17 May 2023, Week 2: Through the door

Do not come after me. Because death awaits you in this world. The nib of the pen scratched against the parchment as I spent my last moments at the writing desk. “Quintalline, stop fretting!” The little glass man had been pacing the shelves for days after the news of my awaiting end. “Your new master will be just as good! So long you do your job properly!” Quintalline grumbled over his shoulder as he climbed up the desk to scatter some sand onto the fresh ink. “They definitely won’t feed me enough!”With a mutter he settled into sleep, his glass joints clicking with a crystalline ring. I stretched my arms and relished the last night I would have. Steadily, I creased the letter into a small crane and whispered a few words under my breath. A tear began to appear in the air, the seams ripping to create a portal. “I hope you get this in time.” With my last wishes said, I gently pushed the crane into the wormhole and waited for my end. She waited. She waited every single day for him to come back. To hear the sound of the doorbell ringing. To see the large stack of books he always took back for her. To feel his embrace again. But he didn’t come. Cora picked on others. She wasn’t genuinely mean but something had to fill up the vast void of loneliness in her heart. Everyday she sat alone. After he left, Cora became hollow. So she took it out on others. She wasn’t particularly big so she used her words to attack. Oh words. The one thing her father had loved most. He would sit at his desk for hours, conjuring up lands of fairies and trolls, forests with prowling beasts that could kill you in seconds. And Cora could only sit in amazement as her father typed away these magical words, the lulling click of the typewriter filling all her senses. But now, now things were different. She lived all alone still waiting for him to come back. Until she found the crane. Since her father left her, Cora had always neatened up his study in vain of his reunion with her. But then one day, she saw something out of place. The shelf on top of his desk was always filled with little glass animals, collected from his travels. Cora knew them off by heart. An elephant from India, a white tiger from Nepal (one of his rarest), a phoenix from Greece and a red – crowned crane from Japan. Except…it wasn’t a crane. In place of the delicate glass bird, a roughly folded paper crane sat innocently in the midst of it all. Cora blinked. She reached for the parchment and slowly unfolded it. Dear Cora, You may have wondered where I’ve been – I hope you haven’t been worried sick. You may not believe what I am about to say, but I trust you with this information. You know that book I always loved? What was that it called? The Seas of Tarronia? Well anyways, I’m in the book. I’ve been researching in the Royal institute here and I’ve found what this is called. A ‘book warp’ is what happens when readers get sucked into the very lines they were on. And yes, I am enjoying it here though I am trying to figure out how to come back. But I warn you. Do NOT come after me because death awaits you in this world. Father The last line smudged as one tear fell onto the page. That was all it took. One tear and Cora disappeared. Later she wouldn’t even believe how such a fuss grew from a tear. But it was inevitable. She just didn’t know what was waiting for her in the printed world beneath the pages… Cora gasped. It was all she could do for that moment. Everything around her seemed to be frozen in eternal beauty. A luscious canopy of leaves surrounded her and sweet-smelling flowers adorned bushes. The hypnotising smell of the flowers clouded Cora’s mind, and without thinking, she grabbed a sweet berry from the branches and ate it. The syrupy flesh melted in her mouth but when she turned to look around her, the forest revealed its true form. The tree she was leaning against was just a blackened stump and all the bushes were burnt. Tendrils of smoke calmly rose from the scene. Now the flowers weren’t sweet, but they were intoxicating, the smell rising from the plants and curling around Cora’s throat until she choked on herself. The leaves were not the luscious green, but they were dark silver and the veins were skeletal. The trees were reaching limbs now, the branches not surrounding her, but trapping her. The woods were ebony black and shadows seemed to fill the place where light was. But the thing that scared her most was not the forest. It was the looming figure that now stooped over Cora.

