from the ground, covered in grass. A waterfall, shimmering in the sunlight was by the rock's side, trickling down into a river.
"It's just a short few jumps," I told Fierce Fox. "Jump up there and grab a blue flower. Then leap across and meet me over there."
I pointed to a platform on the other side, which was connected by a flying fox-like rope. We split up, me jumping across the wondrous waterfall. The rocks were smooth, though not slippery.
After leaping across, I arrived on another platform. Above me were a few rocks sticking out. I climbed up each one, feeling much more confident than I was 9 nights ago. I couldn't believe I was too scared to jump up one rock on Monkey Wrench Island. I almost smiled at the thought.
On the top, a lady was standing in front of a yellow basket connected to the rope, a fox, a chicken, and a bag of feed surrounding her.
"Can you help me figure out how to get everything across?" she asked.
A screen popped in front of my face, giving me a horizontal view of the rope across to the other platform. I picked up the chicken and placed it in the basket. I dragged it (and the lady) across to the other side. I continued with a pattern like this, figuring it out.
Eventually, I completed the puzzle, and the lady grinned at me. "You did it! Thank you! As a reward, I'm going to tell you a secret. There's a hidden cave behind the large bush on the right side of the waterfall."
I nodded, then turned around, spotting Fierce Fox.
"Now to find a jewel," I said. I explained to her what to do, and to find the purple jewel of Nabooti inside the cave.
The next location was the Mountains of The Moon. It was most certainly a mountain, with grass covering more stone platforms. Not many moons, though.
"Stay here," I told Fierce Fox. "I've got this covered." She nodded, sticking near the plane.
Ahead of me was a small river, with an agitated goat. I raced over the goat, over some trees, onto a wavy, long, rock platform. A lady with a blue turban was standing on it, right next to a prickly cactus.
"I'm collecting cactus figs, but there's one on that cliff I can't get to!" she exclaimed. I headed over to the aforementioned rocky cliff, which had a cactus poking on the top.
A pink, strawberry-like fruit was on top, waiting to be picked. I climbed up onto a rock, and leaped towards the fruit. I grabbed it and fell back down. I continued onwards, hopping across a trickling waterfall.
I leaped up a few more platforms, avoiding the goat. Then I came to a rocky slope covered in ice, giving me horrid nostalgia of climbing up Mt. Everest in Time Tangled Island. Don't forget to mention that boulders were also falling down the slope.
After an adventure with hopping and dodging, I made it to the top platform. An old man was standing in front of a dark cave, blocking the entrance.
"Life is lonely up here," he sighed. "Beat me at a game of mancala and I'll let you enter the cave!" He got out a wooden board game.
When I had played the game with Fierce Fox back in my world, I had never been very good at it. It had taken me a few good tries to complete it, sadly.
I was not in the mood for that again. I suppose it was better than some of the other things I'd inevitably have to face. I watched his pale orange stone hop across the screen with intense eyes.
Finally, after a nail-biting game… well, games, I won and he let me enter.
The inside of the cave was full of damp snow, rocky platforms, and pale sunlight. With my feet sliding along the platforms, I jumped across a chasm, avoiding an icicle. Ahead of me were a few narrow platforms.
Carefully, I leaped across each one, feeling shivers down my spine. I lunged for the final one, suddenly slipping off. I let out a faint scream, gripping onto the side with my fingers. The ice was was cracking, and I could feel myself falling. It was over...
Or is it?
I furiously shoved my legs into the mountain and hoisted myself up, rolling onto the snow platform.
I banged right into the red nabooti gem, chest lowering... then, I rolled to my side, near the edge. Now I really did have to fall down… which was just as intimidating as hauling myself up.
I let myself fall off, landing in a heap of snow. I rushed underneath the great bottoms of the platforms, until I found a cell phone, near a skeleton. I breathed out, grabbing it.
The plane landed into the Kaya Forests. It was more of a flat area, the sky pitch black with faint clouds. Ahead of us were many tents made out of grass and hay, with more African symbols.
I leaped across the roofs of the tents, until I found a palm tree. Something gold was sticking out of it. I lunged up and snatched it; it was a gold nugget. Interesting. Not everyday you find a gold nugget in a tree.
I returned to Fierce Fox.
"Remember that Egyptian lily - the blue flower you found?" I asked her. She nodded. I chucked her the gold nugget, watching it vanish into her inventory. "Okay, now it's time for you to do some trading."
After Fierce Fox finished trading the gold nugget for a camera and the flower for a turban, she came to pick me up and we flew to Giza.
Giza was set at night, a place of misty pyramids, stars and pale rocks. That was when I realized that there was only one turban. Oh no. Only one of us could do this part. I gulped, feeling sweat prick my neck.
I faced Fierce Fox, a lump in my throat.
