Chapter Four: Journey Ended

We arrived at the camp at about three. Mike was grinning from ear to ear, and his eyes were shining like they never had before. "This is awsome!" he exclaimed. "I'm going to meet the coolest people in the world and I'm going with my girl-" He stopped. What did he just say! His ears turned red and he started walking faster. I was nervous that the others would laugh when they saw me and Michael together. I got in front of him and got everyone's attention. "Hey, everybody! This is Michael. He knows all about you guys, so don't bother to introduce yourselves!" Michael stepped forward and waved. I wish I was that brave when I met the gang. Torn acted like his normal self and pretended not to care, but the others offered a friendly welcome. Daxter didn't stay too long, for he had other things to tend to, if you catch my drift. Once the introductions were made, I dragged him over to my leaper. He nearly jumped for joy when he saw it. We used to play with the idea of riding dragons in the sixth grade, now our dreams had come true. "Your presence was kind of unexpected, so, um, we're gonna' have to, you know," I stuttered, trying not to look embarrassed. I gulped and turned red. "Share?" he finished, thinking along the same lines as I. The thought of having to wrap my arms around Michael for safety was both romantic and embarrassing. Boy, I'm gonna' get a lot of crap from Keira about this one!

In just a couple of hours, the sun had set. I'd never dreamed of Texas being this beautiful at night, but Michael was obviously used to it. Together, we saddled up the lizard and climbed on. Jak called out to Michael. "Watch out. She's dangerous with those things." I stuck my tongue out at him like I would my own brothers. Like I'd imagined, I wrapped my arms around his stomach and held on tight. He blushed and picked up the reins. "This is just like riding a horse," I stated, making sure that he wasn't worried about riding something so dangerous looking. He nodded and snapped the reins in his hands. Again, the leaper cried its strange call and moved forward. Keira rode up beside us. "So," she began, almost in her teasing voice. "Do you like to play the video game?" Mike held up his head and began to brag. "Yeah, but I was so damn mad at the end! That low lying, slime sucking, man stealing, slut!" He suddenly remembered that we were still with him. My hand was on my forehead, but deep inside, I was laughing the hardest I ever had. Keira laughed out loud. "Wow, Michael! Jordan was right! You are funny!" He turned his attention to me. Thanks, Keira. "You been talkin' 'bout me?" he said in one of those hilarious high pitched voices that you hear in the movies. I giggled, but secretly regrettingever telling Keira about him. "Well, your mom said that you had quite a lot to say about me!" Michael hung his head and went back to the subject of the game. "Jak is the coolest. Daxter's just..." He waited for something more to say, but failed to find an opinion. Keira and I giggled again. "I don't see what's so funny," he whined in that cute, innocent tone. Wait, did I just say cute?

"There it is!" We heard someone call at about two in the morning. A large purple ring sat in front of us. The colors were beautiful, but the thought of jumping in wasn't. Michael didn't look scared, but I was terrified. It was like in Jak II where they'd been sucked into the rift and crash landed in the city. I wasn't afraid of heights, I was afraid of falling out of them. But I knew that no matter what happens, my friends and I would make it through.

Jak stepped forward. "Well, this is it!" He grabbed his leaper-lizard and pushed it into the portal. It didn't call or anything, it just fell like it had done it before. Next, Torn shoved his down into the swirling pit. This seemed cruel, but the lizards didn't look like they cared. Soon, all of the lizards were in, now it was time for us. Jak went in first with Daxter on his shoulder, Tess close behind.Then Samos, Ashlynn, and Torn. Keira stood behind to make sure we were safe. "Well," she said. "Let's go!" She grasped my left hand and held it tight. Without thinking, I snatched Michael's left into my right. Our faces lit up with embarrassment. I took a deep breath before leaping into the rift with the others still in my hands...

Bang! The sound echoed throughout the city asI crashed into an alley in Haven. At first, everything was fuzzy, but I soon came back into focus. Where's Michael and the others? I searched frantically, afraid of being left alone. Having no luck, I sat down on a bench outside of the alley. Finding your way around here was much easier when you have a map at the bottom of the screen. Passing citizens stared at me as if I had just run away from the circus. When we were in my world, Jak and his friends were the oddballs, now it's my turn to be laughed at. Michael... I had to find my friends, even if it meant I had to search the whole damn city. Now which way? Being in a different world was tough. Instincts played no part in my search, for there was no place that I recognized. Every street seemed to lead to a dead end. The people were rude and pushy, which didn't help much in the cramped areas. I decided to look for the Naughty Ottsel first. If there's one place on this earth that Daxter would visit, it was the Naughty Ottsel. After a few twists and turns in the streets, I finally reached the port. Things would be a lot easier to find from here. If I'm standing on the bridge, the saloon would be to my right. I turned my head in the direction my right arm was pointed. The orange sign came into plain veiw. As I rushed towards the bar, my thoughts started to fill my mind with unpleasant images. What if something happened to them? What if they're hurt? Pictures of all my friends dead rolled around my head. Don't worry. They're gonna' be just fine.

