CHAPTER 2

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Agh, I didn't upload last week, did I? Sorry… and this chapter's short.

So you know what that means?

IT MEANS AN UPDATE SOMETIME WITHIN THIS WEEK BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER IS SO DAMNED SHORT!

But until then, enjoy this one!

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SECOND EARTH

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Mark Diamond was that typical nerdy, slightly clumsy kid every school had. How he and Bobby had become friends in the first place was a slight bit of a mystery.

Mark had messy black hair and large framed glasses. He always had a bag of baby carrots in his pocket. He truly believed that eating carrots would improve his eyesight…but so far, no results. He was currently sitting in his fourth period math class; his mind on anything but the subject.

He was fiddling with a ring around his right index finger. He couldn't remember how he had gotten it…he was fairly certain he had woken up with it on. Perhaps his mom played a strange joke…?

"Mark, are you listening?"

Mark jumped in his seat and pulled his overly long shirt sleeves over his hand. "Y…yes…"

His teacher tapped the whiteboard with a dry-erase marker. Mathematical equations filled the entire thing. "Then can you kindly tell us the answer?"

"Uh…" Mark stuttered. "Um…if all that is c-correct up there…then the answer is…" He trailed off.

A few kids snickered. The person behind him kicked the back of his chair.

"I'm waiting," the teacher said.

"Uh…" The ring on his finger began to heat up. "I…um…" It felt as though it was growing…

"I uh…I gotta go to the bathroom!" Mark shouted, jumping up from his desk and running to the door, hand clasped over his ring. His teacher shouted something at him, but he was already halfway down the hall.

He barely made it to the bathroom. The ring was making strange sounds as he took it off his finger and nearly threw it. Where it landed on the tiles, a burst of light flashed, catching him by surprise. The strange sounds turned to music.

Mark covered his eyes as the lights flashed once more before it declined; music and lights vanishing as fast as they had come.

Lying next to the ring was a small notebook addressed to him.

"What the…?" Mark shakily approached the ring and papers and retrieved them. He began to flip through the pages, disbelief filling his face.

Mark?

Hey, man. I'm not entirely sure if this is really happening, but if it is, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. So much has happened in the past day…I'm still trying to take it all in…

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FIRST EARTH

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Let's get one thing straight…

I hate heights. I absolutely despise them.

But Amanda and her little group didn't pay me any attention.

It turns out we had to get back to their Mother Base by a 'rather exciting balloon ride', as Uncle Press put it. It was anything but that. I threw up twice.

They called this method of transportation Fulton Recovery…I like to call it, the worst freaking ride of my life. They strapped a harness onto me and then attached the balloon, and whoosh! Off I went. We were delivered to a waiting helicopter.

By the time we made it back to their base, which was located in THE MIDDLE OF THE FREAKING OCEAN, I couldn't stand on my own; even after the relaxing helicopter ride. That balloon part really scared me senseless.

"It's just the first time, hun. You'll get used to it." Amanda promised with a smile.

I managed a weak head shake and a pitiful look. She helped me stand and Press led me inside.

"It really is just the first time thing," he said. "When they shipped me back here for the first time, I was worse than you."

"I find that hard to believe," I groaned. "Where are you taking me?"

"Sick bay. You look like you need a bit of time to recover."

"Gee, thanks," I growled. "Do they offer therapy? Because what I went through in the last few hours alone are enough to drive me insane…"

Press laughed, but it was a bitter, almost forced laugh. "There's more to it."

I sighed heavily and focused on not coating the hallways with the contents of my stomach.

We eventually made it to a pair of oaken double doors. Press opened them and declared, "We've got one for you, Para-Medic!"

We entered into a large room. Beds were lined against the walls, small stands nearby them. Medical supplies were stashed in a large closet. It smelled of disinfectant and some kind of cleaning supplies.

A fairly young girl with short, dark hair came from another door. She was dressed in white doctor's scrubs and looked fairly bored. Her face immediately brightened when she saw Press.

"You…you weren't gone even a week…!" she stuttered.

"Was I?" Press said. "I thought I did a bit better than last time."

"Who's this?" the woman's attention shifted to me.

"I'm Bobby. Bobby Pendragon. Press' nephew." I extended a hand.

She removed a rubber latex glove from her hand and gave me a hearty shake. "Pleased to meet you, Bobby. I'm Para-Medic, chief medical officer of the Mother Base. Press has told me so much about you."

"He has?" I asked.

"I was curious about the new member that would soon join our ranks." Para-Medic shrugged and tugged the glove back on. "Everyone was. I'm sure you'll get the chance to speak with them later on."

