Thoughts and Thinkings: 2009

Wormhole

Book One: The Peak of Malindrok

by Joe Carson

prologue

Queen Anatasma has given birth to a son! those were the words echoed throughout the city walls of Wondirgo, the capital of Sarakan. An heir to the throne of Sarakan had been born. All went well for the next few days until Baratum, the former king of Sarakan, was mysteriously murdered. No soul in the castle walls suspected anyone or anything until a thief from the clan of Molago-Ra was caught snooping around the kingdom. He was taken to questioning. Many secrets were revealed. The questioners found out that the Molago-Ra clan had sent a member to kill the king. The thief also revealed that Molago-Ra and his clan were plotting to terminate the prince and queen of Sarakan. Not too long after, the guards and the questioners began to get very worried.

All the watchmen and guards had been put on double watch. Not even the questioners knew exactly what was going to happen, but they knew if the Molago-Ra clan’s plot succeeded, things in the kingdom would turn out quite horrible. One day, one of the tower watchmen nearly fell off his post with alarm. He shouted out, “There’s an army! A huge one! I can see! Their wagons and weapon holders are stocked with the deadliest of weapons!” The chief guard, Halomad, realized completely who the army belonged to. Molago-Ra.

Of all the enemies the castle of Wondirgo had repelled, these ones were unbelievably strong. The first few hours of war, everything was going well (which in terms of war, however, means they’ve only lost a few thousand men and their castle was still standing) until Halomad looked hard to the horizon. At first it was a blur, then a small bulge, and finally Halomad could see what it was. Dragon-pulled siege towers with around 200 trolls marching behind them. Once the soldiers could understand what was coming towards them, Halomad could see soldier after soldier, even his own brother, Motorok, drop their weapons in disbelief. Halomad knew this was the end. “Retreat!” Clamored the chief guard as loud as he could.

With failing hope, Queen Anatasma summoned all her magicians to create a portal to any world where the prince would be safe. The magicians used almost all their power creating the portal. The Queen kissed her son on the forehead and slowly pushed the child’s cradle into the portal. “With the highest hope that you will return to me, young prince Antarod!” Just as her words were finished, the portal closed and the door burst into flames. The door was kicked down when none other than Molago-Ra himself stepped through the door frame. Goblins snaked across the ceiling and walls surrounding and attacking the magicians. Queen Anatasma was standing alone in the center of a room surrounded by goblins and an evil warlord. Then the first of all suspected things happened. Two goblins dropped from the ceiling and bound her wrists. Then, as the kingdom around her burned, Queen Anatasma was led toward some unknown prison cell in the heart of Ba-Tagorom.

Chapter 1

Mark Jones

Mark Jones was your typical 15 year old boy. Mark was in ninth grade. He loved ipods, graphic video games, and loud music. He had sandy brown hair and vibrant green eyes. He was around 6’ 8” and he was still growing taller. He wasn’t ripped, but he wasn’t scrawny either. His skin was light; he also had a lot of freckles. Mark lived in a little town called magpie wing. Magpie wing was a small town just on the outskirts of south dakota. Magpie wing was a rusty little dust covered town that wasn’t included on any maps. The town was infested by tarantulas, cockroaches, scorpions, but above all, tumbleweeds. Mark lived on a fairly large ranch home on a forty acre lot. Mark’s ranch home didn’t have any livestock but he had a really large home.

Mark’s parents were gone from six in the morning to ten p.m. His parents were gone almost all day. They rarely talked to Mark, and when they did they were yelling at him to clean his room or do his homework or even scrub the toilets. Mark’s life May have seemed good with the large house and huge TV but his life pretty much sucked. He woke up at five, left at seven forty-five, and was at school by eight. Ah, school. Mark’s school (Magpie Wing Junior High) was probably the worst public school in the nation(well, at least that’s what he thought.) All his teachers spoke in a droning monotone that bored everyone to sleep, including the teacher. School lunch was usually a glob of gray sludge that was edible but tasted like sand.

