Chapter 3 - Worms and Math

* * *

I lay there, my head throbbing with the beat of my heart. I just want it to stop. As I open my eyes another rush of pain shoots up to my temple. I quickly reach up to try and squeeze the ache away, which only adds more pain. My arms are like rusty lead weights, extremely sore rusty lead weights.

Why do they hurt so much?

I make an attempt to get up. I quickly give it up when I feel as if I have just been spat out by a grinder. Oh God, please make this agony stop. I force my eyes to open the rest of the way. I'm surrounded by little white plaster bubbles. I try looking around, without actually moving, to figure out where I am. I see the sheets of clear plastic covering my window. I'm in my room.

How did I get here?

The last thing I remember was that eerie mist. Besides the pain, my body looks fine, I must have dreamt it. Okay, no more snacks before bed. I do remember talking to a boy who changed into a bird.

Was he real?

My dad pops up beside me yawning and scratching his chest. If I thought I was in pain before, it doesn't compare to what I'm experiencing now, after being scared out of my boxer shorts. I didn't think I could move so quickly in my condition, but having my dad suddenly appear, without his shirt on, I couldn't help but try to get away. I let out a long low moan. He looks over to me with his eyes half asleep.

"You talk in your sleep." my dad declares and then lays back down, fast asleep.

Okay? Was my dad being serious or was he talking in his sleep? I struggle to lean over my bed to see where he descended to. Across my floor, he's sprawled out on a make-shift bed, wearing nothing but a white undershirt and his underwear. Great, that is a sight that will take a while to go away.

Why is he sleeping in my room?

The creaking stairs draw my attention away from my semi-dressed father. My mom is coming down holding something in her hands.

"You're awake!" she asks, stepping over my dad.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I ask back.

The tone of her voice changes from soft and comforting to worried and bothered, "Well...your dad found you outside next to the garage just laying there motionless."

She reaches up and gently rubs my head. I cringe. She holds out her hand, revealing a couple of pills.

"Here's some Tylenol. It will help your pain."

"What happened, mom?"

"Not really sure, I’m hoping you can tell us" she says. Her eyes seem to plead for a typical "boys will be boys" answer.

"I...I'm not sure. I'm sorry." I say and look away. I feel guilty that I don't remember if it was a dream or not.

"It's okay, maybe it will come back to you. The only thing we can guess is that you must have slipped and hit your head."

She stands up and rolls her eyes at my dad, who is now snoring rather loudly.

She turns and looks back at me, "Dad was really worried. He almost took you straight to the hospital from where he found you, but you said something to him to change his mind."

Great. Something else I don't remember. I go back to staring at my ceiling, trying to make sense of all of this; and I wonder what my dreams could possibly mean, if they meant anything at all. I eventually fall back to sleep.

* * *

Everything is black.

Then around me, a bunch of dim lights show themselves, making my surroundings somewhat visible. I'm back in the same place as my first dream; standing above the scattered pages once again. There has to be millions of them, just lying there. I realize that those pages are actually producing the light this time.

If this is the same place as before...

I quickly look around. I remember those eyes. Those red, beady eyes of the creature that attacked me. It's nowhere in sight, all seems quiet. Eerily quiet. I kneel down and pick up some pages, still on edge, wondering if that creature is still lurking about.

Still, nothing.

I hold up the page, expecting words to appear like before. But nothing happens. If I remember correctly the page from before was brighter than the rest. Granted, it was pitch black before, but the page looked like it could catch on fire. I look around for a page brighter than the rest, but with all of these illuminated papers, I might as well be looking for my name in one of my many yearbooks. Just not going to happen. I don't know how I saw it, or why I saw it, but I did. A piece of parchment, like before, glowing twice as bright, shows itself. It's buried, so again, not sure exactly how I saw it. I hold it up. And just like before, the symbol, a circle with a diagonal line separating the A and horseshoe, is drawn and fades away. I know I have the right paper. Finally words appear:

The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything

Now this doesn't sound like Abraham Lincoln.

Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest...Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.

I really don't understand.

I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with an atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed

This doesn't make any sense. The previous quotes were about truth and books, this seems more about danger and war.

Force always attracts men of low morality...E=M

Then the words stop abrubtly, quickly disappearing off the page. Its glow fades just as fast. Soon all the pages go dark.

Uh-oh.

This happened last time, before the creature attacked me. I drop the page and start running. I don't care where. My feet slip on the loose papers, but I can't stop. My gut is telling me that if I do, that creature won't stop at just pulling my hair and knocking me down.

