The Unfinished Fairytale

Chapter 2

It felt like I was sinking through mud. Everything was dark, but also bright, though I couldn't understand why. I couldn't hear anything besides my own thoughts.

As soon as the murkiness started, it ended. A world I didn't recognize faded into view. I was beneath a huge tree covered with glowing blue crystals; beneath me was soft, fresh grass. The sky was blue and slightly clouded. Birds flew through the sky. We were surrounded by a forest of tall pine trees.

I brought my hand up to rub my aching head, but before I got there, I noticed something. All of me looked normal, except for my hands. They were black, with a dark gradient running about midway up my arms. My hands almost looked like talons, with sharp claws in place of fingernails. It was strange.

I sat up and scanned my surroundings for my friends. After my vision cleared, I caught sight of Jonathan and Jackie. But they didn't look the same either. Especially Jackie.

Jonathan was very clumsily trying to walk, and Jackie was staring at her lower half while holding herself up by the arms.

"Hey, Kelly?" she called. "I think I'm a Centaur."

She wasn't joking. In place of human legs, she had the lower half of a caramel colored horse. Jonathan didn't fare any better. His legs had been replaced with the legs of a goat.

"Kelly! What the hell happened to my legs?"

I stood very confused staring at him.

"How am I supposed to know?"

From her position on the grass? Jackie answered him for me.

"You're a Satyr, Johnny! Half man, half goat!"

He rubbed his face in his hands.

"Oh my god, this day can't get any stranger..."

He went on to rant about how this was the worst day of his life, and that he wished he were anywhere else than here.

"Guys, calm down," I said. "We still have to find Daniel and George. Either of you seen them?"

Jonathan shook his head, but Jackie nodded.

"I saw George in the tree over there with Daniel, in the shade. He was wearing Daniel's jacket over his head."

I looked up at the massive tree. Sure enough, a couple branches up were a completely normal looking Daniel and a very stressed out George.

"Hey, George! Daniel! You guys okay?"
Daniel nodded. George did not.

"The sun hurts! Why does the sun hurt?!"

I was standing in the sunlight, and I didn't feel a bit of pain. Neither did Jackie or Jonathan.

"Can you guys come down?" I shouted.

Daniel shouted back. "Sure, but go in the shade!"

He and George began climbing down the branches, then jumped off the tree and onto the grass. George was trying extra hard to not go in the sun. Daniel seemed fine when the sunlight touched him, too.

"George, what's wrong?" asked Jackie, who was still laying on the ground.

"Why aren't you getting up?" I asked.

"I don't know how. Besides, it's comfy down here."

I rolled my eyes.

"Are you both all right?" I asked the first two who had gone in.

Daniel answered first. "I still look totally the same, for some reason. We'll find out what I am eventually, I guess. George here isn't doing too good. The second we came in, he started smoking and ran into the shade of the tree. I have no idea what's wrong."

George interrupted him.

"I don't know why! The sun hurts, Kelly!"

I took a moment to study him closely. He looked the same as before, but his skin was really pale, and his eyes, which were usually blue, were dark red.

"George, open your mouth."
He did as I asked, and it only confirmed my suspicions. His canine teeth were about an inch long.

"Buddy, I'm pretty sure you're a Vampire."

He stared at me, confused.

"A what?"
"A Vampire. You're really pale, your eyes are red, the sun hurts you, and you've got sharp teeth. It's obvious."

He stood motionless, scanning the group.

"This is the weirdest day of my life."

We all nodded in agreement.

A crunching noise came from the forest surrounding us, and a figure stepped out and into view. He wore baggy black pants with big black boots with thick soles, and a toolbelt with three small pouches on it. His shirt was light gray, with a couple rips in the side. I noticed something odd- he was wearing a large, purple jack-o-lantern over his head, with blue smoke coming out from the eyes and mouth. Or maybe it was his head.

The person spoke, his voice somewhat muffled.

"Welcome to the Fairytale, new Talers. My name's Will, and I'll be your guide in this hellscape."