The previous scene...
"Good night, Prince," I said. I manifested a comfy dog bed for him, then turned out the light with the diamond sitting on a satin pillow on my nightstand.
The next morning, I leaned over to say good morning to Prince. But he was gone.
"Prince? Boy? Where are you ? Priiii-iiiince? PRINCE?!" I yelled. He was nowhere to be found. I searched frantically around the large house, but to no avail. I slumped down onto a couch and cried. Sure, I could have manifested another puppy, but I felt like Prince was my loyal, irreplaceable friend. Suddenly, I heard a howl. It was very, very faint, but a howl nonetheless.
"Prince? Boy? Where are you ? Priiii-iiiince? PRINCE?!" I yelled. He was nowhere to be found. I searched frantically around the large house, but to no avail. I slumped down onto a couch and cried. Sure, I could have manifested another puppy, but I felt like Prince was my loyal, irreplaceable friend. Suddenly, I heard a howl. It was very, very faint, but a howl nonetheless.
After running inside my house and grabbing a flashlight and a backpack filled with essentials, I ventured into the dark, humid hole. I heard another howl, even louder than the last.
The staircase became long and windy, and I grew thirsty. Luckily, I had brought plenty of food and water. I walked a little more until I came upon a small platform on the side of the pathway. Since my feet ached, I decided to rest for a while and have something to eat.
While I was eating, I heard another howl. That reminded me that I needed to hurry up and find Prince before something happened to him. Or maybe something already happened to him, and he was fighting an evil dragon to the death. Or maybe he was kidnapped and being burned at the stake.
Or, he could have just dug a hole and discovered this pathway, I thought, being sensible. But then why would he be howling? I thought, while Prince let out another howl. I decided to quicken my pace, and I deeply regretted not bringing my bike or scooter with me. But I knew that it was too late to turn back; Prince might be in serious danger.
Then I remembered I could manifest anything I wanted. So I quickly thought up a speedy electric scooter, then zoomed down the path. But the path was only made of dirt and rocks, and was very bumpy, so I had to slow down. I hated not being able to go faster, and I was anxious to get to Prince and find out what was going on.
It might have been an hour or two, or maybe just twenty minutes since I ventured into this hole. I lost track of time, and I didn't know if it was light or dark outside. But I found out when a row of lamps going along both sides of the ceiling flickered on. I guessed it was about 8 pm, but I didn't know when to stop and take a rest for the night. In fact, I didn't know where to stop and take a rest for the night.
As if the dark tunnel had heard my thoughts, a large empty room appeared on the right side as I walked a little farther. I decided that this was probably the best place I would find in this empty hole. So I manifested a table to set down my backpack on, and I parked my scooter underneath. Then I thought up a couple of lamps so brighten my surroundings. Soon after, I discovered a dingy mattress, but I didn't dare sleep in it, especially since there were cockroaches crawling out of it. I'd much rather sleep in a bed that I made, I thought.
Shivering in disgust, I manifested a bottle of bug killer. Yuck, I thought as the cockroaches dropped dead. Now I feel like I need to scrub myself. So after manifesting a bathtub and taking a warm shower, I clambered into my nice, clean bed. I fell asleep almost immediately, what with all the day's events.
***
I woke up feeling well rested, but at first I couldn't remember where I was. Then I thought of the previous day and with a jolt I remembered that Prince was still at the end of the long hallway ahead of me. But I couldn't hear anymore howls, so I was a little worried.
For some reason I thought that there was something else I was supposed to remember. I thought long and hard, but nothing came to mind. I'm probably worrying for nothing, I assured myself. But as I packed up my stuff, I was not so sure.
I manifested a door and a lock and key so that my bed and shower would be safe. As I turned around to slip the key in my secret backpack compartment, a little piece of paper fell out. Curious, I unfolded it. Then I remembered: Kailyn had drawn a silly picture of the devil to cheer me up. Then I froze: Today I was supposed to fight the devil! That's what I had been forgetting!
