(SCRAPPED VERSION) The Other Side of The Planet

Chapter VIII

Ackely opens his eye and finds himself laying on the same couch that he fell asleep upon the night before, feeling very refreshed. "I guess this is really happening," he thinks as he rubs the sleepiness from his eye. "What about last night, after I fell asleep? It was so vivid. Did that really happen too?"

He sits up and sees Ogden, still sleeping soundly on the other side of the curved couch with his cheek smooshed against the armrest. He then looks down at his stomach with confusion. "How odd," he thinks. "I'm usually very hungry in the morning." Indeed, his stomach was completely content, contrary to his usual morning hunger.

He stands and, out of habit and craving for flavour alone, grabs a bag of crisps from the table in front of him. Opening the bag and grabbing a handful of snacks, he walks toward the front door and steps outside to watch the clouds, deciding not to disturb Ogden.

Hearing the door creek open, Biff, who is standing at the edge of the deck, turns to see Ackley looking up at her, snacks in hand. "Oh, Ackely! Good morning!"

Ackely, as well as noticing her change in clothing from her Descendant robe to a floral, red robe, looks to her hands and sees that they're gripping a net that is draped over the railing of the deck. He says, "Oh, good morning. What are you up to, Biff?"

"With the net? Catching some breakfast."

Ackely chuckles. "How are you going to pull any plants up with a net?"

"Well," she explains, "out here, the vegetation actually breaks off and floats in the sea. Plus, right now, I wouldn't have to worry about— Wait, did Cal tell you about animals?"

A feeling of astonishment towards the confirmation of his earlier question filled Ackely's stomach. "Cal...?"

"Yeah, Calabash. He took you to the room, right?"

"That was real?!"

Biff puts a hand on her forehead as she lets out a relieved sigh. "Phew! Yeah, that was real."

A short chuckle of shock bounces from Ackely's mouth. "What even happened?"

"It's kinda complicated, so don't worry about it. Anyway, did he tell you about animals?"

"Uh, n-no. Who's that?"

Biff laughs. "No, no. It's not a person. Animals are... Well, they're like you. They're alive like you are, but they look a lot different. Some are big, but a lot are really small."

"Alive... That reminds me of the things that decompose food, but I don't really consider them to be alive. Are you an animal, Biff?"

Biff stifles another laugh. "No, I'm not. You're actually an animal. Creti are, interestingly enough, the only animals that I've ever seen that can speak."

"Why can't the others speak?"

"They don't know how. Cretus brains are special. Creti are actually a lot more intelligent than other animals."

"That's interesting. Well, where do they live?" he says, putting a hand on his chin.

"We're actually headed right towards them."

Ackely's eye widens as he shovels a handful of crisps into his mouth. "Where's that?" he says, taken aback.

"We're headed towards the other side of the planet. It isn't actually just water, like everyone says."

"I kind of assumed that, because... Well, y'know." He gestures to Biff with his free hand, which is covered in cheddar flavored dust.

"Ah, I see. Smart." She hoists the net, which is the length of a car, onto the deck. The sea vegetation that is entangled with it glistens in the sunlight. "Like I was saying, if we were close to the shore, animals might get caught in the net. Cal calls those animals 'fish,' because they live in the water."