The seven children had rushed out of school as soon as the bell rang.
"Freedom! Freedom!" chanted Kaze. "Free at last!" roared Mint. Senda,
however, had to be dragged out of the band room. "C'mon!" yelled Mizu.
"Yeah!" Luna chimed in. With the assistance of Deegee, Senda was carried
away with the others. Aero waved one last time to the teachers as they
made their exit.
"Now what are we gonna do?" asked Mizu. "How 'bout we head to Pearlridge?" suggested Luna. "Yeah!" Mint smiled at the thought. Deegee sighed. "She just wants to buy more Larry Spotter junk," she groaned. "So!?" replied Mint defensely. "I just want candy," Mizu pouted, practically salivating as she spoke.
"I bet Luna has some in that huge a bag of her's," Aero teased, giving her bag a light prod with her tail. "Yeah, I do!" exclaimed Luna. "Want me to take some out?" The girl then began shuffling with the inside contents of her bag. "NO!!" exclaimed everyone all at once, except for Mizu, who was still busy salivating.
"Ohh... But I want candy," she pouted. "Sorry, Mizu, guess you'll have to wait," Luna said, looking at Aero's glare to Senda's face of relief.
Within another 10 minutes, the 7 had reached the bus stop, while Deegee and Mint were having a heated argument of the "coolness" and "lameness" of Larry Spotter. "The bus is here!" announced Kaze, purposely interrupting their fiery battle.
"Uhh.. why is the bus number on it 'X'? Aero said, playing a slight frown across her lips. Kaze shrugged, but they all figured it was the right one, since it was the only bus that came by the area.
"Maybe the display board got messed up," suggested Senda. "Maybe.." Luna trailed off, equally distraught as the rest.
As the two began their discussion, they looked up to find the other 5 arguing over who would board the bus first.
"Me! Me! Me!" shouted Aero, reiterating herself. "I wanna go first," whined Deegee. "I shooould!" sang Mint. Kaze and Mizu were shoving each other back and forth.
"AHEM," coughed Senda. "You guys act like 6 year olds!" "Yeah!" nodded Luna in agreement. "At least Senda and me act like we're 10!" Senda bobbed her head up in down. "10 is THE age to act... err, even if most of us are 13."
"Well, I act like I'm 5!" stated Aero, grinning broadly. "10 is better," disagreed Luna, crossing her arms. Senda nodded once more. "And you're older than all of us.. how sad."
"Uhm, aren't we going to board the bus already?" frowned Mizu. "No, no," said Senda. "Don't'chu know? We have to take HOURS... DAYS... WEEKS... MONTHS... and YEARS to do everything."
Aero, stupidly angsting in the background about her age, tripped over a rock on the ground, pushing the other 6 into the bus.
"Owww!!" groaned Kaze, rubbing his head. Deegee and Mizu gave Aero an accusing look as she grinned sheepishly. Luna was about to apologize to the bus driver until they looked up, only to find an empty seat. There was no bus driver, or even other passengers to be found.
They all looked , exchanging glances. "Uhh.." said Luna. Mizu looked confused. "If there's no bus driver, then how'd the bus get here?!" Nobody seemed to know the answer.
"I know!" exclaimed Mint, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "It was a poltergist!" said Mint. "Um... Mint, what's a poltergiest?" asked Luna cluelessly. "It's this thing that turns invisible and likes to make trouble to everyone," answered Kaze. "Yeah, like from the lame story of Larry Spotter." added Deegee. "Oh wells... What do we do now?" asked Senda. "How about someone drives the bus to Pearlridge?" suggested Mizu. "Who'll drive it, then?" asked Luna. "ME!!!" everyone yelled, each wanting to lead everyone into their deaths.
After a while, everything calmed down. Kaze and Deegee were fighting over the wheel. Luna, Senda, and Mint were holding onto the poles and bars as if their lives depended on it. Mizu was happily playing on the bars like a monkey, and Aero was running up dnw down the aisle way until she tripped over her tail (again), and tumbled into the back of the vehicle. Cars swerved here and there because of Kaze and Deegee's horrble driving. They caused major traffic jams all over the place.
"Uhh.. you guys, where the heck are we going, said a distraught Senda. "Exploring!!!: screamed Kaze abd Deegee excitedly. "Up.. A mountain????" asked Luna.
