Virtual Dimension- Chapter 2

Chapter II
Virtu-dome

It took them only about 20 minutes to get to the dome. It was huge! You probably could fit three football fields inside of it. “Wow,” Sara said staring at the top of the dome.
“How long will you be?” Dad asked before turning off the car after they parked.
“I don’t know, let’s go find out,” Jack said. He nodded to Sara and they both walked to the double glass doors where there was a strongly built guard.
“Sara and Jack, I presume?” The guard said. They nodded. “They’re here,” he said into an intercom. “Please follow me,” he said opening the doors. They followed.
They entered the small entrance hall. It had a hard marble floor and a large reception desk. “Hello,” said a suited man behind the desk. “You’re the last two winners to arrive. They’ve already gone through and are home. My name is Thomas Marin; I am the president of Virtu-dome. Welcome to my creation. Please just fill out this form and we may begin.”
“Just like the one you sent? I’ve got that one right here.” Sara pulled out a yellow form. “I’m lost,” Jack said.
“Sorry Mr. Rosen you did not receive the form by mail. Here.” Marin said handing Jack a pen and an identical yellow sheet.
“I’ll wait for you,” Sara said. The form was more like a survey than a form. It asked more about what you believe the perfect friend to be than asking about you. One question seemed fairly out of place: What is your favorite animal?
“Mr. Marin?” Jack asked. “Does my favorite animal need to be a real creature because it’s a dragon.”
“That’s all right,” he said with a knowing wink. “That means you’re done, good. Follow me. You won’t be able to believe your eyes.” He took a key out of his pocket and went through a wooden door in the back.
They followed and they entered the main complex. It looked even larger from the inside. It looked fairly plain with a metal paneled floor and bare white walls.
“Welcome to Virtu-dome!” Thomas shouted. He stood with his arms spread wide as if something was going to happen. “Welcome to Virtu-dome!” He shouted again, this time with a slight hint of annoyance. This time a nearby section of the floor slid to the side and a metal box came out of the ground. Its side facing them fell and it was a solid piece of metal divided by a sheet of metal, so it looked like two open rooms.
Thomas nodded towards the two stalls. “Go inside, I’ll instruct you from there.” They both stepped into a separate stall.
The wall in front of them lit up. It was like a TV screen and it showed a forest backdrop. It looked like the main menu to a video game with two buttons, Tutorial and Create a New Character. Jack looked on the other side. He saw no projectors, or anything to show the holograms.
“Just touch any button to activate it,” Thomas’s voice called. “For now you should select Tutorial.” Jack and Sara pressed Tutorial. The box closed again and the whole box was lit up with white light.
“This is cool,” Sara said as the wall between them collapsed. “What now?”
“Wait for a menu to appear,” Thomas said. As if on cue a menu did appear. It stood in the middle of the air in front of each of them. It had two arrows on it showing left and right. There also was a portrait that showed a hawk. “This is the ally that will be with you the entire time you play. For now you should find your favorite animal. Except a dragon is not here. You must figure out an animal that might become a dragon by leveling up.”
Jack started scrolling through. He looked for something that would become a dragon. He looked around, a cow, a snake maybe. A frog, a giraffe, a lizard yes. He pressed the accept button. He saw Sara still looking. She finally decided on a lion.
“Good, when you come back later, your stats or statistics will be preset. You will also have a few points to invest into them. The stats are Strength, Intelligence, Energy, Armor, Speed, and Fortitude. Strength effects your damage from everything, but magic. Intelligence is obviously how smart they are, at a certain point your friend will be able to understand complex instructions in order to make cooperation easier. Energy is how often you can use a magical ability; these abilities improve as you level up. Armor reduces damage inflicted on your friend. Speed is how fast your friend can move. Fortitude is like Hp in most games, it is how much damage a character can withstand without dying.”
