And now, the conclusion. To be honest I really had a great time writing this!
I'm so glad this idea stuck with me to the very end... end? Why should I end it?
High Score - Part 2
By LinkG07
The morning came as the sun arose over the neighborhood houses. The alarm blares to a new day; but unlike his past wake up call, Marcus just presses the snooze and turns back over. 6:45 hits and Marcus was already at a bad start in the day. His limit was usually 6:30 and after a few minutes of tossing and turning he would eventually get up. But since Marcus played till the peak of the next day, he was out cold and not moving at all. Snoring up a storm under the tsunami of covers and sheets. 7:15; Marcus' whole schedule is thrown off with school starting in just 45 minutes. But luckily his mom seemed to quietly make her way in, knowing that Marcus was far from getting up. She knew of his late night video game session and predicted this to happen in the morning. So she does what she always does: ties one of his pillows to his head and pulls him by his legs out of bed and down the stairs.
"Ow!" Marcus yelped as his head hit the floor hard, but is cushioned by his pillow. Since his mother doesn't want him to be seriously hurt, she ties the pillow to the back of his head. But that doesn't mean it still won't hurt a lot. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow-!" Down the stairs they went and with the drop of his legs, his mom had fully woken her son up.
"Wake up! You're late again!" His mom yelled sternly not in her normal childish mood.
"Whaaaaat?! I'm up...!" Marcus said untying the pillow from his head. He looked up at his mother and sees the angry look on her face. This causes him to scramble to his feet since it was worse for him to make his mother angry than to make her cry. With his full attention, she gives him a very hard flick to the forehead. This was especially painful since her nails her grown out.
"Are you out of your mind?? You know you're not supposed to sleep in this late!"
"I'm sorry mom, I-"
"Stayed up late playing your game. Uh huh, I could have figured."
"It?s not my fault, it was-"
"Not your fault?? You must be joking!"
"Yeah... you're right. I was just over excited about you giving me the game. I'm sorry mom" Marcus said apologizing for his actions, not telling her the truth about last night. How could he? Telling her that the main character in a video game asked him to set her free would be the craziest excuse anyone would ever think of using. His mother then sees the sincere regret on his face and lightens her anger. "You know a normal mother would take the game away. But you're lucky I'm not a normal mother. Now get up stairs and get dressed. You're gonna be late." And on that note, Marcus quickly follows her orders and raced back to his room and quickly throws on his clothes. Not missing anything, he grabs his hat and bag head back towards the stairs.
Marcus, trying to be fancy, then slides down the rail of the stairs on his behind with no hands. But as soon as he reached the bottom, the peg at the end flips him off on to his face. "Boooo! Bad landing dude!" His mom yelled from a distance.
"Shut up mom" he said as his words were muffled by the hard word floor. His mom is then seen running up the stair with the patter of her sandals. Soon a gleeful "Wheeeee!" is heard coming closer and closer to the grounded Marcus until his mom's tall form comes sailing right over him until: "Thud!" she comes crashing down on top of Marcus himself. Sitting on her son, she looked under her to see his condition, and she saw him give out a huge wheeze as his body curled backwards from the pain. He wheezed over and over which made his mom laugh. Between his gasps for air and his harsh wheezes all he could get out was a soft and hoarse "Not funny mom..."
His mother gets off of him and helps him to his feet, only to see him drop back down. She helps him up once more and this time levels him out so that he would stand up on his own.
"You good?"
"I'm good" Marcus was now ready to go out the door as he lifts his bag and slings the straps over his shoulders. But before he left his mother?s side, he gives her a swift kick with his heel to be back of her knee, causing her to bend her knee and trip over herself. With a big thud on the floor, Marcus races to the door; but once again forgets to turn the knob and hits the door face first.
"Kaaaaaaarmaaaaaaa" His mom said from a distance. Laughing, Marcus opens the door and slams it behind him. As he walked away from his house he slowly takes the time to look around his neighborhood. Something wasn't right. There were an uneven number of street lights on the block. And wasn't there a red Oldsmobile convertible parked just across the street? It?s always been there because the neighbor was going to sell it for big cash in a few more years. He didn't hear the usual dog barking which would wake up a few of the neighbors, making them complain. Something definitely was off. And that?s when it hit him. "Jewel!!" Where was she? Did she make it out of the game? He couldn't go back in the house because his mom would kill him for being any more late for school as it is, but he had to somehow get to the bottom of this. He decided to take his usual trail in the direction to his school.
He makes his way around the fifth block to his school but he sees something peculiar. It seemed that a couple of guys were being kicked out of a smoothie stand just a few feet from where he was standing. He runs over to the guys who were scared out of their minds, before they could run away.
"Hey! You two okay?"
"No man, there's a chick in there dressed like that girl on that video game. She kicked us out for asking her too many questions!"
"Idiot her name is Jewel! I'll never forget a face like that!"
"I don't care who she is, she's friggen scary man! Let?s get out of here!" And that sealed it, Jewel was inside and it was his responsibility to talk some sense into that girl. From his point of view, kicking people out for asking too many questions is very wrong and uncalled for. With a pull of the swinging glass doors, he storms in looking for Jewel. And there she was; sitting right at the front counter with people standing around her, staring at her strangely. But Jewel didn't care; all she did was slurp a smoothie she apparently didn?t pay for. Marcus knew this because the manager kept yelling "What are you deaf?! You have to pay for that!" In her own little world, she drowned out any and all distractions, sipping her smoothie through a straw with her legs crossed. Her expression was so tranquil and peaceful almost as if she was meditating. Maybe she was. Marcus ran up to the silent game warrior and taps her in the arm.
The crowd?s attention then finally shifts to Marcus as, Jewel opened one eye to look to see who had touched her. What she saw was a disgruntled boy, tapping his foot in annoyance. Yanking the straw from her mouth, she squeals out in happiness as she seemed very happy to see Marcus. Marcus jumps back because the high girlish squeal, but is caught when Jewel wraps her arms around the teenager, hugging him tightly. From a flashlight crumbling with just a light squeeze, it would be expected that her hug would break Marcus in half like a twig. But no, it was soft and soothing like a normal human hug. This indicates that Jewel can hold back her strength controlling its level whenever she wishes. "Marcus! It?s so good to see you! Sorry I didn't stick around but I had to see your world and I couldn't wait!" Jewel said happily. Her hug clouds his judgment, causing him to blush from her soft touch. But with the shake of his head, he yanks away from her grasp.
"Jewel, just what do you think you're doing??"
"Huh? What do you mean Marky?
"Marky?"
"Isn't it cute? It?s a nickname for just for you!"
"Cut it out Jewel, what are you doing throwing people out of a public stand for no reason??"
"Oh those two? I had a good reason. They didn't respect my personal space and they talked and talked and talked. I just had to get rid of them. Can you believe you it? Are all human males so primitive?"