"But.. didn't we have a trip up a mountain a couple of months ago?" asked a perplexed Mizu. "Exactly" declared Deegee. "It's a different one!" cried Kaze. "Sooo...? They're all the same... A mountain is a mountain." proclaimed Aero.
Through the rickety ride, the bus trampled over various rocks. The surface of the mountain was not smooth, no matter what Mizu claimed.
Suddenly, they all heard odd, popping noises.. "Ummm... guys, where the heck do the noise come from??? asled a bewildered Semda. "Y-yeah" stuttered Mint. "I--I th-think it c-came from th-the tires." said Luna. "How would you know that?" asked a curious Mizu. "She knows because we're sinking," said an irritated Aero. "Really? We didn't notice." Kaze, Mizu, and Deegee said together. Everyone sighed. "Welll then. We should start walking." said Senda. "Why" asked Mizu. "Because all the tires are popped and the bus won't be able to go if all the tires are popped!" exclaimed Aero. "Why?" Mizu asked. "Just because!!" exclaimed an irritated Luna. "Now let's go!!!"
Each leaving the bus through the emergency escape exit, even though the doors were wide open, the seven left to find help.
"Hey guys! Maybe we should look for some food?" asked Senda. "Okie!" said Mizu. "Besides, we didn't get anything to eat yet..." said Luna..
"Okay, it's way past lunch anyway." said Mint. "Yeah," agreed the others. "Hey, look! Mushrooms! Can I eat them??" asked Aero. "Go ahead, they're probably poisonous anyway.." said Senda. "Yeah, and when you die, we can throw you off the mountain" added Deegee. "Then some animal will find you and eat you" giggled Kaze, maniacally. "And when someone asks us what happened, we'll say that you died and got eaten and we'll just talk about it casually," said Mint.
"Fine then!" muttered Aero, frowning.
"Say, where ARE we going, anyway?" asked Deegee. "Well, we're lost, and have no idea where we're going.." answered Senda. "Plus, there's no civilization nearby.. we are still in Oahu, right!?"
"We would have to swim to reach any other place," replied Mint. "I STILL want candy" whined Mizu, ending the conversation. "What I would do right now for some pizza.." said Kaze, drooling. They all began to discuss their favorite restaurants, which in turn, obviously, made everyone hungrier and more miserable.
"We're talking about food while we're starving," said Senda, shaking her head. "How smart.." "Real smart!" laughed Mizu, not catching the sarcasm. "We should get lost, starve, and talk about food more often then," she concluded, as if getting lost and being hungry enough to eat wild animals whole were an everyday thing.
"My god," cried out Luna in frustration. "How long were we lost?!!" "My watch died an hour ago, at least," said Senda. "Hey, mine did too!" exclaimed Deegee, looking frantically at everyone else. "Isn't that -- I dunno, kinda weird?"
"Well, I broke mine a month ago, operating on it!" cheered Mizu. "Oh yeah? Well I lost and broke at least 10 watches in my life time," said Aero, getting competitive.
"It's getting darker.." noted Mint, looking at the sun's dimishing figure. Their surroundings began getting engulfed in shadows. The trees of the elevated mountain were soon, too, getting covered in the pitch black.
"We should find shelter for the night, since nobody has cell phones or anything. Traveling in the dark isn't a good idea either.." Senda said, being the most logical of the group. (Unless she got in a band room. Then she would lose sanity, but let's not think about that, =) )
"What if a bear comes out and eats us?" Deegee said, looking cautiously behind them. She then went in the middle of the group, making sure the other six would get eaten before her, providing ample time for her escape. "Uhh.. You go first, Mizu" she smiled sweetly, falling into the direct center of their group.
"Wow, you're such a great friend," said Senda, giving Deegee a look that made her smile all the more broadly.
Soon, only a faint glow in the distance was their only light source. Surrounding trees all looked the same, and the only thing that marked any progression was the continous raising ground they trodded on. A wind blew, making the trees rustle. The trees began to appear like disfigured.. well, you get the picture. An owl hooted in the distance.
