Tiamath (sp?); I don't really know. I just keep throwing whatever I think of into this, that's all!
LittleMidgett; can I twist a story, or can I twist a story?
This chapter? Sort of inspired by Avril Lavigne's song 'Unwanted'. And yes, I have a weirdly mixed taste in music.
All righty, thankyou for that and I'll continue…
Well, the others came into the clearing and we all sat down around the fire, nervous. Whatever was out there, didn't sound too friendly.
(My time-keeping sense has been thrown off track) Ax said, looking up at the stars.
"No kidding" I muttered, still wrapped up in the blanket with Jake. I knew the others were giving us weird looks, but I ignored them. Plus, Ithiell and Amanda had one covering both of them, so why not us?
I glared at Marco, daring him to say something. He kept his mouth shut, and instead turned his attention to the fire. And then to helping keep his new girlfriend warm.
"So, what do we do now?" Rachel sighed, staring first at Jake, then at Ithiell.
"Firstly we find out where and when we are. Then we focus on getting out of here" Jake muttered, still keeping me close to him under the blanket. Robert shivered, staring into the fire with his ice blue eyes. Both eyes. I was glad to see he was still the Robert that had gave me a final snide remark, then left with Amanda and the others the last time we fought the Yeerks together. There were no scars, and those black curls still threatened to envelop his face. That was good to see.
"Agreed. Although, I'm more concerned on who brought us here, and why" Ithiell said, looking around. Rtaia, who was sitting beside Ithiell, wrapped her blanket closer around herself and flicked her ears.
"I do not believe it is the Ellimist. Nor Crayak" she said.
"Who then?" Rachel wondered. Tobias, who was in a tree not far away from us, shifted on his perch.
(That's what's got me worried)
"Same" Amanda muttered, resting her head on Ithiell's shoulder and staring creepily into the fire. Like she knew something I didn't…
I felt Jake's chest heave, and I knew what he was about to tell them. I moved away from him, looking up into his eyes. He knew what I wanted to say, but I nodded anyway, just to assure him. He smiled wryly, then turned back to the others.
And so, he told them about our experience in the 'future'. Leaving out certain parts, if you know what I mean. I helped, but only very little.
When it was over, everyone just stared at us.
"And you didn't think to tell us this before because…?" Rachel stopped, waiting for us to continue.
"Because we thought we were both dreaming, or… something" I said, sighing and curling my legs up a little tighter against Jake.
"All right, okay. But… why only the two of you, and not us?" Robert asked, narrowing his eyes at me. I shrugged.
"As far as I see it, beings like Crayak and the Ellimist think we're all just pawns. My guess is that this creature… whatever it is… believed the same. So I think it was all just a matter of luck" Ithiell said, the 'thoughtful leader' face on.
(He is correct. The 'new guy' could have chosen anyone. He just happened to choose Jake and Jade cause they were there) Ax said, and I think I agreed with him. Even though I had a nagging suspicion it was more than that…
"So, why then all of us now?" Marco asked, speaking up for the first time.
"As far as I see, it's another test. This time for all of us" Jake said, sighing at his friend.
"But… but what's the-" Cassie never got to finish, because at that moment we saw something coming down at us. And it was something that shouldn't have been there.
(Pterodactyl!) Tobias cried as we all jumped up, all of us starting to either shift or morph. I felt my knees reverse, and fur ripple across my face, ready to go toe-to-toe with this thing…
TTSAAAAPPPPP! A blinding light! A screech!
We were forced to look away, covering our ears as the thing shrieked and screamed.
"Whroat wras tdat?" Cassie asked with a still half-formed mouth. We all looked up… and the thing was gone!
(A blinding light, followed by the electrocution of the large flying reptile)
"Electrocution!" I cried, shifting back as fast as I could. The others were doing the same. All of us still probably trying to see. I know I was. I felt like when someone snapped a picture of me and I wasn't ready for it. Urrgh!
(Yes. It appeared there was a force field which destroyed the creature)
"Above us?" Ithiell asked.
(Yes)
"I think I'm starting to catch on… Jake! We need to go to the perimeters!"
"Of what!"
I finally saw Ithiell's face. It was grim.
"I think we're in a domed cage"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Eight of us. Going in four different directions. All wolves.