"What?? Jewel that doesn't give you the right to throw them out! That?s just wrong!"
"Why not?! I'm much more powerful than those knuckle draggers! If they didn't want to get thrown out, why didn't they defend themselves?"
"Ugh, what is up with you? You can't belittle people just because-" Marcus then realizes that their conversation was being watched. All the people in the smoothie stand looked in confusion and didn't take their eyes off of them for a second. Marcus had to think fast because he didn't want people to view their private matters any longer, so he decides to make up a cover.
"It's okay people, nothing to see here! She's just a really big fan of the video game!" In saying this, everyone gives an enlightened "Ohhh" or "Aaah" and go back to their normal activities and chatting. Marcus wipes his forehead and looks at Jewel who slurped her smoothie, staring back at him, awaiting a response. Marcus finally was able to continue;
"Jewel, you can't just look down on people like that! Just because you're powerful and can bench press a pickup truck, it doesn't mean you have to be such a jerk."
"J-J-Jerk?? But... I thought you liked me?" Marcus was in trouble. Apparently his comment had hurt Jewel's feelings. Jewel's eyes fill with tears as she covers her face, sobbing uncontrollably. Marcus grits his teeth as he looks left and right to check if anyone noticed his goof; luckily no one had seen his rude act and he proceeds to calm her down.
"Jewel... Jewel I didn't mean it."
"You're a big meanie! We were supposed to be friends!"
"I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to call you a jerk. I was just upset okay? I won't be rude anymore."
"Y-You promise?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Pinky swear?" Jewel extends her pinky finger to Marcus, blinking at him innocently and blushing. Marcus gives a light swallow and looks off to the side, linking pinkies with the video game heroine. This made her very happy as she shook their pinkies up and down playfully. "I forgive you." Jewel said with a giggle. "Great. Now if you don't mind, could we go somewhere else please?" Marcus asked Jewel politely extending his hand to her. "Okay! Gimme a minute!" Jewel said slurping the rest of her smoothie. But before she could finish, the manager gives a gruff "Ahem" which hinted that he was still there and that Jewel still didn't pay for the smoothie. Knowing that Jewel had no form of currency, Marcus slaps 3 dollars and 4 quarters on the counter, paying for Jewel's "free" smoothie. This made her light up with happiness as Marcus actually paid for her.
"Thank you Marky! That was sweet of you!"
"Stop calling me Mar-" Jewel bends over in her stool and plants a big kiss on his cheek which made Marcus freeze like pure ice. His face filled with hot pink as he was just kissed by a girl other than his mother. Jewel giggles at his reaction and finally finishes her smoothie, giving out a refreshed "Aaaaah." Jewel then balances the cup in her palm and surrounds it with a field of energy. As it floated into the air, she points her finger up under the cup forming a tiny ball of energy on her finger tip. In a flash, the cup then is absorbed into her finger and vanishes. Like everything else she absorbs. Not believing she would use her magic in public, he was too late to react fast enough to stop her. Luckily, no one noticed once again, not even the manager who was apparently counting his big wad of money.
"Erp. Oh excuse me" Jewel said as she gave a cute, tiny burp from the smoothie. But like anything else that gets absorbed, it has to run its cycle through Jewel filling her with more power. The energy finally kicks in as her body twitches slightly and in a short burst, Jewel once again got bigger. Since the cup was so small, her size only made a small change, making her grow a measly few inches. And since this change as so small, Marcus couldn't notice. "Can we go now??" Marcus said sounding a bit more pushy. Jewel wipes the bottom of her gown and finally takes his hand. "Okay I'm ready!"
"Good, now let's go; someplace private." Marcus said tugging her by the arm. Jewel willing gets to her feet; all seven feet and five inches. She was huge, but Marcus was too busy trying to pull her out of stand to notice. Marcus' movement was halted as Jewel didn't budge at all when on her feet. Her strength was just too much for her to be moved just by Marcus and all she did was smile while she watched Marcus struggle to move her. With only a tiny jerk, Jewel yanks Marcus back making him give out a quick "yipe!" Jewel lifts her smaller friend off the ground and transports him just a few feet inches behind her. "Ladies first silly boy." Jewel says as he drops him down.
"Oh um, sorry?" Marcus said rotating his wrist. Her grip was so firm, yet so gentle at the same time. It was like nothing he ever felt before. His attention was then drawn to the tall Jewel. He noticed that she was taller than he imagined she would be. Last he knew, she was only about his height; 5'7. But she wasn't, she was tall, very tall. "Well come on slow poke." Jewel said peeking behind her waiting for him to tag along. Marcus breaks his hypnotic stare at Jewel and quickly follows behind. The doors swing open and Jewel stretches out her arms happily.
"So um, Jewel?"
"Yes Marky?"
"Stop call- nevermind. Anyways, how'd you get so tall? Last I checked you were about my height?"
"Hm? Oh this? I'm just a growing girl I guess."
"Come on, over night?"
"I'm not telling~" Jewel teased waving her finger at Marcus. "I feel like having some fun, what do you humans do for fun in this world?" Jewel asked looking down on the boy.
"Fun? Umm, well go to the park, go to the mall, the arcade, amusement parks; stuff like that."
"I see. Will you take me??"
"What?? All those things are miles away from this place. I can't."
"You can't? Awwww~."
"Sorry, but we could go back to my house? How's that sound?"
"No, I don't want to."
"Come on, I'll buy you another smoothie."
"Nah, I'm bored of smoothies now." Jewel turns to the smoothie stand they just exited and gave it a strange glare. It was at that moment, the tall heroine raises her hand in a familiar fashion. Marcus immediately notices and snaps back in shock. The whole smoothie stand then became engulfed inside her green force field. "What are you-?!" Marcus started but once again he was too late as the stand; even everything and everyone inside was absorbed into her very hand. Marcus' bones chill as he hears the panicked screams of all the people inside, soon fade away into nothing. Nothing but an empty space was left as an ominous wind whips up. And all Jewel had to show for it was a smile. Marcus was disgusted by her actions and almost drops to his knees, grieving for all of those people.
"Wha-What did you do?!"
"Oh that? Just getting rid of old news. They're drinks weren't that good anyways." That comment completely warps his vision and perception of her. He was sick to his stomach at how she didn't show even the slightest bit of remorse."
"There were people in there! And you just-just-!" Jewel bends down in Marcus' face looking at him sincerely.
"Aw, but I thought you liked to see stuff destroyed. What with you beating the hell out of all of my enemies in the game. To me it seemed like you enjoyed stuff like that."