Enough cowering around.
"Hand me the turban," I said.
She raised a brow, but handed me the turban anyway. I placed the turban over my eyes, covering my face in cloth.
I ran up to one of the guards in a turban, who was wielding a shovel.
"Oh good!" he said. "An extra hand! You'll need a shovel." He handed me a shovel. I gave him a nod, returning to my partner sticking around the plane.
"Take this." I ordered, giving her the shovel. I told her what to do, which involved more trading. She didn't seem too happy about that. Her glare made me shiver.
"What about you?" she asked.
"Just some, um, uninteresting stuff," I stuttered.
She stared at me, brow raised. "... okay."
She left in the plane, leaving me in the cool blue desert. Feeling oddly lonely, I headed over to a shadowy tent at the end of the area. I whipped out my cell phone and dialed a number that was on the shovel, through memory alone. A phone buzzed inside a tent.
A guy outside heard it and grumbled, "Where did I put my phone?"
He walked out of sight, searching for the phone. I noticed the guards holding shovels make an exit before he could return. Meanwhile, I placed my hand inside his saddlebag, pulling out a cream-coloured sphere, or should I say, the moonstone.
I climbed up to the top of the pyramid, or the Sphinx, where a little ring was shining in the light. I placed the moon stone inside the ring, which shot down a beam and opened the pyramid.
I jumped off the side, landing on my feet. With a mix of apprehension and determination, I entered the Sphinx.
Inside was a sandstone filled area, carved with Ancient Egyptian-esque symbols. Above my head the roof had been carved, forming lines. I ran underneath them, bumping into a stone board on the wall with more Egyptian symbols, which I needed to remember for future events.
I looked over my shoulder. No one there. Yet, I swore I heard breathing, or footsteps…
I slapped my forehead. You're hearing things, stupid…
I continued, until I reached the end of my path, going into a new location. A stone was by my head, with a few sticks which I needed to rotate in the correct fashion. I did so, setting them all in a perfect column.
I leapt onto the next platform, which led to a bridge made out of an aqua metal and with golden imprints. The wall by my side was covered in more Egyptian symbols. It was just a little jump after that, and I was into the next section.
I hopped up a few blocks. I came to a little flat area, where some blocks with streaks were on a platform, hovering above the ground. I shoved all of the blocks down, separating them. Following the encrypted pattern on the wall, I pushed the blocks into the correct positions.
A creak boomed through the room, and a door lifted open. I entered through it, going to yet another area.
Poles were at the opposite ends of each other, however they appeared exactly the same, full of Egyptian symbols and a Poptropican version of Cleopatra. Red, stone platforms were above my head, with inscriptions of insects and other animals.
I leapt up every platform, arriving at the very top, where a rope dangled down. As soon as I leapt off the last platform, it collapsed below my feet. I gripped tighter on the rope, hauling myself up.
I'm getting better at this…
The next room was still made out of sandstone, and had icons and things similar to the previous room. Next to the poles was a grand statue of the Poptropican Cleopatra, holding out her flat palms.
I leapt onto one of them, then I soared right across. I landed on the other side, in front of an encrypted story, which seemed to be gods surrounding animal head jars.
To my right was another Cleopatra statue, with more poles and treasure. In the middle, above the story was a golden coffin. Each jar on Cleopatra's sides had an animal head: The Egyptian gods.
The first jar was the jackal. It was on a ledge, connected to one of the poles. On the pole was a lever. I pulled the lever, and the jar dropped down. It landed in Cleopatra's flat palm.
Suddenly, out of their o-shaped mouths, the Cleopatras started to spit out sand. It poured like a waterfall, flooding the room.
I tensed up. For some reason, it felt like eyes were peering at me from somewhere. My body began to shake. Then, a shadow appeared above my head-
"So, boring stuff, huh?"
I jumped. Fierce Fox was standing behind me, arms crossed.
I stammered. "What are you-"
"You were acting pretty… sus," Fierce Fox told me. "Why are you hiding things from me?"
I bit my lip. "I… we need to get out of here…"
Sweat started to drool down my neck and my back. Ignoring it, I hopped up to the ibis and pulled the lever beneath it. I could feel the sand shaking the floor.
Shivering, I went underneath the monkey (or baboon). Now the sand was rising faster than before! I shoved the lever down, then rushed to the final jar, which was a human that had a frog-like appearance.
The sand, by my surprise (and horror) had reached my waist and I was swimming in it. It was raising faster and faster, burning my skin. It pulled me in. My lungs collapsed.
"Help!" I begged.
"What did you do?!" Fierce Fox asked. Making a face, she grabbed the lever. The sand stopped completely, thanks to the jars. I gazed upwards, staring at the coffin. The door was open. A mummy was inside. And that mummy had the blue nabooti jewel.
