I woke up in a strange forest. Next to a dirt path that descended into a small copse of trees. Around the rough terrain, there were stone columns that had fallen into disrepair. The pale shafts of the columns had many cracks in them and even chunks torn out of them. It was strange to see them there, still upright, when there was no longer anything held above them but the sky. Only one column had fallen over. It pointed towards the forest full of blurry leaves and a dark valley beyond. The tree limbs looked weird as they waved in the air. More of a shift back and forth than an actual wave. They looked fake and even though I could hear the wind and see the trees move, I did not feel a breeze at all. Loud animal noises drew my attention down towards the base of the trees. At first there was no movement, but then a man appeared with a strange costume on. He walked along the path on a direct route towards this location.
The lizard costume looked really goofy on him. It reminded me of that inflatable dinosaur costume I saw a few years ago. I doubted that it was store bought, as Halloween was still over two months away. As the man approached me, I backed away from the pathway to make room for him to pass. I had read that it was proper trail etiquette to make room for others on the trail. Once I was off the beaten path, I waved towards him in greeting. I did not call out to him because I did not want to disturb him on his quiet walk in the woods. He probably enjoyed the sounds of the wildlife in the morning. Him being an entire foot taller than me had nothing to do with it. The weapons in his hands did not intimidate me at all either. Two fake daggers, one grasped in each hand. They looked plastic, not sharp at all. I looked up to see if there were eye holes in the neck of the costume for the wearer to see though, but could not see any. The neck and mouth of the costume barely moved at all. Further up on his head were two dark red eyes that never blinked. Some animal horns emerged from the back of his head. Father would say that it looked cheap.
My eyes followed him as he passed by my location. He traveled along the path that led behind me, towards some rather large stone buildings with circular markings on them. There were several entrances into the buildings, but no other beings were seen. If not for the few torches that glowed in the distance, this location would look like an abandoned ruin. With the costumed man further away, I noticed that the words “Trooper Taer” floated above his head. Another man in the same costume emerged from the gloom in the distance, but this one was not alone. He was followed by another person in a skeleton costume. It was small, perhaps with a child inside. “Crusader Bodli” floated above the man while “Crusader Bodli's pet” hung in the air above the skeleton. They both approached the trooper, but completely ignored him as they continued on their route. Instead of plastic daggers, Crusader Bodli had an extremely large hammer and a wooden shield. He and the skeleton turned off the pathway and entered into a building, through one of the entry holes. The man did not care for lawn maintenance at all, he just trampled over the grass without care. He could have easily walked around the grass, but chose not to.
I turned back towards the direction Trooper Taer traveled from and noticed an animal that crawled over the rough terrain. A large scorpion had just stopped to rest under a tree. Even the scorpion had words that floated above it that read, “a scorpion.” It dashed off to the side when “a decaying skeleton” walked closer to it. The skeleton proceeded to take off its own head and wave it around with its hands. A quick survey of the area showed me all sorts of animals in the small patch of woods. There was a yellow and black “a carrion beetle hatchling” that was up to my waist and about four times wider than me. A green and khaki colored dog-like creature with bones coming out of its back called a “a scaled wolf pup”. It looked like a stegosaurus. What a strange place this was. Even a window, of all things, suddenly appeared right in front of me. It just hovered in the air with no supports at all.
Primrose says, 'Hello, are you there?'
Primrose says, 'Don't freak out, okay? We're inside of a video game.'
Trooper Taer says 'Fear the blades of the Iksar!!'
Trooper Taer says 'Another victory for the Legion of Cabilis.'
To the right of me, Trooper Taer had just killed a scorpion. He seemed to shake his head from side to side, as if to yell something, but no sounds emerged from his mouth. After that, he walked towards the next scorpion. The large creature just stood there, not aware of the man that had just killed its companion. The man trampled on the grass as he charged forward. He lifted his plastic dagger and then waved it at the scorpion. Even though the sword never contacted the scorpion, it was still injured. Apparently, Trooper Taer did not like pests in his yard. I understand that sentiment well. The war on insect invaders was eternal. Mother's prayer garden was always targeted by them. I watched as the scorpion shook a little, and then it collapsed on the ground. Its tail fell forward and almost impaled itself in the head. The words above it changed from “a scorpion” to “a scorpion's corpse.”
Trooper Taer says 'Fear the blades of the Iksar!!'
Trooper Taer says 'Another victory for the Legion of Cabilis.'
Primrose says, 'Are you awake yet? You can just think “TELL PRIMROSE” to tell me something.'