"Wait…everyone?!" I blinked.

"Everyone in Mother Base. It's not every day a young person joins our ranks. In fact, maybe you and Paz will get along…"

"Er…Para-Medic, Bobby used the Fulton Recovery system for the first time…he didn't respond well to it." Press changed the conversation. I silently thanked him, as I felt as though I was about to flip with the amount of fame I currently had bestowed upon me from the Base's occupants. I don't like to feel like a celebrity.

"Oh, right. I suppose that's why you showed up here first." Para-Medic motioned to a bed in the corner. "Take a seat there or lie down. If you don't feel better in a few minutes, holler for me. I've got medical records to fill out."

She walked back into the room she had exited to greet us. I hobbled to the bed and lay down, grateful for the soft pillow.

"I'll leave you here for now. If you need me, tell Para-Medic I'll be in the Intelligence Unit." Press headed out of the sick bay, leaving me in nearly complete silence, save for the occasional shuffling of Para-Medic's papers in the background.

I must have dozed off at some point. I awoke from the sun's red rays shining in my face as it began to set. I sat up, feeling much better than I had been before.

"You're up at last?" Para-Medic was standing in the doorway of the adjacent room.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged and yawned.

"Good. You won't miss dinner after all." She smiled. "That is, if you're up for it."

"I think so." I responded, slowly getting to my feet.

"There isn't anything a good rest can't cure." Para-Medic said. "Come on. I'll show you to the mess hall."

We headed out of the sick bay to the hallway. She lead me down said hallway and up two flights of stairs before we came to another set of double doors. She pushed them open and we entered into a large room filled with tables, chairs and people.

Almost as soon as we stepped foot into the room, the chatting and laughing abruptly stopped. They all turned and stared at me.

"Everyone, this is Bobby Pendragon. Press' nephew and newly recruited member." Para-Medic said.

There was a second's worth of silence before they all rose to their feet and saluted. One man walked my way and held out a hand. He had a crushing grip.

"Welcome to Mother Base, Pendragon," he said in a hushed, deep, gruff voice. "I'm the leader here, and the next Traveler of First Earth. Call me…Snake."

I was pretty sure my mouth fell open.

So that's where I'm leaving this journal off. I hope you're reading this, Mark. Heck, I hope anybody's reading this…

See ya, buddy.

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SECOND EARTH

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See ya, buddy.

Mark gathered up the papers and ran out of the bathroom. He reached his locker and had to input the combination three times before the lock deactivated due to shaking fingers.

He stashed the papers in his pack and slammed the door shut, leaning against it. He held the ring in his hand, examining the strange symbols around the stone. Eight symbols in all, all with a different sign. Signs of the Territories, maybe?

And could he write back to Bobby?

It was worth a shot…

He opened the locker again and retrieved some paper and a pen. He began writing in the hallway, scribbling as fast as he could.

"What are you doing?"

Mark jumped and stared up at Courtney Chetwynde, the girl Bobby had had a crush on since forever.

Courtney was a rather sporty, tomboyish girl who didn't follow most crowds. She was wearing a t-shirt and soccer shorts, a soccer ball held under one arm. Her blonde hair was back in a ponytail.

"Well? Mark? What are you doing?"

"I'm…w-writing…" Mark stuttered.

"In the hallway? We have desks for that, you know."

"Y-yeah…I know…"

"Who are you writing to?" Courtney continued.

"Um…Bobby…"

"Bobby? Don't you see him every day, anyway?" She thought for a second. "Now that I think about it, though…he isn't here today, is he?"

Mark shook his head. "He's…uh…sick."

"Right," Courtney nodded. "Then why are you writing a letter to him when you can just visit him?"

"Um…"

Courtney raised an eyebrow.

"He's in the hospital…!" Mark stammered.

"Really?" Courtney looked shocked. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah…uh, I have to g-get back to class…" Mark gathered his papers up and hurried down the hall.

Courtney cast him a strange look as he went. She shrugged and headed to the gym, making a mental note to call the Pendragons at a later time.

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Heck, I also hope someone is reading this as well.

Anyway, now that most of the major characters are introduced, the next few chapters won't be so boring. The beginnings of series for me are always so FREAKING DULL.

But now they hopefully won't be.

Please, please, please, leave a review. I really need to hear from who's reading this and what they think of it so far. I need to know if I need to make improvements. I'm trying to make this my best series yet.

So please leave your thoughts and feelings in that little review space. Reviews make me happy and brighten up my dull days.

So until I upload again…

Hasta la Vista, Readers!

Lordoftheghostking28