After school mark went to the local rec. center and stayed there until his parents picked him up. A very tall and strong kid named Rob stayed at the rec. center kids club too. Robert Parker was three grades ahead of Mark, but he thought he should be three grades behind. Rob had jet black hair and dark hazel eyes. He had a terrific tan from all the time he spent outside. He always wore a thick black leather jacket. No aid or guide in the center stayed in the kid’s club to watch them. Every day Mark was running and diving away from all of Rob’s attacks. Rob was always trying to clobber Mark because the first day they met Mark had called him chubby. Mark only had one friend, Brian.

Brian had light blonde hair and blue eyes. He had thick, blocky glasses and red and blue braces. He may have looked like a total nerd, but he always blamed it on genetics. He was about the same height as Mark, but unlike his friend, he could barely even lift twenty pounds. The unlikely pair had first met at school, and found out they both went to the same kid’s club. Mark and Brian only had one area of sanctuary in the whole building to hide from Rob: a small area gone to by traveling through the ventilation to a large dip in the ground under a couch. In there they had two pillows, some water bottles, a few flash lights and batteries and a stolen map showing the vent plan. Mark and Brian had basically unlimited access to any room in the building.

One grueling day at the kids club, Mark and Brian were chatting when Rob burst into the room bellowing. He dove and tried tackling Mark. By the time Mark had rolled out of Rob’s way, Brian was already heading for the vent. Mark saw what Brian was doing and ran to the vent himself. He crawled in with a sigh of relief when he noticed Rob charging head-on at the vent. Mark couldn’t believe his eyes. Had Rob actually gotten thinner?

Mark started crawling through the large main shaft. he hoped that he could reach the split where the vents got smaller. From there, getting to the hangout would be easy. Mark heard a loud BANG!!! He looked back and saw to his dismay Rob charging with amazing speed. Mark was starting to get really worried. Mark could see the split! He got on his hands and toes and leapt into one of the smaller shafts. He slid down some of the smooth metal in the air duct. He looked up to the point where he had leapt in and to his horror saw Rob, coming still at an extremely fast rate.

Mark was terrified until he saw what happened to Rob. He looked up and almost laughed when he saw Rob. He had tried to bound in like Mark but got stuck halfway through. “Ha ha ha!!!” laughed Mark. “You may be thin enough to fit through the main tunnel but you’re still too chubby to fit through here!” This made Rob really mad. His face turned red with anger and embarrassment. Mark looked into the tunnel when he heard Brian’s worried shouts. “Mark! Are you all right? I heard a loud bang and a lot of crashes! Ahhhh! Rob! What is he doing here?” “Don’t worry, he’s not coming in.” With that last remark, Rob wriggled his way out of the tight spot and crawled back to the main kid’s club room.

After crawling back to the hangout, Mark and Brian decided they would explore the vast system of air ducts. They grabbed the maps, the flashlights, and set off on their miniature adventure. They were having lots of fun. As they were crawling past a grate, they looked around and noticed it led outside. After a while, they heard screaming and heavy footsteps. Mark and Brian saw two kids about their age run past. Following close behind was the lumbering Rob. Mark and Brian knew what to do. Brian kicked off the grate and Mark let down a rope. Mark and Brian jumped up and down to get the kid’s attention.

Mark saw that the two children had noticed them and they ran over to distract Rob. Brian helped the two kids over to the open grate while Mark ran around distracting Rob. Rob had been furious with Mark since they met but today he seemed more livid than ever before. Mark dropped to his back to avoid a well-aimed kick. He tried to avoid fighting with Rob as much as possible because he knew he wouldn’t win. Besides, he was much better at dodging and running than actually fighting.

Finally Mark decided to try and sock Rob in the face. Mark tried to make it the hardest punch he could muster. Rob wasn’t suspecting that hard of a punch from Mark. He fell over, half confused and half hurt. Mark ran over to the rope and climbed up. He and Brian pulled it in, fixed the grate and crawled with the twins to their hangout. Once they got there, Brian asked,”Who are you guys?” One of the kids answered,”We are Victor and Vanessa. We’re twins.”

Chapter 2

four friends

Mark and Brian began pummeling the twins with questions. “Why haven’t we seen you here before? Where are you from? What got you in trouble with Rob?” The questions kept getting more detailed but Victor and Vanessa always had an answer. After a while of asking questions, Mark began to think that he could trust Victor and Vanessa. There was a long silence. “Welcome to our club.” said Brian.