The sharp blinding light searing through my house. A pale figure grabbing, twisting and a scream. The water hit my skin like bullets as I sat all alone in the rain on my seventh birthday. The slam of the door still lingered in the air, the echo filling the room. Through the small circular window, I admired the picturesque view of the sea. The lighthouse stood at the edge of the rocks, faded red and white painted onto the cylindrical building. The small beam of light shining from the light house reflected off the water. I turned my back onto the view too hurt to look at the sight. My room was on the highest floor making it freezing in winter. The drafts howled against the slate roof, and at night the wind hollered against the closed shutters. My window was the smallest of all of them in the shop. The pensmith workshop had wide double-glass windows that showed a beautiful view of all the Christmas stalls. Coloured lights were twined all over the street lamps and people were getting ready for Christmas by making fruit cakes, treacle puddings and hams. The workshop was the one place I wasn't allowed in but of course, I didn't care about that. On the morning of Christmas Eve, I snuck downstairs before my grandparents woke up. It wasn't my first time down here, but the shop looked much different. Stockings and Christmas decorations were hung around the room and new pens were put in front of the glass display boxes. The mahogany desk was littered with peculiar objects. The first one was an old rustic typewriter that my grandfather kept. The second was a golden tipped feather quill that was half dipped in fresh ink. The last was a little velvet bag which I of course had to open. Inside contained a small brass pocket watch that was encrusted with little quartz diamonds that shimmered in the sun. The hands of the clock were very peculiar as they swung in the opposite direction and instead of two hands there were three. I widened my eyes as I heard footsteps down the stairs and quickly slipped the watch into my pocket. I quietly ran to the back door and winced as the bells jingled subtly. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I pulled over my fur hood and proceeded up to the attic. When I was sure I couldn't hear anybody, I slowly took the watch out of my fur lined jacket. On closer inspection I saw very small engraved symbols on the face of the clock. On the back, there was a very faint outline of two words: The 'Chronometer'. I looked curiously at the brass hands that seem to have no control. Suddenly, I saw a small corner of parchment sticking out of the watch face. I peeled off my gloves and slowly twisted the glass dome on top of the clock. Inside was a very thin piece of parchment. It read, 'Perditus factus est non inveni'. Underneath these words was a giant blot of ink concealing the writer's identity. I looked in wonder as I experimented with the dials. I twisted one to a clock, one to a tree and the final to a fox. I heard a small click and I heard the sound of gears whirring inside the watch. A bright light engulfed the room and when it faded, all that was left was an abandoned pair of peacock blue leather gloves. The sharp jades, limes and emeralds swam before my eyes revealing a thick foliage of shimmering gold fireflies. All I could do was stand in awe. This magical coven was perfect and yet there was not a single person in sight. This secret hideaway seemed frozen in time. The only thing in sight was a spark of rich reds and golds. A fire fox kept out of the irridescent sunlight and sparks flew. Something was wrong. This fire fox was not any normal creature. It could speak and it had a very important message for me. The inhabitants of Elysium are in grave danger from a power that is ever thirsty from ambition. The future of Elysium is in your hands. In the misty distance, a towereng forest stood stealing the sunlight. The only sound heard was ticking. Ticking from clocks.

Chapter Twain* When Mr, Mrs and Derlia Tertulia got home, Tefla was already inside, which was suspicious, because the door was locked. Derlia went upstairs, noticed Tefla, shrieked and ran to her room as fast as she could. She tried to ask her parents, but they changed the subject every time. ~ The next day, when Derlia woke up, she saw Tefla’s big, beady eyes staring at her. She screamed. “Don’t be afraid” hoarsely croaked Tefla, followed by Derlia’s “WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH ME, YOU INTRUDER?????” Tefla grinned evilly. “That’s for me to know and you to wonder about it.” And with that, he lifted her up, carried her to the door he had made and threw her inside. The door disappeared momentarily. *old fashioned word for two. When Derlia looked around, she saw that she was sitting on a floating tawny-brown rock next to a cliff, she could see her reflection in the crocodile-green sky; next to her was a black cage with a fern-green goblin inside, his ears were exceptionally long, they poked out the sides of the enclosure. The goblin asked if Derlia could pick the lock on the cage, which she was exceptionally talented at, so she did. It was actually a Eary Treyul, and his name was Clerfal Lindik. He was related to sphinxes and the minotaur. When Derlia asked him where he lived, he replied with a glint in his eye, “That, is a question that cannot be answered verbally.” And with that, he grabbed Derlia’s hand and leaped off the cliff, flinging her off with great force. They landed on lilac-purple sand. When Derlia stood up, she noticed there was a bottle with a message inside of it. Clerfal said that it better to open it at his house. Ten minutes later, Derlia was walking along hundreds of tin shacks when suddenly, something hit her in the butt!!!!!!! “What was that?” “It’s probably the Whacking Wicked Witch-hazels” replied Clerfal, followed by someone shouting “YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” When Clerfal finally opened the bottle, there was a message in it reading: At 5:00 PM on the 1st of October,2013, this world will get destroyed. You must return the Diamond of Truth to Mount Xyuilokojaga before the given time. Yours sincerely, Derutas Guizhou Dusk Leprechaun

