《Moon: Lost Dreams》


 Prologue: Announcement!

    Welcome!


    As many of you know, for the past five months, Moon has sadly been shut down. After a long hiatus, we are excited to tell you, Moon is back and brand new! You are reading this message because you have been chosen to enjoy the biggest dream world¡¯s many wonders!


    If you are new to Moon, Congratulations! You have shown us that you are Creative, Curious, and Courageous. Only the most talented children are able to explore Moon¡¯s endless treasures. Hop on a gondola and ride across the upside-down ocean, dance in the sky with fireworks shoes, or simply hang out in Moon¡¯s center square and watch the mermaid festival! There is so much to discover in our shared dream!Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Please log in right away to start your adventure!


    If you are a returning dreamer to Moon, welcome back and thank you for your patience! Unfortunately, any items or locations you¡¯ve discovered cannot be recovered. However, we are sure you will be just as eager to adventure into even more never before seen sights!


    Moon Welcomes and Thanks you for being part of our fantastical world!

 Chapter 1 Part 1: A Strange Dream

    Air. Entrapped ¨C water swirling, choking ¨C reality shaping into-


    Water ¨C taking control ¨C


    can¡¯t ¨C


    where is light ¨C


    help ¨C please ¨C


    I want my mommy ¨C


    I¡¯m breaking ripping apart blood blood everywhere no no I don¡¯t ¨C


    I¡¯m scared I¡¯m scared please make it stop ¨C


    I''M GOING TO BREAK IN TWO AND SPLIT OPEN AND POUR OUT-


    ~


    Lily opened her eyes.


    Above her, the sky swirled into tight coils of purple and blue like a sketched painting. The grass tickled her skin as she lay within the silky strands, listening to the sound of what must be the sea. She sat up. Around her, were fields and smooth hills. In the distance, was the milky white sea and tall buildings that rose from the waters, slowly bobbing with the waves. Above the sea, a ripe full moon dipped in purple tint overwhelmed the sky. Lily stood up, dressed in her winter nightgown, a dress of stripes that fell to her shins. Despite the cold air, she was warm in her oversized and fluffy gown.


    She felt so small, standing in that vast field, all alone. Where am I, she thought. She felt the same pressure on her, like being underwater but able to breathe. That pressure always was there in her dreams, and so she assumed this was a dream. However, there was something crisp about her surroundings that felt like reality.


    Was it Moon?


    It felt like Moon, yet there was no one around and she wasn¡¯t in the usual spawn area. Had she found a new area of Moon without realizing it? Lily couldn¡¯t remember how she¡¯d gotten there though.


    ¡°Hello!¡± Lily called out. Her voice echoed across the expanse. It made her jump. She took a deep breath, starting to feel wary of moving from her established safety spot. Lily started down the hill, toward the sea. As she drew closer she could see more and more what was in the waters. It wasn¡¯t the moonlight that made the sea look white, but the water itself. It was a white smooth cream that splashed and foamed with the wind. Little yellow sparks jumped up from the crashed waves that slid along the sand, like popping candy.


    Lily arrived at the beach and dug little holes into the sand with her toes. The sand was also a brilliant white and seemed finely sieved. She looked along the length of the beach, as far as her eyes could. There was still nothing but blinding white on white. The waves came in, gently sliding across the sand and onto Lily¡¯s toes. The water was warm and made Lily sigh in relief. The water hugged her ankles, sent warmth through her body. Getting a closer look, the yellow sparks were tiny stars and they jumped up popping on Lily¡¯s legs. It was an abrupt heat, a nice contrast to the warm coziness of the water.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Where is everybody...¡± Lily mumbled. Despite the beauty, the warmth surrounding her, she couldn¡¯t feel safe with no one around. Along the beach, there were no signs of other kids being there. No blankets or picnic baskets or floaties in the water. The buildings that bobbed in the water seemed huge now that she was on the beach. They were crumbling from the top; large and small chunks of concrete fell into the sea with a faraway splash.


    Lily had been walking a long time before she saw a shadow, or a figure, in the distance, standing and facing the sea. She started to run, waving her hand at the stranger and calling out. Lily was almost to the person when her head hit something and she fell hard, bewildered. When she looked up after shaking off the dizziness there was some type of murky wall in front of her. It was like a wall of water that bubbled and moved around. It stretched up high into the sky and then curved, shaping a large dome. Lily was outside this dome. Eventually, the dome¡¯s walls disappeared, until she put her hands on it and the water swished around agitated.


    ¡°Hey! Hey, please! Can you hear me?¡± Lily yelled. The stranger was a girl, long dark hair that flew wildly in the wind that had picked up. She seemed so familiar to Lily. Something about the way she stood ¨C it wasn¡¯t something Lily could really explain, she just knew. ¡°Please! Please help me - I¡¯m stuck!¡±


    The stranger turned to Lily, hair flying away to reveal her face. Lily stopped yelling ¨C words struggled in her throat.


    ¡°Riley?¡± she called.


    Riley Abbot was Lily¡¯s best friend. They attended the same school and lived in the same neighborhood. Riley was the fire that burned bright in the night. She was so expressive, so lively when it came to the imagination. It was only Riley who brought out the mystical beings and brand-new worlds that Lily was otherwise too shy to share.


    ¡°Riley! Riley, it¡¯s me, Lily!¡±


    Riley stared back at Lily, not moving from her spot. Her brown eyes were dark like burnt wood. She was wearing her favorite pajama set, the ones with stars on them. Her loose pajama pants flapped against her legs. Lily was breathing hard from yelling, her hands planted on the dome wall. Riley wasn¡¯t going to help her.


    Riley¡¯s lips parted, she was saying something, but the wind was so strong and Lily could barely keep her eyes on Riley¡¯s lips to read them.


    Don¡¯t....It¡¯s.......Bye......


    From the corner of her eye, Lily saw something speeding toward Riley from the hills. It was big, but fast, running on all fours. It was covered in black smoke, the trails of it whisked into the air. Lily started to bang on the dome walls, sending pulses of water shooting outward along the dome wall. She screamed and yelled at Riley, to move, to look, to do something anything. Riley just looked back at Lily, her eyes dull, her lips set straight, unfazed by the strong wind.


    She was so relaxed, despite the beast charging for her. It had formed the head of a wolf covered in dark smoke with just the teeth and yellow eyes stood out. Riley was like a rag doll as the beast clamped down on her neck. Her arms flung up lifelessly as she and the beast plunged into the sea. A large cloud of smoke puffed up and shot out like a big bomb.


    Lily was wracked with sobs, wailing and pressing her face against the dome. She clenched her eyes shut, afraid to see her best friend suffer before her. Lily doubled over with the pain of heavy sobs, clutching at her stomach. When she looked up again, her eyes wet and her nose dripping, she didn¡¯t see Riley anymore. The waves were as calm as they had been. The sand was undisturbed. Lily gasped for air, unable to move from where she was, fresh tears came down again. She wanted to go home. Why was she there? Why was Riley there? She wanted to be in her bed, and not dream, not be so alone. Her chest felt so much pain.


    And then, from the sea, where Riley had sunk into, she rose up.


    She was cloaked in black and her eyes were the wolf.


    <hr>

 Chapter 1 Part 2: A Friend Missing

    Birds chirped in the tree next to Lily¡¯s bedroom window. The morning was still early so the sun just peeked through the window, a thin line of light stretched to Lily¡¯s bed and settled on her nose. When her nose started to heat up she opened her eyes, still taking in that she was indeed awake. Lily sat up and listened to the creak of the floor boards outside her door. The door knob turned gently and her mother¡¯s head popped in.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake already?¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lily answered. There was a bit of silence as Lily stayed sat in bed.


    ¡°Well, out of bed you, you¡¯ve got school you know.¡± Mother said before closing the door again.


    Lily dragged herself out of bed, to the bathroom, and into her school uniform. Her mother always tried to get her to wear the boy¡¯s pants or convince Lily to wear bright pink stockings. Being unique in a conformist school is romantic, Lily¡¯s Mother would say. Lily liked to look normal though. It was safe.


    ¡°Ready for your first day of school, love?¡± Her dad asked as Lily walked into the kitchen. He was still in his underwear and wore a fluffy burgundy robe. His eyes were narrowed from sleep and there was a bit of a stubble on his chin.


    ¡°I guess.¡± Lily shrugged. She climbed onto a stool and looked down at a bowl of cereal.


    ¡°Are you okay? You seem tired- were you up late reading?¡± her dad asked curiously.


    ¡°No, of course not.¡± Lily replied, wrinkling her nose.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s no fun, we were much more rebellious when we were your age.¡± He sighed.


    ¡°Alright, hurry hurry, I¡¯m almost late for work and I need coffee!¡± Mother said as she rushed into the kitchen, her professional bun a bit less professional and her shirt only half tucked in.


    ¡°Goodness Lav, you¡¯d think after ten years of being late you wouldn¡¯t care anymore.¡± Dad said as he popped toast into his wife¡¯s mouth and redid her hair as she tucked in her shirt.


    ¡°I can still try to be professional, Eric.¡± She huffed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t marry you for traits I¡¯d hope you¡¯d have one day.¡± Eric said.


    ¡°Are you saying I have no chance of being professional?¡± Lavender asked. She turned around with an expecting look on her face.


    ¡°Have a nice day.¡± Eric hollered as he escaped the kitchen.


    ~


    Lavender glanced into the rear-view mirror at her daughter in the backseat. Lily looked out the window, watching the kids outside who were walking, biking, or running to school. The car pulled up to the curb in front of Garden Elementary. Before Lily could exit the car, her mother turned around looking at her, eyebrows knitted.


