Chapter 2: Encounters
Isaac burst out of the theater in a blustery panic, only to slam into some mysterious object on his way out. As he tumbled to the ground in wild disarray, realization suddenly struck him like a brick to the face.
"Watch where you're going you klutz!" Alex snapped furiously as she slapped Isaac upside the head, sending his cap tumbling off his head. She was absolutely soaked in her newly purchased soda.
"Alex, look, I... ah, ah, ah, gotta go. I've, er, ah, uhm, forgot about my curfew, bye!" Isaac stuttered nervously before bolting for the exit, desperately trying to escape the invisible menace, and to a lesser extent, Alex's temper.
"But what about my--!" Alex shouted back angrily before realizing that he had run past earshot.
"...soda."
Isaac continued running, his paranoia gripping him by his throat. As he sprinted down the sidewalk with reckless abandon, he felt a few isolated raindrops strike against his cheek before a blinding assault of liquid bullets seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Squinting his eyes, he wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but in the swirl of panic that had beset him it really didn't matter. Everything was a blur. Faces, buildings, surroundings, it all seemed to run together like spilled buckets of paint. He huffed and gasped as he charged down the sidewalk. Isaac suddenly lurched forward as the toe of his shoe caught something in stride, screaming as he stumbled and lunged headfirst into the mound of trash, sending clusters of debris flying in every direction.
"AAHGH!"
Clutching his elbow, Isaac rolled up his sleeve to discover tiny droplets of blood oozing from a newly acquired scrape. Twice in one day. It just kept getting worse. His lungs were parched and raw, and his legs ached. He fell back into the filthy trash pile, unable to move another muscle, pausing few moments to catch his breath. As he shifted his glance, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A faint rustling motion under a pile of garbage. His breath shortened, quickly recalling the incident in the theater. His gaze locked in place, Isaac felt his hand glide over the mound of junk, almost like it was moving on its own. Bracing himself, he swept the detritus aside in one quick stroke and, with his last ounce of self control, recoiled in terrified expectation.
He saw what appeared to be a small, lizard-like creature nestled under an old shattered window pane. No legs, no arms, only a pair of vestigial, stumpy wings. It's only true distinguishing marks were a pair of odd looking horns, similar to that of a reindeer, and a bizarre, wispy tail that appeared almost as if being made out of threaded silk. Chuckling to himself in self-satisfied amusement, he flopped his hand down onto the petit animal and patted it affectionately, breathing a sigh in relief. Just some stupid stuffed toy. As he relaxed himself, Isaac paused, a terse shudder from under his hand.
Slowly turning and lifting his trembling hand, Isaac's jaw dropped in astonishment. This was no stuffed animal. Whatever it was, it was staring directly at him with an icy lavender eye. It's gaze was petrifying. It stirred and winced uncomfortably. He couldn't believe it.
"What?..." The only response could provide.
At length, the creature rolled its eye into the back of its head and lowered its eyelid. Isaac blinked and gritted his teeth, not knowing what to do. He furrowed his brow in intense concentration, groping for a plan of action. His childish excitement getting the better of him, he lurched over to the weird critter and carefully scooped it into his open jacket. It was sopping wet, sending a chill running down his spine as it pressed against his chest. Analyzing his surroundings, Isaac realized that he had passed his house a full block ago. He groaned.
Arriving back home, he snatched the front door key out from under a potted plant and quietly made an entrance. Tiptoeing through the kitchen, Isaac made a b-line for his bedroom, softening every creak of the floor as he slinked his way towards the staircase leading upstairs.
"What happened?" A voice exclaimed from the living room. Isaac flinched. Busted.
"Oh! Uh, erm..." Isaac stammered, "Well, the movie wasn't very good so we decided to leave early." he lied.
"Which one did you go see?" His father continued casually, waltzing into the doorway and leaning against the wall.
"Leh Deeprimay." Isaac responded.
"Boy, oh boy, you sure rushed out of that theatre in a hurry," his dad chuckled, "I think you might have been a little too young really get that movie." He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "What's in your jacket?"
"Uh, just some lame stuffed animal I found on my way back." Isaac replied sheepishly, tucking it a bit farther back into his coat to hide it.