In my moment of panic, I didn't notice footsteps coming in my direction. But I stopped spazzing long enough to hear them tap- tapping down the hall walking up to me. Next thing I knew, ropes were being tied around my wrists and ankles. A blindfold was wrapped over my eyes and my backpack was shoved into my lap. I was kidnapped.
I was glad that I had left my scooter in the room and locked the door, because I could hear whoever kidnapped me rooting around trying to find anything worthy of stealing. But, it wouldn't have mattered anyway since I could have manifested another. My kidnapper shoved me onto a wagon, and I heard a dog bark in pain as a whip cracked. I started panicking, because I had no idea where we were going. For all I know, we could have been going even farther away from Prince.
We started moving, and after about ten minutes we abruptly stopped.
"Leave her here for now. There's nowhere for her to go, anyway," I heard a menacing voice say. "Let's go, boy." I heard two pairs of footsteps fade. Then a dog whimpered.
"Prince?" I called out. My voice was hoarse from not speaking for so long. Then a wet tongue rubbed against my face.
"PRINCE!!" I shouted in relief. Prince barked with joy, then bit through the ropes that tied my wrists so I could take off my blindfold. Then I widened my eyes in shock: Prince looked terrible! His fur was matted. One of his ears was torn. I could see some of his ribs. His nose was no longer wet, I noticed as he rubbed it against my hand, and he was limping. His leg must be broken, I guessed.
"What did they do to you?" I whispered in sympathy. Prince whimpered and showed me his tail. I gasped. The end of his tail was gone!
I manifested a tub of water and soap, then washed Prince up until his fur was good as new. Then I set to work on fixing his ear. I got some sewing thread and stitched his ear back, then wrapped his foreleg in a cloth bandage. I did the same for the end of his tail.
Prince turned and showed me his sides, which were scarred with whip marks.
"Oh, you poor thing," I muttered as I rubbed antiseptic on his scratches. After I finished, Prince looked better already. But his nose was still dry. I didn't know what do do for that, so I gave him a huge bowl of puppy food and another with water.
"There you go," I soothed, stroking Prince's head. He snarfed up the food; he was starving by the looks of it. "Are you better now?" I asked, burying my head in Prince's fur as he lapped up the water. He stopped drinking the water and nuzzled my neck. Then I heard footsteps and voices. I looked up and was shocked at what I saw: The devil! Standing next to him was one of his henchmen, I guessed.
"What are you looking at?" The devil asked in a menacing voice. I knew that if I showed my fear, he would just take advantage of that.
I stood up. "You. I'm looking at you," I answered. Both the devil and I were surprised at how clear my voice sounded. I continued. "What is this? Why have you brought me here? What did you do to Prince?" I had so many questions, but I wondered just how many the devil would be willing to answer.
He just laughed. "Silly Alison," he said. "I didn't bring you here, you brought yourself here. I simply used your dumb dog as bait!"
"Prince is not dumb!" I said, appalled. "You are, because you lured me here for no reason!" I yelled.
"Alison, Alison. You know you have to fight me, so I just saved you the trouble of having to hunt me down!" The devil cackled. "You know I will defeat you!"
"Yeah, I'd love to see you try," I retorted. "I'm going to be fighting alongside lots of other people like me."
The devil doubled over in laughter yet again. I rolled my eyes, but I was starting to get a little worried since the devil was so confident.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the devil said, grinning.
"What do you mean?!" I demanded. But the devil just gestured for me to follow. I hesitated, then followed him with Prince by my side.
"Umm...where exactly are we going?" I asked as we walked down a long, dark hallway. I felt like I was walking through the tunnel that led me here for a second time.
"Just keep following," the devil answered. I stopped walking. That didn't answer my question! I rolled my eyes and made a face at his filthy back. Prince growled, and I followed, seething. The devil was so annoying!
The long hallway finally deposited us into a small chamber. I looked everywhere, but I didn't see any doors or windows. I didn't see anything, actually. I finally lost my temper and let it out.
