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
Aelita settled down for the evening. The day had been like every other day this week. Waiting for the ax to fall. She swore the waiting was worse than what would finally come. At least then they could do something!
She missed Jeremie. Since that day, he avoided everybody. He would slip in for meals, then disappear again. She tried knocking on the door to his room, but he either wasn't there or wasn't answering. She almost felt that he was ashamed to be around her. That hurt her deeply.
The others tried, but they too were in despair. Just this past Wednesday, she and Yumi went out, to get away from the school and the gloom. They went into town for ice cream, but the town seemed just as sullen as the school. The ice cream almost had no taste. They both ran back to school, then Yumi ran home. Aelita almost thought she heard Yumi crying as she left.
Aelita settled down on the pillow. Even after a year, sleep was a unique thing. In a way, she thought it was almost like dying, and waking up in the morning like rebirth. She relaxed, and drifted off to sleep.
She was standing in a dark field. She had no idea where she was. There was a full moon overhead and for a moment, she couldn't identify the plants around her. They were tall, and had what looked like big pods at different points along their height. Then it came to her, corn. She was standing in a cornfield.
How did she get her? Just as importantly, how did she get home?
She started walking along the rows of corn, trying to find the way out.
She heard, then felt, something scuttling along at the base of the corn stalks. Every now and then, something seemed to run across her feet. She looked down, and saw big, black rats. They looked about as big as a small dog. They had beady little red eyes, and sharp teeth. They were milling about the base of the corn stalks, gnawing at them.
Aelita screamed and started running down the row.
"Over here, Princess," a voice called out a few rows over. Jeremie?
"Over here."
She cut across the rows toward the voice calling to her. She emerged into a small opening in the field. Jeremie wasn't there, but another man was.
He was a full grown man, and fairly handsome. He had long brown hair that came down to his shoulders. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue jeans jacket over a white tee shirt and, of all things, cowboy boots. Aelita had never seen anything like it before.
"Welcome, Princess," the man said. "What brings you out in my field at this time of night?"
"I'm sorry if I'm trespassing," Aelita replied. "I don't know where I am and I don't know how I got here."
"That's okay, Princess," the man replied, "I'm glad you came. I've been waiting a long time for you."
"Have we met?"
"No, but I've wanted to for a while and now I have!" The man smiled at her, and Aelita took a step back.
"Don't go, Princess, hear what I've got to say," the man said, "I know why you're sad. I know why you're scared. And I'm here to help you."
"Help me, how?" she asked.
"By showing you things. Things like you've never seen before. Things that will make all of the bad things and pain go away." He moved closer to her.
There was something about the man that Aelita didn't like. There was something about him that seemed, familiar.
"You know, he only thinks of you as a Princess. I think of you as a Queen."
"A queen?"
"Yes. Join me and I'll make you a Queen. You can rule over all the world and do whatever takes your fancy. You can make the pain and hurt go away. You will never have to worry about XANA or Lyoko again..."
Aelita, without realizing it, took a step forward. He extended his hand.
"Come to me. Sit at my right hand. Be my Queen."
She was slowly moving forward, reaching out her hand to take his. Yes, she could end this. Never to hurt again...
"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear..."
Aelita stopped. The song came from a ways past the clearing, back in the cornfield.
"What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer..."
She looked at the man again, almost as if she really saw him for the first time. The smile he had on his face looked like one a predator might have right before it ate its prey.
The other thing that hit her was he almost looked like someone possessed by something. Something she had seen before.
XANA!
Aelita turned and ran back into the cornfield, almost tripping over rats that seemed to jump into her way. She ran and ran to the only thing she could think of, the source of the song.
"You'll regret rejecting my offer!" the man yelled, "I'll suck out your soul and feast on your flesh! You'll regret your decision for eternity!"
Aelita kept running and running. The rats kept scuttling all around her, trying to trip her up, trying to stop her from getting away from the man. Suddenly, she broke out into another clearing. As she ran further into it, she noticed that the rats had stopped following her right at the edge of the clearing. She stopped and took in her new surroundings.
It was a wide clearing, with a road off to one side leading off into the cornfield. In the middle, was a shack. That was the only word for it, a shack. It looked like it was a hundred years old. It was dark, except for a lantern hanging on a hook on the front porch. The lantern was an oil burning one, for the shack didn't seem to have any electricity.
On the front porch, were two rocking chairs. In one of them, was the oldest woman that Aelita had ever seen. She looked as old as, or even older than the cabin itself. Her skin was the darkest brown she had ever seen on a person, her hair white as cotton. Her wrinkles displayed her age, not as battles lost, but honors earned. She was strumming a guitar, singing. This was the singer Aelita heard earlier. The old woman stopped playing and called to Aelita.
"Come on up here and rest yourself awhile."
Aelita walked up to the porch, and sat down in the empty rocker.
"I'm sorry you had to walk through that field tonight and meet up with him," the old woman said, "but there's nothin' that can be done 'bout it."
"Excuse me ma'am, but who are you?"
"My name is Abagail Freemantle, but most folk call me Mother Abagail."
"Where are we?"
"This here is my home. I lived here all my life, well over a hundred years, I reckon," Mother Abagail laughed in reply.
"But why am I here?" Aelita asked her.
"'Cause, child, you've lost something, and I'm going to help you find it again."
"What?"
"Look over there."
Aelita looked in the direction that Mother Abagail indicated and saw a plant. It looked like it had been burnt in a fire. The ground all around the plant was scorched. She was surprised that the plant stood at all. If she were to go up to it and touch it, it would break.
"There wasn't much I could do when it happened, but I saved a little piece of it for you."
Mother Abagail reached into the pocket of the dress she was wearing and pulled out an old tobacco tin. She opened it up and took something out.
"Here."
Aelita held out her hand, and Mother Abagail dropped the something into it.
She looked into her hand and saw a tiny seed.
"That's all I could save of it, but it's enough," Mother Abagail said to Aelita, "all you got to do is find good ground to plant it in, water it good, and it'll grow right back. Find good 'nough ground and it'll grow back bigger than you'd believe!" She smiled at Aelita.
"Now you'd better run along, child. You keep that seed close, and look for a good place to put it!"
"But Mother Abagail, where will I..."
Saturday
The alarm clock rang, and Aelita woke up.