"AHHH!" screamed Kaze, pointing at one of the shaded figures approaching them rapidly ahead.. "Mrs. Waterhouse!!" "What?! Where?!" said Mint, looking around, alarmed. "O-o-over there!" said their male companion, pointing at the dark silhoutte.
They found that they weren't approaching the figure at all, but, in fact, that it was approaching them.
"Ohmiggod, ohmigod!" Deegee cried, in a state of panic. "You!" she said, pointing at Luna. "Kill her! Kill her now!!" she looked panickstricken.
"M=Me?" stammered Luna, flustered. "Why me?!"
The figure, they noticed, as it got closer, was actually TWO figures. "AHHHH!!!" shouted Mint. "Two Mrs.Waterhouses!!!" "Oh god.. oh god.." said Senda, under her breath. "Or what if it's Mrs. Matsumoto?" screeched Kaze. "She's big enough to be two people!!" "Oh no!" said Luna, shivering. "What if she got lost on the mountain and came to eat us?!" "With Luna's remark, the figures spoke. Kaze gave a high pitched scream, sounding much like a girl.
"Why are you screaming?" blinked one figure, who turned out to be Mizu. "Maybe he's just that happy to see us?" replied Aero, revealing the other shadowy substance.
"Oh, nothing.." said Luna, laughing nervously, dismissing the whole ordeal. "Uh, okay" said the tailed girl, scratching her head. "Well, we searched ahead, and there's no cliff ahead of us," said Mizu cheerfully. "For now," added Aero. "Dum dum dum!"
"Hahaha.. a cliff doesn't scare me.." said Deegee. "Now, Mrs. Waterhouse on the other hand.." she muttered under her breath to Mint and Kaze.
They all continued walking in the continous and never seemingly endless dark. Mizu, Luna, and Aero, at the front, halted to a stop, coming across a clearing.
The clearing, on nice, solid ground, had a large rock, and several mdeium sized stones encircling it. Long blades of lush gren grass sprouted along the lone stones, and a stream ran nearby. Stars and a full moon came into view, illuminating the area. The forest had come to an end at last.
"Wanna rest here?" asked Luna, but everyone had already rushed to a rock, each claiming one as their own. "Hey!!" she said, joining the others.
"I'm the Ki-- the Queen of the rock!" said Mizu, standing proudly on the largest stone. "No, I am!" said Aero, as she pushed Mizu off and climbed on herself. "Not! Me!" said Deegee. This continued with the others, also "competing" to be royalty. Ten minutes later, they all laid on the ground, exhausted from the yelling screaming, AND pushing they had done in the previous minutes.
"Yah know, we should fill ourselves with water since we can't find any food," said Luna. "Then we can find shelter.. a cave or something, to sleep in.." said Mint. "Yeah, it looks like it'll rain," said Mizu. "Then let's drink away!" said Senda, rushing to the stream.
After drinking to their hearts content, and feeling like using the bathroom, they were ready to search for shelter. "I hope we find SOMETHING before it rains.." said Mint.
"Alright, let's go," said Deegee, as she and the others, except Luna, left the stream of a cave. "H-hey, wait for me!" said Luna, as she ran to catch up. "Why am I always left behind or last when we do something?" she asked. "That's because you're slooooow" said Kaze, as he extended the last word. "Yeah, like eating and using the bathroom," Aero contributed. "Not, I CAN eat fast. I just don't like to" disagreed Luna. "Why is that?" asked Senda curiously. "It's because I like to enjoy the yumminess of the food!" exclaimed Luna. "Yeah, yeah, left's just hurry and find some cave already." replied Aero.
The clearing seemed to come to an end abruptly. Vines and other plants covered a nearby wall.
"Hey, You guys look! A cave!" exclaimed Mint, squinting her eyes past the vines. "Yay! Now let's go get some sleep.. I'm pooped." said Mizu. Soon, everyone settled down in their own little areas on the cave floor. "Good night Aero." said Luna. "'ood night Luna" "Good night Mizu" "G'night Luna" "Good night Senda" "'Night, Luna" "'Night Deegee, Mint, and Kaze." "Goo night Luna. "Good night Senda. "Good night Mizu. "G'night Aero. "G'night Mizu" "Good Ni--" "Oh, just shut up and go to sleep already!!" exclaimed an irritated Aero, with her eyes shut. "Fine, fine," said Mizu. "Good night everyone. said Senda. "Night, night.."
