Chapter 2
Prinooween somewhere in time:
A maelstrom is raging in the middle of a body of water. Debris is caught in the vortex as the water churns and froths violently. The water is swirling in a clockwise direction at fast speeds with winds picking up. Just as it really starts picking up intensity and becoming very violent it begins to slow and eventually stops just as at the center emerge Karen, Sal, Michael and John from the water’s depths. The four of them start swimming to dry land. As they reach the shore they start coughing and gasping for air.
Karen starts checking her arms and legs, “Hey my skin isn’t burning. The water must not be acidic.”
John begins looking around him. As he takes in the scenery a mixture of confusion and wonderment come over him in equal measures. “Uh guys I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.” The others look around and find themselves in a valley with a huge lake. The lake is surrounded by thick green forests with pastel colors intermixed in the foliage. The sky is a light lavender color with a big blood red sun. On the other side of the lake John spies huge four legged creatures the size of a woolly mammoth but instead of fur they have hard plating that looks like a lobster’s shell. They also have huge 3 foot saber tusks that come out horizontally from the sides of their heads.
“Where are we? Did we go back in time somehow?”, asks Karen looking around.
John motions to the saber lobsters across the lake, “I don’t recall learning about those things in the history books.”
“Guys could that sinkhole really have been some kind of wormhole?”, Karen asks.
“That’s impossi….”, starts Michael but before he can finish two large scaly claws grab him by the shoulders and lift him into the air. Michael cries out as a large feathered creature with a scaly serpent like tail and scaly dragon like head complete with a powerful beak carries him out over the lake.
“Mike!”, John yells with panic in his voice upon seeing his friend being carried away by something out of ancient mythology.
Sal raises his gun to try and shoot the creature but nothing happens. Sal looks at the gun and starts shaking it. “Damn it got water inside of it!”
“I got it”, says Karen stepping forward and pulling out one of the many boomerangs she has strapped to her. She throws the boomerang and it hits one of the creature’s claws causing the creature to drop Michael into the lake. John dives into the lake to find Michael.
John begins frantically calling out but sees and hears no response. He searches desperately. John’s mind begins racing with worst case scenarios as he splashes and dives around erratically.
After a few tense moments of this Michael emerges from the water behind John smiling holding up his arrows, “Dude I am fine. I needed to get my arrows.” John’s concern now turns to anger and he pushes Michael back under the water and then swims back to shore where the others are waiting. Michael follows him, “What? They take a long time to make, alright.” As they both reach the shore Michael hands Karen her boomerang , “Good throw.”
“Thanks!”
Sal is still fiddling with his gun, “This better work again when it dries out or I am going to be pissed.”
“I thought it was supposed to be indestructible”, says Michael.
“That’s what I’m saying brother.”
“Um don’t we have bigger problems than your gun.”
“Hey, easy for you to say your boomerangs still work here in the land of the lost.”
John stops paying attention to the others, when he notices a figure watching them on the hill only a few yards away. It appears to be a young woman. She is wearing elaborate and oddly colored attire. Her dark eyes stare at them with a quizzical expression as her long chestnut hair blows in the wind. John finds himself transfixed by her. He is awestruck as their eyes lock. He doesn’t feel fear instead his heart flies up. He wants to know everything about this woman and feels a strong urge to protect her rise up in him. He has fallen in love before in his life, hard, but did not think it would happen again. However, it is unmistakable what is stirring in him.
Karen is the first to notice John staring at this woman and she stops Sal and Michael from bickering and points the woman out to them. Michael slowly and carefully takes an arrow out of his quiver and readies it in his bow but doesn’t raise the bow. Karen holds up her empty hands, “Hello! We mean you no harm. We are peaceful.”
The woman smiles and replies, “That is good but what land do you come from I do not recognize the colors of your garments.” She carefully walks down the hill towards them.
“What does she mean what land?”, asks Michael.
“Maybe country is what she means”, responds Karen.
The woman finally reaches them, “My name is Milenas. What are your names?”
“I’m Karen. The distrustful one over there with the bow and arrow is Michael and the one with the big gun is Sal.”
Sal nods and winks, “That’s right.”
“Shut up”, retorts Karen.
“What does gun mean?”, asks Milenas.
While his friends are taken aback by her question John continues unfazed in his stupor as he is still under cupid’s spell. “Hi I’m John”, he manages to stammer, “It’s a pleasure”, he extends his hand awkwardly for a handshake.
Milenas looks at his hand perplexed obviously not familiar with the custom. “Hi” she says. The others all look at each other with concern. It is clear Milenas is not from a time or place where they come from. And it is also clear John is infatuated with her.
“Um where are we exactly Milenas?”, Karen asks.
“You are in the Briccxon Kingdom. Don’t you know that?”
“Wait did she just say the British Kingdom?”, asks Sal, “Since when did the British Kingdom have giant lobsters and dragons? Did I fall asleep in geography?”
“Where is this British Kingdom you speak of? And what is a lobster or a dragon?”, Milenas inquires.
Michael then says, “Milenas can you please humor us and tell us what planet we are currently on?”
“You are on Prinooween. Why?”
“Oh shit.”
“Told you it was a wormhole.”
“That isn’t physically possible.”
“Neither was your precious gun up until a few years ago.”
“I am confused”, interrupts Milenas.
John then smiles, “We are not from this world, Prinooween. We come from a place called Earth. We were in the midst of a battle and somehow got sucked through a portal here.”
Milenas tries to comprehend, “You are not from this planet but you are now. How?”
“I don’t know”, says John. He points to the lake, “Something happened during our battle and we ended up in the middle of this lake.”
“You are warriors?”, asks Milenas.
“We are survivors”, says Michael.
Milenas looks disappointed, “Too bad we need warriors to end the wars. I thought my wish was heard. But that is ok my sister and I are star people so we can help you get back home with our magic.”
“Whoa hold up here. First off my mother always told me to stay away from magic and second off no one said we even want to go home”, says Michael.
“Not the one we left that’s for sure”, says Karen.
John wonders if the four of them have really lucked out and found a new peaceful home. Perhaps he can find happiness here with Milenas John thinks to himself. “There was a lot of fighting where we came from. Perhaps we could stay here and make this our home.”
“There is a lot of fighting here too. You should speak with Zoeborh, he is a brilliant fighter and then you can talk to Queen Frallinaso, she is a powerful sorceress.”
“Whoa, whoa throw some more names at us why don’t you, jeez”, says Sal.
“Come follow me! Zoeborh is on the other side of the hill with the guards!”
“Um maybe we should discuss…”, but before Michael can finish his sentence Milenas grabs John’s hand and starts leading him up the hill where she came from. Michael turns to Karen and Sal, “He is not even trying to hide it is he?”
“Well she is hot”, says Sal, “especially for an alien.” Karen shoots him a look. “You’re good looking too relax.”
Karen rolls her eyes and shakes her head, “Men. You can be so dense sometimes. Can’t you see that they are both falling for each other. It was like something out of a fairy tale or a rom com when they saw each other.”
“Yeah well like you said men are dense so let’s go make sure our boy John isn’t making any stupid decisions”, says Michael as they all follow John and Milenas up the hill.
No comments:
Post a Comment