Victor and Vanessa had hooded sweaters on when Mark and Brian saved them. They took the hoods off as soon as they started heading to the hangout. You could tell that Victor and Vanessa were twins even though they were brother and sister. They both had black hair, brown eyes, and dark tan skin. They were the same height as Brian but Vanessa was a few inches shorter. When the group of four got to the hangout, Mark and Brian decided they should show the twins how to get to the hangout.

After they had shown the twins how to get to the hangout, Mark’s watch alarm went off. “Well, guess it’s time for me to go home. Come here early. Rob doesn’t usually get here until five. Meet at the hangout!” With that, Mark grabbed his backpack and crawled out of the vents. Brian picked up his glasses case and left the hangout also.

That night, Mark snuck out of his bed and grabbed two more flashlights, water bottles, pillows, pads of paper and pens. Mark also photocopied three more maps and labeled them Victor, Brian, and Vanessa. Mark was pleased with his work but could not sleep soundly knowing he had possibly broken someone’s nose today. When Mark woke up, his parents had already left. Mark decided not to go to school that day. He hopped on his bike and pedaled as fast as he could to the rec. center.

Mark chained up his bike. He was about to run in the front doors when he realized if he got caught, he would get in loads of trouble. He decided he would sneak to the grate he had crawled out of the day before. He jogged around to the back and saw the grate. The grate had been put back on! Mark paused for a while and then he had an idea. He pulled a rope out of his backpack and tied a stone to the end. Then, he threw the heavy end into the grate and pulled. It came off as easy as if he was pulling grass out of a field. Luckily, a tree was growing nearby the open shaft. Mark threw the rope into the high branches of the tree and began climbing. once he reached the top, he threw the heavy end of the rope into the vent. He secured the loose end of the rope onto a nearby branch.

After his work was finished, he steadily crawled across the rope. When he made it into the vent, Mark reeled in the rope and pulled out a map. making as little noise as possible, he crawled back to the hangout. When Mark got there, he thought he might still have been dreaming. Mark also saw Brian, Victor, and Vanessa. Mark asked everyone why they were here. The twins said they just felt compelled to come to the hangout. Brian said he assumed that Mark would be there too. “How strange,” thought Mark.

* * * * * *

“Is everything going as planned, Motorok?” “Yes, chief Halomad. The children’s minds have been manipulated. We think one of the children may be the searcher.” “What about the lost king?” “Still lost, I’m afraid.” “Have the maps been changed?” “Yes chief.” “Great! Everything will go as planned now. I only have one problem.” “What is that chief?” “Not all of the five are there.” “Don’t worry. The fifth one will come. All in good time, sir.” “But you must realize, we cannot wait forever. In a few weeks, the land of Sarakan will fall to the dark conqueror Molago-Ra . The four tribes of the forests of Ahnkhamar will not exist. They will be driven out of their homes. the forests will be cleared. The freedom fighters are the only army we have. Even the north tribe, the strongest, is failing. This great establishment of freedom and peace will be driven to slavery by the forces of Ba-tagorom. The searcher and the rest of the five are the only chance we have.” “Chief,” “Yes, scribe,” “I bring word from the eastern forest. Their lookout has spotted a dozen Ba-tagoren warships off the east coast. They do not have enough men to fight. They seek our troops and the freedom fighters.” “Well,” said Halomad. “let it begin.”

chapter 3:

Wormhole

As Mark and the rest of his friends were chatting, he heard a faint banging. “Guys, do you hear that?” “Hear what?” said the other three in unison. “Listen.” The whole room fell silent. After a while, Brian whispered,”Yeah, I hear it too!” A few moments after, even the twins noticed the banging. Nobody in the room knew what the noise was or where it was coming from. The group began to get nervous.

“We should go find out what that noise was.” Suggested Victor. The group scuttled through the vents to where they heard the noise. All they saw was a small lump in the corner. No one knew what it was. Now everyone was scared. As they approached, Mark could tell that it was a young boy, about their age. He looked up and said “Shhhhh! Quiet!” “Follow us!”Whispered Brian. They took the boy into their hangout and began pelting him with even more questions than the twins.

