Chapter 4
Despite my earlier plan, I went back to that place. I decided the plan would start the next day, since it was a Friday and all. I followed the same path I had the day before and oddly enough, it is just as exciting as yesterday. I felt like Alice in Wonderland; it was just something I couldn't get over. Nothing about this world seemed real. It all was too good to be true, I felt like I was dreaming. As I walk across the field, I examine it as though I had never seen it before. I would have kept walking but something stopped me. My eyes scan the grove from yesterday, fascinated by its profound power over me. I stood, starring at the willow with its branches reaching towards me, inviting me. I felt strangely enchanted by its aura and surroundings. The way the light hit the trees and the little sparks that flooded the air nearby, glowing intensely. Everything in this world seemed like it was alive and I cherished that very closely.
I take a few steps closer to the tree, running my hand along it and feeling powerless next to it. It almost felt like power was running through me as I did so. Something had always drawn me close to nature; I loved it with a great passion but never before had I ever felt as though I were helpless against it. This tree had power over me in some form and this intrigued me quite well. I stare up at the tree like a child to its teacher. Wind strikes for a brief moment—rustling the world around me. I take a deep breath and relax; the air is fresh here. This right here was true serenity. I stand, admiring the tree and all its greatness with a dazed look on my face.
"Having fun?" I jump in surprise as a hand is placed on my shoulder from behind. I spin around to see someone different before me. There's more of them? I didn't think so many came here. How did he find me…wait, why is he out here and why didn't I see him? I stand, silent for a second, scanning the new person. He gives me a puzzled look with a smile. "Who are you?" I go to give my name then stop, lowering my gaze to think. Do I really wanna give him my name? Should I give him a name at all? I raise my head and smile, "I'm new," I say with a shocking reassurance in myself. He nods then look past me and at the tree. I follow his gaze with interest and we share a few minutes admiring it. I look to him once again, "What's your name?" He gives me an amused look and a sarcastic smile to go along with it before answering, "Why should I give mine if you won't give yours?" I step back, a smile growing across my face as my eyes narrow slightly.
"I don't have a name…yet at least."
He leans his head to one side then pokes my forehead, smirking. "Alright, I'm Star Strife. So why don't you have a name?" I turn my head, facing the grove again. How do I answer I don't even know the question to? He shrugs, leaving the subject alone and turns, about to walk away. I raise an eyebrow as he stops. He turns, a smile on his face as he tackles me down. I sigh, lying on the ground, thinking to myself about their strange 'rituals'. Is this going to happen a lot around here? Do they get amusement from others pain?
I look up and shriek to see someone standing over us. His features don't seem like everyone else's. No, he seems much more serious. Star looks up and waves, "Hi, Glyde. What's up?" The boy doesn't show much emotion for a kid and he comes across more mature and intellectual than the others. "Star, I think Gene One is coming back. I swear, when is he gonna learn?" I look up at Glyde with a quizzical look now, wanting to know what's going on. Star gets up and helps me, more into the conversation. Glyde looks to me and smiles a hello but not with the same spark of welcome as the others.
"Who is Gene One?" I ask.
Glyde shoots a shocked look at me, his emotions a mix between angry and hysterical. "You don't know who Gene is?" I shake my head, innocently. Star looks to me and pats my shoulder while I glance to him, asking with my eyes to tell me what's going on. Star laughs under his breath, "Now you've done it. He's never going to shut up." Glyde, next to me has already chosen his seat on his ground, ready to tell his story. I look to Star, shrug, and then sit. Star sighs and sits next to me with nothing else to do, apparently, because he shifts his eyes as if looking for an escape route. Glyde clears his throat and begins his story, "Gene One is an assassin from a place called the 'Island'. He used to go here but he started getting too egotistical. He used to be picked on a lot and eventually began acting as if he owned the place and as if he was the greatest thing the world had ever seen. He tried to get all his friends from the Island to help him destroy this place." I interrupt, amazed that anyone would want to get rid of this heaven, "Why would anyone want to do that, this place is…well, amazing." Star nods to Glyde to continue. I can see the anger in Glyde rising at the very thought of this person. He takes a breath and begins again, "Because I and everyone else told him to either stop being an asshole or leave. He didn't like the choices so he decided to take it out on everyone." I lean back, in thought.
"So…is there anything I can do to help, maybe. I mean I won't be here after today but I'll help if I can." Star looks to me and laughs a little. Glyde smiles weakly, the first smile he's made toward me that I knew was out of sincerity.
Star looks to me, leaning close and opening his mouth to speak, "You're a newbie, correct? What are you going to do to help?" Glyde gives him a half-hearted look then turns back to me, searching for the right words.
