Forlot: Forgotten Forest - Book Eight {Completed}

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Mmm..." I woke up and found myself in a place that was made out of wood, and it was not any of the three cabins.

I was lying down on a bed and gazed around, my eyes darting all over. I was in a room. A boys' room. On the wooden walls were poster after poster of franchises that most boys would be interested in. From sports and racing to action and adventure.

There was barely anything on the left side. Just a couple of pair of shoes that I noticed soon after. Everything else was on the right side. A bookcase, desk, and drawer were against the wall. A computer was on top of the desk and did not look like one that you would usually see or use today. It was old, and the screen was bulky.

The bookcase was filled with books. Most of the books had soft covers and were thin.

I forced myself to climb out of bed and took a glance at the bed. There was only one blue sheet, which was dark blue, and one pillow. I decided to investigate the books that were on the bookcase and made my way over.

I sat down, crossing my legs, and started at the bottom. I realized that the books were in perfect order and read each spine.

"'The Hobboga.' 'Gravity Rose.' 'Luigi the Brave.'"

I like Gravity Rose and Luigi the Brave. Gravity Rose is an awesome show, and Luigi the Brave is an amazing video game. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for The Hobboga.

It is a popular book that I particularly despise. Why? It makes no sense, and people are surprised why others who do not like it...well...do not like it. Both my writer and her mom did not like it, and a friend of my writer's suggested that she and her family go see the movie.

You want the writer to suffer? It is so boring!

Forlot is way better.

I climbed back up to my feet and headed to the computer. There was a chair in front of the desk, so I sat in it and put my hand on the mouse, moving it around. In an instant, the computer turned on, for it was only asleep, and loaded the homepage. The homepage was blue, and there was not a ton of browsers. Just three, and I did not recognize any of them.

The first browser had an icon of a yellow sun and was labeled 'The Internet.' The second browser had a purple flower for an icon and was labeled 'T.L.' And the third and final browser had an icon of a wand that a fairy would own and was labeled 'The Light Web.'

I was curious as to what T.L. stood for and clicked on the browser. The screen went black, and I became worried that I crashed the computer. Thankfully, it did not because the screen changed to pure white, and then a question appeared. It was in black, bold letters, and I had to squint to read it.

This is what it said:

"ARE YOU READY TO KNOW WHO THE LUBRIEM IS?"

Lubriem? I had never heard of that word in my life. What did it mean? And who was the Lubriem? And why?

Below the question was a big, red arrow that pointed down. Down to a link.

I was now more curious than ever and desired to uncover the mystery of the Lubriem. I moved the mouse and was about to click on the link, when the door to the room opened, making loud, squeaking sounds even though that there were no hinges on it.

A dark figure was standing in the doorway, and I immediately scrambled out of the chair and looked at him or her. I glared at the figure and felt my heart beating like crazy.

"Who...who are you?" I managed to choke out.

The figure stepped into the room...and I had no clue who it was.

"It is me, Ari. Collin."

"Collin?"

"Yes. You know. Your best friend."

"Oh..." I slowly shook my head. "...no. I do not."

"I do not look or sound familiar to you?"

"You do not ring a bell."

"That is probably because you accidentally hit your head."

"I what?"

"Does your head hurt?"

"Now that you mention it..." I rubbed my forehead. "...it does a little."

"You backed up and accidentally hit the back of your head against a low branch, knocking you out."

"Oh my gosh. Why was I backing up?"

"You thought that you spotted a creature. Turns out, it was just a skunk."

I gasped. "Oh, no. Not a skunk!"

He let out a chuckle. "But it is okay now. And you know what? Your other friends are here too."

"My other friends?"

He went up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist, and more people entered the room.

"Who are these guys?" I asked.

"Who else? Your friends!" Collin said with a smile. "Josh, Debra, Debbie, Ethan, Valerie, and Sheila."

"But...I thought...that something happened to them. I do not remember what."

"They were killed."

"K-killed?"

"But not really. You see, we set up their deaths."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"I helped them fake their deaths. It was all a plan to get you distracted."

"And I was the wizard," Ethan added. "I dragged a bag of grain that looked like me."

Collin gently slapped Ethan on the arm and motioned for Debbie to come to me.

I was totally confused. "Why would you want me to be distracted?"

"To plan your surprise party!" Debbie said. She held up a cake. "Happy Birthday!"

I gasped again. "Birthday?"

"Of course! Would you forget your very own birthday?"

"I-I guess that I did. I..." I felt something in my hand and looked at the object.

It was a doll. Collin the doll.

Then I realized....

"This...is not real."