Soon, they were all pearcefully sleeping, never knowing of the hardships that would occur the next day.
"Now what are we gonna do?" asked Mizu. "How 'bout we head to Pearlridge?" suggested Luna. "Yeah!" Mint smiled at the thought. Deegee sighed. "She just wants to buy more Larry Spotter junk," she groaned. "So!?" replied Mint defensely. "I just want candy," Mizu pouted, practically salivating as she spoke.
"I bet Luna has some in that huge a bag of her's," Aero teased, giving her bag a light prod with her tail. "Yeah, I do!" exclaimed Luna. "Want me to take some out?" The girl then began shuffling with the inside contents of her bag. "NO!!" exclaimed everyone all at once, except for Mizu, who was still busy salivating.
"Ohh... But I want candy," she pouted. "Sorry, Mizu, guess you'll have to wait," Luna said, looking at Aero's glare to Senda's face of relief.
Within another 10 minutes, the 7 had reached the bus stop, while Deegee and Mint were having a heated argument of the "coolness" and "lameness" of Larry Spotter. "The bus is here!" announced Kaze, purposely interrupting their fiery battle.
"Uhh.. why is the bus number on it 'X'? Aero said, playing a slight frown across her lips. Kaze shrugged, but they all figured it was the right one, since it was the only bus that came by the area.
"Maybe the display board got messed up," suggested Senda. "Maybe.." Luna trailed off, equally distraught as the rest.
As the two began their discussion, they looked up to find the other 5 arguing over who would board the bus first.
"Me! Me! Me!" shouted Aero, reiterating herself. "I wanna go first," whined Deegee. "I shooould!" sang Mint. Kaze and Mizu were shoving each other back and forth.
"AHEM," coughed Senda. "You guys act like 6 year olds!" "Yeah!" nodded Luna in agreement. "At least Senda and me act like we're 10!" Senda bobbed her head up in down. "10 is THE age to act... err, even if most of us are 13."
"Well, I act like I'm 5!" stated Aero, grinning broadly. "10 is better," disagreed Luna, crossing her arms. Senda nodded once more. "And you're older than all of us.. how sad."
"Uhm, aren't we going to board the bus already?" frowned Mizu. "No, no," said Senda. "Don't'chu know? We have to take HOURS... DAYS... WEEKS... MONTHS... and YEARS to do everything."
Aero, stupidly angsting in the background about her age, tripped over a rock on the ground, pushing the other 6 into the bus.
"Owww!!" groaned Kaze, rubbing his head. Deegee and Mizu gave Aero an accusing look as she grinned sheepishly. Luna was about to apologize to the bus driver until they looked up, only to find an empty seat. There was no bus driver, or even other passengers to be found.
They all looked , exchanging glances. "Uhh.." said Luna. Mizu looked confused. "If there's no bus driver, then how'd the bus get here?!" Nobody seemed to know the answer.
"I know!" exclaimed Mint, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "It was a poltergist!" said Mint. "Um... Mint, what's a poltergiest?" asked Luna cluelessly. "It's this thing that turns invisible and likes to make trouble to everyone," answered Kaze. "Yeah, like from the lame story of Larry Spotter." added Deegee. "Oh wells... What do we do now?" asked Senda. "How about someone drives the bus to Pearlridge?" suggested Mizu. "Who'll drive it, then?" asked Luna. "ME!!!" everyone yelled, each wanting to lead everyone into their deaths.
After a while, everything calmed down. Kaze and Deegee were fighting over the wheel. Luna, Senda, and Mint were holding onto the poles and bars as if their lives depended on it. Mizu was happily playing on the bars like a monkey, and Aero was running up dnw down the aisle way until she tripped over her tail (again), and tumbled into the back of the vehicle. Cars swerved here and there because of Kaze and Deegee's horrble driving. They caused major traffic jams all over the place.
"Uhh.. you guys, where the heck are we going, said a distraught Senda. "Exploring!!!: screamed Kaze abd Deegee excitedly. "Up.. A mountain????" asked Luna.