I still could not audibly hear the Trooper when he said something, even though my eyes were concentrated on him this time. I could not hear this Primrose either. All I could hear was the wind and occasionally some animal sounds. Maybe Primrose knew more about this situation. I attempted to converse with him as he instructed. I took a few seconds, but then a second translucent window appeared in front of me. Separate from the first window.
Redmaw: tell primrose
Redmaw: tell primrose
Primrose: Oh good, you're awake! This is great, isn't it?
I was not sure what was great about being here, but I had things I had to do. Today was a very busy day. I had so many chores to get done. I had hoped to get most of the lawn done before noon. The heat was rather unbearable this time of year. If I was not finished with it before noon, then I would have to complete it in the evening after the temperature had dropped. During the hottest part of the day, I intended to work on the interior of the house. The kitchen and bathrooms all needed to be mopped. Five bedrooms, the dining room, the family room, and the living room all needed to be dusted and vacuumed. I was behind on the laundry too. The washer should have been started already. There were so many blankets, pillow cases, and bed sheets to get done today. There really was no time for whatever this was.
Redmaw: tell primrose i would like to leave as i have important things that i need to do
Primrose: Oh, okay. Then just find a safe place to sit down and think about camping for 30 seconds.
Primrose: That should send you back.
There were not any critters around me, so I sat down immediately and thought about camping. I had never been camping before, but I was able to imagine a campfire in the outdoors. Especially the fire. I had always liked fire. Father used to start fires in the backyard to burn away unwanted vegetation. Though he would never watch it for long. Father relied on me to supervise the fire. Father rarely ever relied on me. That was why I refused to let him down and needed to get my chores done today. If I was too slow, then he would not be able to enjoy his television shows when he returned home from a long day of work. He was the one who provided for me and allowed me to live at his house. Failure was not an option.
A familiar ceiling appeared in front of me, though the room did not seem to be as dark as it usually was. It could not be that late, it really could not be. The schedule would be ruined. I rolled out of bed and rushed over to the stairwell. The cement beneath my feet was cold, but manageable in the summertime. The floor would get extremely cold in the winter time, but that was still a few months away. I tiptoed up the stairs as quickly as I could, but still quietly. Father should be at work, he worked so hard, but every once in a while he rested for a day. I would not risk any noise until I knew for sure that he was gone for the day. I made it upstairs and gently opened the door to the kitchen. The sun was bright and shined in through the sliding glass door. It really was a late start. It was doubtful if I would even be able to get everything finished today. I turned to the left and followed the kitchen wall towards the garage. The yard was the most important to Father. No matter the temperature, I had to take care of it first.
The garage was immaculate as always. This was Father's sanctuary. I carefully avoided the workbench and the tool boxes. Taking extra care not to let even my clothes rub up against the shiny black car that rested here in the left bay. The best way to do this was to lean over the workbench a little and press my clothes to my backside. Just to guarantee that nothing scratched Father's Black Beauty. A quick press of the right garage door opener opened up the right garage bay door. It was the one Father used for his daily driver. I learned long ago not to touch the left garage door opener. Sunlight could cause a lot of damage to the paint of an old black car. That was why it was always stored there and not outside. To keep the paint protected from the sun. Father rarely drove it anymore, but I still looked underneath the car carefully. I had to be sure there were no fluid leaks. If I did not let him know about leaks, he would get really upset. Thankfully, Father's Black Beauty was still safe and sound.
The grass in the front yard was just a tad too long. Any taller and the neighbors would probably complain, but as long as I mowed it all today, then it would be fine. Father said that they would never let him hear the end of it, if his grass was not neat and trim. There were not many houses within view of his property. Just two other houses on this cul-de-sac and then three houses on the street adjacent to this dead end. I had not learned which neighbors despised unkempt grass, but with only five houses within eyesight, it must have been one of them. The trees almost completely surrounded the property though. Most of the neighbors could not even see down the driveway unless they were nosy. Of course, that also meant that I could not see most of the neighbor's properties either. The privacy was a big reason why Father moved his family out here. I noticed how quiet it was in the neighborhood today. Even if I could not see them, I would often hear them as they maintained their yards. It was strange that no one else made noise outside. The sun was not as high as I had feared earlier, and not as hot, but it was still only a few hours until noon. On a Sunday no less, so there should be neighbors out and about. Unless it was really going to be a hot one today. I should have brought a hat with me, but there was no time to get one now.
