Chapter 7

Next on Ness's to-do list was to get some information on the location of Paula. The lead on her remaining in Twoson wasn't too helpful, and he required a bit more than that. Even coordinates would help. He just needed more clues to where she was hiding, and he knew just where to go. There was a place nearby called Berlin Park, which was a farmer's market full of items to purchase, and people to talk to.

Once he had crossed the street, he instantly heard the sound of music piercing his eardrums. People with guitars, drums made of buckets, and homemade instruments were all around. People in tents selling their items such as paintings, knickknacks, and holiday cards looked as if they came from all over the world to meet in this area. It was amazing Ness, but he didn't have time to buy anything…except one thing.

When he went through the crowd of people chatting and eating exotic foods, he spotted something that caught his eye in an instant: a silver T-ball bat with a red and yellow sticker slapped on it saying, "Onett Big League". It felt perfect to him, giving that he had no weaponry at the moment besides his fists, and that wouldn't last too long. A man with sunglasses and beach T-shirt was selling it for $75. Fortunately for Ness, he had just around 80 bucks in his back pocket, and he wasn't going to pass down this offer.

"How's it goin' mate?" the adult said in an Australian accent. "See anythin' ya like? I see you eyeballin' that bat over there. Wanna give ita look?"

The man sold other sports items such as footballs, basketballs, and everything else athletic. Ness nodded in agreement, and was handed the bat. It felt smooth to the touch, and its strong material would slash through anything. It was perfect, and Ness definitely made the right choice. He handed him the money, and the man said in return, "Thanks mate! 'Preciate it!"

But just before the boy was about to go back on his search, he wanted to see if he could get any info from the guy.

"Ya looking for that girl Paula mate?" he asked. "Well I'd suggest that ya go and talk to the manager of this fine park. He's over there." He pointed.

"I bet he knows a thing or two 'bout that girl. Better talk to him b'fore he's gone, mate."

Ness replied with a "thank you", and dashed off to find him. Through the lines and groups of people, he finally found the office. It wasn't much, and it was more like a shack than anything, but looking into the window, he saw a desk, a TV, and a man sitting in a chair. He was a heavy man with a shirt like the dude before him, but with a thick winnfield moustache, and black with yellow polka-dotted pants. His bowler hat and sunglasses matched with his pointy shoes, and he looked menacing enough for Ness to understand that he may be a threat.

Ness carefully knocked on the door, and the man quickly whipped his head to see him peeking through the window. He grunted, and opened the door with a sigh.

"What can I do ya for?" he asked lazily. He then observed Ness with glazing eyes, and completely scanned him from top to bottom.

"Wait a minute…" he said resourcefully. "Ur that kid that was up near the meteorite! Heard that you caused a bit of commotion today. Ya ain't gonna do that with me, are ya?"

Ness shook his head, and said, "Someone told me that you knew something about Paula. Do you?"

With a startled look as if he had seen a ghost, his expression quickly changed to a face of pure anger.

"Come with me boy. I wanna show you something." He said with a grimacing furrow of his brow.

"Does this have to do anything with Paula?" Ness asked bafflingly.

"Yes. Now c'mon. I got something I was only going to show to someone like you."

Ness did what he was told, and followed him into his house. The man had his room filled with pictures of blurry objects like he had been alien watching, and he also spotted a shovel in the corner of the room. The man then opened a latch on the floor, revealing something mysterious. It was a hole. Pitch black that probably went down for miles.

Ness then looked closely as he continued to strike a match from his pocket, and light a lantern that was behind him. The claustrophobic room felt a lot bigger went they trekked down below. They went down a wooden ladder that felt as if it was going to collapse at any minute. To break the silence, Ness asked, "What's your name?"

The man replied with, "Everdred. The one and only. Now shut up, we're almost there."

As the lantern lit up the dirt walls that made up the cave, it scared Ness to know how far it went down. As they finally lit up the bottom of the tunnel, the man searched around like a blind man to find something on the wall. When he did, he flicked his finger, and the room came to life. The ceiling had naked light bulbs that stretched on with a wire hooked above. It felt like an infinite mirror, and both didn't speak until they reached the end. With only the sound of dirt under their feet, Everdred blew out the lantern when they reached the dead end.