Intrigue floated by in the evening air. It was after dark and the Vatican Museums had shut their doors. Luckily, Umbrielle had discovered a disused service entrance. So, smiling to herself and crouched behind a stack of mouldering crates, she lifted her hand towards the door. Nondescript metal and adorned with a scratched sign reading ‘Solo Dipendenti - Vietato l’Accesso,’ it was hardly an auspicious portal to the biggest moment of her ten years of life. However, the smallest things can prophesy greater ones to come. Umbrielle turned the handle and caught a brief glimpse of the room beyond - stone statues, stone-faced museum guards, mice skittering across the floor - before she felt the strange sensation of being pulled through the door. It closed with a bang of finality. Hanging low in the sky like a shield ready for battle, the russet sun bathed the sky in a bloody red light which soon faded into oppressive grey. Not a single trace of life existed, and nothing blocked the mournful wailing of the wind across the flat plain except for the jagged, rocks which protruded from the ground like broken teeth. And the statues. Chipped marble figures petrified in dramatic poses as they slowly weathered away. There was something tragic about their luminous white forms which, over the aeons, had slowly been coated in a thin grey dust from the windswept plains. Umbrielle blinked. She turned around, but the ‘Vietato l’Accesso’ door was gone. Perhaps rule-following does have its advantages, she mused. Then she quickly pushed away the thought. There were no other living things in sight - the only way out was to make her own rules. The sun had almost entirely disappeared below the horizon, staining the plain a harsh red. In a few minutes it would be completely gone. Umbrielle tried to find a way out. She wanted to return to the Vatican Museums before the sun had completely set to give enough time to plunder them. As it began to dip closer to the horizon, however, it was only her iron will which kept her from panicking. That was when she noticed the rock. It was indistinguishable from the other jagged shapes around her except for by the faint writing etched into its surface. You have entered the glorious Empire of the Renatus and therefore must abide by these three laws: You are currently in Nusquam Territory. As for all territories, you must abide by its laws. You may pass between territories freely, however you may never leave the Empire. The Emperor is always right. Always. As decreed by Emperor A. Claudius Portens Certus, first year of the glorious Empire of the Renatus. Well, that was very comforting. It was completely dark now, a curtain of blackness punctured by thousands of watchful eyes. Umbrielle had never seen stars so bright before. They- Something was moving. A flicker, in the corner of her vision. It was moving towards her, slowly, cautiously. Soon, the dark shape resolved itself into two figures, but she quickly realised they were not human… On the left stood one of the warrior statues from earlier, dust-streaked marble and adorned with a plumed marble helmet which looked about three sizes too large. His face looked somehow rough, inexpertly carved, with a nose like some kind of small, squishy vegetable. On the right was a statue of a boy who only looked a few years older than her, with a round marble face. He was dressed in a tunic which seemed three sizes too large. And they were both moving, as naturally and fluidly as a human might move. “Halt!” Yelled the one on the left. (Actually, what he yelled was “Fermati!” Umbrielle was lucky she spoke Italian.) “I am Titus Claudius Fortis, son of Emperor Aulus Claudius Portens Certus! Who goes there?”

James Sicily set his eyes on the prize a piece of Almonds best chocolate lay there on the teachers desk its gold wrapper shining. Easy,the teacher was busy talking on the other side of the room. He had to make a grab for it. Stretching his arms, he grabbed just as he tumbled of his chair. With and earsplitting crack his arm broke. Every kid in the classroom turned his or her head towards him.The teacher stared at him menacingly as she had just parted ways with her chocolate. Which now lay gooey on the floor. Eyes watering in pain he sighed as he was sent to hospital. “Seriously James, another mischief incident. These are becoming too often James Bryon Sicily.” Groaned James Mum as she watched the doctor wrapping up her sons broken arm. “Right before the holidays, I thought you would put on better behaviour.” She added emphasising every word. A small Toyota trundled along the dusty lane with way too much baggage that it bent the car slightly of balance. Looking out of the window, James felt crammed in the car, it was hot and stuffy. His spoilt sister greedily chomped on Almonds best chocolate she hadn’t broke a arm for. Mum was snoring loudly and dad was wearing sunglasses under a expressionless face. A minute seemed like an eternity. Finally they arrived at the holiday house. If you were thinking that the house was recently built you are wrong. The house was a grand georgian house that was built who knows thousands of years ago. Exploring the halls of the house James found ancient scottish tapestry, gilded cages and 13 grand bedrooms. But not a single cobweb was found. Down the hallway, through the door of the 13th bedroom James found a bed readily made with silk sheets on the paper white pillow, a box velvet and smooth. Hairs tingled down his spine. He touched it gently.The window blew open. “Whoosh!” A fractured part of a door flew in. Elaborate runes glowed down the oak wood. And a paper tag, quite like the ones you find in shops read: Enter. Thousands of thoughts swirled in his mind. What was a door doing in his bedroom? Why should he enter a door without leaving the house?The door stared back at him. James didn’t know what he was thinking, but he wrenched open the door. Light flooded his vision. Down he went amongst a blaze of confusion. “Thud!”He landed on what seemed to be like water. Water droplets went flying everywhere. Fish got startled and swam away at top speed. James stared as his own two feet planted solidly on the waters surface. “Eeeeek!” A hideous sound echoed beneath the surface.