The double doors magically slid open to reveal a large dance floor with a bar in the back. This place didn't seem this large in the game... I began to search high and low for Daxter and Tess. Nothing. A small bottle in the back of the bar caught my eye. I picked it up and examined it. This looks a lot like Coke... Maybe just a taste... I uncorked the tiny bottle and put it up to my lips. Before I realized what I was doing, I drank the whole bottle. It tasted like Coke, just like I thought it would. Soon, I had drunk several bottles much like the first. By now I was beginning to feel pretty damn groggy. As weird as it felt, it was fun. Stop, Jordan! You're not old enough! I slammed the next bottle on the bar. "Gimme' uh nuzzer un." My head was spinning. Finally, I passed out on the floor...

I woke up a few hours later. A knot had welled up in the back of my head. I was still on the floor of the saloon. "Urghhh." The lights were out and the door was open. Oh yeah, here comes the hangover. My head started throbbing and my stomach did back and front flips. I sat down at the bar. Six empty bottles were scattered all over the place. Never, EVER again. I started rummaging through all of Daxter's stuff to see if he had any medicine. Finally, I uncovered a small packet of pills. I didn't know how much I needed, for the letters here didn't make sense to me, so I swallowed at least three. A few minutes later I was back to normal. I pocketed the pills just in case the hangover came back. Now, back to business. I cleaned up the bottles and turned on the lights. Unfortunatly, Jak was standing right beside me the whole time. "Have fun?" he asked, obviously amused with the fact that I got drunk. "You guys really need to lable those things!" He rolled his eyes and put his hand on my shoulder. "Well, you're alright by the looks of things. Let's go find the others." My heart sank. "You mean you don't know where they are either?" He shook his head "no".

We left the Naughty Ottsel and headed for Freedom HQ. Although the city was being rebuilt, it still looked like a reck. The poor citizens had nothing left. Nothing but their families and their dignity. This reminded me so much of 9/11. Four days after my birthday the Twin Towers were destroyed. I can at least say that I know how these people feel. Even though things took a turn for the worse, young children were seen playing out in the streets for joy that the Metal Heads and Krimson Guard bots were gone. About thirty minutes later, we came to the Freedom HQ.

It was awfully chilly there. I was certain that heavy machinary would never measure up to the warmth and care of human hands. Jak skimmed over some loose papers that were scattered over a desk to my right. While he was busy with that, I decided that I would "check up" on my old buddy John again. A few rings and the phone was answered. "Hello?" I smiled remembering how much fun I had the last time. I cleared my throat to disguise my voice. "Um, yeah, I was wondering if you would like to answer a few questions for a survey on the average teenager." A pause. He thought for a moment and answered. "Sure why not."

"Do you drink?"

"No."

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Are there any women that you are particularly interested in?"

"Well, there's one."

"Would you care to tell me whom?" This could be the ultimate blackmail if I was at home, but for right now, I was going to use it for my own pleasure. "Okay, her name is Jordan." I dropped the phone. I'm the only female Jordan in my school! "Hello? Hello!" he screamed. I pushed the "end" button and sat next to Jak. "Problem?" My face was pale and my throat was dry. I shook my head "no". Oh Jak, you have no idea!

After a few more minutes of studying maps and charts, we left Freedom HQ to find our friends. We stuck together for awhile, then Jak asked me if I wanted to search one side of the city while he searched the other. I nodded "yes" and went on my way. To try and fool the citizens, I pulled out and old bandana from my pack and tied it around my head. The edges covered up the top of my ears so thatI looked like a cold elfin girl. What about my clothes? I stopped by a nearby tailor, who modified my t-shirt, jacket, and jeans to look like a normal person, in their world at least. My shirt now came to about and inch above my belly button. Normally, if I had been at home, my dad would've killed me. My jeans, which already had holes in the knees, were covered in strange buckles and drawn up at my knees to where theylooked like Keira's old pants, only smaller and tighter. I ditched my old tennishoes for a cool pair of boots that happened to be lying out in someone's yard sale. Let's just say that I was going to "buy now, pay later", much later. Now that I had my new look together, I was ready to search for my boy, I mean, friend, just friend.

It must have been hours before I admitted to myself that I was lost again. I couldn't read the signs here, but I could recognize the pictures and landmarks. Somehow I'd made it to Mar's Memorial. It was funny how Jak was Mar, but the statue didn't look like him. Behind the statue was Keira's garage, which was the last place I would expect to find her now. It didn't look like the garage now. It actually looked like something from a horror movie in which the hero must go into to find God knows what, and today, I didn't want to be the hero for fear of what I might find.

Everywhere I went there seemed to be Freedom Fighters. They looked more threatening up close, expecially with their guns. Suddenly, a high pitched scream came from far away. Keira... I sprinted in the direction of the distress call, afraid that I was too late. The voice screamed again. This time, it sounded further away. I knew I would never make it there on foot. That's an awful nice lookin' cruiser. A blue and green speeder was parked next to a pillar under a bridge in the industrial section of the city. I wasn't old enough to drive, but what was more important: a ticket, or Keira? I jumped in and looked for the ignition. A strange looking button caught my eye. Here goes nothing. The button excited the speeder, whice sort of scared me. Again, I started looking for more gadgets to help me get to my next destination. "Hey, you!" Busted. A Freedom Fighter was watching me the whole time. He ran up and grabbed me by the neck of my shirt. Struggling for air, I kicked and scratched at the air trying to break free. Soon, I was cuffed and thrown into a large blue cruiser with iron bars in the back. We zoomed off, leaving Keira behind...