    ¡°What¡¯s up today. Usually I have to beg you to wake up in the morning. Like you¡¯re at Fantasy park and you don¡¯t want to leave for the day. You¡¯re silent too, and not ¡®Lily-silent¡¯¡± Lavender said, ¡°Strange-silent.¡±


    Lily looked down at her knees and shrugged. She reached up for the car door, placing her hand on the handle, waiting for her mother to approve. Lavender sighed in defeat and Lily jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind her as she ran off.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Garden Elementary was hardly as romantic as the name suggested. The school was concrete and dull, with the typical strictness that came with small conservative towns. Girls were to wear long brown skirts and boys brown khakis with tan polo shirts to match.  At the front doors to the school stood five old women with straight backs shooting up toward the sky. The feared hall monitors scanned for any child out of order. They smacked the calves of unsuspecting children whose skirts were too short, or pants were wrinkled. It was very known that many boys sat in the nurse¡¯s office, waiting for their pants to be ironed thoroughly by the school nurse. The women constantly pursed their lips at every student, except one. Their pursed lips cracked and fell as Lily approached the front of the school.


    ¡°Ms. RidingHour!¡± they said in unison. The five elder sisters nodded their heads in approval of Lily¡¯s clean and pressed uniform. Not even the tie was a hair crooked.


    ¡°Hello Ms. Queens...s¡± Lily stumbled. They all had the same last name. None of them married.


    ¡°So pristine! Such responsibility!¡± They praised.


    ¡°Nothing like her parents.¡± One of the Queens mumbled. The others nodded in smug sorrow. ¡°Good day Ms. RidingHour.¡±


    ¡°Good bye Ms. Queens...s.¡± Lily struggled to say.


    The Queens giggled in satisfaction at the small and petite girl.


    The main hallway of Garden elementary was populated with kids. In the front of the school building were all the kindergarten through 4<sup>th</sup> grade classes. Each teacher¡¯s door was filled with print outs of typical rosy cheeked cartoon children, and the name of the teacher who taught in each room. Down the hallway were large double doors that marked the split between the rest of the school and the 5<sup>th</sup> graders. The 5<sup>th</sup> grade wing was much more drab than the K through 4<sup>th</sup> one. The only thing on the doors were small labels with the teachers¡¯ names on it. Lily had to walk all the way to the end to reach her class: Ms. Gold¡¯s 5<sup>th </sup>grade class for the advanced. It hid in a dark corner of the 5<sup>th</sup> grade wing. As she walked down the hall, the other 5<sup>th</sup> graders gave her dirty looks. Not only because of her small, and as the other kids would say, wimpish stature but because it was considered posh to be in such a class. Lily wasn¡¯t bothered by it too much. She only needed her one friend anyways.


    That was Riley and that was why Lily was practically running down the hall. She felt anxious and relieved to tell Riley how crazy and silly her dream was last night. To sit down next to Riley who would be eating sliced cucumbers at her desk, number 9. Her jacket would be slung over her seat like normal and nothing- nothing of her dream would have any value. Lily opened the door to the classroom.


    Dianne sat in the front seat, early to class as usual, and cleaned her large glasses. The three boys, Ty, Will, and Chrys joked around in their corner of the classroom. They were the kind of boys whose mothers made them go into the advanced class for their own good. Of course, outside of the class they laughed and joked about people like Lily as if they were on the outside.


    There was no one else in the classroom. No one at desk number 9. Not even a jacket slung over the seat. A big bubble of air formed in Lily¡¯s throat. This always happened whenever she felt sick inside and no amount of gagging could break the bubble stuck in her throat. It kept Lily from doing and saying things. It kept her from revealing what she wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal.


    ¡°Lily?¡± a hand touched Lily¡¯s shoulder.


    Lily looked up into her teacher, Ms. Gold¡¯s face.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take your seat darling? Same as last year.¡± Ms. Gold smiled. Lily nodded and shuffled to her desk, right behind number 9.


    The minutes went by and classmates of Lily¡¯s walked, or ran, in taking their seats. Lily sat at her desk, leaning forward on it with her eyes on the door. Each time the door swung open she held her breath, only to release it when it wasn¡¯t Riley.  The bubble of worry in her throat expanded, making her chest hurt.


    Ms. Gold was recounting the handouts she had brought with her when the bell rung for class to begin. When she lifted her head up she was quite stunned at the scene before her. More than half of her class was just empty seats. There was an awkward silence as the teacher as well as the students looked and wondered at the large amount of absences. It made Lily tremble in worries, the memory of Riley standing on that beach warped into several other children, slowly being engulfed in black smoke.


    ¡°Well, it looks like summer hasn¡¯t ended for some of us,¡± Ms. Gold finally chuckled. ¡°We¡¯ll have to greet our late comers with an abundance of riveting school work, won¡¯t we class?¡± With that, the class was started. However, as wonderful as Ms. Gold made every lesson, Lily couldn¡¯t help but stare at the desk in front of her, wondering where its occupant could be.

 Chapter 1 Part 3: Its Back

    The lunch bell finally rang and kids popped up from their seats to dash to the cafeteria. Lily hated crowds and usually waited until the classroom was empty of just her and Riley. Riley wasn¡¯t here though. So it was only Lily, hunched over her desk, hiding the threat of tears pouring down her face.


    ¡°Hey.¡± a voice called, making Lily lift her head up. Chrys McCarthy looked down at Lily, a slight frown on his face. He seemed unimpressed, bored even, compared to how he joked with his other friends.


    ¡°Hey Chrys.¡± Lily said carefully.


    ¡°Wanna get lunch?¡± Chrys asked. Lily blinked in response. He didn¡¯t really look like he wanted to have lunch with her. ¡°So? Are you gonna speak or what?¡± His light Irish accent rang through in his last sentence.


    ¡°S..sure.¡± Lily said. She got up from her seat, rushing to follow Chrys as he began walking out of the classroom.


    As the two walked down the hall of the school, Lily wondered why Chrys of all people was talking to her. The only way Lily knew Chrys was through Riley. Riley was like a magnet, drawing anyone towards her, even pretend delinquents like Chrys McCarthy. Sometimes when Lily went over to Riley¡¯s house, Chrys was there, smiling at whatever Riley had said. The conversation always stopped once Lily got there, and Chrys¡¯ smile would drop when he looked at Lily. He would get up and swiftly leave, not even acknowledging Lily. She asked Riley why she talked to Chrys so much, but Riley laughed saying, we all have much more in common than we think. That was the only connection Chrys and Lily shared, Riley. Lily wondered if Chrys adored Riley as much as she did. Somehow that made Lily¡¯s chest hurt, but she didn¡¯t know why.


    Suddenly, Lily was yanked aside, and the two kids were engulfed by darkness. Lily couldn¡¯t speak a word, frozen in the dark. A bright light flicked on and Chrys¡¯ face was inches from hers, shadows covering his already stoic face. There was an awkward silence.


    ¡°This is...¡± Lily began.


    ¡°Janitor¡¯s closet.¡± Chrys finished, backing up into the handle of a broom.


    ¡°I thought...¡±


    ¡°Lunch? Really? No, I didn¡¯t really want to have lunch with you.¡± Chrys said quickly. Lily may not have known Chrys much, but his words made her wrinkle her nose. ¡°We have more important things to talk about.¡±


    ¡°Important...things?¡± Lily asked.


    ¡°God, is that all you can do? Repeat what I say?¡± He snapped, making Lily flinch. He ruffled his blonde hair and sighed, ¡°Sorry, just a little stressed.¡±


    Lily looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Riley,¡± Chrys said, ¡°and about Moon.¡±


    Lily snapped her head up. A cold shudder ran through her spine, like her body felt something wrong and was trying to get rid of it.


    ¡°We¡¯re...we¡¯re not supposed to mention that...outside- wait, how do you...?¡± Lily stumbled in her words.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Yeah yeah I know, listen, I don¡¯t have time to explain everything right now, but Moon,¡± the two both shuddered again, the mere mention of that place felt wrong. ¡°Moon...is back up and it¡¯s going live tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s...back up? It¡¯s been...months since- how...how do you know?¡± Lily asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get the message?¡± Chrys asked, surprised at Lily¡¯s reaction. ¡°I thought this was common knowledge.¡±


    ¡°No...I¡¯ve been away...too busy to really dream...¡± Lily said.


    ¡°Either way, you should have gotten a message. Shit, whatever.¡± Chrys scowled.


    ¡°That was a swear.¡± Lily gasped.


    ¡°How fucking old are you?¡± Chrys asked, a dry smile on his face. The cursing made Lily¡¯s face bright red with guilt.


    ¡°Was- was that all you wanted to talk about?¡± Lily asked. She rubbed her foot on her ankle.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯ve been gone all summer huh...¡± Chrys said as if he didn¡¯t hear Lily.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°So has Riley.¡± Chrys mumbled. He was staring off into space.


    ¡°Maybe she went on vacation,¡± Lily swallowed. Deep down though, she knew it wasn¡¯t true. Right before her own trip to Canada she recalled Riley sighing in dismay at being stuck in this Simpleton town.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe...she was acting strange though, a little after summer break started.¡±


    ¡°Strange how?¡± Lily whispered.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t seem happy to see me or anyone for that matter.¡± Chrys said. ¡°She came out of her house twice in the beginning then nothing.¡±


    ¡°But-


    ¡°The car was always in the driveway.¡± Chrys went on, ¡°It¡¯s just not right.¡±


    ¡°But-!¡± Lily said louder, instantly regretting as Chrys stared at her. ¡°Uhm, but what are we supposed to do?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Riley loves Moon more than anything else. She hasn¡¯t said a word to anyone from school but I know she¡¯ll be there tomorrow night. There¡¯s just no way she¡¯d miss the reopening of Moon after-


    The cramped closet¡¯s only light seemed to flicker in annoyance.


    ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to mention it so much!¡± Lily whined, afraid.


