I've gained some eager readers who have encouraged me to keep it up. Thanks guys--you don't know how much your input means to me.
Anyway, I've solved the formatting problem and hopefully in the future there will be no more 'un-indented' new paragraphs.
With that said, read on!
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CHAPTER 11
After a few hours of internet surfing and social networking, Marcy glanced at the clock. “Woah, five o’clock already?” she exclaimed. Her stomach rumbled. I haven’t eaten anything since lunch, she remembered. I’m starving!
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Creeping out of her room, she peered around the corners of the door. No one was in sight. She tiptoed to the kitchen, opened the pantry, and grabbed a box of granola bars. She stole back to her room, looking left and right for people. The whole house was silent. They must all be in the big cave room, thought Marcy. Oh well, what do I care?
Back in her room, she opened the box of bars and ate four of them. She chugged some water from her bathroom sink and suddenly felt very sleepy. Yawning and stretching, she flopped on her bed once more. Nap time.
***************
“Wake up!”
Marcy rolled over. “Just five more minutes, it’s not time for school yet,” she mumbled.
“Marcy, wake up! Hurry! We’re running out of time!” The voice didn’t sound like the one she was used to waking up to. She opened her eyes. Alex’s worried face stared down at her. “Get up, now!”
Suddenly she was wide awake. “What are you doing in my room? Why are you here? What’s wrong?” Alex looked terrified.
“Matt is coming soon!” he babbled. “He’s going to take the Shimner--the big box that’s in the basement--and he’s also going to kidnap some of the wizards and witches here! He needs them, he didn’t say for what, but we have to tell Jenny, now!”
“Okay okay okay, slow down--” Marcy began.
“We don’t have time to slow down!” protested Alex. “Where’s Jenny, show me where she is! Matt doesn’t know I’m here. I came here alone, but when he realizes I’m gone then he’ll follow. He planned to come later sometime. Now, show me where Jenny is!”
“Alright!” She was wide awake now. Tousling up her hair, she threw it into a ponytail while she rushed out of the room. Alex followed her. When she reached the living room, she stood on tiptoes and blew on the fireplace mantle. It crumbled to dust and a passage appeared behind it. “Come on, she’s down here. Don’t worry about the fireplace, it’ll reform, Ellah showed me.” Torches lined the wall of the tunnel, and the two ran down it. “She said that only people with the right DNA can open the doorway, so Matt shouldn’t be able to,” Marcy puffed, her voice echoing off the walls.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him,” Alex answered. “He’s very powerful.”
They halted at a big wooden door. Marcy pulled it open to reveal the cavern. It squealed on the hinges as she opened it. Everyone turn to look at her. A surprised expression overcame Jenny’s face.
Marcy pushed Alex forward. “Go on, tell them!” she whispered.
“Everyone, you have to get out of here!” he yelled, his voice amplified by the cave. “Jenny, Matt is coming for your Shimner and probably you, and he’s going to take some of the rest of you, too!”
Instantly, pandemonium broke out. Wizards and witches all began talking at once, and most of them got up and began to scurry toward the door.
Marcy and Alex stood helplessly to the side as people flooded out of the cavern. Jenny seemed to be trying to say something but couldn’t be heard.
A loud explosion sounded from the center of the room. Smoke flooded over the table and from the middle of the table rose a shadow. The shadow grew and grew until it took human form and size. It laughed. “Hello,” it said. It solidified and there stood Matt, smiling maliciously.
“It’s been a while since I came to one of these,” he said. His voice was loud enough to be heard over the noise. Strangely, everyone stopped to listen to him. “I’m sorry to crash the party. There’s some of you who I’d love to spend some time with, but I just can’t spare it--wait, maybe I can!” He tapped his chin. “But since I’m such a busy person…I’ll just have to take you with me!” Jumping off the table, he ran through the petrified crowd and tapped several people on the head. Each one disappeared, leaving a puff of black smoke where they stood. Someone fired a lightning bolt at Matt, but he turned around and caught it. Marcy gasped. “Oh, such pitiful magic,” said Matt condescendingly. “You really can do no better than this?” Flinging the lightning bolt at the wall, he moved on to tapping more wizards and witches.