Ithiell surmised that you could only get electrocuted on the outside. We all hoped he was right. Amanda, Marco and Cassie would stay back for now. I went with Ithiell, Rtaia with Robert, Ax with Tobias, and Jake with Rachel. Ithiell and I went north.
We ran, until I felt something prick at the back of my neck.
(Ithiell?)
(Yeah, I feel that too. I think we're close. Stay close to me) Ithiell said as we moved along. Soon, something touched my nose. Something like a force field.
(I was right!) he cried in triumph.
(So… how big do you think this dome is)
(Not sure. I'll tell you when we get back)
We turned and ran. Through trees and a small river and logs and other things that looked millions of years out of date. We ran, until we met up with the others at the campfire. We shifted back, and Ithiell opened his big leathery wings and flew upwards, until I could barely see him. Hoped he would be all right… cringed when I thought of the dino-bird and what had happened to it. Waited…
A few seconds later he came back down, with Amanda scolding him and slapping his arm. After all, he'd risked his life to do that.
"It's about twelve or fifteen ks up" he said, taking in deep breaths. Soon, all of the others came back, and were soon themselves. Rtaia and Ax talked to him, until finally he came and stood in front of all of us, around the fire.
"All right, it's around fifteen kilometres up, and about… aaauuhm… a hundred square miles" he said, looking like he was thinking hard.
"So, a spacious dome huh? But what for?" Marco wondered.
"Because we're guinea pigs for this thing, and this is our cage" Jake said simply. He was right too.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
We worked it out; three to one shift, and two to the rest. We'd rotate every two or three hours. I was on watch with Amanda. Who knew everything about me. She knew something was up with me and Jake too.
"So, what's been happening?" She asked as she curled herself under a blanket, poking the fire with a stick. She was facing towards the fire, and I was right next to her, facing the other way. Cassie and Marco were sharing a blanket.
"Nothing ordinary" I replied, looking at her. She smiled at me.
"It's ok, you can tell me. I won't tell a soul"
"Nothing's going on Mand. Why do you think there is?" I muttered.
"Because you and Jake have been looking at each other quite a lot, and there's this look in your eyes when you look up at him" She said, but in a very low whisper, leaning in a little. She knew I didn't want any of the others to hear it.
"So? Maybe I like him, that's all"
Amanda snickered "No, it's more than that"
"Have you got a point Mand?"
"Yeah. There's something else you're not telling me about the future thing"
"Like the clones of my brother and sister, and you being my boss?"
"No. Like something happened between you and Jake that's put you both on the edge"
I fell silent. I didn't want to talk about the Marco and Cassie thing. She saw my face, and nodded to the pair, then looked back at me, straight into my eyes. I nodded, then sighed.
"Jake and me kissed a couple of times in the future. But that's only because we were both terrified and under a lot of pressure" I whispered in her ear finally. She gave a slight smile. Although, how she knew about Marco and Cassie amazed me.
Then again, she always had a way to get the truth out of people. She didn't need to read them like Cassie did. After all, no one could put on the innocence act like my best friend Amanda could. It was so subtle, you would never know until you blurted your whole life story out to her.
That is, if she wanted you to. I guess it's in her face. Although she doesn't think it, she's got a beautiful baby face. I wish I had her face sometimes.
I looked out at the forest, like I was supposed to be doing, and sighed quietly. I thought about the night before, when I wasn't really feeling like myself. I was out of my body, in a sense. But it was amazing to feel what I felt, nonetheless.
Amanda must've seen something on my face, because she said,
"What else?"
"What do you mean what else?"
"I know you better than that"
"And if you keep digging, I won't be your best friend for much longer. Plus, I was just thinking of Jake and me kissing. Nothing you'd want to know about"
"Jade-"
I gave her a shut-up-before-I-am-forced-to-kill-you look. Or, tried to. Then I guess my face changed to something else, because when I did, she knew.
"Oh Jade, you didn't!" She hissed in my ear.
"Didn't what?"
"Did you guys…"
"No!"
"Yeah right"
"Look, I was just… imagining it last night. Doesn't make it real" I whispered, although my face felt flushed. I think for the first time in our whole lives, she actually believed me.
"Oh. Well. Ok" she sighed, sounding disappointed. I rolled my eyes. How had we ever become best friends?
Soon our shift was over, and Robert and Rachel took over, and I managed to shimmy back under the blanket Jake and I shared, being extremely lucky not to wake him, and soon fell into an exhausted sleep.
