Another World

CHAPTER 9

Chapter 9

''Here we are'', Jake says as we stop in front an elevator, ''It's kind of a two minute ride down ."

''Oh that's fine , I actually like elevators!", I say. He gives me a strange look and says, ''Really ? I hate them . Once when I was a child I got stuck in one and from that day on I just hated them !" We laugh together while going down. Suddenly the elevator bumps a bit and I fall to my left. Before I fall down, Jake catches me with his strong arms and holds me tightly around my waist to keep balance. I feel so embarrassed right now that I could drown myself and tell God that I was behind on my social skills! Jake speaks up, ''Are you all right Princess Isabelle?"

I stare into his dark and beautiful brown eyes. I feel so dreamy that I want to pretend 'fall' so that he would want to catch me again ! I finally come back to reality and answer him , ''Uh yes ! Yes I'm fine. Sorry about that !" I smile like a shy person and look the other way. But he's still holding me around my waist so I look towards his face.

I hear his voice again . ''No , it's actually our fault. I should try to fix these cables more often. They're a bit old and outworn." The doors open and I stare into the huge underground base . It's filled with lots of old trees and in the middle is a mysterious dome with fairy lights surrounding it . ''Wow ." It's all I could get out again ! He puts his hand on my lower back and I shudder of the feeling. Not because I'm uncomfortable but because I love the feeling. When I shudder he removes his hand back to his side and asks me something, ''Sorry. I probably shouldn't have done that ?"

''No! I'm just not used to the feeling . I've been in a wheelchair for the last few years. Nobody even tried to come near me and when I came near them ....... they walked away." I give a sad look and actually pity myself! To my surprise , he slightly touches my fingers as if he wants to hook his into my grip. Then Jake says, ''I would never, ever stay away from you. Even if I tried to." He smiles at me and I smile back at him. I laugh quietly and we walk together towards the center of the base .

''Okay, here you'll see that the door only opens with a biometric stamp . I need you to place your hand in the middle of this screen so that the sensor will recognize your print whenever you want to enter." A biometric stamp ? Never heard of it before . But I place my hand in the center of the screen and the glass beneath my hand glows. It surrounds my hand until the machine beeps and the door suddenly opens.

It's so beautiful and fragrant. Everywhere I look , I see roses. White roses. As I try to pick one, Jake stops me and then he says,

''Please don't pick one! If one rose is gone, the rest dies. Then nature dies."

''Oh. Sorry, I didn't know that."

''It's not your fault. That's why we chose you to rule over us , to protect nature."

I just stare into the dome we're in. It's completely covered in white roses. I can't imagine all of them dying. I say something sarcastic, ''So you chose me to rule over you? That's very nice of you !"

''Yeah well, firstly you're gorgeous, you're intelligent ...." He stops walking and is right in the opposite direction as I am. And of course he's on the other side of the little dome. I feel a type of adrenaline rushing through my veins. The adrenaline type is called romance. I can't help but stare at Jake and right there I want to fall to my knees. I want him to pick me up and carry me away into paradise where there are no frogs to poison or sadness to cry about. The room is silent and he starts walking towards me. When he reaches me, I wait for him to make the first move. He does by putting his hands on my hips and pulls me toward him. Wow, my first kiss is about to take place! Our faces are merely inches away from each other. He's so tall that I decide to stand on my toes to reach him. It's about to happen, three, two... I open my eyes by the sound of an alarm going off! Jake takes my hand and we run towards the exit. The alarm is so loud, I have to scream at him, ''What's happening?"

''It's an emergency signal! We have to get you safe! We need to get you to your room!" We exit the dome and suddenly the lights shut down. I hear a gunshot and Jake screaming from pain. What must I do now? Something tugs at my legs and they feel slimy, almost like a snake. The Python Warriors are attacking! The lights switch on again and I see them. They're hundreds. Armed and ready to fight us. They almost look like hybrids. A person crossed with a snake. They have tails and eyes so big, it looks like they want to pop out! Gross.