WARNING: The following chapters have descriptions of giant, talking, magical spiders and scorpions. Arachnophobes look away. CHAPTER FIVE: THE FISSURE It was a giant crack, just floating in the air. It seemed to be leaking out some sort of glowing reddish-brownish-bluish material. It flickered and shuddered, like it was a picture on the screen of a glitchy computer. It seemed… out of place, like it wasn’t meant to be there, like vegetables on a birthday cake. Almost otherworldly, like a big fissure in between dimensions. It called to Wilbur, like a song. As he crept closer, he noticed that on the other side of the fissure, there was another land. It was disoriented by the weird glowing stuff leaking out of it, but Wilbur could make out that it was a largely flat world. He reached out and touched the stuff leaking out of it. He couldn’t feel anything, apart from a slight numbing in his hand. Odd, thought Wilbur as he took a step closer, and stuck his whole arm through the hole. This would prove to be a big mistake. Within about half a second, the glowy stuff leapt out of the fissure and engulfed Wilbur completely, and then pulled him into the crack. Everything was red. And then blue. And then green. And then a colour that has never been seen by human eyes. The world was a mishmash of disoriented images and disembodied sounds. His body rippled and twisted and stretched. He watched as his arm grow, his hand kilometres away, before it retracted and drilled him in the face like a rogue soccer ball. Everything whizzled and dappled and quanted all around him, until everything froze. Wilbur looked down. His heart was sitting directly below him. It beat faster and faster and faster and faster, growing with each beat, until everything stopped. CHAPTER SIX: ANOTHER LAND Wilbur awoke yelling his head off. He jumped up and looked down. His body was back to normal. Gone was the infinite kaleidoscope of weirdness, but the place Wilbur found himself in was possibly even more disturbing than that. He was in a barren land with a completely grey sky. The landscape was almost completely flat, with only a few small hills. The ground was carpeted in some sort of wiry grass that swayed in the wind like seaweed underwater. The occasional tree dotted the sparse landscape, and Wilbur swore that he could see them moving out of the corner of his eye. The wind rasped like a dehydrated snake. It seemed like the definition of an unsettling music sting. Not a big fan of unsettling music stings, Wilbur began to panic. Where was he? How had he gotten here? Is this another horrible trick played by Miss Mann? Eventually, Wilbur mustered up enough bravery to speak. He was big for his age. He was strong. He wrestled with Miss Mann once, and nearly won. He liked squashing things smaller than him. Things bigger than him were afraid of him. “Show yourself!” He squeaked, highly disappointing himself. He drew in a deep breath and yelled, “I said, show yourself!!” His voice echoed around the surrounding emptiness. “Show yourself now! I know you’re there!!” Still nothing but the reply of his echo. “Arrrghh!” He seethed in frustration. He pulled huge clumps of grass out with his hands, and hurled it as far away as he could. His outburst went on for quite a while, until he pulled up a clump of grass that had a creature attacked to it. The creature’s skin was like raw ginger, and in was shaped like a crab. It hung there, staring at Wilbur, who was also staring in absolute shock. The crab-root-plant thing hissed, and tried to pinch Wilbur with its claws. Wilbur dropped it and and crumpled to the floor, out for the count. CHAPTER SEVEN: TSK, TSK, TSK Wilbur awoke to a rapid little clicking noise, like a mix of somebody rubbing their dry hands together and clicking their tongue. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wilbur sat up and looked around. It was evening, or whatever you would call it in this strange world, and the clouds were turning purple. The crab-root-plant thing was gone too. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wilbur looked down to the source of the sound. An enormous huntsman spider, its legs about the length of a good-sized pencil, was sitting on his chest. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wilbur wasn’t alarmed. He had seen spiders almost as big as this in the orphanage, and often chased them around, trying to squash them with whatever he had in his hands. But this spider was different. It wore four monocles that looked like they were rimmed with gold, a navy blue plaid coat, and a bowler hat. It had 6 legs that were firmly on the ground, and two others which were clutching some sort of staff or walking stick. It also had a very glittery spark in its eyes. Tsk, tsk, tsk, It said. “What. Were. You. Doing. Ripping. Up. The. Grasses. Like. That?” It had a very deep, manly voice, and paused between words like it was a full sentence. “Well? Hmmm?” Wilbur stared at it for a few seconds and then shook his head in disgust. He was imagining things. He stood up, brushed the spider off, and took a big rock and held it high above his head. The spider did not panic, try to scuttle away, or show any fear whatsoever. It just stared at him with an exasperated look. Wilbur slammed the rock down on the spider. Within a split second, the spider raised one of its legs, and the moment the rock touched it, it flashed and disappeared. “Tsk tsk tsk. Bad child. Bad. Do not. Squash. Me.” It jumped up and scuttled towards a tiny hole in the ground. It paused and looked back up at Wilbur. “Are. You. Coming. Or. What?” Wilbur reared back. “What?! Nuh-uh. I am not following a spider wearing clothes into a tiny hole in the ground. How am I even supposed to fit in there?” He tried to step on the spider, but he found himself being push back again and again by some unseen force. He growled in frustration. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The spider sighed, as if Wilbur hadn’t reached his expectations, and disappeared into the hole. “W-wait!” Cried Wilbur. He looked around at his surroundings again. It was almost completely dark, and the wind whistled softly through the grasses, creating a long, wheezy moan. Something rustled in the grasses. Wilbur spun around, expecting something to leap out onto him, but nothing happened. A purring sound rang out. But not the sort of purring you would get from a domestic cat when you scratch its tummy in just the right way, but the sort of purring from a tiger that had just seen its prey walk over to the exact place that the tiger wanted it to. The grass rustled again. “H-help!” Yelped Wilbur. Suddenly, his body jerked and his neck whiplashed as if he had been electrocuted, and then froze. He watched in horror as the world around him got bigger and bigger and bigger. No, it wasn’t getting bigger. He was getting smaller! This continued until he was about the size of a tennis ball. “Come. Tsk tsk tsk.” Whispered a voice as something grabbed him and yanked him down the hole. CHAPTER EIGHT: MARGO Wilbur looked around and found himself in a hollowed-out underground room. The walls (if there were any walls) were mostly obscured by bookshelves that were brimming with hardcovers, paperbacks and a few journals. There was also the door to the outside world, and another door that presumably led to another room. In the middle of the room, there were two long sofas that looked almost completely new. In fact, everything looked freshly dusted and polished. “Tsk tsk. Come. Sitsk. Sorry, sit.” Said the spider. Wilbur cautiously checked under the couch cushions for something like a spring or something else that Miss Mann would put under there, but was surprised to find nothing. “Tsk. My. Name. Is. Margo. Spyder.” Said the spider somewhat warmly. “Your name is mango spider? What a dumb name.” Snorted Wilbur. Margo frowned. In one move, he leapt off the sofa he was on and scuttled over at alarming speed to Wilbur. “Name. Is. Margo. Ma-R-go. Spyder. With. A. Y.” Wilbur shrugged, trying to pretend he wasn’t intimidated by the giant spider scowling at him. “Suit yourself.” Margo crawled back over to the sofa and buried his head in a book. “Name’s Wilbur.” He added somewhat meekly. Margo acknowledged this with a glance. “Um…Hey. What was with the shrinking thing? I mean, how can I suddenly fit in here?” Margo, without looking up from his book, grabbed his staff and tapped it on the ground twice. Wilbur shot up a good 10 centimetres and hit his head on the ceiling. “Woah! What? What just happened?!” Panicked Wilbur. Margo tapped his stick another time, and Wilbur shrunk back to his original height. “Woah.” He breathed, staring at Margo in amazement. “Hmmmm.” Droned Margo as he crawled into a tunnel to a seperate room. Wilbur followed him, expecting another old fashioned room, but was instead completely blown away. The room had white, concrete walls, and there were these strange moving paintings and gadgets and even a few test tubes and bubbling mixtures. Wilbur, who was living in the victorian era, had no idea that they were computers. Margo dashed over to one of the computers, typed a few commands in and frowned. “Hmmm.” He muttered. “Arachnid. Collective. Meeting. In. Ten. Minutes.” “You what?” Asked Wilbur. Margo turned around and studied Wilbur for a while. “An. Arachnid. You. Are. Not. Attend. The. Meeting. You. Can. Not. Wait. You. Must. Wait. Outside.” Wilbur was confused. “Where am I going? Why can’t I attend the meeting? Stupid Spider! Answer me!” Margo tapped a button on the computer keyboard, and suddenly a bright flash