"That's nice but I can take care of Gene, I have before after all." Unsure of what he meant I poke him. "What do you mean you took care of him before?"
"I kicked his ass out of here; I won in a fight against him." I shift my body along the ground, feeling like I may have gotten myself into something I shouldn't have. I should have never asked. Star lies down and stares into the sky. "I see a bunny with one leg and fangs." I laugh at his spontaneous personality. He doesn't seem like the type of person you could get bored around. I sit in silence until Star turns to me and asks, "You said you weren't going to be here after today, why?" I look to Glyde whose staring at me with the same question in mind.
"I have a feeling I should not be here…I think I may get in trouble." I look down as I say this because it is the greatest disappointment I have ever known as well as an embarrassing one. They both bust up laughing and I throw my head to either side to look at them. "What!?"
Star sits up, still partly laughing. "You can't leave." My eyes grow wide. What does he mean by that? Are they going to hurt me? "And why, prêt ail, not?" Now more sober, Star looks to me, an uncharacteristic wisdom glowing in his eyes. "Because once you come here you can't just leave. This place is like a drug and it'll consume you. You can try but you'll find yourself coming back everyday; that's what happened to the rest of us."
Glyde turned to Star, standing. "Want to RP?" Star nods and stands as they walk off into the field, waving back at me. I smile, breathing in the air as I lay against the tree, pulling out my violin and playing a melody fit for such a world. I watch Glyde and Star walk off until I can see them no more. I silently assess them as I play, closing my eyes to take in the cool breeze. Glyde comes across as the leader of this place, whether they call him that or not. He definitely has some say in what goes on around here even if he is a bit too serious about it all. Star, on the other hand, is like his right-hand-man. Though Star is much more ecstatic about everything and more of the joker, he has a high ranking and it's obvious. They've both clearly been here a long while. I grin, thinking of how nice it is to see everyone so happy and close around here. It's peaceful, even with this Gene person lurking around.
The leaves above me rustle violently as a body suddenly drops from its branches; some how this does not surprise me. I smile to my visitor but not looking at him as he joins me. He waits for me to finish then starts a conversation, "Remember me? I remember you." I look up to see Oracle in front of me and nod, laughing. He continues, "So 38, how are you this fine day?" I grow an increasingly puzzled look, unsure of what he means. "38?" I tilt my head. Is that a nic-name they give newbies? He laughs, pulling out a guitar and playing a soft tune as he talks. "You're the thirty-third newbie to visit us this fine day. Anyone without a name has a number instead. Yesterday you were 19." It makes sense so far. I smile and join in with his tune on my violin. "I'm fine, by the way. I'm still getting used to this place, though."
"That might take a while considering all that goes on around here." He pauses, looks up, and grins. I follow his gaze, wondering if there is something wrong. Just as I look up, an apple drops from the tree and hits me in the forehead. "Ow!" Oracle laughs as if he had nothing to do with it. I groan under my breath, "This isn't even an apple tree." He laughs, leaning a hand against the tree, next to me, "Well, would you have rather had a melon hit you?" I frown at his stupidity and mockingly add, "Melons don't grow on trees, either." He smirks, leaning closer to me. "You know those willow trees, they're really dangerous this time of year." I pick the apple off the ground and hold it in my hand, staring. What did he do that for, anyway? I throw the apple at him and he falls over playfully, pretending to be dead. I look at him, slightly irritated by his childishness. I lean over him after he lacks movement for more than a few minutes. "Orac--!!" He grabs me by my shoulder and pulls me over his side and onto the ground next to him. I go down with a thud as he wraps his arm around me.
"Shh…hear that?" He holds a finger to his lips as I look around.
"If this is a joke I'm gonna hurt you." He cuts me off, and crawls over to a nearby bush, motioning me to follow. I sigh and play along, crawling over on my hands and knees just like he had. He grabs my arm, looks back at me, his eyes wide, and filled with excitement. "Be ready on the count of three to run, got it?" I narrow my eyes and open my mouth to yell at him but he starts his count.
"One…"
"Oracle, what are we—"
"Two…" his grip grows tighter.
"Wait! Who's after—"
"Three!" he stands, grabbing me and running across the field. Dust and dirt flies up as he drags me over rocks and thorns. I flinch with every move he makes, yelling for him to stop and trying to slow him down so that I don't end up bleeding to death. He stops suddenly and I take a deep breath of relief, closing my eyes only to open them and find us on a mountain cliff. I shriek in terror. "Why are we here!?" He looks at me, fire rising in his eyes while he trembles from pure exhilaration. I squirm, trying to get out of his grasp as he eyes the edge of the cliff. "Now, wait just a minute…don't tell me, oh God." He cackles wildly, throwing his head and shoulders back so that the whole town below can hear.