"Enjoyed?? Enjoyed?! It was a stupid game! And you killed innocent people! And look at you; you don't even care! What is wrong with you?! Marcus was about to go off of the deep enough until, a big sight caught his eye. His head began to crane upward and Jewel's shadow began to stretch and cast over him. A familiar sound was heard softly. Jewel once again began to grow from the massive absorption of energy she had taken. She stretched up and up with her hands on her hips and not a pleased look on her face. Seven feet was big, but this was sailing past eight, nine; ten?! Things didn't look good. Not at all. Jewel finally takes action and grabs Marcus by the collar of his shirt. As she stretched up, he felt the lifting force of Jewel's arm as well as the lifting in her size.
"So... You're just like them. Just like those other primitive primates. I thought you were different! I thought you would like what I did! But here I am fooling myself into thinking you would be the pick of the bunch. Well I've got news for you; I'm taking charge here! And that smoothie stand was just the icing on the cake!"
"Y-You... tricked me. You tricked me into setting you free!!"
"Bingo tiny! At least you're not as slow as the rest of those smelly human!"
"Why you-! I trusted you!" Marcus felt betrayed; torn up on the inside for being fooled by a video game character. He felt like such an idiot. Jewel's slow ascent finally came to a resting point as she held her smaller friend up, giving him a devious smirk. From where Marcus could see, Jewel had to be at least twelve or thirteen feet in height. Even though she had a smug and stuck up look on her face, her eyes still held the innocence he saw before. Before Marcus could observe her sparkling eyes more, an abrupt beeping sound was heard catching both him and Jewel off guard. As they both peered over at the wrist ring and the hand she held Marcus up with they saw that it was flashing. Brightly flashing red, and making a sound that was similar to a ringtone from a cell phone. Marcus was completely lost in the matter, but Jewel knew exactly what it meant.
"Oh my! It seems I've acquired a new ability."
"New ability?"
"Yup! It?s also an indication that I'm a fifth away from my full power!"
"F-F-Full power??"
"Ohhh yes. You see, once at least one color of my rings light up, I gain a new ability, as well as mark off another point till my peak in strength. And once all of them are lit up-" Marcus gulped starting to sweat in suspense from Jewel's explanation. "I become unstoppable." Unstoppable? Marcus couldn't believe his ears. He shivered all over in the thought of Jewel gaining ultimate power. Game wise this would have been a great thing to achieve, but in the real world; it spells major disaster.
"Now the final question is; what should I do with you? You obviously like those humans over a superior being such as myself... so I guess you're just as disposable." Jewel said grinning widely at her now former friend. Marcus had to think fast or else he would end up like everyone else. Transformed into energy and absorbed. Thinking of only one option to get free, he hoped that his teeth wouldn't suffer any damage.
"OOOUCH!!" Jewel screamed with tears filling her eyes from the pain of Marcus chomping her in the hand; biting her! Dropping Marcus with him landing on his feet, Jewel draws back holding her hand to check if it was bleeding, and it was. Jewel looks at her wounded hand and back at Marcus absolutely shocked and astonished. As a tear rolled down her face, she murmurs out a soft: "You... bit me..." Marcus looking into Jewel's innocent, doll like eyes and his heart dive bombs into his stomach. He felt terrible. But Jewel's sadness quickly changes to anger, then rage, then fury; Jewel was red with outrage!
"You bit me!! How dare you!!" And with that explosion, the very hand that Marcus had bitten ignites with a flame as she balled her fist. Could this be her new ability in action? Completely overcome with anger, Jewel hurls the flame from her hand with all of her might. It rocketed towards Marcus forcing him to duck and curl between his legs. The flame races over him and impacts with a car. The resulting hit ignites the gas tank, exploding the automobile into metal pieces. Quickly springing up, Marcus looks back at the totaled car and back at Jewel in total udder fear, shivering from head to toe. Giving out a roar of frustration and hate, Jewel ignites her hand once again, getting ready to hurl another fast ball. Marcus did the only thing anyone would do in this situation; run! As Jewel swung back to aim for the fleeing boy, she hesitates. Remembering his scared reactions she gave him, she doesn't throw the flame. Instead she blushes with a slow vision of Marcus running away from her. Why did I stop? Why am I not destroying him? She thought to herself for a brief moment, until Marcus was no longer in sight, gone into the distance.
Her face of anger returns as she missed her chance in destroying Marcus. So to vent, she didn't the next best thing: she hurls the flame at another car, giving off the same resulting explosion. Jewel howls into the sky confused and frustrated with everything, including herself. The chance to annihilate the boy who had injured her had slipped through her fingers. She holds up her injured hand and sees the wound completely heal itself. She narrows her eyes as she zoned in on her true objective. "I need more power... Once I gain full strength, I'll blow this giant ball of waste to oblivion!"
"Slam!" Goes the front door of Marcus' house. Panting heavily, Marcus is in a state of panic, leaning and grasping the door with a face of fear. His mother notices his early return and comes to greet him.
"Marcus? Marcus, are you okay? What happened sweetie?" He didn't answer. All that came from his mouth were cold shivers and quaking breaths. His mom immediately shows concern and tries to calm him down. "Marcus! Marcus! Breathe baby, breathe! It's okay. It's okay." Marcus' mother embraces him tightly and strokes his hair, knocking off his baseball cap. Marcus slowly slides down the door to the floor with his mother coming with him. He slowly wraps his arms around her and rests his head on her chest.
"N-No, it?s not okay!"
"Marcus, what's gotten into you? You're in a cold sweat."
"I did something terrible. Something I never should have done in the first place!"
"Calm down, tell me what happened."
"I can't. You wouldn't believe. And don't say try me cause that never works!"
"Well I'm going to say it anyways: Try me. Tell me sweetie."
"I- I-"
"Yes yes, come on."
"I set a video game character free and now she's mad at me! But I hurt her... and now I- I don't know what to feel!"
"A... video game character??"
"See! I knew you wouldn't believe me!"
"Oh I beg to differ..."
"W-What?" His mom helps him to his feet and slowly walks him over to the couch. She sits down with him and grabs the remote turning the TV on. As she flipped through the channels, a news story was on; a flash bulletin telling a story about something attacking down town:
---
"I'm here in the heart of the city, with what looks like utter chaos! People screaming and objects disappearing one by one! If we could get a shot at what's causing this, maybe we could get to the bottom of this mayhem!"
The shaky camera that shifted about, showing flames and wreckage, zooms in on what looked like Jewel. She was performing her absorption on an entire row of cars. The green field engulfs at least 11 four wheel vehicles and 2 motorcycles, along with parking meters, city grown trees and a fire hydrant. All inside a massive field that soon zapped into Jewel's hand; gone. The energy immediately took its effect on her, showing her body twitch and shake, until the growing process had begun. Her arms stretched out and her legs elevated upward. Every inch of her entire body getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Jewel laugh as the power rushed through her body; through her veins.
"I don't believe this folks. But it seems to be some sort of, elf creature. Elf woman! She used some sort of... sorcery and made all of those cars and what-not vanish into thin air! If the camera isn't bugged of if we're not seeing things, she had just grown to an astounding size! She might be at least twenty feet tall! Ladies and gentlemen this is not fantasy, this is not a mirage, this is very real and from where we're standing it?s a mess!"
