Virtual Dimension- Chapter 4

Chapter IV
How Real Are They?

Jack was back in the forest. Iggy lie across his shoulders. Something was calling to him from farther down this path. He walked on and on.
He soon came across a ruined carriage. It was aflame and two people lie dead. An orc emerged from the remnants of the carriage. It took one look at Jack and pulled out his sword. Jack did the same, but he still wore his jeans. He had no weapon.
The orc smiled as it realized the same thing. Jack remembered though, Iggy was his weapon. “Iggy- Huh?” He didn’t finish before the orc fell flat on its face. An arrow shaft stuck out where the skull met the spine.
“Halt outsider,” a voice called from up in a tree. It sounded like a female. “What brings you into our lands. Especially with so little armament and clothing?”
“I’m just a wanderer.” Jack said looking at his bare chest. “I can hear a voice calling me farther up this path.”
“Oh, I don’t believe you.” She said. “Humans can never hear the great Silver’s words. Tell me mortal, what does he say?”
Jack took a moment and listened. The voice formed words, “Come meet me. I am intrigued by your new magica. Please do come.” Jack relayed to her what the voice had just said.
“I hear it too. Very well mortal. Not only may you go on, I will make sure you reach your destination.” She dropped from the tree. Jack had to look away.
Her skin was a slight tint of pink, even brighter than a warm human’s was. She wore only a one-piece bathing suit type garment, made of ivy and branches. Across her back was a longbow with a quiver of arrows. “I’m Amanta, who are you, human?”
“Um, I’m Jack,” he said trying not to stare. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen one of your kind before.”
“Oh, that’s because you humans never come here. Too dark and scary for many people the entrance is.” She said walking up to him.
“Where exactly is here?” He asked.
“Silly,” she said, “of course you know. Come on, it’s not good to keep Silver waiting.” She pulled his arm and led him farther down the path. He allowed himself to be led on.
They kept going for what felt like an hour to Jack when she stopped and sniffed the air. “I smell another one of you, human.” She looked off to the right of the path. “Come out, or I will come in there.”
The thing gave a start and came running out. It was a raccoon. “Oops,” she said, “my bad.” She kept walking and Jack hurried to keep up with her.
“Wait,” Jack said, “what are you? I mean what are your people called?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said turning around. “I can’t tell you, my people hold that very secretive.”
“Why?” Jack asked trying to figure out a reason for anyone to keep their name secret.
“If anyone learned our race’s name…They could control us at a whim.”
“How could one word cause all that?”
“It’s a curse we suffer. We all do. Long ago we were human, just like you. One day a young man came to our leader, the Galuh, and asked him if he could give him some food to feed his wife who had just gone into labor. He refused.”
“That same night the poor man’s wife died in child birth. The man was furious and demanded to bring the body before the Galuh. The guards could not refuse such an honorable request.”
“He brought the body before the king and shouted, ‘Look what you have done! Someone so loyal to you lies dead because of you! Why, your Greatness, why?’ The Galuh just laughed and told the man, ‘To prove to you insolent fools that making demands of the Galuh gets you nowhere. Now begone!’”
“The man fell over his wife’s body, weeping. ‘No! You’ll pay for this. I don’t care what happens to me, but you’ll pay!’ The Galuh called to his guards, ‘I believe we’re done here. Take him to the ‘special’ dungeon. Let’s see how brave you are after you leave there.’”
“No one knows what happened in there. But when he appeared his skin was bright pink, like mine, and his features were very cat-like. We’ve lost the cat-like qualities, but for years anyone he touched became the same as him. Only we ourselves know our name, because the curse makes us powerless against it.” She fell into tears.
“Don’t cry, please.” He said patting her back. “It’s okay you don’t have to tell me.”
“Geez Jack, making another woman cry? What’s wrong with you.” Jack recognized that voice it was Sara! She walked out of the bushes where the raccoon had just disappeared. Leah came out behind her, no longer fat.
“Sara, you too!” Jack said, “how’d you get here?”
“I’m not sure. I saw Leah last night and now I’m here.” She said patting Leah on the head.
“I sense the magica in both of you,” Amanta said, finally stopping her crying. “Maybe you we can trust. Let’s talk to Silver he’ll know what to do.” She started to walk on.
“She’s a little weird, but nice.” Jack whispered to Sara. “Let’s go.” They followed her.