"You have some serious issues!!" I screamed. The devil looked a little taken aback, so I kept going. "First you torture Prince half to death, then you kidnap me and drag me to this...this...this dump, and now you won't even tell me where we're going!" My face was red after I "exploded" but I felt much better. I smirked at the devil when I saw his bewildered face. I guess he wasn't expecting me to be so confident.
"So, why did you bring me here?" I prompted impatiently. "All I can see are three walls, a ceiling, a floor, and the tunnel that we walked through. Surely you didn't bring me here to see that?"
"Of course not," the devil replied. He pressed a button behind a sconce and the wall that I was leaning on turned over.
"Hey!" I yelled from the other side. A few seconds later, the devil and Prince appeared. When the devil flipped a light on, I saw that the room we were in was much bigger than I thought. But when I looked a little closer, it looked more like a jail. There were rusty iron doors running along both walls, and when I peered into one I realized in horror that there were people inside all the little cells.
I shone my flashlight into one, and a solemn face squinted up at me.
"Hey, shine that somewhere else, will ya?" I thought I recognized the voice. "Wait a second...Alison, is that you? It's me, Rachel." Rachel! I had met her when Kailyn had given me a tour of the city we lived in. Rachel worked in one of the bakeries, but I hadn't realized she was a spirit binder like me, or all the other people in that disgusting place. I spoke my thoughts.
"I didn't know you were a spirit binder," I said.
"I was about to say the same thing to you," Rachel answered. I glanced at Prince, who was clawing at the iron bars of the cell.
"That's not going to work Prince," I said, shaking my head in amusement. Then I remembered that I had a paperclip and a bobby pin in my backpack. I fished through the side pocket until I found them. Joining them together, I made a lock pick.
"All right Rachel," I said. "Let's get you out of there."
For some reason I thought that there was something else I was supposed to remember. I thought long and hard, but nothing came to mind. I'm probably worrying for nothing, I assured myself. But as I packed up my stuff, I was not so sure.
I manifested a door and a lock and key so that my bed and shower would be safe. As I turned around to slip the key in my secret backpack compartment, a little piece of paper fell out. Curious, I unfolded it. Then I remembered: Kailyn had drawn a silly picture of the devil to cheer me up. Then I froze: Today I was supposed to fight the devil! That's what I had been forgetting!
In my moment of panic, I didn't notice footsteps coming in my direction. But I stopped spazzing long enough to hear them tap- tapping down the hall walking up to me. Next thing I knew, ropes were being tied around my wrists and ankles. A blindfold was wrapped over my eyes and my backpack was shoved into my lap. I was kidnapped.
I was glad that I had left my scooter in the room and locked the door, because I could hear whoever kidnapped me rooting around trying to find anything worthy of stealing. But, it wouldn't have mattered anyway since I could have manifested another. My kidnapper shoved me onto a wagon, and I heard a dog bark in pain as a whip cracked. I started panicking, because I had no idea where we were going. For all I know, we could have been going even farther away from Prince.
We started moving, and after about ten minutes we abruptly stopped.
"Leave her here for now. There's nowhere for her to go, anyway," I heard a menacing voice say. "Let's go, boy." I heard two pairs of footsteps fade. Then a dog whimpered.
"Prince?" I called out. My voice was hoarse from not speaking for so long. Then a wet tongue rubbed against my face.
"PRINCE!!" I shouted in relief. Prince barked with joy, then bit through the ropes that tied my wrists so I could take off my blindfold. Then I widened my eyes in shock: Prince looked terrible! His fur was matted. One of his ears was torn. I could see some of his ribs. His nose was no longer wet, I noticed as he rubbed it against my hand, and he was limping. His leg must be broken, I guessed.
"What did they do to you?" I whispered in sympathy. Prince whimpered and showed me his tail. I gasped. The end of his tail was gone!
I manifested a tub of water and soap, then washed Prince up until his fur was good as new. Then I set to work on fixing his ear. I got some sewing thread and stitched his ear back, then wrapped his foreleg in a cloth bandage. I did the same for the end of his tail.
Prince turned and showed me his sides, which were scarred with whip marks.