"If it was so lame why did you keep it?"
"Because... it... would've been wasteful?" Isaac smiled nervously. His father just shook his head.
"I'll never understand you son."
"Maybe you're trying too hard. I'm wet. I think I'm gonna change my clothes." Isaac replied hastily, rushing up to his room to escape the conversation.
"Yeah, maybe..." His father responded to himself.
Isaac slammed the door behind him, making a point to lock it, and emptied his coat onto the bed. The creature tumbled out limply, coming to rest next to a pile of books and overdue homework. Shivering from the cold, Isaac bounded over to the dresser and briskly undressed, his shirt clinging tenaciously to his skin as he tried to pull it off, and threw on some drier apparel. Turning around, he quickly took notice of the scaly animal. Sitting up on his bed, it barred it's teeth and hunched back in a defensive stance. He felt a cold bolt of shock rush through his body.
"Who are you? Where am I?!" The creature growled murderously. Isaac would have run, but he couldn't move his legs.
"D-d-d-you can talk?!" He stuttered in complete disbelief.
"You heard--... wait, what? Of course I can talk." The reptile replied absentmindedly. Its tone changing almost instantaneously, a distinctly nasal inflection in its speech pattern became clear. It would have been hysterical if Isaac was not so terrified. "What are you? I don't think I've ever seen a digimon like you before." it continued, tilting its head curiously.
"A Digiwhat? I don't know what you're talking about!" Isaac hissed through his teeth. "What're you?"
"A digimon! Where do you think we are?"
"Planet earth!" he snapped.
An expression of distinct confusion spread over the strange animal's face. As he continued staring at the creature, it gracefully glided into the air and floated towards him, scanning him apprehensively while flitting all about him like a dragonfly. Isaac just couldn't process what he was witnessing. He felt uneasy.
"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we should start by exchanging names." he continued anxiously, "I'm Isaac. You are...?"
"Babydmon." He replied, drifting away bashfully.
"Babydmon, huh? See? That wasn't so bad." Isaac smiled, trying his hardest to appear friendly.
"You're boring. Let's fight!" Babydmon snarled playfully.
"What? No!" He coaxed nervously as the digimon rushed towards him.
Isaac winced in anticipation, throwing his head to one side to try and avoid the attack. As he pried his eyes open, he noticed a strange orange glow pulsing from outside his window, distorted and twisted by the rain pattering and rolling off the glass. Turning and strolling towards the pane, he peered outside as Babydmon whizzed by behind Isaac, himself mesmerized by the aurora flickering in the distance.
"What's going on out there?" Isaac whispered, straining his eyes at the light.
Pressing his hands against the window, a twisted shape began to rise up from the depths and block the light. Its figure distinctly inhuman, Isaac drew in terror back as it emitted an eerie, low pitched groan that seemed to carry for miles. As he continued to stare in disbelief, suddenly Babydmon rushed past him towards the window, striking against the glass violently and falling to the ground.
"What was that?!" Isaac inquired, kneeling down to inspect the lizard.
"I gotta go, I gotta go!" Babydmon beamed joyously, still dizzy from his bump on the head.
"Go where? You didn't even answer my question!" Isaac snipped impatiently before hearing an odd clicking noise from outside his room.
"Is everything okay in there? I heard a voice!" Isaac's dad inquired through the door. The voice rattled him.
"I gotta go," the lizard continued "I gotta go!"
"Everything is fine!" Isaac yelled towards the door, clutching his head in frustration, trying desperately to keep the situation under control.
"Come with me!" Babydmon pleaded.
"Why?" Isaac whispered curtly.
"Because you're my friend." He muttered shyly.
Isaac cocked an eyebrow haughtily by this revelation as Babydmon stared back at him imploringly. Folding his arms, his expression dropped as Babydmon's lower lip rippled, attempting unsuccessfully to hold back his tears. If that thing started bawling, he would have to explain the whole situation. Isaac sighed, grabbed his soggy coat nonchalantly and threw it over his back.
"This better be good," Isaac droned unenthusiastically, pointing to the opening he left in his jacket.
"Get in and keep your trap shut."