    ¡°Alright alright, sorry, God. Anyway, you better be there tomorrow night. I can¡¯t find her on my own and you two went traveling more than she did with me so¡­ just be there got it?¡± he snapped.


    ¡°O-ok I guess.¡± Lily weakly answered but he was already speeding out of the closet.


    ~


    The rest of the day, Lily spent somewhere else, nestled in a faraway corner of her brain. Her pencil moved across pages, and her eyes glazed over math equations written by Ms. Gold, but her mind was occupied by what Chrys told her. Lily imagined Chrys seeing Riley for the last time that past summer. The face she saw in her dreams, of Riley¡¯s sunken face, her hair broken from its usual pigtails, fit itself into her imagination. Lily shuddered and the image faded. She started to remember Riley¡¯s brightness, the sparks in her brown eyes like little hazel fireworks. They drew Lily in, encouraged her to be herself. There was a throb in Lily¡¯s chest. She felt impatient. It was rare for Lily, whose identity was overwhelmed by her timidness, but today as the last bell rang, she pounced out her seat for the door.


    ¡°Goodbye Ms. Gold!¡± she called over her shoulder, pushing the door open and slipping out.


    ¡°Oh, Have a nice¨C


    Ms. Gold¡¯s voice was cut off as children poured into the school hallway.


    Lily ran down the hall, dodging kids playing ball and those tackling friends. As she reached the entrance she slowed to a walk. The five elder sisters were scanning the traffic jam of kids squeezing to get out the door.


    ¡°Ms. Treble! No running!¡± they barked at those trying to whizz by their all-seeing eyes. When they spotted Lily, they all smiled at her neat walk. ¡°Ms. RidingHour! Have a lovely evening! Yes yes, good day, straight home! Put all your effort in your studies!¡± they chirped.


    ¡°Goodbye Ms. Queens...s¡± Lily replied and joined the rest of the sardines, wiggling her way out of the school. Once she was outside and out of sight from the Queens, she started to run, heading into the neighborhood. When she came up to her street, Dixen Dr., she paused, peering at her house, just a bit further down. Lily adjusted her backpack, a sign she had made a decision. Then she planted one foot in the crosswalk and took off past her street and towards Riley¡¯s house.

 Chapter 1 Part 4: Rileys House

    Riley¡¯s house sat in the middle of a pristine cul-de-sac filled with an even more pristine community. Each house was appropriately spread out and their front yards were their pride and joy. There were neat rows of flower beds or grand d¨¦cor set up on the lawns. Riley¡¯s house was fairly bare, the grass was freshly cut, and Riley¡¯s mother had a modest bed of flowers near the front door. Each house consisted of a rigidly traditional family. Every mother was a housewife, and every father went to work at the crack of dawn. Kids went to school, had lessons with music tutors, math tutors, language tutors, the more tutors the better. Lily felt weird being here by herself, without tagging alongside Riley after school. Riley loved to share the neighborhood gossip as if it were a play. She sang of her mother¡¯s flowers and acted like a monkey, parodying the craning necks of the other housewives that surveyed the gardening competition. It was her way of making light of what she deep down hated. Whenever Lily came over, her mother would have to be too busy entertaining guests and her father was never there, she would listen to Riley playing made up tunes on her violin. Lily would clumsily make up lyrics and they would giggle as the song came falling apart.


    Now, Lily felt intimidated by the house looming over her. In the evening sky, it looked dark and cold. Lily couldn¡¯t see any lights through the windows. Lily waited for a wave of nerves to pass before walking up the driveway and to the front door. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Then there was silence. It felt like the air around the house suddenly sucked itself in, disturbed by this outsider. Lily shuffled on her feet, getting nervous again. Would anyone answer? Should she ring again? No, it was a large house, it would take a while to get to the front door. Should she leave? What if she was halfway down the driveway and the door opened? She¡¯d be mortified to have to walk back up the driveway in awkward silence. When should she leave? She¡¯d wait five minutes- but what if they were watching her on a camera and were creeped out by her just standing there-


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± a voice called out, annoyed.


    Lily snapped her head up, staring into the eyes of Riley¡¯s mother. Her mother held onto the door, only half her body outside. She sniffed and looked down at Lily who couldn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Did you need something?¡± Riley¡¯s mother asked.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°O-oh, uhm. I¡¯m Lily-


    ¡°Yes. I know.¡± she replied curtly.


    ¡°Uhm, is Riley home?¡± Lily asked. Her voice started trembling and she could feel her face reddening. She squeezed her jacket hard, she had to keep it together long enough to ask about Riley.


    ¡°She is but she¡¯s busy right now.¡± Riley¡¯s mother said, shifting uncomfortably.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Lily trailed off, wracking her head for some kind of question, ¡°Do- do you know when she¡¯ll come back to school? It¡¯s just everyone is worried about her.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll come back soon.¡± her mother said quickly. She seemed distracted, glancing back into the house. ¡°Was that all?¡±


    ¡°U-uhm, did you...go anywhere during the summer?¡± Lily asked.


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t go anywhere over the summer, Riley has been a bit sick-


    ¡°Nani shitenno?!¡±  a gruff voice yelled within the house. Riley¡¯s mother flinched and her cold expression changed to a tired look. Her mother¡¯s green eyes seemed grey in that moment, but then she turned around, saying something Lily didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°I- I was just- er, we were just worried about Riley...¡± Lily said. When Riley¡¯s mother turned back, she peered down at Lily. Lily thought she looked just like Riley, except older and with green eyes. She wondered if Riley¡¯s mother was as cheery as Riley when she was a kid. Lily was afraid Riley would become like her mother when she grew up: perfect but scary.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Riley will be at school when she¡¯s ready.¡± Riley¡¯s mother said quietly. ¡°You should head home, it¡¯s getting dark.¡±


    Before Lily could say anything, Riley¡¯s mother closed the door and she was left standing in coming darkness. Lily trudged down the driveway. She felt like she didn¡¯t get anywhere from coming here. Riley had been stuck in her house all summer. Was she studying all that time by herself? Lily couldn¡¯t fathom Riley being that diligent in her studies. Sure, she had a busy schedule during every summer, but the early afternoons were hers to skip around the neighborhood with whoever she pleased. Did she get really sick and was bedridden all summer? Without that dream, Lily could only imagine how suffocated Riley would have been. The more Lily thought about it the more questions plagued her mind. She turned back towards the house, staring at the second story windows. Riley¡¯s room was the window on the far left. The curtains were drawn, and it looked dark.


    Except the curtain wasn¡¯t drawn, at least not all the way. It quickly fluttered shut, the slit of darkness Lily had mistaken for just the darkness of a room disappeared. Was that Riley looking from her window? Then why did Lily feel scared by it? Lily felt cold from the approaching night and began to hurry home.


    <hr>

 Chapter 1 Part 5: Awaken into a Dream

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to stay up late, watch another episode of big cats in the wild, and rot your teeth with popcorn?¡± Lavender kissed Lily¡¯s forehead. ¡°It was your first day of school! I reckon that deserves some kind of reward.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Lily answered. She was neatly snuggled under her blanket, her hands resting on her stomach.


    ¡°Leave her alone Lav, we should be happy to have such a good kid.¡± Eric winked at Lily who gave a small smile in return.


    ¡°I know, but...¡± Lavender puffed her cheeks out, ¡°You can be more selfish darling.¡±


    ¡°Come on, let the girl sleep. I¡¯m popping another bag of popcorn unless you stop me.¡± Eric said, ¡°Goodnight, love.¡±


    Lavender brushed a hair from Lily¡¯s face.


    ¡°Good night darling.¡± Lavender got up and headed for the door, switching the light off.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Good night.¡± Lily called. Little popping sounds came from the kitchen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare eat anymore popcorn old man!¡± Lavender called as she shut Lily¡¯s bedroom door.


    Lily lay looking up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling. It was a nice green light, lighting up the dark room.  Part of her felt antsy just lying there, anxious to go to sleep. To go back to Moon after so long. Lily was afraid she¡¯d shut her eyes, Moon lingering in her thoughts, and the same dream, the one that for months had been popping up for everyone, appearing once more. It was only a few words in that short dream: We¡¯re sorry but the dream you¡¯re thinking of doesn¡¯t exist. She began to think about how lonely Riley must have felt over the summer, unable to venture into the magical dream world provided as well as no one to talk to. Was it her fault Riley ended up sick? Was it because she left? Lily felt a pit in her stomach just thinking about Riley feeling abandoned. It would be fine now though. She would go into Moon and find Riley her happy self once again. They¡¯d make up and Riley would come to school. Everything would go back to how it was.


    With that thought repeating in Lily¡¯s mind like a lullaby she drifted off to sleep.


    <hr>

 Chapter 2 Part 1: Blast Off!

    Lily opened her eyes as if just seconds had passed. She found herself staring at a trembling candle flame. The light it emitted coated the small dome shamed room. On the ceiling was a large mural painting of swirling stars. It looked like the Van Gogh painting Ms. Honey showed them in class in one of her many large art books. However, the stars were much brighter and seemed to twinkle and move on the ceiling. The moon was different too. Instead of its orange crescent shape and warm yellow painted glow, it was a full moon, pale with purple and blue scattered within it. The light from it was a pale purple that faded into the rich blue sketches of the night sky.


    After fully studying the moving mural, Lily returned her attention to the room. It was indeed cozy and small. On the other side of where Lily was, there was a round door with a small opaque window. Curious about the door, Lily moved to go towards it but was met with hard resistance pressing on her chest. She looked down. There were straps crossed across her chest, keeping her in place. The red buckle gleamed in the middle, like a seatbelt. How did Lily get here? Nowhere in her memory could she find the reason for her current position. She looked around again more frantically, now seeing the large metal chair that housed her. It was mounted in the wall. Her feet dangled off the seat, like a rollercoaster ride.


