When the Walls Start Tumbling Down

Chapter 6

Enoch had circled the entire seal, looking for a thin or weak point in the... whatever it was, when he tripped over something in the grass. He turned around to see a bald patch of brown and burnt grass surrounding a small stone. He was confused and thought, Grass can die? It was always green. He touched the small stone in the odd patch and picked it up. It was very cold and only about the size of his palm. He turned it over and a short title was engraved in its shiny black surface; Chosen One. He wondered what that meant, 'Chosen One'. And why was it just sitting there? He had never seen this bare patch before in all of the times he'd circled the seal's perimeter. Where had it come from? It looked to have been sitting there or buried for a very long time. He heard his name being called somewhere deep in the palace and was snapped back to reality in an instant. He'd worry about the deeper meaning later, and about gettin in the seal now. Without thinking he took the small rock and smashed it onto the seals surface. He expected the rock to shatter, but it didn't. It knocked out a perfectly Enoch-sized chunk from the seal and was sitting on the underside of the seal, like it was glued there. He wondered how that could happen, when he heard even more yelling from the palace, this time closer and louder. He didn't think twice. He gripped his book and pen close to his chest and took the plunge. But what he expected, wasn't anything like what happened. He didn't fall straight down into the market-like thing he had seen so many times before. It was like his entire sense of gravity had stood on its head. He fell right back down from where he entered and was now standing upright on the underside of the seal. Gravity must work different in here, he thought. He hesitantly took a step, as if the spell that was keeping him glued to the seal would suddenly break. When he felt confident enough, he began to wander around, his little black stone in hand. Anything he found interesting or that he hadn't seen before, he wrote down in his notebook. He found small snail-like creatures with quartz shells, indigo tree-shaped rocks that curved in every which way, and he could've sworn he heard something like a dragon. He'd never seen or heard one before, but he just knew it. He feared he was going to run out of notebook pages, when he heard a twig snap. His eyes darted around and he found a large rock to hide behind. He held his book, pencil and rock close to his chest, not daring to move. When he gathered enough strength to look around the rock, he saw four multicolored monsters, all different shapes and sizes. He started to fear for his safety, when he realized they were acting like normal friends would, if a little suspicious by checking every hiding place available. I can understand them, he thought, but father always said they had some savage language that only involved screaming or miming things out. He started to question his fathers fairness in the way he spoke about their underground neighbors."Hey, Afta, how is that young dragon training going?" A green skinned monster inquired after comically overturning a palm sized stone. "Oh yeah! It's been good, except for they never listen to me. When I first arrived to meet you all, that awful landing I had was the best one of them had ever listened to me. They always ignore me until the Keeper shows up, and then they listen to me. Sneaky little..." the short and turquoise monster replied most friendly in a husky as if damaged voice. Enoch turned back around so that his back was flat against the rock. The pleasant monsters continued to chat like regular friends, and Enoch finally felt comfortable enough to turn to look around the rock again. When he did, he was met face-to-face with a lavender nose. He covered his mouth to keep from screaming, then realizing that moment had passed. He saw the monsters eyes widen in surprise, but she did not yell. She did not scream, shout, or even move. It seemed to Enoch that she too was too shocked to know exactly what to do. She soon made her decision, because she backpedaled immediately and yelled for her friends, who came running. A bright red monster who he had not seen before came first, "What is i- oh good-night-what-is-that." They all crowded around him and stared at him, as if unsure what to do or say. "...Good evening...?" Enoch said timidly, clutching his book closer to his chest. "Well," stood the green skinned monster, "I'm done. I don't find being taken by the GFO's guards to be a very exciting way to spend my day." He walked away flustered and briskly. Enoch took a closer look at the remaining three monsters who crouched over him, not moving from his seat on the ground. His eyes kept becoming fixated on the purple one, feeling as if he had seen her before. The red one whispered from the corner of his mouth without taking his curious eyes off the new stranger, "Phara, what do we do now?" To which 'Phara' answered, "I don't know I honestly didn't think this far ahead."
"What do you mean you didn't think this far ahead? This could very well get us arrested!"
"Honestly, that would be a solid plan right now, considering the situation"
The two stood to their full heights and turned towards each other to continue bickering. The third and much shorter one continued to stare at Enoch, his head tilting this way and that. He crouched down into a stance that one would use to approach a large wild animal. He poked and prodded at him cautiously and Enoch only stared at him in confusion, becoming more comfortable with the situation. The turquoise monster realized this was getting him nowhere, and decided to pinch Enoch on the arm. Enoch yelped and pinched him back. They went back and forth like this until the purple one yelled, "Will you two cut that out? We're trying to figure out how to deal with this without being arrested!" The turquoise one scoffed and bared his fangs at Enoch with a sneer of annoyance before turning away. The purple one turned towards Enoch and crouched down into a squat in front of him, "Listen, I don't know what kind of spirit possessed you to think that this was somehow a good idea, but I'm sure you understand the gravity of this situation." Enoch nodded and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He for some reason for very flustered around this one, maybe because she was talking to him seriously or because she was very sinister with the way she talked. Nevertheless, she looked very familiar to him. She noticed his uncomfortableness and sighed, "I don't know what they tell you about us on the outer side, but I can assume it's nothing good. I promise we aren't going to hurt you, though I can't say anything for the turquoise one over there. He's a bit wild." Enoch chuckled slightly, "That's good, at least, knowing I won't be killed on sight." The red one in the back said, "Well, we're not too sure about that. This is still very illegal, and honestly, we're not too sure what to do next." The turquoise one came back, and in an annoyed tone said, "You can start by saying your names. Man, you all do not get out much." "Well then," Enoch stood up and dusted himself off, "My name is Enoch Primrare. Nice to meet you all."