"Oh, you poor thing," I muttered as I rubbed antiseptic on his scratches. After I finished, Prince looked better already. But his nose was still dry. I didn't know what do do for that, so I gave him a huge bowl of puppy food and another with water.
"There you go," I soothed, stroking Prince's head. He snarfed up the food; he was starving by the looks of it. "Are you better now?" I asked, burying my head in Prince's fur as he lapped up the water. He stopped drinking the water and nuzzled my neck. Then I heard footsteps and voices. I looked up and was shocked at what I saw: The devil! Standing next to him was one of his henchmen, I guessed.
"What are you looking at?" The devil asked in a menacing voice. I knew that if I showed my fear, he would just take advantage of that.
I stood up. "You. I'm looking at you," I answered. Both the devil and I were surprised at how clear my voice sounded. I continued. "What is this? Why have you brought me here? What did you do to Prince?" I had so many questions, but I wondered just how many the devil would be willing to answer.
He just laughed. "Silly Alison," he said. "I didn't bring you here, you brought yourself here. I simply used your dumb dog as bait!"
"Prince is not dumb!" I said, appalled. "You are, because you lured me here for no reason!" I yelled.
"Alison, Alison. You know you have to fight me, so I just saved you the trouble of having to hunt me down!" The devil cackled. "You know I will defeat you!"
"Yeah, I'd love to see you try," I retorted. "I'm going to be fighting alongside lots of other people like me."
The devil doubled over in laughter yet again. I rolled my eyes, but I was starting to get a little worried since the devil was so confident.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the devil said, grinning.
"What do you mean?!" I demanded. But the devil just gestured for me to follow. I hesitated, then followed him with Prince by my side.
"Umm...where exactly are we going?" I asked as we walked down a long, dark hallway. I felt like I was walking through the tunnel that led me here for a second time.
"Just keep following," the devil answered. I stopped walking. That didn't answer my question! I rolled my eyes and made a face at his filthy back. Prince growled, and I followed, seething. The devil was so annoying!
The long hallway finally deposited us into a small chamber. I looked everywhere, but I didn't see any doors or windows. I didn't see anything, actually. I finally lost my temper and let it out.
"You have some serious issues!!" I screamed. The devil looked a little taken aback, so I kept going. "First you torture Prince half to death, then you kidnap me and drag me to this...this...this dump, and now you won't even tell me where we're going!" My face was red after I "exploded" but I felt much better. I smirked at the devil when I saw his bewildered face. I guess he wasn't expecting me to be so confident.
"So, why did you bring me here?" I prompted impatiently. "All I can see are three walls, a ceiling, a floor, and the tunnel that we walked through. Surely you didn't bring me here to see that?"
"Of course not," the devil replied. He pressed a button behind a sconce and the wall that I was leaning on turned over.
"Hey!" I yelled from the other side. A few seconds later, the devil and Prince appeared. When the devil flipped a light on, I saw that the room we were in was much bigger than I thought. But when I looked a little closer, it looked more like a jail. There were rusty iron doors running along both walls, and when I peered into one I realized in horror that there were people inside all the little cells.
I shone my flashlight into one, and a solemn face squinted up at me.
"Hey, shine that somewhere else, will ya?" I thought I recognized the voice. "Wait a second...Alison, is that you? It's me, Rachel." Rachel! I had met her when Kailyn had given me a tour of the city we lived in. Rachel worked in one of the bakeries, but I hadn't realized she was a spirit binder like me, or all the other people in that disgusting place. I spoke my thoughts.
"I didn't know you were a spirit binder," I said.
"I was about to say the same thing to you," Rachel answered. I glanced at Prince, who was clawing at the iron bars of the cell.
"That's not going to work Prince," I said, shaking my head in amusement. Then I remembered that I had a paperclip and a bobby pin in my backpack. I fished through the side pocket until I found them. Joining them together, I made a lock pick.
"All right Rachel," I said. "Let's get you out of there."
To be continued...
I love your story! It had great word choice and voice. The "I started..." thing was the only thing I saw that had to be fixed. Good job Buuuuuuuuu-ddy! :D
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for using the word "snarfed" :D