Jenny finally found her voice. “Enough!” she yelled. “Matt, you’re in my house and you’re kidnapping my friends. I suggest you stop right now!”
“Oh, and what if I don’t feel like stopping?” asked Matt with mild interest. He continued weaving his way through the crowd.
“Why aren’t the people doing anything?” Marcy whispered furiously to Alex. “They have magic, why don’t they use it?”
“Petrification spell,” answered Alex. “They’re all fighting it.”
Jenny got up on the table. “Okay, you asked for it.” She pointed at the wall beside Marcy and Alex. “You guys, get out of here. It’s about to get messy.” There was a whirring sound, and a portal opened up.
Matt hopped onto the other side of the table, facing Jenny. “Oh no you don’t! You”--he pointed at Marcy--“aren’t getting away twice. And Alex, you deserve to be killed for coming here. You will be punished.” Marcy’s father pointed at the portal and it started to shrink rapidly.
“No!” yelled Jenny. She made a throwing motion and a sudden gust of wind knocked over Matt. The portal returned to its normal size. “Go! Now!”
“Come on!” Alex shouted to Marcy as he dove into the portal. She turned to look at Jenny. Matt had gained his footing and was advancing toward her with a wicked smile on his face. Jenny saw her daughter looking at her and pointed to the portal. “Go!”
“But you need help!” Marcy looked around for something to throw at Matt. She ran toward a torch and reached up to grab it.
It crumbled to dust. “Marcy, Marcy,” tsked Matt. “Your mother and I have some things to sort out. No helping.” He wagged a finger at her as he continued walking toward Jenny. The portal started to close again. “You’ll be out of time soon.”
She ran to the portal. The opening was getting smaller and smaller. I want to help Jenny! He’ll kill her if I don’t do something! Marcy thought frantically.
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. Matt was moving as if through jelly, and the torches flickered in slow motion. Marcy’s arms extended in front of her. She didn’t remember moving them. Even more strange, her movements were not slow like the rest of the world. She flattened her palms toward Matt and heard a whoosh as from far off. Blue fire shot from her hands and surrounded her father. The flames didn’t burn her, but Matt began to scream. The fire wrapped around him, encircling him like a giant writhing blue bubble. How did I do that?! Marcy thought, distraught. What did I even do? Will he be okay? She turned around and dove through the portal, still not of her own accord. Hey! I want to see what happens next! she almost yelled. Why don’t I have control over my own body?!
She closed her eyes as the lights sped by her eyes and tumbled out of the portal onto the ground. “Ouch!” she cried. Marcy looked around. She appeared to be in an alley. Sitting on the ground, she put her head in her hands. “What just happened?”
“Huh?” Alex stepped out from behind a building. “What do you mean?”
“I just--this blue fire stuff came out of my hands and I--it went around Matt and it started to burn him and then I came here but--will Jenny be okay? Will Matt be okay? What’s happening?” she babbled. She began to sob, then suddenly felt nauseous. Putting a hand to her stomach, she stood up. “I think I’m gonna--” she began, and then threw up.
After she finished puking her guts out, Alex knelt beside her and dug in his satchel. “Here,” he said, pulling out a vial. “This will help.”
Marcy wiped her mouth and accepted the bottle. She expected it to be full of some vile smelling liquid, but when she pulled the top off, she was greeted with the smell of freshly baked cookies. She gulped down the contents, pleasantly surprised that it also tasted like cookies. “Thanks,” she said when she finished. Her stomach had ceased its roiling.
“Being a healer comes in handy sometimes.” Alex took the empty vial from her hand and put it back into his bag. “Now, what happened?”
“I was watching Matt and Jenny and they were going to battle and I wanted to do something and then everything went in slow motion and I shot this blue fire at Matt and he was burning and then I moved into the portal and came here.” Marcy took a deep breath and looked at Alex expectantly. “Do you know what happened?”
