I've heard before that sometimes, you can go to bed with more worries than you can carry in your head, and wake up the next morning with them seeming less important or just plain gone. That wasn't the case when I woke up the next morning. They were still there.

I woke up on the air mattress in my living room. Corbett was still asleep on the couch and Cassius on the rocking chair. Nightmares had awoken me, but they weren't at all what I had expected them to be like. Instead of my grandpa dying and there being a big funeral for him, or even seeing him at all, I had seen a war going on between the Leafmen and the Boggans. The battle hadn't matched any of mom and dad's stories. It had gone on for a while and all I could do was watch. I couldn't move no matter how much I tried. My family was fighting in the war too. Dad and Cassius were dressed like Leafmen and my mother was right next to dad. Not only that, I was wearing a long, green gown for some reason. Out of nowhere the battle had suddenly stopped and the Boggans made a path between their mobs for someone who looked like their leader. All the Leafmen had looked at me and I had somehow known I had to fight him. Before I was able to see what their leader looked like, I had woken up.

I sat up, stretched and looked at the clock. It wasn't quite seven a.m. yet. It was still early, but I was wide awake anyway. I went into the kitchen and opened the pantry. Mom and Dad had left a lot of options for breakfast. There were a lot of different types of cereals, there was pancake mix, oatmeal mix, bread for toast, even doughnuts! I decided on pancakes, since Corbett had slept over and we all loved them.

After half an hour, I had three plates of hot pancakes. One with blueberry pancakes for Cassius, plain ones for Corbett and chocolate chip pancakes for me. I set the table with the plates, forks, knives, a bottle of syrup, a dish of butter and three glasses of milk.

"Morning, Jet." I heard Cassius say, as I put down the last glass of milk.

"Good morning, Cassius." I replied. He rubbed his eyes and smiled at the sight of the pancakes.

"I thought I smelled pancakes!" He ran to the table and took his place at the chair with the blueberry pancakes. It wasn't long before Corbett came in and took his place as well. We all ate in peace and I could tell the boys were still worried too.

"Thanks for letting me spend the next few nights." Corbett said, breaking the ice.

"No problem." I said. "You're always welcome." Cassius nodded in agreement.

After a few more minutes of silence, I heard the mail truck come to our yard (it was a loud truck.) I got up, took my now empty plates to the sink and ran to the door. Before I could get out, I stopped. There was a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. I know it's a weird reason to stop, but for some reason, I did.

I reached down and picked it up. I recognized it as the paper Dad had been holding. He must have dropped it. At first, it looked like no more than just a crumpled grocery list or something, but as I smoothed it out, I realized more and more that it looked like a letter. I couldn't help but read it.

M.K. and Nod-

We have terrible news to inform you. Our queen was shot and killed by a Boggan just recently. Luckily, she had just chosen an heir just the day before the Boggans attacked. The pod hasn't quite bloomed yet though. We trust you with pods more than anyone else, M.K. and we would love for you to guard it.

Nod, we would like you to train some new recruits. The Boggans discovered an old prophecy that told them that their new leader will be a Stomper that will come into their world and will battle the new heir to the death. Whoever wins the fight will rule the Boggans and us. Their heir hasn't come yet so that gives us time to prepare. You two aren't required to come, but we could really use your help.

-Ronin

"What are you doing, Jet?"

I looked behind me and saw Corbett and Cassius walking towards me. "What's that?" Cassius asked.

I looked at the paper. It had to be some kind of joke! Leafmen, Boggans, those things didn't exsist! But who had the letter come from? I had seen my mom and dad write things before and this didn't look like their handwriting. Then I recalled my grandpa had always told us stories about the Leafmen and Boggans too. Did he write this? No the letter said it was from someone named Ronin.

I handed the letter to Corbett. "I'll be right back." I said and ran to find a phone.

When I reached it, I quickly dialed my Mom's number. After several rings, her answering machine took her place. I hung up and tried calling my Dad, only to hear his answering machine too.

"Jet, what is this?" Corbett asked, walking into the kitchen, holding the letter.

"What does it say?" Cassius pestered him.

"I'm trying to find that out for myself, but neither Mom nor Dad will pick up the phone." I replied.

"Why don't you try calling your grandpa?" Corbett asked.

"Why are you calling Mom and Dad?" Cassius asked. I could tell he was getting frustrated but I paid no attention to it as I dialed Grandpa Bomba's number.

"Hello?" someone asked after four rings.

"Grandpa?"

"Oh, hello Jet! How are you?"

Something was wrong. Normally people sound weak when they're sick. My grandpa sounded completely fine!

"I'm fine. I'm just wondering how you're feeling."

"Oh I'm feeling great!"

I paused for a moment. "You're not sick?"

I could practically hear his confusion. "No, who told you that?"

"Oh, I just… thought I heard mom tell dad you were and… I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

"Well, you must have heard wrong because I'm perfectly fine!"

"Ok, that's a relief…" I lied. "I have to go, bye!" I hung up quickly, not waiting for his response.

"What's going on?!" Cassius practically shouted.

I looked at Cassius. "Hey champ, you remember those stories Mom and Dad used to tell us about the Leafmen and the Boggans?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Yeah why?"

"Do you remember where they took place?"

"It was in a place called Moonhaven." I could tell he was still confused.

"Well, where was that?"

Cassius thought for a minute. "I think it was in the forest where grandpa lives."

"Jet, what are you saying?" Corbett asked.

"I don't know, but I remember Dad was carrying this piece of paper yesterday. My grandpa's not sick so they lied about where they're going. Something in my heart is telling me we need to go to the forest."

Corbett looked at me like I was insane. Cassius on the other hand looked like he was going to snap. I sighed, took the letter from Corbett and gave it to him. He read it and got an excited look on his face.

"I knew they were real! I knew it!" he cheered, jumping up and down.

Corbett dragged me to the side. "This is crazy! You know they don't exist!" he whispered.

I nodded. "I know, but until we know where mom and dad are for real, we need to trust this letter."

I turned to Cassius. "Cassius, get dressed. Corbett, pack a couple lunches and also get dressed."

Cassius immediately did what he was told. I could tell Corbett still thought I was crazy, but did as he was told too. I quickly got dressed in an orange shirt with red stripes and jeans. I put my hair in its usual ponytail with two short strands still hanging at the sides of my face.

I met the boys in the living room. Corbett had three lunches and was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt and Cassius was wearing his favorite overalls with a white shirt underneath. He had a small, brown bag on his shoulder. I grabbed the house key and my cell phone. Corbett had already called a taxi and it was waiting outside for us when we went out the door, locking it behind us.

To be continued