"Scotty?"

I hear my name being called. The voice sounds low, more like a loud whisper. It has to be a trick, no-way I'm stopping.

"Scotty?!"

There it is again, but a little louder.

"Scotty?!"

It's sounds like it is just right behind me.

"SCOTTY?!"

I turn and those red eyes are on top of me. I feel the creature grip my shoulders and shake me harshly.

It bares its sharp fangs and dives towards me.

This is it.

If I'm going out, I'm taking some of its teeth with me.

* * *

I punch my dad square in the nose.

"SON OF A...! Why did you do that?!" he asks rubbing and checking for blood, "I was just trying to wake you up for lunch."

"I'm sorry dad...was having a bad dream." I say, still feeling the adrenline rush.

"No joke. Well hopefully you beat the living snot out of whoever."

Only if he knew.

My heart is still racing. What are the chances of having that...thing in my dream, twice. My arms hurt where it was grabbing me. If it weren't for my dad waking me up...well...I don't think I would have woken up. Whatever that thing was it wasn't just bad, but freaking evil. And real.

"How do you feel?" my dad asks.

"Better, but still a bit sore." I say rubbing my shoulders and rotating my arm.

"Do you think you can make it up the stairs?"

"Probably."

I crawl out of bed getting to my feet. I'm a little weak, but at least able to keep upright, without my head pounding. My dad grabs me under my arm to keep me steady.

"Where did you get these?" he asks, looking down at fresh scratches on my upper arm.

"Who knows?" I answer, well aware where I got them.

As we start making our way to the staircase, the pages pop back in my mind. I know I'm being told something, just wish I was smart enough to know what. The words on the page faded before the creature got there. It must not want it to know. These quotes had certain words underlined as well; and something about the E=M seems really familiar.

"Who's Twift?" my dad asks as we walk up the steps.

"What?" I answer, caught off guard by the question, still deep in thought about the pages.

"Who is Twift?" he repeats, "You talked in your sleep last night and you said his name...loudly...almost like you were yelling at him...woke me up."

Okay?

Maybe it wasn't a dream, "I don't...know" I say. Honestly, I don't.

So Twift is probably real, why wouldn't he be. If he is, I'm not sure if I'm ready to be sharing any of this with them. Doubt they'll believe me; probably just add to their growing list of why they should put me up for adoption. My dad doesn't say anything else.

* * *

Lunch hit the spot, and I'm feeling a whole lot better. I'm ready to finish putting my room together and I start to head back downstairs. My mom stops me.

"Scotty...are you up for a trip to the store?" she asks.

"Are you going to shop for clothes?" I ask back.

She laughs, "No, not this time, glad to see you got your humor back."

"Then sure, I'll go."

Besides, beats cleaning my room.

"Let me just go grab something from my room really quick"

"Okay, I'll be outside in the car waiting for you."

I run down and grab the unicorn light. Hey, you never know when it will come in handy. And I grabbed the biography on Abraham Lincoln. I don't think those quotes are from him, but just maybe. It wouldn't hurt to find out, it might give me some insight on why I'm having these dreams, or at least what they mean. I get into the passenger seat of the van and my mom drives off.

* * *

I quickly start glancing over each page, looking for anything to catch my eye.

"Did you know he was the one who drafted up the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves?" my mom asks.

"What?" I ask back, looking over to her.

"Emancipation Proclamation...Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was the one who drafted it?"

For some strange reason I actually did know that[a]. I nod and go back to reading. I'm not really in the mood to talk right now. I want to find out anything I can on what these dreams mean.

"What made you read that book?" she asks.

Usually I don't mind talking to my mom, but today....

I reluctantly drop the book, "I don't know...just heard one of his quotes somewhere."

She shoots me a look basically stating that I better watch my mouth. I quickly catch it and tone it down. One, I don't want her to leave me down in town[b], and two, I don't want to trigger her mom radar. Every mom has one, sort of a tuning rod that moms possess giving them the ability to know that there is something else going on...and most of the time it’s fairly accurate.

"Sorry mom, just really got sucked up in reading" I say looking her in the eyes.

Her expression lightens up, "It's okay. Is that my book?"

"Yeah, found it in the back of the moving van."

"I was wondering where that book had gone to. If you like that one you should read the one on Albert Einstein."

"Who?" I ask. My mind still wandering back and forth between the quotes from my dream and the ones from the biography book.

