The Black Box

18

We caught up to Navi as we got closer to the mutant tree forest. Surprisingly I wasn't too out of breath. Just a little winded. I didn't even notice how far we ran. We ran from the ravine pass the granite hill towards the forest on the other side. We probably ran at least 20 miles, just to the granite hill. I guess I pace myself very well. I look toward the sky and see a group of birds flying south.

"What kind are they?" I ask Christie.

"They're called Demos."

I can hear the birds faintly say, Sheila Sheila Sheila. "Why are they saying Sheila?"

"She biologically made them and disappeared. The birds have been calling for her since she disappeared. The birds don't know this but, Sheila went crazy and died somewhere far off. She was a person who was 'good'," Christie makes quotations with her fingers, "with technology. You'll learn more about it later."

We're at the very edge of the forest and my feet were aching.

"Come on!" says Navi, motioning us quickly before he ran into the forest.

"Man, does your brother have any patience?" I ask Christie, catching my breath.

"On his good days," she answers me, fixing her ponytail.

We run after him, avoiding all sorts of things. This isn't your average forest. There were vines with thorns on them, plants with little glowing lights, and all other kinds of supernatural plants. I think Christie knew where we're going 'cause she ran in the direction Navi went, I think. I got some glimpses of his black jacket before he passed another tree, leaving my vision.

Christie slowed down near this very large tree. It blended in very well, considering the fact that the forest contained every kind of tree that I knew of.
"C'mon, we're almost there," she tells me, slowing down to a jog.

We jog to the left of the tree and see Navi standing there, checking his watch. As always.
"Where have you been? There's no time for standing around," he says sternly, crossing his arms.

"Man, you're brother's strict," I whisper to Christie. She giggles but I think Navi heard me. He turns sharply and pins me to a tree, not the big one, a dagger to my neck.

"Don't you ever insult me. I'm one of the toughest you'll ever meet, so don't mess with me," he says, giving me his hardest glare he can muster. The dagger is almost cutting into my skin. I stay as firm as I can, but I can feel my insides melting under his glare. I might develop a fear of oceans 'cause of his blue eyes.

He pushes me into the tree, hard, and lets go of me. I feel my neck where he pressed the dagger and I look at my slightly red finger. I believe him, that he's one of the toughest. Whatever you do, don't mess with a tough guy with a fairy's name from a video game. What if I meet a girl named Link? I think I'll die.

He puts back his dagger with ease and continues to walk to the back of the tree. I see that there's a pile of rocks next to the tree's back. I would expect Navi to move the largest, and we would enter a hidden headquarters. I was partially wrong.

Instead he went to the left of the pile of rocks and inserted an object, like Christie's door. We waited for a few seconds and then the boulder became a transparent gray and we were able to go through it.

We walk down a hallway that's semi-normal lighted. It's not actually dim. That's what I meant. The lights are white and are where the walls meet the ceiling.

We stop at the end of the hallway. Obviously there's gonna be a secret entrance where we're going. Navi knocks in an odd rhythm. 1-3-8-5-2.
Then I hear a clicking noise. Christie grabs my hand and we free fall through the air. It was at least 30 feet down and I hit the ground and roll. It wasn't the deathly impact I expected. I look to see Navi and Christie standing up. Clearly they've done this multiple times.

"C'mon Peter, I have some people for you to meet," Christie says as she reaches out for my hand to help me to my feet.

We're in a room similar to Christie's house (I guess you could call it her house) but it doesn't goes up but down. We're at the top on a ledge overlooking the compound. There are openings in the walls and I see people in them, probably doing what they do everyday.

Navi leads us down a flight of stairs to the right of the room. It spirals down to the ground floor, with no walls on either sides. There we meet a girl, her back to us.
"Hey Jess. What's the emergency?" asks Navi to the girl.

She turns around and I see that she's also wearing black. She has a black tank top on with black jeans. She has pitch black hair. It's cut short, like near where her chin is. She has gray eyes with a tint of red. It's like the eyes of a killer I'm looking at. She's at least as tall as I am, maybe a little taller than Christie. She has an eagle tattooed to her shoulder, like it's taking off her shoulder if it was real. She has even more daggers. It doesn't even look like it weighs her down. The daggers line her whole front of her belt, on her left and right. There's at least 15.

"Welcome to The Shaft. Hello, I'm Jess Hapker. Hunter, soldier, leader," she says crossing her arms, looking at me.

"Uh. Hi. I'm Peter Ceiler," I say, nervous about her appearance.

"Hello Peter. Nice to meet you," she says, holding out her hand to shake mine. I hold my hand out and shake her hand. She has a firm grip.

"Is this him?" she asks Christie, pointing to me. Christie nods. I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.

"Let's go to Noah. Maybe he'll fill you in with what's going on," Jess says. She leads the way down to the bottom of The Shaft.