    She tugged on the seatbelt now, but no matter how many times she pressed the button or tugged on the straps it wouldn¡¯t let her go. Her heart was pounding, anxiety induced by her confusion began to bubble in her throat. Where am I? I want to get out! Get me out of here!


    She looked towards the door again and in the round window now was a face. She shrieked in terror, closing her eyes and looking away. The door squeaked open and the sound of rattling wood filled the room. A shadow snaked its way over Lily¡¯s squeezed eyelids.


    ¡°Miss?¡± a squeaky voice asked. Lily slowly opened her eyes. Standing before her was...


    A wooden puppet. A large wooden puppet. It¡¯s drawn on smile and black dots for eyes looked down at Lily. She stared back up at it. Its limbs were thin and swayed slightly. On its body was the costume of a jester with blue and green dots and poufy pants. Lily swallowed. Nervous sweat poured down her face.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Lily RidingHour!¡± it exclaimed, jerking its arms up with a cladder. ¡°Welcome to the new, improved, adventure you could only dreaaam of!¡±


    ¡°D-dream...is this...am I dreaming?¡± Lily asked in a trembling voice.


    ¡°Of course you are silly! You¡¯re in the one and only Moon! World of endless dreams! Dream of endless worlds!¡± the puppet click-clacked. Lily wondered where the sound was coming from as the puppet¡¯s painted face didn¡¯t move. ¡°This is the new transportation room to Moon! I am Puppet, created to guide all special children into the land of dreaaaams! Pretty impressive, right?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes...¡± Lily tried to smile. ¡°U-uhm...I¡¯m just wondering why...why am I already strapped in? Isn¡¯t there usually a waiting room?¡±


    ¡°Hohoho! What a silly question. Well silly question asker, Madam decided that a waiting room was just oh so silly ¨C who would want to wait to get into Moon! No one! So we got rid of that little feature and thought why not transport them to where they wish to go right away!¡± the puppet danced about with wild rigid movements with its wooden stick limbs.


    ¡°Oh, uhm, I-I guess that makes sense...¡± Lily replied weakly. Puppet stopped and turned toward Lily again. Lily squirmed in the restraints. It leaned down toward her, its wooden round face up close to hers.


    ¡°You do want to go to Moon, don¡¯t you? How silly would that be, if you didn¡¯t want to go to the best place in your dreams.¡± Puppet asked in a low voice, void of its previous obnoxious humor.


    ¡°Y-y-y-yes I want to go to Moon!¡± Lily stammered. Her teeth shook with nerves. Puppet jerked up straight again.


    ¡°Great!¡± he exclaimed, the squeak back in his voice. ¡°Then are we ready for blast off?! Say it with me now!¡±


    The small room began to rumble and outside that small window, Lily could now see stars.


    ¡°Three!¡±


    Lily gripped her seatbelt tightly. She hated rollercoasters, they made her stomach queasy. The whole room jolted, and Lily felt her body being pressed down into her seat.


    ¡°Two!¡±


    Puppet danced and danced, rattling its arms. The smile on its face made Lily want to puke.


    ¡°One! BLAST OFF!!!¡±


    Suddenly the whole room violently shook, and Lily began to scream. Outside the window the stars became lines of light streaming past as the rocket zoomed up and up and up ¨C


    Lily closed her eyes.

 Chapter 2 Part 2: Lost in the Crowd

    Home...


    I want to go home...


    Hurts...


    ¨Cgo home. I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT TO GO HOME ¨C


    Lily jolted, her body shuddering. She found herself lying in soft grass now. Around her little sparks of color fizzled in and out in the air.


    ¡°We¡¯re here, we¡¯re here!¡± a shrill voice sang. There were screams and giggles all around Lily. Next to Lily, the sparks of light conjugated together into one bright white light. It began to take the form of a person in the grass, then the light began to fall away into embers and beside Lily was now a child who looked to be her age. The child lay peacefully in the grass, blinking away drowsiness. They slowly sat up and looked around. When they became aware of where they were their eyes lit up and they sprang up running off with other children who were running.


    Lily stood up and looked around. She felt slight relief at seeing something familiar. She stood among a large grass field known as the starting area. It was here that all children came to begin their adventure in Moon¡¯s main area, the Festival Square. Everyone was heading in the same direction, towards the large open gates just a few paces away. Beyond them was the busiest streets any kid had ever seen. Lily stood up, wobbling on her legs. Moon made the body feel light as if it could float away. It took some getting used to for Lily. It had been such a long time. Lily could feel her curly hair floating in the magical air. She was dressed in her star patterned matching pjs. The tiny stars twinkled. Lily remembered her dream, wearing her night gown on that cold beach. She felt better wearing her normal pjs. Pushing the memory of her dream far back into her mind Lily began to follow the trail of children, skipping, running, chasing each other towards Festival Square. The crowd of children began to grow from evenly spaced to packed like school assemblies. When Lily reached the towering black gates that led into the busy street lined with street vendors and towering buildings, the crowd of children was like that of sardines. Above the large black gates ¡®Moon¡¯s Grand Opening!¡¯ was written in colorful letters hovering in the air. Lily gulped nervously. How was she going to find Riley in this? Strangers¡¯ shoulders pressed against hers, forcing Lily to keep moving within the thick crowd. As she was about to pass through the gate, she felt a sharp tug on her arm and her body squeezed in and out of the crowd. Finally, she was jerked out of the mass and into a clearing right beside the gate. Lily found herself staring at Chrys.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Took you long enough.¡± he frowned.


    ¡°Oh, hi Chrys.¡± Lily said. He simply huffed.


    ¡°This crowd is ridiculous, everyone and their little sister must of been eager to get into Moon.¡± he grumbled. He felt the weight of the daunting task just as Lily had. They had to find Riley within all these children. ¡°It¡¯ll do us no good to split up in this kind of area, we might as well stick together.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry...¡± Lily said.


    ¡°Huh, for what?¡± Chrys looked at her.


    ¡°Uhm...I don¡¯t know.¡± Lily replied quickly.


    ¡°Whatever, hey did you notice?¡± Chrys suddenly said, fixing his gaze hard on her.


    ¡°Notice what?¡± Lily asked. She was still too overwhelmed by combined noise of hundreds of children scampering to get into Festival Square.


    ¡°Pull up your stats.¡± Chrys ordered.


    ¡°Stats?¡±


    ¡°You know! Your damn adventure log!¡± Chrys said exasperated.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Lily flinched.


    Every child who explores Moon¡¯s endless worlds has an adventure log. It keeps track of all the worlds, objects, and characters one discovers. Lily used to observe the leader board of children who discovered the most worlds within Moon. Being one of the best explorers came with perks and popularity. Lily wasn¡¯t one of them, she preferred to stick to only the worlds she and Riley liked. The adventure log could also be used to communicate with other kids if you made a friendship party with them.


    Lily took a breath. In her head, she wished for her own adventure log to come up. Using your mind was a basic skill every child knew how to do in Moon. If you couldn¡¯t, it was like not knowing how to breathe. You couldn¡¯t get around.


    Suddenly a scroll appeared floating in the air before Lily. She grabbed its wooden handles and the golden paper unraveled. Lily gaped. She willed the paper to unravel and unravel until it reached the ground.


    It was all blank.


    ¡°I...I don¡¯t understand.¡± Lily finally said. She looked at Chrys. His own adventure log was a holographic blue screen.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s the same. All of our stats- er, history has been erased. It¡¯s like we¡¯re new dreamers to Moon.¡± Chrys said grimly.

 Chapter 2 Part 3: A Nostalgic Feeling

    ¡°But- but why?¡± Lily asked. She remembered having several of her favorite worlds written on her scroll, as well as toys and relics she¡¯d either found or purchased. Lily tried to bring up her list of friends but even that was blank on the scroll. She could have used her friend list to contact Riley but now that was impossible.


    ¡°Something caused Moon to shutdown...well, whatever they did to make it better must have been so huge there was no point in keeping our past adventures.¡± Chrys said with a nod, as if that was what he decided happened. ¡°No use whining over it, things just got a lot harder though.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Lily surveyed the overwhelming mass of kids stuffing themselves into Moon¡¯s main hub, Festival Square. She could already hear the pounding music and eruption of shrill voices teeming with excitement.


    ¡°We have no choice but to search for her.¡± Chrys answered, ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on.¡±


    Lily¡¯s grumpy classmate reached out to grip her arm again when Lily flinched, remembering how he dragged her out of the crowd. He seemed to pause in response, staring at Lily.


    Oh no, I shouldn¡¯t have done that. He¡¯s going to be offended and swear, Lily¡¯s face began to feel hot and sweaty. She wracked her brain for some kind of excuse, for something to justify her obvious pull away.


    ¡°Hey, Hey!¡± Chrys barked.


    ¡°Yes!?¡± Lily squeaked, startled.


    ¡°Can we go please?¡± Chrys was frowning again, his homeostasis. However, he looked away saying nothing. In front of Lily his hand was outstretched, a more passive offering. She gingerly placed her hand in his and he looked back at her with an expression Lily couldn¡¯t put a name to. Then they were off through the crowd, moving with them into Moon¡¯s most rambunctious, never ending festival ever. They passed the tall black gates into a more cramped city like street surrounded by not only lines and lines of shop vendors and their puppet shop owners but tall skyscrapers that disappeared into the clouds above. Confetti floated down endlessly, coating every kid¡¯s head.


    ¡°It taste like birthday cake!¡± someone cried out. Kids were tilting their heads up, letting the sweet confetti strips land on their tongues and dissolve into the taste of their favorite desserts.


