Animals

Chapter 3

Lachlan yawned out of boredom, and also partially due to being woken so early. They had all been brought to a separate room to learn history. If there is anything he does remember, it's learning about this. "After all the countries fell, there was chaos, but one man stood up for everyone and made seven different, new lands. His name was..." "This is so boring." Lachlan whispered to Rob. He nodded, not looking from the bright screen that played the old black and white documentary. "He became the leader of Minecraftia, the largest of the Territories." The screen showed this man up there, waving to crowd, smiling. But that's all you could see. You couldn't see his face.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Davis take down some more notes, and then exit the room in a rush as usual. "He must have drank all of his refill." Vik whispered. Rob laughed softly, even though he wasn't there to understand the "refill" part.

The film went into detail about how the seven lands continuously bickered and fought with each other. It explained how they went into war three times, and how Minecraftia was always the good guy. It told of the downfall of Nievia, the coldest biome. How the place split into two sides, and eventually fell. That was really all it mentioned about Nievia, the rest was Minecraftia's achievements. How many wars and battles the Territory has won. How many leaders it's had. The rest was just a blur, but the thought of Nievia stayed in his mind. Why did they only mention it very briefly? You'd think the downfall of a populated civilization would be something the documentary would mention. But it never did.

The video dragged on. It wasn't very interesting, and it wasn't likely that they would have to take a quiz on it. Dr. Davis walked back into the room, this time the clipboard was in his hand. His timing was almost perfect, like they had planned it. The film had ended, and the lights flickered back on.

Then they were taken back to the familiar cell, and it's boring, gray walls seemed less welcoming than ever before. It was drafty. Warm air drifted into the lonely room. Jackie closed the door behind them as they stepped back into the damp prison. His mind drifted back to Nievia. What happened to it? Where did it go? What's there now? He wanted to ask someone. But who would know?

"Hey Rob?" Lachlan asked. "Yeah?" He answered instantly. "Do you ever wonder about.... Nievia?" Rob just shook his head. "But I do know some things about it... not too much, though. I overheard a guard talking at night. I think his name was Aron. Anyways, Nievia was a large, successful place, despite the cold. People were happy. But then, the place fell in ruin. A rebellion swept through the entire territory. People turned hateful and desperate. And then, one day, there was a bomb..." he suddenly stopped. "How long ago was this?" Lachlan asked from his usual spot on the wall. Rob shrugged. "I don't know. I only know what I heard." He frowned. "Sorry." "It's alright. You don't have to apologize."

Right then and there he remembered Vik, who probably felt left out. But when he glanced in his direction, in the corner to the left of the bars, he seemed to be in his own little world. And that's where Lachlan wanted to be too. In in his own little world. But he couldn't stop thinking... "You know, you guys have been handling this entire situation very well..." A charming voice said from outside the caged off room. No, it was surprisingly charming. It was James. He laughed, as usual, standing outside the bars that separated the cell from the rest of the building. He had a comfy smirk on his face. "I mean, all this happens to you and you're so calm? Aren't you a little bit scared...?" He asked, his voice curious and mocking. No one answered his question. "You're not?! I guess someone will have to fix that!" He chimed, sounding happy as ever. Lachlan looked away, and tucked his knees into his chest, feeling submissive... surprisingly. "You don't have your mommy to cry to anymore, or your daddy to protect you. Don't you realize that?"