All they found out was his name was Jared. Jared had black hair and bright blue eyes. He had pale skin and scrawny arms like Brian’s. Mark recognized Jared from school. He almost never talked. He made no sound at all. All he did was pay attention and take hundreds of notes. Surprisingly, at recess, all he did was study his notes and write even more. Even the teacher thought this was peculiar in a child.

Well, here he is. He may seem weird, he may seem odd, but there is nothing you can do about it, thought Mark to himself. “So, Jared. Welcome to our club, I guess.” Said Mark. “C’mon guys. There’s still more vent to explore. Let’s go.” There they went. Five children, bound for greatness, oblivious to the fact greatness was closer than they thought . . . .

“It’s starting to get really hot!” Exclaimed Victor. “Hey, guys? What’s happening to the walls?” “ You’re right Vanessa. It’s happening to the floor too!” The walls and floors of the vents began fading to reveal.... nothing. Absolutely nothing. Immediately following, the five children felt an irresistible tugging force. When they looked ahead, they saw something. Whatever it was, it was spinning faster than anything any of the children had ever seen. At the end of the tunnel, a large glowing ball of white light pulled all five children to..... their doom? it may sound impossible, but the five children simply didn’t exist on Earth. They were gone. Vaporized. Sucked out of existence. Or so they thought.....

******

When Mark woke up, he was laying on the floor of a dark and damp forest. He checked his watch. It was gone. He also soon found that his flashlight, ipod, palm pilot, and minicam were all lost too. For a moment, Mark thought about trying to find them. Then, he realized how dark it was getting. I need to find shelter soon. Thought Mark. He spotted a nearby tree with entangled branches and soft leaves. Mark had never seen a tree like this one before. He climbed as high as he could and piled a bunch of leaves together to make a decent bed. While he was dozing off, he realized something. All his friends were still lost. Mark was all alone.

******

Brian awoke really startled. His belt loop had caught on a long branch. He was hanging about twenty feet away from the ground. He had gotten in some pretty bad situations before but, honestly, he had no idea what to do now. Even though he had just woken up, he felt like he needed to go back to sleep. He almost hit the hay (and possibly the ground) when a voice yelled: “Hey, Brian! Boy am I glad to see you!” Brian recognized the voice at once. Jared scrambled up the tree. “Wow. This is really bad. Uh, let me see what I can do.” He built a cushion of leaves and crawled back up the tree, this time holding a sharp-edged rock. He began hammering at the branch. “Jared! What are you doing? Stop right no-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” He hit the pile of leaves with a THUD. Jared crawled down and helped him up. The kind act was really of no use. almost immediately they both fell into a deep slumber as if knocked out by some gas.

******

Victor, feeling drowsier and droopier by the second, was desperately trying to find something recognizable. Moments ago, he was being pulled into an orb of hot white light. Now here he was, feeling like he had stayed awake for hours in a forest full of twisty, orange, trees with purple and neon green leaves. Victor looked ahead, half wishing he was back at the kid’s club. Then it hit him. The fact that he couldn’t find Vanessa and a dead branch from a tree. Victor was knocked out instantly.

Chapter 4:

Awakening and realization

“Have the children entered the sleeping forests?” “It wouldn’t hurt to check.” “Contact the Northern tribe at once!” “Yes sir!”

******

The messenger owl flew for days. The Northern Tribe was basically at the top of the planet, with Wondirgo being right on the halfway line. The journey would not be easy, but Mr. Owl here had been specially bred to do this type of work. Mr. Owl had brown-white feathers and large, black wings. His beak was a dark shade of orange. Yes, he somehow knew that this letter would decide the fate of the entire world. That type of drive made him really determined. He was also really determined because the Northern Tribe made the best freakin’ messenger owl treats in the world. He hoped he would get there quicker. Faster flying equals faster treat-getting. After about 5 days, Mr. Owl reached the Northern Tribe’s Communications tower.

After Mr. Owl had delivered the message, He finally got his treat. It was Chocolate flavored, as soft as hot butter, and he even detected a hint of mint and caramel. This was much better than getting a mouse that had been sitting in a bucket since who knows when.

