Merlok's Nephew

Watching Clay Day 3

Today was Aaron's turn at watching Clay and he wanted to take Clay outside. He has been in the Fortrex for almost a week and he felt like Clay was going to go stir-crazy. He would go insane if he was trapped inside for days on end. So, after he woke Clay up and got him some breakfast, he asked him a really important question. 

"Go outside? And do what?" Clay asked as he was eating his pancakes. "Just have fun! We can ride on my hoverboard, I can take you to the park, and we can play on the playground. You haven't been outside in a while so I thought you might want to go." Clay thought to himself for a minute then nodded. "Okay, sounds like fun." 

About an hour after breakfast, and after talking to the others about taking Clay outside, Aaron and Clay were outside. Clay took a deep breath and for the first time in a while felt good about it. After living outside for almost a year and being inside with the NEXO Knights for a few days, it felt good to breathe in the fresh air and not feel afraid that someone was going to attack him or run away.

"Ready to have some fun, Clayman?" Aaron asked as he got his hoverboard/hover shield ready. "Mr. Aaron, are you sure that's safe?" Clay asked concerned. "We'll be fine, Clayman. I've been doing this since I was your age." Clay bit his lip nervously then nodded. "Okay."

"Great!" He got his hoverboard ready and to Clay's amazement, Aaron's shield started floating in mid-air. "Whoa! That's so cool!" Clay said amazed. "Yeah! Awesome, right?!" Aaron got on and told Clay, "Come on, Clayman. Hop on!" Clay nodded and carefully got on the hoverboard. Aaron helped him get on and in front of him so Aaron could hold onto him so he couldn't fall off.

"Ready?" Aaron asked. "Ready!" Clay said excitedly. "All right, here we go, Clayman!" Then Aaron took off. They flew through the sky and Aaron even did a few tricks which Clay loved. "Wha-hoo!" 

The two were having the time of their life. They went through the forest and zigzagged through the trees. Aaron went to the beach and surfed on some waves, getting the two of them wet. Aaron soon dried Clay then they continued their adventure of flying throughout Knighton. Aaron avoided Dnullib for obvious reasons. Eventually, they went into a dark forest and zigzagged through the trees once again.

They kept going until Aaron had to stop when he spotted a house. The house was covered in plants and looked like no one had lived in it for years. Clay, who was clutching Aaron's left leg, stiffened hard. He started to clutch Aaron a bit too hard so he lowered his hoverboard to see what was wrong with Clay. "Clayman, what's wrong?" He asked concerned as he went to his knees to be eye level with Clay.

Clay whispered something but Aaron couldn't hear him. "Can you repeat that, Clayman? Please?" Tears started to fall down Clay's as he said, "This was my house before... before..." Clay jumped into Aaron's arms and started to cry. Aaron then realized what Clay meant. 

This house was Clay's before him and his mother turned to stone for 13 years. "Come on, Clay. Let's go home." But Clay shook his head and soon after he did, the two teleported inside Clay's old home. "Whoa!"

Aaron looked around and saw dust everywhere. There were also cobwebs, some insects and spiders as well, along with plants and dirt. It was clear that no one had lived here for a long time. 'It's like the house was meant to be hidden. It was like Wanda kept this place hidden from outside eyes... but why?' 

"Aaron, can we look around before we leave?... Please?" Clay asked taking Aaron out of his thoughts. "Sure, Clayman." Aaron set Clay down and the two toured the house in silence. He followed Clay to the kitchen. 'All the food is gone. Clay's mom must have prepared to in case the two didn't come back.'

He followed Clay to the living room. Clay got up on the couch and just laid down in silence. Aaron looked around and walked over to a small desk that looked to have pictures on them. He removed the dust and saw a picture of Clay as a baby in Ruina's arms. 'She looks happy and so does he.' He set the photo down then picked up another one. After removing the dust on it, he saw a picture of Clay, who looked to be four or five, and his mother hugging each other happily.  'This must have been their last picture before everything happened.'

He set the photo and took another good look around. Aaron felt his suspensions were correct. Clay's mother wanted to keep this place hidden. Everyone in Knighton knew the story of this forest even. Those who walk in never return because of an evil witch who turns people to stone or people into animals for her meals. 

Somehow, Aaron felt that those stories were fictional to keep people out so the question is, why would Wanda Moorington keep her home hidden from the eyes of Knighton and why didn't she trust Merlok, her own brother, with this information? "Aaron?" Aaron was taken out of his thoughts when Clay said his name. "Yes, Clayman?" Aaron asked. "Can we go upstairs to my old room before we leave?" Aaron nodded and together, the two went upstairs to Clay's old bedroom.

They slowly walked in and the room, just like the rest of the house, was full of dust, cobwebs, insects, and spiders. Clay looked around and soon, he walked over to a brown box by the bed. He opened it and pulled out a small blue blanket. It had a blue and white eagle. (His family crest) It appeared to be undamaged which completely shocked Aaron since the blanket was probably very old. 

"Aaron, can we go back now?" Clay asked. "Yeah. Let's go home, Clay." Then the two walked out, took Aaron's hoverboard and went home in silence. While on the way, Clay thought to himself. 'Home... What is home? Is it with my mommy or with the NEXO Knights?' Clay had a feeling that the knights were keeping him here for a reason and that they weren't going to tell him why. The Knights could have taken him to an orphanage or a foster home but they haven't so they knew something about him that he didn't but the question is, what do they know about him that he didn't?

Later that night, after Aaron put Clay to bed, he went to talk with the others and Merlok about what happened. "So, you accidentally found Wanda's and Clay's old home?" Merlok asked. "Yeah, we were just on my hoverboard flying through the Dark Forest when suddenly, we ran into a rundown old house. Clay got really upset and he told me that this was his home before he and Ruina turned to stone. As I was about to take us home, he teleported us inside, and we looked around for a while. We went to his room before we left and he got a small blue blanket."

"I could never find Wanda's home and I looked all over Knighton. I even looked in the Dark Forest and I couldn't find anything. I'm impressed that you and Clay found it without a problem," Merlok told him. "I guess, but I'm just confused. Why didn't your sister tell you about Clay or her home's location?" Aaron said. "Hmm. I don't know myself and I have a feeling that Clay doesn't know either."

"Anything else, Aaron?" Macy asked. "Yeah... it was weird..." Aaron told him with a bit of hesitancy in his voice. "What?" Axl asked. "While we were in Clay's home, it felt like someone was watching us."

"Ruina Stoneheart?" Lance asked. Aaron shook his head. "No, it was someone else. I can't explain it but it sent chills down my spine. I do a lot of insane tricks and I'm not normally afraid of anything but whatever was watching me and Clay really freaked me out and I couldn't even see it, I could only feel it."

"You sure it wasn't just the Dark Forest?" Lance asked. "I... I don't know. I just can't explain it. While we zigzagged through the trees, I didn't feel anything wrong but once we stopped at the house, I could feel someone watching us... someone evil," Aaron explained. Everyone kind of stiffened at this point. Aaron was brave and wasn't afraid of much but him having that feeling of dread was not a good sign.

"Merlok, do you think Wanda didn't tell you about Clay because someone wanted to hurt them?" Macy asked. "I don't know but I pray that isn't the reason she didn't tell me about him."

High schoolers, be happy that high school is easy. Trust me, college is so exhausting. I've only been in school for a month and I'm ready for spring break. Anyway, I got some studying to do. As I said before, updates are extremely random. Thanks for reading and I will see Y'all next time. Bye! :)