    Lily¡¯s heart was beating with the drums within the jolly music that played around the crowd. She placed a piece of confetti in her mouth and tasted warm chocolate chip cookies, the ones her dad makes when her mom comes home late. The part of Lily not worrying over her strange dream and where Riley was, was growing stronger as the joyous festivities permeated her. She was finally in Moon again, surrounded by miracles that couldn¡¯t happen in real life. She wished so much to just start floating up and up and up over the crowd. She wanted to observe something so perfect that could only be possible by the essence of imagination and feel that whole feeling she didn¡¯t quite know what to call.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I missed this.¡± Lily heard herself say.


    ¡°What?!¡± Chrys shouted, trying to be heard over the noise.


    ¡°Nothing!¡± Lily attempted to shout back.


    The two continue walking down the street, past those who have stopped to pick up Festival Square merchandise.


    Get your mini mermaid glitter balls here! Watch your very own mermaids swim round and round in your very own water globe!


    Come on over for costumes made from fireworks! Give your friends the show of a lifetime! Come on over folks!


    Lily loved to watch the tiny mermaids swimming in floating balls of water among twinkling lights. It was a model of the main attraction among Festival Square, the mermaid parade. It¡¯s what made Moon¡¯s main starting point so popular all the time. In the square¡¯s center hosted life sized mermaids who danced among giant floating water bubbles. Their graceful swimming and melodic voices captivated all children every time. They only performed three times a night so it was always crowded before a performance. Lily felt it was even more crowded with it being the first day of Moon being back.


    The two finally reached the end of the street where it opened into a large circlular center. Looking up, there were kids within some of the tall skyscrapers looking down and tossing out fireworks that wiggled wildly like snakes in air. Some were waving down and from below where Lily and Chrys stood some kids waved back. It was now a bit more bearable to move about the large center square. Lily and Chrys wandered around the square, shuffling past kids who were standing and sitting, focused on the main stage placed in the middle of the square. As the two walked, trying to find their lost friend, Lily began to feel it was becoming more futile. She thought she would just be able to feel Riley would be here, but Lily started to think of herself as foolish for that thought. They finally circled back to where they had been.


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s more near the stage in the very center!¡± Chrys yelled. ¡°She definitely isn¡¯t near the outer circle or the vendors.¡±


    Lily simply nodded. She was now distracted, having picked up the sound of someone crying among all the laughter.


    ¡°Hey?! Did you hear me?!¡± Chrys yelled. Lily turned her head left and right until she spotted two children just a few paces from them. Chrys followed her eyes and the two watched as the much younger of the two was sobbing hysterically. The older one was knelt down, using their sleeve to wipe the big tears rolling down the younger¡¯s face. Chrys glided past Lily, much to her surprise and approached the two children.


    <hr>

 Chapter 2 Part 4: A Song to Remember

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked.


    The older one whipped her head around. When her eyes landed on Chrys she gave a polite but apologetic smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure- he¡¯s been crying the whole time.¡± she said, ¡°Hey come on, quit crying, you aren¡¯t making any sense.¡± The girl was stern in voice but gentle with her hands as she continued cleaning up the young boy¡¯s face.


    ¡°No!¡± the boy wailed, ¡°I told you! I said I didn¡¯t want to go but he made meeee!¡±


    Lily and Chrys exchanged confused glances. The older child looked back.


    ¡°He¡¯s been babbling the whole time like this.¡± she lamented.


    ¡°Uhm, what do you mean by he made you?¡± Lily piped up, her voice straining to be heard. The young kid, seeming to latch onto someone finally paying attention to his cries focused on Lily.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to come here, but¨C but that puppet got scary!¡± he said through hiccups.


    ¡°Come on, you¡¯re speaking nonsense and working yourself up.¡± the girl sighed.


    He ignored the girl and began to stare at Lily through his tears as if expecting something from her. He was on the verge of wailing again as Lily struggled to come up with something to say.


    ¡°U-uhm, why...¡± Lily started but before she could say anything else a single shimmering butterfly landed gracefully on the boy¡¯s pink stuffed nose. He blinked, watching the butterfly¡¯s transparent, yet filled with flickering colors, wings flap lazily before popping into fizzing soap and water. Then more butterflies surrounded the three, popping as soon as they landed on the boy¡¯s skin. He stared in fascination, forgetting his own reddened face.


    Lily looked over to Chrys who was now blowing bubbles with a jar in his other hand. As the bubbles separated from the circular film of the wand they began to warp from the circular shape into delicate soap butterflies.


    Butterfly bubbles.


    ¡°Man, I used to love these.¡± the girl stood up, watching the butterflies¡¯ brief flights.


    ¡°Want to try it out?¡± Chrys asked, handing the bubbles to the boy. He nodded sheepishly and took the jar and stick. He blew bubble after bubble, watching intently as the butterflies took five sweeping motions with their wings before popping. The pop sounded sweet like twisting off the cap of a glass soda bottle.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± the girl said, ¡°My name is Indie, and this crybaby is Oliver, my little brother.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s whatever,¡± Chrys shrugged but his usual frown had softened a bit. ¡°Actually we could use a little help.¡±


    Chrys explained the situation, describing how they were looking for Riley.


    ¡°Have you seen anyone who looks like that?¡± Lily asked.


    ¡°Hm...I¡¯m sorry, I haven¡¯t really noticed anyone.¡± Indie said after thinking for a minute. The group was silent for a bit, letting the surrounding noise fill the dejected feeling Lily and Chrys harbored. ¡°Hey, the parade will start soon. We can help you look after!¡±


    ¡°Oh, we didn¡¯t mean to make you help us...¡± Lily said.


    ¡°No, no I want to, besides it¡¯ll be fun, like a scavenger hunt or something.¡± Indie smiled. Looking at Indie¡¯s soft smile, tiny dimples on her cheeks and brightened by a scattering of freckles, Lily thought she must be friendly to everyone she meets. Lily gave a shy smile back.


    ¡°Cool we can add you to our¨C


    Chrys was interrupted by a fanfare of trumpets blaring within the square. Every child¡¯s head turned toward the center square where high in the sky floating trumpets bobbed up and down as they belted grand music.


    ¡°The parade is starting!¡± Oliver yelled. He was now fully over his crying episode and bubbling with curiosity. Unable to control his excitement he charged off toward the center, weaving through taller kids and bumping smaller ones. He was eager to see his favorite thing in the world, mermaids.


    ¡°Oli, wait!¡± Indie cried after him. ¡°Ugh, he¡¯s too much sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s move up.¡± Chrys said.


    The three of them slowly made their way through the crowd. Some kids gave them annoyed looks but sheepishly looked away when facing Chrys¡¯ hard scowl, daring them to do something. Indie and Lily exchanged glances and giggled. As they made their way forward, the trumpets transformed into a more soothing melody of harps, xylophone and ocarinas. Above all their heads a giant bubble of water began floating down from above, the light from the purple crescent moon making it sparkle. Within the large bubble Lily could see shadows swimming around. They stopped just shy of the front of the crowd of children and watched as the bubble came to float just above the ground in the center square. Children were silent with awe as they watched mermaids swimming and weaving around each other in bright blues, purples, and greens. The music from up above paused for a moment of silence. The biggest mermaid, with a long purple shimmering tail and eyes that reflected a calm sea on a cloudless day approached the edge of the bubble, smiling sweetly at the crowd. Then she began to sing, each note hauntingly airy and dreamy. No child dared speak as she sang. The music began again, and her sisters joined in. Their voices brought up every child¡¯s favorite memory. Lily could remember her parents sleeping under canopies as she read books under the summer sun. The smell of the ocean and whisperings of conch shells made her heart feel warm. She looked over at Chrys and his face had a small somber smile on it.

 Chapter 2 Part 5: Lets go for a Swim

    After their song of nostalgia ended they began singing faster and swirled to the music, their tails in sync as they swam faster and faster within the bubble. Two of them swam to the top of the water bubble and thrust themselves out in an arching jump. Flicks of water rained down on the children¡¯s heads as they splashed back into the water. The crowd erupted in cheers.


    ¡°Oh, there he is!¡± Indie suddenly said. Lily snapped back, remembering they were trying to catch up to Oliver. Looking in the same direction Indie was looking, Lily spotted Oliver at the very front of the crowd, mesmerized by the performance. He was so focused his feet were slowly shuffling forward. No other child around him noticed, too busy looking up and laughing. ¡°Ugh, what is he doing?¡±


    The mermaids swam merrily, enticing the crowd with jumps, spins, and singing. They hardly looked at the crowd as they danced, however as Oliver got closer part of their dance seemed to flinch, noticing his presence. The purple mermaid, still singing swam to the bottom of the bubble, observing Oliver with a lovely smile. The other mermaids still swam but as Lily watched them there was something...impatient about their swimming now. It was getting faster and more eager and in turn children were cheering louder. Lily felt odd in her chest.


    ¡°Maybe...maybe we should go get him.¡± Lily said, but when she looked at Indie and Chrys, she realized they couldn¡¯t hear her. People in the very front began noticing the little boy who was now standing right beneath the floating bubble, locking eyes with a beautiful mermaid. Some just looked in awe and some cheered, wanting him to touch the bubble. Oliver raised his arm slowly toward the mermaid, wrapped in by her golden and purple speckled skin and hair floating like soft seaweed. The mermaid watched, now unmoving, just tiny jerks of her tail fins showed she was alive.


    It¡¯s like she¡¯s waiting, Lily thought to herself and that odd feeling began to make her stomach squeeze. Lily measured the distance from where she was to where the little boy was. She wanted to rush forward but her brain was in stalemate. She knew she couldn¡¯t reach him in time and when she did then what? Why did she need to reach him? Lily was overcome by her own mind, trying to jolt herself to lunge forward ¨C I¡¯ll look for the right time...the right time...The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Chrys said, leaning over to stare Lily in the face. She had hunched over in deep thought without even realizing it.


    That was it! She would tell Chrys to do something! Lily jerked up, a look of slight excitement on her face. Chrys was taken aback.


