Chapter 3: The History of Awesome

Chapter 3

                Geez I get off topic easily.  Might as well tell the history of Awesome. 

                So when I was eight or so, I wanted to join the Kitty’s Army, a little battle training group for kids.  Some people have a job doing that junk, but it’s good for fun.   I was pretty skilled as an archer, but my favorite weapon was this giant lollipop looking thing.  It’s called a Sugar Slinger, a gift from my father.  He made it for me when I wanted to join Kitty’s Army.  I love how the army isn’t soft at all; a kid can get knocked out.  We were trained in archery, with swords, spears, and knives.  They had medics all around the place, always followed by a cleaner.  Occasionally, no, often, the cleaner would be carrying a rag stained in red.

                So the Sugar Slinger is like a bat.  I grip the long white handle and swing, arms extended, as Father taught me, at the enemy.  The force of the candy could make a giant go flying.  All the kids were envious of my cool weapon.  And one day, I was put in a battle with this little girl with black hair.  She had a long pink sword, and when she saw my Candy Slinger, her eyes got huge.

                “Lollipop,” she said with awe.  I got into my slinging position, and when the candy part of my weapon inched near the girl, instead of jumping out of the way or meeting it with her long sword, she opened her mouth.  At first, I found it funny.  That dumb girl’s about to get crushed, I thought. But boy was I wrong. 

                The girl bit down on my Sugar Slinger.  I mean, she bit into it!  At the force I was slinging it!  The worst part was that she wouldn’t let go.

                “What the-“ I said.  I shook the Sugar Slinger, but she still wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard I shook it.  “It’s not even real candy!” I shouted at her.

                “Candy?  Where?” The girl released her grip.  I punched her in the chest with the candy.  She went tumbling to the ground. 

                “Ha!” I yelled in victory.  But the girl got up and growled.  Yeah, she growled!  She even jumped to her feet and extended her sword.  I met the blade with my lollipop.

                “Oh,” I said.  “Girl, it’s on.”

                We fought for like an hour and the judges became inpatient.  We were finally kicked out of the ring, and they called it a tie.  We soon learned that we were both rank 5, the highest rank you can be.  We ate lunch together later.

                “You got spunk, kid,” the girl said.  “That candy looks awefully tasty, by the way.”

                “Thank you.  I love the sword too.  Say, what’s your name?” I asked.

                “Awesome,” she replied.  I blinked.

                “That’s your name?  Awesome?” It was my turn to be surprised this time.  The girl smiled.

                “Yep.  Now what’s yours?” Awesome aksed.

                “Emedee,” I replied.  She nodded.

                “That’s a cool name too.”

                “Thanks.”  After that day, we instantly became best friends after we learned we both lived in Shrouded Glade.  Emedee and Awesome.  Awesome and Emedee.

                So, as I said before, the Barrier can’t stop all people.  Remember I said earlier that Colby’s a scientist too?  Well, after we met, Colby came to my house to see my father.  It was like, boy-someone else’s father bonding time.  They talked for forever and he even invited Colby to the lab.

                “So, you’re a scientist too?” My father asked.

                “Yes sir.  I’m my father’s apprentice, but I’m pretty skilled,” Colby replied.  He tried the hammer trick with a pen.  Same response.

                “And quite the joker too,” My father replied.  “So you can make a few things but you can’t catch a pencil.”  Geez, the apple seriously doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Colby and my father laughed.  See?  Boy to boy bonding time.

                “Maybe you’ll be interested in coming over from time to time,” my father said.  Colby nodded.

                “That would be great, sir,” Colby replied.

                “Please, call be Abert.  It’s my name,” My father insisted.

                “Alright.  I’m Colby.”  Colby held out his hand and shook my father’s.  So, later that day, Father and I walked Colby home.  Father wanted to talk to Colby’s father, and I had nothing better to do.  Trust me, if I went there four years ago, I was very bored.  I mean very bored.

                “Hey, you must be Emedee’s father.  Nice to meet you,” Colby’s father shook my father’s hand.

                “And you must be Emedee.”  I shook his hand as well, but afterwards it was red.  It took a long hand soak to cure that.

                “Nice to meet you,” I wheezed.  My hand was throbbing, but no one seemed to notice.