The path wound through the forest. The path showed a lot of use, but they saw no one. A tower soon came into view. The voice grew louder still echoing the same message.
“This is the tower of Silver the Unwise. He’s not real bright anymore, but he once was one of the most powerful magic users. Be nice to him, he might turn you into a cow if you don’t. I’ll be leaving you here. It was nice to meet you Jack.” She jumped into a tree and vanished from sight.
Jack walked up to the large doors. There was a sign posted on the door in a strange language. “Do you speak nonsense?” Jack asked pointing to the sign.
“Just try knocking, that always works.” Sara said stepping back.
“Okay,” he turned back to the door. He made a fist and knocked on the door. He was suddenly inside with Iggy still on his shoulders.
“Jack, are you okay?” Sara asked. Before Jack could answer Sara and Leah appeared on the other side of the door. “Oh, there you are.”
“Two little humans I see,” a raspy voice echoed down the large dome shaped room they stood in. “Come on in to be free.”
“Oh no,” Jack whispered to Sara, “he’s a bard. I won’t last long against his annoying poetry spell.” Sara laughed as they walked towards the only door.
“That’s it open the door and try not to be a bore.” The voice said. Jack made an annoyed grunt as he pushed open the door. It was a spiral staircase that led up into the tower.
“Come, come in,” the wizard’s raspy voice called. “Do not fall into the bin.”
“His rhymes are making less sense.” Jack said starting to climb. “I’m definitely not going to last long if he doesn’t make sense.” Sara followed him up the stairs.
The stone steps spiraled upwards. They kept on going and going. Jack lost track of the number of stairs somewhere around 75. “How high are the rooms apart?” Jack asked, more voicing his thoughts than anything else.
“Only a little more,” the voice said. “Then you will enter my store.” The voice was much closer now and reverberated off the walls.
“Okay, okay, no need to yell!” Sara said breathing slightly heavily. “Jack, try not to do anything stupid. He’s a lot more powerful than us, most likely, and we should treat him with respect.” Jack grumbled, but nodded his agreement. He was looking at Sara and nearly ran into a wooden door.
The door opened on its own and inside was quite dark. Jack took a cautious step inside. “Hello?” He called. His voice echoed and he was met by a low growl.
A pair of amber eyes appeared in the center of the dark room. “Do not react with such aggression. I want to see your magica in action.” The growl intensified and Iggy jumped from Jack’s shoulders.
Sara stood in the doorway with Leah just in front of her. The room suddenly burst into light. In the center of the room stood a lion, except it stood nearly 8 feet tall!
“Woah!” Jack said stepping back. “I’m impressed. Great Silver, our ‘magica’ is not powerful enough to defeat such a beast!”
“Oh nonsense,” the voice said. “We wizards use our sense!” Jack was really getting annoyed with the couplets.
The lion gave a roar and pounced impossibly fast to the opposite side of the room. Jack saw it was using the wall as a springboard. “Look out, move!” He shouted. He picked up Iggy and ran to the side, while Sara and Leah ran the opposite way. The lion came crashing into the door, which split slightly with a loud crack.
“Iggy…Um, attack?” Jack said with very little certainty. What could a little lizard do to something more than 10 times it size?
Iggy charged forward as the lion turned around to face him. Iggy bounced off the thing’s face and jumped up. The lion gave a small grunt and opened its jaws upward. Iggy could not stop himself and Leah was too far away.
“Iggy!” Jack yelled. “I call Pebble Storm!” Rocks flew from his hands, but larger than before. The lion was too large; it didn’t even notice the rocks that bounced off its thick fur.
Jack drew his sword, then remembered he still didn’t have it. “Look at me ugly,” Jack called. ”I’m a distraction!” The lion did look with its eyes, but Iggy was almost in the thing’s jaws.
Jack could only stare as Iggy vanished into the thing’s mouth. There was a flash of flame and Iggy jumped out as the monster howled in pain. “Splendid!” The voice called and the sound of clapping filled the room. “Now what about the missy’s dreaded?” So. Dumb. Jack thought.
The lion turned on Sara, but where was Leah? Sara seemed confused too. She was looking around in a panic. The lion slowly moved towards her, aware of the smell of lioness.
Leah exploded from behind a box and latched onto the thing’s face. It swiped at her and she was sent flying. She righted herself in midair and landed on her paws against the wall. She used it like a springboard. The lion swatted her aside again, but she barely seemed to notice the blows.