    ¡°We should get to him ¨C to Oliver! Please!¡± Lily blurted out. Chrys looked at her face in confusion. She hadn¡¯t explained anything but looked panicked. Lily wanted to explain but her nerves were so on edge she couldn¡¯t. Chrys¡¯ face became grim and he nodded. Somehow, he just understood he needed to do this one thing for Lily, and she was relieved.


    The two began pushing through to the front, shimmying sideways to reach Oliver. Indie was left behind just looking on.


    Oliver kept reaching his hand up, wanting to be with the mermaid whose face beckoned for him to swim with them, to be a mermaid like them. He wondered if he could dream up being a mermaid. He strained his little hand to reach the bubble, but he was too short, barely missing touching the water with the tips of his fingers. The mermaid tilted its head, still smiling as if saying Why aren¡¯t you coming with us?


    ¡°Oliver!!¡± a voice yelled. Oliver turned his head toward the sound of his name and looked at the older boy who gave him the bubbles. He and that other girl were coming towards him. Did they want to swim with the mermaid too? He felt a twinge. Oliver wanted to swim with the mermaid all by himself. He just learned how to swim and he didn¡¯t want older kids to hog all the fun. That¡¯s what older kids did all the time. Oliver turned back to the mermaid and flinched.


    It wasn¡¯t smiling anymore. Its face stared deeply into Oliver¡¯s, half its torso was hanging out of the water, it¡¯s large eyes bulging with intensity. It had Oliver¡¯s arm gripped in its webbed hands and before Oliver could yelp he was whisked up and into the water bubble.


    <hr>

 Chapter 3: Part 1 Darkness Beneath the Surface

    The crowd roared with applause as they watched a little boy swim among the mermaids. It was like a dream come true. They raised their arms and shouted, excited that perhaps they would all swim with mermaids. It was something Moon had never done before in fact. The mermaid festival always persisted but its previous iteration, before the shutdown, was like watching from behind the glass at an aquarium. It had been enough to watch something that didn¡¯t exist outside of dreams, but now each child felt like they could become anything. The music went on and children celebrated, cheering on the boy as he swam towards the top of the bubble then was guided by mermaids in a circular frenzy down towards the center. The boy made eye contact with the crowd and flailed his arms in what looked like to them a jovial manner, so the crowd answered back in woops and hollers.


    They had no reason to think the boy was crying for help, why should they? He was the luckiest boy right now in all of Moon. Not one swallowed nervously or asked if he could breathe in water. Surely, he could, this was Moon!


    Then the finale. The crowd watched as the boy swished this way and that alongside the mermaids and he no longer seemed to try to get the attention of the them. His body floated still within the water and the mermaids circled him in a slow procession. The head mermaid cradled the boy¡¯s head in her hands and in one movement, kissed him. For a second, the boy didn¡¯t react, then his limbs began moving, jerking around with increased ferocity. The crowd was confused as they watched. The music had stopped and now they could hear the muffled screams of the little boy.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t like this anymore.¡± a girl said in a whisper.


    No one moved, so entrapped by the scene they couldn¡¯t understand. Was it part of Moon? Was this supposed to happen? As a mass mob, no one could make a decision but only looked around, hoping someone or something would tell them what to do. The mermaid pulled away from the boy and a swirl of black ink escaped her lips, floating up and dissolving within the water. Then the boy dropped. He plunged through the bubble and landed a heap on the ground. He was still.


    Lily and Chrys couldn¡¯t help but freeze and watch with horror as the boy¡¯s fate unfolded. They had barely broken from the crowd, only a mere few steps from Oliver when he had been yanked up into the bubble. Lily¡¯s heart felt fragile as it pounded harshly in her chest. She felt like she couldn¡¯t breathe as she watched Oliver cry for help. Yet, they could do nothing but watch. Then the mermaid did something to him and he dropped right out, soaking wet and unmoving on the floor.


    ¡°O-Ollie...?¡± Indie said weakly. Lily didn¡¯t know when, but Indie had eventually followed them and was looking with numbed shock at her brother¡¯s body.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Lily tried to move up to Oliver, he could be okay, but Chrys gripped her wrist tight and when she turned to look at him his face was fierce with fear. Oliver¡¯s body began to twitch and he let out a small groan. Some kids from the front of the crowd approached him, poking him with their toes.


    ¡°Hey, you okay?¡± one of them asked.


    Oliver let out another groan and flopped over onto his back. Lily couldn¡¯t help but cry out, putting her hands over her mouth. The small group surrounding Oliver froze, unable to shake dread gripping their bodies.


    Oliver¡¯s face was pale, so pale his veins were visible across his face. His eyes were wide open, sunken in and a darkened red. He looked as if he hadn¡¯t eaten in days, his skin thinly draped across his bones. His lips barely moved as if he was trying to speak but no words came out. Instead, a thick ooze of black liquid began pouring out the sides of his eyes and down his cheeks. He made no move to cough but let a slow black river of the stuff pour out and onto the ground. His veins began turning a sickly purple with black, what seemed like, bruises blossoming on his skin.


    In.....nn-nndie....?


    ¡°Oliver!!¡± Indie sobbed and ran to her brother, collapsing to hold him in her arms. ¡°Oliver- what¡¯s wrong?! I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s wrong!¡±


    Oliver¡¯s eyes slid slowly to look up at Indie.


    ¡°Indie, maybe you should back away for now.¡± Chrys said slowly.


    ¡°No, no, no, he¡¯s my brother, no, it¡¯s my fault, I¡¯m sorry, Ollie,¡± Indie sobbed hysterically, gripping her brother tight in her arms. The other kids squirmed, unsure of what to do, they had only come to check on the boy and now all they felt was the urge to run away or call their parents.


    ¡°Maybe Moon can fix him, right?¡± Lily said, desperation in her voice. Her whole body was on the verge of shaking in a fit. Her mind kept running with one thing, What happened, what happened?


    ¡°They have to, they have to fix my brother.¡± Indie wailed. ¡°Please, help me, I-I can¡¯t carry him!¡±


    Lily exchanged looks with Chrys and she could tell he didn¡¯t want to move from his spot. She gripped the arm holding onto hers.


    ¡°Chrys!¡± Lily yelled. They stared at each other, sweat pouring down their faces.


    ¡°...I¡¯ll grab his arms, we¡¯ll take him to an admin.¡± he finally sighed.


    The two turned to help and immediately their plan fell to pieces.


    A boy among the first to approach Oliver, had collapsed on his butt, witnessing with horror as Oliver sprawled on top of his sister and sank his teeth into her neck. Indie let out a choked gurgle, flapping her arms against Oliver but unable to move. Black ink splattered onto the collapsed boy¡¯s face as Oliver flung himself off Indie, a chunk of her neck in his mouth turned into dark smoke. The boy shivered, weakly trying to wipe the stuff off his face. Through the smoke, a shadowy figure sat up and turned toward him.


    ¡°S-stay away...¡± he croaked. As the words left his mouth, all he could see were a pair of yellow eyes piercing him, then he was thrown back, his head slamming onto the ground. His face hurt all over and his vision went black.


    Someone screamed.

 Chapter 3 Part 2: Trapped in Smoke

    Lily felt small, so helpless, as she watched the chaos around her. She couldn¡¯t move as Oliver leapt onto his own sister and engulfed her in black smoke. Then as the smoke rose up there were more bodies lying on the ground that quickly rose up and began leaping into the crowd. The screams of glee from earlier in the festival were now screams of terror and pain. A girl screaming hysterically slammed into Lily and they both went down. Feet were pounding and running in every direction. Lily looked around, catching flashes of shadowy monsters that were once kids latching onto others, slashing their throats and letting black smoke escape from the wounds, only to turn into monsters themselves.


    What¡¯s happening...


    I don¡¯t...


    Lily struggled to think. She made no attempt to stand up.


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave, I can¡¯t leave!¡± an older kid screamed, looking at the screen floating before their eyes. ¡°What is¨C


    A streak of black slammed into their body and they no longer screamed.


    Wake up, I have to...wake up and leave...


    Lily¡¯s scroll clattered on the ground and she picked it up, shakily unrolling it. Unlike a regular dream, it was simple to leave Moon. One could either wait until the sun came up or they could leave early by using their menu and pressing the conspicuous sun icon. Lily remembered it being drawn in gold ink on her scroll, but now, as she stared despairingly at her menu, it was gone. There was no sun on her empty scroll. There was nothing. She tried thinking of the icon, willing it into place but was met with a sharp pain in her left eye. Her scroll vanished and she looked up locking eyes with something familiar, those yellow eyes she had seen in her dream. Except these were real and they were bounding towards her in the body of black smoke. She couldn¡¯t let out a cry, too stricken with fear and disbelief.


    Maybe this is all a bad dream, she thought, this can¡¯t be Moon, this isn¡¯t Moon.


    As the black figure leapt, a shrill roar escaping its inky black mouth Lily kept willing to wake up, just to blink and be in her bed once more.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Fuck. OFF!¡±


    With a thick clunk, the beast was whipped from the air, into the ground. The cement cracked under its body. Lily stared at the body twitching below the flattened head.


    ¡°Get up! We¡¯re getting out of here!¡± a voice yelled. Above Lily, Chrys was panting, gripping a large human sized wack-a-mole hammer in his hands. It was pure light, streaks of steam came off it from where it had connected with the monster.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t understand.¡± Lily said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Get up!¡± Chrys barked. He threw the hammer over his shoulder and yanked Lily up. All around them, kids were running, screaming, and explosions of smoke erupted near and far from them. The smoke was spreading, engulfing all of Festival Square. The puppet vendors kept calling out in their same cheery voices as they watched children run towards Festival Square¡¯s exit.