"You know, Albert Einstein, E=MC2."

Like a hound dog finding its target, I zone in on the last quote from my dream, before the writing had stopped. E=M.

"What did you just say?" I ask my mom.

"Albert Einstein, I have a biography on him as well and it's really good and..." she starts to say before I interrupt.

"No after that"

She pauses and thinks, moving her glance between the road and me.

"You mean E=MC2?"

"Yeah that's it!" A sense of excitement overwhelms me. That has to be the same quote from my dream; and my mom has a biography on him as well. What are the chances of that? Now a sense of anxiousness comes over me, and I want to get back home quickly. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have agreed to take this trip.

* * *

I'm not very talkative, I really wish I had that book on Albert Einstein. I wonder if this town has a library. The rest of the car ride is rather quiet and after several minutes we finally make it down to the street that turns into town. A beautifully carved tree trunk, saying "Wildwood" greets you as you enter. I must have been sleeping when we went through the first time, because I don't remember any of this. It is like we just hit a time warp. The main street is only two lanes, one going in each direction. And as soon as we enter the middle of town I feel the whole van vibrate. I look down and notice the road has gone from asphalt to stone and bricks. Not a bad way to have people slow down going through. I'm starting to believe my time warp theory. There are buildings on both sides of the road; and the sidewalks are just as eccentric as the cobble stone streets. People are walking on paths made of dark stained wood, like you'd see on a dock, and brick work interweaved together. It looks like the sidewalk matches the building it lies in front of. The buildings. They must have been built for tourists. [c]Each one not matching its neighbor; and each looking like it was built in a totally different era. During one of our moves, I took a really boring drafting class. It wasn't by choice, it was the only class that had room left. Any ways, I recognize some of the architecture styles. One building reads "Ajax's Exercise Arena" and looks like a miniature Roman coliseum. Another building looks like an Egyptian sphinx, with a sign reading, "Emu's Pets and More". All the buildings are like this. A spa inside a pagoda, a hardware store carved into a giant boulder, and one of the most odd building yet, a clock shop in what looks like just the top portion of Big Ben. Seriously, this is one strange town. Another oddity that catches my attentions is that the buildings are not just made from one material. But rather several different kinds. Stone and wood, twigs and hay, mud and bricks. All tightly bound together. There are people going in and out of stores, none of them even noticing how strange all of this is. Or they just don't care. My mom hits the brakes as a rather big truck slows down to pull off onto a side street. As the trailer follows the turn, when I didn't think this town could be more weird, in the middle of this town stands a statue. [d]Being surrounded by the main road through town and a small patch of grass with a single chain fence, its oddness draws me in.

Why would they put it in the middle of the road?

As the road curves around, and before it continues on, it shoots off to the right. My mom follows it. I turn around to take another look at the statue. It is an old worn stone man, wearing a stone hat and wrapped by a stone cape. In one hand he holds a decorative staff, and the other is held up over eyes as if he peering off into the distance. Just then a pigeon lands on the hand, cooing and looking in need of a bathroom break. Something I don't really care to see, I'm about to turn around, when I see the pigeon flicked up into the air. It is quick, but I swear it just happened. I turn to look at my mom and tell her I just saw that statue move.

"We're here" she says before I could explain what I just saw.

I turn around and docked in front me stands an enormous wooden ship. It is much bigger than I would have imagined a ship being. The body looks at least three stories tall. And the mast, complete with crow's nest, looks like an additional 50 feet. Where you'd expect port holes to be there are windows. On the bow of this ship rests a finely carved mermaid. My mom felt it necessary to cover my eyes when she notices that. On the stern of the ship is a flag flapping in the wind. I figured a skull and crossbones, but instead see a circle with squiggly lines looking like waves and a shining cross or plus sign above it. I wonder what the symbol means. As we get closer the sign above the two electronic sliding doors read, "Alder's General Store and Fish Bait".

What should I have expected?

Of course the grocery store would be in a boat. Or a building made to look like a boat. It looks real enough, almost looks like it was purposely sailed to this very spot. There is a beep when we enter. Instantly I run back out to make sure that we did just enter into the side of a boat. It looks like we walked into a western saloon converted into a grocery / bait store, instead of a sailing vessel. Old chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Wouldn't think they'd produce enough light, but the whole store looks well lit. At the far end stands a stage, curtains and all. There is a bar with authentic looking stools and complete with a little deli area with tables and chairs. Honestly, it is pretty cool. Where are my hat and spurs? I like a themes, sort of like what Disneyland has (We went once. But let’s just say Disney isn't too fond of kids throwing fits, and having to rebuild parts of their rides).

