The Big Four: Return of the Dark Ages

The New Kid on the Block

He stood against the tower, flushed hands gripping tightly on the side of the wall. He was hoping to Man in Moon that she didn't walk up and open the window in his face—or through his face.

Yet, he so desperately wanted to sneak another peek at her.

It was unbelievable how long her hair was.

Jack took in another deep breath before deciding on his next objective. He was going to go in.

Chances were, she wouldn't see him anyways.

***

Boy, how he was wrong.

He had pushed open the window and lightly stepped in, flying over to one of the walls where she couldn't see him.

Or so he thought.

He hadn't even so much as opened his mouth to say hello when he suddenly got this very strange pulsing feeling inside his head and then all was black.

***

He woke back up believing he had only fallen asleep and turned over in his bed to block out the light.

Except he was pretty sure he had a rule—yes, even the great naughty-list record holder Jack Frost had rules—that no one was to be in his room while he slept.

He tried to mumble out "go away" to the intruders when he realised that he didn't even recognise the voices the whispers belonged to.

And his eyes wouldn't cooperate, they wouldn't open for him no matter how he tried to.

Had he gone blind?

"Damn, girl, how hard did ye hit the lad?" he heard.

"I didn't," another voice spoke, a feminine one. "He went down before I could."

Jack felt someone prodding at his wrist, lifting his sleeve up. "He's got a pulse," another voice chimed, a boy probably around his age. "A very weak one, but he's got one."

"I'm not so much worri'd as wheth'r or not he's alive or not, but what baffles me is that 'ere stick he had lyin' 'side 'im," a girl, probably from one of the Northern Isles; questioned.

Jack tried to retort, but it seemed his mouth had quit working too.

Great, blind and mute.

Perfect.

"It looks like a shepherd's hook, my father back in the old days knew some of the fellows that tended to the sheep back home and they had something like that."

"Or a staff!" the other girl added excitedly.

I agree with the girl, Jack said in his head, even though he knew no one heard him.

How did he end up here in the first place? What had happened?

The girl continued to speak. "Do you think, maybe... that he's..."

"One o' us?" the Scottish girl finished. "Nay, he looks like a standard high school rebel to me, white hair 'n' all. Jacket's bit wet, which is odd."

"No..." the boy spoke up. "Look at the bracelet he had lying down beside him as well. Notice the symbol?"

Silence followed as Jack assumed they were looking at the bracelet.

Wait, bracelet... oh, that's right. He was on the verge of disappearing from history.

So, how come he hasn't yet?