    ¡°Where do we go now?!¡± Lily yelled. They were running through the crowd, at their feet monsters overtook others, clawing on their faces. Lily followed Chrys as best she could as he bounded across the center square towards the lone street leading towards Festival Square¡¯s entrance. Some of the vendor carts had been crashed through and puppets lay broken on the ground. A steady group of kids were running around them, crying out when another explosion shook their bodies. They were making quick work towards the black gates that had once welcomed them in when they met a wall of other children slamming into them, screaming and clawing their way past them, trying to get ahead of others, back down the road. A boy slammed his boot on Lily¡¯s foot, and she let out a harsh cry. Overwhelmed, she was swept backwards by the pool of people.


    Chrys had no luck either and was bumped further and further back down the street. He grabbed a kid¡¯s collar and yanked him close to his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Why aren¡¯t you leaving?!¡± Chrys yelled.


    ¡°T-They¡¯re waiting over there, attacking anyone who goes past the gates!¡± the kid cried. He shoved Chrys off him and ran off.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Chrys swore. He pivoted on his feet and began running back, looking for Lily whose small stature made it easy for her to be swept up in the chaos. Where was that kid?! He tried calling out but to no avail. He wracked his brain on where to go. Festival Square was one big trap with only one exit and that was compromised. He could fight a few monsters if they ran towards him, but they were increasing and soon it would be a whole army of them after only the scatterings of kids left. He had also checked his menu, gawking at the blue screen that showed no traces of ever having a ¡®log out¡¯ button. Now he felt royally screwed and he couldn¡¯t even find the one friend Riley had told him to look out for. He ran past a small child who sat on the ground, wailing and clutching another kid¡¯s body as it lay still on the ground. Chrys made a move to help but as he struggled to reach them, they disappeared within the crowd. He practically screamed when he felt fingers gently touch his arm and whipped around. A worn-out Lily stared up at him.


    ¡°I know a way out.¡± she huffed.


    <hr>

 Chapter 3 Part 3: Secrets in Plain Sight

    ¡°I know a way out.¡± she huffed.


    Sweat made lingering smoke stick to her face like soot and her curly hair looked frizzed out and dry. Lily dragged Chrys out of the street and behind a collapsed vendor, hugging the wall of a large building. These buildings didn¡¯t have doors, they were meant for decoration. It was impossible to climb them either, the concrete impeccably smooth.


    ¡°Okay, what now?¡± Chrys asked. They watched the chaos with grim shadows.


    ¡°Worlds in Moon are connected with entrances and exits. The simplest way to explore is to use them and map them as you go, that¡¯s how we all did it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but Festival Square is a hub, its entrance and exit are in the same place, and it¡¯s blocked.¡± Chrys said. The two began sliding along the wall, hidden in the shadows of the vendors.


    ¡°The simplest way...¡± Lily trailed off, becoming more obsessed with sliding down the wall, her hands feeling for something.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Chrys barked.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Lily flinched, ¡°S-sorry, what I mean is that the simplest way to leave here is that entrance, but it¡¯s not the only way. Every world has a secret way to leave, like instead of transferring planes you simply jump off one with a parachute.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so how does that help us, do we even know where the secret exit is?¡±


    ¡°Riley always said to find a secret you have to look for something that¡¯s already missing.¡± Lily said, feeling her way on the concrete buildings. For Chrys, it suddenly clicked.


    ¡°Doors.¡± he said wondrously.


    With new vigor the two frantically felt up and down the walls, speeding on to the next one when they had no such luck on a building.


    ¡°It¡¯s taking too long to find it!¡± Lily panicked. She began to feel like she was being foolish, thinking she¡¯d find the secret exit. As confident as she sounded earlier, she wasn¡¯t 100% sure.


    ¡°Hey, focus, it¡¯s the only clue we¡¯ve got, stick with it.¡± Chrys said. His rough tone somehow comforted Lily. She looked towards the street again and shuddered. It was now becoming less of kids running and more of those smoke monsters leaping around. She wanted to stop fretting and focus on finding that exit but she couldn¡¯t help but stare at the destruction happening.


    ¡°How...how could this of..¡± Lily stopped, squinting at the other side and seeing children hiding in the shadows just as they were. One made eye contact with her but in one second as a group of monsters rushed by, they were gone. So were the other kids she¡¯d seen. ¡°It¡¯s...it¡¯s on the other side.¡±


    ¡°What where?!¡± Chrys said, he turned his head as he pat the wall. Lily pointed to where she had seen that kid. ¡°Shit...¡±


    They both felt intimidated by the sheer number of monsters blocking their path.


    ¡°You have to summon something.¡± Chrys suddenly said.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°What?¡± Lily turned and tilted her head in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way we¡¯ll get through there. I tried to summon something and all I got was this stupid hammer.¡±


    In Chrys¡¯ hand was now what looked like a normal toy hammer that fit comfortably in his palm. There was no hint of it having been half his size or glowing with light. Moon usually let you think of anything you want and have it appear in your hand, but now Lily realized, no one had summoned anything to help them escape. It was like they were being restricted.


    ¡°What should I summon?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t friggun know! Think of a weapon from your favorite videogame!¡± Chrys said exasperated.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t play videogames. I played balloon tower in the school library once...¡± Lily said sheepishly. She hadn¡¯t liked it.


    ¡°Just think of anything anything that will get us across from here to there!¡± Chrys demanded.


    Lily wracked her brain, agonizing over what to summon. She closed her eyes and just repeated it in her mind over and over again, I want to get out of here, I want to get out of here. Her fingertips started to tingle as if they¡¯d fallen asleep and her head started to hurt. It felt like something was pushing back against her, condemning her to the frightening fate of children caught by the ashen monsters. She just wanted someone to save her, she just wanted Riley to come back to her and tell her all of this was a dream. She couldn¡¯t stop her mind from straying and as she realized she¡¯d gotten distracted, an intense light erupted in her hands. Lily opened her eyes and stared blankly at the small blue pocket umbrella in her hands.


    ¡°An...umbrella...¡± Chrys said, gawking.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I got distracted and...¡± Lily stammered, close to tears. She¡¯d been useless again. The tiny rolled up umbrella mocked her.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Chrys hissed. He slammed his fist into a wall. ¡°We just can¡¯t win, huh?¡±


    Lily unwrapped the chord around the umbrella, the fabric loosening and the umbrella spreading from its previous confinement. The fabric shimmered as she examined it. Why did I summon something so stupid?


    ¡°We have no choice but to run and hope we don¡¯t get caught.¡± Chrys stared dejectedly at the wall. ¡°You¡¯ll go first and I¡¯ll cover you.¡±


    Putting her fingers where the umbrella¡¯s runner was, Lily slowly pushed it up, the arms of it stretching out the canopy like a big wing. The piece of metal clicked into place as the umbrella fully opened. Inside, the umbrella looked dull, no secrets. Lily didn¡¯t know what she hoped for but there was nothing.


    ¡°Lily?¡±


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sorry I-I was just hoping-


    ¡°Lily¨C what the fuck,¡± Chrys growled, ¡°this isn¡¯t funny, where are you?¡±


    Lily stared at Chrys as he stared back...or stared past her. His face was alarmed, like he was all alone despite Lily being right in front of him. He frantically turned his head toward the open, as if scared she¡¯d left him behind to run to the other side.


    ¡°Lily?!¡± he practically yelled. He took a step forward, bumping into her. She flinched and dropped the umbrella. More surprised as suddenly Lily was right in front of him Chrys jumped backwards.


    ¡°How...?¡± he began. He rubbed his eyes.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t see me.¡± Lily said. She was trembling with excitement. ¡°You couldn¡¯t see me!¡±


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Chrys asked.


    Lily picked up the umbrella again and pointed it upwards. She turned to face Chrys whose eyes were wide, staring at the spot he had seen Lily disappear as she raised the umbrella over her head. She put it down quickly.


    ¡°We can use this to get to the other side,¡± she said, ¡°but we have to be careful. Those things can still touch us.¡±


    ¡°How do we know we both will be invisible under that thing, what if it¡¯s only one person?¡± Chrys asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any other choice.¡± Lily said sadly. ¡°We have to trust it will work.¡±


    The two looked grimly at the umbrella, then at the monsters filling up the open street. They would have to huddle together and walk slowly around them to the other side. If they faltered they were done. Lily felt sick, the umbrella shook in her hands. She felt frustrated with her weak body, like it would collapse or drop the umbrella. She was on the edge and she couldn¡¯t take much longer. A hand gripped hers around the umbrella.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you mess this up.¡± Chrys said. Lily looked up at him. He looked just as nervous.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you mess up either.¡± Lily said. Chrys let out a dry laugh.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The two lifted the umbrella over them, took a deep breath and walked out into the street.


    <hr>

 Chapter 3: Final Part + announcement

    Standing in the open, the monsters moaned and wailed but not one turned towards them. Among hundreds of them, Lily and Chrys were invisible. Chrys squeezed Lily¡¯s hand as they both gripped the umbrella handle. They began walking through the maze of smoke and shadow.


    ....mo....ommmy...... a low wail came from a shadow figure hunched on the ground. Through the smoke half of a child¡¯s face poked out, unaware that two children were passing by them. The child¡¯s face was gray and purple with pulsing black veins that oozed black ink where the veins burst through the skin. Its eyes were glazed over white and vacant. Lily held her mouth, swallowing a sob as they went by. As the creatures wandered about, no longer sensing children, they began to reveal what looked like corpses underneath, repeating cries of agony.


    It¡¯s dark....


    Don¡¯t.......lea-aaave....


    ....help....me....


    Chrys felt disgusting all over as he ignored the children he previously saw squealing and laughing. He knew he couldn¡¯t do a thing the way things were now, and he cursed himself. Lily peeked at the pained expression on his face and weakly put her hand on his. They kept walking. The other side where the vendors and the darkness that would hide them beckoned. They flinched when a monster whizzed by in front of them, almost grazing their bodies. The close calls made their hearts tighten and they quickened their pace, they were almost there.


