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“Josie…come on let’s go”
Josie slowly opened her eyes to the sound of a young girl’s voice calling out to her. She looked around and found herself in a familiar field surrounded by trees lush with leaves. In the distance she could see a group of children running away and calling after her. Josie felt a warmness come over her body as she smiled and stood to her feet. She tried to run after them but she immediately felt a tug on her left wrist pulling her back. She tried to pull against it to run after the other children but she couldn’t move an inch farther, the force pulled her back hard against the tree she was sleeping against causing the world around her to go black.
“A…Dream?” Josie said to herself as her eyes opened again. The sound of children’s laughter mixed with the scent of grass was replaced with darkness and a putrid smell attacking her nostrils.
Josie slowly rose to her feet and when her eyes focused in the light she realized that she was not alone. When she tried to walk, others in the room started to stir. Josie turned and felt something wet against her hand. She swung and sent the culprit flying into a wall but it didn’t yell, at least not like any human would. The beast yelped and whined like a dog. It was quite dark wherever she was, but a few beams of light poured in through a caged window giving Josie just enough to help her see. She looked in the direction of what she’d hit and found what looked like an underfed stray dog with the face of a man.
His hairs were gray and wiry with a crooked tail tucked between his legs. The ‘Dog Man’ slowly walked towards Josie, with a sad look in his eye which creeped her out terribly. More bodies seemed to be moving around her, exiting from the shadows. Similar to the Dog Man they all appeared to be human and animal hybrids. A man covered in leopard fur sporting thick sharp nails. A giraffe with the elongated neck and head of a human. Josie would normally just punch through these freaks and worry about it later but she had no idea how to respond to these beasts. As they moved in closer she slowly walked backwards, holding up her left arm to keep them away. When she lifted her arm she felt a light recoil, like the firing of a gun and then a puff of white clouds shot in all directions from her hand causing the beasts to cower.
After the blast Josie looked down at her hand and noticed a white puffy cloud around her wrist. She didn’t recognize it and wondered if this was a side effect from fighting Sister Loveless. Thinking back to the derby made her think of Peg and Josie panicked. If she was stuck in whatever the Hell this place was then what happened to Peg? Did she win the race? Was Josie still stuck below the clouds? The thoughts swam in her mind and she eventually shut them out to take action. She looked around and found no obvious exit out of whatever dungeon she and the Human Beasts were trapped in so she tried the next best thing. She lifted her hand towards the wall with the window and closed her eyes. She pulled back her arm, ready for a punch and felt the cloud wisping around her wrist. She punched and when she opened her eyes there was now a huge hole in the wall allowing sunlight to pour in. She looked down at her new fluffy accessory and then turned back to the Human Beasts who looked at her in awe.
“So,” Josie said with a smile. “You guys wanna help find my friend?”
🌱🌱🌱
Josie and Peg were now riding on the back of the Giraffe Man as the other Human Beasts wreaked havoc across Wool Works. The workers scrambled to try and stop the beasts but the strength of the hybrids all together easily overwhelmed them. Peg tried to find Lamzy somewhere in the chaos but it seemed the Elephant Hybrid sent her flying far away.
“What the hell are these things Josie? These human animal…things?”
“We prefer the term Chimera, ma’am.” A voice chirped in Peg’s ear.
Peg turned and noticed a small bird had perched on her shoulder. At least, it was mostly a bird. The animal had the body of a canary but the face of a smiling elderly woman. Peg nearly smacked it away in horror.
“This place hasn’t changed much,” She chirped, taking in her surroundings. “But you don’t have time for a history lesson, let’s get you two on your way.”
Peg nervously smiled and nodded as the Canary Chimera explained that there was an area on the island they could leave from and continue their journey up the stalk. The canary lifted a wing and pointed in the direction of a large building at the other end of the island.
“If we can get you over there you’ll be able to leave without a problem.”
Before Peg could ask how to get there she heard a scream of pain come from the giraffe chimera they were riding. Loud shots could be heard all around them and filling the space was the sound of the chimeras hollering. Once the smoke cleared Peg and Josie saw many of the Chimeras laid on the ground, unconscious and badly hurt. The remaining beasts, while hurt, still stood including the giraffe man. A group of workers surrounded the chimeras equipped with heavy machinery and ready to blow them to kingdom come.
