Young Writers Society

Aegeas tried to remember. The noise had been so high-pitched and distant that it was hard to pinpoint it to any particular spot. And he wasn't all that interested in following a scream. Oliver, for once, looked and acted genuinely panicked, which was disconcerting.

Finally, Aegeas spotted a corridor stretching away from the one they stood in. It led in the general direction he thought the scream had come from. Pointing to the corridor, he said, "There, I believe."

"Then, it shouldn't be all that bad, should it?" Raiden said, taking his hand off Lucy's shoulder and sitting next to Bo.
"I mean, there's railings and stuff so you don't fall off. So, unless you voluntarily jump off, I don't think there's much to be afraid of," he said, a warm smile on his face. On the inside, he was nervous as well. The middle of the sea wasn't his most favourite place to be either, but he didn't fear it as much as the two of them evidently did. He was tryin to calm the other two down - they'd probably be able to make more sound decisions, if they weren't a bundle of nerves.
"The only problem now," he thought, "is the fact that we have no idea where the heck we are."

I caught up to my disconcerted companions, and looked out to the vast ocean. It was nothing like the dull, muted green in the sunless sea of the Neath.
It was a brilliant blue- racing and lapping with a calm lilt, back and forth.
I had to squint at it, for the light shining off the waves.
Surely this cerulean sea hosted no terrors, no leviathans, no drownies to call malfortunate sailors to join their sad rank.
No, any danger must be limited to the shining city we left close behind.
The young lady was right. We needed to know more about this place.


'I believe we should follow Miss Lucy's proposal, and gather some information. Perhaps we could find a library of sorts? Some resemblance of one? It would be optimistic to assume the inhabitants of this city wrote in a language we could read, but all the same, there must be something of value we can find.'

"Yes, we should do that," Bo said, still staying as close to the relative ground as possible, in a sit. "We need to find answers if we're ever gonna get out of here, or back home... if that's a possibility, which I hope it is."

Oliver peered down the corridor that Aegeas had pointed out. It looked as if it could have been the source of the noise. Though he wasn't completely certain, he darted into the corridor and began to hurry down it. Being on the school track team had paid off; he didn't need then naturally gained muscles, but it had made him more used to running like this.

He hadn't heard the scream again. He doubted he would. But even if Lucy wasn't afraid of something - or pretending to be - it was the best chance he had of running into her.



"I guess we should keep moving down this corridor," Lucy surmised. She shakily got to her feet. She was still terrified of the water outside, despite Raiden's attempts to make her feel otherwise, but she would certainly feel better once they were inside the safety of the city. So she started to do exactly that - she started to head towards somewhere, though she still wasn't sure if she was going in the right direction.

She went to turn the corner.

And, a second later, she was knocked off her feet by someone barreling into her. They were a tangle of limbs as they tried to straighten themselves out. Lucy caught a glimpse of a familiar varsity jacket and a mop of blond hair. "Oliver?" she questioned, already certain that she was looking at her best friend.

The boy across from her grinned. "I found you, Lucy!"

"You did," she confirmed with a smile of her own, throwing her arms around him. He returned the gesture. She would have been quite content sitting there for a little while longer, but she was sure they would soon have to stand up again.

Of course Oliver had to run.

It took a minute for Aegeas to catch up. He just wasn't built for running - he could swim for miles, but his short legs made running a nuisance. At least he could make up for it with endurance.

Finally, by a turn in the corridor, he found Oliver embracing a girl with black, short hair and blue eyes. Aegeas stopped and crossed his arms. "Your friend?" he said, trying to stifle the smile growing on his face.

I witnessed the reunion of Miss Lucy and her young friend. How lucky she was, to be brought into this strange new world with a familiar face.

Following behind was a very tall..weasel? Otter. And a well-armed one, at that.
He was certainly unlike anything I had seen, but that was well within the realms of possibility, considering the circumstances.
Whatever he may have been, it was my policy to always display good manners- especially when the gentleman in question carries swords.

'Good morning! A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir. I am Boris Dietrich.'
I extended my hand, and waited.

Bo had followed the group, and watched Lucy reunite with her friend as... an otter followed behind, but on two legs. It looked like it came straight out of a Narnia movie, which was only slightly disconcerting - but it did not in the least overwhelm his fear of the ocean and make him forget.

He took in deep breaths, watching silently, but looking on with a small grin, happy to see Lucy so relieved.

Nobody recognizable. Oliver was fortunate enough to have found someone he knew; Aegeas, meanwhile, couldn't even find a person who looked like they came from his world. Everyone wore outfits that looked strange and colorful enough to belong to royals. Aegeas would've thought they were if he hadn't met a few royals before.

Nevertheless, despite his distrust and frustration, he shook Boris's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Aegeas."

Lola finally caught up with Aegeas and Oliver and skidded to a halt. She was (she took a deep breath) not very good at running. She stared at the crowd of people all standing around Oliver and another girl.

"Oh!" Lola said, still slightly out of breath, "You found your friend! And...other people?"

Raiden, being confused at the sudden appearance of another girl, a dude who knew Lucy, and an otter person who kind of reminded him of Rocket Racoon, raised his hand in greeting.
"Yo." he said simply, not knowing what else to say.

The two finally got to their feet, albeit reluctantly. Each assessed the group that the other had been with, though Lucy's eyes lingered on Oliver's companions longer than he looked at hers. It seemed like they had a roughly even amount of adults and teenagers - that was, if Aegeas was an adult. Neither were quite sure how his kind aged, and were frankly too occupied with everything else to ask.

"Hi," Oliver said to the people Lucy had been with. He was still standing close to her, but they were no longer embracing. "I'm Oliver - I'm Lucy's best friend."

"Nice to meet guys. Oliver," Bo said with a smile. "And Aegeas," he nodded to the otter, who, in all honestly, still weirded him out a bit - only because he wasn't used to animals talking, and he was also in denial. He looked to the girl who'd followed in last, and posed the question.

"I'm Bo, by the way. But what about you? What's your name?"

Letting go of Boris's hand, Aegeas waved to the others. He noticed their expressions when they saw him - most of them looked confused, if their awkward shuffling and frequent sideways glances said anything. That didn't much surprise him at this point. Besides, he had something else to focus on - he could see a balcony a short distance ahead. Walking past the rest of the group, Aegeas stepped onto the balcony, placed his elbows on the railing, and looked out over the metal city and wide ocean.

He hadn't realized how big the sea was. Aegeas watched the waves extend apparently forever into the distance. It was calming; he felt like he could spend hours out here. He felt bad for those who were afraid of the ocean - there was so much to admire about it.

Lola looked at the person called "Bo" and smiled back at him, feeling herself relax a little.

"I'm Lola," she said, "Nice to meet you, Bo!"