                “Please, come inside.  There’s a lot we can discuss.”  The rest I didn’t really hear.  I claimed to need to use the restroom and I ran to Awesome’s house.  I didn’t care if she was busy.  All the junk they were talking about was b-o-r-i-n-g with a capital “B”.  So it turned out, Colby’s father was very talented just like my father.  They began to work on many projects together, and Colby learned more and more.  Soon they started to work on their most complicated project: the Barrier Eraser.  They called it the B.E.A.R., since the B.E. part stood for Barrier Eraser, and the rest they just added on to confuse people.  Well, sadly Colby’s father vanished one night.  We still don’t know why.

                But Colby still look lessons from my father.  And he was far more skilled then just being able to catch a pencil.  He learned how to work with satellites and to use what he already knew to invent the undiscovered.  And soon he discovered his father’s secret lab.

                The whole point of these secret labs are so the Queen can’t put a camera there.  That way, rebels can work on inventions or organize meetings to overthrow her.  And Colby invented many, many things, such as my three gifts from him.  One of my favorites was the mechanical stallion he made.  He gave it to me as a gift on my fourteenth birthday.  I’m pretty sure it’s in my bag.  It was one of his first inventions, a toy horse that can pass through detectors and open up into a knife.  It’s a very simple tool, but my absolute favorite.

                So, the point is that I’ve found a way to get past the Barrier.  Not Colby, not my father, not his father, but me.  There’s this thing I discovered called unstable walls.  You see, some of the Barriers the Queen made were not as strong as the ones on heavily traveled paths.  From those places, I’ve found entrances to the fugitive highway: the Coastline.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  There is nothing but sand and water, where the Sanctuary meets the ocean.  And that’s where I’m headed.  But not for while.

                If I go there right after getting out of here, the Queen will think I’m alive.  So that’s why my parents are sending me into the hedges to live until I regain my strength and so that when there’s no sign of my alive, the Queen will let her guard down.  She’ll think the only missing member of the Harless family is dead.

                “Su-an, it’s alright.  Emedee will be okay,” my father says.

                “No, she won’t.  The Queen will find out and she’ll hunt us down.  Your invention will be disposed of, and so will we.  I can’t let her die,” Mother says.  My mother’s persistance surprises me.  She really cares for me.

                “And just in, breaking news.  Queen Agapanthus had discovered a new generation of monsters around the area of the Hedges.  All people living in or near Briarwood can be assured that the monsters will be contained within the Hedges, but all guards have been positioned outside the overgrown shrubs.”  The wall screen flashed on at that very moment.  My mother and father saw that whole segment, all thirty seconds.  It was like an omen, fresh from the projection on the living room wall.

                “We can send her to the hedges.  It’s perfect.  We’ll stay behind here so that there’s no suspicion.  It will be fine,” My father says.

                “But, but you heard the news!  There are dangerous monsters!” Mother whines.

                “She has her Sugar Slinger and that knife Colby gave her.  She’s sixteen for crying out loud.  I’ll give her the bear and she can use it to get away from this place.  You know how she loves her glitches and the Coastline.”  My father’s words send sparks of hope through me.  So much hope that I reveal myself from my hiding place.

                “It’s okay, Mother.  I’ll live in the hedges for a while, and then I’ll go to the Coastline.  I’ve always wanted to explore the area,” I say.  My mother and father look at each other.

                “So you heard it all?” Mother asks.  I nod.

                “Yes,” I reply.

                “Then it is settled.  But on one condition,” Father says.

      “What’s that?” I ask.  Father looks me in the eye.

                “You won’t live on the Coastline.  You can use it to travel and stay for a while, but I don’t want you to be there forever.  I want you to seek out Rainbow Valley and the Crystal Clouds.  I want you to find the Crystal Clouds and bring back the lost civilization.”

                My mother looks shocked.  “But… no one knows where or if the Crystal Clouds exists!”  My mother argues.

                “It exists all right.  And Emedee’s going to find it,” Father says.  I hug him, then Mother.

                “I’ll find the Crystal Clouds.  I promise I will,” I say.

                “But how will we know if she does?  How will we know if Emedee succeeds?” My mother asks.

                “We’ll know.  We will know,” Father replies.  “We’ll have that feeling.”