Chapter 3
Escaping the Woods
Matt sat in a cave next to Aaron, Matt sharpening his spear and Aaron just minding his own business.
It's been a day since they first met, and while having to share the cave wasn't pleasant for either of them, they both remained calm, knowing that working together will give them both a better chance at escaping the woods.
The two were sitting in the cave waiting for the rain outside to die down. Matt finished sharpening his spear and saw Aaron just sitting there silently.
"So, how'd you end up here?" he asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Aaron replied, instantly and irritatedly.
"Oh, gotcha, too personal," Matt reacted, before reminding himself, "Boundaries, Matt."
That's when the rain stops.
"Finally," said Aaron. "We can get moving again."
The two then left the cave and carried on with finding a way out of the woods.
A few hours later…
As Matt and Aaron searched the woods for any possible way out, they came across a giant bug. This bug looked like a giant firefly. Matt was amazed just looking at them and he took a picture. This draws their attention.
"Matt!" Aaron shouted. "That's a Lightning Bug! Whenever it feels threatened…"
That's when the Lightning Bug fired lightning and shocked both Matt and Aaron. Thankfully, they were both okay, their fronts just appeared black from the shock. As a plus, Matt's phone was charged up to 10000%.
"That happens," Aaron finished.
"Sorry, I didn't know that," Matt replied. "Where I'm from. Lightning bugs are just tiny creatures that appear at night and have these blinky lights. They are awesome to see."
"That's actually super cool," said Aaron.
"I know," Matt replied.
The Bugs tried to attack Aaron again, but Matt quickly pushed Aaron out of the way, Matt getting hit by the electricity instead, and Matt almost passed out from how painful it was. He still managed to get up. He then used his wooden spear to stab the bug, though the spear broke in the process.
Aaron approached Matt and said, "Thanks for saving me."
"You're welcome," Matt replied. "I just can't stand seeing an innocent person get hurt."
"You're not so bad, Matt," said Aaron. "You seem like a cool person."
That's when Aaron makes a face like he realized something.
"What's wrong?" asked Matt.
"I encountered those shortly after ending up in these woods," Aaron replied. "It means we're getting close to the way out."
"Awesome," said Matt, hopeful they'll be out of the woods soon.
Aaron runs farther and Matt follows.
As the two run, they come across a canyon. It was super wide, and on the other side of it was a small town. Aaron looked to his right and saw a small rickety bridge that can be used to cross it.
The two boys made their way to the bridge and got ready to cross.
Aaron took a step but his foot slipped through the crack and he started to fall down the canyon. Matt grabbed Aaron's hand tightly and pulled him back up.
The two then tried to cross, being very careful not to slip and make sure the bridge didn't break under their weight. After what felt like hours, they made it across.
The two then started looking around the town, as townsfolk saw Matt and had mixed reactions. Some were disgusted and were covering their kids' eyes. Others were fascinated by him and wanted to get a closer look, but they would still keep their distance, just to be safe.
Aaron led Matt to the end of the town, where there was a small house. Aaron knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a pink newt with long, dark hair in a ponytail, and nice clothing answered. She gasped at the sight of Aaron, shed a couple tears, and hugged Aaron.
"It's good to see you, Catherine," said Aaron, also shedding tears of joy.
Inside the house, a 45 year old green toad with a damaged eye came towards the door.
"Is everything alright, Catherine?" he asked, before turning towards Aaron.
The toad hugged Aaron, also tearing up.
"It's good to see you, too, Dareth," Aaron said, not so happy.
When the three amphibians broke free from their hug, Catherine and Dareth looked behind Aaron, seeing Matt standing there.
"We don't know what you are," said Catherine. "But thank you for bringing Aaron back to us."
"You're welcome," Matt replied. "My name is Matt by the way."
Matt looks and sees the sun setting. He turns towards Dareth and asks, "Do you mind if I stay here for the night?"
"Not at all," Dareth replied. "It's the least we can do in return for you bringing Aaron back to us."
Matt enters the house and looks around. It had a nice interior. It wasn't a big house like the one he had back on earth, but it looked pretty nice.
"It's so bizarre to see a creature like you in a place like this," said Dareth. "How'd you get here if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well," Matt replied. "I'm not comfortable enough to explain the full details, but let's just say I come from another world. I was hanging out with some friends of mine, and before I knew it, I ended up in this world and my friends were nowhere to be found. My current plan is to rest here for the night and then go back out there to find my friends."
"That's not a very good idea," said Catherine. "Amphibia is filled with many dangerous creatures, and you claim that you haven't been here for very long, so it's best that you stay and get used to living in this world before you go search for these friends of yours."
"Alright," said Matt.
That night, the amphibians set up a sleeping area for Matt in the house basement. Aaron comes in.
"Hey," he said. "I want to thank you again for helping me escape the woods."
"You're welcome," Matt replied.
"I was wondering if we could just talk in the morning, get to know each other more and such?" asked Aaron.
"I'm okay with hanging out," Matt replied. "Just not tomorrow. I need some time to get used to this world."
"Oh, I understand," Aaron replied. "Well, good night."
Aaron then shuts the door.
Matt grabs his phone and starts recording.
"Hey, girls," he said to the camera. "It's been a while. Just to catch you up on everything, I lost my spear fighting a Lightning Bug. The Lightning Bugs here aren't just giant Fireflies like those in our world. They actually fire lightning when threatened. I learned that the hard way so you don't have to, unless you already encountered one before I started recording this. I met a blue frog boy around our age named Aaron, and his adopted parents, a toad named Dareth and a newt named Catherine. I'm staying with them for as long as I need to to get used to this world. Don't worry, I will find you as soon as I get used to this new environment. I miss you, girls, and I hope to see you again."
Meanwhile, in the Southern Valley of Amphibia, Anne Boonchuy was sitting in the basement next to a sleeping pink frog boy named Sprig. Anne looked at the group photo of her friends.
"Sasha, Marcy, Matt," she said. "I hope you guys are okay, because I am."
Meanwhile, in a tower in the same valley, a toad with a similar look to Dareth, damaged eye and all, approached a prison cell. He shows a yellow shoe to the prisoner.
"Take a look at this, Sasha," said the toad. "It was found far from here, in the South Forest. Now we know that you've been lying to us. Now we know that there are more of you."
Sasha sits in the cell silently, with only one thing on her mind: hope that her friends are okay.
Meanwhile, in a castle in what looks like a big city, Marcy was sitting in a bedroom writing in her journal. She wrote, "First, I'm dropped into this fantasy world. Then, I'm invited to stay with the king of said world. Now I get to fix an ANCIENT BRIDGE?! COULD THIS WEEK GET ANY MORE PERFECT?!" She then backed down and wrote a smaller note on a different part of the page. "I hope Sasha, Matt, and Anne are okay." She then drew pictures of her three friends and then herself looking at them with a sad face. She then drew a talk bubble next to the drawing of herself and wrote "Miss you" into it.
Marcy then closes the journal and falls asleep.
So there you have it.
Matt is now living with an Amphibian family. I know the whole living with a frog, toad, and newt thing has already been done, a couple times actually, but I have hopes you'll be satisfied with how I handle the relationship between the characters.
For now, before I get back to writing this, I have another fanfiction planned. A Security Breach Rewrite to develop hype for the DLC coming in July.
See you on July 1st when its first chapter comes out.