Mr. Owl flew away happily to Wondirgo, with the best food he had ever tasted resting in his belly.

The message reader gaped at the note. He was confused, scared, worried, and slightly happy. “I must bring this to the chief at once!” The communications officer ran down the long and seemingly never ending staircase and bolted through the door. He nearly flew through the village as he sprinted across the pavement. He tore his way out of the marketplace. As he was doing so, he rammed into a vegetable cart and flipped it over. He swore he damaged his thigh. He also swore. He ran up the palace steps and past the guards when he finally reached the doors. As soon as the chief had read the note, you could tell he had the same reaction. Immediately, he told his scribe to gather any off-shift guards to search the Sleeping Forest for any children.

******

Mark woke up on a soft goose-down bed. The covers were stuffed with the fluffiest hand picked cotton Mark had ever felt. The sheets and pillows had been lined with a fabric so silky and smooth he could’ve mistaken it for a lamb’s ear leaf. The bed frame was made entirely out of mahogany wood. He was in a large domed room with four other beds the same as his. After his eyes adjusted, he saw a sight that made him think his head was going to explode.

Victor, Brian, and Jared were still asleep in their beds. This wasn’t a dream after all. Either that, or his dream was incredibly realistic and he was dreaming the same dream as all his friends were. As if on cue, the three other boys woke up. Seconds later, a beautiful woman with a bonnet and maids’ dress peeked in through the door. She brought in heaping plates of food. Buttered pancakes with creamy syrup, eggs with salt and pepper, bacon, and the sweetest, most succulent and juicy fruit Mark had ever tasted.

Later that morning, several other maids came in with new clothes for the boys. The maids said the clothes were custom to the land and position they were in. They were soft as the fabric on the beds. The shirts were brown, lined with purple thread. The trousers were black and were also lined with the same purple thread. They had large purple cloaks that had open fronts. Their moccasins were red, padded with the same soft cotton. Their belts were gold, with silver buckles and underneath it all they wore thin leather armor.

Later that afternoon, the four boys were taken to chief Razanjor, the leader of the Northern tribe. Jared spoke up. “Why are we dressed so fancy?” The chief bellowed with laughter. “Silly child. Children are always so full of humor.” “Sir,” a maid said,”I don’t think they are knowledgeable of the prophecy.” “Oh, my deepest apologies. I will inform you right away. Follow me to the study.” The walk through the palace was a very informative one. Every suit of armor, every portrait and doorway, every staircase, the chief would tell them all the facts about the object. Mark had forgotten most the stuff by the time they reached the study.

On reaching the study, Chief Razanjor told them to take a seat, motioning to several leather chairs surrounding a circular white marble table. After they had sat down, Razanjor began. “Many years ago, a great siege destroyed the kingdom of Wondirgo. Queen Anatasma sent her newborn son to an unknown location. Shortly after, it was prophesied that five beings, young in age, would enter the land of Sarakan to help locate the young Prince and the queen.

You were taking such a long time to get here, so our highest magic users manipulated your maps so you would come to us now. Our free world is in a time of war and crisis. You are the only one who can help us. We think a clue to the whereabouts of the Prince is atop a peak in the southern forest. Will you save us?”

Imagine being Mark right now. Think of all the information you just received. Overwhelming, isn’t it? Mark was questioning whether or not this was even real. It’s hard to believe some of this stuff. Above all, he was questioning if he could make it. His life in Magpie Wing was rough, But this could and probably would be life-threatening. “Chief, I accept this responsibility. To the best of my possible ability as a human, I will defend and protect this world.”

“I’m glad you accept. You need training. Let’s start now.” All of a sudden, Victor blurted out,”Where’s Vanessa?!” “Who?” Asked Razanjor. “I guessed she was in a different room,” speculated Jared. “This is not good. We really need to find her.” “I suppose she’ll turn up in a few days.” Said an ignorant Razanjor.

******

Vanessa only remembered a few things. Being sucked into oblivion, waking up with a muscular man carrying her, then kicking him in the face and running away. Vanessa had it all figured out. The trees in the forest she was stuck in released a chemical into the air at noon that stayed there until midnight. The toxin would make you drowsy until the point when you fall asleep. Then, you don’t wake up until nine or ten o’clock, which gives you two-three hours to get out. Vanessa was running as fast as she could. Her watch was gone, but by the position of the sun in the sky, she knew it was almost noon.