“All stats start at 2, you have 28 points to put into them now. At level 1 no stat can be above 15.” Jack turned and saw the six stats in a column with arrows right and left. He wanted this one to become a dragon someday, so he needed to invest stat points that way.
He put 3 more into everything. Then he put 2 more into Strength and 3 more into Energy. He put 2 in Armor and 1 in Fortitude. He looked over at Sara who was already done.
“Good, click Accept,” Thomas said and they did. “Good now here is where you can pick any personality traits, gender, and other general information you want to use for your ally.” This screen was already filled out with the answers from the yellow form. Jack switched gender to male. All the rest was good he clicked accept. Once again Sara was done first.
“Now you’re friend is ready to begin, but you are not,” two strange suits came through a hole in the top of the box. “Put these on over your clothes, this will allow you to interact with the game such as feeling a tree and it feels like bark.” They both took one and slipped it over their clothes.
“Now your abilities will not be the same as your real ones. You have an energy stat, meaning you can cast certain magic. First choose a type of magic: Healing, Offensive or Support.” Another screen popped up showing the three types of magic. Jack though to earn a dragon’s trust you must be powerful, so he chose offense. Sara just laughed, ”Boys,” she muttered as she saw him pick offense; she wanted to help so she chose healing. They both hit okay.
“You, as a character, will level up as you use any spell that you have. Here is a list of spells you can use at your level, choose two.” Another screen of spells and some of his weren’t damaging such as a Slow spell. He looked down the list. He wanted one damaging and one hindering spell. He decided on Tripping Roots and Pebble Storm. Sara was done first again, so he didn’t see her spells.
“Now you are finally ready to begin an adventure. This first one will be very simple. Open the box!” The box fell open and they were amazed to see that it looked like they were in the middle of a forest!
“Wow!” They both said together. They both laughed as they stepped out into what felt like bright sunshine.
Sara stopped laughing suddenly and Jack saw she was staring at a sleek, golden lioness that returned the stare. She was very muscular and her coat shone in the sunlight. Sara stepped toward it and it stepped towards her. She put a hand on its head, her hand passed through, but it did feel like rough fur.
Jack looked around for his lizard, but couldn’t find it. Then there was a sudden weight on his shoulders. He touched the rough skin of a lizard, but his hand also passed right through it. He looked down at him. He looked like an average 2-foot iguana with green scales, but a red tinted tail.
“Glad to see you’re getting to know each other,” Thomas’s voice called from the sky. “You can learn more about your friend by pressing the screen on the real wrist-watch attached to your suits.” Jack pressed it and saw a portrait of the iguana that now sat on his shoulders. Its stats were there along with a bar at the bottom that was empty.
“The bar at the bottom is the Experience bar, you need experience to level up. There is no maximum level for them, but your maximum level is 30.” There was a loud snap as a twig broke in a nearby bush, “Now let’s show you how battles will work.”
A goblin jumped out of the bush. “Leah use Stunning Roar!” Sara shouted. Her lion gave a loud roar and the goblin took a few steps back.
“You’re a fast learner,” Thomas stated. “To view your spells and your companion’s press the dial on the side of your watch.” Jack spun the dial and he saw a screen that showed the iguana’s portrait and a spell named Frightening Gaze. Below that was a list of words: Attack, Stop, and Follow. Also across the top was a name, Iggy.
“Iggy, attack.” Jack said pointing at the shaken goblin. The lizard jumped from his shoulders and began biting the goblin. It began to run around in a panic as Iggy kept biting.
Iggy was thrown off, but latched himself onto the creature’s right leg with his claws and bit down. The goblin howled in pain and began hopping up and down on its free leg swinging at Iggy. The lizard held on, so the goblin resorted to running in circles. The goblin screamed in terror and tripped over a tree root.
“Leah, attack with your claws.” Leah, the lioness, jumped and slashed the goblin in the leg. It howled in pain and sat up trying to face her. Leah promptly tore out its throat with her teeth. It slumped over onto the ground and evaporated in a shower of red sparks. Show off, Jack thought.