He bore a pensive expression. “I’ve heard of it happening before. Sometimes when they’re young, an inexperienced witch or wizard will do magic that they don’t mean to do. And usually it’s when they’re feeling an extreme emotion.”
“Oh.” Does that mean I’m a wizard or a witch? she thought, slightly scared at the prospect.
Alex stood up and looked around. “Come on, let’s see where we are.” He extended his hand to Marcy. She took it and he pulled her up.
“Déjà vu?” he asked with a crooked smile.
“Yeah,” she answered. “Funny.”
They left the alley and peeked out from between the buildings. Marcy gasped. “Is this Unologe?”
“Looks like it,” answered Alex, his voice tinted with wonder. “This is insane.”
Everything shone in the sun so brightly that it hurt Marcy’s eyes. Skyscrapers that stretched hundreds of feet above the ground were scattered everywhere. Most of the buildings were primarily metal and glass. Small hovering cars whisked past Marcy and Alex on a road before them. Higher up, mini hovercrafts also zoomed back and forth with the flow of traffic.
“I need some sunglasses,” commented Marcy as she gazed all around. I’m in sci-fi city! This is crazy!
“Hang on, let me fix that.” Alex rooted in his bag and pulled out two pairs of sunglasses. He handed one to Marcy. “Matt told me a lot about your world. He brought a few pairs of these back one time when he went to visit. They’re very useful.”
“Totally.” Marcy put on the sunglasses and let out a sigh. “So much better. Now I don’t have to squint.”
They continued to look around in silence, taking in everything. Finally, Alex spoke. “Out of all the spaces in the universe, why did Jenny send us here?”
“I have no clue,” answered Marcy. She glanced at him. “I only knew that this existed because Ellah told me. Have you ever been here?”
“Once, a long time ago,” he replied. “Thankfully I have some currency with me somewhere…here it is.” He pulled out a credit card. “It’s like a lot of money just on this little card.”
“I know, we have them on Earth too,” Marcy said. “Kinda cool.”
Alex shifted in place. “So now that we’re here, what do we do?”
“I don’t know,” she answered. “She probably sent us here for a specific reason, though.”
“Yeah.” He glanced at her. Wonder if he always looks that sarcastic? thought Marcy. “We’ve got to get some different clothes, though. Those look great for any other space, but we really need to blend in. And you need a bag,” Alex stated.
“Okay, sure. A bag?”
“A messenger bag like mine. You can carry everything in them.”
“Cool.” They both stood awkwardly. “Do you know of any clothing stores?” asked Marcy. Alex peered out at the traffic.
“A few. Looks like we’re in the part of town that I’ve been to, thankfully. We’ll wait for a break in traffic and then--come on, here’s one, let’s go!” He dashed out of the alley and onto the road.
“What the--okay then!” she exclaimed as she sprinted after him. She dove into the madhouse. One hovercar barely avoided her, honking its high pitched horn. “Sorry!” she yelled.
Following Alex through the rush wasn’t easy. Weaving her way through the traffic, she tried to keep her eyes on him and nearly lost him several times. Finally the road ended and she stopped beside Alex, puffing. “A break in traffic? You call that a break in traffic?” she asked incredulously while trying to catch her breath.
“You should see the lunch hour,” Alex responded. He wasn’t even breathing hard. How?! thought Marcy. We just ran through sixty hovering cars all going at full speed and he’s not tired?
“Right,” she panted. “Where’s this store?”
“This way.” He set off, walking briskly. Rolling her eyes, Marcy followed.
They reached the building in less than five minutes. She felt like a bobblehead, trying to take it all in. Everything was silver and glass. Thankfully her eyes didn’t hurt anymore because of the sunglasses.
Even the road was metal. Blue wires and tubes ran up and down the streets, shining in the sunlight. I bet they glow in the dark when it’s night time, thought Marcy absentmindedly. She hurried along behind Alex, trying to catch up and breathe at the same time. Putting on a burst of energy, she ran up beside him and matched his stride. Hah! She smiled at him cheekily.