Jewel turns and finally notices the news anchor and the camera and smiles. With footsteps loud enough for the TV to register, she walks over to them and reaches down slowly. Scared out of their minds the two men run with the camera shaking fiercely, pointing to the ground.
"We're being pursued. Please, stay in doors! And don't- Look out!"
And with a scream of terror, the camera drops, cutting off the feed.
---
Marcus was flabbergasted. Gripping the table as his body as tight and tense. His mother once again tries to calm him down. She rubs his back and tries to pry his hands off of the coffee table.
"Marcus! Calm down! Calm down!"
"It's... It's my fault... my fault..."
"Marcus, snap out of it! Marcus!"
"Its, all because of me..."
"Marcus, stop it!" A hand swipes across Marcus' face leaving his cheek bright red. His mother had slapped him. She had never struck him before in her life and this is the very first time. Both are shocked not saying a word as this was something new for both of them. His mother slowly backs off, gripping her pants in regret and showing a face of grief.
"I-I'm sorry Marcus... I didn't mean to." His mother was ashamed. Ashamed that she hit her own son, when she never has and thought she never would. But Marcus wasn't sad. He wasn't even hurt by the strike his mother gave him. In fact: "Thanks mom... I needed that." His mother looks at him with disbelief. He actually thanked her for hitting him. She didn't know what to think from that point on. "Um... you're welcome." Now slapped back into reality, Marcus quickly digs in his pocket for his cell phone. "I gotta call Rudy. I gotta check if he's okay." Before he could fully pull out the phone, something shining with gold pops out of his pocket. His mother is the first to notice and she reaches down for it.
"Marcus, is this yours?" His mother said as she showed him a ring. Marcus had never seen it in his life; a golden ring with a J on it encrusted with sapphire. He took it from her fingers and examined it closely. Where did it come from? He's never had it before. "Someone must have slipped it in my-" his pocket. As he warped into the deep corridors of his memory, he remembers when Jewel first hugged him. He didn't notice it then, but something had dropped into his back pocket. Was it her? Did she give this ring to him? Impossible. She couldn't have, what with her being heartless to everyone she comes across. She even tried to kill him.
"Oooooh, is that from a girl Marcus?"
"What?! No! It might have dropped into my back pocket when someone bumped into me."
"Suuuure. It?s very lovely. I wonder what the J stands for?" And so did he. Before he could analyze the ring even more, another new flash pops on to the screen. Another camera crew had set up downtown to get the feed.
---
"Our last news personnel met a very tragic end. All our hearts go out their families at home. We have more footage and information here that describes this Elvin girl! She seems to be a video game character from a series called "Juel" and we don't know whether or not she is the real deal or just a diehard fan. All we know is that she somehow, defies the laws of physics and science."
The camera shows Jewel lifting the roof off of a house peeking inside by the tips of her toes. Screams of civilians are heard when this action is performed, which only made Jewel giggle with glee. She raises her hand high and bends her leg up, as the whole house was being engulfed like all of the rest. Now gone and absorbed, as if it weren't ever there at all, she once again is fed energy causing her to expand greatly. Her body jetting outward slowly as she spreads her arms out soaking in the feeling of it all. She now passes the thirty foot mark and coo?d happily as a warm, satisfying feeling fills her up.
"Folks, we have a theory of how this monster of a girl gains her enormous size. It reads:
(She absorbs and drains energy like a sponge to water. It s not known how much she could hold, but it appears her growth depends on the quantity she takes in. From cars, to lamp posts, to even houses, as we just saw, the more mass an absorbed object holds, the greater the expansion.)
Very fascinating indeed. We won't know the outcome of this until the authorities arrive, but we hope something will be done. Back to you in station.
---
As the camera was about to transfer back to news building, something quickly catches Marcus' eye. A small white house at the corner of the screen that Jewel seemed to be headed straight towards. Marcus slaps his hands hard on the table, knowing whose house that was, screaming: "THAT'S RUDY'S HOUSE!" Marcus springs to his feet and bolts for the door, which scares his mother greatly.
"Marcus! Where are you going?! Don't-"
"Sorry mom, I have to get there. She's heading straight for Rudy's house!"
"No you will no-"
"I'll be back, I promise!" Snatching up his hat from the floor, near the door, Marcus turns the knob and bolts out of the door. His mother races to the door too late to stop her son from running out. "Marcus! No, come back! Come back!" She screamed holding out her hand stumbling down on her knee. And with that stumble she wouldn't be able to even come close to catching him. Vanishing off around the corner, Marcus was gone and all his mother could do was cry. Cry that her only son went out on a suicide mission.
Marcus ran as fast as he could down the street, huffing air in and out of his lungs. He then remembered that he still had the ring in his hand looking at it. Not thinking clearly, he decides to put the ring on his right middle finger, so both his hands would be free. He began to feel the fatigue from running for a long distance, but he couldn't slow down; not when his best friend is in fatal danger. Sweat poured down his forehead as he huffed and huffed, kicking his legs up and out, running his fastest.
He knew taking a normal route would take too long, so he decides to cut through. He jets across the street and is barely run down by an oncoming white car. Cutting through a bush, he rips through it like a football team through a banner and keeps going, leaping fences and shrubs trying his hardest to get to his destination. He leapfrogs over a trashcan, knocking it over in the process, and almost runs face first into a telephone poll. Now out in the street once again, Marcus looked back as he was relieved to have not run into the pole, but he wasn't paying attention to his front. "Hoooooonk!" went a horn that blared in his ears and the first thing he saw was a red car speeding directly towards him. Caught like a dear in the headlights, Marcus freezes as it was so sudden and he had no time to get out of the way. At the speed the car was moving, Marcus' life was threatened; he could die.
But as Marcus guarded his face up for the impact, all he could hear was the car horn fading away into the distance. Was he hit? He couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. All he could feel was fast rush cold air brush under him. Under him? Marcus un-shields his face, opening his eyes to see an impossible sight. The car had sailed directly under Marcus; he jumped! With his legs spread out from left to right, he had made a very high jump up and over the car. As he landed down on his butt, he rubs away the pain looking back at the speeding car as it swerved a little down the road. The possible reason for this is that the driver was just as freaked out as Marcus was.
"How the hell-??" Marcus said completely confused. But he had no time to sit around and contemplate the impossible. He had to get to Rudy before Jewel does. Since she was so close, she may have already gotten to him, but he just had to see for himself. He had to try.
Finally coming around the corner of down town, Marcus had arrived on Rudy's street. He looked around and saw empty spaces and massive chunks missing from the scenery. It was horrifying. He bolted down the middle of the street knowing that no cars would come this time due to the state of panic the city is in. As he raced down the road, he saw something that halted his journey; a road block. It was the army and they had the road shut down with barricades and men standing guard. He couldn't go any further as one of the guard?s shouts
"Halt! You can't come any further, turn back now kid!"