“Well done. You now know the basics of combat, but beware if this ever happens.” Two arrows lodged itself in Sara and Jack’s sides. It didn’t hurt, but they felt a slight tingling sensation where the arrow hit. “Just like your partner, you have a fortitude stat, of 3. If it ever drops to zero your suit’s magnets will activate and you will be incapacitated for the rest of the mission.”
“What the heck is this?” Jack said reaching for a floating yellow sphere the goblin had left behind. It was about the size of a baseball.
“That is a power sphere. You should not touch it; your animal friends use it. These are held until needed. They can be used to replenish one quarter of their maximum Fortitude. This is the most common kind of Fortitude recovery. The larger the sphere the greater the recovery.”
“There are many other types of spheres. The blue orbs replenish Energy, but they are used upon contact, so beware. Also you, not just the animals, can use these blue orbs. There are six others pink, white, black, gray, orange, and red. These spheres have no power unless brought together in sets. A set is a group of three spheres of the same color. You’ll learn what each color does for each animal. A multi-colored one gives you one orb of each color.”
“One last thing, any creature you defeat gives you money, if that creature would normally carry money. For example a pig does not carry money, but this goblin does. Whenever your friend picks up what the monster left they will also pick up a small amount of money.”
“Now your adventure begins. Your goal is to find the altar to the dragon goddess, Loreleth, and take the two gems that are at its base. Once you complete this the tutorial will end and you will be ready for your return in August.” Thomas’s voice ended with a click.
The next voice that talked switched between a male and a female voice with every sentence. “You have entered the Forests of Ligal, a dangerous place indeed. You must find the temple of Loreleth and claim the two gems there. Many enemies are in this area, so beware. The nearby town will aid you, for a small fee, if you help them. There is also a rumor of a strange spring here, which has a strange power over animals; maybe you could find it useful. Good luck, I hope you do not need it.”
“This is really cool,” Jack said stroking Iggy, who was back on his shoulder. “It’s better than I even dreamed it would be.”
“Well quit daydreaming,” Sara said, “and let’s play or should I say, let’s get surreal.” She trudged off through the underbrush towards the sounds of people talking. Jack followed and they soon ran into a small village. The people in it were talking merrily, but they could feel the tension in the air.
“Halt, strange new people,” a man in a loincloth told them. “Why you come to our lair?”
“Please, sir,” Sara said. “We heard you needed help with something.”
“Bah!” He said with a chuckle, “you puny people no help to us, we strong you weak.”
“Prove it,” Sara said, staring him in the face.
The man growled at her, “You shall get your challenge. Come to the circle, you can bring all three of your friends to fight me, too.” He trudged off and they followed.
Soon they were in a ring formed by nearly 60 people standing in a circle. “Sara,” Jack whispered, “you sure about this.”
“Too late to worry now.” She turned to the man. “Ready?”
He charged with a head on punch aimed right at her. She didn’t even move, “Leah use Hindering Slash.” Leah jumped from behind the man and they fell to the ground. With one slash of her claws she ripped apart one of the man’s hamstrings.
He yelled in terror and threw the lioness off of him. She slammed into the arms of three men who quickly dropped her, not wanting to deal with the dangerous animal. “You demon witch, no one can control mindless beasts like that.”
“They’re not mindless.” Jack said. “She may be a witch, but she’s a good witch. I’m a powerful wizard, Pebble Storm!” A steady stream of rocks flew from Jack’s hands slamming the barbarian. He quickly shrugged them off and threw a rock at Jack.
He jumped to the side, but the rock still clipped his side. He looked back at the barbarian, who stared at him with wide eyes. The rock that had hit Jack had hurt him, but had bounced back and hit the barbarian square in the gut.
“You okay, Jack?” Sara asked. “Glad that shield charm works.”
The barbarian fell to his knees, “You strong, me tell you what happening.”