Then he stopped. “Here we are,” Alex said, and marched into the building without even noticing her. “Ugh!” she pouted, and followed him inside.
It was obviously a clothing shop. Flashy suits hung from racks on the left and right. The inside of the store was as blinding as the outside. Marcy decided not to take off her sunglasses. She looked around. “Where’s the people?” she asked Alex in a whisper.
“Unologians are not known for being friendly and limit interaction for the most part,” he replied. “You have to press a button and they’ll come.” He walked toward the men’s section. “Ladies’ is over there. Come find me when you get something you like, okay? And try not to accidentally mess something up.”
“What? How am I supposed to not ‘accidentally mess something up?’” said Marcy to herself. She wandered over to the women’s department and tried to locate something she could wear. Most of what she found looked too much like Velin’s suit for her liking, but finally she found a silver one with several diagonal stripes of blue running down the sides. There was a belt to go with it, made of a shiny material that appeared to be flexible metal. After some more searching, she also grabbed a messenger bag that, strangely, wasn’t silver. It was in the clearance section and appeared to be made of worn leather. Marcy picked it up, curious. Her fingers tingled as she touched it. Huh. Weird. She slung it over her shoulder. It fit perfectly. I like it. It’s cool and different in this world of frigid technology. She giggled. How poetic. Now, where’s Alex?
He turned out to be still in the men’s section, juggling two suits. “Which one should I pick?” he asked Marcy as she walked up. “I don’t know if I like the shiny silver or the frosty silver.”
“I thought boys didn’t take this long to decide what to wear,” laughed Marcy. “I’d pick the frosty, for kicks. Hey, I found a bag!”
“Oh really?” Alex turned to look at it. “Nice that you found something that’s not a blinding shade of metal.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll go with the frosty. Come on, let’s check out.”
Just like Alex had said, they had to press a button on the counter to send for a cashier. She was tall, just like Velin, and gave them a curious look as she scanned the messenger bag. “You know, we have other better backpacks and things,” she said.
“I know, but I like this one,” answered Marcy. She gazed up at the woman with a hint of defiance. I don’t like it here. It’s too cold and hard.
“Okay, whatever.” She shrugged and went back to scanning.
After changing into their new suits, which were silky smooth, they stuffed their old clothes into their bags and were off.
The two of them stood in front of the store, hands on hips like heroes.
“Uh…what now?” questioned Marcy.
“Why don’t we…” Alex’s stomach grumbled. “…find somewhere to eat first?” he finished.
She laughed. “Sounds good. We can talk about our plan of action over dinner,” she joked. But Alex looked serious as he nodded.
“That’s a great idea. We need to figure out why Jenny sent us here.”
“Yeah. So, any ideas of where to eat?”
Finding a map was easy. “This is a popular tourist stop,” Alex commented. “Everyone loves to see the technology. I don’t care for it, being a healer and all. The forest is my home.”
“I don’t like it either,” replied Marcy. “But back to the problem at hand. This looks fun.” She pointed to a restaurant called The Grind. She had picked it mainly because it was located across the street.
“Awesome. Let’s go.” Alex started to jog toward the restaurant. Marcy sighed and followed. She caught up and began to keep pace beside him.
“Why do you always have to run places?” she asked.
“Because in Unologe they always are going and doing, fast,” he replied. They stopped at an intersection and waited for the light to tell them to cross. There’s another thing like on Earth, Marcy thought. “We need to fit in,” Alex continued. “Pretend like we’re one of them. Which means being rude.”
“I hate being rude.”
“Do you want to die?”
“No!”
“Then be rude.”
Marcy quirked an eyebrow at him as they crossed the road. “Why would I die for not being rude?”
“Anything that stands out here is noticed.” Alex gave her a sincere look. “They take note of everything. The Unologians don’t want anyone stealing their technology, so if you’re different the authorities know you don’t belong.” He shook his head. “You’re always being watched.”