"It?s an emergency! I have to get through!"
"We know and we're doing everything we can to level the situation. Now please turn back now. It?s too dangerous."
"You don't understand! My best friend is in there! Let me through now!
"We're gonna have to ask you to lower your voice. An uproar like that can get you arrested. Now I won't say it again, turn back and go home!" Marcus couldn't be denied, it was a life and death matter and he had to get to Rudy's house. He was so close he could taste it and he didn't want to turn back at all. Huffing his chest out and tensing his muscles, Marcus was about to perform a very bold act. "And I told you I have to get through. Now let-me-THROUGH!" Marcus charges head on to the barricade not stopping at all. Seeing this act, one of the guards slips his walky talky out and calls for assistance. "We got a problem. A trespasser is entering the primacies and trying to use force. Planning to take him in fo-"
"Crack!!" Went the wooden barricade as a teenage boy, runs shoulder first into it; breaking it completely in half. The wood had to be at least three and half inches thick and a boy of his size and weight wouldn't be able to break it with his bare body. As the wood chips flew in the air, the guards are shoved out of the way, flying to each side hitting the floor from Marcus' full charge. Marcus wasn't finished. With all of his anger and frustration, he comes between two squad cars and with a thrust of his palms outwards, the cars sailed. The sheer speed of their flight was inhuman, with one car bumping into a nearby building and the other flipping over upside down. Did Marcus do that? A five foot seven, fifteen year old boy? These questions didn't even cross Marcus' mind; he didn't care one bit as he only wanted to save his best friend. So he just kept charging, not stopping at all, leaving the guards baffled on the floor.
Marcus was close; very close to his destination. As he ran closer and closer to Rudy's house a massive sound frightens him. "BOOM!" Went the cannon of a tank. The army was ahead on the attack. This meant that Jewel was right there with them. And as he looks on ward, there she was. Standing tall, defending herself against the army attack, shielding her face with her arms from the cannon shots. Were they nuts?? They could be as easily destroyed and absorbed like everything else Jewel came in contact with! They were asking for a death wish. Thinking quickly Marcus had to stop this before the army got themselves into serious trouble.
"Stop! Don't shoot! Stoooop!!" Marcus waved his hands in the air trying to get the army?s attention, running to them as fast as he could. But it was only moderately fast since he used up so much energy running through the whole city. He was drenched in sweat felt like throwing up, but he had to keep his cool. The army ceases fire and Jewel uncovers her face as they all some how heard Marcus' voice.
"Marky! You came back!"
"Young man! Just what do you think you're doing?!" A man from behind grabs Marcus by the arm and yanks him fiercely. It was a man in a green army suit with the left side covered in badges. Obviously he was the general.
"Stop attacking her! Call your men off!"
"Marky! You decided to join me after all! I knew you were different!
"Save it! You have no right to speak to me! Not after all you've done!"
"Ah! You haven't changed at all! Filthy vermin!"
"I don't know how you got past the guards but you're going right back out. Men take him away." Two soldiers then take grab Marcus by his arms and began to pull him the opposite direction. Marcus couldn?t have this, so he jumps up and stomps on their feet. As the yelped in pain, Marcus kicks the back of their knees, forcing them to bend their legs, causing them to trip over themselves; an act he did on his mother. "I'm telling you, you're all in danger! Stop this attack now before you're all killed!" Marcus insisted to the general.
"Who are you to make judgments around here? Last I checked we were the ones with the badges. Now get out of the way, we have a job to do. Keep firing men!? Tanks opened fire one by one, pelting Jewel with their cannon blasts. Flinching back with the pounding of her feet on the floor, Jewel goes back into her defensive position. The blasts seemed to be too distracting for her to react fast enough against them, but they didn't seem to do any damage at all; thus the situation was a stalemate.
Marcus felt useless, but he remembered what is true objective was. And with that realization, a familiar voice yells out to him. "Marcus! Marcus, up here!" Marcus pasted the tanks and pasted Jewel seeing the white house from the TV; it was Rudy! Waving out the window for him to come over. "Over here quick!" Rudy yelled. The soldiers were finally on their feet, so Marcus had to move quickly. Just slipping out of their grasp, Marcus runs down the side walk past the tanks attacking Jewel. As he raced past the firing tanks, he watched for a moment. The barrels pumping out more ammunition; pummeling the game heroine all over her body, with her giving out grunts and moans of despair from the troubling blasts. He looked at Jewels squinting expression and just for a brief moment, there it was again; the innocent eyes of Jewel. The brief moment seemed like whole minutes as he looked into her eyes of sadness. Glassy and full of sorrow almost as if she were in pain internally. The moment passes as Marcus continued his race to Rudy's house. But his destination also caught the attention of a certain lady.
Marcus was close, with a big smile on his face, he saw Rudy's face; the sight of him still alive was all he wanted. Things looked fine and his journey had finally ended; until everything was cut off. Like tripping just before the finish line during an Olympic race, it was too good to be true; the green field appeared around Rudy's house. Marcus slides to a stop as he saw the horror of it all, the pure horror. He swings his head back and lays his eyes on the grinning Jewel, wit the energy slipping away into her glowing palm. Rudy's two story white house and Rudy himself were gone. Made energy just like all the rest of Jewel's victims.
"No..." Whispered Marcus as he dropped to his knees, staring at the empty spot like a hollow shell. Reality now fading in Marcus' mind, the vision of the devastating moment played over and over in his head like a looped video. An endless loop that tore him up inside. His stomach felt empty, his chest hurt, there was no feeling in his limbs. It was as if he were nothing more than a corpse. Not saying anything else, not moving, not budging, nothing.
Jewel's body finally processes the energy she had just absorbed, making her grow once again. Her growth actually had a distinct noise to it, with the sound of small cracks and what sounded like stretching rubber. Her foot pushes a tank that was sitting close, her fingers extended, her shoulder spacing, and her hair fluffed; her body expands to a new height as she stops just over forty feet. The purple ring on her right ankle began to beep and flash, lighting up indicating that she was at another massive point in her power and a new ability was acquired. Jewel smiled looking at all 4 rings on her wrists and ankles. All 4 were lit up and shining brightly; one was left. The orange ring wrapped around her waist. Being the biggest of them all, it was suggested that that would be the final point in her power. Jewel gives out a laugh. A laugh that made the general and his soldiers cover their ears, even cracking the glass on a building nearby.