The rest of the open area is lined with shelves; each stocked full of grocery and miscellaneous items. Above each shelf hung a sign, labelling everything into sections. There is a section for food, a section for household goods, a section for medicine, and so on.

"Aye landlubbers welcome aboard this here ship. Around here I'd be the top screw, Groveadex Alder, but y'all...er...ye...can call me Dex" a man says in a deep voice.

My mom and I look over towards the bar. The man tips his hat towards us. Standing behind the counter, next to a cash register, is a short stubby man wearing a big cowboy hat and a Hawaiian shirt. This little man has a serious identity crisis. His face is aged and rough, from either years on the ocean or years on a range. Below his stubby nose rests the fanciest mustache I have ever seen. It is a brown, with some grey sprinkled throughout, and with both ends curled into spirals. Sort of reminds me of what you'd see a villain have in those old cartoons. Before I could think too much about it, I notice his eyes. They are very hypnotizing. His eyes are deep blue, shimmering with the lights, sort of like waves on the ocean. He gives me a wink and returns his gaze towards my mom. Something in his eyes, I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling of trust.

"Thank you...Dex" my mom answers. When I look at her she seems uncomfortable and looks like she is avoiding eye contact.

I wonder why.

"If me hearties need a hand, just buck on oe'r...aye lad?" he says. I finally realize he’s talking to me this time. He gives me a wink and tips his hat again. On his hand, standing out on his sun-kissed skin, I catch the shine of ring. It’s a mixture of white and yellow gold wrapped around each other. When he brings his hand back down, three letters on the ring stick out. CIA. In that very order.

No way.

Didn't expect to see that. I quickly nod and wander off with my mom, keeping close. When I look back, he's gone. Great, the townspeople are just as strange as the town itself, and some are part of the government. I can't help but think, besides Dex’s struggle with his identity crisis that bleeds into his vocabulary, that the help he was offering earlier, wasn't about the store. I shake it off and my mom and I walk towards the stocked food. I just realized something. I hate shopping. I glance around for something a bit more interesting than...canned food. My mom has a tendency to talk to herself while she shops too. She’ll grab something, have a mini conversation with herself, and eventually put it back. And listening to her now, we are going to be here for a while. Finally, I see something that might be worthwhile to check out. I start to wander away, keeping my mom in eyes view. Twelve or not, once she realizes that I'm not by her side, she may or may not go into panic mode. I've seen it a few times. It’s not pretty.

At the other end of the bar is a giant ice chest. My first thought on a hot day like today...ice cream. My mouth starts to water, that is, until I open the lid. There looks to be like thousands of them. Slimy, squirmy, worms. Another thing I could really care less for, almost as much as the dark. They aren't normal size either, but as thick as a Sharpie and longer than spaghetti noodles. Although, it is hard to tell if it is several or just one. Not sure why, but I decide to poke my head for a closer look. Then from the center of the wormy dog-pile, a tiny head pops out. It shoots straight up towards my nose, and as it gets closer, sharp teeth appear. At that last second, I jerk my head back and shut the lid. I back away until I am stopped by a soft, squishy wall. There is a clicking noise coming from the wall. I spin around and much to my embarrassment stands Dex. I let out a little squeal and trip over my feet. He holds out a hand to help me up.

"Aye, Caribbean Snapping Worms" he says.

I stare at him blankly.

"That's what them there critters be...plundered them from the etown Seaville in Barbados me did. Ya'll have be careful, those there fillies are ringy, the'll soon make y'all cold as a wagon tire then be yur buddy. But blimey lad, they be good fer fishing. Do ya'll fish?"

I shake my head.

"Begad, laddie! Ar y'all er catalog woman? "

I shake my head again.

"Y'all don't say much do ya buckaroo? Aye matey, the grub get er tongue?" he says followed by a deep hearty laugh, which probably could be heard throughout the entire store.

He kind of reminds me of a western meets tropical version of Santa Clause, as his belly shakes with each laugh. Then I watch him walk over to the worm-filled chest, reach in and grab the worm's head. He pulls it out a ways and quickly slices it off with a knife. It falls into a bag attached to the chest. For being such a big worm, I figured a horrific scene of blood squirting everywhere, but instead nothing happened. The squirmy creature, now less a head, convulses a little and finally goes limp.