“Thank you, “Sara said with a slight toss of her hair. “What is the matter?”
The barbarian tried to stand, but his leg wouldn’t support him. Amazing how realistic that wound corresponds to his actions, Jack thought. The man chose to sit down and tell his story.
“Big, large, huge, lizard thing comes every day. It as big as lion is strong. It comes and attacks us and with a tongue as long as two huts it eats us. Sometimes it even spit people out, but they weird. Go to healers’ tent, you see.” A woman from the crowd came forth and began wrapping bandages around the wounded man’s leg.
“Can someone show us the healers’ tent?” Jack asked. Many fingers pointed towards a large tent. It probably could hold over 40 beds, but other than that it was not a very unusual tent.
They walked towards the tent. At the flap that served as the door they heard moans from inside. They pushed aside the flap and looked inside. There were ten people running around with salves and bandages. In a corner close to the entrance there was eight men lying on the mats in a cold sweat.
They got closer and saw that they had an identical tattoo on their bodies. A lizard that stretched the entire length of their bodies. The healers looked at them strangely. “You are different. Why you here?”
“We are here to help. I have healing magics; I’ll help anyway I can.” Sara said stepping up to the group of tattooed men.
“We have healing witches, they not able help.” Sara placed her hand on one of the men’s forehead. He uttered a cry of pain and she recoiled. “Any time we touch any part of the tattoo it pain them. We thinks the only way help is get rid of big lizard.”
“When does this lizard usually come?” Jack asked.
“As night comes the bushes split by its slightest step,” the healer said placing some salve on a nearby man. “Hey young man, you seem hurt. Whenever you injured stand in that corner on the blue square and wounds shall heal.”
Jack stood on the square and felt energized. “Thank you, I just hope we can help you.”
They left the tent and the man they defeated faced them. “You show great skill, you just need experience. I have realized something; your animals cannot be natural creatures. If you are to defeat the lizard thing you need some strong magic.”
“There is a rumor of a spell book that contain a spell that seal away this monster. Me people cannot read, but maybe you can. It guarded by a fierce ogre, but I have faith you can defeat him.”
“I appreciate your great faith in us great warrior. Where is this ogre?” Sara said.
“Go out of our village in the direction of the setting sun. Its lair is a few village lengths out. Beware little friends; the ogre can be very sneaky. He has many traps around his lair.”
“Come on Sara, let’s go.” Jack said placing Iggy back on his shoulders. The lizard seemed happy; it had had to walk since the fight with the barbarian.
“You are ill equipped for the road. Come to my home, I’ll give you some equipment.” He led them through the camp to he other side where there was a solitary hut apart from the others. “I am the Chieftain’s son. Come in, it’s the least I can do for people who wish to help my people and can best me in combat.” He entered with the two friends in tow.
It was a fairly plain hut with many weapons adorning its walls. Jack’s eyes were drawn to a large axe hanging over the barbarian’s bed. “That’s my pride.” The man said as he watched Jack’s stare. “I cannot part with that, but go ahead and find any other weapon you might find useful.”
Sara looked around and saw a shield that gleamed in the daylight. She placed her hand on it and felt an energy flow from it. It tingled down her entire body, “Woah.”
“You have a good eye missy,” he said. “That shield is empowered in the sunlight. It can reflect some magic back. If you want that I need it back after you are done with the ogre.” He gave each of them a sword and scabbard from the wall. “These are my gifts to you. Along with this.” He also pulled some leather armor out of a trunk at his bedside. This glowed with a blue aura.
“With this I wish luck. May Vilor watch over you.” With a slight bow he walked out.
They both donned the armor over their clothes and strapped the swords to their belts. “Let’s go,” Jack said.
They left town by way of a gate to the west. “Hey, Sara,” Jack said, “you were pretty rough with that barbarian what’s up?”
“Oh, that,” she said with a giggle. “It’s a called role playing. Ever tried it?”