"One more, one more! One away from ultimate power and invincibility! I'm so excited I can't stand it!" Jewel said giggling up a storm, thinking about the final ring being lit and her achieving her highest level of power. A tank fires out of nowhere, hitting her in the face, covering the right half of her face in a puff of smoke. The smoke fades and Jewel was not even smudged, in fact, she didn't flinch either. "Fire! Fire!!" The general screamed at the top of his lungs, making an onslaught of shots be fired at Jewel. Each explosion hit on the mark, but did absolutely nothing to her, not even so much as make her slightly tilt. As she was hit over and over with cannon shots, she begins to laugh, this time moving around. But her movement wasn't from the tanks; it was from her own accord. "Stop it, stop it! That tickles! Cut it out! Stop!" Jewel said laughing. The general's blood boiled as she was making them look like a joke, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Ah-hmmm, it?s always great to try out new abilities. Let?s see what this one does!" Jewel said standing tall and pointing her hand at a tank in the back. Her hand glowed with the same purple light as her ring, which surrounds the tank as well! Jewel quickly closes her open hand, and the result, a tank completely crushed! The figure of the crushed tank seemed to match what it might have looked if she had crushed it with her actual hand. "Coooool!" Jewel said, happy from the result of the ability. Things looked bad for the army as the general had no other option. "Fall back! All tanks fall back immediately!" Jewel folds her arms as she watches the tanks roll back slowly, this didn't please her since she wasn't done with her revenge.
"You're not leaving are you?? But I thought we were having so much fun!" Jewel smirks and wipes her hand across the air in front of her. A blue glow trailed her hand, meaning that she was using the ability of her blue ring on her left ankle. Suddenly a blue wall of energy wipes behind the soldiers and tanks, trapping them. One of the soldiers tries to push through, but is instantly thrown back, hitting the ground hard. "You like? Don't bother touching the wall. It reflects anything and everything thrown at it, hence captain chimpanzee's result over there." Jewel had all of them trapped. Like a predator cornering prey, there was nothing they could do.
"Oh boy! A whole buffet just for me! And with it, my final level of power! Don't worry; you all won't be alone when you reach oblivion. Because after you're gone, this whole planet comes next!" Jewel had victory in her grasp. She had crushed Marcus' spirit, and is one level away from her limit. Nothing could stop her. That is until a certain someone, regains his grasp on reality.
Out of no where, Marcus kicks Jewel in the back of the knee; as high as that may be from the ground, Marcus some how pulls it off. The resulting kick catches Jewel completely off guard making her give out a frightened "GAH!!" Jewel is force to bend her left leg down, which results in her losing her balance. "Whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA!" went the massive heroine as she slowly tilted backwards, frantically trying keep her self from falling; but she was too far back to hold on any longer resulting in a thunderous "CRASH!!" down to the street below. The resulting fall destroyed 3 cars and left the ground in massive cracks. Jewel was grounded, which surprised the whole army. Scratching their heads and staring in awe, they couldn't believe what they had just seen.
Jewel moaned as she slowly opens her eyes; blurry, she couldn't see much until they focus. She saw a small figure in her blurry vision and as her eyes finally focused, the figure was revealed to be a very angry Marcus standing on her chest. Arms folded, he drilled a whole through her face with one of the coldest stares she had ever seen. For a moment, she was filled with fear as she looked back into the piercing golden eyes of Marcus. But that fear quickly fades as she realized her place; she was beyond stronger than him, so she lifts her head returning the cold stare.
"I dunno how you did that, but you're going to pay you dirty monkey!"
"I don't know how I did it, but it was enough to take your sorry ass down..."
"How dare you speak to me that way! I-"
"YOU KILLED RUDY!!" Marcus pointed with the hand the ring was on. Jewel jolts her head back as Marcus raised his voice at her. She saw his pointing finger and realized that there was a ring on his hand. Jewel began to shiver all over, she moaned and grunted and scrunched up her face as if she were in pain. Marcus looks at this reaction and found it to be very disturbing. Why was she reacting like this? Just then, the sound of beeping sounded. The beeping that sounded like Jewel's rings when she achieves a new ability. Marcus looked around and saw that all 5 of her rings were blinking, sounding off, but instead of flashing with a bright light, they flashed with a dark light; low and dim like a light bulb that's about to go out. Something was making her weak! Marcus realized and looked back into Jewel's gritting face. She shut her eyes tight and groaned with great pain. The answer finally catches Marcus' eye after a long while; his ring! It was glowing with a tiny glint on his middle finger.
"The ring... is her weakness?" Marcus said looking and feeling the ring around his finger. Jewel gives out a sudden "EEP!" which makes something shoot out of the ring around her waste. A quick beam of light bursts into the air and shoots down hitting a spot on the sidewalk. The light then forms a box object; a mailbox! She coughed up something that she absorbed! It was at that moment Marcus knew that everything that she absorbed wasn't truly gone; which meant that Rudy was still alive! He quickly thinks up a theory and put it to action. Placing his hand down on her chest, he makes the ring touch her directly. As soon as he touches her, she shouts out in pain, as the ring around her waist glows with a white light, beams began to shoot out, which were various items she had absorbed. Lamp posts, cars, chunks of buildings; all returning to their original places. And with this extract of energy, Jewel's body began to react. She began to shrink, smaller and smaller and smaller. Thirty-nine feet, thirty-eight feet, thirty-seven, she slowly got smaller with each passing moment. Soon everything would be back where it was.
"N-N-No... I'm so close. I can't fail now. I won't fail. Ultimate power... is just one inch away..." Jewel whined, slowly trying to lift up her arm. Marcus' ring seemed to immobilize her as well, but it didn't stop her. She gets her arm off of the street floor and spreads out her fingers, which was the sign of her getting ready to absorb something. Marcus immediately notices and springs up, looking to where she was pointing her hand at. The army was her final target! Trying to stop her, Marcus makes a daring leap off of her chest, grabbing her arm. "No, DON'T!"
"VOOM!" went the green bubble around the whole army; tanks and all. As Jewel formed her miniature field around her hand, it makes a sudden blast, making contact with Marcus knocking off. Marcus sails to the other side of Jewel's body and lands hard on the ground, bouncing twice and rolling to a stop. He was out cold. The stream attaches both fields making the transfer to her hand. Jewel had done it and with the face of her glowing light, she had absorbed the army.
"Beep beep beep beep beep beep" went the ring around her waist as she sits up looking at it. Jewel giggled, she chuckled, she laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. As the beeping stopped and the orange light flashes on, a chime rings. A high pitched humming that came from all five rings that rang with 5 different tones. The lights wiped across the surfaces like radars on a submarine, indicating that full power was achieved. Jewel stands to her feet ready for the power to take hold; and then it happens. The power flows through her, racing, twisting, turning, jetting through every cell and inch of her body. The intensity was far greater than her last upgrades as the feeling was different. Jewel tenses her whole body up, her eyes shut tight, her fists balled up. Something big was going on inside her body that made her act this way. The growing began not too soon after, the ground rumbled under the pressure, as her frame expanded bigger, larger, taller. Her whole body grew until: "RAAAAAAUGH!" She howled at the top of her longs as some of the energy seeps out of her body cycling around her, floating into the air. Her hair began to move on its own, waving back and forth, up and down, left and right. It then began to grow bright in color, it defied gravity, floating in mid-air and the sound of crackling and popping soon came from it; her hair made a transformation from the illusion of fire, to real fire!