lit up the entire room, and then subsided as quickly as it came. CHAPTER NINE: ARACHNID COLLECTIVE “What was that?!” Screamed Wilbur. “Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk.” Clicked Margo, as if giggling. “Are you laughing at me, spider?!” Wilbur followed Margo out of the room and looked around in shock. Instead of the cosy living room that he came from, Wilbur was in a massive cavern, with theatrical chandeliers hanging from a bunch of stalactites. In there middle there was a large round table with a number of spiders and some other odd looking creatures with pincers and a long tail sitting around it. They all started hissing in some language that was incomprehensible to any eavesdropping human child, much to the frustration of Wilbur, who was leaning against the door and still fuming that he couldn’t attend the meeting. It was just like back at the orphanage. Miss Mann never let him be in any of the meetings where she kissed butts and pretended that she loved the orphans she treated so terribly. But then again, she didn’t let any of the other kids be there either, but Wilbur didn’t care. They could stay in the orphanage for all he cared. But at least Miss Mann spoke English, so Wilbur could eavesdrop and get all the information he needed. But these bloody spiders and whatever the heck those things were (Wilbur had never heard of scorpions, let alone seen one) were talking in their own language. At least, that’s what he thought initially. He realised that the arachnid language was sort of like a hissy, mangled version of English. He could barely understand it, but what Wilbur picked up chilled him to the bone. “Margo…the…child…” “Tsk tsk tsk…” “Tasty yum-yum…” “Must…eat…” “…………” Wilbur almost screamed in both rage and fear. That ruthless trickster! That damn spider was so kind to him at first…but he was actually trying to eat him! Desperately, he rushed over to the computer. On the screen it said, Teleport ready. Press flashing button to activate. Having grown up an orphan, Wilbur had no idea how to read, but luckily there was a picture of a spider pressing a button and being teleported back to Margo’s place, so Wilbur knew more or less what to do. He pressed the button and was whisked away, unknowingly running away from his destiny, his redemption and him being the saviour of an entire universe, for alas, the Arachnid Collective did not plan to eat Wilbur. “Margo…Certain, you are, about the child?” “Tsk tsk tsk. Yes. I am.” “Ohhh, ifff heeee wassss tooooo beeee lostttt, doomeddd ourrr universeee wouldddd beeee.” “I would never be able to taste a tasty yum yum fly ever again if I died!” “Tsk tsk. Calm. Down. Scorpios.” “Worried I still am though, about the child. Our only hope, he is.” “We must eat now. Bring out the banquet of roasted flies!”

“Will she be ok?” Otto asks “I believe so, but she took quite the fall” replied a squeaky voice. “Hush Otto, I think she is waking up now,” said the squeaky voice. As Nancy regain consciousness, she saw the most peculiar thing that she had ever seen, it was a, no it can’t be that! It would make no sense. She had to be dreaming this whole thing because a hare was standing up as if it was from Alice in wonderland. It had a dandelion yellow dress with a golden bow on the collar and a set of round spectacles and was that a first aid kit next to it? no that can’t be a book bag? This was all too much to take in and for the second time this day her eyes rolled back into her head and everything went black. “Come on! Not again Nancy” Otto said scared out of his mind. “Stand back Otto” the Hare said in its squeaky voice. And then a wave of freezing cold water washed over Nancy and her eyes fly open. She thought to herself that this was all a odd dream and now someone decided to prank her with a bucket of ice cold water? No one does something like that and gets away with it! Before she knew it, she had her hand at Ottos throat. Otto then tried to let out a scream but before words could come out of his mouth Nancy covered it with her free hand, like she has done many times before. Then a sharp pain hit her in the back and someone yelled “stop it! oh please stop it at once!” as she turned around, she thought she was busted by a teacher. However, she could see no one behind her, until she looked down and saw a Hare. The same hare from her dream. This shocked her so much she drops Otto with a great thud and she wiped her eyes and said “what in the world?!” Then if things couldn’t get weirder it ran over to Otto and spoke “Oh Otto, are you ok?” it actually spoke in English! Otto murmured “oww, yes I am ok.” Nancy just stood there stunned she was staring at a hare one that was talking to her and dressed in yellow with a golden bow and mid thought she paused, wait, where was she?