“I never thought to change my character.” Jack said stopping for a moment to think. Sara had shown behavior the opposite of what she usually did with strangers. Should he also try something unusual?
They soon came upon a horrible smell. They guessed it to be the troll or the corpses that littered such a monster’s cave. “Nasty!” Sara said waving her hand in front of her face. “This smells like… I’m not sure, but I think I‘ve smelled it before.”
“I don’t want to know. What’s our plan.” Jack said.
“Wait, why do I need to make up a plan. Why don’t you do it?”
“Alright, one of us runs in to find the book, while the other distracts the troll. Hopefully we’re out before it can really hurt us.” Jack said all in one breath.
“Sounds good, I like it. Except isn’t it an ogre?” Sara said with a laugh.
“Oh, yeah. I was thinking a bit of the way here. I made a fairly good plan no matter which it is.” He explained.
Leah let out a low growl and jumped into the branches of a nearby tree. “What’s she doing?” Jack asked, but Sara could only shrug. Suddenly the entire branch came crashing down. “Shh!” They hissed. Leah remained oblivious to them and began jumping up and down on top of the branch, rubbing her paws on the bark roughly.
“She’s trying to tell us something,” Sara said. “What can a branch do?”
“Maybe we can get the book with it,” Jack offered.
“Fire!” Sara cried. “Ogres are supposed to heal fast, except when put to fire! Good girl!” She said patting Leah behind the ears.
Jack began rubbing two sticks together and the branch soon caught on fire. Iggy jumped into the flames, seemingly unbothered by them. “Glad you’re having fun friend, but we must get moving.” He picked up the branch and nodded to Sara who nodded back.
Sara whispered to Leah, “Stay close, we’ll attack.” That’s all the lion needed she jumped through the brush and was met by a loud roar from the ogre. “Wait not yet… Oh whatever, go!”
Sara whispered to Jack as she followed her companion.
Jack went a few feet to the left before he slipped through the bushes. The ogre stood nearly eight feet tall with a large wooden club and was swinging heavily at Leah, who was too fast for the lumbering monster’s swings.
“Leah use Stunning Roar!” The ogre merely shook its head and tried to stomp on the lion. Leah was fast, but the foot still hit her in the hindquarters. With a roar of anger Leah jumped onto the monster’s face. The monster brought its club up to bear and swung, but instead of hitting Leah it hit itself in the head as the lion leaped.
Jack was already at the lip of the cave as he heard the club hit something hard. He turned in time to see the troll fall from the tremendous blow and the club fall from its grasp. “Tripping Roots,” he called, “hear my words and bind my foe.” As the troll struggled to get back up it found its ankles grabbed by vines. He smashed at the roots with his reclaimed club, but only smashed his foot for his effort.
“Iggy attack!” The lizard jumped from his side and bit the creature in its bulgeous belly as the vines tied its entire lower body down. Its club came down on its attacker and Iggy was not as fast as Leah was.
The club past right through Iggy into the ogre’s gut.
Jack stared in confusion as Iggy continued to tear its enemy’s belly. Jack remembered what he had to do. He looked at the monster’s cave and saw a small pedestal bathed in sunlight from a hole in the cave. On it was a large book with a leather rope binding it. He neared it when the ogre gave a mighty roar.
Sara stared as the ogre began writhing. Its body was slowly changing shape. It grew another three feet and grew four more legs. Its body was visibly separated into two parts a main body and a head. It had become a monstrous spider.
Iggy was still tearing at the monster, when two of the spiders’ legs clamped down on him and threw him off. Leah intercepted the lizard with her body and laid the lizard down as they squared off against this strange foe.
“Hurry Jack!” Sara called as she put a Reflecting Shield around Leah. “Leah, Iggy,” she called, “beware its bite and its web.”
“Bite and what?” Jack said coming out of the cave with the book in his hands, not seeing the transformation.