Finally, Jewel opens her eyes. He now completely white, demonic eyes that held a devious expression. She was now complete.
Standing at, at least fifty feet, Jewel finally had reached her limit. She gives a low growl as she peered down at Marcus, who still was unconscious. Grinning with evil intent, she slowly bends down and picks the boy up, lifting him up in her hand. He was small like a tiny doll to her, with a peaceful look on his face. Wanting him to see her triumph, she decides to wake him up. "Wake up... Wake up little one." Her voice echoed with a loud volume. Finally coming around, Marcus began to wake up. Blinking twice, he finally sees the new face of Jewel. "AAAHHH!!" Marcus screamed as he struggled to move, but Jewel gripped him tightly, thus not allowing him to move. His shoulders and head were only visible, while everything else was stuck down in her hand.
"Don't be afraid, is only me."
"J-Jewel... How could you?!"
"You're not going to compliment me on my new look?"
"Stop it! Answer the question! Why are you doing this?!?"
"My, aren't we pushy. It?s simple really. I've finally achieved my most powerful form and I didn't even have to fight my other comrades to get there."
"So you're destroying my world just so you can get to the top faster?!"
"Bingo! Really nice plan, don't you think? And it?s all thanks to you!"
"But why blow up our planet?! You got what you wanted, so just leave!"
"I'm afraid is not that simple. Now that I've seen what this world has to offer, it?s useless! Nothing but weak, spineless, good for nothing, under evolved creatures. I don't see why this place has to even exist."
"You're destroying people?s lives... my life..." Marcus no longer felt rage for what Jewel had down, only disappointment. Disappointment at how she saw earth and all of its inhabitants. Shame, nothing but shame. Jewel then sees his disappointment and she feels a strong sensation in her heart. A pain that wouldn't go away no matter how hard she fought it. She felt... regret. But her feelings of ultimate power overshadowed this tiny feeling, giving her no choice in the matter.
"I... I don't care. Looks like this is the end for your filth ball. Goodbye... Marcus." Jewel was one step away from destroying earth, so she decides to do one last thing before its ending day; give Marcus a kiss. She puckered her lips and leaned in slowly with her pink colored lips. Marcus saw her lips approaching his face and submitted. There was nothing he could do, puckering his lips out as well.
"Goodbye yourself!" Jewel opens her eyes and feels her hand opening slowly. Marcus was powering out of her grasp! She couldn't believe it. She tried her hardest to keep her hand closed, but Marcus continued to over power her. Two hands; Jewel clapped both hands together trying her hardest to keep him inside, blushing bright red from the strain. Marcus finally gets the right side of his body free and digs into his pocket. As he dug, he fiddled with something. A ringtone chimes; "SEEEGAAAA!" Marcus pulls his phone out of his back pocket and shows it to the giant. "Get that for me, will ya doll!" And with that one liner, Marcus tosses his cell phone straight into at Jewel's left eye. "AAAAAOOOUCH!!" She screams letting Marcus go completely to tend her bruised eyeball. Marcus falls fast, yelling as the ground approached rapidly. But Marcus swiped the fabric of Jewel's blouse, slowing his descent down a bit. He couldn't grab it directly unless he wanted to rip his arms clean off, so he uses his feet to cushion the descent, finally grabbing a hold. While Jewel still held her eye in pain, Marcus slides his way down to the giant ring around her waist. Hanging off of the rim, Marcus thought fast and looked at his ring, knowing it had a weakening affect on her. So he decides to disrupt the source, slamming his palm on the surface of the orange jewel. Jewel finally notices where Marcus is, but is too late to stop his plan. As a surge of energy leaked out of the colored rock, the only words Jewel mutter at the final moments were: "Huh?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Jewel screamed out as the orange light that once was in her waist ring, began to surround her body. Her hair calms and her pupils return as Marcus' ring was overloading her core. The pain was worse than anything in the world for Jewel as she wailed and hollered. Finally reaching its limit, the ring shatters, sending Marcus flying off. He did it, Marcus saved the world! Jewel's source of power was completely destroyed. But there's a cost; the thirty foot fall Marcus had below. This time, there was no cushion, no means of safety, nothing to break his fall. This time... Marcus could really die.
Time slowed down in Marcus' mind as he watched himself fall away from the de-powered video game heroine. When he saw her, she shrank smaller, and smaller, and smaller still. Slowly losing consciousness with each foot she shrank down by. Lights jetted out of her waist ring, which sailed into the sky; objects and people going back to their original locations. They zipped and zoomed, almost making patterns in the sky and air, beautifully. With one last light, it jets from Jewel to the corner of the street, forming a house; Rudy's two story house. Marcus looked at the house, fully restored and then back at Jewel who was back to her original size, falling just like him. He knew she would survive, since she isn't human; just a machine. Pixels upon pixels of color and data. Marcus now felt fulfilled, accomplished, he saved everyone. He gives a lazy smile with his eye lids partly closed, and finally hits the ground... darkness.
"cus... arcus... Marcus, wake up. Wake up sweetie." A sweet voice echoed in his head, low in volume he could barely hear it. Was he really dead? Was this heaven? Or was it hell? He couldn't tell either way; until he opens his eyes. Marcus opened his eyes vanquishing the darkness he saw, only to see a familiar face. "You're finally awake! I'm glad!" His mother? Then he wasn't dead? Marcus moved his head to the right and saw his TV, with his game system hooked up to it. He was in his room. But how? He should be in the street of downtown, or in the hospital or even dead. But no, he was back in his messy room, with the dirty socks hanging off of the lamp, and the library of games in a big black shelf. Marcus slowly sat up as his mother helped him a little. He looked around his body and saw that nothing was injured. Absolutely nothing. No bandages, no cuts, not bruises; what was going on??
"Come on sleepy head! Today's the day we go to that amusement park you like! You know; that one with the funny dancing old man in the commercial! Come on, come on! Get dressed!" His mom hopped, bouncing the mattress up and down in excitement. She gets off the bed and quickly scurries towards the door giggling like crazy. Marcus couldn't believe it, he was home. Did any of that stuff happen? Was it all a dream? It felt so real so it had to be real! But how is he not hurt or dead? Why is he home and not in the hospital?? Why?? His head began to throb as he couldn't comprehend any of it. So he decided to just calm down and let it go. Whatever happened, he remembered every single moment of it. From when he first got over a million in Juel, to when he stopped the very girl who hurt him. Clear as day in his mind, with the whole time flashing over and over in his mind.