Fierce Fox pulled me out of the sand. We jumped up to the coffin and gently grabbed the blue jewel out of the mummy's clasped fingers. I breathed out in relief. So of course something had to go horribly wrong.
"Why'd you lie to me?" Fierce Fox asked.
I sweat-beaded. "Uh, well…"
The whole room began to shake, as if there was an earthquake. I could feel the blocks breaking beneath my feet.
"T-This isn't supposed to happen!" I gasped.
"It's not?" Fierce Fox asked.
The roof began to crack. I knew sticking around wasn't going to do any good.
With our lives on the line, Fierce Fox and I sprinted out of the room, avoiding the falling rocks. The world around me was a blur, as I followed nothing but my instincts to help me escape. I heard things being smashed, and sand pouring like rain. I wanted to scream, cry and survive all at once. But above all I wanted to live.
Trying to blink out the sand in my huge eyes, I shoved through more falling rocks, feeling myself fall down a few levels. The rocks were bashing on my arms, though they didn't hurt at all. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the glorious exit. It almost appeared golden.
"Come on!" Fierce Fox shouted.
We charged towards the exit, like it was the gateway to heaven. Fierce Fox was ahead of course, while I slipped. I plummeted backwards, nearing the sandy abyss…
No… not this time.
I lunged myself forward, reaching the exit. Fierce Fox helped me up. Without another word, I threw my arms around her body. She tensed up. I stammered back.
"Sorry, I…" I shook my head, clinging onto her. "I shouldn't lie to you anymore, I just… wanted to handle this alone. I wanted to feel strong."
Fierce Fox sighed; luckily, she didn't punch me. "Be more honest next time, okay?"
I nodded. "I will."
What happened back there?! I tensed up. Oh, god… why do I feel like I'm in for it now...
Next on our list was Safari. Safari was a desert area, with the ground dried up like a prune. The sky was a pale blue, with puffy clouds bouncing against each other. Rushing past the straw tents, I skidded in front of a jeep, with faded animal prints and the words, 'Big Zeke's wild safari'.
I turned to Fierce Fox.
"Wanna do some photography?" I asked, with a small grin.
"I've done it all here already," she shrugged. "Why not?"
"Few. I'm tired out anyway." I giggled back in reply.
I explained to Fierce Fox what to do, while trying to ignore my foggy mind. I had actually wanted to participate in safari, but my nerves were so hyped up that all I wanted to do was sleep.
Maybe I can ask Mom for a day off, I thought, as Fierce Fox talked with Big Zeke. I have lots of islands to plan anyway. And I need to figure out what happened in Giza...
Before I knew it, Fierce Fox had completed the safari and earned the hard hat, for the miner's cave. The plane flew to a little place called the Diamond Mines, which was indeed a gigantic brown mine. I decided to be more helpful this time 'round, by explaining to Fierce Fox what we needed to do and what was going to happen.
I knew that the guards would tell me off since I wasn't wearing a hard hat, so Fierce Fox covered me as we ran past the piles of brown coal. Moving conveyor belts were above us, pulling large rocks. I ran right to a machine, with a little dial.
"I'm going to turn this," I said to Fierce Fox. "Then I want you to run where I told you to! Do what I told you to do!" I gazed at her expression. "Hey, just so you know… I wouldn't be able to do this without you. Thank you."
Fierce Fox tch-ed. "Yeah, I know." A small smile was on her face.
I pulled the little dial, and a timer ticked. Fierce Fox bolted away like the wind. The mine workers noticed me and growled about my lack of a helmet. I sighed, trotting away before they could beat me up.
I sat on the plane's wing, near the driver. My head was spinning.
What happened in Giza? I thought. Was it a glitch? Am I changing the game by being here? No… someone knows I'm not from here.
For some reason, my thoughts trailed to Louisa and Chrissi. They had been acting odd lately. But surely that didn't mean anything, right?
After Fierce Fox returned, we returned to Nabooti to return the jewels. We headed inside the museum, the two of us together again.
We rushed down to the second level, where we found the statue of Nabooti. The lady told us to order the gems in the correct position.
"I've got this." I said, stepping forward. Using the clues and my memory, I ordered the gems correctly, in a beautiful pattern. Suddenly, the statue's bright green eyes opened, and gears began to turn around the gems.
"Thank you, my friend," it boomed. "Now that my power crystals are restored, I can finally return home."
Green sparks fizzed at the bottom, then like a rocket, the statue took off into the sky and out to space.
"Amazing! I would have never guessed that the jewels were of alien origin!" the lady exclaimed, with great joy. "Thank you for your help!"
The Nabooti medallion appeared around Fierce Fox's neck, and my screen faded to white. I gave a small wave to my partner, though the fear continued to brew in my belly.
I have a mystery to solve.