Sorry, did I say “big mistake"? I meant a big dream come true! Bright neon colors splashed here and there as glitter showered over the entire place. Crooked trees hung over dazzling creatures with either a horn or a pair of wings. Birds singing a melodious song as the trees talked about… croissants??? As soon as I set foot the door magically disappeared as my surroundings on Earth changed into brave knights, beautiful maidens and much more! The most horrifying thing was when two long ears sprouted out of my head as fur white as snow wrapped around my body as I realized I was a- “BUNNY!?” I exclaimed. “Oh hello! Welcome to Sparkle Land, home to the Kippies.” a strange dog welcomed me. “WHERE AM I AND WHAT IS A KIPPIE!? TELL ME NOW!!” I ordered. “Well, there’s no need to be rude but you are in Sparkle Land. And a Kippie is every being who walks Sparkle Land and is an official Sparklen. To be official you must fill out a form at the Sparkle Palace with Queen Croissant.” the dog informed. There was something truly peculiar about that dog as I glanced behind it and I realized why. Out of his back was a pair of butterfly wings that perfectly matched his shiny blonde fur. “Hi Bella! How are you?” a passing bird asked. I don’t want to stay in this land, I want to be on Earth. EARTH! “So Bella, why am I here and how do I get out of this… this… Flarkle Fland or whatever!” I grumbled. Giving me a sad look she replied, “The color from Sparkle Land is disappearing!”

Declan looked around. The sky was cloudless, and sunless. The air was warm and cold at the same time. And everything was different to how he knew it. The trees were floating at different heights all over the plain. Red grass swayed all over the place, making a strange whistling sound. Hills humped up from the ground, shrinking and regrowing in other places, in different colours. Strange animals crept, slithered, walked, crawled, and jumped around him, some with strange wings that never seemed to stop moving, some with more limbs than seemed physically possible, others making loud honking sounds, and others that Declan just couldn’t describe. And the world smelled…different. Strange. Magical. Like jam. He took a step forward, and his leg sunk into a knee deep fluffy white substance. It was rising and falling steadily as if breathing, but seemed to shift as soon as he touched it. ‘Don’t. Move. A muscle.’ Whispered a voice behind him. Declan turned around to find a thing staring at him. He was short, even shorter than Declan. His eyes were changing colour continuously, and his hands were slightly clawed. Its head was covered in long hair, and a beard. And he had scales all over his body. ‘Why not?’ Declan practically shouted back. The fluff shook some more. ‘Shut up!’ came the thing’s strained whisper. ‘Now get off the cloud!’ Declan, staring at the strange old (obviously deranged) man-beast, and smiled. Then, he jumped up and down on the “cloud” and bellowed at the top of his voice, ‘NO!’ Instantly, Declan was jolted off the fluffy object, as it sped right up into the air. The “cloud” was a cloud. It was large, it was fluffy, it was white. Then its eyes opened, and the ultimate level of cuteness unfolded. ‘Aw!’ Declan said. ‘Don’t say that!’ the creature said. ‘It hates…’ but at that moment, the cloud’s expression darkened. Literally. It turned grey. Rain started pouring from the bottom, and the cloud’s eyes turned red. And for the first time, the clouds mouth opened. Declan screamed as the mouth, ringed with fangs of lighting rained lighting on him and the man-like thing. ‘RUN!’ the creature said, abandoning all whispering voice, and racing with Declan toward a nearby cave. ‘Come into my house!’ Declan ran for his life, as the cloud poured rain down on the ground, shot more lightning bolts, and bellowed its triumph in a voice of thunder. He ran through the entrance to the cave, and fell onto a rock. Chapter 3: Sir Arkenstien Vrolcroft Dingilius Siritinaglis the 4th The thing pointed at a large rock. There was a rumbling, and a huge hunch-backed creature stomped to the entrance, heaved the rock over it, and dropped the rock. Declan gasped. Declan looked around. There was a tapestry on the wall, featuring a bunch of strange gems. A stool stood in a corner, and a hallway leading to what Declan presumed was another room. There was a merry fire, glowing deepest purple but letting off more heat than any fire Declan had ever seen before. Even that one where the accidentally (on purpose) set the school on fire. ‘That’s Bill,’ the thing said. ‘He is a Danggervit, and helps me with everything I do. That’s why I have so many bones around the place.’ He picked up a skull that looked alarmingly like a human skull, and tossed it to Bill. Bill crunched it in his fanged jaws. ‘I don’t know who you are, or where I am, or why I’m here, but I’m only staying here until the cloud goes away!’ Declan said. ‘O yes,’ the thing said. ‘Where are my manners? I’m Anderbeany.’ ‘That’s a terrible name!’ Declan scoffed. ‘Well yes, I was thinking the same thing,’ Anderbeany mused. ‘Yeah, that’s not quite right. No, my name is Sir Arkenstien Vrolcroft Dingilius Siritinaglis the 4th. We’re in the dimension of doom, although we probably need a better name, as it isn’t very doomy.’ Arkenstein lapsed into another long silence. Finally, he spoke. ‘There’s no way out of this place, as far as I know,’ Arkenstein said. ‘None at all.’ Declan put his face in his hands. ‘If you don’t say please,’ Arkenstein said. Declan jerked his head up, and said, ‘PLEASE!’ ‘Well,’ began Arkenstein said. But just then, there was a loud rapping on the rock. ‘By order of the High Emperor King Chieftain Cool Dude,’ a snarky voice barked from outside, ‘please tell us if you have seen a boy, 158 cm tall, piggy eyes, snotty nose, 12-year-old wearing a red T-Shirt, brown pants, blue boxers, pink socks, white shoes, and holding a bag containing unknown (and possibly dangerous) objects.’ ‘Oh, did I forget?’ Arkenstein said, as he shooed a furiously complaining Declan into a small cavity in the wall and dropped a rock in front of it. ‘there’s the High Emperor King Chieftan Cool Dude. He’s the worst thing that happened to this world. Fell out of the sky like you. I brought him in myself. But he became power hungry. Soon, he became ruler of the world. And he rules it with an iron fist. COMING SIRS!!’ Declan saw as Bill lifted the rock away from the entrance. Then, he stared. There were things outside. Strange things. They were like men, but their heads were snakelike. Their hands were three fingered. And they were riding strange winged dogs with scorpion tails. ‘Stop your flattery, and tell us the answer to the question!’ the one with a cobra head on the biggest dog thing sneered. ‘The High Emperor has been too easy on you, but I am not as forgiving. Now, answer!’ ‘Nope,’ Arkenstein answered. ‘I haven’t seen no boy, General Rakta. Just that cloud. I see you’ve taken care of it? OK. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be leaving you to your…’ ‘We do mind!’ General Rakta. ‘I need to make a search of your house!’ ‘I’m afraid that’s impossible,’ Arkenstein said. ‘Bill is in a bloodthirsty mood.’ Bill gave a large belch in the background, and sat down in a corner. ‘We’ll deal with him,’ General Rakta said menacingly, holding up long thin simitar. ‘Remember the first law. Obey the High Emperor King Chieftain cool dude. OR ELSE!!’ Arkenstein sighed, and let them in. The guards streamed across the small room, and Declan watched through the crack as they turned over baskets, stomped on the fire, ripped up the tapestry, and generally wrecked everything. Just then, Declan felt something hard dig into his head. He looked round, and saw a shelf. On it was a strange red and blue rock. He picked it up, and immediately felt…different. Stronger. More powerful. Even…magical. He slipped it into his pocket. Just then, the snake heads went away. ‘You can come out now,’ Arkenstein whispered. Declan crawled out. Then, Arkenstein noticed the missing rock.

"What do you think this door leads to Jim?" Claire asked curiously. "I don't know but it's something top secret!" Jim exclaimed. "I don't care what that rusty, crusty old door leads to, but I really want some tacos right now!" Toby whimpered. 0.2 seconds later... "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttt, awesome sauce!" Toby exclaimed as he was looking at glowing, sparkly, sapphire-coloured rocks lined up next to each other. "What is this place, Jim?" Claire asked as she saw a tiny, little creature or toy, whatever it is run past her. "I wonder if anyone lives here?" Jim said as he rubbed his hands against the smooth rocks. "Well, I wonder if there are any taco trucks here!" Toby exclaimed. Claire saw the little figure run past her again. "What was that?" Claire asked. "What was what Claire?" Jim asked Claire. Suddenly, they heard loud stomping...