Warning: Rated 'M' for horror-genre violence, adult situations and adult language.
The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Certain characters have been adapted from 'The Stand,' by Stephen King, and he is the copyright holder of these.
Certain characters are based on 'Hikaru No Go' by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Brief references are made to a character from 'Watership Down,' by Richard Adams, and he is the copyright holder of this character.
Friday
The end of another dull, dead, day, at the end of another dull, dead, week, Sissi thought to herself. Her father was so busy today with "business" that he hardly said two words to her!
She ha-rumped and flopped into bed.
She couldn't even get a chance to talk to Ulrich today. He was moping around as much as she was, and didn't even look up at her when she called out to him today. It was almost like she wasn't there.
A lot of the time, Ulrich would at least shoot an insult at her, tell her to get lost, or something like that. But today, really all week, he just wasn't there. It was almost like he was waiting to be executed.
She thought for a moment about what it would be like on that day when Ulrich would finally pay attention to her. They would go out, laugh, have fun. She might even be able to pal around with him and his friends. Except that Yumi! No, scratch that, even Yumi.
With that thought somewhat comforting her, Sissi drifted off to sleep.
She was standing on a dirt road. It was night, and there was a full moon directly overhead. On each side of the road were rows and rows of corn. The road trailed off into the distance towards what looked like a small house. There was a speck of light coming from the house, so Sissi started walking towards it.
"I wouldn't go up there if I were you, little girl."
Sissi startled at a man's voice coming from within the cornfield.
"You keep walking down the road you're on, you'll wind up in more trouble than you can imagine. Just turn around and go back the way you came. It'll be better for you."
"Who are you to tell me what to do," Sissi yelled back, "you don't scare me!"
"I haven't tried, yet, little girl."
Suddenly, the corn rows erupted with hundreds and thousands of rats, all running for Sissi. She screamed and started running up the road towards the house.
"Run, little girl, run! When I finally catch you, you'll wish you had strangled on your umbilical cord!"
Sissi ran, ran as hard as she could. She could feel the rats scrabbling behind her, catching up to her. She could hear, and almost feel, their teeth gnashing together, anticipating ripping her to shreds.
Suddenly, she crossed into the yard of the house and ran up on the front porch. She started beating on the front door, "Help Me! Please, somebody, HELP!"
"Its alright child, those rats can't get to you here."
Sissi spun around toward the voice.
There, on the porch, sitting in a rocking chair, was an old woman. Sissi had never seen anyone as old as this woman looked. Her skin was about as dark as the old mahogany dresser her grandmother owned. The old woman's hair was pure white, her smile showing that the woman had lost all of her teeth.
"Come over here and sit yourself down," the old woman said. Sissi saw that there was another rocking chair next to the one the woman was sitting in. She hesitated.
"Sit down, child, I don't bite," the old woman smiled again, showing her lack of teeth.
Warily, Sissi sat down next to the woman. "Where am I?" she asked.
"Why you're at my house. You've come looking for something, and I'm going to help you find it."
"I haven't lost anything! And just who are you anyway?"
"Folks call me Mother Abagail and yes, you have lost something, Elizabeth Delmas."
Sissi was surprised that the woman knew her name, and taken aback that she called her 'Elizabeth.' The only time anyone used her given name was when she was in trouble.
"Don't worry, child, everything is going to be alright. I found what you lost and I've been keeping it safe for you. Here."
Mother Abagail reached down and behind her chair and pulled out a box.
It was an old shoe box, with the words "Sissi's Box" written upon it in a child's hand. Abagail handed the box to Sissi and said, "what you lost is inside."
Slowly, not knowing what to expect, Sissi opened the box.
Inside, was a small bird, no more that a chick. I was so young that it still had its downy feathers, and not the adult feathers it would need to fly. Around it was a small, dim glow of orange/red. The glow looked like it was slowly dying out. The chick looked feeble, like it was almost dead.
"What happened to it?" she asked Mother Abagail.
"A lot of things, but the biggest thing is that you haven't been feeding it right," Mother Abagail replied. "What you need to do is get that chick somewhere safe, and feed it the right thing."
"But where? How?" Sissi demanded.
"When the time comes, you'll know what to do," was the reply, "now you'd better run along home."
"But..."
Saturday
The alarm clock rang, and Sissi woke up.