"Marcuuus, come on! Quit being a slow poke!" His mom yelled from downstairs. Jump kicks the covers in surprise as his mother was very loud as usual. "Okay okay! I'm coming!" Marcus stretched and yawned getting ready to get out of bed and get dress. "Oh! Marcus! There's a letter for you!" A letter? Marcus looked to his right and saw an envelope at the foot of his bed. He slowly approached it and saw that the seal had a heart over it. He grabs the envelop and flips it to the front. It read: "Open me" with a little squiggle of a heart next to it. He finally opens it and inside was two pieces of paper; one piece of paper was folded and the other felt a little weird. He decided to look at the folded paper first. He slowly read:
---
Dear Marcus,
If you're reading this, you're alive! Surprise! I hope you liked my ring. I decided you needed more than me for obvious reasons. Don?t lie; it was fun being super strong wasn?t it? Just giving you a taste of what I?m capable of. It was fun meeting you. Even though we didn't talk much, I felt I learned a lot about you. I'm sorry for being so cruel, but I had to see for myself. I had to see if you WERE different. Everyone else only cared about silly things, like asking questions and gawking like idiots. I wanted to see for myself if you were anything like them. From the day we met I knew you weren't ordinary. Which is why I chose you. Honestly it was hard for me to do all the things I did. Just the look on your face ripped through me like a knife. I couldn't bare it. But I had to make you see what its like on my end. I know you won't forgive me, but it was just my way of getting to know you. From our encounters, I learned that you're kind, courageous, sincere and very trust worthy. You cared so much to put your own life in danger to protect the ones you love. Now that I've seen this for myself, I see now. I understand what compassion truly is. It?s all thanks to you! Hope to see you again real soon, my prince~
Love,
~Jewel~ <3 <3 <3
---
Jewel... The letter was from Jewel. Marcus didn't know what to feel, but he... wasn't mad. He wasn't sad either. The only thing he felt was a sense of understanding. He understood what she did. He understood how it took her so long to understand what compassion; kindness really was. That must have meant on the inside, she was just a confused and scared little girl who didn't know right from wrong. This made him understand, that she WAS real! Before he could react in an astonished manner, there were more words at the bottom; a P.S.
---
P.S: I left a picture that should really get the gears turning in your head. Courtesy of your mother.
~Ciao hot stuff~
---
Marcus remembered the second paper he had in his hand that had a weird feeling to it. He finally turns it over to see a sight that would make him toss everything into the air in embarrassment. With the photo still in his hand and the envelop and letter floating to the hardwood floor, Marcus had a photo of: him a Jewel sharing a kiss on the lips. He didn't even remember that happening! And that?s when he turns the photo back over and there were words! It was blank before, how did the words get there?? He read:
---
"You're probably wondering why you don't remember this. Well guess what? I erased your memory of it! Haha! I'm such a tease! Well it helps for the shock factor! <3 <3 <3
---
What a sneaky trick. Marcus completely confused just stared at the words for a while. But as he looked at it more and more, he started to laugh. Starting off low and soft, Marcus building up to a loud tearful one. He liked the joke. It actually was pretty funny. He smiled as he turned the picture back over looking at the kissing picture. The more he stared at it, the more he enjoyed it. Now getting off his bed, Marcus walks over to his game system and pops open the disc drive. Juel was still inside. He takes the disc and places it back into its case, setting it on the floor gently. He walks away for a few moments and finally comes back with a roll of tape. With the picture in hand and the game on the ground; Marcus tapes the picture to the front of the Math Blaster box cover, completely covering up the box art. He places the box on top of the TV and opens it. Marcus had created a picture frame out of his game box and was proud of it.
Footsteps are heard going down the stairs. Marcus, fully dressed, leaps over the railing on the stairs, but ends up flipping on his face once again.
"Boooooo! You're really bad at this!"
"Shut... up mom." Marcus got to his feet and dusts himself off, walking over to his mother who was sitting on the couch, watching the news. It was a news story about yesterday. Maybe it was yesterday; Marcus couldn't tell.
---
"-and folks what we have witnessed that faithful afternoon was nothing more than a live action movie shooting of the video game series: Juel. There was no alarm; it was all just a matter of confusion. Here with us is the director of the film, Mr. Maximillion Kain."
"We're sorry to have frightened everyone. I guess my whole surprise shoot was a total no no. You see, I wanted the film to be kept on the down low so that no one would see it or hear about it till the film was fully finished. That?s right I'm talking to all of you on the interweb! We're hoping the film doesn't take much more of a hiatus and we're glad there were no casualties what so ever."
"There you have it folks. If you?re a fan of the genre or series, you might want to look out for it, summer of next year."
---
Marcus' mother turns the TV off and places the remote down on the coffee table. She stretches out falling back on the couch, trying to get more comfortable.
"I have to admit, that IS a clever cover up story."
"You-"
"Know about the whole thing? Yeah, pretty much."
"You seem calm about, which is freaking me out."
"Eh, I'm used to it now. Over time things became more and more clear to me."
"Mom... what exactly happened at the end of yesterday?"
"... That information is classified. Sorry."
"What???"
"Well it is, so that means you get nothing. Nyah."
"Come on mom I'm serious!"
"And so am I."
"Huh?"
"I made a promise not to tell."
"A promise? To who?"
"Mm mm, no more questions from you young man."
"But-"
"Ah!"
"Fine." Marcus keeps his mouth shut as he wanted to know what his mother knew very badly. His mom's lips were sealed to what happened after he hit the ground that day. Taking his mind off the subject, his mother then began to push him off the couch and towards the door. "Come on, come on! I wanna go! Let's go already!" His mom pouted as she struggles to push him out the front door. "Okay okay! I'm going!" Marcus fussed as his mom then walks passed him opening the door. Giggling and smiling back at him, she runs out the door with all her excitement. As Marcus was about to walk out with her, he feels a presence. It felt like someone was behind him, and without him noticing; there was Jewel. Smiling and blinking innocently at him. Wiggling her big pointy ears playfully, Marcus finally spins around; only to see no one. Jewel was gone and Marcus missed her. He wipes his hands and then notices something else; the ring. It was still around his finger. Or it was now since it wasn't there when he woke up this morning.
"Cooome ooon soonny! I'm growing oooold heeere!" His mom yelled from outside in an elderly voice, teasing him for being so slow. Marcus laughed to himself as he still had visions of what happened loop in his head. So what if he didn't know what happened when Jewel erased his memory. What he did know was that it was a nice sunny day in September. The sky was cloudy and there was a slight wind in the air. Even if she did erase his memory, it was only for one small moment. Marcus shuts the door behind him and locks it with his keys. He spots the newspaper on his front porch and picks it up, reading the headlines feeling happy as can be; that is until he read the date:
"O-O-October 27th?!"
~The End.