Vanessa could see something up ahead. It was very faint, but as she got closer she could tell what it was. It was a small shack. The roof was made out of large boughs and the rest was sod brick. She poked her head inside to see if anyone was there. The entire place was vacant. What she did find made her want to cry. A mask lay resting on the table. She ran inside, grabbed the gear, put it on, then continued jogging through the forest. The trees were quite beautiful, but that fact was hard to remember considering they would knock her out in a few hours if she took her mask off.

Vanessa looked far into the distance, straining her eyes. She could see light peeking through the thin slats in the trees. Vanessa was sprinting now. She was sprinting so fast she didn’t see the low underbrush clawing at her pants. It tripped her and she fell face first on the ground, knocking the mask off her face.

******

Vanessa woke up with four pairs of familiar eyes staring at her. Then she began hearing low murmuring. “She’s awake.” “Is she all right?” “That was quite a fall.” A woman dressed in a long white robe walked into the room. “Well, it looks like you are awake. You have a sprained ankle, a jammed finger, various cuts and bruises, and a goose egg on your forehead.” “Where am I?” asked Vanessa. “You are in the International Northern Hospital.” Replied the nurse. “Yes, you’re pretty banged up, but you should be all right in a few days. Now, change into these clothes. The boys will be out in the courtyard resuming their training.

These clothes were more dressier and fancier than any other she had worn - or even seen. The dress was crimson red with gold trimming. The white silk thermal pants were incredibly soft. She wore a belt with a ruby buckle and a jade stud every three inches. There was also thin under armor; kind of like bulletproof vests back at home. She also found a royal purple robe and red moccasins. Sadly, there was also a pair of wooden crutches.

Vanessa slowly limped out to the courtyard. Mark and Jared were jabbing and swatting at each other with wooden swords while Victor and Brian did sit-ups and pushups. A tall dark-skinned man was shouting out attack combinations to the two sword fighting boys while a short, well built man counted aloud the number of exercise drills they did. The tall man walked over to Vanessa and said, “Hello. You must be Vanessa. My name is Etafin. I will be your trainer once you heal. For now, you can just watch. However, there is a uniform to my academy.”

Etafin handed her a pair of short royal blue pants and long, tan socks. He also gave her a leather belt, wood shoes, and a white shirt with two crossing swords on it. “You don’t need to get changed now, these are just for future classes.”

A few weeks later, Vanessa had healed, and she was fighting as hard as any of the boys. She now knew how to draw a sword, several types of parrying, how to use a shield, and many different battle tactics and attack combinations. One night, Vanessa asked,

“What is going on? I woke up in a forest, I’m getting treated like royalty, and I’m learning how to sword fight. Would someone please hep me out?” Mark responded almost instantly. “When I first got here, I had all the same questions. We are all part of an ancient prophecy that said we would enter this land and rescue a lost prince. Us four pledged to serve the kingdom and track down the missing prince. To them, we are royalty.”

Vanessa still didn’t understand completely, but she knew enough. “Oh, and by the way, chief Razanjor requested we eat breakfast at the palace tomorrow.” Mentioned Brian. The next day at Razanjor’s palace, Razanjor said, “You have all been working very hard lately, so I have arranged a little surprise for you. Scribe!” A stocky little man came waddling through the double doors pulling small cart. He pulled out five packages and handed them to the chief. Each child received one of the gifts. “Mark, you open yours first." Mark pulled off the thin paper to reveal a long wooden box. If you have any suggestions for my story, you can post them or email them to me.

Thoughts and Thinkings

Thursday, September 10, 2009

please

Story

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

NAF

ouch

enjoyable picture of stairs

sorry, reader

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

More Random Facts

Random facts

Happy Days

Cards of Ancient Egypt

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Books and Suspense

Cash confusion

Magical tale of magical magic

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Today was quite horrid.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Translation, please?

This is cool

Video Game Crazy!

Books, books, books!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ahhhhh!

My first post

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