What was on that was an even smaller tunnel. Everdred then slowly took out another match, and threw it into the hole in the wall. What was before him froze him where he stood.

"This was what I had found." He said bravely. "Took me six years, but I found it! Said to be a statue from ancient times, when the pharaohs ruled the earth. Don't know when that was, but I know that it was important. I found it a couple of days ago, before the crash. But I believe that something happened then. Something….changed. When I came back, it glowed. Brightly. It was strange…very strange."

Ness then finally took a look at what he was talking about, but he was amazed to find a golden statue that stood higher than him. It had horns, and crossed arms like he was lying in a grave, and holding a sword. It was dressed in armor it seemed, and it began to sparkle brightly.

Again confused, Ness asked, "Well, what does this have to do with Paula?"

Everdred then smiled, and then raised his fist. It seemed to have a blue ring on it, reading "HH". Although it didn't matter to Ness, it was still frightened him that something wasn't right about the man.

"Well, I outta confess to you, boy." He said with a nasty grin. "I don't think you're going to find that girl you've been looking for. I have to deal with you first."

Ness then understood what he meant. Someone was going to kill him. How original. Ness they prepared himself with his bat high in the air like he was going to hit a baseball, but were surprised to see that Everdred had other ideas. He pulled out a pistol. Straight at a young boy.

"No one's gonna hear the shot. When 'ur dead, I gotta good place to put ya! No one will find the body!"

Ness then replied with the guts he still had, and said, "Not on my watch, old man!"

Furious, the man shot, sending bullets flying through the air. Two shots flew past him in the blink of an eye. Ness then had no other choice than to charge toward him like a fireball, and tested out his new bat. But it was too late. Right when he was about to swing, the man shot, and hit Ness right in the shoulder. It sent a shock of pain running through his entire body. He screamed in pain, agonizingly falling to the ground, but not before knocking the assaulter square in the face. Blood poured from the man's mouth, but not as much as Ness's arm.

He screamed out into the caves as it echoed through the tunnel. It was the worst pain that had ever felt in his life, but he understood that it was going to get a lot worse. He started crying like a young boy should, and pictured his mom taking care of him when he was younger. It hadn't been long since he had left, but he still felt homesick. His vision became blurry, and both Everdred and Ness were lying on the ground. But then, his opponent got up for round 2.

"Heh…you little rat!" He said in pain. "You think that's gonna stop me?! You're in for hell if yah think so!"

But to both of their surprise, they heard a sonic noise. It rattled their eardrums, and they both silenced as it shook the ground. The rocks on the floor vibrated as the whole tunnel felt as if it was going to collapse, and then it got louder, and louder like the meteorite did. The bulbs then busted, like dominoes as it reached them. Ringing formed in their ears, making them feel as if they were bleeding.

"What the hell is tha-"Everdred tried finishing before he was sent flying down the halls like Ness. The wall then burst as chunks of soil and rock flew down the hall hitting Ness in the chest. Soon, Ness could hear a crack as he was soaring. One of his ribs had shattered, but he was too busy in danger to feel the extreme pain. As he landed, he went spinning, with dirt covering his entire body. He skidded on the ground like it was concrete; giving him many more cuts on his kneecaps and elbows. It hurt to move an inch, and all of the pain put together made it so he couldn't stand it anymore, and he went unconscious.

He woke up in sweat. The room remained the same, but most of the light bulbs were completely out. The room wasn't dark though, but Ness soon revealed that what gave the room light was the statue itself. It ringed and glistened as it was yards from where it stood before. Although it was hard to here, Ness swore that it even talked.

Giiiiiiiiiygassssssss willlll destroyyyyy alllllllll…..It said menacingly.