“We owe you our lives, little Josie.” The Giraffe Man spoke. “We will not take this chance at freedom for granted, but you must continue on your way.”
“Right, I think it’s now or never,” Josie replied before turning to Peg. “Ready Peg?”
Before she could get clarification of the plan, the Giraffe man reeled back his neck and snapped it quickly forward, which sent Josie and Peg flying in the direction of the building where they could make their escape.
🌱🌱🌱
Peg rubbed her head, groaning in pain. She looked around and found herself surrounded by all different types of vehicles, including small airships. Where she landed had no windows to crash through but the landing hurt nonetheless. She got a closer look at some of the Blimps, and was delighted to find that the controls seemed familiar enough to her. She clapped with joy realizing she had their ticket to escape, except that her fellow passenger seemed to be missing.
She looked all over but Josie was nowhere to be found. Also nowhere to be found were any other factory workers. All of them seemed to be preoccupied with fighting off the hybrids but that distraction would only last for so long. Peg left the vehicle area to find Josie, yelling and calling out to her at the top of her lungs. With no answer she eventually found herself in a large room covered ceiling to floor in different mirrors. Each mirror had a name written under it, none of which were familiar to Peg. She then came across one on the floor, shattered and cracked with the word ‘Sweet Street’ engraved on it. She examined the damage and realized that among the shards of glass was none other than Josie’s newsboy cap.
“Damn it!” Peg screamed, realizing that once again she had been separated from her companion. She tried calling out again but knew that Josie was nowhere nearby. She felt the frustration bubbling to the surface but did her best to hold back her tears. Instead she swallowed her emotions, grabbed the hat and broken mirror and ran back to the room with all the vehicles.
She picked one and tossed in her belongings. Glancing at the controls, she quickly pieced together what did what and before long, a fire erupted into the balloon raising her off the ground.
All that mattered to Peg now was finding her friend, and to do that she needed to find this ‘Sweet Street’ and how exactly it was connected to Josie. As she rose higher and higher away from the factory she looked up at the Leafland above her. While Peg was still worried about her friend, she couldn’t help but smile knowing that now her journey was only just beginning.
🌱🌱🌱
Elsewhere on the Stalk, far away from Josie & Peg’s current endeavors, existed a large room filled with treasures. Glimmering jewels, sparkling tapestries and any type of glittering trinket you could imagine. The treasure trove was stacked high to the ceiling and the floor was covered in so many coins that at a glance it would seem like sand in a desert. In this hall of riches walked a man in deep purple robes. He was a perfect match to his surroundings with thick fiery bronze colored hair that cascaded along his glimmering golden skin. He stopped in his tracks when he heard a groan come from the wealth surrounding him. He quickly knelt, lowering his head as well.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” the Golden Man spoke. “but I come with important news.”
More shuffling could be heard amongst the gems and jewels, like a creaturing burrowing amongst the treasures, as a deep bellowing voice trumpeted in response.”Have you found one to untangle the knot?”
“No, my visit is not related to-”
“Then why would you disturb me with anything less?” The faceless voice hissed.
“I once again apologize,” replied the Golden Man. “This is in relation to the Derby, the one on the Roots. It seems to have been a total disaster and any subsequent plans would be a non-starter.”
The hall of riches was silent and the kneeling man stayed motionless. The Golden Man did not sweat as he was unable to, but if he did there would be a pool filling around him by the second in this silence.
“Is he here now?” The voice spoke again.
“No, he’s currently working on remedying the situation before too much gets to the public.”
“Rootlings…What a damn waste.” the voice spat, and the Golden Man could feel each letter slither around him.
“Shall I summon him here to speak to you?”
“No, his plate is full enough with this. I will see him along with the other children at our intended time. Do not disturb me again unless it is time or you have found a solution to the knot.”
“Understood, thank you sir.” The Golden Man quickly rose to his feet, turning on his heel to exit the hall.
“Custer…” The voice called, stopping the Golden Man in his tracks. “I expect all failure, no matter how trivial, to be erased. No exceptions.”
“I will remind him sir.”
Custer did not give a goodbye nor did the voice among the jewels expect one. Custer reached the opposite end of the hall to find two humongous slabs of gold that made up the entrance and exit of this treasure trove. He did not attempt to open the doors and instead his golden figure passed through the walls as if melting into them himself leaving the commanding voice to his riches and silence.
To Be Continued ...IN VOLUME 2!!!