“Oh, that bite,” he said seeing the spider. The spider turned and saw the book in Jack’s hands and reared up in fury. Without thinking Jack dropped the book and drew his sword. With the monster rearing up he jabbed it into the spot where he saw Iggy’s teeth marks, still there even after the transformation.
The spider fell onto its back due to Jack’s added momentum and landed sprawled on its back; wrenching Jack’s sword from his grasp as it stuck in the soft under belly. It gave an unearthly scream and shot silk. Jack wasn’t ready for it and it hit him full in the chest and he fell, unable to use his arms.
The spider started to get up as Leah slashed at the thing’s eyes. “Beware the fangs!” Sara said. The spider lashed out with four of its legs and grabbed the lion and hoisted her into the air.
“Iggy, help her,” Jack said from the ground, struggling against the silk. Iggy jumped onto one of the spider’s legs and bit hard. The monster flinched, but still drew Leah in closer to its fangs.
“No!” Sara cried. She ran up and smashed the thing in the face with her shield. The effect was amazing. The creature’s hairy face burst into flame at the contact. The spider reeled, but still bit into Leah’s flank. The lioness groaned and the spider tossed it aside, seeing to this new great threat.
“Iggy, use Staggering Gaze.” Jack said, now sitting up. The lizard jumped and stared into the creature’s bulbous eyes. The spider hardly seemed to notice, but did stop for a moment.
“Sara, read the book. Maybe it can help!” He called to her as the spider began to swerve its abdomen trying to line up Iggy with its webbing. Sara ran over and quickly grabbed the book. She flipped through and read the first sentences aloud. “If goodness you seek, you need not look to far. The power you need to halt the darkness is in front of you. What does that mean?”
She was amazed when she looked up. The four of them were in the middle of the forest; the spider was nowhere in sight. “What happened?” She asked.
“Teleportation would be my guess. How’s Leah?” He asked. The spider’s web still held him, but it was looser.
The lioness was lying on the ground, unmoving. Sara walked over and saw the green area on Leah’s side. “Deities of healing,” she called. “Aid this fallen warrior, I am willing to use all of my energy to help this one.”
“I guess I don’t matter,” Jack said sarcastically under his breath, so he didn’t disturb Sara.
The green area shrank and the green poison was driven from the wound. Leah still did not move. “Leah?” Sara asked putting her head to the lion’s.
Jack saw Iggy jumping up and down in joy, but not Sara. Before she knew it Leah had pushed her over and was licking her face. ”Okay, okay,” she said laughing. “I can see you’re all right.” Leah let her get up.
“The power you need is before you.” Sara said wiping her face with her sleeve and started walking.
“A little help, here.” Jack said struggling with his bonds. “Good thing we used that burning branch.” He said with a slight chuckle.
“Just hold still,” she said as she pulled out her sword. The silk was strong and even their blades could not cut it. “It won’t budge,” Sara said. She meant it too; her sword was stuck fast to the stick mess. She pulled out her shield.
“No way,” Jack said, “You’re not going to hit me with that.”
“Lie still,” she gently placed the shield to the webbing and it disappeared in a flash. “Your welcome.” Sara said stepping back.
“I’m not questioning your skills, but that was hot! Let’s go!” Jack got up as Iggy jumped up to his usual perch on Jack’s shoulders. He walked straight ahead with Sara at his side. “When I said hot I meant like burning, not… you know… never mind.”
Sara just laughed as she picked up her sword that had finally fallen from Jack’s body.
The trees went on a short distance and then stopped in a clearing. The trees ended and their intention was immediately drawn to a glint of silver. They parted the bushes and looked out into the clearing.
It was a silver dragon! It was not looking at them, but Jack could not take his eyes off of it. It was probably over twenty feet long and its twitching tail was probably a quarter of that. Jack couldn’t think of anything, so he just bowed before the spectacle.
The dragon gave what sounded like a short laugh and turned to face him. This held Jack spellbound, those golden eyes had no pupils. The dragon’s face was soft, for a dragon, but it looked sternly down at them.