Like is flight instincts, he used all of the strength, trying to ignore the pain, and limped away from the thing as fast as he could. His body couldn't take it, but he gritted his teeth, and pushed on, leaving Everdred unconscious. At least, he thought that it was unconscious. The terrors that unfolded in his head made him want to curl up in a ball and cry his fears out, but he pushed on. He then reached the ladder, and climbed.

His legs shook. His body was screaming to him to stop, but he resisted. He heard evil laughter in his head. It grew like the pain in his stomach. He pushed on. His leg slipped from one of the bars, leaving him close to freefalling to his death, but he gained his balance, and reached the top. He saw the light leaking through the cracks of the door, and when he finally felt the dusty wood of said door, he quickly pushed it, and went through to lock it shut.

Right now, he didn't care what happened to the man that almost killed him. At least he was safe. To not start panic, he tried hiding behind the window to treat his wounds, but he was too busy catching his breath. His heart rate lowered, and he then rolled up his shirt to look at his injuries. It was swollen and hot to the touch, and turned a dark green color. One of his ribs was definitely broken. Then he looked at his shoulder. The blood soaked up his shirt, and he tried to look at it too, but was met with a stinging pain when he attempted to do so.

He then thought about the idea of heading to the hospital, but there was no point. He couldn't release such information of a crazy man trying to kill him with a golden statue that obviously seemed evil to Ness. No one would believe him, and it could already stir up a case with the police, and that was too risky. He had to deal with this on his own, no matter how much pain he would endorse. Then, he came to a shocking idea.

His powers. Maybe his power that he had used twice to save his life may do so again. But healing himself? Was it possible? Again, there was only one way to find out. To start, he focused his energy on trying to make his abilities to health than harm. He took a short sigh, and clenched his fists into a ball. He kept him mind on the idea, and continued to push himself to do so. His though then felt as if it was transferred to physical form, to his hands.

His hands then turned a sudden glowing green, and he realized that it was working. He had done it! Ness then placed his hands on his stomach, and felt a wave of relaxation form over him. The pain went way. The swelling went down in a second. He took his hands off, and found that the wound was gone! The life-up also worked on his arm, as it too went away. The cut from the bullet was gone, and he felt no pain, except for the minor scraps, but he could deal with those.

Feeling much better, he left the office. His mind was blown, and he instantly wondered what else he could do with his powers. No one stared at the dirty mess that was over him, and no one was concerned when he left like he just left a war. But when he finally left to the streets, he noticed something in the sky. The sun was about to go down. Was he out cold that long? I guess he needed a place to stay.

After an hour of searching, and the day turning into dawn, he found a hotel called "Hotel Twoson". Although it wasn't the most creative name, he would do anything to get a good night's slumber. The four story building was a grey color, and looked fairly recent. He went to the front desk, and asked for the price. Eighty dollars was the bare minimum. He felt stupid knowing that he had wasted his money on the bat, when he could have gotten a place to stay and….he forgotten his bat in the caves.

Another slap to the face, he wanted to punch himself when he remembered that he had left the seventy-five dollar bat in the dangerous tunnel. It was too dangerous to go back, and Ness knew that he was in a pickle. But he knew that there was one way to get money. And that was to call his dad.

He had never spoken to his dad in years. After he left when he was five, the only contact that they have ever had was through the phone, and that was rare. It wasn't the greatest time to have a heart to heart for money, but it was worth a shot. When he found a drug store, he found a green telephone to place four nickels into, and dialed the number as he stared up at the flickering lights, and poorly stacked items in the aisles.

The phone beeped four times, right before Ness felt like it was a long shot, but he was happy to hear someone pick it up.

"Hello? Who's this?" said his father. It was scary for Ness to finally talk to his dad in forever, and it almost made him tear up finally hearing him again. He knew that his father would be joyed to hear his son's voice again.

"Hey dad. This is Ness." Ness said trying to keep it on the safe side. But instead of a nice reply back, all he said was, "Why the hell are you calling at this hour, Ness?! You know I'm working at this hour!"

Heartbroken, he asks as quickly as he could, "I was just going to ask if you could….loan me some money?"

