Home Again

Survival Ep 3 - Distress Signal

~THIRD PERSON~

"Your dad ain't giving up on his work," the older woman sighed, lacing her fingers together. She gazed at her daughter. "He's got himself into way too much. Seems like he's being controlled by it all. Probably why he attacked you."

"I hate him." the young red-haired girl spat back, folding her arms.

"Yeah," the older woman agreed. She pursued her lips. "Any dofus can see why. Your dad's losing his marbles. But we've got nothing else."

"I'll never help him with his stupid research." the girl growled, clenching her fists. "I'll never help any of you. And if a... 'human' ever comes here, I'll beat them up!"

"Now you're getting too into it," the mother asserted, tilting her head. "Our family's got a big part in the business. It won't run if we're not there."

"Well, you and dad can do it without me," the girl snapped. She stood up, shoulders hunched. She walked off with heavy steps. "I'll never help you."

"C'mon, girl..." the mother pleaded, but her daughter did not look back. She was stubborn. Her mother slid back on the wall, shaking her head. "Family's falling apart..."

~ALICE~

A cool breeze blew through my short, blonde hair. The sky's light and dark blue mixed together, splashing across the sky like a painting. Small, puffy clouds float around, contrasting against the blue. Fierce Fox and I were standing on a grassy hill, which has a tree with a split hole. Light snow covers the ground. Next to that is a radio antenna- we could use that to call for help.

We entered the base of the radio antenna. There was a note on a silver platform beneath the radio antenna. Black and red wires were underneath a busted pipe. The note was about the radio antenna going out of business (let's just say the note was not very formal) and how to make a battery. We grabbed those two items then headed right.

The right leads to a forest. It's not as vast as the previous forest. Grass peeks out from the light snow. The trees are starting to grow leaves. Also, there are some plane parts in some of the trees.

"This way." I told Fierce Fox. We climbed up the bouncy trees, reaching something very shocking: a destroyed plane caught between two trees, high above a ravine. The windows were smashed, the wings were gone, and the walls creaked. The plane was from Mews Corp. Like the guy on Cryptids Island. Cautiously, my friend and I headed inside. The plane rumbled from our weight as we stepped forward. Concerning. Inside, we found a clipboard and a radio. However, we couldn't grab the radio as the plane tipped backwards, forcing us to slide out.

"We need to find a way to get that radio!" Fierce Fox exclaimed.

"We will, don't worry," I replied. "Also, the plane was carrying all the items we found previously. It has a few more things we need to get that radio. And the clipboard also says not to trust someone called MVB. I don't wanna spoil anything, but whoever said that has good advice."

"Alright, then," Fierce Fox said, nodding. "So, what now?"

"It's time to get that radio." I answered. We headed right. We came to an icy lake full of rocks and icebergs. One rock has a plane wing balanced on it like a see-saw. We walked over that and came to another grassy area. It's covered in trees and light snow. One tree has the end of the plane stuck in its branches. Inside there are some nails. Fierce Fox, with my instruction, grabbed some.

Meanwhile, caught in a branch was a pocket knife. I picked that up, causing the branch to fall. Fierce Fox and I met between two trees which were carrying a crate of lemons and a branch on some rope. They were connected like a set of weights.

"We'll come back to these." I told my friend. "This way." We returned to the plane. The nose was stuck on a loose branch. Using the pocket knife, I set it free. The plane's head fell down and crash-landed on the lowest branch. "Honour's yours." I told Fierce Fox, pointing at the plane. She shrugged and headed inside. A few seconds later, the plane dipped downwards, pointing at the ravine. It kept inching closer and closer, but Fierce Fox clambered out alive. The plane disappeared into the ravine once she was safe. Fierce Fox glared at me.

"Do you have to throw me into all the dangerous situations?" she asked, gritting her teeth. I shrugged.

"Well, at least you have the radio." I replied. Fierce Fox snorted. I jumped off of the tree and raced off before my Poptropican could say anymore. I stopped at the lake where the plane-wing-see-saw is. In the middle of the lake there's an island with a chewed tree on it. I pulled out the pocketknife and finished the job; the tree landed on the see-saw. On the tree was a small, leather satchel. The inside's full of coins. I grabbed the copper coin, the only one we needed. I nodded at Fierce Fox.

"It's time to get some lemons." I told her. We headed back to that area with the lemons. I leaped to the top, finding the branch that would make the lemon crate move up and down. I cut it from the rest of the tree using a pocketknife; I started moving downwards. I pulled out the trusty pocketknife again and sliced the rope. The crate of lemons sailed down from the sky and smashed open when impacting the ground. It almost hit me; the hairs on my arms were standing up. I slowly grabbed a lemon.

"So... can we fix the radio now?" Fierce Fox asked. I gave her the thumbs up. Well, not really. Poptropicans don't have thumbs. So I just smiled. Anyway, we began making the radio. I stuck the copper penny into the lemon. Fierce Fox stuck a nail in. Then we wrapped the wires around them and switched the radio on. It lit up. Success.

"Just gotta get to the antenna." I said, smiling. "And we're done." With that in mind, we returned to the radio antenna. We headed past where we'd got the items and started climbing up. Well, first, we pulled a lever and got a ladder. Then we started climbing up.

The radio tower is bronze and covered in thick rust. It shook from my every step. Fierce Fox and I worked together to reach the top, which involved shoving connectors off of platforms. We also used gravity to move certain platforms. And moved more connectors to reach ladders. Not the most exciting activities.

We reached the top. There are satellite dishes surrounding a ladder which takes you to the very top. Fierce Fox and I got there. I admired the blue sky right above our heads and the view beyond us. Almost magical. I placed the radio on the ground. Fierce Fox cleared her throat.

"Mayday! Mayday!" she cried. "We need rescue!" There were a few suspenseful moments of silence.

"We read you," someone replied. "Stand by and we'll send a chopper."

"Thank you!" Fierce Fox exclaimed. "Who is this?"

"This is Myron Van Buren," the person answered. I gave Fierce Fox a look. "Stay where you are."

"Myron Van Buren... MVB?" Fierce Fox asked, looking back at me. I nodded. A gold medallion flashed and appeared around her neck. I appeared behind my computer screen. I watched MVB's helicopter pick my friend up. I gulped. I've just gotta be ready, I thought. I've just gotta be ready.