Marcy looked around her. Suddenly everyone looked like a Unologian secret service agent, tracking her every move. She glanced at Alex. “For someone who has been here only once when he was young, you sure know a lot about Unologe.”
“Matt made sure I could survive on my own.” He looked straight ahead as they walked quickly past the people on the street. “He raised me, basically. I came to him when I was about six, I don’t remember anything before him.”
They jogged in silence until they reached the restaurant. It was very busy. “Come on, let’s get some food,” said Alex. Marcy followed him inside and they found a place in line. The restaurant looked like it was some sort of fast food place. However, it was very different from a restaurant on Earth. The first thing she noticed was that it was almost as quiet as a library. This is very weird and uncomfortable, she thought. As she gazed up at the menu above the counter, her face wrinkled up. “What in the world is ‘Oingia?’” she asked Alex incredulously.
“Sh! Keep your voice down!” he whisper-shouted. “Blend in, remember?”
“Oh right. Sorry. But nothing on the menu looks good!” She folded her arms. “I don’t know what to get. What are you getting?”
“I’ve had the Luziz before,” he said to her, leaning in to speak. Marcy could understand why--they were whispering--but it was awkward. I barely know him. He’s creepy. She backed off just a little bit, hoping he’d take the hint. His eyebrows went up just a bit and he leaned back some as well. Good, she thought. He can read signs.
“It’s really good, from what I remember,” he continued, as if the minute exchange hadn’t occurred. “I’m getting that. You’re welcome to get the same thing.”
“Sure.” They ordered from a cashier who was as emotional as a rock, then sat down at a table for two.
“We’re going to need to whisper,” Alex said to Marcy in a low tone. “I don’t want anyone hearing our conversation.”
“Right. Got it. So.” She inspected her nail polish. “What do we need to talk about again?”
Abruptly, he grabbed her hand. She looked at him, startled, and they locked eyes. “I don’t think you understand how serious this is,” he whispered slowly. “Matt wants to kill me and probably you, and he may have already killed Jenny. You can shoot fire out of your hands. This is not when you should check out your…strangely colored nails.” He released her hand but still kept eye contact.
Marcy lowered her hands to the table and clasped them together. Her heart was thumping. He’s right, she decided. I need to focus on the serious stuff. “Okay. I understand now. You talk about what we need to do. I’ll listen.”
“Good.” Alex looked around them at the other customers. They all seemed occupied with their food. He turned back to her. “Matt always has a plan,” he stated. “I’ve seen him do some terrible things. And he’s done some terrible things to me. He won’t stop for anything to get what he wants. I also know that he’s been preparing for something. I don’t know what, but ever since he got me, I’ve felt like he’s been waiting for the perfect chance to…do something.”
“Jenny thought so too,” Marcy interjected. “She was wondering why he had you. She said that Matt usually only wants people for what they can give to him, and that she didn’t…uh, it didn’t seem like you could give him much in the way of magic power.” Hopefully I didn’t offend him, she thought.
He didn’t seem affected, as she had noticed was his habit. “Yeah. Also why did Jenny send us here? I mean--” He stopped as the waitress came to their table, dropped off their plates, and glided away.
“Friendly,” Marcy muttered as she took one of the plates. It was covered in what looked like blue nachos, dripping with silver cheese. “Is everything blue and silver here?” she complained to Alex.
“Pretty much,” he replied. “I’m suddenly longing for some other color too.” He took on an air of sophistication. “But let’s eat first and finish our conversation after, shall we, my dear lady?”
Teasing, she made a gesture of submission. “As you wish, my good sir.”
And without further ado, they dug into the food.So. Unologe. Fun stuff, huh? So scifi.
And Alex. Oh, Alex. I have great plans for him. He's modeled after a certain person with the same name and virtually the same personality. And I love him. XD One of my best characters ever.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Etc?
That's what the comment section is for. :P
Tell me what you think!
~~Zoë Wingfeather
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