He heard a loud grunt, and his father saying, "What do you need any money for? A Nintendo game? A gumball? What?"

"I need to stay in a hotel. Just for the night."

"Why do you need to stay in a hotel? That's what your mother made me do. That sure pissed me off."

"You were drunk, dad. Can I just have some money? I won't ask you ever again. Please?"

"What? Did you get drunk? You're not twenty-one yet, Ness! Dammit! I-"

"No, Dad! It's just-"

"It's just what, Ness?!"

"I just…*sigh*…I left home. I have to…"

"Oh, so now you're asking me for money because you were stupid enough to run from home? You're out of your damn mind if you think I'm going to-"

"Please Dad! It's not like that! I just…I just-"

"What? What is it?"

"I….I can't tell you. I'm sorry, but I can't. You wouldn't understand, Dad. You were never there to understand."

Silence.

His father sighed, and then said, "Fine. I'll give you one-fifty. That's it. Now get off the phone line before I hang up."

"Okay. I love you…"

Then he hung up.

Ness had to be strong. For his father, and himself. And for the whole world. His mother told him that if someone were to transfer money to him, they would do so through an ATM, and Ness spotted one by his side. He took out and swiped his card, and saw that his balance was one hundred-fifty. Just like what Dad said. He didn't care about what his dad felt like anymore. He felt so distant, like if they were mere acquaintances

When he received his funds from digital numbers to hundred dollar bills, he then decided that he needed another bat. This time, he was going to keep it with him always. But without luck, all he could find was a fairly sturdy wiffle ball bat. There were yoyo's as well, but he knew that most of the time, it would miss the target of choice. So, he went with the original. The bat wasn't anything special though, and it was only twenty dollars for the red plastic toy, but it was better than nothing.

When he returned to the hotel, he was greeted again by the front desk clerk, and handed him the money. His room number was 427, and the sweet smell of a motel was wonderful to him. The room was decent enough, with a queen sized bed, a TV, and a chair with a table. It had its necessities such as a toilet, shower, and bible in one of the drawers. The first thing Ness did was take a long hot shower. The dirt covering his body went down the drain, and he felt refreshed when he stepped out of the steamy room.

After cleaning up, he decided that he was hungry too, and splurged a bit on a pizza that was delivered to his door. After a long day, he felt as if he needed a break. It was his first day away from his mother, besides boy scouts and other camp related getaways. It did him good that he could mend for himself, being just a tween in a world as dangerous as this.

When the pizza arrived, he worshiped it like it was his maker, and devoured the warm greasy fast food. The melting cheese and pepperonis left him full. He didn't eat it all, of course, and left two thirds of it for later. He let out a relaxing sigh, and called it a night after watching two hours worth of his usual cartoons, and fell asleep when the TV was still on. He slept soundly, and quietly, until….

"Ness!"

The boy heard it perfectly well. He questioned if he was awake, and someone was calling him, but he was in a dream. A dream that was filled with darkness. Nothing but black nothingness, except for the sound of a girl calling his name.

"Ness! Can you hear me? You're dreaming. I'm calling to your mind. Can you hear me?"

There went the voice again. He came to the conclusion that it was part of his subconscious, and decided to play along.

"Yes," he replied. "I can hear you."

"This isn't part of your dream, Ness, this is real. I'm Paula."

That was what freaked him out to the core. He questioned himself for who knows how long, until she said, "I've been kidnapped by these people in blue. I am your friend that you have never met before. I know that you need to save me. I don't know where I am."

Ness then realized that this WAS real. He went back to when he was talking to Everdred. Why did he want to get revenge on him after he mentioned her name? Did he have something to do with it?

"Please, Ness. I need your help! They're trying to kill me! I'm being sacrificed tomorrow! You must sleep soundly tonight. I will be dead before two if you don't help me!"

….

"You're my only hope, Ness….I don't want to die. Not now…"

Although Ness wanted to wake up from his dream, and save the damsel in distress, the dream began to fade, leaving him to sleep until woken in the morning. But would it be too late?