The shed with the lawn maintenance items was off to the right of the house, along the treeline. I picked up the key from under the door mat, and let myself inside. The lawnmower was already filled up and ready for action. I took care of the oil and gasoline mixture yesterday, so I just opened up the two double doors and then pushed the lawnmower down the ramp towards the backyard. It only took three pulls of the rope, and it started right up. “Proper planning and preparation prevent poor performance,” Father would say. Though he would often include an extra “P” in that adage as long as Mother was not around. The area between the woods and our neighbors' fence was the smallest area to mow and also the best place to start. A professional stopped by once and gave me some pointers. I was too nervous to talk to him at first, but he really knew quite a bit about yard work. I could not help but be impressed with his knowledge of lawn maintenance. Thanks to his lesson, the lines in the grass became much straighter and persisted throughout the entire yard. Both the front and the back were a smooth, straight, continuous line. Father never mentioned the lines, but he did not complain about them either, so he must have approved.
As I mowed the lawn in between Father's house and the Kelly's house next door, I finally noticed some movement. Mrs. Kelly exited the front of their house and stopped to stare at me. The Kelly house was the one I saw the most of. It was closer to Father's property than the neighbor to the right, which was mostly blocked by trees. Since Mrs. Kelly continued to stare, and made no effort to approach, I assumed that she wanted to shout her message at me from a distance. I shut the mower off, since it would have been impolite to run the mower if she had something to tell me. After an awkward moment of silence, where she simply stared at me, I greeted her with a friendly wave. That woke her up from her daydream and she ran over to me. She was clearly upset by something though, because her mouth continued to move from clenched teeth, to a grimace, and then back again. When she pulled to a stop before me, she looked quite surprised to see me. Which was weird, since she was the one who ran over here to talk to me. After another short daydream, she finally spoke up. There was a problem though. I could not hear her. No sounds came out of her at all. That and the windows that popped up in front of me to get my attention.
Laura says, in an unknown tongue, 'dxtol y trefq ptuly gtrpetj'
Redmaw: i am sorry i do not know what it is that you said
Primrose: That tell was probably sent to me by mistake? When you want to send a private message to someone, then you need to think “TELL” and their “NAME” together. If you want to talk normally to others nearby, then you can just think “SAY” when you think about what you want to them.
You say, 'i am sorry i do not know what it is that you said'
I really had no idea what was the matter with her. It must have been a new language that she needed to practice. Perhaps they planned to take a trip overseas. Between her and Mr. Kelly, she was the one that was nicer to me. So I doubted that this was an attempt to embarrass me. I shook my head from side to side to let her know that I did not understand her words. She looked even more confused at my actions. She tilted her head to the side and I could tell she was deep in thought about something. Her light brown hair fell across her face and covered her left eye. She must have come to a decision, since she approached me and held out her hand. She seemed shorter than she was the last time I saw her. From this close, I could not help but notice the sweat on her face and forehead. I looked up towards the cloudless sky. It was August in Connecticut, so I knew it would be a hot and sticky day, but so far the weather was rather pleasant. Mrs. Kelly reached out a hand towards me. It was unusual for her to shake my hand, but I did not mind a handshake with her. I barely removed a single glove before her hand grasped mine, and then she yanked me towards her house. I just managed to pull the key out of the lawnmower with my other hand before it was too late. Father would have been furious if his lawnmower had been taken without permission.
Mrs. Kelly squeezed my hand the entire way, it was really warm. The house was quite cool upon entry, though. Father said that central air was a waste of money, but the Kelly household obviously felt differently. She pulled me through the living room, into the kitchen, down a hallway, up a flight of stairs, and finally into a bedroom. I did not have time to look around because of the rush upstairs, and I even bumped my toes into many of the stair risers on the way up. She really pulled me along quite quickly. Inside the bedroom there were many of the things I would expect to see in a girl's room. It would have looked perfectly normal if it was not for the huge orange circle that took a bite out of her desk. It looked like a hole in the world. As if a divine being stuck their finger into the world and now there was a piece of it that was missing. I tried to get a good look at the large orange hole, but Mrs. Kelly pulled me forward again. I followed behind her as I stared at the mass of orange that had grown even larger as we approached. I looked at the back of her head as she pulled me towards it and then my attention was pulled down lower. Down to her hand that pulled my own. My own hand, that was somehow not my hand any longer. It was not a hand that a human being would have. It was gray and white colored, and large. Way too large. It easily dwarfed Mrs. Kelly's hand, which looked like the hand of a child in mine. It had scales. My hand had scales on it. Then everything changed around me, and I was no longer in the bedroom anymore.
After Mrs. Kelly pulled me inside the orange circle, I found myself back outdoors again. There was green carpet all around us, some gray mountains in the distance with white caps, and some blotchy trees dotted the landscape in between. Everything here seemed blurry.......