“Leah, come here.” Sara said. Leah sprang over to her. Sara cast a spell, while the lion searched for the elusive lioness. “There Leah, now attack with Staggering Roar!” Leah gave a roar, which shook the entire building. The lion took a step back.
“Take this unnatural creature!” Sara grabbed a long piece of wood fashioned into a spear by someone and threw it, not at the lion, but at the ceiling. It thudded into the wood and a cracking sound was heard.
“Jack, Iggy, get over here, quick!” Sara yelled. The lion jumped up, to grab the spear and the cracking sound increased. Jack was nearly to Sara when some rubble fell from the ceiling. “Hurry!” The rubble increased as Jack was within an arms-length of Sara.
Sara cast a spell and a shield covered all four friends as the ceiling collapsed. The lion gave a roar, which only increased the amount of falling rock. A large chunk of rock fell onto its head and it fell silent.
As the dust settled they saw a man floating down from the gaping hole that was once the ceiling. “Excellent you two,” he said still in mid-air. “I am impressed at what you can do.”
“Thank you Silver the Wise.” Jack said trying not to sound sarcastic or cynical. “Why did you summon us?”
“Oh, just a passing fancy.” He said touching down on the pile of rubble that had buried the lion. “Please, can you be-“
“Please,” Jack interrupted. “Before you finish can you stop rhyming!”
The man’s face turned red. “You ungrateful young whelp!” He snarled, “you should be grateful for my help!”
“I’d love your help, but please. Not in rhyme!” Jack felt a little nervous.
The wizard sniffed in indignation. “You ungrateful whelp!” He repeated, “you should be grateful for my help!”
“You just said that.” Jack said losing his nervousness and just being plain angry. “Sara please, help me…Sara?” Jack turned to look, but he couldn’t see Sara. He turned back towards the wizard, not feeling too brave.
“You idiot!” The wizard pulled out a staff from mid-air. “I’ll make you rue the day you insulted a poet.” Jack noticed his rhyme was a little off, but he wasn’t worried about that. The wizard’s staff started to glow. He turned to run, but fell in the rubble.
He turned to face the wizard, whose staff was now pointed at him, “Mercy?” Jack said in desperation. There was a flash and Jack felt his body go numb. He felt himself gaining weight and his fingers and toes melded together. His face grew out as his pants ripped.
The glow faded and Jack could see. He tried to get up, but stumbled. He crawled on all fours and found he could move with ease. He looked at his hands, but they were no longer hands. They were hooves. He was now a horse.
“Now begone from my tower!” The man shouted, “or you’ll feel more of my power!” Jack tried to run, but stumbled. He fell and hit his head on a rock.
Jack awoke in his bed with a start.
Daniel’s snores came softly from the bed above him. Jack looked at where he had seen Iggy. There was nothing there.
Jack looked at himself he was human. He sighed in relief and put his head on his pillow. What had that been? Was it a dream or was it real?
He looked at the clock. It was only 11:35 at night. How long had he been there? He had had no way of keeping track of time. He lie in bed, trying to fall asleep, but he couldn’t.
He got up and turned on his lamp next to his bed. He pulled out the book he was reading and flipped open to page 113. He had already read this part, but something was odd about it. As he read the page and the next two pages he realized that they were the exact same as the events of the tower! What a vivid dream!
He put the book away and turned off the light. He lie back down and was able to return to sleep.
He awoke to his alarm clock’s incessant beeping and got out of bed. He took his shower and ate breakfast.
The bus was early, but he was ready enough to run out the door and catch it in time.
When he arrived at school he went to his homeroom and dropped off his books, but quickly left. He had 10 minutes, so he went to Sara’s homeroom.
She wasn’t there and when he asked Danielle, her best friend, she hadn’t seen her either. She wasn’t in school all day. It was probably because of yesterday’s accident he thought, or was she in shock from that and the dream? Was it really a dream they shared?
He couldn’t concentrate all day. His mind kept going to that feeling of his bones morphing into those of a horse and that dumb wizard’s rhymes. There was one other thing, magica? Where the heck did the ‘a’ come from?
Somehow he made it through the day. “It’s the last week, it’s the last week.” He muttered as he got off the bus after school. He walked inside.
Daniel wasn’t at his usual spot, playing video games. Jack looked in the computer room he wasn’t there. He just shrugged and turned on the computer.