Babydmon grinned cheerfully and shot into his jacket swiftly, catching Isaac both off guard and off balance. After carefully reorienting himself, he strolled over to the door and exhaled curtly, prepping himself a confrontation. With one wild motion, he unlocked the door and swung it open, coming face to face with his father.
"What are you doing?" Isaac's father asked sternly, narrowing his eyes in embarrassment. "Were you talking to yourself?"
"I forgot something I've got to give to Alex! I gotta go!" Isaac responded hurriedly as he blew past his father. He could have sworn his dad yelled something back at him, but Isaac couldn't tell what it was as he flew through the kitchen and out the back door.
Heading outside into the heavy rain, Babydmon suddenly burst out of his jacket and darted about briskly and probed his surroundings spastically. Suddenly, he gasped in delight and bolted down the empty street with startling speed. Isaac spat onto the ground and gave chase, gasping and panting to keep up with the tiny reptile as it flew down the middle of the road like a miniature rocket. As he continued to run along the sidewalk, Isaac took noticed of the buildings as they whizzed by. They were heading back to the theatre.
Upon approaching the multiplex, Isaac froze in astonishment at what he saw. A tremendous skeletal being stood in the crumbling wreckage of the movie house, slowly lumbering its way out of the ruins and into the street. Its body jangled and buckled unnaturally as it walked, the knotty ligaments twisting and cracking like gigantic weatherworn ropes. The beast opened its mouth and let out a gut-churning groan, its empty eye sockets abruptly lighting up like hot coals. Straining his jaw in terror, Isaac quickly took notice of Babydmon, who rushed towards the giant skeleton like a tiny dart.
"Babydmon, stop!" Isaac shouted frantically, but his screams were drowned in a cacophony of splitting timber and cracking concrete.
As he flew towards his adversary, Babydmon puffed himself up like a hot air balloon and unleashed a sudden burst of fire directly into the eye of the skeleton. It flinched, groaning irately. Turning its bony head to face his attacker, the titan effortlessly swatted Babydmon away with the back of his hand, sending it zipping into the wreckage of the movie house. Isaac gasped as he watched him disappear into the debris. Almost unable to control his reflexes, he charged towards the ruined movie house, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. The monster only seemed to grow taller and more intimidating as he ran, deep cuts and battle scars becoming evident on its ivory limbs as he closed the gap. The monster didn't even seem to notice the puny child as he ran between his legs. Its gaze fixed squarely on something else in the distance; the skeleton began to march its way down the street.
"This is insane..." Isaac huffed to himself as he clamored over the slippery rubble, searching frantically for any sign of Babydmon. Too terrified to call his partner by name, he suddenly heard a soft moan from under his feet. Turning his gaze downwards, Isaac saw the tiny creature lodged in a hole and surrounded by theatre seats and white vinyl surfacing, its face contorted in agony.
"Hang on, I'm gonna get you outta there." Isaac comforted warmly, somewhat confused by his own reaction.
He quickly fell to his knees and gritted his teeth as he stretched and strained his hand towards Babydmon, feeling his fingers lightly brush up against its scaly body. Withdrawing his head from the crevice, he pounded the concrete furiously with his fist and began heaving heavy chunks of rubble aside, the cold rain and concrete stinging his fingers. Dropping down once again he reached for Babydmon, this time wrapping his hand gently around and pulling him out, cradling the injured reptile as he stood back up.
Without warning, the ground beneath Isaac suddenly sprung to life, blazing with a piercing white light. Blinded by the abrupt flash, he threw his arm in front of his face to shield himself from the light, slipping and falling down onto the jagged cement and fumbling Babydmon like a football. His eyes adjusting to the glow, he began to feel his arm sink into what he thought was solid concrete like he was standing in quicksand. He grunted in exertion, trying to pull himself out, but only felt himself sink deeper as he struggled.
"Help! Someone help me!" Isaac pleaded, praying that someone could hear his screams.
He continued to try and fight his way out of the plasma, struggling with every ounce of his might to free himself. But it was no use, the luminescent fluid continued to draw him into itself. He watched helplessly as Babydmon sank into the floor and disappeared from sight, leaving him all alone and unable to free himself.
Isaac could only scream as the viscous sap passed over his face, engulfing him in white.