"But.. didn't we have a trip up a mountain a couple of months ago?" asked a perplexed Mizu. "Exactly" declared Deegee. "It's a different one!" cried Kaze. "Sooo...? They're all the same... A mountain is a mountain." proclaimed Aero.
Through the rickety ride, the bus trampled over various rocks. The surface of the mountain was not smooth, no matter what Mizu claimed.
Suddenly, they all heard odd, popping noises.. "Ummm... guys, where the heck do the noise come from??? asled a bewildered Semda. "Y-yeah" stuttered Mint. "I--I th-think it c-came from th-the tires." said Luna. "How would you know that?" asked a curious Mizu. "She knows because we're sinking," said an irritated Aero. "Really? We didn't notice." Kaze, Mizu, and Deegee said together. Everyone sighed. "Welll then. We should start walking." said Senda. "Why" asked Mizu. "Because all the tires are popped and the bus won't be able to go if all the tires are popped!" exclaimed Aero. "Why?" Mizu asked. "Just because!!" exclaimed an irritated Luna. "Now let's go!!!"
Each leaving the bus through the emergency escape exit, even though the doors were wide open, the seven left to find help.
"Hey guys! Maybe we should look for some food?" asked Senda. "Okie!" said Mizu. "Besides, we didn't get anything to eat yet..." said Luna..
"Okay, it's way past lunch anyway." said Mint. "Yeah," agreed the others. "Hey, look! Mushrooms! Can I eat them??" asked Aero. "Go ahead, they're probably poisonous anyway.." said Senda. "Yeah, and when you die, we can throw you off the mountain" added Deegee. "Then some animal will find you and eat you" giggled Kaze, maniacally. "And when someone asks us what happened, we'll say that you died and got eaten and we'll just talk about it casually," said Mint.
"Fine then!" muttered Aero, frowning.
"Say, where ARE we going, anyway?" asked Deegee. "Well, we're lost, and have no idea where we're going.." answered Senda. "Plus, there's no civilization nearby.. we are still in Oahu, right!?"
"We would have to swim to reach any other place," replied Mint. "I STILL want candy" whined Mizu, ending the conversation. "What I would do right now for some pizza.." said Kaze, drooling. They all began to discuss their favorite restaurants, which in turn, obviously, made everyone hungrier and more miserable.
"We're talking about food while we're starving," said Senda, shaking her head. "How smart.." "Real smart!" laughed Mizu, not catching the sarcasm. "We should get lost, starve, and talk about food more often then," she concluded, as if getting lost and being hungry enough to eat wild animals whole were an everyday thing.
"My god," cried out Luna in frustration. "How long were we lost?!!" "My watch died an hour ago, at least," said Senda. "Hey, mine did too!" exclaimed Deegee, looking frantically at everyone else. "Isn't that -- I dunno, kinda weird?"
"Well, I broke mine a month ago, operating on it!" cheered Mizu. "Oh yeah? Well I lost and broke at least 10 watches in my life time," said Aero, getting competitive.
"It's getting darker.." noted Mint, looking at the sun's dimishing figure. Their surroundings began getting engulfed in shadows. The trees of the elevated mountain were soon, too, getting covered in the pitch black.
"We should find shelter for the night, since nobody has cell phones or anything. Traveling in the dark isn't a good idea either.." Senda said, being the most logical of the group. (Unless she got in a band room. Then she would lose sanity, but let's not think about that, =) )
"What if a bear comes out and eats us?" Deegee said, looking cautiously behind them. She then went in the middle of the group, making sure the other six would get eaten before her, providing ample time for her escape. "Uhh.. You go first, Mizu" she smiled sweetly, falling into the direct center of their group.
"Wow, you're such a great friend," said Senda, giving Deegee a look that made her smile all the more broadly.
Soon, only a faint glow in the distance was their only light source. Surrounding trees all looked the same, and the only thing that marked any progression was the continous raising ground they trodded on. A wind blew, making the trees rustle. The trees began to appear like disfigured.. well, you get the picture. An owl hooted in the distance.
"AHHH!" screamed Kaze, pointing at one of the shaded figures approaching them rapidly ahead.. "Mrs. Waterhouse!!" "What?! Where?!" said Mint, looking around, alarmed. "O-o-over there!" said their male companion, pointing at the dark silhoutte.
