The Land Never Lost

Chapter 2

"Shh! Flap be quiet! I'm too tired to try and explain anything to anyone." The bird was shaking nervously on the boy's shoulders.

As the kid approached the slide he stopped suddenly. After a short pause he turned away from the slide and walked towards the seesaw. The boy sat on one side, let it drop to the floor, and stayed there looking out into the empty street.

"Flap, did you notice that?" the boy asked his bird. Flap nodded yes. On the slide was a faint glowing black hand print. The clear work of glooms. However, it should not have been possible for the kid to see. "When was the last time you saw a kid be able to sense that print? I'll answer. Never. And he avoided it." the boy pondered silently between his bird and himself.

"Let's get up to the roof and keep an eye on this. Hopefully he won't be here too..." the thought was cut short. Out of the darkness appeared five glooms. They headed straight for the playground. When the boy looked for the kid on the seesaw he noticed he wasn't there, but was looking around helplessly backing away from the park entrance. He backed into the fence and looked at the shadow monsters approaching him.

"Flap, fly up and see if there are any more glooms coming down the road. I'm going to take care of those five as quickly as possible.". On cue the boy ran in between the scared child and the glooms. Flap shot straight up and hovered in place watching the dimly lit road intently.

"Wha?! WHAT?!" the shaking kid asked nervously.

"You don't need to worry about that kid. Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts." the boy said plainly.

The kid asked, "Why do I have to close my eyes? I don't know who you are! I definitely don't know WHAT they are! And...".

"Look kid, close your eyes now. Turn away. Look down or whatever floats your boat. Just do it now!"

Sensing the seriousness of the situation, the child turned before he was blinded by a brilliant green warm flash of light.Thirty seconds passed. That's how long it lasted, if the kid had to guess. Time was hard to tell. But when the child's vision cleared, he saw no trace of the boy who had saved him. No sign of the slow walking shadows threatening him. The only evidence that anything out of the ordinary took place was a thin layer of glittering lights blanketing the ground.

In a random alley, the boy was dropped on top of a dumpster. Flap rested on a nearby fire escape. "Well there goes my good nights rest. Why was that dumb kid walking around a park alone so late?". The boy still held his apple, he took a bite and crossed his arms grumpily. After he finished his dinner, the boy tossed the core to his bird and watched it disappear with a snap of Flap's beak. "That kid kinda worries me buddy. It's been a while since someone could see glooms. I hope his mind cooks something crazy up because he doesn't need this.". Flap flew to the boy and sat atop his stomach. The boy let out a sigh and, with much difficulty, fell asleep to the whistling sound coming from his feathery friend.

The next day started as poorly as the last one ended. Flap was pecking the poor boy in the head. "UGH! Hey! I'm up! What is your problem you stupid bird?". The orphan rubbed his eyes and saw the kid from the playground staring into the alley with his mouth wide open. "What's the matter? Have you never seen a homeless kid before? If you're gonna stare, at least tip me for the show." the annoyed boy shot the remark harshly at the child.

"You're the boy from last night! You saved me. I knew I wasn't making that up. It was real! The green light and monsters and the hand prints. OH MY GOD! The hand prints I see at random places must be from those things." with every revelation the child grew more excited. It never took much for children to be excited.

"Look kid, you have never seen me because I definitely haven't seen you. I just slept in an alley. I don't save people. I can't save myself. Maybe you just imagined it.". The boy stretched. He swung his arms in a circular motion and squatted down. When he popped back up and turned to climb the ladder of the fire escape, he noticed the child's head hang in disappointment.