He went online to see if he could talk to Sara. She wasn’t online. He opened up his E-mail and found a letter that he cared about. He deleted the 10 ads and opened up the letter because the subject was the Virtu-Dome.

Dear Jack,

Do not be alarmed. I know who you are and that’s all that’s important right now. You must know that these visions you are seeing are not entirely fake. I’ve seen them as well. Do not try to contact me, but know this. Don’t let these ‘visions’ get you distracted. There is a group of people who want people like us dead. Stay sharp, and try to survive ‘til the end of the school year.
From The X-Person

Jack stared at the letter. Someone wanted him dead? Who would want a junior in high school dead? This all seemed to revolve around just how real the Virtu-Dome and Iggy really were or was it something totally different?
He was sure that the Virtu-Dome was real. How else would the news, and thus everyone else, know about it if it wasn’t real, but what about Leah? Hadn’t she saved both Jack and Sara? He shook his head and shut down the computer still very confused.
He went up into his room; there was still no sign of Daniel. It was weird; he was always here when Jack got home. He knocked on the bathroom door, nothing.
Jack went into the kitchen and was relieved to find a note on the table.

Hey Jack,

Scared you did I? Anyway, Dad wasn’t at work on time again today and he never showed up at all. I’m out with the neighbors trying to find him. Mom wants you to stay home. If we’re not back by dinner, you’re on your own.

Daniel

PS. I think mom’s still scared that you’ll get shot at again, so try to understand.

Jack put the note back on the table. He looked at the television, but didn’t feel like playing anything, so he went outside.
In his backyard there was a forest, so he walked into the forest to try and clear his head. He listened to the stiff brown grass crunch beneath his feet as he followed the laid out path.
He knew that Sara wasn’t around and neither was his father. Was there a connection? He didn’t think so. Where could they be? Sara could easily be at home, but what about dad?
A gun went off somewhere and he ducked behind a tree. It’s okay, he thought. No one’s going to shoot you, again. Maybe, its just a… He was cut off by another shot, but this time he saw the blast hit the tree next to him.
“Careful!” He shouted. “I’m close to where you’re shooting.” He heard footsteps come closer. They were heavy, booted footfalls. Jack grabbed a stick and threw it into the path of the footsteps. Another shot went off, right where the stick had landed.
“Shut up, whelp!” The man said. “What did you and your lady friend do with my men?” Jack heard the gun being reloaded.
“I really don’t know.” He said, trying to fight the urge to run, where he’d be vulnerable. “They kept us pinned behind the car and they were attacked by something. I couldn’t see anything.”
“You lie!” Yet another shot went off and this one hit the tree Jack was behind, well above his head.
“Okay, it was a lioness.” He said. “She’s from the Virtu-Dome, so I have no idea what she could have done.” His voice was shaking and he didn’t even try to hide it.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” He heard the butt of the gun hit the forest floor. “What about the man who smashed into the pole?”
“He was shot at by his fellow men and slammed into it. I’m guessing they were in a panic after the lioness showed up.” Jack slowly stood up.
“Good, I think you’re beginning to understand. Come out here where I can see you. Don’t worry, the safety is on now.” Jack stepped out and looked at the man.
He wore a black suit with a camouflage tie. He was very muscular and tall, probably around 6 and a half feet tall. “Know this, boy!” The man said spitting at Jack’s feet. “You stay away from that dome. Do that and me and my buddies won’t kill ‘ya. You got that?”
“Yessir, Mister, whatever you say, you got the gun.” Jack said.
“Don’t you dare give me any lip boy.” He snarled fingering something tucked into his belt. “Now go home and don’t cause any trouble.”
Jack turned around and began to walk away when there was the sound of a soda can being opened. Jack looked and the man was gone.
Jack just quickly moved back into the field behind his house. I’m really starting to hate guns. He thought looking back into the forest.
He went back into the house and went into his room. He picked up the book that his dream had been about. There was nothing in it about getting shot at in the middle of the woods; it was based in the desert.
“I guess all of this couldn’t be a dream.” He said aloud as he set the book back on the nightstand. He went back downstairs and turned on the TV. He sat down and watched the news.
He sat there for what felt like an hour, there was no clock in the room, when a headline came up that caught his attention. “There have been unconfirmed reports of strange creatures running amuck throughout the city. These supposedly dangerous creatures are not to be touched and if you are to see one the Conservancy of Nationally Endangered Species tells RED News that they are to be left alone and called in immediately to the number on your screen.”