They found that they weren't approaching the figure at all, but, in fact, that it was approaching them.
"Ohmiggod, ohmigod!" Deegee cried, in a state of panic. "You!" she said, pointing at Luna. "Kill her! Kill her now!!" she looked panickstricken.
"M=Me?" stammered Luna, flustered. "Why me?!"
The figure, they noticed, as it got closer, was actually TWO figures. "AHHHH!!!" shouted Mint. "Two Mrs.Waterhouses!!!" "Oh god.. oh god.." said Senda, under her breath. "Or what if it's Mrs. Matsumoto?" screeched Kaze. "She's big enough to be two people!!" "Oh no!" said Luna, shivering. "What if she got lost on the mountain and came to eat us?!" "With Luna's remark, the figures spoke. Kaze gave a high pitched scream, sounding much like a girl.
"Why are you screaming?" blinked one figure, who turned out to be Mizu. "Maybe he's just that happy to see us?" replied Aero, revealing the other shadowy substance.
"Oh, nothing.." said Luna, laughing nervously, dismissing the whole ordeal. "Uh, okay" said the tailed girl, scratching her head. "Well, we searched ahead, and there's no cliff ahead of us," said Mizu cheerfully. "For now," added Aero. "Dum dum dum!"
"Hahaha.. a cliff doesn't scare me.." said Deegee. "Now, Mrs. Waterhouse on the other hand.." she muttered under her breath to Mint and Kaze.
They all continued walking in the continous and never seemingly endless dark. Mizu, Luna, and Aero, at the front, halted to a stop, coming across a clearing.
The clearing, on nice, solid ground, had a large rock, and several mdeium sized stones encircling it. Long blades of lush gren grass sprouted along the lone stones, and a stream ran nearby. Stars and a full moon came into view, illuminating the area. The forest had come to an end at last.
"Wanna rest here?" asked Luna, but everyone had already rushed to a rock, each claiming one as their own. "Hey!!" she said, joining the others.
"I'm the Ki-- the Queen of the rock!" said Mizu, standing proudly on the largest stone. "No, I am!" said Aero, as she pushed Mizu off and climbed on herself. "Not! Me!" said Deegee. This continued with the others, also "competing" to be royalty. Ten minutes later, they all laid on the ground, exhausted from the yelling screaming, AND pushing they had done in the previous minutes.
"Yah know, we should fill ourselves with water since we can't find any food," said Luna. "Then we can find shelter.. a cave or something, to sleep in.." said Mint. "Yeah, it looks like it'll rain," said Mizu. "Then let's drink away!" said Senda, rushing to the stream.
After drinking to their hearts content, and feeling like using the bathroom, they were ready to search for shelter. "I hope we find SOMETHING before it rains.." said Mint.
"Alright, let's go," said Deegee, as she and the others, except Luna, left the stream of a cave. "H-hey, wait for me!" said Luna, as she ran to catch up. "Why am I always left behind or last when we do something?" she asked. "That's because you're slooooow" said Kaze, as he extended the last word. "Yeah, like eating and using the bathroom," Aero contributed. "Not, I CAN eat fast. I just don't like to" disagreed Luna. "Why is that?" asked Senda curiously. "It's because I like to enjoy the yumminess of the food!" exclaimed Luna. "Yeah, yeah, left's just hurry and find some cave already." replied Aero.
The clearing seemed to come to an end abruptly. Vines and other plants covered a nearby wall.
"Hey, You guys look! A cave!" exclaimed Mint, squinting her eyes past the vines. "Yay! Now let's go get some sleep.. I'm pooped." said Mizu. Soon, everyone settled down in their own little areas on the cave floor. "Good night Aero." said Luna. "'ood night Luna" "Good night Mizu" "G'night Luna" "Good night Senda" "'Night, Luna" "'Night Deegee, Mint, and Kaze." "Goo night Luna. "Good night Senda. "Good night Mizu. "G'night Aero. "G'night Mizu" "Good Ni--" "Oh, just shut up and go to sleep already!!" exclaimed an irritated Aero, with her eyes shut. "Fine, fine," said Mizu. "Good night everyone. said Senda. "Night, night.."
Soon, they were all pearcefully sleeping, never knowing of the hardships that would occur the next day.