Invaded (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter VII

Julianna

Music: Don't Leave Me Alone from Nemesis 2 MSX

I was accompanying Sam and Elle as we began searching for one of the orbs. We started our search in the nearby forest. For a while, we made no progress. Just us looking at the tops of trees (none of us actually climbed, however), and looking through bushes occasionally.

But no orb.

"Geez, it's one thing to steal a bunch of orbs, it's another to stash each of them randomly and make it harder for us to find them," Sam muttered.

"You're telling me," I sighed.

But then, something shiny caught my eyes. I squinted and moved forwards to get a better look, with Sam and Elle following me. It was the orb, all right. But a squirrel was guarding it, and when it saw us, it ran off with the orb.

"After him!" Sam yelled. The three of us began to follow the squirrel throughout the forest, failing at catching him. We had a few close calls, but none of us were actually able to nab the squirrel. It was simply too quick to react to us.

Eventually, all three of us had the squirrel backed up into a tree, cornered. We inched in closer as Elle whispered, "Come on now... we're not going to hurt you..."

Then, without warning, the squirrel scampered across the tree trunk, and disappeared behind the tree, as if by magic. We went behind the tree to investigate, and sure enough, there was a hole on the side of the tree, definitely large enough for a squirrel to fit in.

"He must've gone in there," Elle said, to which Sam and I replied, "Ya think?"

Sam stuck his arm inside the hole for a few seconds and reached around for a few seconds, then pulled his arm out and slumped. "I can't reach it. We may have to give up here."

"I can probably fit inside there," I suggested. Sam and Elle both looked at me like I was out of my mind.

"Really? Julianna, that's a terrible idea," Elle said, facepalming.

"Hey, I'm the smallest one here. I could probably poke inside and grab the orb easily. Just watch. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Before I gave either Sam or Elle a chance to protest, I stuck my head inside of the hole, then squeezed both of my shoulders through, and finally, my arms, which would be enough.

Music: Big Core MK III from Gradius V

Now, I had the squirrel right where I wanted him. I reached for the orb and grabbed ahold of it, but the squirrel pulled it away in response, backing away. As I continued to advance my arm towards it, the squirrel just kept backing up. But finally, I had him backed up to the wall, and I snatched the orb straight from him. Then, to make sure he didn't interfere with us again, I crushed the squirrel with the orb.

I had to.

Then I proceeded to back myself out of the hole. The problem?

I couldn't do it.

Elle

Julianna squirmed around in the tree hole for a few seconds, then finally said sheepishly, "Heh... a little help here?"

"You have GOT to be kidding me," I groaned. Sam groaned along with me.

"Nope... I'm not."

I looked at Sam, and he looked right back at me. I shrugged and he rolled his eyes. Then we each took one of Julianna's legs and yanked. Nothing. Then we both grabbed Julianna by the waist and tried to pull her free that way. Still didn't work.

After trying both of these methods for much longer than necessary and/or reasonable, we both collapsed on the ground. "My god, Julianna. How can you fit IN, but you can't get OUT?" Sam sighed.

"I don't know!" Julianna yelled. From her breathing, I could tell she was beginning to hyperventilate, so I tried to do what I could to calm her down.

"Julianna, take a deep breath. We're going to get you out somehow. We promise," I said, patting her on the back in support.

"You better, cause if I don't get out, neither does this orb," she pouted.

That was the last thing said before all three of us went silent. We simply let the words hang in the air.

She definitely had a point. If we didn't get her free somehow, it would mean trouble for the rest of us.

Can I die yet :)