He looked at the number; it was 222-2228! That was the number that Mr. Marin had called him from, so wasn’t that the Virtu-Dome? Jack looked it up on his phone, yep, that was the number.
Jack dialed Sara’s number and called her. It rang three times before someone picked up. “Hello?” The voice said. It was a man’s voice, but Jack didn’t recognize it.
“Hi, this is Sara’s friend Jack, is she around?” Jack said.
“Yeah, hold on.” Jack heard the phone getting moved around and some mumbling he didn’t understand. “Hello?” That was definitely not Sara, but he recognized it as her mother’s voice.
“Hi, this is Jack I’m looking for Sara. Is she around?”
“No she left about 5 minutes ago. She said she was coming down to your house. It seemed like she wanted to talk about something.”
“Oh, okay, now I have some warning. Thank you.”
“You're welcome, bye.” She said, her voice fading as she pulled the receiver away.
“Bye,” he hung up. He turned off the TV and turned on the computer. He logged onto the internet as a car pulled into the driveway.
He got up and looked out the window. He recognized Sara as she climbed out of her car. She grabbed something from the back seat as Jack went around the front to open the door.
She climbed up the front steps onto his porch and looked up at him. She looked quite pale and her hair was untidy, not that she or Jack really cared. She was carrying a letter that had no address, but was entirely blank. “Hello,” she said pleasantly, especially for the way she looked. “I wanted to talk, but I think I’m being watched so I had to tell you in person.”
“Yeah,” Jack said relieved that she may have proof he wasn’t still imagining things. “Please come in.” He stepped out of the way and she stepped into the house, quickly kicking off her flip-flops as she did.
She walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. Tom gave an indignant sound as he was bounced out of his sleep. With a glare he jumped off the couch and ran upstairs.
“You look like you’re fine, but I’m doubting that’s true.” She said looking up at him as he sat down next to her on the couch.
“I’ve definitely been better.” He said. She just lied there waiting for him to continue. “My father went missing today and was late yesterday. I was walking in my backyard when a man threatened me with a gun. And to top it all off I’m seeing illusions that are eating people!” He felt better after he had said this all aloud.
“Illusions.” She said, as if that one word was supposed to make it all make sense. “Have you seen Iggy since that exam?”
“Yeah, I have. I had this weird dream with you, Leah, and Iggy in it. There was another pink skinned girl and a dumb rhyming bard.”
She gave a slight chuckle as he finished speaking. “A dream? Well let’s just say you’ll see him in much more than just your dreams.” She opened the letter she was carrying and pulled out a card inside.
“Oh no,” Jack said trying to sound mockingly scared. “Don’t tell me its something lame like they’re trapped in cards and we’re the only one’s with the power to release them!”
“No, that’s already been done.” She said showing him the other side of the card. It was like another Virtu-card. On it there was a picture of Sara and Leah standing in front of what looked like the silver dragon.
“Where’d you get that?” He asked reaching out to look at it closer. She snatched it away before he could touch it.
“I don’t know.” She said putting the card back in the envelope. “I found this envelope sitting on my bed when I arrived home the night we were shot at. I think it’s either some joke, a Vitru-Dome membership kind of deal, or-“
“ It’s how Leah was able to help us.” Jack interrupted.
“No or it’s pure coincidence.” She said, but her look made him think she was just trying to not believe that Leah was real.
“Well, I haven’t received another card, so I’m guessing it’s on its way or it’s just you.” Jack said. He got up off the couch with a grunt. “Come look at this.” He walked into the computer room as he heard Sara get up and follow.
He opened up his E-mail and showed her the mail from the X-person. “I received a letter very similar to this.” She said as her eyes scanned the screen. “It was addressed to me, but other than that it’s identical.”
“I think I know who he’s talking about.” Jack said. He told her about the man in his backyard that he had just met.
“I know, I received a letter through my window right before I came here.” Sara said seemingly staring intently at the clock that showed it was 3:26. “It told me to stay away from the ‘big dome’ and I wouldn’t be hurt.”
“We’ve got ten days before our last final exam and then another 5 days after that before we go to the Virtu-Dome. Do you think that these guys will follow us that long?” Jack said. “Wait a minute!” He said turning back to his keyboard.
He went onto Google.com and searched for strange animal sightings. He searched under images. The first picture that showed up was what looked like a giant version of Iggy. Jack clicked on the image and he looked at it with the bigger picture.