Okay, have to admit, I'm a bit freaked out right now. Is this guy showing me what he plans on doing to me next?

Dex glances over towards me and he must have seen my look of disgust and fear. He just holds up one finger and points to the headless stub still in his grasp. It slowly begins to twitch and shake. Then, as if from the worms own stomach, a new head produces and starts snapping away frantically. That has to be the grossest and coolest sight I have ever seen. I look around for any witnesses, no way anyone would believe this. And of course it’s just me. Dex drops the worm and grabs the bag that contains the previous head. He casually walks over to the end of the counter-top, closest to the chest, slides the top open and empties the bag inside. I watch him wave his hand over the water and close the lid again. I quickly drop to the side to watch where the head landed, but end up staring at wood panelling instead. There is a loud thud from Dex's side of the counter and the paneling drops down, revealing an enormous aquarium. I'm awestruck. I run the length of the counter looking through the side of the aquarium. It has nothing inside, except water. When I reach the other side, all I see is a rock. It fills up less than a quarter of the tank, and looks like any normal rock. I walk back to the other side, feeling sort of let down, and wondering why he dropped the worm's head into any empty aquarium. There is not a single fish, a single anything but that rock and now the floating worm head. I look up, as if to say, "What gives?" He just gives me another wink and jesters for me to look back down. I do, unenthusiastically. I see the piece of the worm, settling down on the bottom of the aquarium. I see Dex on the other side through the tank, kneeling down.

Something seems off.

I remember looking through many aquariums and everything inside seems enlarged, or magnified. Except this one. I can see Dex as clearly as if I am looking through a window. I watch as he concentrates on the floating worm. He raises his hand, then sticks out his finger. He begins to tilt it up. As he does this I see the worm start to lift off the bottom. The water around it is pushing it up.

No way, he couldn't be...

Then he makes a clicking sound with his mouth. I look over towards him and he motions for me to go back to the other end, next to the immobile rock. I race over. With a side sweeping motion with his hand. The water around the worm creates what looks like a mini tidal wave and pushes the floating worm head through the water over towards me and the rock. I watch, excited, nervous, wondering what is going to happen next. The worm head gets closer, the water starting to lose force. Dex waves his hand again and the wave regains strength. Closer, and closer. This has to be great. Finally, the head reaches the rock, and bounces off.

Really?!

The head floats back down to the bottom of the tank. Have to say that was...anti-climatical. I'm about to stand back up when a massive amount of bubbles release from the rock. Then two black beady eyes pop out from the front. More bubbles release and the rock starts to split in half, revealing several rows of miniature sharp teeth. From the base of the water stone, little tentacles stretch outward, feeling the bottom of the aquarium. They quickly find the piece of worm carcass, feel all around it and retreat back into the stone. The rows of teeth begin to rotate, each row going in an opposite directions. As the turning gets faster, it produces a suction, reminding me of a underwater tornado. Everything nearby is pulled into the mouth. Once the worm's head reaches its final destination, it is quickly ground up into little bits and pieces. As it finishes, it releases another curtain of bubbles. Once they clear, its mouth is closed, and its eyes disappear. It’s back to looking like a normal aquarium rock.

What...was...that?!

Dex, with his perm-a-grin, must have figured I am getting ready to ask such a question.

"Gar! That be Smitty, Me pet rock" Dex says, still glaring into the water, "he be old'r than my grand-pappy's pappy's underwear. Not much lootin does he, arrg...not has much as he used too, the old sea-dog."

Then he makes that clicking noise again. I look up and he has me back up. I hear him tap a few times, and panels reappear and cover the fish...or I should say, rock tank.

"Ain't no green broke needing to listen to er ornery bull as meself...so blimey, hows bout me bucko get to pillaging handsomely the second deck. There be more toys than Santa's sack with a hole in it." He clicks and points to the second floor.

"Aye laddie, wander on or and feast yur deadlights on me loot. Fair winds Crafter...fair winds!"

I head over to the stairs leading up. I think he is trying to tell me there are toys and stuff up there, but it’s hard to understand anything he says. When I turn back around to see if he is still there, he's gone...again.

In hindsight I should have let my mom know, but after that confusing conversation with Dex...I didn't really think of it. I just wanted to get away.

I wonder what he meant by Crafter?

* * *

I'm hoping there is something more to my liking upstairs, than these current oddities.