I break free of his thresh hold and creep away only to be caught in his clutches. "Where you going?" I look around for help, a tear running from my eye at the thought of what is about to happen next. The ties my hands together and lifts me into his arms, walking to the edge. My eyes grow wide with fear. "No, dude! I'm afraid of heights!" I look down, my heart racing. Oh dear God, I can't even see the bottom! He throws me over and I scream, the rope around my wrist coming undone. My hair flows upward as I fall, screaming in terror with the most terrified look my face is capable of.
Oracle jumps after me, free falling with his arms and legs spread out. I watch him, only hearing the sounds of my clothes and hair falling at a fast rate along with my drowning shrieks. This was it for me, I knew it, and I was going to die. I close my eyes, almost waiting for death as the air is sucked from lungs. Just as I do so, I'm jerked back up, and the tension stops. Am I dead? That didn't hurt at all. I open my eyes to see myself floating high above the rooftops of a village. I'm pulled up by Oracle and onto a duck. Bags form under my blood shot eyes. Oracle looks back, as happy as ever. I turn to him, about to wrap my hands around his neck as I ask, "Are we riding a enormous…duck?" He looks back at me and nods.
As I finally settle, he jumps, dragging me down with him, and we fall. By now, I am too exhausted from the last fall to scream as we plummet into the ground. He hits the ground and creates a crater as I fall in after him, using him as a cushion. My eye twitches, my heart still racing a million miles per hour. I crawl out, fear overwhelming me. I think I should leave now before he has anymore-bright ideas. I don't think this guy's dangerous and a little stupid.
He crawls out after me, moaning, "I think you broke my back." He looks to me, a smirk across that smug face of his. I stop in my tracks, fire blazing from the earth around me. He has the NERVE! I spin around on my heels, gritting my teeth. He walks over, with a light limp while dusting off his clothes. My fist clench at my sides, anger growing deep inside of me. I smirk, placing a hand on his arm then punching him. He falls backward and into the pit where we fell. He yells up to me, "What was that for!?" My eyes narrow at his stupidity.
"You dragged me across the fields, threw me off a cliff, tied my hands together," he crawls out as I continue, "pulled me off the duck, and then have the nerve to imply that I'm fat?" He stands there, dumfounded. "I never said you were fat!" I slap my forehead and walk off, frustrated and fixing my hair. He follows me like a lost puppy.
"You're not like every other girl are you? You never told me your name." sigh and sit beneath a beaten tree at the entrance to the village. "I don't have one as of right now." It begins to rain as I sit there. Oracle looks around and gets up, taking out an umbrella and holding it over me. "Want to go inside?" I look at him, emotionless and crossing my arms. "I'm fine." I grumble. He walks over to one of the houses and goes in then stares at me from the window. I sit there, feeling the rain against my skin. Man, is he pathetic. What kind of monsters could have brought that thing into the world and let it live?
He comes back out and walks over to me slowly, like a child who knows they've done something wrong. "Please come in?" I shake my head, droplets of water splashing as I do so. He sighs and nods, then picks me up and carries me in. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to strangle him. "Didn't you hear me, I'm fine!" As we get in the door, I look to see two other girls inside. Oracle points to one with purple hair, "That's Hotaru and the other is Dark Angel but we all call her DA." I go to say hi but Oracle pulls me back into a chair and straps me there. "Nope, you're not going anywhere this time." He laughs playfully and set me over to the table where the others are drinking tea. Hotaru holds a cup up to me and smiles as Oracle goes to the back of the house for something. "Would you like some?" I nod an expression of hatred on my face. DA laughs, leaning against me as I look at her from the corner of my eye. She hugs me and says with no effort, "Don't worry, he just likes you, that's all."
My eyes grow wide and my heart skips a beat out of shock. I glance back at Oracle. "You're kidding me, right? He's an imbecile." Hotaru pours me some tea and holds it to my lips for me to drink. "I personally, think it's cute." This was the weirdest thing I had heard all day. He met me only the day before and didn't even know my name. Sure, he was exciting but…he was…very violent. I didn't know what to think about it all and if anything this was really confusing me. I don't know if I could deal with his little adventures; or at least any with me falling from cliffs. Maybe he was only trying to be nice and impress me; perhaps he wasn't usually this way. He was nice just a bit ecstatic. He spots me from across the room and smiles. I hesitate, ok…slightly afraid, and smile a half-hearted smile back.