It wasn’t Iggy. Its scales were much browner and two large horns sprouted out of its head and curved to run nearly parallel to the creature’s skull. The picture showed it staring into the window of a candy shop and below it was the caption, “Lizard’s Lollipops, what crowds candy bring.”
“This picture isn’t even real!” He said in disbelief. “The story about strange animal sightings was on the news, so there have to be real ones somewhere.” He backed out to the search page.
“Jack, this only began today. It takes time to upload pictures onto the web.” Sara said finally turning away from the clock. “I say we just don’t look into it and just wait until July 6th when we go. Sound good?”
“No, not really.” Jack said now looking at a cartoon of a parrot saying, “OMGWTF! You boys and girls-“ He stopped reading and backed out. “I don’t like just sitting here, but we don’t have much of a choice. We at least need to get the school year done with, then we can try and find out what we can about our holographic friends.”
“You make it sound like you believe their real creatures with thoughts and a soul.” She laughed, but soon stopped seeing Jack’s reaction of just staring at the screen. “You don’t believe that do you?”
“I’m beginning to think the answer is yes.” He said as he logged off the internet after finding a picture of a lion splattered across a dirt road in Africa.
“Where is everyone anyway?” Sara asked suddenly looking around the room.
“Oh yeah, Dad didn’t show up today at work, so no one has seen him today. Plus he was late to work yesterday by about six hours. They left to go look for him and I’m on my own for now. Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason. It’s just that every time I come over Daniel is always nearby talking a lot and being so social.”
“Are we thinking about the same person?” He asked because the person she was describing was definitely not his brother.
“I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Well, I should get going. I’ve got to go buy some groceries for the family today.” She got up with what looked like a forced smile.
“Okay just one last thing. There was a man at your house when I called. It didn’t sound like your dad and you don’t have a brother, so who was it?”
“I bet you it was this one guy that keeps coming over. He’s a friend of my parents, but that’s all I know. I think his name is George or something. He says he just wants to get to know my family, but I think his creepy son is just trying to follow me.” Her face told Jack just how deep her dislike for the man was. “He just won’t believe that I could resist someone with ‘Abs of Steel!’”
“Right because men who rip the handles off of faucets are so attractive.” Jack said. “Where were your parents when you tried to call after the accident?” He asked as she neared the door.
“Oh, it was strange. When I got home they said that I hadn’t called at all. There was no message, but I know I left one.” She paused with her hand on the knob for the front door. “This is just weird I’m thinking our phone line was tapped. Well good bye, see you in school tomorrow. I should be there,”
“Okay, see you there.” He said walking out the door after her. “Just stay sharp and don’t let…” He stopped because for the first time he actually noticed the car Sara now had. “Nice ride.”
It was a 2032 Caloro Chimera, a very expensive car. It was jet-black with a red stripe running its entire length. It was one of the only cars that ran completely on Hydrogen. “You like it I see.” Sara said seeing Jack’s blank stare. “Mr. Marin had it sent when he heard about the accident. It was totally free to me, so I took it. I put it on the road today, that’s why I wasn’t at school.” She opened the door and got in. She started up the car and backed out and within moments was gone down the road.
Jack walked back inside. He went up into his room and picked up the book he was reading. He hadn’t read anything about the main character getting shot at in a forest. As he looked he was probably half way done with the book, so he read on.
It must have been a while because he heard the door open after a while. He looked at the clock; it was 6:15. Now that he saw that he was hungry. He walked downstairs to find Daniel taking off a rain jacket. “Any luck?” Jack asked.
“We found him,” Daniel said and Jack couldn’t help but notice his dreary tone of voice. “He was unconscious in a ditch. He wasn’t in his car, which was still pulled over to the side of the road. He was cut up pretty bad. Mom took him to the hospital. Come on let’s eat, I’m starving.” Daniel walked into the kitchen as Jack followed.
As Daniel sorted through the pantry, looking for something quick and easy to make Jack asked, “Have you heard the news about how people are seeing ‘weird’ animals around town? Do you think they’re from the Virtu-Dome. Maybe I’m not crazy!”
Daniel just turned and looked at him. “Jack I hate to admit it, but I saw one today. She was only kind of human because she had a pair of wings sprouting from her back.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a feather. “Honestly I don’t think the question is whether they’re real, but are we?”