As I take the last step off the stairs, I walk into a room that had to be made specifically to be a kid’s wonderland. There are rows upon rows of shelves stocked full of toys, video games, comic books, and anything else you imaginable. Just like below, the rows have signs above them labeled on what they contain. One row says remote control. Not sure why they would have a row specific to remote controls, but it doesn't surprise me. I walk down it and discover that it refers to remote control toys. Another row is labeled dolls. Pass. Another row is labeled Newborns. Another pass. They keep going on like this. I'm beginning to think that Santa analogy I mentioned isn't too far off.

Why does he have all of these?

Finally I find a row labeled books. Perfect. As I start heading towards it, I pass an aisle when I hear a loud thud, followed by a tiny squeaky voice yelling something fierce. I look up and the sign reads "Action Figures". The row is just that. Hooks holding packaged action figures of all sorts. I hear the voice again.

"Hello?" I ask.

No answer. I walk in, looking around cautiously. There is no one around. I'm about to blow it off as a malfunctioning talking figure when near the bottom, one of the packages moves, like it was accidentally bumped. I grab it. It is torn open. It sort of looks like an old G.I. Joe figure. I remember my dad talking about these. I look closer. Everything looks still there, except the figure's weapon is missing. I look around, and notice another action figure just lying there on the bottom shelf. And it’s holding the G.I. Joe's gun. The figure is gruff looking. It has long braided hair, bushy eyebrows and a mustache hiding most of its face. And to add to the toy's authenticity, it’s sporting animal-pelt armor with a two-horned helmet. In its other hand, opposite the gun, is a shiny, sharp-looking dagger. By the looks of it, I think it’s a Viking action figure. I pick it up. It doesn't feel like a normal plastic toy, it’s more...soft. I try to pull the gun out of its hand, but it doesn't budge, like it's been super glued. Have to admire the craftmanship, the detail they put into this figure is really amazing. Well, except the plastic toy gun it's holding. Even the blade on the dagger has small woven intricate designs carved all the way down it. I wonder how much Dex is charging for this toy? I don't see any package for it, or a price tag. I flip it over.

A definite pass.

There, being separated by a stock pile of other toy weapons tied to its back, (i.e. a plastic mace, a plastic spiked club, a plastic AK-47 machine gun, etc...) are two barely visible wings. Now, who’s ever heard of a Viking with fairy wings? That makes as much sense as Dex's split personality. I'm just about to drop it, when they twitch. The wings, they twitch.

How did that happen?

Strange, I must have pushed a button or...I get it, I must have to push the arms in together. I give it a squeeze. Nothing happens. So I squeeze again, harder. Still nothing happens. I turn it back over, when a sharp pain attacks my thumb. I drop the figure quickly. Embedded deeply in my thumb, right below the nail, is the dagger the Viking toy was holding.

What the?!

I thought it was just another plastic weapon. I pull it out and blood immediately starts seeping out.

"How'd thee like it if me squeezed thee, dumb Neo?!" the squeaky voice from before yells.

"What?!" I answer back sucking my wound. I frantically look around and still don't see anyone.

"Thee is a stupid thee huh?! Thee know, me can read thee's thoughts."

Just then the Viking toy reappears just past my nose. I back up into the shelves, making a loud commotion and knocking down a majority of the toys.

No way!

I just knew it was just a matter of time before I went crazy. Oh well.

"Whoa! You're real?!" I say in shock.

"Of course me is real...remember, me is the one that stabbed thee?!" said the Viking toy, its voice with a bragging tone.

I look at my thumb.

"By the way, me not a toy, me a sprite, the best sprite, and thee keeps calling me a toy...well me will stab thee's other thumb!" the figure says and disappears again.

Soon I feel my ear being flicked. In reaction I immediately bring my hand up, and hit something in the process. There is a squeaky scream and some toys fall of the hooks in front of me, finally followed by a small thud. The sprite reappears, rubbing its head.

"Why did thee do that?!" he whines.

"I'm sorry, thee didn't...I mean...I didn't see you" I reach out my hand to help it up and it screams as if I'm about to smash it. I bring my hand back quickly, "Sorry...where did you come from sprite? Is there more like you? What exactly is a sprite? Do you have a name? What's with the plastic wea..."

"GRRR! Stop with the questions! Where me came from is none of thee's business. And why would me put me's friends in danger by an overgrown brainless NeoCrafter as thee?! Me has talked to thee long enough, me is going now."

With that, the sprite slowly takes flight. I must have knocked it good.