Young Writers Society

Was it a lair or a citadel? Grif couldn't decide and his thoughts were clouded. The cell was utterly dark. He was definitely suspended in a web of chains, which were strangely comfortable all things considered. Why was he here? When did he arrive? What was that strange hopping noise? Grif decided to focus on the last question first.

Grif opened his eyes and suddenly he could see that the cell wasn't utterly dark, his eyes had just been closed. Beneath him, sniffing at the chains, was a small white rabbit. It was rubbing it's nose between it's paws.

"Who are you?" Grif asked.

"I am- ACHOO!" the Rabbit sneezed.

"That's a strange name for a rabbit," Grif said.

"Very funny. Here's another funny one I just thought of: Why don't I just leave you here?"

"Wait a minute- white rabbit, appears in places that are impenetrable, talks; you're The Kyber, the plot bunny. One of the ancient secret guardians of YWS. You make eco-friendly products by folding paper and when you wiggle your ears, grass grows.
@Snoink wrote a song about you."

"Goodness, an info-dump. Your writing skills must be as rusty as these chains. Let me see if I can help with that."

"Are you going to give me a sudden flash of insight to help me write the story that's been stuck in my head for the last decade?"

"Actually, I was talking about the chains," Kyber said. He took one of the chains and nibbled on it. It promptly shattered into pieces and Grif fell to the floor. Kyber continued to nibble at the chains until Grif emerged free from the chains.

"I don't suppose you have a way out of here," Grif said.

"I made a bicycle out of paper, but it only seats one. You'll have to come back for Nate."

"Wait, he's here too?"

"You didn't know? I thought you knew!"

"How would I know that? My eyes have been closed the entire time! I'm not even sure WHERE I am," Grif said. Off in the distance, there was a sound:

"BLAHAHAHAHA!!!" drifted down into the dungeon.

"I know that laugh, it's Incandescence. So it is a lair after all," Grif said.

"He's coming! There's not much time. Go out the back door, get on the paper bicycle, and go get help. Seek out the one with lemon grenades. I'll distract Incandescence while you make your escape."

"Thank you Kyber."

"Grif- one last thing."

"Yes?"

"You suck, keep writing," Kyber said before disappearing.

A horrendous laugh thundered down the dark dungeon corridors, echoing off the walls until it reached the ears of the representative from Life's Orchard, who skittered backwards in terror and almost lost her grip on the burlap sack of lemon grenades.

Now that she was witnessing what they were up against, she wished LaVida had never volunteered to aid the @Classified cause against Brad. At the time, they didn't even know who Brad was. Why in the name of John Lemon had they gotten themselves involved in the first place? They were only simple farmers, and the only enemy Nate had ever asked them to fight was scurvy. Maybe they volunteered partly because of the guilt that still lingered over 2018's Holiday Gift Weekend, where LaVida's participation was rendered pitiful because of the December Drought. Maybe they just wanted an excuse to test their new grenades.

Either way, she mused, it had been a foolish move. She feared that the lemon grenades, not yet patented and still in an early stage of design, would fail miserably in aiding in Nate's rescue. What Nate really needed was @Magestorrow's powers, or @Rydia's leadership, or @alliyah's dedication, or @soundofmind's creativity. Or even, she feared, all of them and more.

The rabbit had said that Grif would be here soon, but it was well after soon. The representative peered cautiously around the corner. It was so dark that she couldn't even see the end of the corridor. All she could hear was the steady drip, drip, drip of water trickling from a crack in the ceiling.

A sudden fluttering and whirring sound behind her frightened her half to death, but she was reassured when she saw that it was only @Griffinkeeper, pedaling down the corridor on an impossibly sturdy paper bicycle.

He hardly even slowed down, let alone dismounted, as he extended his arm. "The grenades! Pass the grenades!"

She held out the sack and Griff snatched it just in time. His voice echoed and faded as he sped away. "Thank youuuu!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Life's Orchard representative set off to find a way out of the dungeon and safely back to the farm, but not until she heard another paper bicycle coming her way.