    ¡°No!¡± a voice shrieked. Immediately the smoke covered the exposed children and they were monsters once more, turning towards the sudden sound. They all stood up, some on twos and others on fours like beasts.


    ¡°We have to run.¡± Chrys whispered, looking at the crowd of monsters that were preparing to leap right towards them. They wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge.


    ¡°Get away from me!¡± a girl cried and a blast of light shook the ground. The monsters let out deafening squeals and lurched, bounding forwards with ferocious speed towards a girl trying to fight back. Unknowing that Lily and Chrys were standing in between them.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Chrys yelled. The hammer in his hand grew instantly into a large mallet sizzling with white light. With a grunt, he heaved it up and swung, making contact with monsters barreling towards them. Smoke erupted from where the hammer hit, and the shadowy figures seemed to melt into the others. Chrys wound back for swing after swing, beating back wave after wave of ash and grime. Lily gripped his arm while holding the umbrella, frozen from shock at the monsters running past. The girl they heard kept screaming and screaming.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Then she stopped.


    The monsters seemed to stop and regain their vacant stares and roaming. There were no longer distant explosions or any screams for that matter. There was heavy dread within Lily and Chrys. They were the last two remaining within Festive Square not turned into monsters.


    The two made their way to the other side and looked back from the cover of the vendors. The square looked dark, turned off. The life of Moon they had loved so much was now a nightmare they couldn¡¯t wake up from.


    ¡°Are we going to die?¡± Lily asked. She hadn¡¯t realized she¡¯d said it aloud.


    ¡°No,¡± Chrys said, his voice trembling with anger, ¡°We¡¯re getting out of here.¡±


    They turned toward the wall and began feeling for something, anything. As they shuffled sideways, Lily felt exhaustion creeping up on her. She wanted to find the secret exit and be done with the terror tensing her every muscle. Just as she was about to give in to frustration, slamming her hand onto what seemed like endless wall, it was suddenly cool around her fingertips. She blinked, observing her hand going right through the thick concrete. With a gasp she snatched her hand out. Still intact.


    ¡°I found it!¡± she managed to wheeze, controlling her excitement.


    ¡°Woah.¡± Chrys watched Lily put her hand through the wall, further and further. ¡°Where does it go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but,¡± Lily wiggled her fingers as if trying to reach for something, ¡°we don¡¯t have a choice, right?¡±


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t.¡±


    They both exchanged looks, pausing to search each other¡¯s eyes, then turned back to what looked like just a regular wall. Lily took a shuddering breath and pressed her whole body into the wall. Like slipping through the surface of a lake, her whole body felt like it was slowing down, suspended in air as that cool feeling overcame her. All around Lily was vast blue. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell if she was moving if not for the wisps of hair sticking to her face.


    Chrys?   she meant to say but her words were met with cozy silence as if she was speaking into a pillow.


    Then within the blue, a white light began to sprout ahead of Lily, blinding her. The light was hot and she let out a silent cry, putting her hands up to guard her face as the light overtook her. Her head was pounding as a great force seemed to tug her through the grips of the blue. She felt like she was being whisked into a different time and it was splitting her head open.


    Just as the pain was about to become unbearable, her hands felt dirt beneath them and she was surrounded by foliage. Lily looked up to a bluish-gray painted sky and trees towering over her. The air smelled strongly of apples and cinnamon. Lily¡¯s broken mind couldn¡¯t handle it, her vision was going fuzzy. She drowsily looked around her and with relief saw Chrys, hunched over, his back jolting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t...cry...¡± she croaked.


    Chrys¡¯ mouth was moving but Lily couldn¡¯t hear what he said as her ringing ears and wave of nausea drowned him out. She promptly heaved, a disturbing amount of spit plopping onto the ground, and blacked out.

 Chapter 4 Part 1: Apple Pepper Forest

    Lily was in darkness, no dreaming. It was comfortable to not think, to push all the events that had happened furthest from her mind. She simply floated in mindlessness. She began to wonder if this darkness meant she had escaped Moon and was in between sleep and waking. Lily thought of her mom and dad, doing their morning routines like usual. That was the morning she wanted to wake up to. In the darkness, Lily started to hear muffled voices. Her heart quickened, eager to wake up. I have to wake up, she thought frantically. With every ounce of her being she wished to be awake and slowly she dragged herself out of the thick darkness...


    ~


    Lily¡¯s body felt heavy and ached. Her dazed eyes found themselves staring at the ground passing by. Even though her limbs struggled to move she was moving. Blinking the sleep from her eyes she realized her head rested on something hard. She let out a weak groan and turned her head. Chrys¡¯ face was in full view, pouring sweat and scowling hard.


    ¡°Chrys...?¡± Lily croaked.


    ¡°Jesus!¡± he shouted, and suddenly Lily was jolted, her body dropping to the floor like a ragdoll. Her arms and legs were pins and needles and her face pressed against the mud. She gave another groan but couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Fuck, sorry, you just scared the shit out of me.¡±


    Much to her displeasure, Chrys gripped her arms and pulled her to sit up. Leaning awkwardly to the side Lily slowly looked around her. They were surrounded by trees and shrubbery.


    Why?


    Lily looked down at her night gown, watching the stars still twinkling through the mud-stained fabric. This wasn¡¯t supposed to be happening. It was supposed to be all over, but she was still here. She was still in Moon, asleep and having to cope with the horrors she had seen. Lily felt her throat tighten and a sob wanted to break free from her quickening breath. She had to keep trying to survive despite her body having given up, her mind driven past exhaustion. Her arms no longer hurting she touched her face, feeling the skin on her fingertips. She began digging her nails into her cheeks.


    ¡°Why am I still here...!?¡± Lily blurted out, hysteria taking hold. ¡°Why?!¡±


    I don¡¯t want to be here- I want to go home! It hurts- I want to go home I want to go home I want to go home-


    ¡°Hey!¡± Chrys barked. He had a hard grip on Lily¡¯s wrists. Lily looked up at him, her mind coming back together from the edge of breaking. His face, dripping with sweat displayed fear. He looked at Lily like she was fragile, unpredictable.


    ¡°Sorry...¡± Lily whispered. Where her nails had been on her cheeks started to sting.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just...¡± he trailed off, looking troubled in his own way. ¡°Never mind, can you stand?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Lily nodded and stood up. She felt stiff from the mud that dried on her skin and clothes.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± she managed to say. Half of her didn¡¯t care, but it seemed like the right thing to say instead of the desperate cries she wanted to do.


    ¡°No idea.¡± Chrys sighed. Lily suddenly saw how tired he looked.


    ¡°Did you...carry me this whole time?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that long, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± he shrugged. His lips were set in a long grim line, like he was holding something in. Lily felt too scared and tired to even ask him how he was. ¡°Let¡¯s just keep moving. There has to be something here we can find.¡±


    In solemn agreeance the two began walking down what seemed like the only dirt road around. Surrounding them were groups of tall thin trees that blocked them from seeing anything far off. The sky above was still the same blue and purple and the actual moon of Moon sat fat and bulging in the sky, mocking the two beaten up kids. Lily wondered what kind of attraction this world they tumbled into could have.


    Every world within moon was created to be explored either for its otherworldly quality, like an upside-down sea, or it housed some kind of main entertainment, much like Festival Square. Lily shuddered to think what if other worlds had been...infected like Festival Square had been. She found herself wishing they ran into other kids rather than another town that could have raging shadow monsters hiding in dark houses.


    The road began to go upwards and soon the two were panting as they trekked up what felt like a never-ending hill. After an hour the scenery hadn¡¯t changed, and the road still stretched out frustratingly straight.


    ¡°Chrys,¡± Lily puffed, ¡°did we...used to get this tired...just being in Moon?¡±


    ¡°Shit...we can¡¯t summon things and now...it¡¯s like we¡¯re really here and not dreaming.¡± He wiped sweat off his brow and looked back at Lily who had significantly lagged behind. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break.¡±


    ¡°I...I¡¯m fine...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna carry your ass later so we might as well rest.¡± he said, a dry smile on his lips. Lily pouted but her silence said enough. They both plopped onto the ground, thinking their own thoughts for a moment.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Lily began, ¡°Maybe everyone is actually okay...¡±


    ¡°What? Were we in the same dream?¡± Chrys said, baffled.


    ¡°No I know, they- I know what happened  but in the real world, maybe all they did was...just wake up.¡±


    Chrys frowned, pondering the idea. Moon may feel real and hold millions of children within it, but at the end of the day, it was just a dream. Or at least that was what it was supposed to be. So how come they couldn¡¯t wake up? Something didn¡¯t sit right with him thinking it was just a case of a stubborn nightmare, but he definitely didn¡¯t want to voice the idea that those siblings they just met could have...


    ¡°Maybe.¡± was all he could manage to reply. Lily felt a bit disappointed, unable to get a more reassuring response.


    The rest of their break was silent and they simply either stared up at the sky or into the forest.


    ¡°Should we really be sitting here out in the open?¡± Lily asked, getting nervous about the open road and the forest¡¯s shadows.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for hours, if someone was going to find us they would have by now.¡±


    As if someone had been watching them, toying with them, the foliage beside them began to ruffle. They were immediately on their feet, leaping back to face where they heard the sound from. With breaths held they prepared to see the chilling smoke creep out from the dark and into the road, those yellow eyes pop out from the bushes and glare at them with hunger.


    Then something dived out of the bushes and the two let out a cry. Before them was no monster but a kid, heaving out of breath and deep red hair tumbling over their face. Chrys and Lily stared, giving worried glances to each other. Clutching her chest, Lily worked up the courage to speak.