So Much In Common: Book 2

The Adventures of Two Kids, a Pig, and a Frog

"I'm booooored." Rider whined as he slumped in his chair. At his feet was Fat Nuggets, laying on the ground with Prince Henry on his head. The two animals had become best buds in the short time they had gotten to know each other.

"Me to." Anya sighed, "There's gotta be something we can do."

"But what?" Rider asked, "All the grown ups are busy."

Fat Nuggets suddenly got up, Prince Henry letting out a ribbit of protest from the sudden movement. The pig trotted over, it's amphibious friend still on its head as he oinked and nuzzled Anya's hand, seeming to try and get her to get up. Curious as to what the pig wanted, Anya got to her feet, Rider following her lead. Once the children were up, Fat Nuggets began to trot off down the hall, and they quickly followed.

"Do you have any idea where he's taking us?" Rider asked, honestly not sure why they were following the pig.

"Nope!"

Since he had nothing better to do, Rider kept following Fat Nuggets with Anya, despite her lack of knowledge on the pig's intentions. Prince Henry sat on his head, looking left and right as his steed trotted down the hall, not having the faintest idea where they were being taken. Fat Nuggets seemed absolutely sure of where he was going, letting out a little oink here and there as they made their way to their destination. It wasn't long until Fat Nuggets stopped outside of a door Anya recognized instantly.

"That's Daddy's studio! It's where he broadcasts his show!" Anya stepped back, "Fat Nuggets, we shouldn't go in there!"

"Oh come on, Anya." Rider rolled his eyes, "Is there a rule that says we can't?"

"No..." Anya admitted, "Daddy's actually let me sit in there with him while he works on his equipment."

"Then why shouldn't we go in?"

"We might break something."

"We won't as long as we're careful."

Anya thought about it for a moment, then looked down at the pig, "Are you sure you want us to go in there?" Fat Nuggets oinked in response, and to the children, that had settled it. Since she had been in there before, Anya stepped forward and opened the door, revealing Alastor's recording studio that also doubled as his office where he worked on hotel paperwork.

"Wow..." Rider was absolutely marveled at the sleek recording equipment that lay inside the room, with its shiny dials and switches.

"Let's be quick." Anya said as she pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them.

The group walked around the room, even the two animals seeming to marvel at what Alastor kept inside. Along with his equipment, he also kept volumes upon volumes of books, from cook books, to encyclopedias, to poetry, to fantasy. There were also trinkets that marveled the eyes of the children, like a silver music box that played a tinkling lullaby, and a golden globe of the Earth neither child had ever set foot on. Many photographs were around the room, depicting Alastor with a variety of different people from Hell's upper class, even a few of the royal family members he had interviewed for his show. What really caught the eyes of the children though, was a book sitting on Alastor's desk.

The book had a dark leather cover, and no title, yet it was covered in strange silver symbols that to Anya, seemed vaguely familiar. What Anya didn't realize was that she had seen these symbols floating around Alastor's head in a few rare moments when he had been incredibly upset about something, though he tried his best not to allow himself to get like that when Anya was around. It was a very old book, and some of the pages stuck out at odd angles, yet something about it drew the children to it, perhaps it was its strange appearance compared to other books they had seen.

Prince Henry hopped from Fat Nuggets's head and up onto the desk, also seeming to be drawn by the book. Rider stepped closer and picked the book up to get a closer look, and his eyes were completely mesmerized. He handed the book to Anya, who opened it and sat on he ground with it in her lap. Inside the book were more strange symbols and words, words Anya didn't quiet recognize, thought they were made of letters she knew.

"What's it say? I can't read very well." Rider's tail wagged curiously as Prince Henry hopped onto his head. Fat Nuggest sat by Anya's side as she flipped through the pages of the strange book.

"I'm not sure..." Anya felt like something was whispering to her, goading her to say one of these strange lines of text.

"I've never seen a book like that before, have you?"

"No...not at all."

"Anya?" Rider had started to catch on to his friend's strange tone of voice, one that sounded as if lost in a dreamlike state, "Are you okay?"

Anya didn't respond, and instead put her finger on a particular line of text that for some reason stuck out to her on the pages. Everything around her faded away as she stared at the text, and to her amazement, the letters shifted and became words she could read before her very eyes. A smile grew on her face as the words clicked, and her heart started to beat fast. She wanted to say what the book said out loud, she needed to say it out loud.

"Shadows around us, hither and tither. Shadows around us, come here and reach further."

Everything around them began to shift as the shadows began to move around the room. Figures formed before their very eyes as they danced across the walls, their movements marveling the eyes of the children and their animal friends. Anya gasped as her own shadow took life, eyes glowing purple as it smiled at her, a mischievous smile on its face. Anya's shadow was the only one with a face, and instead of joining the others, it stayed with her, swirling around her as the other shadows danced.

"What's happening?" Rider asked, strangely finding the events not frightening, but breathtaking.

"I don't know..." Anya replied, her eyes amazed by her lively shadow.

The shadows danced more, moving faster and faster, like children at play. Fat Nuggets oinked as one of the shadows stooped and pet his back, giving him a scratch behind the ears. These shadows seemed to just be lively and kind beings who simply wished to enjoy fun and joyful play, such beautiful creatures, such amazing things. Rider and Anya began laughing, reaching their arms out to play with the shadows, to join them in their graceful dance. Yet...Anya's shadow had stopped, and was now looking at the others with an expression that was almost...frightful, yet neither the children or animals noticed.

The dance became faster, and the children soon found themselves growing dizzy watching, yet they couldn't look away. Soon the dizziness led to their vision starting to turn black, yet they couldn't look away from the beautiful dancing. So elegant...so beautiful...so graceful...they wanted to play with the shadows...they wanted to dance with the shadows. Anya's shadow was growing more and more frantic, until it suddenly left the room, disappearing through the door.

The children and the animals were all laying on the ground, eyes still fixed on the shadows dancing around them. They seemed so happy as they laughed and danced and played, reaching their arms out and becoming to the children. "Come and play." The gesture said, "Come play, dance, and be beautiful forever."

So dark...so so dark...they couldn't see anything other than the shadows...so dark...

"GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU FOUL CREATURES!!!"