Amber, Ruby, and the Magic Dimension

Chapie 4: Pranks and Berries

Amber's POV

After running for what seems like eternity we see light ahead. I'm the first one out, and the first one to collapse. It's night now, giving the whole area an eerie feeling. Hearing three more thuds from behind me I realize that everyone else had collapsed too. Since it's night I decide to let myself go to sleep, although it's not like I had a choice.

By the time I come to, I realize four things. One, we have no food. Two, I'm starving. Three, I have no idea where we are, and I don't think that Connor or Crystal know either. And four, it is freezing and we don't have any blankets.

So here I am, freezing cold, hungry, afraid, and lonely, in a building that looked to be once a beautiful piece of architecture, but was now in shambles. Cracked stone (that could be marble) and rotten wood lie about. Sure everyone is here, but they're all asleep. Groaning I try to fall back asleep but all my efforts were in vain. Why can't anything be easy now a days. After a few minutes I hear a groan. And I would recognize that I-don't-want-to-wake-up-yet groan anywhere.

"I know I've always enjoyed camping, but this is pushing it!"

"Good morning Night Owl."

"Their fine, probably just more used to doing this than us."

"Oh. So what do we do in the meantime?"

"Well we have no food or water, so we could go look for that, but we would have to leave them a note. I mean who's to say they don't trust us yet. A note would be better than them thinking we ditched them."

"But we would never do that!"

"But they don't know that, yet."

"Fine. I'll go write it."

I watch as my sister quickly turns into a cat, scratches a message in the dirt, and turns back before coming over to me.

"Ok, first objective: find a way out of here." I walk off looking for, well, anything.

"You're assuming you can just apply your video game knowledge to this, aren't you."

I peep around a pillar that I was behind. "Yes. Problem?"

"Yes! Video games aren't real! You can't just apply knowledge from them to real life."

I notice a good sized area covered in vines. I walk over. "Oh, really?" I rip off the vines exposing another room, brighter than ours. And less worn down. This room was definitely smaller and had more openings (windows?). "None of this is normal sis, so why not try things that you wouldn't usually try?"

"You know what? Your right. Your absolutly right." I almost missed the venom in her voice. It wasn't aimed at me, but this dimension. Ruby's a smart girl who lives by the laws of physics, and me using video games skills, totally goes against that. Even though I like to play the more realistic games, most of the time. I watch her storm into the other room, before following after a few seconds.

I search the room finding a small opening to the outside world within minutes. It was actually very different outside. While inside was a mess, with vines growing everywhere. The outside is a lush forest with a stream running through. The strongest smell of flowers hit me. It was impossible to separate the smells. There were so many different types of flowers scattered everywhere, but the thing that stood out the most was the cluster of berry bushes to our right. Recognizing them as blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries my sister goes to gather them while I go back inside to tell Crystal and Connor what we found.

"Hey, um, guys. You awake yet?" I quietly call to them. If they're awake I should tell them, but if not I don't know what to do. Walking into the room, I find Crystal fully awake and Connor about to be the victim of one of the oldest pranks in the book, an ice bucket. Although I think that's what it's supposed to be. Really it's a giant snow ball. And when I say giant I mean it looks like it can cover Connor ten times over! I stay by the door to see how this plays out. Crystal slowly makes her way over to me, probably to keep concentration on the snowball so not to let it falter from the spot above Connor.

"Get behind the door frame."

"What?"

"Trust me. You don't want to be near him or the first one he sees."

"Oh, um, OK."

We get behind the door frame and Crystal lets the ball drop, covering Connor completely. About two seconds later rocks start to tremble in about a five foot perimeter. All of a sudden, rocks jut up from the ground and Connor's head appears from the snow pile, gasping for air.

"Not the morning person is he?" I whisper to Crystal as Connor clambers out, shaking with fury.

She giggles. "Not a bit."

"CRYSTAL! I'm going to kill you!"

She calmly walks out from behind the frame. "But that's what you said last time, dear brother."

"I hate you!"

"Love you too." Crystal waves her hand to make the snow disappear, but not before my sister gets to see it.

"What the Milky Way is going on here!"

"Ow! Ruby! That was right in my ear!"

She continues walking to the center of the room towards the 'C siblings' with me right behind her. "Well whatever. Somebody just explain what is going on here, or else you'll get none of the berries that someone left me to pick by myself."

"Well I was just coming to wake them up and then I got", I hesitate looking for the right word, "side tracked."

"Anyways, someone tell me something or I swear to Andromeda you'll get no berries!"

"Are there blueberries?"

"Yes there are, Crystal."

"OK, well", She takes a deep breath. "ConnorwasasleepandIdecidedtowakehimupbydroppingagiantsnoballonhisheadand-" She takes another deep breath. "Hewokeupreallymadsorockscameoutofthegrounddestroyingtheplace-" Another breath, "AndyoucameinrightwhenIwascleaningupthesnow." She finishes still panting. "Now", Breath. "Give", Breath. "Me", Breath. "The food."

We all stare at Crystal for a bit trying to figure out what she said. Ruby's the first to recover.

"Yeah well, you wanted the berries, you can have the berries." She sets them on the ground and Crystal is the first one to it.

"Nice job on the satchel sis."

"Thanks. It was really hard to get the vines to stay together."

"You made sure that it wasn't poisonous, right?" Connor definitely seems to be the more careful of the C siblings.

"Of course I did. What do you take me for, an idiot?" My sister giggles.

We start on our breakfast. Lunch? Whatever meal it is. Sadly, some things are too good to last.