“Well met Jack Rosen from the other world. I have awaited you and your allies’ arrival for a long time. I am not here to harm you, but to guide you.” The dragon told him telepathically.
“And you Sara Kriet are very stout of heart. You I also am here to guide.” The dragon told Sara.
“Now is not the time for all to be explained,” it told both of them. “I am Telecar, the silver guardian of this holy shrine. You must now make a decision. Do you want your newfound friends to take a path to become like a human or more mythological. You must decide and tell me when you are ready.”
“I don’t know,” Sara said. “Isn’t it Leah’s decision and not-“ she stopped. The dragon wavered and then flicked out of existance. The dragon had just vanished. They saw the trees lose their brown color.
“Jack! Sara!” Mr. Marin’s voice called. “Are you alright?” The trees lost their holograms and became metal poles sticking out of the ground.
“Yes, of course we’re alright,” Jack said confused. “Why would we not be?”
“We lost you for a minute. After you stepped on the healing square we lost contact with you. I have no idea what happened, but I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You’re telling me the spider wasn’t your idea and neither was the dragon?” Sara said still petting the place Leah had just been. She looked around embarrassed, then stood up.
“Yes,” Marin said stepping out of a nearby door. “You are lucky. I thought the generators got overheated and were about to explode. That isn’t the problem,” he shook his head, in confusion, ”I’m sorry, but it looks like that’s all you will get until August. I’m sorry, but there seems to be a bug in the system, but don’t worry. We’ll work it out.”
“That’s all right, I got to see a dragon real close,” Jack said with excitement in his voice. “I’ve always wanted to see one. Why did you stop it?” He ended this sarcastically with a laugh.
“I’m glad you’re taking this so well. Here, since you didn’t get as long as the others I’ll give you an extra $100 on your card. Did you bring them?”
“Here,” they both said handing them over. Mr. Marin took them and took out a handheld scanner from his vest. He placed the scanner to the cards and a beep sounded.
“You’re all set,” he said handing them back. “I just hope it will be corrected by the time you return. Follow me to the exit.” The ‘trees’ retracted into the floor as they followed Mr. Marin into the main entrance.
The room was the same as before. Now his father was sitting in one of the chairs. “Are you done?”
“You must be one of their father’s,” Thomas said shaking Chuck’s hand. “They’re done early.”
They gave their phone numbers and their cell phone numbers. They stepped out of the dome. “Let’s go home, I feel really tired.” Jack said opening the car door.
“Me too, that didn’t seem as tiring while we were there. You’ll take me home right Chuck?”
“Sure Sara, it’s a school night.” They got in and drove off. Chuck had his ear talked off as Sara and Jack discussed what happened in excited voices. They soon dropped Sara off and pulled into Jack’s driveway. Jack went right upstairs; it was 8:15.
Daniel was in his bunk reading. Jack saw that and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. He soon came out and Daniel put down his book, “How was it?’
“It was totally dull,” Jack said sarcastically. “You would have totally hated it.”
“Oh,” he said playing along. “So you didn’t fight anything and the machine messed up so you didn’t get to do anything.”
“Actually,” Jack said getting serious. “I fought a goblin, a barbarian, and an ogre/spider thing.”
“Oh, you big and bad, bro. Don’t mess with Jack; Goblinbane and Spidersquasher! It must have been boring with no trolls.”
“Thanks, but I’m tired, good night,” Jack said crawling under the covers. “I’ll tell you about it after school tomorrow.”
“Hey, I told you,” Jack said sitting up. “There was no troll, just an ogre!”
“Good night, bro,” he said teasingly. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Daniel turned off the light.
“Sleeping people are fun,” Daniel said rubbing his hands together.
“I said Good Night, bro!”
“You’re no fun at all.” Daniel shut the door and Jack heard him walk down the stairs as he quickly fell asleep.